Cablegate: Media Reaction: Iraqi Government, Constitution,

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

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 BAGHDAD 004089

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: IRAQI GOVERNMENT, CONSTITUTION,
TERRORISM, ELECTIONS, POLITICAL PARTIES, SADDAM HUSSEIN
TRIAL; BAGHDAD

SUMMARY: Discussion on the Constitution, Terrorism,
Elections, Political Parties and the Saddam Hussein Trial,
were the major editorial themes of the daily newspapers on
October 3, 2005. END SUMMARY.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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A. "No to Postponement" (Al-Bayyan, 10/3)
B. "He Who Is Without Sin" (Al-Siyada, 10/3)
C. "Ramadan and the Patience of Iraqis" (Al-Siyada, 10/3)
D. "An Invitation to End Terrorism in Iraq" (Al-Ittihad,
10/3)
E. "In American English" (Al-Zaman, 10/3)
F. "Another Definition of Democracy" (Al-Dustoor, 10/3)

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SELECTED COMMENTARIES
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A. "No to Postponement"
(Al-Bayyan, pro-coalition and affiliated with the Islamic Al-
Dawa party led by Al-Ja'afari, published this page-five
editorial by Zainab Al-Khafaji)

"Saddam's defenders do not have any further justification to
defend him since he confessed that he committed many crimes
during his regime. All indicators about Saddam's case reveal
that his lawyers will definitely fail. However, there are
some international elements desperately trying to find legal
justification to acquit Saddam or at least reduce his
expected sentence. We have heard recently that there are
some groups trying to postpone Saddam's trial; they dream
that they will be able to save Saddam from divine justice.

"I think that Dr. Ibrahim Al-Ja'afari's decision to reject
such a proposal has put an end to those futile dreams. All
of Iraq's people will say, `no to postponement.' This is the
result of the government's interaction with people and this
relationship must develop further, especially following the
current terrorist activity that aims to thwart the
constitutional process. Attitudes of some international
groups that call for postponing Saddam's trial, using weak
excuses, have been unsuccessful despite the machinery of a
huge media campaign which has tried to portray Saddam as an
oppressed victim who cannot enjoy any human rights.

"We insist on saying `no to postponement' because Saddam's
trial is a national demand. We reject any attempt to
politicize Saddam's trial because it is purely an Iraqi
affair that must not be meddled in by any other country. All
documentary evidence proves that Saddam executed thousands
of Iraqis and he also stole the Iraqi people's national
wealth. For this reason, Saddam's trial is not a political
affair that is subject to special interests but rather it's
a trial that represents the whole of Iraq's people."

B. "He Who Is Without Sin"
(Al-Siyada, independent, published this back-page column by
Hussein Al-Ubaidi)

"I do not want to acquit any officials from accusations of
corruption and I do not differentiate between officials from
Allawi's government and the current government. Illegitimate
money has incredible satanic temptation; neither officials
nor average citizens can resist the lure [of corruption]
except for those whom God has blessed with mercy.

"It is not right to politicize accusations of corruption and
make them a tool for political conflicts. For instance, the
government has suddenly discovered that there is corruption
in the Ministry of Defense, worth unprecedented amounts of
money, and yet the former Minister of Defense is the only
official implicated in this case. We all know that Al-
Ja'afari's government has assumed power and been working for
several months. Without a doubt, it has responsibility for
everything and it knows all of the details about the former
government's performance so why hasn't the current
government raised this serious issue before? Why has it
decided to publicize this case now? What was the role of the
Commission on Public Integrity during that time? I say this
because the former Minister of Defense, Hazem Al-Sha'lan, is
preparing for the coming election and the rivalry has
already begun.
"As I said before I do not want to accuse or acquit anyone--
all officials are equal to me [as a private citizen]. But,
the timing of this case and the current exaggeration by
local media outlets have made us doubt the veracity and
independence of the Commission on Public Integrity. It seems
that the government has turned this commission into a
political tool to get rid of its political opponents and win
another term in the upcoming election. If the case was
associated with known facts, I would have been the first one
to support this accusation but how can we know the facts
amid hazy circumstances?
"Anyway, we should not forget Christ's saying: `Let he who
is without sin cast the first stone.' We wish that
[character] defamation would not be used as a weapon in the
electoral battle because this act will only ignite political
accusations. Consequently, this will lead to a revelation of
what is behind the scenes and may force some political
groups from the political process."

C. "Ramadan and the Patience of Iraqis"
(Al-Siyada, independent, published this front-page editorial
by Sa'ad Assam Al-Janabi)

"It's the third Ramadan since the downfall of the former
regime and the Iraqi people's sufferings have only
increased, their hopes destroyed by the security chaos and
the decline of essential services. In this holy month, we
have to perform our religious duties in addition to our
national duties.

"In this holy month we will witness a democratic practice,
the referendum, which we must participate in as a national
duty. In spite of our reservations on some articles and
paragraphs within the constitution we call on all Iraqis to
actively participate in their national right to freely
express their opinion--it is up to Iraqis to accept or
reject the constitution. The most important thing is that
they must participate in promoting the political process so
that mistakes of the previous election will not happen
again. This way, we will have a fully legitimate referendum
and election that leads to a national government that
satisfies all Iraqi's ambitions.

