US embassy cable - 05BAGHDAD4009

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 004009 
 
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: DAILY IRAQI WEBSITE MONITORING - September 27, 2005 
 
SUMMARY: Discussion of the prime minister's performance, 
terrorism, and corruption were the major editorial themes of 
Iraqi, Arabic language websites on September 27, 2005. END 
SUMMARY. 
 
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TABLE OF CONTENTS 
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A.   "The Political End for Al-Jafari" (Sawt Al-Iraq, 9/27) 
B. "As Far As Alternatives Go. . ." (Iraq 4 All News, 9/27) 
C. "We Do Not Negotiate with Terrorists" (Sawt Al-Iraq, 
9/27) 
D. "The Comical -- Wailing in a World of Thieves" 
(Independent Iraqi News Agency, 9/27) 
 
SELECTED COMMENTARIES 
---------------------------------------- 
 
A. "The Political End for Al-Jafari" 
(Editorial by Baha Sabeih Al-Faili - Sawt Al-Iraq - 
http://www.sotaliraq.com/articles-iraq/nieuws .php?id=16199 ) 
 
"The failure of Al-Jafari's administration to stop Iraqi 
bloodshed at the hands of extremists and Saddam loyalists 
has driven the country to a boiling point. Confidence in the 
government no longer exists because it has failed to stop 
terrorist attacks and failed to provide many daily 
necessities. 
 
"Al-Jafari's indecisiveness in the wake of terrorism has led 
this government into a critical situation; it is mocked by 
the simple citizen who thought his government would serve 
the people. But it seems that Al-Jafari came to power to 
serve his own interests. This was obvious from the beginning 
when he threatened to pull out of the United Iraqi Alliance 
if the premiership was not assigned to him. He placed his 
personal interest above the public interest at a time when 
we thought the man might have serious solutions to Iraq's 
many crises. 
 
"But what happened? Al-Jafari began appearing in the same 
contexts in which Saddam used to appear: soldiers chanting 
slogans and applauding his presence. He must have liked the 
picture of himself in a helicopter, as it was shown on 
television many times-the same type of image that was used 
during the dark age of dictatorship. And we have seen how 
the president and prime minister have fought over visits to 
the United States, as if the prosperity of the Iraqi people 
depends on their race to America. We are not quite sure how 
much these official visits cost, but back home Iraqis were 
being burned by the terrorism machine. 
 
"As for our president, many saw him donate hundreds of 
thousands of dollars from his personal salary, which raises 
the question: How much does he receive in the first place if 
he can donate such huge sums of money? Our minister of 
foreign affairs, who is a relative of Masood Al-Barzani, 
(this gives you a clear understanding of the reasons for his 
appointment) has kept many Ba'athists in their embassy 
positions, and some embassies were transformed into missions 
representing Kurdistan. 
 
"Differences of interest, indecisiveness of the prime 
minister, restricted authority of officials, and U.S. 
occupation have all contributed to the chaotic path charted 
by the government and the widespread corruption within the 
cabinet. 
 
"I would like to say that countries cannot be run this way. 
Where is the reconstruction? What have you done for the 
southern region? You have achieved a great deal on 
television, where you present criminals on screen who are 
not referred to a court of law-the U.S. releases many of 
them so long as they did not kill Americans. 
 
"You are completely incompetent to take on the 
responsibility of your position. You should resign and let 
others carry on or, shall we say, start- even if it is too 
late at this point." 
 
B. "As Far As Alternatives Go. . ." 
(Editorial by Fatih Abdul Salam - Iraq 4 All News - 
http://iraq4all.org/viewnews.php?id=10062 ) 
 
"Iraqis have the right to know what is going on in Iraq. A 
few days ago President Bush said that he expects the worst 
with regard to the security situation (could it be worse?); 
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said he never expected 
violence to reach its current level; and France (a country 
not involved in the war) said it intends to host an 
international conference to save Iraq from impending 
division. 
 
"I do not want to get into the causes of these catastrophic 
results-they begin and end with the blind occupation, but I 
do want to ask about the alternatives available to 
Washington and question whether political achievements are 
possible in a country where America can do anything 
militarily. 
 
