13 May

By Daniel Kimmage

"Elaph" (Internet): Aziz al-Hajj examines the security situation in Baghdad and the lapses of the U.S. civil administration.

     "The Americans make excuses, saying that their forces in the capital are insufficient and not trained for police work. These excuses don't hold water. First, they could have recruited more former [Iraqi] policemen, after ascertaining that they had not committed any crimes, and armed them to make their presence meaningful and effective. Second, why can't security forces come from coalition countries now that power is in the hands of the coalition? They brought in hundreds of specialists to search for the weapons of mass destruction that Saddam's men hid so carefully and skillfully. Why weren't temporary security forces engaged? Why didn't Free Iraqi forces get broader powers and more freedom of movement, since they work in concert with the coalition? They are not independent, like the militias of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq [SCIRI]. His Eminence [SCIRI leader Ayatollah Muhammad Baqir] Al-Hakim wants them to be allowed to impose order. This is wrong, unless they coordinate their activities with coalition forces and subsequently submit to the authority of the Iraqi provisional government. Meanwhile, objections continue to postpone the formation of that government. The Iraqi people have suffered too long. And they are increasingly unhappy with the forces of the American civil administration."

Britain's "Al-Sharq al-Awsat": Basim al-Jasr rejects the "new media demagoguery."

     "Do some newcomers to the media believe that there is a rift between the Arab peoples and their rulers because these governments did not declare war on the United States, did not declare a jihad to defend Saddam Hussein's regime, and did not send guerillas to Iraq to commit suicide, opposing guided missiles, tanks, and helicopters with machine guns? They should stand aside for the rational, reasonable, democratically minded, and aware people in the Arab nation who lived through the debacle of 1948, the defeat of 1967, the 50 years of failed policies, gambits, and popular emotional outpourings. These are the people who should stand up and reject this new media demagoguery and the role it now plays in shaping Arab popular opinion."

Saudi Arabia's "Al-Watan": Muhammad al-Rumayhi, a Kuwaiti writer, reflects on comments by Yemeni Ba'ath leader Qasim Salam, who spoke initially of stunning Iraqi victories with many Americans dead and wounded and later ascribed the fall of Baghdad to betrayal.

     "Qasim Salam may have believed what he was saying, but rational Arabs have not yet sent their minds off on vacation. This is a mode of thought in which talk of victory takes the place of action. This way of thinking has destroyed a precious part of our Arab world. Ba'athism is not merely a group of people. It is a mix of wishful thinking and imagination that underscore its own isolation from reality. It ignores and befuddles people in a way that runs counter to the world we live in. It is a fascist ideology of knowledge and action for leaders who insist on hiding from the truth. Unfortunately, these ideas are still alive in our midst. They feed on intellectual infusions, partisan interests, and a distorted image of the world. Qasim Salim talks about the dead and wounded he sees in his imagination, and the leader of the popular imagination who destroys enemy tanks and kills soldiers. The explanation of the defeat as betrayal is a part of the Ba'athist lexicon. It makes reference to the decisions of Arab summits that the Iraqi regime was the first to violate. It ignores the simple truth that oppressed peoples do not defend their oppressors. And these ideas could yet bring us even greater disasters than those they have already caused."