US embassy cable - 05BAGHDAD3854

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 BAGHDAD 003854 
 
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, Terrorism, Media 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: IRAQI GOVERNMENT, CONSTITUTION, 
TERRORISM; BAGHDAD 
 
SUMMARY: Discussion on the Constitution and Terrorism were 
the major editorial themes of the daily newspapers on 
September 18, 2005. END SUMMARY. 
 
------------------------------- 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
------------------------------- 
 
A. "Our Disaster Is Not Only Reflected through Current 
Events but through the Silence from the Arab World and the 
International Community" (Al-Ittihad, 9/18) 
B. "The Constitution between Rejection and Acceptance" (Al- 
Sabah Al-Jadeed, 9/18) 
C. "A Legitimacy that Has Killed Us" (Al-Sabah, 9/18) 
D. "Revision" (Al Bayyan, 9/18) 
E. "Beware. The War of Authorities" (Al-Fourat, 9/18) 
F. "Democracy and Recognizing the Rights of Constituents is 
the Guarantee of a Country's Unity" (Al-Ittihad, 9/18) 
 
SELECTED COMMENTARIES 
---------------------------------------- 
 
A. "Our Disaster Is Not Only Reflected through Current 
Events but through the Silence from the Arab World and the 
International Community" 
(Al-Ittihad, no bias, affiliated with PUK led by Abdul Aziz 
Al-Hakim, published this page-three column, by Abdul Hadi 
Mahdy) 
 
"The widespread and violent activities that struck Baghdad 
last Wednesday and Thursday are no different from past ones 
but because of their repetition and devastation, all who 
care about the future of this country need to act quickly 
and act on moral and national responsibilities to halt the 
violence and end the suffering of innocent Iraqi victims. 
These violent events have no logic or ideology on which they 
draw upon. 
 
"Iraqis are steadfast people who history has enlightened 
with steadfastness and endowed with an ability for 
sacrifice. Iraqis were torchbearers and many followed their 
blazing light. They have fulfilled a basic role in helping 
others but the current events have left them alone in facing 
their tragedies and enduring the consequences-their Arab 
brothers are still asleep and have let the people of Iraq 
down. They actually need to see what is happening to this 
country rather than let it face car bombs, explosive belts, 
beheadings, and random murders. To them it looks as though 
Iraq is another planet and their silence is equal to 
condoning the genocide that Iraqis face. 
 
"Even the international community has abandoned Iraq--there 
have been only statements and promises from it and no real 
activity to help Iraqis through their tragedy. The United 
Nations has intervened to avert chaos and disasters in many 
parts of the world and what is happening in Iraq is more 
than significant than in many other places but the U.N. 
hasn't taken any action. So when anyone mentions the tragedy 
in Iraq our response is that the real tragedy is the silence 
and the abandonment of the Iraqi people. Unfortunately the 
internaioa community andour Arab brtherslok t evens 
i Iraq as f they were segments from an action film, 
underscoring their lack of care and concern. 
 
"If Iraqis are united in facing these endless tragedies they 
may be able to stop them but the point is, Iraqis don't like 
to see accusations and infighting on the part of the 
government-we've seen that this doesn't yield positive 
results. If the low performance of Iraqi security forces is 
the problem or the presence of MNF is a catalyst for 
violence then ultimately the problem is a lack of Iraqi 
unity. We don't need statements that raise the specter of 
sectarianism, which is what's been happening lately on the 
Iraqi street-sectarianism hurts us all. We need to think 
deeply about finding solutions for the problems within the 
Iraqi soul, and we need to avoid the narrow-mindedness that 
inhibits and constricts the future of Iraq." 
 
B. "The Constitution between Rejection and Acceptance" 
(Al-Sabah Al-Jadeed, independent, pro-coalition, published 
this page-eight editorial by Haidar Al-Said Salman) 
 
"The Iraqi constitution, written by the people's 
representatives, faces serious challenges. Differences among 
several political groups reflect directly on the 
constitution--conservatives are committed to principles 
which some might see as inappropriate in the new Iraq, while 
on the other side, we find liberals who see most of the 
constitution's items as the basis for a state of justice, 
law, and democracy. And between these two groups are Iraqis 
who are in a state of bewilderment and are the ones who will 
either accept or reject the draft in the upcoming 
referendum. 
 
"In such a case, we should make use of the time remaining to 
provide a simple explanation of the 153 items of the 
constitution, avoiding the political terminology that only 
experienced constitutional experts comprehend. 
 
"I'm sure citizens will find guarantees in the constitution 
that safeguard their lives and the lives of their children 
and will discover the doubts of skeptical parties will fail 
to stand in the way of a constitution that leaves the door 
open for future amendments and changes which should 
eliminate any fears surround it. Any careful reading of the 
draft leaves a good impression regarding its ability to 
address the diverse nature of Iraqi society and an air of 
transparency in dealing with the future. A new permanent 
constitution for the country will be the cornerstone for the 
political process and lay the tracks for the right path 
towards a better tomorrow." 
 
C. "A Legitimacy that Has Killed Us" 
(Al-Sabah newspaper, affiliated with the pro-coalition Iraqi 
Media Network, published this front-page editorial by Juma 
Al-Hilfi) 
 
"The only thing left to do is to indulge in a philosophical 
discussion with Al-Zarqawi about the legitimacy of shedding 
our blood and the blood of our children and families-- 
especially since this bloodshed is justified by jihad. 
 
