IRAQI POLITICIANS PRAISE PRESIDENT'S CAIRO SPEECH

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 001493


E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/04/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV IZ
SUBJECT: IRAQI POLITICIANS PRAISE PRESIDENT'S CAIRO SPEECH
AS "A GOOD START," BUT AWAIT ACTION

Classified By: JOHN FOX, ACTING COUNSELOR FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS, E.O. 1
2958, REASONS 1 (b) and (d).


1. (SBU) SUMMARY AND COMMENT: Iraq's political classes
almost uniformly praised President Obama's June 4 speech from
Cairo as "a good start." However, most contacts told us that
the U.S. must follow up with specific actions to consolidate
Iraq's fragile democracy and to establish an independent
Palestinian state. The glaring exception to the warm
reception came from Sadr Trend leader Muqtada al-Sadr, who
asserted that the Arab and Muslim world "would not buy the
speeches of President Obama until the U.S. withdraws from
Iraq and Afghanistan." Sadr said that the President cannot
change America's policies in the Middle East alone, because
he shares power with other political entities and actors, and
those actors "have always been against Islam."


2. (C) SUMMARY AND COMMENT CONTINUED: The reaction to the
Cairo speech reflected frustration over two core domestic
concerns: Iraqi leaders' worry that the U.S. has shifted
attention away from Iraq to Afghanistan, and are concerned
about whether the U.S. is committed to implementing the
withdrawal deadline laid out in the Security Agreement
(septel). Iraqi Kurdish leaders expressed their hope that the
Obama Administration will keep Iraq's diversity and minority
rights in mind. With several defining milestones over the
coming months (U.S. combat troop withdrawal from cities by
the end of June, Kurdistan Regional Government elections in
July, resolution of Kirkuk provincial status and elections, a
possible referendum over the U.S. Security Agreement and
parliamentary elections in early 2010) Iraq's leaders want
continual reassurance that the U.S. remains fully engaged and
committed to the consolidation of institutional and security
achievements. One of Iraq's ongoing challenges was
illustrated by the fact that power outages and brownouts
across Iraq on June 4 prevented many of our contacts from
watching the speech live. END SUMMARY AND COMMENT.


KEY IRAQI LEADERS REACT TO THE SPEECH
--------------


3. (C) GOI Spokesman Ali Al-Dabbagh stated that the
President's speech helped improve understanding between the
U.S. and the Islamic world, taking attention away from
extremists who have "tarnished Islam." He added that "it is
positive that Iraq was not the focus of a U.S. president's
speech," inferring from it that Iraq was no longer the worst
problem in the region. Dawa MP and key advisor to PM Maliki
Sami Al-Askari told poloff that the speech was groundbreaking
in that "it was the first time a U.S. president stood up to
address the people of this region with utmost respect and
appreciation, calling for bilateral relations based on the
human values preached by the three holy religions, and on the
joint interests between the U.S. and countries of the Islamic
world." Al Askari continued, "As an Iraqi...I found that
there were assurances on the official U.S. government
position in supporting the GOI and its people in building a
stable and independent country and to commit to the agreement
of withdrawing the U.S. forces on schedule." He added that
the speech was not going to change circumstances in the
region, especially on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict unless
it was tied to a fixed policy, and that President Obama would
not be able to achieve a final solution before the end of his
term.

-- Ayad Al-Samarraie, Speaker of Parliament and Iraqi Islamic
Party (IIP) Deputy Secretary General, told us the speech
QParty (IIP) Deputy Secretary General, told us the speech
"demonstrated the desire of the U.S. to promote partnership
and distance itself from the policy of the previous
administration, which damaged the reputation of the U.S. The
commitment of President Obama to the withdrawal timetable is
a fact that pleases us and reassures us ....but imposes on us
at the same time the need to work to facilitate this
withdrawal through achieving political and security stability
and ...reaching a national consensus through the work of the
parliament, because disruption will hinder the withdrawal
process."

-- Arif Tayfour, Deputy Speaker of Parliament and Kurdish
Democratic Party (KDP) member, told poloff that the speech
was a comprehensive approach to the whole Islamic world and
said that the comments on Iran were promising. He called on
President Obama to pay attention to the rights of minority
communities like the Kurds, as President George W. Bush had
done.

-- Jalal al-din al-Saghir, ISCI MP, told poloff that the
speech was a good step and expected that public reaction
would be good. He said that Iraqis were worried that the
U.S. will start "preferring one country over another." (Note:
Al-Saghir appeared to be referring to Afghanistan. End note.)

-- Maysoon Damluji, Iraqiyya MP told us that the President
"said the right things" about Israeli settlements and the
Palestinian right to statehood. "The questions is whether he
will act on his words."

