MEDIA REACTION: IRAQ'S NEW GOVERNMENT

UNCLAS KUWAIT 001599 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARPI, NEA/PA, NEA/AIA, NEA/PI, INR/NESA, R/MR, I/GNEA, B/BXN, B/BRN, NEA/PPD, NEA/IPA FOR ALTERMAN LONDON FOR TSOU PARIS FOR ZEYA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO PREL KDEM PGOV KU SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: IRAQ'S NEW GOVERNMENT Block Quotes -------------- ¶1. Saturday, 6 May, 2006 -- Ahmed Bu-Dostour wrote in the conservative Arabic-language daily Al-Watan under the title "Will Al-Maliki fix what Al-Jaafari ruined": "The first public statement made by Al-Maliki called for the dismantlement of armed militias and their integration into the army. Although he belongs to the same political party, his platform and trends are completely different. Security and order are the biggest challenges facing Al-Maliki's government but he has a good chance of achieving them since he has the full weight of the American government backing him. The recent visit by the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State at the same time is a clear sign of that. There is optimism throughout Iraq for Al-Maliki as he seeks to fill the positions of Minister of Interior and Minister of Defense with persons whose loyalty is first and foremost to Iraq." ********************************************* * For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/?cable s Visit Kuwait's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ ********************************************* * LEBARON