By Ayman Qinawi & Angy Ghannam, IOL Staff

CAIRO, October 20 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The Iraqi President decision to pardon all prisoners is an intelligent move in his attempt to avoid the U.S. strike, experts agreed Sunday, October 20. However, they asserted that the decision to reform the Iraqi regime must be genuine and must come from the Iraqi people, not imposed by any external forces, regardless of the ability of such maneuvers to avoid war.

"Any amnesty is commendable but Iraq has still a long way to go to improve its image in the U.S. and the West", said Mohammad Sayed Saeed, head of Al-Ahram office in Washington.

"The announcement of the pardon is an acceptable step but the Iraqi dictatorship regime must change", he said, in a phone interview with IslamOnline from Washington.

“There must be other steps taken by the Iraqi regime. Baghdad must take genuine steps on the road of national reconciliation, public freedoms.

"A committee must be formed to investigate into reports about the torture of prisoners, the abduction of citizens and the killing of others.

"Iraq needs a real political and constitutional reform process because without constitutional guarantees for public freedoms, the Iraqi regime would remain to be seen as a dictator regime”, he added.

Asked if the general amnesty that included all Iraqis, in and outside the country, would have an impact among Iraqis in exile especially amid press reports that U.S. President George Bush has authorized U.S. combat training of around 5,000 Iraqis in exile to join hands in the war on Iraq, the expert said the new pardon would not likely have any impact.

"Saddam has lost credibility in the world because of his crimes and he had also had ruptured all ties with Iraqis in exile", he added.

"His regime has been infamous for its lack of mercy, brutality and the excessive use of force against its citizens in addition to charges of torture inside prisons and physical liquidation", Saeed charged.

"If Saddam is to heed a sincere advice, he should work more on improving the image of his regime through other positive steps and initiatives in the political domain.

"This would make it even more difficult to the U.S. to wage war on the country", he added.

"The general pardon aims at thwarting the American war project through improving the image of the Iraqi regime", he said.

Asked if the new move would have an impact in the U.S. circles, he asserted it would have a positive impact but would not change the horrible image of Iraq in the U.S. and the West.

“It would certainly weaken support for and accepting use of force against Iraq,” he said.

"The general pardon has been seen in other Arab countries such as Libya where prisoners of conscience were set free and then hours later rounded up again", he said.

The expert stressed, however, that this step and similar ones would further strengthen opposition to the idea of regime change from outside.

"The world has never been in favor of regime change but Saddam has lost his credibility in the world", he said.

Another expert in the Arab affairs, who refused to be named, said the move seems an attempt by Saddam to fortify the domestic front and muster the sympathy of the Arab public opinion at a time of mounting U.S. threats to unleash war on the country.

On the other hand, Egyptian activist, Ashraf Al-Bayoumi said, “Any regime change in Iraq must come from within the country itself according to the will of the Iraqi people, not from the United states or Britain.

"The American interference in Iraq’s internal affairs under the pretext of introducing democracy or preserving human rights is a twist of facts," he added.

Asked about the possible American reception of Saddam’s general pardon, the expert said the U.S. administration would likely take the issue lightly.

"If the decision is serious and if it is carried out under the supervision of international bodies, especially the UN, this would make it difficult for any one to cast doubts on its credibility.

"The important thing about the general pardon is to block the way on the war camp", Saed said, adding that Iraq has taken some steps to improve its image but needs to do more to improve the general atmosphere and realize national reconciliation.

Asked whether the move would have a positive impact on the American public opinion, the expert asserted that the American public opinion’s knowledge of details is very limited.

"The Americans would not change the look with which they eye the Iraqi regime expect after a long period of time.

"For that to happen, Iraq must initiate national reconciliation efforts, enhance public freedoms, draft a new constitution, amend presidential election laws and end the ruling Baath Party hegemony on the country and the political spectrum", he added.