-- Shatha Al Ebousy, MP (IIP) approved of the President's
comments on Iraq's future and sovereignty, and predicted that
the President's trip to Saudi Arabia and Egypt would help
improve Iraq's relations with those countries.

-- Friad Rwanduzi, Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) MP told
us: "We all equate Obama with change. Not sure what this
means for us in Iraq, especially for the Kurds."

-- Sami Atroshik, Kurdish Islamic Union (KIU) MP told poloff
that Obama seems like a good president, but Iraqis need to
see concrete gestures. "How the U.S. treats us when Obama's
war is now Afghanistan is a big question mark."

-- Fuad Hussein, KRG Chief of Staff, told poloff that the
speech was historic, and that Kurds hope "we are still very
much in President Obama's policy. We have many issues with
the GOI that could use USG support and mediation."

-- Raja Al Khalili, advisor to Vice President Adil Abd Al
Mahdi, called the speech "a very new and positive approach,
however, Iraqis want to see facts on the ground." Fareed
Yasseen, also of the Vice President's staff, called the
speech a "slam dunk...if it will be criticized, it will be
criticized for being too soft on Israel as a nuclear entity."

-- Dr. Ahmad Abdel Ghafour Al-Samaraei, Director of Diwan
Al-Waqif Al-Sunni (council of religious endowments),a
leading Sunni authority in Iraq, said that the speech "did a
significant service for the U.S. and Islamic world alike" and
praised the President's references to the Quran. He told us:
"I heard a lot from Iraqis who listened to the speech and
were heartened by his reference to unity, and I hope that Mr.
Obama's speech is printed to distribute to Iraqis so they
will know the U.S. is committed to Iraq and to the importance
of democracy....We call for Mr. Obama to say in his next
speech that Iraq has become a model for realizing democracy.
We Iraqis waited for democracy for two decades and will not
permit it to be used for sectarianism, racism and
illegitimate government."

-- Salma Jabou, President Talabani's advisor on women's
issues and director of the Iraqi Widows' Fund, assessed the
speech positively, called for the military withdrawal to
continue and for the U.S. to shift focus to civilian
institutions. She told us President Obama should establish a
plan to execute his seven points and back up the speech with
actions. Jabou said President Obama clarified that dialogue
has to go both ways and the Islamic world has to change its
perspective on the U.S. She suggested that the Obama
Administration work on economic and humanitarian issues in
the Middle East to gain the respect of the public and to
expand efforts to help Iraqi women. (Note: Jabou participated
in the town hall meeting in Baghdad with Secretary Clinton on
April 25, 2009. End note.)

-- Ahmad Mofeed, chief of staff to Da'wa MP Ali Al-Adeeb,
told poloffs that the speech illustrated the need to
facilitate dialogue between countries in order to improve
understanding.

-- Dr. Rownak, aide to Vice President Tariq Al-Hashimi, noted
the "new tone and good intentions" of the speech, but said
that it must be followed by action. She said that the
President appears to be playing the role of intermediary
between religious and cultures, but cautioned that the
situation is more complex than the president portrayed,
Qsituation is more complex than the president portrayed,
especially among Muslims.

-- Subhi Haider, a leader of the Shi'a Kurd Qarash tribe,
told us that Iraqis were comforted that the President intends
to honor promises made to withdraw forces from Iraq.

-- Ibrahim Shafi, a school principal in Irbil and member of
the Shi'a Kurd Shafaq organization, told poloff that the
President gained credibility by quoting the Quran, and
corrected the impression in the Islamic world about how the
U.S. deals with Muslims.

-- Adnan Aziz of Shafaq reiterated that President Obama has
to live up to the speech with concrete actions.

-- Reform Trend MP Fallih Al Fayyad and ISCI MP Tahsin
Al-Azzawi told poloffs that the U.S. chose wisely to give the
speech in Egypt in a secular academic institution, rather
than in Saudi Arabia, as Egypt is "moderate ground" and
remained the heart of the Arab world. Al-Azzawi stated that
it will take time to move the U.S. government, as President
Obama alone does not have the power to change the direction
of the Israeli-Palestinian issue and other conflicts.


IT'S STILL ABOUT THE WARS IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN
-------------- --------------


4. (U) Sadr Trend leader and Muqtada Al-Sadr told the press
immediately after President Obama's speech that "the Arab
world will not buy Obama's speeches, and they will not
believe anything until the U.S. withdraws forces from Iraq
and Afghanistan." Sadr said that it is not up to the
President to change the direction of U.S. policy, noting that
he shares power with other political actors and entities. He
asserted that those entities "have always been against Islam."

FORD