"Many Iraqi politicians continue to turn a blind eye to the 
realities of this third year of the new era, realities which 
differ from those three years ago. There is a whole new 
power structure in Iraq, with an additional center of power 
in the Green Zone. Crises have been created and proposals 
have failed to bring complete and final solutions. The U.S. 
presence will not lead Iraq to stability, nor will its 
withdrawal guarantee the country will survive the influence 
of neighboring powers. Do those individuals who deliver 
statements on television sense the seriousness of the 
situation in Iraq? 
 
"Iraq is in a very critical situation, and available options 
are complex, despite attempts to simplify them." 
 
C. "We Do Not Negotiate with Terrorists" 
(Editorial by Jowad Akram - Sawt Al-Iraq - 
http://www.sotaliraq.com/articles-iraq/nieuws .php?id=16187 ) 
 
"The United States has puzzled the world with its claims 
that it does not negotiate with terrorists. But it is well 
known that American foreign policy is based on double 
standards. Everybody knows that the Ba'ath Party (in 
cooperation with Zarqawi) is behind the explosions, 
kidnappings, and murders in Iraq. Everybody knows Ba'athist 
hands are stained with the blood of Iraqis who were killed 
after the fall of Saddam (and the blood of hundreds of 
thousands of Iraqis who were killed during Saddam's reign). 
 
"From time to time we hear American politicians talking 
about the necessity of negotiating with moderate Ba'athists 
and encouraging them to participate in politics. What kind 
of moderate Ba'athists are they talking about? Those who 
kidnap and bomb and whose hands are smeared with blood? The 
Ba'ath Party is working on two fronts: the first through 
kidnappings and car bombs (the Muslim Scholars' Association, 
which has representatives in the constitutional drafting 
committee); the second front conducts a daily terror 
campaign against the Iraqi people and their government to 
force additional concessions. 
 
"These are the people with whom America wants to share power 
in this democratic system. The Ba'athists reminded me of the 
Turkmen Front, which labeled Ba'athist operations 
`resistance'; they were participating in the government 
while simultaneously describing it as a traitorous 
government. For those who do not know, this is called 
political prostitution." 
 
D. "The Comical -- Wailing in a World of Thieves" 
(Editorial by Shamel Abdul Qadir - Independent Iraqi News 
Agency - http://www.normal.iraq- 
ina.com/showarticles.php?id=1412 ) 
 
"After reading a report from the Commission on Public 
Integrity (CPI) about administrative corruption, I reached 
the following conclusion: while it identifies serious 
misconduct in the country, the information in the report 
does not expose the true scope of financial and 
administrative corruption. 
 
"Some of the major administrative and financial corruption 
cases that the report unveils include bribes, embezzlement, 
and fraud. The report summarizes corruption cases, including 
contract violations: some ministers referred bids to 
companies of their personal choosing rather than the 
companies selected by the bidding committees. A few 
companies monopolized contracts, such as the Al `Ain 
Company, which took over a large number of Defense Ministry 
contracts. 
 
"CPI discovered that some officials signed contracts that 
exceeded their authority; one of them, who was authorized to 
work for $100 million, signed a contract estimated at $170 
million! The report mentioned that one of the ministries 
signed a contract to buy twenty-four helicopters at a cost 
of $113.4 million and another deal to buy the same number of 
helicopters with the same amount. They paid the sum in 
advance ($226.8 million) and the aircraft have not yet 
arrived in Iraq. 
"Another phenomenon the CPI exposed is the use of fake names 
in timesheet lists. The CPI stated that the most frequent 
perpetrators were from the Ministries of Interior, Defense, 
and Facilities Protection. The funny, yet sad, fact the CPI 
unveiled is that one of the officers included his three-year- 
old daughter's name in his personnel protection list! 
Another registered his seven-year-old son's name in his 
personnel protection list. 
 
"The report also exposed the widespread use of appointment 
bribes. Officers from the commando regiments in Babil, 
Karbala, Dhi-Qar, Najaf, Amara and Basra had all received 
large sums of money in exchange for appointing commandos! 
Although some employees in the Ministries of Interior and 
Defense, as well as police regiments, were dismissed and 
fired, they continued to receive salaries. 
 
"The report proposed solutions and measures to put an end to 
this financial and administrative corruption. We wish the 
report was drafted in Arabic because some points were 
ambiguous and difficult to understand due to their poor 
structure. However, the CPI report will be an historic 
document from the most corrupt period in contemporary Iraqi 
history." 
 
KHALILZAD