US embassy cable - 05BAGHDAD4954

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 004954 
 
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, Elections, Media 
SUBJECT: DAILY IRAQI WEBSITE MONITORING - December 12, 2005 
 
SUMMARY: Discussion of the December 15th election is the 
major editorial theme of Iraqi, Arabic language websites on 
December 12, 2005. END SUMMARY. 
 
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TABLE OF CONTENTS 
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A. "Vote for Iraq" (Kitabat, 12/12) 
B. "Saleh Al-Mutlag Threatens Iraqis with Axes Prior to the 
Elections" (Soat Al-Iraq, 12/12) 
 
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SELECTED COMMENTARIES 
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A. "Vote for Iraq" 
(Editorial by Karim Al-Ameri - Kitabat (Writings) Website 
http://www.kitabat.com - independent based in Germany) 
 
"Weeks of feverish electoral campaigns have ended, and the 
countdown has started towards the elections which can be 
seen as a new democratic page in Iraq despite all of the 
hardships suffered by Iraqis during the last two democratic 
events; people had to walk long distances to reach their 
polling stations in the first election and on referendum 
day. As of yet, authorities still haven't sought any 
solution for this problem which might have an impact on 
turnout, especially if we take into consideration the fact 
that many Iraqis consider their participation in the process 
nothing more than fulfilling a duty. 
 
"This frankness might be annoying for some but it is 
relevant to Iraqis who still look ahead towards a better 
life as they impatiently await food rations for days and 
weeks for no known reason--especially when media outlets 
continue to cover news of ships unloading their shipments of 
wheat, rice, tea, and sugar while other ships unload 
American democracy and freedom in the Condoleezza Rice 
fashion. 
 
"These are the main concerns of Iraqis prior to the 
elections, so they shouldn't be made to applaud and hail 
parties on an empty stomach, or sit on the pavement awaiting 
a job opportunity after the only thing filling their pockets 
turns out to be nothing more than promises and lies 
presented by officials who say solutions will arrive 
tomorrow. Don't let our mothers look back in remorse on days 
that failed to show kindness to Iraqis, don't let our 
elderly stand in lines outside banks waiting for the 
government's generous grant of ten thousand Iraqi dinars [~ 
$7], don't let our young women look enviously at their 
counterparts around the world who enjoy better educational 
opportunities and living standards. 
 
"Don't leave our journalists outside your institutions and 
organizations waiting for an official statement that can't 
be obtained without praising the concerned official, don't 
establish red-lines for our people, don't hold a grudge 
towards anyone and let forgiveness be the merit of Iraqi 
society, and don't . don't . don't . they are many don'ts 
and we wouldn't have mentioned them if it weren't for the 
short time period separating us from a new Iraqi day that 
might be better than the previous ones. Let us all renounce 
party allegiances and sectarian lobbying, and let us all 
vote for Iraq." 
 
B. "Saleh Al-Mutlag Threatens Iraqis with Axes Prior to the 
Elections" 
(Editorial by Ali Al-Ali - Soat Al-Iraq (Voice of Iraq) 
Website http://www.sotaliraq.com - independent) 
 
"Once again, the rotten Ba'athist Saleh Al-Mutlag, emerges 
from beneath the rocks in Ramadi and Fallujah, from the 
bloody swamps of abduction and beheadings, to turn up on the 
Al-Arabiya channel saying that if he doesn't win votes in 
the elections, he will take another course of action, adding 
that if his list were to win, he would try the current and 
previous government members whom he called (the followers of 
Bremer) and that they would stand a fair trial, unlike other 
trials, in a clear reference to the trial of his master 
Saddam. It's a well known fact that Al-Mutlag was a senior 
Ba'ath party member and supervised the properties of 
Saddam's wife. So how can such people be allowed to 
participate in the new Iraq, and how can the Iraq 
Reconstruction Office offer him $10 million under the cover 
of a pseudo company so he would participate in the political 
process? How could a government elected by Iraqis take such 
a step, and who's responsible for it? 
 
"How did they say a year earlier that elections were a form 
of infidelity and betrayal under the presence of occupation, 
while today they appear like rats from their holes and start 
accusing Iraqis in an attempt to divide them? 
"Here I blame Mr. Jalal Al-Talabani and Ibrahim Al-Ja'fari 
who represent Iraq for allowing such criminals to shed Iraqi 
blood. How can we hold dialogue with abductors and 
murderers? Shouldn't Iraqi soil be purged from such 
epidemics which live off the blood of Iraqis? 
 
"Aren't the 35 years of suffering enough, or should we 
relive these years at the hands of those who hold a grudge 
against the Shiites and Kurds of Iraq? Do you want to be 
ruled by Salafis and extremists who kill all moderates 
whether Kurds, Shiites, or Sunnis? If you do agree to such a 
life, that's your own business, but the sons of mass graves 
and victims of chemical attacks have another say." 
 
KHALILZAD