US embassy cable - 05BAGHDAD3888

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 003888 
 
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, 
TERRORISM; BAGHDAD 
 
SUMMARY: Discussion on the Constitution and Terrorism were 
the major editorial themes of the daily newspapers on 
September 20, 2005. END SUMMARY. 
 
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TABLE OF CONTENTS 
------------------------------- 
 
A. "What We Want and What They Want" (Al-Ittihad, 9/20) 
B. "Amr Musa is a Member of the Constitutional Committee" 
(Al-Mashriq, 9/20) 
C. "Disgraceful Iranian Infiltrations" (Asharq al-Awsat, 
9/20) 
D. "Saleh Al-Mutlag and the Constitution" (Al-Sabah, 9/20) 
 
SELECTED COMMENTARIES 
---------------------------------------- 
 
A. "What We Want and What They Want" 
(Al-Ittihad, affiliated with KDP led by Masood Al-Barazani, 
published this page-four article by Muhammad Al-Badri) 
 
"Terrorists kill innocent people under the cover of 
religion; they also destroy infrastructure, intimidate 
communities, and detonate car bombs in markets or explosive 
belts amid people, under the pretext they will go to heaven. 
It seems that they do not know that such deeds will 
definitely condemn them to hell. They claim that they fight 
the Americans to force them out of Iraq. However, these 
attacks and explosions will prolong the Americans' tenure 
here. I think that this is the main goal of terrorists in 
Iraq because they secretly take their salaries from the 
Americans while declaring publicly that they are against the 
Americans. 
 
"Those who want to rid the country of occupation must first 
work officiously and sincerely to rebuild the country and 
this must be done according to an objective and scientific 
basis. They must struggle to restore security and stability 
and they must work hard to reestablish and strengthen 
security forces and other government offices. They must 
draft a constitution that guarantees the rights of all 
Iraqis so that citizens can feel as though they are equal 
and will all defend the new Iraq. 
 
"Those who want to expel the occupation from the country 
must believe in democracy and the political process aside 
from the language of rifles and car bombs. We must depend on 
the language of dialogue, understanding, and fraternal, 
constructive discussions. This will restore the humanity to 
Iraqi citizens--humanity that was devastated over the past 
thirty five years of the dictator's regime that resorted to 
killings, mass graves and chemical weapons. 
 
"Hence, if we want to live together peacefully we have to 
sit at a round table to discuss the current Iraqi situation. 
Those who call for violence and fighting, hate the new Iraq 
and want to see this country destroyed through sectarian 
war, contrary to the ambitions of the majority of Iraqis who 
hope for a quiet, secure, and stable Iraq." 
 
B. "Amr Musa is a Member of the Constitutional Committee" 
(Al-Mashriq, independent, anti coalition, published this 
front-page editorial by Dr. Hamid Abdullah) 
 
"According to a Sunni member in the constitutional 
committee, Sunnis haven't written even a character in the 
constitution which was supposed to have been drafted through 
accords rather than discord. Additionally, he said that 
constitutional committee members absolutely refused the 
inclusion of a phrase guaranteeing Iraq's unity and rejected 
language replacing `a federal Iraq' with `a united Iraq.' 
 
"This means that a federal Iraq is a country pasted together 
with glue that can dissolve and vanish in the future. The 
same Sunni member said that the amendment that stated Iraq 
is a founding state in the Arab League was based on a 
telephone call between an Iraqi official and Amr Musa the 
Secretary General of Arab League. I do not think that the 
 
SIPDIS 
Iraqi people know that the National Assembly has appointed 
Amr Musa to be a member on the constitutional committee, 
though it did not grant him $ 50,000 like it did the other 
members. 
 
"We understand that members have been rewarded for their 
tireless effort to draft the allegedly perfect constitution. 
On the other hand, the Iraqi people are inquiring about what 
would happen if the Arab League suspended Iraq's membership. 
Iraq's membership in the Arab League is the only thing that 
links Iraq with the Arab nation. Therefore, we want to know 
which entity is older, the Arab League or Arabism and which 
one was borne from the other? This story reminds us of the 
chicken and the egg dilemma. But, at present, this tale is 
not about philosophy. In fact, it is about the constitution 
and Iraq's identity which many groups insist on rendering 
obscure for some reason." 
C. "Disgraceful Iranian Infiltrations" 
(Asharq al-Awsat, independent, London-based, Saudi owned, 
published this page eight editorial by Ahmad Al-Rub'ee) 
 
