US embassy cable - 05BAGHDAD3569

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 003569 
 
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: DAILY IRAQI WEBSITE MONITORING - AUGUST 28, 2005 
 
SUMMARY: Discussion on the Constitution was the major 
editorial theme of Iraqi, Arabic language websites on August 
30, 2005. END SUMMARY. 
 
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TABLE OF CONTENTS 
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A. "Positions Worthy of Support: Case Studies of Abid 
(Slave) Mutlag Al-Jaboori, Nuri Al-Rawi, and Colleagues" 
(Iraq4all, 8/30) 
B. "Sunni Arab Representatives and Legitimacy" (Al-Anbar, 
8/30) 
C. "A Constitution or a Political Platform?" (An-Nahrain, 
8/30) 
 
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SELECTED COMMENTARIES 
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A. "Positions Worthy of Support: Case Studies of Abid 
(Slave) Mutlag Al-Jaboori, Nuri Al-Rawi, and Colleagues" 
(Editorial by Samir Ubaid, Iraq 4 All News Website 
(http://iraq4all.org) 
 
"Real men rise to the occasion during difficult times and 
crises while half-men are known by their style of 
confrontation. This period is presenting us with examples of 
half-men who have reached a state where they are demanding 
the division of the country and its wealth according to a 
basis the world has not heard before. 
 
President Bush's representative - Khalilzad - says the 
constitution is a unique example in the region. And we say 
yes, it is. It's the only Zionist, Persian constitution in 
the region that will divide Iraq's land, people, stones, and 
create conflicting states and protectorates, achieving what 
Zionist leaders have called for hundreds of years ago-it's 
on the verge of realization in Iraq. 
 
Here we have half-men struggling among themselves to be the 
ones to carry the plate that holds the head of Iraq to be 
presented to Bush, Sharon, Rumsfeld, and Cheney. 
 
But Iraq is a land that gives birth to the great and 
courageous, and eradicates others of a different nature, so 
these half-men will be eliminated with their masters, and 
Iraq's wealth will be the flare that burns them and their 
descending generations. 
 
So take your stand in the face of President Bush, Rumsfeld, 
and Sharon's constitution and say "No" to bring down the 
mutant document and those who wrote it, and act like men who 
weren't restricted in their positions by their posts, such 
as (Salih Al-Mutlag, the Deputy PM who was forced to accept 
the post, and Nuri Al-Rawi, the Minister of Culture and a 
man of national principles, Ezhar Al-Sheikhli, the 
constitutional expert and Minister of Women's Affairs, Saad 
Al-Hardan, Minister of Provincial Affairs, and Osama Al- 
Najafi, Minister of Industry). These people issued a 
statement rejecting dangerous elements in the coming 
constitution, and were accompanied by many other honorable 
National Assembly members and anti-occupation organizations 
including the Sadr Movement, the Islamic Scholars' 
Association, tribal and religious movements, the National 
Dialogue Council, the Sunni gathering, the Islamic Party, 
and other parties and movements throughout Iraq. 
 
Don't dither over secondary issues, and let your goal be a 
unified Iraq which encompasses all Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen, 
Muslims, Christians, and others. 
 
We hail the honorable people for whom this article was 
meant, all those who have expressed their position 
courageously, and those who will reject the constitution for 
a more civilized and moderate document free of occupation." 
 
B. "Sunni Arab Representatives and Legitimacy" 
(Editorial by Ali Al-Nadawi, Al-Anbar Website (http://www.al- 
anbar.com) 
 
"Not a day seems to pass without a Sunni representative 
talking about the constitution and attacking the elected 
National Assembly and its designated constitutional 
committee accusing them of illegitimacy. 
 
Yesterday I was watching Al-Hurra's coverage of the 
constitution when a heavily   bearded man appeared before a 
crowd of journalists saying Sunni representatives have 
rejected the draft and that it is illegitimate. 
I personally have many reservations about the draft and hope 
it will not be approved, but what this man said sent my mind 
in motion, for he was not elected nor appointed and I, the 
Sunni who this man is supposed to represent, have never seen 
or heard his name. 
 
By his appearance he is a Wahhabi, to which I have no 
objection, but when did the Wahhabi doctrine come to 
represent the majority of Iraq's Sunnis? 
 
When the `Sunni representatives" or "the excluded powers," 
though I support neither descriptions -  rejected the 
constitution, they did so on the basis that no Sunni would 
consider important except for the notion of federalism which 
might incite some fears due to the muted interpretation of 
the concept presented by "Sunni representatives." 
 
Iraqi Sunnis, whom you claim to represent, couldn't care 
less about the Ba'ath Party as long as no innocent people 
are punished, nor do they demand Islam as the sole source 
for legislation, especially since clerics (both Sunnis and 
Shiites) could never agree upon a unified Islamic law which, 
if realized, would have spared Iraq many of its current 
crises. 
 
The government made a mistake by choosing these members. We 
have seen how the majority of voters in Fallujah and other 
areas voted for Allawi's list dismissing any sectarian 
considerations. Iraq's future is related to the manner 
through which Iraqi Sunnis will deal with the constitution 
and elections, and I am not calling for voting in favor of 
the constitution, but only to take an Iraqi and not a Sunni 
position towards the draft." 
 
C. "A Constitution or a Political Platform?" 
(Editorial by Jafar Al-Husaini, An-Nahrain (The Two Rivers) 
Website (http://www.nahrain.com/) 
 
"Unfortunately, the permanent constitution which a lot of 
Iraqis waited for was written in the mindset of the moment 
and as such it's closer to a political platform than a 
constitution. 
 
A constitutional lay person would usually recommend the 
inclusion of a few principles and a lot of rules. More 
important than principles though are the mechanisms that 
implement these rules and maintain them. 
 
The problem, in the difficult circumstances Iraq is 
experiencing, is a real lack of crisis among all parties. 
Lawmakers were busy with slogans imbedded in the 
constitution and concentrated on them more than the rules 
themselves. 
 
From the beginning the Kurds insisted on the right of self 
determination and they treated it like an entitlement that 
couldn't be touched. Such an issue doesn't need an article 
in the constitution because when they will decided on self 
determination or `separation,' call it whatever you want, 
there is no need for a constitutional article. Any group or 
people in the world don't need permission from others when 
they decide on their self determination. 
 
Sunnis Arab have insisted that Iraq is a part of the Arab 
nation, and there simply has not been nor will there be any 
constitutional law or article to prevent anyone from voting 
on unity. The other example I will recite from a Shiite who 
insisted on rooting out Ba'athists. This is a case that 
should be settled over the next two years by referring 
former regime criminals to justice without mercy or delay 
while for others who were forced to join the party, I don't 
thing it's appropriate to call them Ba'athists. 
 
It would have been better for lawmakers to benefit from the 
1925 and 1958 constitutions since both of them were free 
from slogans and included only the laws to define 
authorities. In any case, I think the permanent constitution 
needs a miracle in order not to be rejected by three 
governorates, not because it contains lots of gaps but 
because there is a real crisis in trust among Iraqis today." 
 
Khalilzad