Cablegate: Media Reaction: Iraq Al-Jafari Political Program,

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS BAGHDAD 002442

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
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: IRAQ AL-JAFARI POLITICAL PROGRAM,
CONSTITUTION; BAGHDAD

1. SUMMARY: The major themes in the daily newspapers on
June 8 were the security and political situations. END
SUMMARY.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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A. "Al-Jafari needs a rest" (Al-Ittihad, June 8)
B. "The language of the constitution " (Al-Mashriq, June 8)

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SELECTED COMMENTARIES
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A. "Al-Jafari needs a rest" (June 8)

Al-Ittihad (affiliated with PUK) published a fifth-page
editorial by Faryad Rawanduzi about the Al-Jafari
government's political program:

"What will happen to the Iraqi transitional government if
Al-Jafari continues administering his government this way?
I think Al-Jafari should reread Articles 24 and 25 of the
TAL. He must ask for legal advice to help explain to him
the role of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is a
member of the government. Al-Jafari is acting like he is
the government. He should remember that he does not govern
the entire country. Al-Jafari must understand that he
cannot make decisions by himself. He has to discuss any
decision with the Kurdish Alliance, which is an ally of the
UIA. Paragraph A of Article 24 applies to the current
government.

Everyone knows that Al-Akhdar Al-Ibrahemi formed the former
Iraqi government. Hence, that government lacked harmony.
The current government was democratically elected. And if
this government wants to continue functioning properly, Al-
Jafari must reread the sixth paragraph of the agreement
between the Kurdish Alliance and UIA.

Al-Jafari's political program showed shortsightedness in
its handling of sensitive portfolios. The government's
political program must be prioritized according to what is
best for the people. It must not be established according
to personal visions. I think Prime Minister Dr. Al-Jafari
needs time to rest in order to review his visions and ideas
because he is not a leader of a specific political party
but the Prime Minister of Iraq."

B. "The language of the constitution" (June 8)

Al-Mashriq (independent) published a last-page editorial by
Dr. Hadi Nu'man Al-Hiti about the constitution:

"Although the constitution is not subject to any one
particular authority, the drafting of the constitution is
subject to many different authorities. The drafting
committee has a chairman and a deputy and members. The
draft that they were assigned to work on remains only a
draft until the people approve it.

There are those that say that in many situations the people
are just like children. Children always give their
acceptance or refusal of a situation before they understand
the context of the situation. Therefore, if there is a
disagreement on forming the drafting committee, it is a
family conflict.

There is no need for ethnic power sharing in this committee
formation. It is best to form this committee by using legal
specialists, political specialists, and open-minded elites.
This constitution is to be in the language of the law and
not in the language of militias and separate political
parties. The print and television media is the field for
the language of the militias and the political parties; the
language of the constitution should be a scientific
language, because it is very important."

JEFFREY

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