"The Iraqi government is responsible for providing a
suitable environment to make the referendum and election
successful. It must ensure that all Iraqis take part in this
process so that we can have a newly elected National
Assembly that represents all Iraqis. To achieve this, we
must depend upon God and remember the virtues of this holy
month. First of all, cities must not be attacked and bombed-
-injured citizens must be compensated. All random raids on
houses must be stopped and there needs to be a legal way to
implement security procedures. All detainees must be
released and we must achieve national reconciliation. In
addition, we need to put an end to the continuous bloodshed
in Iraq in order to put Iraq on the correct path to
establish democracy and justice. Iraqi patience is at an end
and it is now time for the Iraqi people to harvest the
fruits of their sacrifices and endurance."

D. "An Invitation to End Terrorism in Iraq"
(Al-Ittihad, affiliated with the PUK, published this page-
five editorial by Dr. Ahmad Abdullah)

"After the downfall of the dictatorial regime on the ninth
of April 2003, Iraq has witnessed many brutal crimes. The
Americans and their Iraqi allies who came with them must be
held responsible for the consequences of those crimes
because it is they who have let terrorists enter Iraq easily
and freely. Now, every day we see Iraqi blood shed and
hundreds of men, women, children, and elderly being killed
in markets, streets, and houses. The intentional killing of
innocent citizens indicates that those killers and criminals
do not know the meaning of mercy and I think that the smell
of blood excites their antagonistic instincts.

"We do not know if those killers realize that they will
definitely go to hell. Moreover, some Iraqis label those
murderers `resistance.' Can we regard the killing of
innocent, unarmed civilians as resistance? Can we regard
attacks on police and other security forces resistance? The
march of freedom and democracy moves forward in Iraq because
Iraqi martyrs have enabled it through their martyrdom. On
the other hand, some neighboring countries are still
supporting terrorists in Iraq. But, God will punish those
who harm Iraq and the Iraqi people will never forget the
stances these countries took. In the end, only terrorists
will be the losers because their operations are condemned in
life and they will be punished on the Day of Judgment. At
the same time, the Iraqi people have become aware of the
necessity to unite to fight these killers.
"This is a battle between good and evil. For this reason,
let us all fight terrorists because there is no place for
terrorists and occupiers in Iraq, which is the land of
prophets and imams [esteemed clerics]. The upcoming stage
will be sensitive and complicated, therefore we have to be
very positive and our citizens must be united in order to
counter the brutal and hysterical terrorist attacks against
our country. We have to cooperate with the security forces
to inform against any terrorist suspects. In addition, we
must say `yes' to the constitution which we will be able to
amend in the future should we have reservations about it."

E. "In American English"
(Al-Zaman, independent, anti coalition, published this page-
four column by Dr. Kadum Al-Mukdadi)

"If I were an Iraqi-American journalist who lived in
Manhattan for a long time, I would have suggested that the
occupation forces present a daily television show entitled,
`In American English.' I am sure I would be able to find
many Americans who are fed up with American democracy and
are tired of the [American] political game in Iraq.

"When hurricanes hit the United States and the Bush
administration proved ineffective at containing the
disaster, we could make use of this event in one of our
evening shows. President Clinton said that there were no
weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, as Bush claimed;
moreover, Clinton critiqued Bush's inability to deal with
the damage of the hurricane. In Iraq, there are some people
(especially in the city of Fallujah) who believe that what
happened in the United States represents God's retribution
for the American attack on their city. A displaced citizen
from Samara said while he was watching millions of Americans
flee their cities after Hurricane Katrina, that it was God's
penalty for what they did to the Iraqis. I am sure that
citizens of Al-Qa'im, Tal-Afar and Dulu'aya would say the
same thing.

"I don't think anyone in the world can prevent impoverished
people from showing delight in the misfortune of the
American people. And it's American shamelessness and
disrespect for other countries that has created this hatred.
Through one of his impudent statements, Bush told the
American people that [by waging war in Iraq] he was able to
keep the battle against terrorism isolated from the United
States and sequestered here in Iraq. This means that he
brought destruction to our land at the expense of our people
and our country. All this happens and there are still some
new politicians who say that there is a difference between
the occupation and terrorism. In fact, the occupation and
terrorism are two faces of the same coin.

"What happened in Basrah [the incident with the British
military] is an example of the democracy [practiced on
behalf] of the occupation. This democracy destroys police
stations and insults the local Iraqi government. But, I
think we have to demand: a democratic apology, democratic
submission and democratic humiliation."

F. "Another Definition of Democracy"
(Al-Dustoor, independent, published this front-page
editorial by Bassem Al-Sheikh)

"Every day we explore new definitions and the new charming
qualities of democracy, especially when it reaches the
decisive stage when the impoverished and underprivileged
segments of society decide the fate of their prominent
leaders--who have to follow one of two paths to gain the
votes of the population. The first is to win the hearts of
the people who, despite their simple nature, know only too
well that it is nothing more than an attempt to achieve
their political goals and then to discard promises after
reaching power.

"The second and the most important is to expose the dirty
laundry of their opponents and to lower their standing in
the eyes of their supporters. Usually this starts with the
electoral campaigning period during which, friends of
yesterday become the enemies of today, while today's
adversaries become allies and partners.

"Here, experience, aggression, and rudeness have a great
role to play, and usually in this period those with noble
principles and honorable behavior who have no desire to
indulge in filthy contests withdraw and fail--while those
that have nothing on their mind other than the calculations
of gaining power are the ones who emerge victorious.
Democracy is the brush that removes corrosion and reveals
the true metal from which men are forged."

SATTERFIELD

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