The US-led invasion of Iraq completes five years. Other than the execution of Saddam Hussain, the occupation failed to unite the Iraqis and brought only misery to the besieged people. It has now been proved that the Iraq war was a failure and its repercussions are felt in the US too - a weakening dollar and an economy in recession. In China, Tibet made headlines due to the crackdown on Tibetans who tried to highlight their cause ahead of the Olympics games in the communist country. These events were contemplated, analysed and commented on. We present here excerpts of editorials from the regional and the international press.
Fifth anniversary of invasion
Five years since the US invaded Iraq on the false premise that Saddam Hussain was manufacturing weapons of mass destruction, the war has now come to haunt Washington. The swift victory has now become a nightmare as the US sinks deeper in the Iraqi quagmire. In Iraq, instead of a working democracy and peace, violence, bombings and sectarian conflicts have become the order of the day.
"Mission still not accomplished," stated the New York Times. "These were hard and very costly lessons for a country that had emerged from the Cold War as the world's sole remaining superpower. Shockingly, President Bush seems to have learned none of them," it said.
Exhorting Americans not to repeat their mistake, it said: "It was clear long ago that Bush had no plan for victory, only a plan for handing this mess to his successor. Americans need to choose a president with the vision to end this war as cleanly as possible."
Commenting on the political speeches made by American leaders to mark the occasion, Washington Post said: "Political speeches on the war's anniversary have in common the promise of the impossible."
It extrapolated by saying that the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq prompted a flurry of speeches from President Bush and the Democratic candidates who hope to inherit the White House next year. Sadly, what they had in common was their failure to grapple with hard realities - beginning with the elusiveness of any clear or quick path towards Bush's promise of "victory", or that of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to "end this war".
Commenting on the role of Britain in the Iraq war, The Independent said the "totality of our failure is clear".
It stated: "When the invasion of Iraq was conceived, it was as an experiment in the transforming force of a confident superpower; an evangelistic Tony Blair trotted on behind. Removing a dictator was only to be the start; the objective was a benign and democratic Middle East - an environment in which Israel and the Palestinians could make peace, and energy exports were plentiful and secure. Five years on, the totality of our failure is clear. But worse even than that failure, perhaps, is the obstinate refusal of our political leaders to learn the obvious lessons."
Violence in Tibet
In Tibet, Chinese authorities clamped down on Tibetan protesters who were resorting to violent means to highlight their plight. There are calls now to involve the Dalai Lama to find a peaceful solution to the crisis.
Commenting on the issue, Saudi Arabia's Arab News wondered why the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and his administration did not long ago anticipate the possibility of unrest in Tibet in the run-up to the Games.
On a conciliatory note, it called for talks with the Dalai Lama to end the impasse. "The simple expedient would have reopened talks with the Dalai Lama earlier this year.... By ignoring him, they have fostered radicals who reject their leader's policy of nonviolence and thus made a rod for their own backs, at the very moment when they want the world to be focusing on their remarkable preparations for the Olympics," it added.
