A coordinated series of blasts hit Iraq this week, leaving more than 100 dead and some 200 injured. The explosions, on a day aptly called "Black Tuesday", shed light on the poor performance of the present Iraqi government, coming as they did after two other deadly blasts. In a thorough analysis of the nature of Tuesday's blasts, Nesrine Murad wrote that all the parties ,whether for or against the present political process in Iraq, held the Iraqi authorities responsible for the recent explosions that left dozens of innocent victims dead. However, she added, everybody is responsible to an extent for these terrorist operations. The authority is the prime party responsible because it failed to make any progress in genuine national reconciliation. Foreign occupation, especially the US, is the main source of the problem in Iraq because it divided the country into conflicting demographical areas. Meanwhile, sectarian and racist parties do not have any long-term plans nor do they act according to the interests of their country. Thus they would not care much if the country plunged into a bloodbath. Kurdish parties in the north openly declared their opposition to remaining part of Iraq and the Islamic parties, either Sunnis or Shia, behave as if the unity of their country is a trivial matter. This is the fourth Iraqi government that has failed to achieve the minimum in security and stability, leaving the country in a state of complete paralysis. The repeated explosions raised various voices from outside and inside Iraq calling for the resignation of the present government. Some of these voices came from within the Iraqi parliament. However, Murad wrote in the United Arab Emirates daily Al-Bayan that the door is still wide open for the present government to safeguard Iraq by opening a comprehensive, genuine and serious dialogue with all the parties. Wafiq Al-Samaraai wrote that what attracted attention in Tuesday's blasts was the horror on the face of Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki and his warning that Iraq was built on one pillar which, if it fell, would fall on all parties. The writer regarded the explosions as an indication of Al-Maliki's failure to understand the special nature of Baghdad that rejects any plans built on corruption and segregation. Al-Samaraai agreed with Murad that the government was responsible for Tuesday's explosions because it failed to run the state properly, enough reason to sack the government. In addition, the writer said the US probably had an excuse to stay in the heavily fortified green area because their stay was temporary. But there is no excuse for the Iraqi government to live behind separation walls, away from the civilians who they rule. It is an indication that they do not want to coexist with the people or emphathise with them. The explosions are a chance to look at the root causes of the Iraqi problem. Al-Samaraai compared the British occupation to Iraq during World War I when they established fair democratic bases and state institutions before holding elections. But instead of following the British example, the US rushed to hold elections before establishing the institutions that guarantee its success. They rooted social and national division. And it is the Iraqi people who are paying the price. "Isn't the present a moment of challenge that should prompt Iraqi officials to leave their fortified walls and live with the people in their hour of need?" Al-Samaraai asked in the London-based political daily Asharq Al-Awsat. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) held its 30th summit this week in Kuwait. The editorial of the Saudi daily Al-Jazeera said the world was watching the meeting of the wise leaders who gathered in Kuwait to resolve a number of problems and crises that are of concern to the Gulf as well as the Arab and Islamic regions. The edit added that the GCC focussed on three major economic projects: the initiation of a power network that would link Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar in the first phase. The United Arab Emirates and Oman would then join in the second phase. The second project is joint currency, while the third is the establishment of a railway network between the six Gulf countries. However, the edit added, these three projects did not distract the Gulf leaders from the impact of the financial crisis on the region. Although the Gulf was one of the areas least affected, the meeting discussed the present status of the Gulf states and ways to protect the economies of the region. The summit also dealt with intermingling political and security files as resolving one of them leads to resolving the other. Stopping external intervention in the Gulf region, for instance, would improve the security status in the Gulf states, the edit summed up. The editorial of the London-based independent political daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi differed with Al-Jazeera. It said the GCC, established 30 years ago, is still in the same vicious circle because it failed to achieve any of its political, economic and security aspirations. "The handshakes and hugs between the GCC leaders did not conceal the weakness that the council is suffering from these days in spite of the internal and external dangers facing its leaders." Perhaps the most obvious difference aggravating every GCC meeting is that of borders. The Saudi-Qatari border dispute, a chronic cause of disagreement in previous summits, was resolved. Nevertheless, Saudi-Emirate differences still have an impact on the summits, impeding any aspirations for monetary unity or security coordination among member states. Although the present summit managed to achieve success in initiating the united electricity network, it failed to draw a timetable for issuing one currency for all states. The differences over the united currency, as the edit added, led to the withdrawal of Oman and the UAE. Another problem was that the indefinite adjournment of the timetable was caused by a difference between Kuwait on the one hand and Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar on the other over linking the proposed currency to the US dollar. As a result of these differences, the edit concluded, the GCC is heading towards abysmal failure.
