US embassy cable - 05BAGHDAD3782

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 003782 
 
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, Terrorism 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: IRAQI GOVERNMENT, CONSTITUTION, TAL 
AFAR; BAGHDAD 
 
SUMMARY: Discussion on the Constitution and Terrorism were 
the major editorial themes of the daily newspapers on 
September 13, 2005. END SUMMARY. 
 
------------------------------ 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
------------------------------ 
 
A. "Terrorism's Sources" (Al-Adala, 9/13) 
B. "Humanitarian Visit" (Al-Bayyan, 9/13) 
C. "The Marginalization of Culture in the Draft 
Constitution" (Al-Mashriq, 9/13) 
D. "The Constitution and the Referendum" (Al-Sabah, 9/13) 
 
SELECTED COMMENTARIES 
--------------------------------------- 
 
A. "Terrorism's Sources" 
(Al-Adala, no bias, affiliated with SCIRI led by Abdul Aziz 
Al-Hakim, published this page-three editorial by Dr. Ali 
Khalif) 
 
"There is no doubt that terrorism emanates from different 
sources, some of which are material and other immaterial. 
Terrorists are trying to spread their ideologies throughout 
the world by manipulating emotions and beliefs. At times 
they take advantage of unique situations in countries, such 
as Iraq, to attract simplistic minds, luring them into 
terrorism. 
 
"Iraqis however have seen through these types of ideologies 
and we are calling on them to fight the internal and 
external sources of terrorism. The Iraqi Minister of Defense 
demonstrated that Tel Afar was a haven for terrorists and 
their weapons caches. There is no doubt that there are many 
internal sources for terrorism that we must eradicate 
because they are inter-related with external terrorist 
groups and we must ensure that we eliminate terrorist 
hotspots to prevent terrorists from slipping away and hiding 
in other cities as has occurred before. The problem is that 
we have to deal with those who support and provide refuge 
for terrorists because they are the real danger. It is 
unreasonable to expect that foreign terrorists who come to 
Iraq can conduct operations without an incubator or local 
cover. All of us need to fight terrorist ideologies and 
those who incite terrorism." 
 
B. "Humanitarian Visit" 
(Al-Bayyan, affiliated with the Al-Dawa party led by the PM 
Al-Ja'afari, published this unattributed editorial about the 
Prime Minister's visit to Tal Afar) 
 
"The visit of Prime Minister Al-Ja'afari to Tal Afar 
indicates his determination to stabilize security and peace 
in the city and its environs. His visit comes directly after 
the wide-scale military campaign that was conducted, jointly 
by the heroes of our Iraqi armed forces in the Ministries of 
Defense and Interior, to eradicate terrorist activities in 
Tal Afar. This campaign was designed to restore stability 
and security to frightened citizens who have suffered from 
terrorist acts for more than three months. 
 
"The government has worked hard to solve the problem 
peacefully by asking for help from tribal leaders and city 
residents, and holding negotiations before deciding to 
implement a plan to cleanse terrorists from the city. This 
visit indicates that Al-Ja'afari cares about his people and 
demonstrates the humanitarian face of the relationship 
between the leader and his people. Terrorists exploited the 
location of the border town of Tal Afar to bring murderers 
and suicide bombers into the city to commit genocide against 
its residents. Terrorists wanted to sow sectarianism and 
foment disunity among the Iraqi people in Tal Afar. But, 
today, they have been defeated by the Iraqi people and the 
courage and intelligence of Iraq's leadership." 
 
C. "The Marginalization of Culture in the Draft 
Constitution" 
(Al-Mashriq, independent, anti coalition, published this 
page-ten editorial by Abdul Jabbar Al-Samara'ee) 
 
"We had hoped that the constitution drafters would have paid 
more attention to culture but unfortunately we are 
disappointed because we haven't found anything in the 
constitution that mentions or considers culture. It seems as 
if Iraq lacks culture and hasn't been the cradle of 
civilization several thousand years ago. However, we suggest 
that the draft constitution forbid government restrictions 
on culture. In addition, we must not be subject to foreign 
culture--we must depend on our own indigenous Islamic and 
Arab culture. We must also prevent any attempt to impose any 
foreign language on our country. We have to prevent regional 
dialects from being used in the arts and on television 
series because dialects weaken the essence of the Arabic 
language which consequently will lead to a deterioration of 
our Arab identity. 
 
"It is necessary for civil society organizations to be 
responsible for promoting culture, preserving our heritage, 
and maintaining the distinctness of Iraqi society. The 
government must not disseminate or encourage sectarian, 
denominational, or ethnic segregation of culture; all 
educational curricula must be reviewed to ensure this. We 
must be open to developed countries and cultures. I think 
the new Iraqi constitution must call for strengthening 
culture in order to make the country stronger. Iraqi people 
must be equipped with culture so that they can defeat its 
misappropriation by terrorists. In the end, we want to 
preserve the morals of our culture because if a nation loses 
its morals then it will lose its identity." 
 
D. "The Constitution and the Referendum" 
(Al-Sabah, independent, published this page 25 editorial by 
Adnan Sherkhan) 
 
"It is rare that political groups achieve all of their 
demands in democratic systems of governance. Dictatorial 
regimes, on the other hand, install the dictator as guardian 
of the people, one who enacts legislation that suits him and 
forces people to obey his orders. Multiculturalism in a 
country like Iraq makes it impossible to reach a consensus 
that can satisfy every group. Some groups objected to the 
draft constitution because it didn't contain certain issues 
they felt were necessary to include in the constitution. 
 
"President Talabani said that the constitution's articles 
can be amended in the future and that everything can be 
changed except for the holy Qu'ran. We understand that the 
Iraqi people have a right to peacefully demonstrate and 
express themselves publicly therefore those who wants to 
reject the constitution must use their democratic rights to 
do so. With a two-thirds vote in three provinces, voters can 
reject the constitution as permitted under the TAL. However, 
we do not understand why some of those who want to reject 
the constitution hoisted Saddam's picture in their 
demonstrations. 
 
"There have even been some threats from these groups who 
claim they will burn the land if the constitution is 
ratified. It seems that there are still some people who have 
dictatorial thoughts. Nevertheless, the Independent 
Electoral Commission has set October 15 as a date for the 
referendum. Therefore, we have to quickly reach an agreement 
on the draft constitution so that the United Nations can 
print millions of copies and distribute them with ration 
cards. We must also begin a national campaign to educate 
people about the articles of the constitution. If we 
continue to have major disputes about the constitution Iraqi 
citizens will not benefit from it; we hope that national 
media outlets, civil society organizations and political 
parties will take responsibility for educating citizens 
about the constitution." 
 
SATTERFIELD