US embassy cable - 05BAGHDAD3855

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 003855 
 
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: DAILY IRAQI WEBSITE MONITORING - September 18, 2005 
 
SUMMARY: Discussion on the Constitution and Terrorism were 
the major editorial themes of Iraqi, Arabic language 
websites on September 18, 2005. END SUMMARY. 
 
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TABLE OF CONTENTS 
------------------------------ 
 
A. "The Constitution Isn't a Divine Book" (Iraq World, 9/18) 
B. "The Bizarre Muslim Scholars Association" (Kitabat, 9/18) 
C. "Towards a Tough Iraq" (Al-Rafidayn, 9/18) 
D. "Dr. Farid Iyar Errors on Constitutional Federalism" (Al- 
Nahrain, 9/18) 
 
--------------------------------------- 
SELECTED COMMENTARIES 
 
 
A. "The Constitution Isn't a Divine Book" 
(Editorial by Hussein Ali Ghalib - Iraq World - 
http://www.iraqworld.net/article.php?section= articlemain.iq) 
 
"How many discussions were held and how many topics were 
written about the expected Iraqi constitution?  Some 
criticize it; others reject it; and some want to modify a 
few of its points. We discovered that parties and people 
were pleased with it and accepted all its various articles. 
This is a good thing-to witness how our people and different 
parties dealt with these topics. 
 
"But the constitution is a specific document that our state 
and people follow. It is not a divine book which should not 
be changed or modified. In all the constitutional 
experiences that take place in various countries, people or 
their representatives can easily and simply modify any 
article or item in the constitution. We are witnessing an 
era where a lot of things are changing; we are part of this 
era and we should cope with it or be affected by it. 
 
"Any change to an article or item in the constitution should 
be in accordance with the people. We do not want to relive 
the past where the criminal Saddam (along with and regime) 
said, `I'm the one who writes the constitution's article and 
I'm the one who deletes any item in it, it's a mere piece of 
paper.' We do not want this kind of pathetic talk. This 
constitution, in whose drafting all components of the Iraqi 
people participated, should lead Iraqis to safety." 
 
B. "The Bizarre Muslim Scholars Association" 
(Editorial by Abbas Al-Zebeidi - Kitabat - "Writings" 
http://www.kitabat.com / independent) 
 
"I believe the blood being shed each day in Iraq is the 
blood of innocent victims succumbing to criminal minds, with 
no means other than death to spread their ideas. The Muslims 
Scholars Association has condemned the latest string of 
explosive attacks carried out by Al-Zarqawi, who has 
endorsed the killing of Shiites. But this condemnation is a 
worthless one because it comes in the form of religious 
advice to Al-Zarqawi to step back from these actions. What 
advice and what religion could anyone use to address a 
person who has adopted the killing of innocent people in a 
brutal manner similar to the massacres that took place in Al- 
Kadhumiya?  Couldn't they have described this criminal and 
those supporting him with their true qualities of barbarism 
and brutality? 
 
"And the strange thing is that the Association is advising 
Al-Zarqawi to adopt an approach different from that taken by 
the Iraqi government supported by the occupation! This is 
very strange. How could you incite sectarianism and then 
blame others for it? Many innocent people were slaughtered 
in Tal Afar; the city had turned into a refuge for bandits 
for more than a year and after the government responded to 
the calls of the city's residents, it was accused of 
committing actions of a sectarian nature, as if the 
appropriate reaction would have been to kiss the hands of 
these criminals and those supporting them. 
 
"The government is not restricted to only one sect; it 
includes Shiites, Sunnis, and others, covering all of Iraq 
from north to south. I am not saying that it is a perfect 
government, but it is non-sectarian and I believe that you 
are the ones who find it difficult, with your ill sense of 
sectarianism, to see a Shiite assume the leading post in 
Iraq. 
"We should live as brothers in Iraq, or else become victims. 
We should abandon this sectarian mentality, even though it 
might be difficult for some to understand the change, but we 
should return to the Qur'an that shows us how to live in 
harmony and share our lives in our homeland during both 
sweet and bitter occasions. Enough with all the bloodshed." 
 
