29 August - 4 September

Compiled by Kathleen Ridolfo

Manama's "Al-Ayyam" (30 August): Ahmad al-Bustah argues in an editorial entitled "Terrorist Messages" that Iraqis must remain united in the face of terrorist attacks there.

     "It does not take much cleverness to discover who was behind the assassination of Ayatollah Muhammad Baqir al-Hakim in a mass massacre that claimed the lives of hundreds of innocent Iraqi people in a holy city such as Al-Najaf. The same thing applies to the terrorist operations that began after the downfall of the dictatorial regime with the assassination of a moderate shaykh, Abd al-Aziz al-Khoi.

     "Recently, the UN headquarters in Baghdad was targeted where one of the staunchest supporters of the Iraqi people, Sergio Vieira de Mello, the UN secretary-general's representative, was killed.

     "Earlier, the Jordanian Embassy in Baghdad was bombed. A few days ago, a failed assassination attempt against a senior cleric, Ayatollah Muhammad Sa'id al-Tabataba'i al-Hakim, took place, killing three of his bodyguards. This in addition to the bombing of oil pipelines and electricity and water-desalination plants and environmental sabotage, which the Iraqis vehemently denounced.

     "In the latest of these criminal, terrorist operations, a moderate figure, [Muhammad Baqir] al-Hakim, was assassinated. Al-Hakim once said: "Force must not be used unless all peaceful methods through dialogue and logic have been exhausted. But these methods have not been exhausted yet."

     "He also said: "We must exert legitimate and peaceful efforts to end the occupation. Those who foment feuds seek to destroy Iraq and add to its wounds, which were caused by the deposed tyrant, Saddam Hussein."

     "If the aim of the perpetrators of this terrorist attack is to increase people's anger at the American and British occupiers on the grounds that the Americans are responsible for maintaining security in Iraq, sowing hatred among the Iraqis toward the occupiers should not come through this mad killing of innocent people in cold blood and through threats to assassinate the transitional Iraqi Governing Council members and figures who fought against the former dictatorial regime.

     "It seems that the aim behind this organized terrorism is to foment sectarian and ethnic divisions, cause infighting among the Iraqis, and destroy the country.

     "Did Saddam not say once: 'The Ba'athists will give up power only when Iraq becomes empty of people'?

     "The enemies of new Iraq, be they members of the former regime or extremist Arabs and foreigners who supported that regime and claim to be fighting to make it achieve victory over the occupiers, seek to harm Iraq. They will not rest as long as Iraq, with its Arabs, Kurds, Turkomans, Assyrians, Muslims, and Christians, remains united.

     "The key question that now poses itself is whether the clever and mindful Iraqi people will be fooled by these terrorist operations and their goals or whether they will prevent the perpetrators from fishing in troubled waters and defeat them after carefully reading these messages, which can easily be understood."

Damascus' "Al-Ba'ath" (31 August): In an editorial entitled "U.S. Predicament Is Increasing," the daily newspaper discusses what it calls the deteriorating security situation in Iraq.

     "The occupation authority's predicament in Iraq is increasing daily in view of the increase in the resistance operations against this occupation and the U.S. and British forces' utter failure to provide security and restore life to official Iraqi establishments and consequently provide the bare necessities of life for the Iraqis.

     "The Americans have lately been talking about their predicament. What was a taboo subject until recently is now being gradually spoken about by members of Congress and State Department and Pentagon officials, and Washington is witnessing something akin to a vociferous debate in the quest for a solution to the crisis that its forces are facing in Iraq.

     "The ideas that are being broached are a drastic departure from the course adhered to by the president and the hawks of [the Bush] administration for a solution in Iraq. It is telling that the U.S. administration itself is adopting the same ideas that it rejected a month ago, especially concerning an expanded role for the United Nations in the crisis. [Deputy] Secretary of State Richard Armitage has officially spoken about the possibility of deploying a multinational force led by the United States.

      "Outwardly, the ideas that are being raised seem as if they are an attempt to spare the U.S. forces further casualties in Iraq after these casualties have reached over 200 dead since the start of the war. Besides, through its new stands Washington is trying to involve several states in this predicament so that the U.S. predicament will turn into an 'internationalization of the crisis.' More importantly, Washington has clearly recognized for the first time the failure of its policy in Iraq and its inability to move one step forward politically, economically, and security-wise.

     "This recognition is in and of itself important for reaching a United Nations-sponsored solution. The whole world -- especially the opponents of the U.S. war, such as France, Germany, and Russia -- has been following the difficult time the United States is having in Iraq. The stream of recent U.S. statements admitting this predicament might become a prelude to the possibility of expanding the role of the United Nations in Iraq and consequently to shortening the period of occupation by speeding up measures for establishing an elected government and preserving Iraq's unity and wealth. This is also an Arab goal that was announced by the foreign ministers of the Arab Follow-up Committee at the beginning of this month.

     "The Americans have so far been avoiding setting a date for departing from Iraq and enabling the Iraqis to form an elected government. However, it is clear to everybody that this withdrawal is the only way to reach a solution in Iraq. Without such a withdrawal all steps and initiatives will remain insufficient."

