Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06BAGHDAD905
2006-03-20 10:29:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Baghdad
Cable title:
SHIA NEWSPAPER COLUMNIST SUPPORTS CPA DISSOLUTION
how-toVZCZCXRO4846 PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK RUEHMOS DE RUEHGB #0905/01 0791029 ZNY CCCCC ZZH P 201029Z MAR 06 FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3411 INFO RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC WASHINGTON DC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 000905
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/18/2016
TAGS: PGOV PINS PHUM PNAT PTER ECON KDEM IZ
SUBJECT: SHIA NEWSPAPER COLUMNIST SUPPORTS CPA DISSOLUTION
OF SADDAM'S ARMY
Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ROBERT S. FORD FOR
REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D).
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 000905
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/18/2016
TAGS: PGOV PINS PHUM PNAT PTER ECON KDEM IZ
SUBJECT: SHIA NEWSPAPER COLUMNIST SUPPORTS CPA DISSOLUTION
OF SADDAM'S ARMY
Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ROBERT S. FORD FOR
REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D).
1. (C) Summary: In a March 9 conversation, Al-Adala
newspaper columnist Ali Khaleef told PolOff and PAS/Off
that economic progress in Iraq has not kept pace with
political progress. Coalition Forces (CF) need to do more
to fight corruption and promote economic growth in Iraq, he
said. Khaleef then said that the CPA orders disbanding the
Iraqi Army and Ministry of Information were good ones.
These were corrupt institutions, he said, and needed to be
replaced. He also said the current de-Ba'athification
process is inadequate, as many Saddam-era leaders did not
need to join the Ba'ath Party; they gained influential
positions through their tribal connections. Khaleef, who
teaches Literature at Baghdad University, argued that
education is another facet of Iraq that needs to be
reformed because the Saddam-era curricula are still largely
used. New teachers are especially needed, Khaleef said.
He cautioned, however, that the lives of educators in Iraq
are difficult and dangerous, as they are sometimes targets
of assassination. End Summary
--------------
Reconstruction and Politics Are Paramount
--------------
2. (C) In a March 9 conversation with PolOff and PAS/Off,
Ali Khaleef, a columnist for the Al-Adala newspaper, said
that reconstruction and politics are the two biggest issues
facing Iraq today. After the fall of Saddam, Khaleef said,
CF focused largely on the political progress of Iraq, and
did not expend enough energy on Iraq's economic
development. As a result, he argued, corruption is rife in
Iraq and economic development has not kept pace with
political development. CF is responsible for economic
development as well as security and politics in Iraq, and
must do more for the economic well-being of Iraq. PolOff
and PAS/Off pushed back, arguing that USG has already spent
almost billions of dollars in reconstruction aid in Iraq.
Security problems and GOI corruption, PolOff and PAS/Off
argued, were largely responsible for the slow pace of
reconstruction.
--------------
Supports CPA Dissolution of Saddam's Army
--------------
3. (C) While many have criticized the CPA decision to
disband the Iraqi Army, Khaleef praised it. Khaleef argued
that the Saddam-era Iraqi Army was a corrupt institution.
The new Iraq needed a new Army; otherwise the army of the
former regime would have launched a coup against the Iraqi
government, he said. A new Iraqi Army, loyal to the new
Iraqi government, is a necessity, he said.
4. (C) Khaleef also praised the dissolution of the Saddam-
era Ministry of Information. He cautioned, however, that
many of the employees of this now-defunct ministry are now
working in other media outlets. He said these officials of
the former regime appear on television and in the
newspapers, criticizing and distorting CF actions and
policies. Khaleef urged CF to promote independent media in
Iraq--media that does not simply criticize CF all the time.
Iraqi media need to praise the good things going on in Iraq
as well as the bad, he said.
5. (C) Khaleef argued that limiting the de-Ba'athification
process to barring from public service anyone of the rank
of "adu firka" and above would not have adequately
addressed the problems in the former Iraqi Army and
Ministry of Information. He said that many key policy
people did not need party membership because they had the
right tribal affiliations to implement policies. Others,
he noted, had to join the party just to survive, and many
even became senior members. He said they were not all
ideological supporters of the regime, but benefited from
it. Put in a broader context, GOI needed a more nuanced
de-Ba'athification process.
--------------
Education System Needs Reform
--------------
6. (C) Khaleef, who teaches Literature at Baghdad
University, said that Iraq's education system needs to be
reformed as well. In particular, according to Khaleef, the
curricula have not been sufficiently reformed; only
references to Saddam Hussein have been removed. Students
still learn by rote memorization, and do not learn to think
BAGHDAD 00000905 002 OF 002
critically. Also, many unqualified Saddam-era instructors
are still teaching, he said.
--------------
Three Forms of Assassination
--------------
7. (C) Khaleef placed assassinations in Iraq into three
categories: (1) intellectuals who were former Ba'athists,
(2) tribal and personal vendettas, and (3) politically
motivated killings. Particularly troubling, Khaleef
argued, is the systematic killing of academics. He said
that, while some academics have been killed by armed gangs
who wanted money, others were targeted because they were
considered to be Ba'athists.
