General David Petraeus, the commander of the US forces in Iraq made an appearance before the Senate Armed Services Committee and deliberated on the US plan for the occupied country. The message he sent was, American forces will stay in Iraq. Princess Diana made it to the headlines too and this time due to the inquest verdict. The 11-member jury proclaimed that her death was due to an accident, thereby laying to rest any conspiracy theory. Concerns over rising prices of basic foods were another issue made news this week. These issues were contemplated, analysed and commented on. We present here excerpts of editorials from the regional and the international press.
Petraeus speaks
Any notion of an early US withdrawal from Iraq were laid to rest by General David Petraeus who made it clear that there should be pause in the withdrawal of American forces from the country. At a Senate Armed Services Commission briefing, the Commander of the US forces in Iraq said that he could not predict when force reductions would resume or how many of the 160,000 American troops currently in Iraq were likely to remain in the country by the end of this year. He also warned that too rapid a pullout would undercut security gains.
"In other words, it remains clear that neither he nor Bush have a strategy for ending America's disastrous involvement in Iraq," remarked the International Herald Tribune.
Commenting on the events in Iraq of the past few days, the newspaper said: "First, Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki sent Iraqi troops into Basra to oust militias loyal to the radical Shiite cleric Moqtada Al Sadr, barely coordinating with Petraeus or his staff. More than 1,000 Iraqi soldiers and police refused to fight or deserted their posts. The battle ended with no winner, and only after the Iranians helped broker a ceasefire. Then the fight moved to Sadr City in Baghdad - Sadr's stronghold - as American and Iraqi troops tried to control neighbourhoods used by the militia to bombard the Green Zone."
It asked: "Among the questions Petraeus needs to answer is when will the Iraqi Army be ready to fight? And why should Americans believe that his strategy deserves more time or has a real chance of success?"
Arab News focussed more on the offer made by Al Sadr to disband the Mahdi Army militia if he was ordered to do so by Grand Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani.
"For all the doubts, this is a highly significant move, which suggests that Moqtada Al Sadr recognises the seriousness of the threat by Al Maliki that unless he gives up his militias, he will be unable to take part in the political process... The Iraqi police and army, for all their lackluster tactical performance against the militias in Basra, now stand out clearly as the only armed force that most Iraqis really want in their country. After five years of violence and bloodletting, people, including the Shiites of Sadr City, simply want peace," it added.
Diana inquest
The inquest in the circumstances leading to the death of Princess Diana finally put an end to the various conspiracy theories. The 11-member jury has confirmed what the vast majority already held to be true; that the British Royal was killed in a car accident due to the gross negligence of the driver and chasing paparazzi.
Gulf Times commented that "though costly in terms of time and money, the inquest into Diana's death has served its purpose; the Princess can finally rest in peace, and the pariah that has fed off this tragedy for the past 10 years can squirm in obscurity".
The Guardian stated that the jury had returned the only verdict that anyone could reasonably anticipate on the basis of the evidence.
"There was no conspiracy involving the Duke of Edinburgh, MI6, Mossad, visitors from Mars or the man on the grassy knoll.
"That's it. The end. Enough. Let it be."
The Times too took a similar line. "Tragedy and disbelief launched the process, but it was guided and dignified by the rule of law, whose verdict all concerned must now accept," it stated.
Concern over food prices
Food shortages and rising inflation in many countries around the world have lead to violence and calls to check the spiralling prices of essential goods. In a shocking report the UN International Fund for Agriculture predicts food riots will become common on the world scene for at least a year.
Commenting on the situation, the Christian Science Monitor said:
"Even in grain-rich America, wholesale food prices are rising at a rate not seen in 27 years. The most acute 'agflation', however, is in Asia and Africa, where food costs take up a higher proportion of family income."
It suggested that more money needs to go toward research in creating new strains of grain and toward better irrigation.
