Arab, Iranian press see Iraqi 'resistance'

Arab and Iranian papers in general agree that the United States has become bogged down in Iraq and is facing genuine resistance.

They point to the alleged acquiescence of Arab governments and US insensitivity.

The resistance in Iraq is a candle in the darkness facing the Arabs at present. It is also the beginning of an awareness to confront US injustice. Whoever opposes this resistance or doubts it is opposed to this people's history and nobility in human annals. When we see the USA releasing the 11 Turkish soldiers for fear of the anger of their government and people, we feel ashamed to be Arabs. We also wish we had remained under the Turks' injustice [Ottoman rule], because our situation might have been better than it is now under the rule of regimes that claim to promote freedom.

Al-Quds Al-Arabi - London-based

---

The British and US forces have lost more during the peace than in the war. Why has Washington not taken the necessary steps to stop its forces from being repeatedly attacked, whether in Baghdad or the provinces? The painful truth is that all sides involved in the Iraqi issue are in a quagmire. As long as the USA has decided that it is occupying Iraq, the only way to reject the occupation is by resistance. Every war that ends needs peace, but the US-British war on Iraq was different. What is happening in Iraq today is part of the faltering of a war that began and ended, but where tragedies are yet to end.

Al-Hayat - London-based

---

Three months after the fall of beloved Baghdad into the hands of the aggressors, the US forces know that they have fallen into a swampy ditch and don't know how to get out. This is because of the Iraqi resistance, which has proved to the world and to Arabs in particular that they reject the occupation. Bush and his forces thought that they were on a pleasure trip and that the Iraqis, who have been under the worst dictatorship for more that 35 years, would open their arms to welcome them. But the wind has blown, bringing with it what the Americans did not want. The Iraqi resistance is now stabbing the arrogance of American cowboys.

Al-Bayan - United Arab Emirates

---

The USA considers its domination of this region to be necessary to consolidating its control and directing the "World Order which is now being formulated" by improving its competitive potential as the biggest power on earth, especially in the framework of combating challenges to its attempts single-handedly to run the world.

Al-Watan - Kuwait

---

Perhaps for the first time the American imperialists have realized that running a state is much more difficult than conquering one. They therefore went to the British imperialists to learn from their experience of over 200 years. At any rate, it is clear that their days in Iraq will turn into dismal nights, as Muslims of the world lose their fear of American awe.

Resalat - Iran

---

The Iraqi Olympic competitors have to swim in the Tigris to prepare themselves for the competition, because the American troops have monopolized the only Olympic-size swimming pool of Baghdad.

Kayhan - Iran

---

BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.