US embassy cable - 05BAGHDAD3781

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 003781 
 
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 - September 13, 2005 
 
 
SUMMARY: Discussion on Tal Afar was the major editorial 
theme of Iraqi, Arabic language websites on September 13, 
2005. END SUMMARY. 
 
------------------------------ 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
------------------------------ 
 
A. "The Barbarian Invasions of Tal Afar: A New Record to Be 
Appended to the Lackey Government" (Kitabat, 9/13) 
B. "This is How the Program [Oil for Food] is Implemented: 
Oil to Maintain Saddam's Regime" (Al-Jeeran, 9/13) 
C. "The Balance of Terrorism in Iraq" (Iraq 4 All News, 
9/13) 
D. "How Long Will Iraqis Be Provoked?" (Iraqi Home, 9/13) 
 
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SELECTED COMMENTARIES 
 
A. "The Barbarian Invasions of Tal Afar: A New Record to Be 
Appended to the Lackey Government" 
(Editorial by Abd Al-Jubori - Kitabat / "Writings" 
http://www.kitabat.com/i8169.htm) 
 
"Every now and then we read statements and appraisals about 
the government and its members; that the next city to be 
invaded and destroyed is `this and that' while the innocent 
blood hasn't yet dried off the streets of cities and towns 
already destroyed. 
 
"It seems Al-Ja'afari's government, in collusion with the 
occupation brokers, enjoyed the taste of innocent and honest 
Iraqis who were martyred. They enjoyed watching the 
destruction and demolishment of Iraqi cities one-by-one 
after destroying Fallujah, Najaf, Buhriz, `Ana, Qaim, et 
al... while popular rage spread throughout Iraq as a result 
of the painful disaster on the Al-`A'emma Bridge which our 
people are still mourning. 
 
"Amid all this came the destructive military invasion of Tal 
Afar, a city of more than 350,000 people. Ten days before 
the barbarian military operation, the city endured a full- 
scale siege by the agent's pagan forces and Badr Corps 
elements that blocked all food and medical supplies from 
entering the city. They erected concrete barricades at all 
outlets under the backing of the tanks and materiel of their 
American masters. 
 
"The free men of the gallant resistance could oust the 
occupier if the outlaw's proxy wouldn't interfere and hinder 
any actions to expedite liberation. That is why they act 
like losers on the verge of defeat and set fire to and 
destroy land and property without regard to innocent life or 
the history of Iraq's civilization which they auctioned off 
at the lowest price. 
 
"Here lies Tal Afar crying out for a savior (from earth or 
heaven) from any sect or religion.can anyone respond to its 
appeal? What is the reaction from the National Assembly? Why 
does no one demand any resignations or a vote of no 
confidence? At least demand the resignation of the director 
of military operations, Sa'doun Al-Dulaimi. Wasn't Al- 
Dulaimi, the Minister of Defense, the propagandist and 
provocateur of the invasion and destruction? 
 
"What about Baqr Sulagh, the Minister of the Interior, one 
of Al-Hakim's followers. We can't demand his resignation, we 
understand his position and will even ask every member to 
keep their mouths shut because the Badr Corps will wait for 
him, outside the Assembly and they will reward him at the 
end of the session. 
 
"The lackey government had added to its record, with this 
barbarian attack on Tal Afar, of shameful acts. Tal Afar, 
God blesses you and blesses your good and honest people." 
 
B. "This is How the Program [Oil for Food] is Implemented: 
Oil to Maintain Saddam's Regime" 
(Editorial by Hamza Al-Shamkhi - Al-Jeeran / "Neighbors" 
http://www.aljeeran.net/viewarticle.php?id=22 582&pg=articles 
) 
 
"After the former dictator invaded Kuwait in 1990, economic 
sanctions were imposed on Iraq, but the bloody regime in 
Baghdad manipulated these sanctions and used them as 
economic blockades against the Iraqi people. 
"The oil-for-food program began in the 90s as a way to allow 
Iraq to sell oil in exchange for food, medical and 
humanitarian supplies. But some officials in the U.N. 
allowed this program to become commercial and corrupt. 
Saddam's regime was able to bribe brokers, mediators, and 
groups of Arab and foreign government officials at all 
levels. 
 
"All of those who hypocritically lamented Iraq's destitution 
as a result of international sanctions were partners in 
crime: in the crime of stealing Iraqi funds, destroying the 
national economy, and depriving its people from their 
wealth. They are obliged to return everything they stole 
through unlawful and dubious methods. There are documents 
and material evidence with names of people, governments, 
parties, and institutions involved in those crimes. 
 
