US embassy cable - 05BAGHDAD2357

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 002357 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR INR/R/MR, NEA/PPD, NEA/PPA, NEA/AGS, INR/IZ, 
INR/P 
E.0. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC, KMDR, KPAO, IZ, Media 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: IRAQ SECURITY ELECTIONS; BAGHDAD 
 
 
1. SUMMARY: The major themes in the daily newspapers on 
June.1 were the developments of the security and political 
situations. END SUMMARY. 
 
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TABLE OF CONTENTS 
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A. "Accidental mistake" (Ad-Dustoor, June 1) 
B. "In preparation for the upcoming elections" (Al-Mada, 
June 1) 
 
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SELECTED COMMENTARIES 
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A. "Accidental mistake" (6/1) 
 
Ad-Dustoor (independent) published a front-page editorial 
by Bassem Al-Sheikh about the arrest of the Iraqi Islamic 
Party leader: 
 
"The improper arrest of Dr. Muhsin Abdul Hamid has proven 
to be a mistake and the occupation forces were forced to 
respond to the arrest by saying it was unintentional. 
However, this arrest is a serious violation against Iraqi 
political figures and groups. This is not the first 
incident because many Iraqi politicians have been arrested 
under weak pretexts. We noticed that the arrest came after 
the Iraqi government announced its thanks to Dr. Hamid for 
condemning the terrorist operations that target innocent 
Iraqis. Dr. Hamid was arrested without reference to his 
scientific, patriotic and political position.  This 
represents a direct disregard for human rights.  Dr. Hamid 
was insulted, arrested by mistake, but in the end, they 
apologized to him. This story reminds me of the deposed 
dictator who used to execute innocent Iraqis and later 
realized that they were innocent. After he killed them, he 
sent a handwritten apology to the victim's family as if 
nothing unusual had happened. It seems that history has 
started to repeat itself.  We cannot believe that an 
American force could conduct an early morning raid on a 
house of a prominent figure like Dr. Hamid and then 
consider the action as an unintentional mistake. It seems 
that this arrest was an operational mistake based on 
incorrect information. Indeed, if this is what really 
happened this means that perhaps hundreds of detainees were 
arrested according to wrong information and they are still 
kept in custody.  The Iraqi situation can not bear anymore 
mistakes either intentional or unintentional." 
 
 
B. "In preparation for the upcoming elections" (6/1) 
 
Al-Mada (independent) published a last-page editorial by 
Muhammad Sa'eed Al-Saghar about the upcoming Iraqi 
elections: 
 
"We have successfully held elections, formed a national 
assembly and a new government. However, this accomplishment 
was our dream and we did not want to make this dream come 
true through a cesarean section. It is not our choice to 
make Iraq suffer from the current ethnic and sectarian 
crisis because this crisis is a result of the occupation. 
Meanwhile, we have to call for national unity and we must 
preserve social and national tolerance. Iraq has different 
ethnicities and sects.  No one group has the right to 
control it by itself because Iraq is for all Iraqis.  And 
all Iraqis must have equal rights. 
 
Before holding the upcoming elections the Iraqi people must 
weigh in on the ethnic power-sharing experiment.  This 
experiment was the basis for establishing the new 
government.  We want the next elections to be based on 
direct voting for the candidates.  We do not want these 
elections to be based on the electoral lists.  These lists 
may contain candidates we do not know about. 
 
We want efficient and loyal candidates who protect the 
interests of the people and the country.  We want 
candidates who will move Iraq away from sectarianism, 
racism, and tyranny.  We are all citizens of the new Iraq. 
The government must guarantee the rights of all people. 
This must be done by the law and not by people who have a 
monopoly on information." 
 
JEFFREY