"This is what some parties actually want, they no longer see 
any harm in brutal blood baths that victimize hundreds of 
innocent civilians, and they can't even raise a finger in 
protest to Al-Zarqawi, all they can do is to mention his 
name in reverence. These parties that have made a great fuss 
about jihad against the occupation don't even fear public 
announcement of their association with Al-Zarqawi; they only 
consider fighting the occupation through their satellite 
channel statements while their car bombs know better who to 
kill. 
 
"Hundreds of Iraqis have fallen during the last few weeks 
through car bombs and suicide vests that have killed only a 
few occupation soldiers; we need to discuss the legitimacy 
and the meaning of killing." 
 
D. "Revision" 
(Al Bayyan, affiliated with Al-Dawa, led by Al-Ja'afari, no 
bias, published this page-five editorial by Zainab Al- 
Khafaji) 
 
"The head of the Iraqi Islamic Party, Tariq Al-Hashimi, has 
accused the U.S. of marginalizing the role of Sunnis in the 
political process but I believe this marginalization is a 
result of their own actions in imposing conditions rather 
than requests which overlook the basic nature of the 
constitutional process which is the role of the people-Sunni 
actions are aimed at dragging Iraqis back 35 years. 
 
"So, any party seeking participation in the political 
process should take into account the well-being of Iraq and 
work on developing political dialogue with a long-term 
strategy for every topic discussed. Any requests should be 
supported by justifications that they'll serve the interests 
of Iraqis. 
 
"Therefore I believe that Mr. Al-Hashimi's statement is 
politically inaccurate and based on archaic and traditional 
political methodology such as unilateral decision making and 
excluding all others which isn't an approach that suits 
today's world. The political process in Iraq has revealed 
many examples of exploitation of the democratic environment, 
where instead of searching for common ground to unify 
different parties and groups the agenda has been to find 
points of difference that prevent any agreement." 
E. "Beware. The War of Authorities" 
(Al-Fourat, independent, secular, anti-coalition, published 
this page-three editorial by Abdul Zahra Al-Talqani) 
"Dear Sirs, 
 
"To you who have drafted the constitution and specified your 
authorities according to your posts: 
 
"Now that you have completed the draft and handed it over to 
the U.N. to be printed and distributed among Iraqis, you 
have no right to argue among yourselves about drafts that 
specify each person's powers. And if you are the ones who 
have transformed Iraq into democracy, you have no right to 
dispute what was previously agreed upon. 
 
"The world has watched us welcome the occupation to liberate 
us from dictatorship, and watched us loot our government 
buildings and civilization, watched us living in darkness 
with no electricity, and watched us blow up our oil 
pipelines. As if all of this weren't enough, the world now 
gets the chance to see our president and PM contest over who 
gets to represent Iraq at the U.N. to show their public 
speaking skills as they did before during King Fahad's 
funeral in August. 
 
"Why can't we reflect an image of a civilized nation going 
through a renaissance? We've clutched on to history until 
we've become a part of it. When will we move forward towards 
the present and learn from other nations, learn how they 
live, how they learn, eat, drink, enjoy life, make use of 
science and develop their world. 
 
"We have taught the world before, and now we need to learn 
from them; we were their teachers now they are ours, we need 
to learn how to live freely, and abide by the law. We need 
to learn how to run our country and replace our rulers 
peacefully; enough bargaining over our country--enough loss 
and bewilderment." 
 
F. "Democracy and Recognizing the Rights of Constituents is 
the Guarantee of a Country's Unity" 
(Al-Ittihad, affiliated with PUK, pro-coalition, published 
this page-eight editorial by Farhad Rashid) 
 
"The Japanese-American intellectual [Francis] `Fukuyama,' 
the End of History theorist, doesn't need to consider 
himself as a purely American citizen or to claim his 
Japanese ancestry since he lives in a country that treats 
him as a first-class citizen without regard to his national 
or religious affiliation. 
 
"This is an indication that the American government deals 
fairly and without any discrimination or efforts to force a 
citizen to change his national identity, which is what makes 
Fukuyama feel at home in America despite his Japanese 
origins-it also causes him to feel an allegiance to the 
country which grants him this right. 
 
"From this example, we can talk about the condition inside 
the Iraq, specifically in the talks regarding the drafting 
of the Iraqi constitution. Many Iraqi leaders are calling 
for a united Iraq (no division of land) and urging 
constituents to maintain the unity of land without taking 
into consideration national or personal interests. Yet it's 
the Kurdish people who have been exposed to destruction and 
harm by the former regime that ordered them to stop pushing 
for their national rights in an effort to keep Iraq 
integrated. The Kurds have been accused by some of parties 
to be working toward dividing Iraq simply because they 
insist on pushing their national demands. 
 
"I can see that merely claiming to have Iraqi lands unified 
is not enough to achieve that purpose, and that any step to 
build a unified Iraq requires preparation. The Kurds should 
understand that their rights are secure and it is better to 
live in a small country that lacks the essential conditions 
for a modern country than to live in a large prosperous 
country. The best strategy for keeping a country intact is 
to make people feel secure, safe, and stable without forcing 
them to co-opt their identity or threatening to deport 
them-this is the equation for democratic and peaceful 
living. 
 
"We can also see that countries that are unified under the 
banner of the European Union are all self-governing and have 
achieved unity in the form of federalism. When the leaders 
of these countries see that the rights of their people are 
guaranteed then there is no need to force people to live 
inside a country's borders. That will not ensure a strong 
country. With all due respect to those who call for the 
Kurds to be `more Palestinian than Yasir Arafat' or `more 
Catholic than the Pope' they should remember that principles 
do not feed ideas nor do they feed bodies." 
 
SATTERFIELD