Cablegate: Daily Iraqi Website Monitoring - August 28, 2005

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

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 003569

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: DAILY IRAQI WEBSITE MONITORING - AUGUST 28, 2005

SUMMARY: Discussion on the Constitution was the major
editorial theme of Iraqi, Arabic language websites on August
30, 2005. END SUMMARY.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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A. "Positions Worthy of Support: Case Studies of Abid
(Slave) Mutlag Al-Jaboori, Nuri Al-Rawi, and Colleagues"
(Iraq4all, 8/30)
B. "Sunni Arab Representatives and Legitimacy" (Al-Anbar,
8/30)
C. "A Constitution or a Political Platform?" (An-Nahrain,
8/30)

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SELECTED COMMENTARIES
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A. "Positions Worthy of Support: Case Studies of Abid
(Slave) Mutlag Al-Jaboori, Nuri Al-Rawi, and Colleagues"
(Editorial by Samir Ubaid, Iraq 4 All News Website
(http://iraq4all.org)

"Real men rise to the occasion during difficult times and
crises while half-men are known by their style of
confrontation. This period is presenting us with examples of
half-men who have reached a state where they are demanding
the division of the country and its wealth according to a
basis the world has not heard before.

President Bush's representative - Khalilzad - says the
constitution is a unique example in the region. And we say
yes, it is. It's the only Zionist, Persian constitution in
the region that will divide Iraq's land, people, stones, and
create conflicting states and protectorates, achieving what
Zionist leaders have called for hundreds of years ago-it's
on the verge of realization in Iraq.

Here we have half-men struggling among themselves to be the
ones to carry the plate that holds the head of Iraq to be
presented to Bush, Sharon, Rumsfeld, and Cheney.

But Iraq is a land that gives birth to the great and
courageous, and eradicates others of a different nature, so
these half-men will be eliminated with their masters, and
Iraq's wealth will be the flare that burns them and their
descending generations.

So take your stand in the face of President Bush, Rumsfeld,
and Sharon's constitution and say "No" to bring down the
mutant document and those who wrote it, and act like men who
weren't restricted in their positions by their posts, such
as (Salih Al-Mutlag, the Deputy PM who was forced to accept
the post, and Nuri Al-Rawi, the Minister of Culture and a
man of national principles, Ezhar Al-Sheikhli, the
constitutional expert and Minister of Women's Affairs, Saad
Al-Hardan, Minister of Provincial Affairs, and Osama Al-
Najafi, Minister of Industry). These people issued a
statement rejecting dangerous elements in the coming
constitution, and were accompanied by many other honorable
National Assembly members and anti-occupation organizations
including the Sadr Movement, the Islamic Scholars'
Association, tribal and religious movements, the National
Dialogue Council, the Sunni gathering, the Islamic Party,
and other parties and movements throughout Iraq.

Don't dither over secondary issues, and let your goal be a
unified Iraq which encompasses all Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen,
Muslims, Christians, and others.

We hail the honorable people for whom this article was
meant, all those who have expressed their position
courageously, and those who will reject the constitution for
a more civilized and moderate document free of occupation."

B. "Sunni Arab Representatives and Legitimacy"
(Editorial by Ali Al-Nadawi, Al-Anbar Website (http://www.al-
anbar.com)

"Not a day seems to pass without a Sunni representative
talking about the constitution and attacking the elected
National Assembly and its designated constitutional
committee accusing them of illegitimacy.

Yesterday I was watching Al-Hurra's coverage of the
constitution when a heavily bearded man appeared before a
crowd of journalists saying Sunni representatives have
rejected the draft and that it is illegitimate.
I personally have many reservations about the draft and hope
it will not be approved, but what this man said sent my mind
in motion, for he was not elected nor appointed and I, the
Sunni who this man is supposed to represent, have never seen
or heard his name.

By his appearance he is a Wahhabi, to which I have no
objection, but when did the Wahhabi doctrine come to
represent the majority of Iraq's Sunnis?

When the `Sunni representatives" or "the excluded powers,"
though I support neither descriptions - rejected the
constitution, they did so on the basis that no Sunni would
consider important except for the notion of federalism which
might incite some fears due to the muted interpretation of
the concept presented by "Sunni representatives."

Iraqi Sunnis, whom you claim to represent, couldn't care
less about the Ba'ath Party as long as no innocent people
are punished, nor do they demand Islam as the sole source
for legislation, especially since clerics (both Sunnis and
Shiites) could never agree upon a unified Islamic law which,
if realized, would have spared Iraq many of its current
crises.

The government made a mistake by choosing these members. We
have seen how the majority of voters in Fallujah and other
areas voted for Allawi's list dismissing any sectarian
considerations. Iraq's future is related to the manner
through which Iraqi Sunnis will deal with the constitution
and elections, and I am not calling for voting in favor of
the constitution, but only to take an Iraqi and not a Sunni
position towards the draft."

C. "A Constitution or a Political Platform?"
(Editorial by Jafar Al-Husaini, An-Nahrain (The Two Rivers)
Website (http://www.nahrain.com/)

"Unfortunately, the permanent constitution which a lot of
Iraqis waited for was written in the mindset of the moment
and as such it's closer to a political platform than a
constitution.

A constitutional lay person would usually recommend the
inclusion of a few principles and a lot of rules. More
important than principles though are the mechanisms that
implement these rules and maintain them.

The problem, in the difficult circumstances Iraq is
experiencing, is a real lack of crisis among all parties.
Lawmakers were busy with slogans imbedded in the
constitution and concentrated on them more than the rules
themselves.

From the beginning the Kurds insisted on the right of self
determination and they treated it like an entitlement that
couldn't be touched. Such an issue doesn't need an article
in the constitution because when they will decided on self
determination or `separation,' call it whatever you want,
there is no need for a constitutional article. Any group or
people in the world don't need permission from others when
they decide on their self determination.

Sunnis Arab have insisted that Iraq is a part of the Arab
nation, and there simply has not been nor will there be any
constitutional law or article to prevent anyone from voting
on unity. The other example I will recite from a Shiite who
insisted on rooting out Ba'athists. This is a case that
should be settled over the next two years by referring
former regime criminals to justice without mercy or delay
while for others who were forced to join the party, I don't
thing it's appropriate to call them Ba'athists.

It would have been better for lawmakers to benefit from the
1925 and 1958 constitutions since both of them were free
from slogans and included only the laws to define
authorities. In any case, I think the permanent constitution
needs a miracle in order not to be rejected by three
governorates, not because it contains lots of gaps but
because there is a real crisis in trust among Iraqis today."

Khalilzad

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