"Our friends coming from Iraq's southern provinces speak 
about disgraceful infiltrations from Iranian intelligence 
and in coordination with some political parties that are 
affiliated with Iran. There are strange stories that speak 
about interference in the appointment of government 
employees, the monitoring of political opponents and money 
spent on specific groups and areas. However, there are many 
brave Iraqi voices demanding an end to such intervention but 
the Iraqi government's voice is still weak. The Iraqi 
political parties that are loyal to Iran work silently to 
reinforce the Iranian presence in Iraq. 
 
"Moreover, there is an Arab silence over such intervention. 
Iran is making use of the deteriorating security situation 
in Baghdad to reinforce its political influence on religious 
authorities in the south of Iraq. Iraq needs a large and 
independent electoral alliance that encompasses Iraqis from 
the entire political spectrum. This alliance must not call 
for the same platforms that were used by the political and 
religious-affiliated parties. These parties clearly proved 
to be short-sighted and sectarian and were occupied by 
internal conflicts. 
 
"The coming Iraqi election will be a rare chance for all 
good and peaceful groups in Iraq to establish a wide 
national alliance that includes all non-sectarian and 
independent groups that have no affiliations with any 
regional powers, especially Iran. This alliance must present 
a civil and humanitarian alternative for the Iraqi people, 
to replace the current sectarian project that is based on 
alliances with foreigners under the pretext of the country's 
interest. Sectarian groups have proven that they are unable 
to face reality and were busy with factional and political 
affairs at the expense of national unity. It would be 
disastrous for Iraq if an Iranian canton were established in 
south of Iraq. We know for sure that such territory will 
have no future. However, Iraq will pay heavily for the cost 
of such a plot before it is able to thwart it-the Iraqi 
people do not need more sacrifices." 
 
D. "Saleh Al-Mutlag and the Constitution" 
(Al-Sabah, independent, published this page-two editorial by 
Sa'eed Abdul Hadi) 
 
"Yesterday, media outlets published a statement by the Sunni 
constitutional committee member Saleh Al-Mutlag that said he 
would collect five million signatures to reject the 
constitution. He said also that he would form and lead a 
national front centred on a slogan rejecting the 
constitution. We think that he has the right to say that but 
he also went on to say that the upcoming referendum will not 
be fair. We are sure that this statement is wrong because 
honesty is born out of the referendum. We know that there 
are many organizations that have been invited to monitor the 
coming referendum and we heard that he insisted the 
international community intervene. 
"But, are those organizations different from the ones he 
requested? I think that doubting the integrity of the 
referendum and insisting on the presence of foreign monitors 
represents a fear of failure.What we want to clarify is that 
gathering five million signatures is a tough mission because 
the Kurdish parliament announced its unanimous support for 
the draft constitution and the Shiites said publicly they 
approve it. At the same time, secular groups have not 
announced they will reject it. But, what will happen if he 
really succeeds in collecting five million signatures and is 
able to reject the constitution? 
"Who will guarantee that the Kurds and the Shi'a will not 
have extremist ideas in their upcoming discussions? Then, 
how can Saleh Al-Mutlag gather his five million 
supporters... I would like to finish my take on Mr. Mutlag 
with one essential question: We all know that he is a 
prominent figure who represents the Sunnis but why hasn't he 
gathered those signatures to condemn terrorism in Iraq? Why 
doesn't he have a clear stance against the hotspots that 
morphed into factories of death? If we hear Saleh Al-Mutlag 
declare these statements then we will announce that he is 
working for the sake of Iraq's unity and to have a fair 
constitution that safeguards this unity and for this reason 
we would support him. 
"It is contradictory for him to remain silent and watch all 
this terrorist activity unleashed against our people at the 
same time he calls for a constitution to protect Iraq's 
unity. Iraq cannot be united by the constitution but it can 
be unified through the respect of Iraqi blood, which Al- 
Mutlag attempts to ignore. We are not suspect of Al-Mutlag's 
patriotism but we hope to hear him defend the Iraqi nation 
rather than defending his own land. We are looking for 
someone to save us from the current onslaught of terror and 
it is not the time to speak about the country. The country 
has no sanctity if its people are desecrated." 
 
SATTERFIELD