The Iraqi daily Al Sabah wrote that millions of Iraqis have been feeling ashamed at the fall of Iraqi cities, especially Mosul — Iraq’s second largest city — to Islamist extremist Isil terrorists. The disgraceful collapse of the Iraqi army and the shocking escape of its commanders from Mosul without putting up a fight is a shameful episode that cannot be forgotten or forgiven by Iraqis.
The question that comes to Iraqi minds is how did the army collapse and handover Mosul without fighting? The Iraqis also wonder how the leadership dragged their country to this pit. Iraqis need to drop all ethnic and sectarian banners and unite under one banner to help their country get out of this dangerous impasse and regain Iraq’s dignity and honour.
However, the Saudi daily Al Riyadh seems to put the blame entirely on Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki. He seemed “weak and shameful” when he justified the fall of Mosul to radical Isil in his address to the nation. The “sectarian and authoritarian policies” adopted by Al Maliki have led Iraq to the brink of a civil war.
National consensus
No one else is responsible for what happened but Al Maliki and hence he should be removed from his post. The Iraqis have no choice except to find a political leadership that enjoys a wide national consensus to prevent it from sliding into a Syria-style war. The Iraqis should not play with the fire of sectarianism that will engulf everyone and should unite in the face of the “security challenge”.
Blaming America for its role, Egypt’s Al Akhbar says that what is happening in Iraq now is evidence of the nature of democracy the US is promoting. The ongoing unrest in Iraq, Libya and Syrian clearly signifies that the essence of the US democracy is creating chaos and armed conflicts and promoting partition plans and designs of division in the Arab region.
The US is using and training armed Islamist groups to create and spread chaos across the region. The Arabs must stand together and work collaboratively to thwart US designs in the region. Corrupt leadership
Emphasising the importance of restoring Iraq’s Arab identity, the UAE’s Al Ittihad says Iraq is not suffering from one problem, but from a complex interplay of multiple issues, most notably its incapable and corrupt leadership. This has brought the country to the brink of a sectarian war.
The Iraqis are stuck between two radical philosophies, Al Maliki’s government, backed by Iran, and its affiliated Shiite armed groups trained in Iran, and the fundamentalist Islamist groups, who diverted their hostility from the US towards Iraq’s sovereignty and unity. Iraq must have its Arab identity restored, and move away from sectarianism.
Al Maliki should abandon his dream of remaining in office for a third term, since his thirst for power will undermine Iraq.
Meanwhile, the London-based Arabic daily Al Hayat believes the current developments in Iraq demonstrate that the war in Syria and the war in Iraq are one, but the only difference is that the US supports the Iraqi regime against Isil while it strives to weaken the Syrian regime.
The US is with Iran in Iraq and against Iran in Syria. This is a suspicious and perplexing scenario. The issue in Syria and Iraq is the same and requires the same solution: One that begins in Damascus and ends in Baghdad.
