US embassy cable - 05BAGHDAD4126

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 004126 
 
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, Parliament, Elections, BAGHDAD 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: IRAQI GOVERNMENT, CONSTITUTION, 
ELECTIONS, DOMESTIC POLITICAL DISPUTES, ISRAELI 
INTELLIGENCE; BAGHDAD 
 
SUMMARY: Discussion on the Constitution, Elections, Domestic 
Political Disputes, and Israeli Intelligence were the major 
editorial themes of the daily newspapers on October 5, 2005. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
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TABLE OF CONTENTS 
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A. "Calls Versus Calls" (Al-Bayyan, 10/5) 
B. "The Democratic Scene Between Talabani and Al-Ja'afari" 
(Al-Ittihad, 10/5) 
C. "Beware the Flood" (Al-Zaman, 10/5) 
D. "Search for Israel" (Al-Fourat, 10/5) 
E. "The Constitution and the Referendum; Between `Yes' and 
`No'" (Al-Taakhi, 10/5) 
 
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SELECTED COMMENTARIES 
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A. "Calls Versus Calls" 
(Al-Bayyan, affiliated with the Islamic Ad-Dawa Party led by 
Al-Ja'afari, published this page-three editorial by Zainab 
Al-Khafaji) 
 
"President Talabani's strange call for Prime Minister 
Ibrahim Al-Ja'afari to resign must be totally rejected 
because President Talabani, in a protocol position of 
president of the republic, has no right to ask any 
government official to resign due to a political 
disagreement or even internal issues. It is unwise for Iraqi 
decision makers to issue such calls that may complicate the 
relationship between the government's various political 
parties. 
 
"For this reason, I call on President Jalal Talabani to stop 
making such irresponsible statements and accusations of the 
Prime Minister and his role in ruling the country. In 
addition, this is a negative point that reflects poorly on 
the president as he tries to remove those who disagree with 
him in the execution of their authority. Moreover, 
Talabani's call only serves to provoke new disagreements in 
Iraq. 
 
"I call on President Talabani to be committed to the 
principles of his presidential authority and not make use of 
it to issue statements that are unrelated to his position. 
President Talabani must realize that it is not wise to make 
bombastic statements--he must step away from the political 
conflicts that will complicate and damage the political 
process." 
 
B. "The Democratic Scene Between Talabani and Al-Ja'afari" 
(Al-Ittihad, affiliated with the PUK, published this page- 
three editorial by Abdul Hadi Mahdi) 
 
"Democracy today has become a popular word throughout the 
Iraqi community, especially since it was previously 
forbidden. Democracy does not equate to laws and 
administrative orders but is personified by the behavior of 
citizens. Unfortunately, it seems that we have a new kind of 
democracy in Iraq today; one comprised of groups of people 
who call for establishing democracy without knowing what it 
means. 
 
"President Talabani told media outlets that Dr. Al-Ja'afari 
makes decisions unilaterally which means that he does not 
report to others when making decisions. The TAL 
[Transitional Administrative Law] is the only 
political/legal document to be used as a basis until the 
constitution is approved. This was also indicated in the 
agreement that was signed between the UIA [United Iraqi 
Alliance] and the Kurdish Coalition on the 8th of April 
2005. Both of them have agreed to change the former regime's 
policies toward Kirkuk and to quickly apply Article 58. 
However, Al-Ja'afari did not reply to Talabani's letter. 
President Talabani has the right to freely express his 
opinion about this issue and at the same time Al-Ja'afari 
has the right to defend himself in a civilized way. But, we 
were surprised to see him announce in a press conference 
that he has no time to reply because he is too busy with 
government administration. 
 
"According to analysts, Talabani's statement is not a 
personal one but it is for the interest of this country. We 
all know that serving the country is not restricted to a 
specific figure or sect and this was [explicitly] stated in 
Article 24 of the TAL. Talabani did not mean to accuse Al- 
Ja'afari because we all know that they have a strong and 
long-standing relationship that dates from their opposition 
to the former regime. But, there are some groups that try to 
make use of these statements to disunite Iraqis. The current 
disagreement between Talabani and Al-Ja'afari represents a 
real expression of democracy which has been absent from this 
country. In the past, we routinely heard all officials 
praise the ruler and for this reason, we must not be 
surprised to hear such disagreements in a new democratic 
Iraq. Perhaps, this scene is strange for those who have no 
knowledge about democracy or those who deceive others with 
their illusionary notions of democracy. Talabani and Al- 
Ja'afari will continue struggling for the sake of this 
wounded country." 
 