"Today the Iraqi people have the right to sue for the 
tragedies resulting from the sanctions-by using ugly images, 
the killings of hundreds of thousands of children. 
The mercenaries who condoned Saddam's crimes and his wars 
are the same ones supporting terrorist elements, criminals, 
thugs, and enemies of the state. They have hindered the 
political process and any steps that contributed to 
stability, independence, and reconstruction. 
 
"This humanitarian disaster is one of the greatest crimes 
which Saddam's regime (allied with international 
organizations, local and international figures, Arabs and 
foreigners) has perpetrated and exploited-turning oil-for- 
food into a program that sustained his regime and allowed it 
to subjugate Iraqis for as long as possible." 
 
C. "The Balance of Terrorism in Iraq" 
(Editorial by Jasir Abdul Aziz Al-Jasir - Iraq 4 All News 
http://iraq4all.org) 
 
"It's the first time in Iraq that worshipers in the town of 
Zubair practiced their Friday prayers in the open instead of 
in the mosque for fear of being arrested by government 
commandos from the Ministry of the Interior. 
 
"And for women and children to be placed in camps after 
being driven out of Qaim while men were detained to later be 
screened for terrorists, is a new type of racial 
segregation. 
For the whole of Tal Afar's residents to be driven out and 
left in the open with no refuge other than the Turkish Red 
Crescent camps, and later to attack the city with warplanes, 
tanks, and artillery leaving bodies littered all over the 
place, among those who stayed in the city suffering from 
hunger and conditions threatening to create a humanitarian 
disaster, means that the general population was targeted in 
a city accused of harboring insurgents resisting U.S. 
occupation forces. 
 
"What happened in Zubair, Qaim, and Tal Afar awaits Samara, 
Rutba, and Ramadi after threats issued by the Minister of 
Defense in the new Iraq--to pursue the three cities that 
dared to announce their opposition to occupation. 
 
"On the other hand, all international terrorist gangs have 
found a battlefield in Iraq to settle scores with the U.S. 
in the game of global terrorism and in response to the U.S. 
administration's slogan, `You're either with us or you're 
with the terrorists.' 
 
"So, all terrorist groups using political Islam (Al-Qaeda, 
Zarqawi, and other extremists who lost their battles in 
Algeria, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Sudan, Afghanistan, 
etc.) have come to Iraq along with the intelligence services 
of numerous countries eager to settle scores with the U.S. 
And then there's those opposed to change and trying to 
regain what they had during the previous regime's era. 
 
"So all of the efforts of terrorists, extremists, and 
intelligence services have accumulated igniting daily 
terrorist battles with the aim of creating chaos and 
political confusion--these attacks are directed towards 
civilian targets represented by the new rulers of Iraq, the 
Shiites, with a clear goal of inciting a sectarian war 
between Sunnis and Shiites. 
"The truth is, despite the rationalism of Iraqis which has 
staved off civil war, these terrorist attacks have created a 
gap between Sunnis and Shiites and led to extremists from 
the opposing side assuming posts in the new Iraqi government 
leading to a state of balance in the terrorism afflicting 
Iraq." 
 
D. "How Long Will Iraqis Be Provoked?" 
(Editorial by Haidar Saeed - Iraqi Home 
http://www.iraqihome.com) 
 
"Iraq's history is full of heroic confrontations with 
dictatorships, especially during the fascist regime of 
Saddam. The uprising in March 1991 was a clear message 
illustrating this nation's love for freedom and democracy 
and the polling day achievement on Jan.1 was another page to 
be added to the archive of courageous confrontation--where 
Iraqis proved that elections were the right way to challenge 
the remainders of the former fascist regime. Over 8 million 
people voted yes for democracy, heading to polling stations 
in defiance of many threats which only increased the 
determination of Iraqis to prove their dignity was stronger 
than death and that the country of revolutions and the 
cradle of civilization will never yield to suppression and 
humiliation. 
 
"A nation reflecting such wonderful merits should be honored 
by those elected by the people, and we should not permit any 
violations or provocations. So the recent display of photos 
of former fascist regime members by a group of criminals and 
murderers should not be tolerated, nor should light 
sentences be handed out to criminals admitting to crimes of 
murder, abduction, sabotage, and rape, which is nothing more 
than another form of provocative practices directed towards 
the people. 
 
"The question asked by Iraqis now is: In whose interest are 
such provocations committed? And when will they be put to an 
end?  The blood of our people is priceless and demands the 
strictest punishments to be handed out to criminals. Any 
neglect of this demand will have serious consequences for 
those allowing themselves to provoke the nation." 
 
SATTERFIELD