Mid-East press mixed on Iraq summit

One Iraqi daily and some Arab newspapers are upbeat after the end of the Sharm al-Shaykh conference on Iraq's future, believing it offered a spark of hope for improving the situation.

Other commentators in Iraq and across the region argue that the summit did little except confirm the US as the major power in the country.

Iranian dailies say that the Bush administration failed in its attempt to gain international support for the continuing presence of US troops in Iraq.

IRAQ'S AL-MADA

It is a happy coincidence that Iraq should announce the elimination of Al-Qaeda's two topmost commanders in the country even as it receives from the Sharm al-Shaykh Conference the highest level of support - in moral terms at least- it has ever won in recent history... Between these two significant events, Iraqis stand at a historic watershed.

SAMIR AL-SHIBANI in SYRIA'S TISHRIN

The international conference presents a not insignificant spark of hope for saving Iraq from the tragic situation caused by the US occupation... The conference also represents an international keenness which it is difficult for the US Administration to curb or ignore... Understanding and admitting the importance of Iraq's neighbouring states represents a realistic and logical beginning for a solution.

EGYPT'S AL-AHRAM

There is no doubt that the conference was a big step on the road to extricating Iraq from its current crisis. The final statement established principles that may help in solving the crisis... Foremost among them was the reassertion of the sovereignty and unity of Iraq.

JORDAN'S AL-DUSTUR

It is hard to specify the success or failure of the international Sharm el-Sheikh conference on Iraq with the participation of 60 countries and organizations, because its practical objective was not clear from the start, except for the announcement of goodwill intentions and the declaration of each side's political stance on Iraq's situation.

SABAH AL-LAMI IN IRAQ'S AL-MASHRIQ

The hopes of Iraqis are unlikely to be fulfilled except with Iraqi hands and at a purely Iraqi Sharm al-Shaykh... As we have learned from the evolution of the Palestinian question, the more the Sharms convene, the worse the problem will grow. In political lingo, this is known as 'internationalisation'- the safest way to spoil the broth by getting too many hands involved in the cooking.

ABD AL-AMIR ALI AL-HASHIMI IN IRAQ'S AL-AKHBAAR

Iraq is in dire need of a compact with the US even before it seeks one with the international community, for the simple reason that the US has the key to resolving Iraq's problems.

MAZIN HAMMAD in QATAR'S AL-WATAN

The Sharm el-Sheikh conference was not a conference for neighbouring states to discuss ways of helping to restore stability to Iraq, but an international conference with one primary objective, which is to help the US create an atmosphere of calm, paving the way for its gradual pullout in a manner allowing it to retain a permanent military presence in this oil-rich Arab country.

RAFIQ KHURI in LEBANON'S AL-ANWAR

The image of the Sharm el-Sheikh conference does not show the whole picture of Iraq and its surroundings. Not all those who adopted the document of the International Compact on Iraq follow the policies they committed themselves to implement, including the Nouri al-Maliki government.

IRAN'S JOMHURI-YE ESLAMI

America's objective for the conference was to justify the occupation of Iraq and its continuation... The conference's other aim was to prepare the ground for unseating the government of Nouri Al-Maliki and installing a Ba'thist puppet government... The conference was a sterile event which was not even as effective as a pain killer to alleviate the pain that Bush Junior was suffering from the wound of Iraq.

IRAN'S RESALAT

Rice hoped that the Sharm-al Shaykh conference would create a common feeling among the participants towards the occupiers... But ultimately, the Sharm al-Shaykh conference can be described as the defeat of America's attempt to "internationalise the Iraqi crisis".

IRAN'S KAYHAN INTERNATIONAL

This goes out to the isolationists in Washington and London: Forget about the Sharm al-Sheikh Summit or any other regional security meeting on Iraq to which you should never be invited. Instead, be courageous, acknowledge defeat, preserve your lives, and leave Iraq immediately before further isolation and shame.

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