Iraq Press Roundup

Obama's options: between observance and implementation

Advisers to U.S. President-elect Barack Obama see the best way to remedy the failed political situation in Iraq is to cancel the project, al-Basaer of the Association of Muslim Scholars said Friday.

A delegation of top Obama advisers met in Syria with Arab leaders who raised concerns about the political environment in Iraq and in the region. The meeting concerned the impact of the incoming Obama administration and its efforts to repair the situation his predecessor, U.S. President George Bush, created.

The Obama administration, the newspaper said, is looking to get out of the Bush quagmire without harming American interests in Iraq and the Middle East.

Obama is looking for a solution in Iraq that brings stability to the country and guarantees a flow of principles different from the divisive policies Bush created. Obama asked, through these delegates, for Arab support when he takes office, adding he did not support the 2003 invasion and had lobbied for a troop withdrawal during his candidacy.

The delegation also explored ways to change course from Bush administration policies while securing the gains made in Iraq.

The incoming Obama administration, the newspaper said, has plans to change the situation in Iraq that give authority to Iraqi officials in an effort to bring domestic, not American, reform to the country.

Questioning Obama's choice of Clinton as secretary of state

It is unclear if U.S. President-elect Barack Obama chose Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., as his secretary of state because of gender or racial concerns, al-Sabaah al-Jadeed said Friday.

Clinton used rhetoric that embraces a degree of pragmatism when she asked for international support to help solve crises around the world.

Obama's former rival insisted in recent speeches, however, that the United States is still the lone superpower with the ability to bring change to the world and warned of instability if other nations did not cooperate, the newspaper said.

The Iraqi people only know Clinton as the wife of former President Bill Clinton, prompting some to wonder if she is comparable to current Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Obama, however, maintains Clinton is a capable leader with the ability to change U.S. foreign policy in a more moderate and understandable fashion.

2008 brought diplomatic relations to Iraq

Iraq witnessed improvements in regional and international relations following marked setbacks following the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, the daily newspaper al-Adala said Friday.

Improved diplomatic relations for Iraq are a reflection of the willingness of the international community to embrace ties with the new government in Baghdad. Many delegates paid visits to Iraq in 2008, including Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, King Abdullah II of Jordan and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Many of Iraq's neighbors are seeking renewed economic and political ties with Baghdad in an effort to open doors that have been closed for years, the newspaper said.

Meanwhile, U.S. officials, from President-elect Barack Obama to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and President George Bush himself, solidify that notion that Iraq is, and always was, the window of the Middle East to the outside world.

--

(Edited by Daniel Graeber)