C. "Towards a Tough Iraq" 
(Editorial by Raghed Ali - Al-Rafidayn - "Two Rivers" 
http://www.alrafidayn.com / independent) 
 
"Many voices are vocal in this critical era of Iraq's 
history; some support federalism, some do not. Some support 
the constitution; others do not. But the new Iraqi reality 
demands that many things be taken into consideration before 
introducing any new element into Iraqi society. 
 
"The transition from a suppressive dictatorship to a 
democracy in which people demand to have a say in all issues 
is something new. It has created a gap in ordinary people's 
minds, leaving them in a state of incomprehension. On one 
hand, political parties impose their beliefs on people 
without any clarification of the terminologies, such as 
`federalism,' `democracy,' and `constitution,' all of which 
are unfamiliar to Iraqis. On the other hand, Islamic 
movements place the same pressure on people by exploiting a 
sensitive topic in all societies' religions, but they 
overlook the first word that was revealed to the Prophet 
Muhammad: "Recite." 
 
"The Lord called upon people to think and contemplate before 
demanding they believe, but this has never been expressed by 
Islamic parties, who always call for either rejecting or 
accepting a draft. No calls have been made to read it and 
then make a decision about the document. This could transmit 
the offensive message that only they possess mental capacity 
while others do not. In addition to this, we have the direct 
and indirect effects of foreign intelligence services acting 
in Iraq, leading to a situation in which Iraqis have been 
deprived of their right to decide-their decisions dictated 
by their political, religious, or ethnic background. 
 
"How can Iraqis understand all these new concepts while 
carrying the heavy burden of the past? Can people overcome 
all the surrounding events of bloodshed, deterioration of 
services, and other mundane concerns accompanying them day 
and night? Can't you see we are asking regular Iraqis for 
more than they are capable? 
 
"So we need to be careful when presenting new ideas to 
Iraqis and telling them to strongly support or refute on 
sound basis. The first step should be cleansing people's 
minds of all remainders of the past, excluding any external 
effects, and teaching Iraqis how to make their own 
decisions. People should know why they refute and why they 
support, and politicians should respect that. A tough Iraq 
can only be built through enlightening the people to make 
their own decisions regardless of allegiances to any faction 
other than Iraq." 
 
D. "Dr. Farid Iyar Errors on Constitutional Federalism" 
(Editorial by Lateef Al-Wakeel - Al-Nahrain - "Two Rivers" - 
http://www.nahrain.com/d/news/05/09/18/nhr091 8e.html) 
 
"Dr. Iyar cited two cases that forbid Iraqis living abroad 
from participating in the referendum: the first is legal and 
the second is financial. 
 
"The constitutional problem: 
 
  1.   Dr. Farid Iyar said votes outside Iraq cannot legally 
     be added to any three-province federation. If that is the 
     case, we must ignore four million votes. 
2.   Iraqis will not decide Iraqism; rather, federalism will 
identify who is the Iraqi. 
  3.   One does not have the right to vote because he is 
     Iraqi; only people of the three-province federation have the 
     right to vote for a constitution which includes all Iraq and 
     every Iraqi. 
  4.   The practical solution for provincial identification 
     would be to use the province in which an Iraqi living abroad 
     was born. 
  5.   The more complicated problem is that a federal state is 
     incapable of guaranteeing Iraqi rights. 
  6.   Federalism bestows Iraqi nationality. 
  7.   The second legal contradiction: All are equal before 
     law. Here Iraqis living abroad are unequal before the law 
     because they are Iraqis but not federalists. 
 
"Writing a new constitution is an art form. It is a fair, 
honest, and sacred hardship understood through emotions, 
feelings, conditions, and ambitions. 
"The error is not in peoples' nature or political 
conditions, but in drafting a constitution that ignores the 
rights of Iraqis living abroad despite the fact that there 
are more than four million, (i.e. approximately half of the 
votes in the previous Iraqi election). 
 
"While the cost of one vote was estimated at $400 due to the 
inability of the International Organization for Migration to 
do its tasks, not a single Iraqi would be able to 
participate in elections if it were not for committees 
supporting the Iraqi elections. These voluntary and non- 
profit committees, assisted by embassies (after cleansing 
them of Ba'athist intelligence apparatuses), are able to 
participate in the referendum and elections and surely the 
number of participants will double-especially after the 
first experience. And this would not cost the Iraqi state 
one penny. It provides for democratic education, it promotes 
a good reputation for Iraq, and it guarantees a democratic 
constitution." 
 
SATTERFIELD