US embassy cable - 05BAGHDAD3934

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 003934 
 
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 22, 2005. END SUMMARY. 
 
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TABLE OF CONTENTS 
------------------------------- 
 
A.   "Fire Beneath the Ashes" (Ad-Dawa, 9/22) 
B. "They Have Oil and You Have Water" (Al-Mashriq, 9/22) 
C. "The Constitution and Iraqi Personal Freedom" (Az-Zaman, 
9/22) 
 
SELECTED COMENTRES 
---------------------------------- 
 
A. "Fire Beneath the Ashes" 
(Ad-Dawa, affiliated with Islamic Ad-Dawa Party, published 
this page-four editorial by Nuha Al-Musawi) 
 
"We want to know where our country is heading. Violence is 
increasing and rivers of blood are flowing in Iraq--starting 
from the Al-Kadumiya Bridge (that led to hundreds of 
casualties) to the terrorist attacks in Al-Aruba Square, 
Taji, and other cities. All of those attacks were intended 
to kill Shiites. It seems that Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi has 
imbued terrorism with sectarian bent when he declared war on 
Shiites. 
"Terrorism started in Iraq with the killing of Shiites 
immediately after the downfall of Saddam. Those operations 
began with the assassination of Muhammad Baqr Al-Hakim and 
hundreds of others praying inside the Imam Ali Shrine in 
Najaf. After that, many terrorist attacks followed such as 
Al-Kadumiya Bridge that led to the killing of hundreds of 
Shiites. Another attack targeted Shiite laborers in Al-Aruba 
Square in Kadumiya and yet another targeted a Shiite mosque 
in Tuz in the northern part of Iraq. This shows definitively 
that Shiites are being killed solely because they are 
Shiite. 
"Sectarian conflict has been unleashed and reasoned calls 
cannot stop it. Iraq has become a minefield. Unfortunately, 
the [Sunni] Muslim Scholars Association has issued 
statements describing Al-Zarqawi as a brother though it 
called on him to stop threatening Shiites. In fact, their 
description of Zarqawi as a brother has many interpretations 
and could mean that they support him. 
"I think we have to convene a national reconciliation 
conference between Sunnis and Shiites--a conference that 
must be based on mutual respect. Terrorist operations have 
increased and the ghost of secession is haunting Iraq. We 
want to know if Washington has an interest in provoking 
sectarian violence and we would also like to know if the 
Americans have a role in encouraging this sedition. 
"Most Iraqis were optimistic in the beginning however, this 
optimism has started to fade into pessimism which may lead 
to a mere mirage of freedom and democracy. We know one 
important fact: one match stick can burn an entire forest." 
 
B. "They Have Oil and You Have Water" 
(Al-Mashriq, independent, anti coalition, published this 
front-page editorial by Hamid Abdullah) 
"The new Iraqi constitution has caused some Sunni Arabs, as 
some provocative media outlets call them, to threaten to 
stop the flow of water to any region that supports 
federalism or separation from the rest of Iraq. Sunnis are 
trying to use the Euphrates as a weapon against other groups 
that call for the establishment of federalism. It now seems 
that we have a new program that can be called oil for water 
rather than oil for food. But, this time, the program is not 
a deal between the United Nations and Iraq but it is between 
the Shiites and Sunnis. 
"An American analyst has labeled Iraqi Sunnis `the poor 
cousins' because their land lacks resources and is situated 
between two wealthy regions. The first is in the north, 
which depends on the oil of Kirkuk, and the second is in the 
south which depends on oil from the Rumaila oil fields. 
While the Sunni heartland of Ramadi, Baghdad, Al-Qa'im, Ana 
and Haditha has nothing but wide swaths of desert and 
waterwheels. But, this territory is the gateway to Iraq's 
rivers and thus can prevent water from flowing to any other 
areas. I think that this weapon is very effective. 
"I just want to know if there is any country like Iraq that 
has two rivers, dozens of lakes, oil, phosphorus, red 
mercury, copper, sulfur, mountains, plains, deserts, date 
palms, pine trees, Sunnis, Shiites, Kurds, Turkmen, Sabeans 
and Yazidis? But, do not ask me where the Arabs are because 
they have been diluted amongst various religions and sects 
and thus there is no need to mention them. A country like 
Iraq, which has a diversity of ethnicities and religions, is 
inherently unstable because it is contrary to the interests 
of the political players." 
 
C. "The Constitution and Iraqi Personal Freedom" 
(Az-Zaman, independent, anti-coalition, published this page- 
seven editorial by Sundus Abbas) 
 
"All Iraqis, especially women, were eager to see the draft 
constitution as they thought it would help achieve national 
unity. Actually, Iraqi women have worked hard since the 
beginning of the establishment of democracy in the new Iraq 
to guarantee their full rights in the draft constitution. We 
haven't found anything in the draft constitution that 
contradicts the contents of the personal status law (Law 
 #188 which was legislated in 1959). 
"But, the most important thing is that the constitutional 
committee keeps insisting on inserting the following text in 
Article 39: `Iraqis are free in abiding by their personal 
status according to their religions, ideologies, choices, or 
beliefs.' The same statement was repeated in Article 14 of 
the constitution which stated Iraqis are equal in front of 
the law without discrimination due to sect, ethnicity, 
opinion or socio-economic status. This looks like we have 
invented something strange and new in Iraqi society which is 
characterized by the depth of its civilization, or the 
development and harmony of its communities. 
"Article 39 is not relevant only to women but it addresses 
the unity of the entire society. How can we anticipate the 
orientations of all of the different appeals and legislative 
courts? Is there any need to enact a civil law for personal 
affairs while there are legislative courts present? Amid the 
current deterioration of security and economic conditions, 
can we expect these courts to be successful? Perhaps, this 
article seems to be a good example of freedom but, such 
freedom is hindered and cannot be achieved in our 
environment. 
"We think that this text represents an attempt to cancel the 
achievements of Law #188, enacted in 1959 which Iraqi women 
obtained through a half-century long suffrage. Iraqi women 
opposed Law #137 in 2003, which was legislated by the former 
Interim Governing Council, and included the essential 
components of Article 39. However, this law was suspended 
due to opposition from Iraqi women. For that reason, the CPA 
administrator decided to annul the law." 
 
KHALILZAD