Four years later, Arab world united in condemning US

Four years after the fall of Saddam Hussein, press opinion across the Middle East is united in its condemnation of the invasion of Iraq as an unmitigated disaster.

Most commentators accuse US President George W Bush and his allies of turning the country into a “republic of real fear”, although some do describe the Iraqi insurgency as a shining example of resistance to foreign occupation.

IZZ-AL-DIN AL-DARWISH IN SYRIA’S TISHRIN:
The US administration insists on swimming against the tide and continues to deceive the American public by lying about the war against Iraq and its foreign policy. It should… publicly admit its mistakes and apologise to the Americans and the Iraqis before it is too late.

IRAN’S REFORMIST E’TEMAD-E MELLI:
It is time we asked about the cost of toppling Saddam. Bush and his team have upset the balance of the region and caused its people enormous pain. The consequences of the Americans’ imprudent attack on Iraq are irreversible.

GHASSAN SHARBAL IN PAN-ARAB AL-HAYAT:
Four years on, there are as many deaths as there are palm trees in Iraq. George Bush committed a great foolishness that brought catastrophe to the nation of Iraq and long-term damage to the security of the region and the world.

PAN-ARAB AL-ARAB AL-ALAMIYAH:
Four years on from the fall of Baghdad, no-one among the Iraqi people has emerged carrying white … flags, as Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Tony Blair dreamed they would.

ABD-AL-BARI ATWAN IN PAN-ARAB AL-QUDS AL-ARABI:
Today, on the fourth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad, Iraq is experiencing the worst conditions it has ever seen. There is no water, electricity or security, no schools, universities or hospitals. The only things readily available are graves and mortuaries. Iraq today is a republic of real fear, whose people are escaping in hundreds and thousands. It is living through the worst kind of torture and death.

SAUDI ARABIA’S AL-WATAN:
After four years of occupation, the facts, figures and course of events show that the biggest loser is the Iraqi people. A single glance at Iraq on the anniversary of its occupation is enough to know the magnitude of the humanitarian tragedy Iraqis are living through.

AHMAD DAHBUR IN PALESTINIAN AL-HAYAT AL-JADIDAH:
The ninth of April is a sad day. Baghdad became the second Arab capital after Jerusalem to fall to invaders… Today, Iraqi resistance fighters are showing the entire world a great example of the prophecy which says that all occupations are destined to fail.

TAHIR AL-IDWAN IN JORDAN’S AL-ARAB AL-YAWM:
The Iraqi resistance has succeeded in breaking the United States’ arrogance of power and its theories about pre-emptive military strikes. It has also broken its claim to be in sole command of the world’s affairs.

QATAR’S AL-WATAN:
At a time when bloody chaos and destruction is spreading in Iraq, the US administration has no political solution to the crisis. With opposition to the war growing in the United States, we hope that the US president will reconsider his policy.

BBC Monitoring selects and translates news from radio, television, press, news agencies and the internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages. It is based in Caversham, UK, and has several bureaux abroad.

Original article posted here.