C. "Beware the Flood" 
(Al-Zaman, independent, anti coalition published this page- 
four column by Constitutional Committee member, Dr. Ali Al- 
Dabagh) 
 
"The current bloodshed and violence in Iraq are aimed at 
spreading general chaos so that the country will not be 
stable and secure. It seems that the general situation in 
Iraq is becoming increasingly aggravated. However, we 
thought that the Sunni participation in the constitutional 
committee would make the political process advance smoothly 
but the Sunnis seem to have a consensus in rejecting the 
constitution. They have had disagreements about federalism 
and for this reason we amended that article and decided to 
leave it for the next National Assembly. Nevertheless, we 
were surprised to see that in fact they did not care about 
this issue and decided to reject the constitution as a whole 
and we have noticed that they have started to mobilize 
people against the constitution. 
 
"Does harmony mean that the majority responds to the 
minority's demands? We all want to draft a constitution that 
guarantees freedoms and rights of individuals. Then, why do 
they reject such a constitution? Why are they against 
fighting terrorism which has burned everything in Iraq? Why 
have we seen some paid demonstrators raise Saddam's 
portrait? Do those people know that families of Saddam's 
victims will never accept coexistence with such groups of 
people? 
 
"We must all reconsider our attitudes for the sake of Iraq's 
unity. We defended Iraq's unity and we sacrificed ourselves 
when the British invaded Iraq in 1914 and we do not want to 
divide this country. We do care about our Sunni brothers and 
we do not want to cause crises. Wise people must progress 
and take the lead so that they can prevent the boat from 
sinking--or else, a flood will come and destroy everything." 
 
D. "Search for Israel" 
(Al-Fourat, independent, anti coalition, published this back- 
page editorial by Dawoud Al-Farhan) 
 
"The entire world, except for the Iraqi government and 
Kurdish politicians, speak about the increased Israeli 
infiltration in Iraq. Citizens of Baghdad know that the 
Mossad bought or rented large buildings in the first days of 
the occupation in the capital. In addition it bought or 
rented apartments and farms in Baghdad, Basrah, Mosul, 
Kirkuk and other cities under the cover of companies trying 
to participate in the reconstruction of Iraq. Or, they 
claimed to be research centers. 
 
"Many Iraqi officials have announced that they do not mind 
establishing diplomatic relations between Baghdad and Tel 
Aviv. Moreover, an Iraqi politician, who is very interested 
in deba'athification and always condemns the Iraqi 
resistance, flew to Tel Aviv to normalize Iraqi relations 
with Israel. The Kurds have sworn that there are no Israelis 
in the north of Iraq and they said that these are just 
rumors. However, many Iraqis know that the Israelis have 
trained the Peshmerga forces during the era of the former 
regime. Then, after the American invasion the Kurds opened 
their doors to the Israelis to establish companies in Arbil 
and Sulaymaniyah. An Egyptian female researcher published a 
report in Al-Ahram newspaper a few days ago about the 
Israeli infiltration in the north of Iraq and how they use 
cover names. The report indicates that there are about 160 
Israeli companies in Iraq. In addition, the Green Zone is 
filled with Israeli intelligence and spies who have American 
and British nationalities. 
 
"Israel has a role in training U.S. Marines in special 
techniques used against the Iraqi people, techniques which 
are similar to those the Israelis employ against the 
Palestinians. There is also the well-known Iranian 
infiltration of the south of Iraq and some sectarian 
political parties are trying to hide this infiltration. Why 
is it acceptable for Iran and Israel to interfere in Iraq 
and it is unacceptable for Zarqawi?" 
 
E. "The Constitution and the Referendum; Between `Yes' and 
`No'" 
(Al-Taakhi, affiliated with the KDP led by Mas'ood Al- 
Barazani, published this front-page editorial by Editor-in- 
Chief, Badirkhan Al-Sindi) 
 
"The constitution represents the fruit of the nation's 
struggle and it outlines the political philosophy of the 
state. The constitution represents a collection of 
fundamental principles that organize government's system for 
a specified state.  Moreover, the constitution determines 
the government's authority and the ways of distributing and 
applying authority, individual rights, and duties. 
 
"The constitution guarantees the state is governed by law 
because it monitors and sets the foundations of the state's 
law. The constitution establishes legal conditions and 
methods for choosing a governor and identifying the 
governor's authorities. Drafting a constitution, for any 
state, requires, as a first step, established law that 
governs the general work of the state and limits the 
authority of the government to prevent corruption and to 
ensure individual rights. Jurists, scholars, and experts in 
constitutional rights have pointed out differences between 
regime principles and the regime as a system. Many states 
might have similar constitutional principles but each 
country creates its own system different from others. 
 
"It has been observed that there are democratic countries 
which choose to be kingdoms, republics, or to elect 
presidents as executive authorities who appoint the prime 
minister. Other states follow the parliamentary system in 
which the prime minister represents the executive authority 
and selects ministers for the government after gaining 
approval from the Parliament-it's the president who 
represents the unity of the country. Democratic states 
typically get public approval for their draft constitution 
by holding a public referendum. The Iraqi people will decide 
their future by saying `yes' or `no' to the draft 
constitution which was written by the elected 
representatives of the Iraqi people." 
 
KHALILZAD