Iraq Press Roundup

Washington does not spend billions of dollars, devote thousands of lives or risk its reputation unless its "basket" is full of benefits in the Status of Forces Agreement, the Sunni al-Mashriq newspaper said Monday.

Talk about the SOFA, but is it going to be signed?

Washington ignored thousands of protests in the runup to the Iraq invasion in 2003. Instead, the United States decided to ride the ship of the invasion by claiming its motive was to rid the country of Saddam Hussein.

The billions of dollars Washington spent on the war effort that is threatening the very notion of capitalism was not to bring peace and security to Iraq. Only the ignorant believe this lie, the newspaper said.

America is not a relief organization. The objective behind the SOFA is to enforce political, economic and military dominance over Iraq. Though reports suggest Iraqi lawmakers may balk on the pact, for Washington it is a done deal.

Iraqis, regardless of the position on the SOFA, must examine it carefully as it secures the relationship between Washington and Baghdad for the long term.

The Shabab al-Iraq news service Monday said that many Iraqi Arabs, minorities and parties with strong ties to Iran reject the Status of Forces Agreement.

The humiliating SOFA has its protectors

Nobody in Iraq welcomes the SOFA except the dishonorable, as many are backing even the most negative conditions of the deal. These backers are supporting the Americans, who, if anything, "liberated" the Iraqis from themselves.

The newspaper pointed to the Kurds, who have a long history of opposition to Arabs in the region, as the primary supporters of the agreement.

The history of the Kurds shows they back Israel or Iran, depending on Kurdish interests and their opposition to Iraq. History indicates the Kurds will do anything to get the two-thirds majority in Parliament necessary to approve the agreement.

The Kurds, Shabab al-Iraq said, have closed themselves off from the rest of the country and have no right to decide the fate of greater Iraq.

The minority Christian population, however, has found refuge in Kurdistan following a spate of targeted attacks against the community, all while Kurdish officials continue to reject Arabs seeking the same level of support.

Meanwhile, the Shiite population, which has strong ties to Iran, most likely will back the arrangement if Tehran gives its blessing, but for now is reviewing the document before giving its "blessed" acceptance, the report said.

For their part, the Sunnis are unlikely to raise opposition to the agreement as long as they receive some form of power guarantees in return.

Al-Ittihad newspaper of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan said the Status of Forces Agreement is just one of the many topics of dispute for its region.

The dispute over the status of forces agreement

Opposition to the agreement with the United States is understandable, but some of the positions lawmakers take against the pact are illogical. If the measure were skewed in favor of the Iraqis, as some critics complain, Baghdad would have little need to secure the agreement in the first place, the newspaper said.

The Kurds view the security arrangement as a means to maintain political and military developments. While many Iraqi lawmakers oppose the measure, they offer few alternatives to the role played by U.S. forces in the country. The only reason to back away from the agreement is for lawmakers to preserve their reputation as a force of opposition.

Some politicians have played both sides of the argument, advocating a stance of opposition on one hand, but moving forward with the security arrangement on the other, the paper said.

Regardless, disputes over the measure will end when Iraqi lawmakers review the agreement in parliamentary session.