CAIRO, June 1 (UPI) -- A semi-official Egyptian daily Wednesday blasted the U.S. forces in Iraq for arresting the head of the Iraqi Islamic Party.
Al-Gomhuriya said the American arrest of Mohsen Abdul Hamid and three of his sons on Monday without the knowledge of the Iraqi government confirmed the Iraqis were not ruling themselves.
The mass-circulation daily commented the move revealed the "truth of the political farce going on in Iraq under the name of democracy, freedom and human rights."
It added the release of Abdul Hamid and his sons several hours later and the U.S. apology for detaining them by mistake "adds another dimension to this farce that proved to the world the occupation authorities are the only ones holding the strings in the political game, just as they hold everything in terms of Iraqi resources being embezzled in billions of dollars."
The daily said it was "shocking" for Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari to insist on Tuesday on the need for the occupation forces to remain in the country when he should have demanded a withdrawal after Abdul Hamid's arrest.