Cairo's "Al-Ahram" (31 August): Claims in an editorial entitled "The Al-Najaf Massacre and the Required National Unity in Iraq" that recent terrorist attacks in Iraq were not carried out by Muslim extremists, but rather the United States as part of its "divide and rule" policy.

      "The holy city of the Al-Najaf, where Imam Ali, may he rest in peace, is buried, has witnessed a horrible terrorist crime that claimed the lives of some 120 persons. Foremost of these was Ayatollah Muhammad Baqir al-Hakim, president of the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq. Moreover, some 200 people were injured when a car bomb, parked near the graveyard of Imam Ali, exploded as the worshippers were leaving the mosque.

      "Although those responsible for this tragic incident have not yet been apprehended, it was one of three incidents that were carried out in the same way. The other two incidents were the blowing up of the building housing the Jordanian Embassy in Baghdad and the blowing up of the UN headquarters in the capital city of Iraq.

      "The three incidents were carried out using car bombs. All three operations were carried out against parties with which the occupation forces were indignant. The first party was Jordan after hosting the daughters of Saddam Hussein. The second party was the UN after the statement made by the representative of the UN secretary-general in Iraq saying that the U.S. occupation of Iraq was humiliating and hurtful to the Iraqis.

     "Third and last, it was an operation against Ayatollah Muhammad Baqir al-Hakim after the initiation of the resistance operations in the Shi'ite areas where the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution enjoys a definite influence.

     "Meanwhile, some members of the so-called transitional Governing Council, such as Ahmad al-Chalabi, pointed the finger of accusation at those who were affiliated with the former Iraqi regime.

     "Nonetheless, the popular demonstrations that were staged in the Iraqi streets in the aftermath of this criminal action were unanimous that the occupation forces were to be held responsible for the incident. They noted that the incident was part of the attempts made by the occupation forces to pit the Shi'ites against one another, on the one hand, and to pit the Sunnis against the Shi'ites, on the other. This is part of the policy of "divide and rule," which was historically used by the occupation forces to dismember the unity of the people of the countries under occupation.

     "It is weird that the occupation forces, which are the main beneficiary of this incident, have laid the blame as usual on the Muslim terrorists. They have disseminated a propaganda that was aimed at further harming the international image of the Muslims. In fact, no one can deny that some Muslim extremists, who were carrying out acts of terrorism, had been raised and financed by Western parties during the war against the former Soviet Union in Afghanistan. In other words, the West, and specifically speaking, the United States, were to blame for this terrorism.

     "Without entering into the details of the terrorist crime in Al-Najaf, we can say that it is necessary for the Iraqi people and for their genuine, not imported, political and religious leaderships, to avert slipping into sectarian conflicts. They should unite their ranks and work together for the freedom and independence of their country on the basis of love for their country. They should also discard all the factors that undermine their national unity, which is the more significant support for regaining their independence and for building a free and democratic state in the Land of the Two Rivers [Iraq]."

Riyadh's "Riyadh Daily" (1 September): Condemns in an editorial entitled "Despicable Act" the assassination of Shi'ite cleric Ayatollah Muhammad Baqir al-Hakim and blames the United States for the lack of security in Iraq.

     "The assassination of the top Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Muhammad Baqir al-Hakim, who was killed by a car bomb in Najaf, was the biggest event after the earlier killings of Saddam Hussein's two sons. Hakim enjoyed a good reputation inside and outside Iraq. It is still unknown who was responsible for this attack. Some have blamed supporters of Saddam Hussein, others have pointed the finger at Shi'ites opposed to Hakim, and a third group believes that the United States must be blamed, as it failed to provide security in the country and protect its religious leaders.

     "To admit that Saddam still has the power to hit and that he was behind the killing of the Shi'ite leader means that one of the Americans' key objectives in Iraq has still not been met. If other elements in Iraq were responsible, suspicions will grow about the responsibility of the occupation forces in creating chaos in the country and at the same time ignoring this chaos. Hakim represented a moderate position in his cooperation with America. This may be one of the reasons for his assassination. This, again, may be the fate of anyone who dares to cooperate with America.

     "It is said that America has a mighty military machine but lacks an understanding of the nature of other peoples. The failure of America in protecting its own forces in Iraq and the Iraqi people will pose a major challenge to the Bush administration. Was the killing of Ayatollah al-Hakim an early warning to America and those cooperating with it, or was it meant to create conflict and differences between one sect and then spread this sectarian strife to other sects? Is it in the interest of America to get rid of a person like Hakim because he was close to Iran, fearing that an alliance could be reached between the Shi'ites in the two countries?

     "If we admit that it was in the interest of America to restore law and order in Iraq, we can rule out that America has a hand in the killing of Hakim. But if we consider the lack of security in Iraq, America will be the No. 1 suspect. What happened was a big crime. Not against a religious leader but against all Iraqis. This will deepen the differences between the different Iraqi groups. Iraq will remain unstable, particularly for the foreseeable future, and one day we may discover mass graves for those killed in car bombs in Iraq alongside other mass graves in the country."