--------------
Comment
--------------
8. (C) Khaleef's comments are similar to those of many Shia
with whom we speak. He is supportive of CF actions and
policies, but wants us to do more. Many Shia are impatient
with the pace of Iraq's reconstruction, and look to the
U.S. to speed things up. Shia intellectuals such as
Khaleef have little faith in the GOI to fix Iraq's
problems.
SATTERFIELD
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/18/2016
TAGS: PGOV PINS PHUM PNAT PTER ECON KDEM IZ
SUBJECT: SHIA NEWSPAPER COLUMNIST SUPPORTS CPA DISSOLUTION
OF SADDAM'S ARMY
Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ROBERT S. FORD FOR
REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D).
1. (C) Summary: In a March 9 conversation, Al-Adala
newspaper columnist Ali Khaleef told PolOff and PAS/Off
that economic progress in Iraq has not kept pace with
political progress. Coalition Forces (CF) need to do more
to fight corruption and promote economic growth in Iraq, he
said. Khaleef then said that the CPA orders disbanding the
Iraqi Army and Ministry of Information were good ones.
These were corrupt institutions, he said, and needed to be
replaced. He also said the current de-Ba'athification
process is inadequate, as many Saddam-era leaders did not
need to join the Ba'ath Party; they gained influential
positions through their tribal connections. Khaleef, who
teaches Literature at Baghdad University, argued that
education is another facet of Iraq that needs to be
reformed because the Saddam-era curricula are still largely
used. New teachers are especially needed, Khaleef said.
He cautioned, however, that the lives of educators in Iraq
are difficult and dangerous, as they are sometimes targets
of assassination. End Summary
--------------
Reconstruction and Politics Are Paramount
--------------
2. (C) In a March 9 conversation with PolOff and PAS/Off,
Ali Khaleef, a columnist for the Al-Adala newspaper, said
that reconstruction and politics are the two biggest issues
facing Iraq today. After the fall of Saddam, Khaleef said,
CF focused largely on the political progress of Iraq, and
did not expend enough energy on Iraq's economic
development. As a result, he argued, corruption is rife in
Iraq and economic development has not kept pace with
political development. CF is responsible for economic
development as well as security and politics in Iraq, and
must do more for the economic well-being of Iraq. PolOff
and PAS/Off pushed back, arguing that USG has already spent
almost billions of dollars in reconstruction aid in Iraq.
Security problems and GOI corruption, PolOff and PAS/Off
argued, were largely responsible for the slow pace of
reconstruction.
--------------
Supports CPA Dissolution of Saddam's Army
--------------
3. (C) While many have criticized the CPA decision to
disband the Iraqi Army, Khaleef praised it. Khaleef argued
that the Saddam-era Iraqi Army was a corrupt institution.
The new Iraq needed a new Army; otherwise the army of the
former regime would have launched a coup against the Iraqi
government, he said. A new Iraqi Army, loyal to the new
Iraqi government, is a necessity, he said.
4. (C) Khaleef also praised the dissolution of the Saddam-
era Ministry of Information. He cautioned, however, that
many of the employees of this now-defunct ministry are now
working in other media outlets. He said these officials of
the former regime appear on television and in the
newspapers, criticizing and distorting CF actions and
policies. Khaleef urged CF to promote independent media in
Iraq--media that does not simply criticize CF all the time.
Iraqi media need to praise the good things going on in Iraq
as well as the bad, he said.
5. (C) Khaleef argued that limiting the de-Ba'athification
process to barring from public service anyone of the rank
of "adu firka" and above would not have adequately
addressed the problems in the former Iraqi Army and
Ministry of Information. He said that many key policy
people did not need party membership because they had the
right tribal affiliations to implement policies. Others,
he noted, had to join the party just to survive, and many
even became senior members. He said they were not all
ideological supporters of the regime, but benefited from
it. Put in a broader context, GOI needed a more nuanced
de-Ba'athification process.
--------------
Education System Needs Reform
--------------
6. (C) Khaleef, who teaches Literature at Baghdad
University, said that Iraq's education system needs to be
reformed as well. In particular, according to Khaleef, the
curricula have not been sufficiently reformed; only
references to Saddam Hussein have been removed. Students
still learn by rote memorization, and do not learn to think
BAGHDAD 00000905 002 OF 002
critically. Also, many unqualified Saddam-era instructors
are still teaching, he said.
--------------
Three Forms of Assassination
--------------
7. (C) Khaleef placed assassinations in Iraq into three
categories: (1) intellectuals who were former Ba'athists,
(2) tribal and personal vendettas, and (3) politically
motivated killings. Particularly troubling, Khaleef
argued, is the systematic killing of academics. He said
that, while some academics have been killed by armed gangs
who wanted money, others were targeted because they were
considered to be Ba'athists.
--------------
Comment
--------------
8. (C) Khaleef's comments are similar to those of many Shia
with whom we speak. He is supportive of CF actions and
policies, but wants us to do more. Many Shia are impatient
with the pace of Iraq's reconstruction, and look to the
U.S. to speed things up. Shia intellectuals such as
Khaleef have little faith in the GOI to fix Iraq's
problems.
SATTERFIELD