US embassy cable - 05BAGHDAD2403

UNCLAS BAGHDAD 002403 
 
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 Reaction 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: IRAQ CONSTITUTION TERRORISM; 
BAGHDAD 
 
1. SUMMARY: The major themes in the daily newspapers on 
June 6 were the development of the political and security 
situations. END SUMMARY. 
 
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TABLE OF CONTENTS 
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A. "The constitution and the final date" (Ad-Dustoor, June 
6) 
B. "New page and an honest line" (Al-Adala, June 6) 
 
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SELECTED COMMENTARIES 
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A. "The constitution and the final date" (June 6) 
 
Ad-Dustoor (independent) published a front-page editorial 
by Bassem Al-Sheikh about the upcoming constitution: 
 
"Day by day we are approaching the deadline for completing 
the first draft of the constitution-August 15.  The 
Transitional Administrative law (TAL) determined that date 
and all the political groups that participated in the 
process ratified it.  The Constitutional committee wants to 
convince the representatives of Sunni groups to participate 
in the drafting process so that nobody can refute the 
document's validity.  We must ensue that all Iraqi sects 
are represented in the constitutional committee. 
 
Some groups have begun to demand that the constitutional 
committee be given more time.  This is to ensure that all 
Iraqi sects are represented. These groups call for 
postponement because they claim that it will ensure a wider 
representation in the constitutional committee. 
 
We are going through an important and sensitive stage in 
our country's development.  We must have a wise vision. We 
must be thoughtful and practice self-denial because we are 
drafting the future for upcoming Iraqi generations." 
 
B. "New page and an honest line" (June 6) 
 
Al-Adala (affiliated with SCIRI) published a fourth-page 
editorial by Ali Khalif about terrorism in Iraq: 
 
"The terrorist operations in Iraq are criminal and brutal. 
We feel surprised when some groups try to call these 
operations the actions of a resistance. These groups claim 
that they are resistance fighters.  They accuse the groups 
that disagree with them of distorting their honorable 
resistance.  If these groups are so honorable, why don't 
they appear in public and explain their actions to the 
Iraqi people? The truth is that what happens in Iraq is 
terrorism and those who perpetrate these operations are 
terrorists. There are attempts in Iraq to call this 
terrorism a national resistance. 
 
These groups contradict themselves because they say that 
attacking a U.S. military convoy is a patriotic deed. 
However, if they deliberately target civilians, they tell 
everybody that they didn't do it.  There is an important 
truth that everybody must realize.  What happens in Iraq is 
terrorism and it is against the political process. These 
terrorists don't want Iraq to move into the future.   There 
are patriotic people who wanted to participate in the 
political process and vote in the elections but they could 
not because terrorist groups threatened them. Hence, every 
Iraqi must call for unity.  There is no way to move 
backwards because Iraq has opened a new page and everybody 
must draw an honest line in that page in order to build our 
new Iraq." 
 
 
SATTERFIELD