The Kurdish Al Itihad Newspaper said Tuesday in its editorial titled "The military and politics" that the U.S. military has been repeating its criticism of the Iraqi government in a way that makes people wonder about the role of the U.S. forces.
"Most of the criticism focuses on blaming the Iraqi government either for the lack of local services or the slow process of reconciliation," the paper said.
It said there was no objection to criticizing the Iraqi government but "it is objectionable that U.S. military officers talk about politics."
Al Itihad said U.S. officers' political announcements reminded one of the struggles between the departments of Defense and State.
"In spite of the fact Rumsfeld has resigned and many people who had high positions in the Pentagon have disappeared, the conservative point of view has remained unchangeable," it said.
The paper said these criticisms become more severe when U.S. officers don't mention improvements in the security situation that Iraqis accomplished without U.S. help.
"The U.S. officers try to show that the situation in Iraq still needs U.S. forces," the paper said.
"The political criticism by U.S. officers helps the Iraqi government's opposition to grow as there is a gap between the Iraqi government and the United States, a gap that can be used by the opposition to press both the Iraqi government and the United States to more disagreements," the paper said.
It also said the U.S. military's involvement in politics could make the Iraqi military turn to politics, too.
The editorial concluded: "Opening the door for military men to interfere with politics means wasting all the sacrifices from both the U.S. and Iraqi side."
Shabab Al Iraq carried an editorial titled "U.S. improvidence," saying recently more than 10 Iraqis met with Richard Murphy, a former State Department official along with a former British ambassador in Amman, Jordan, to discuss reconciliation.
The paper said "the media revealed widely the arguments and fights among the Iraqis who were from different sides, yet no outlet mentioned the U.S. role."
It said Iraqis tend to argue more among themselves ignoring the fact "these arguments are rooted by the U.S."
"We have to remember that the U.S. administration less than 10 years ago didn't bother to investigate Iraq's situation or ask the Iraqis about the best way to manage Iraq," the editorial said.
It said the Americans thought "the Iraqis were asleep" and that U.S. Marines won't face any problems in Iraq. The editorial said for a few months after the invasion, the United States thought the situation in Iraq was normal.
"Everyday incidents proved Iraqi awareness and their confrontation of the U.S. presence has forced the U.S. administration to negotiate with all Iraqi factions, which means the U.S. is in real need to listen to the Iraqi people."
