Az-Zaman used the incident as an opportunity to snipe at the prime minister, and to accentuate his “isolation” in the Arab community. Furthermore, the newspaper focused on the comments of an unnamed Saudi diplomat, who told the German News Agency that among the reasons that pushed the Saudis to reject al-Maliki’s visit are “his negative positions towards some Iraqi groups, his partiality for other groups, and his role in increasing Iranian influence in Iraq.”
The newspaper added that al-Maliki had tried, without success, to use US mediation to arrange a visit to Saudi Arabia. Instead, al-Maliki is currently on a visit to Oman, which Az-Zaman described as “insignificant” and “a protocol visit.”
Conversely, Al-Mada tried to exaggerate the importance of the Prime Minister’s visit to Oman, by devoting a hefty share of the front page to cover the official trip. Al-Maliki’s visit was featured prominently on the front page of al-Mada yesterday; and in today’s issue, a lengthy interview with the Omani vice-Prime Minister was also published on the front page.
Az-Zaman also reported that Abu 'Umar al-Baghdadi, the commander of the al-Qa'ida-linked “Islamic State of Iraq,” may be currently besieged by US and Iraqi forces in the city of Ba'quba.
According to the newspaper, an unnamed “high-ranking source in the Diyala police” affirmed that al-Baghdadi may be trapped in an area that is currently being searched by US and government forces. The neighborhood of Tahreer in Ba'quba has been a battlefield between insurgents and US forces for the last three days (with US air power being deployed to support the operations), the source claimed, and “intelligence data” indicates that al-Baghdadi may be residing in that very neighborhood.
In other news, pan-Arab al-Sharq al-Awsat reported that the Sunni Tawafuq bloc has spoken out against the proposed oil law. A statement by the political coalition announced that “Tawafuq did not wish to take a hasty position towards (the oil law)” but that, after consulting “Iraqi and foreign oil experts,” the bloc has decided to “announce its position.”
The Tawafuq statement described the proposed law as “flimsy” and “unconstitutional.” It also said that the law “does not bind the regional and federal governments.”
The announcement makes Tawafuq -- the third largest bloc in the Iraqi parliament -- the largest coalition to publicly reject the law, which has been fiercely defended by al-Maliki’s government and its political allies.
In al-Hayat, a report indicated that “Hamas-Iraq,” a faction that split from the 1920 Revolution Brigades has announced its political program. According to a statement posted on the movement’s website, Hamas-Iraq describes itself as an “independent group, with no ties to political parties and governments outside of Iraq.”
The statement also said that the movement “believes in armed struggle” and rejects the use of violence “for solving political problems between Iraq’s groups.”
Al-Hayat added, relying on “sources close to the armed groups,” that Hamas-Iraq has established alliances with several armed groups in the region north of Baghdad (between Falluja, Abu Ghreib and Saqlawiya), where attacks against US forces are frequent.
Lastly, Az-Zaman reported that the Iraqi President, Jalal al-Talabani, has expressed reservations against the building of walls between Baghdad’s neighborhoods, without calling for their removal. According to the newspaper, Talabani said, “I do not approve of this sort of barriers; I do not think that they are a good thing, we could build easier barriers instead.”
In parallel, the newspaper reported, US forces have decided to “modify” the design of the ‘A'zhamiya wall by using smaller concrete sections and barb wire instead of the cement walls. The residents of ‘A'zhamiya have “rejected these modifications,” Az-Zaman said, and asked that the wall be entirely dismantled.
