Shebab Al Iraq newspaper said Tuesday in its editorial titled "The unseen face of the liberation of Iraq" that when one complains about how negative the situation in Iraq has become, some people say Iraqis are paying the "price of democracy."
The editorial said many people feel the Americans liberated Iraq from the worst dictatorship in the history of the region and brought democracy to Iraq.
"It is the people who suffered the terror of Saddam's government and spent their lives in prison before the United States invaded who praise the U.S. invasion," the paper said.
The paper said the current political and religious parties in the government made clear their points of view on this matter.
"Iraqi President (Jalal) Talabani invited the United States to establish permanent military bases in Iraq as a payback for the liberation even when he doesn't have the right to invite them without taking into account the view of the people of Iraq," the paper said.
It said political and religious parties also deny the fact the United States has any designs on Iraq's oil wealth or that oil was the goal during the 2003 invasion.
It said that beyond the colorful picture the occupier drew of U.S. democracy and freedom, there is the unseen image that represent the reality of U.S. goals and dangers.
"The liberated in Iraq either haven't discovered the real picture yet or they credit it as a price for their liberation," it said.
In clarifying what it saw as the U.S. greed in Iraq, Shebab Al Iraq said the U.S. Congress issued legislation that places some American oil companies "above the law" and excludes certain companies from accountability against any environmental pollution in Iraq.
"Another sign of the United States greed," the paper said, "is the oil-for-food program, which was an open check for U.S. companies to invest on the account of the Iraqi civilians."
The paper said U.N. Security Council Resolution 1483 made it clear the United States and Britain are defined as occupying forces and, according to the Geneva Conventions, occupation forces are responsible for providing not only security and safety, but also daily needs such as healthcare.
"The occupiers left the borders wide open to terrorists, hijackers and criminals to come in and destroy our country … they forced the people whom we are in need of to immigrate, especially doctors," the paper said.
It said a study conducted by the University of Basra in cooperation with the Environment Administration Affairs revealed that three deformed infants were born each day in the three southern cities, Basra, Umara and Nasirya. It said the deformations seen now were different than the one during 1991. It urged attention to the serious effects of the weapons used by the coalition forces in 2003.
"The number of deaths because of leukemia increased from 35 in the year of 1997 to 74 in every 100,000 people in the year 2003, which if proves anything, shows the environmental effect of depleted uranium used in the war," it said.
The paper concluded that one of the mistakes the United States committed was insulting Iraq and its history.
"It will not be easy for Iraqis to forgive the United States for the suffering they took after the overthrow of Saddam's government. … This war that ended with the destruction of the state of Iraq, a wound that will take centuries to be healed."
