Iraq Press Roundup

With the U.S. troop withdrawal agreement under review in the Iraqi Parliament, the independent Addustour newspaper highlighted Friday the provisions regarding private security contractors.

Blackwater's silent guns

Many of the alleged crimes Blackwater USA committed against the Iraqi civilians were a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, the newspaper said.

However, Blackwater forces are clearly contractors hired and trained to kill for money and are therefore immune from the law, as they rely on the use of force as their primary method of operations.

By not having to comply with U.S. or Iraqi law, Blackwater was allowed to take matters one step further and used their security cover to smuggle guns into Iraq with the aim of making deals to assassinate even more Iraqis.

Al-Bayyna newspaper of the Shiite Hezbollah Party of Iraq discussed the lack of foreign policy experience U.S. President-elect Barack Obama can claim, despite his being one of the few who opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

The original or the copy of Obama

Obama was portrayed by major media outlets as a copy of the Obama who ran for office during the long presidential campaign. In the past few weeks, Obama has started to act on some of his promises through his choice of well-qualified advisers.

The success for the future plans of the president-elect depends on the choice of a competent and reliable team of advisers to help guide him through the complicated issues facing the United States. Only then will his true characteristics began to separate from the image cast by the media.

Specifically in terms of the foreign policy agenda, Obama needs to put the Israeli-Palestinian conflict among his top priorities, in addition to global peace initiatives and addressing global warming.

The Iraqi government's al-Sabaah newspaper said Friday many observers of American politics describe President-elect Barack Obama as the leftist of all leftists.

Obama and the left

Along with many of the liberals in the Democratic Party, Obama promised his supporters to pull all U.S. combat forces from Iraq, decrease America's dependence on Middle East oil, improve the economic situation and provide a clean environment and a good healthcare plan for all.

But each of these promises has its own counterpoints. A U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq, for example, is unlikely because of the activity of warlords in the country, and the security situation on the ground does not offer an environment conducive to redeployment.

Easing dependence on Middle Eastern oil, meanwhile, hinges on finding alternatives to the massive revenue generated by American oil companies operating in the region, and these companies are likely to oppose many of Obama's plans in the energy sector.

The economic situation in the United States possibly could improve after the $700 billion federal bailout package takes hold, but that could mean holding off on any developments for universal healthcare.

Unless Obama is able to take the lead and solve the interrelated problems, he can make no claims of change, the newspaper concluded.

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(Edited by Daniel Graeber.)