Iraq Press Roundup

Iraqi newspapers held the Iraqi government responsible for the mess created in the post-Saddam era. Sectarianism, corruption and loyalty to Iran are the accusations often thrown at the government in Baghdad.

The independent Addustour newspaper said Wednesday, for example, that the Iraqi Parliament and other institutions must recognize the differences in achievements in the old and new governments.

A state of law or a state of looting?

Iraq has witnessed a profound demographic shift in the post-invasion climate following the ouster of Saddam Hussein, as many are moving to the capital, Baghdad, and provincial centers in order to occupy government properties.

Iraqi refugees who lost their homes in the wake of infighting or sectarian disputes took to squatting in former government buildings immediately following the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, creating a unique situation for the displaced.

These families, the newspaper said, are considered outlaws in the eyes of the Iraqi community, yet the government in Baghdad is doing little to ease their situation.

The hope for increased security operations was to remove these people from the streets of Baghdad and other city centers before taking on the insurgents.

The al-Sabbah newspaper in Baghdad said Wednesday that the Iraqi government has taken several steps in the wrong direction during the last five years, including enforcing a policy of division as an excuse for democracy.

The illusion of democracy

When the new Iraqi government was established in the wake of the U.S. invasion, the people looked to the executive, legislative and judicial branches to impose the law and carry out their necessary duties.

The policy of division, however, encourages leaders in Baghdad to turn a blind eye to the corruption and incompetence of their allies. These officials are willing to sacrifice the interests of the 30 million Iraqis in order to pursue their own interests while the central government is oblivious to the whole matter, the newspaper said.

One of the primary objectives of a democratic government is ensuring transparency, but that is hardly the case when Baghdad looks to the tribal councils to resolve legal matters, for example.

The government should not bear the brunt of the denigration, the newspaper said, but acknowledge and diagnose these defects and replace them with constructive criticism in an effort to improve the economy and the security situation in the country.

The Shiite al-Adala newspaper took the view Wednesday that a decentralized government in a federal Iraq is the best way to ensure the country does not fall into the hands of another dictator.

Treatment for individuality

The system of decentralization that was approved in the Iraqi constitution was a treatment for the oppressed country that had dissolved many of the components of its society.

A federal system is needed to build the new Iraq. Disagreements over policy, however, should not be taken as a sign of failure or weakness but an indication of the emergence of individuals and partial interests in the national agenda.

This federal system is included in the details of the constitution that was written with Iraqi hands. For their part, the Iraqi people look to federalism because they oppose the notion of a central authority in charge of the entire country.

Much like the situation in the Kurdish regions of Iraq, federalism is needed throughout the entire country where power is vested at the provincial level in order to give the people a better opportunity to rebuild their cities.

It is wrong but forgivable, considering the relative youth of the new state, for people to call the developing government a failure. The Iraqi people, the newspaper said, should look to the wisdom of the Kurdish system and push for a federalized Iraq.