Iraqi Flag Modified After Complaints

BAGHDAD — Iraqi leaders unveiled a modified national flag Wednesday after sharp criticism that a version presented earlier this week resembled Israel’s banner, but they stressed it was only temporary.

Governing Council President Massoud Barzani said it was important to replace the flag that flew under ousted President Saddam Hussein -- a red, black and green banner emblazoned with the words “Allahu akbar” or “God is great.”

“We cannot raise the flag of a party that committed many crimes against the Iraqi people,” Barzani said. “Mass graves in the north and south were constructed under this flag.”

The new design was more or less the same as the one announced earlier this week: two blue stripes along the bottom with a yellow stripe between them, and a crescent above them in a white field.

But the stripes and crescent were a considerably darker shade of blue than the original version published in an Iraqi newspaper, which showed the stripes as light blue.

Many said the light blue stripes were reminiscent of the light blue bands on the Israeli flag.

Council spokesman Hamid Kafai said the flag’s colors were not changed, but rather “the copies you saw in newspapers were not accurate.”

Barzani stressed the design was temporary. The U.S.-led coalition is preparing to transfer power to an interim Iraqi government ahead of elections next year.