VZCZCXRO3257
RR RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #4682/01 3580718
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 240718Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8685
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 004682 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
UNCLASSIFIED 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PTER IZ
SUBJECT: ISG Report criticized by Speaker of Iraqi Kurdish 
Parliament Adnan Mufti in letter to Bush, Congress 
 
 
¶1. (SBU)  SUMMARY AND COMMENT: Adnan Mufti, Speaker of the Kurdistan 
National Assembly (KNA) of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) 
in Erbil, Iraq, sent the Regional Reconstruction Team (RRT) 
identical copies of a letter to President Bush, Vice-President 
Cheney, House Speaker Dennis Hastert, and Senate Majority Leader 
William Frist criticizing the Iraq Study Group report.  Proposed by 
an emergency session of the KNA December 17, the letter condemns 
what it considers the ISG's Baghdad focus and misunderstanding of 
Kurdish issues, and opposes certain recommendations of the report, 
including those on oil, Kirkuk, centralization, and neighboring 
countries. 
 
¶2. (SBU)  Although the KNA remains largely a rubber-stamp for 
legislation proposed by the KRG executive branch headed by KRG 
President Massoud Barzani, Mufti is a long-time PUK Politburo member 
and is from an influential family in Erbil.  Official, educational, 
and civil society institutions in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region have 
organized many protests and publications against the ISG report; 
however, this is the first from the legislative branch of 
government.  END SUMMARY AND COMMENT. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Begin Text: 
 
"21 December 2006 
President of the United States of America, George W. Bush 
 
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Congressman Dennis Hastert 
 
President of the Senate, Richard Cheney 
 
Majority Leader of the Senate, Senator Bill Frist 
We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. 
 
I would first like to extend our appreciation to the Government of 
the United States of America for liberating the people of the 
Kurdistan Region from the former tyrannical regime, and safeguarding 
us since 1991 under the Security Council Resolution No. 688. 
 
It was encouraging for all the people of Iraq to see the role of 
American and Coalition Forces in rebuilding Iraq, making advances in 
the political process, conducting elections, and ratifying the 
permanent constitution for Iraq on the basis of federalism, 
democracy, and respect for human rights. 
 
The complicated situation in Iraq and the increase of violence, 
especially in the middle of Iraq, has worried you as Americans, we 
the people of Iraq, and people throughout the world, and we all look 
for a solution for this crisis. This is how the Iraq Study Group was 
established, under James Baker and Lee Hamilton. 
 
Our people expected that this would be an objective investigation to 
reach the truth, and based on that, to reach recommendations for the 
future of Iraq. With due respect for the members of the committee, 
the report contained a number of suggestions that caused severe 
concern to the people of the Kurdistan Region. The Kurdistan 
National Assembly held a special session on 17th December 2006 in 
order to evaluate the report. 
 
In an indirect manner, the report wanted to put suspicion on the 
leaders of the Kurdistan Region regarding their commitment to a 
federal region within a democratic Iraq. This was done, for example, 
by highlighting the fact that the Iraqi flag is not flown in the 
Kurdistan Region. The Iraqi constitution states that a new flag 
shall be established to represent all of Iraq, and is not 
reminiscent of the Baathist regime which inflicted severe atrocities 
upon our people. 
 
I would like to bring to your attention a number of observations 
from the ISG report which we oppose: 
 
-- Firstly, none of the committee members of the Iraq Study Group 
visited the Kurdistan Region in order to assess the situation on the 
ground and consider the viewpoint of our people. We believe that the 
report neglects our people's bitter history in the hands of the 
former Baathist regime, and sidelines our efforts in helping to 
create a federal, democratic Iraq. 
 
-- Secondly, the ISG Report does not respect the sovereignty of Iraq 
and its constitutional government, which was an outcome of free and 
democratic elections monitored by the United Nations and United 
States of America. 
 
-- Thirdly, it is suggested that all of Iraq's oil revenues should 
be centralized and shared on the basis of population. However, 
Article 112 of the Iraqi Constitution states that oil revenues 
should be distributed both on the size of the population and the 
degree of devastation inflicted by the former regime. Our position 
on this is to abide by the constitutional articles, rather than to 
 
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the ISG report 
 
-- Fourthly, the ISG Report suggests delaying the implantation of 
Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution, which handles the problems 
arising from the Arabization policy of the former regime. Thus the 
future and fate of Kirkuk, and other disputed areas, will remain 
without clarification. This not only contradicts with the Iraqi 
Constitution, but will also result in further complicating the 
matter. 
 
-- Also, the suggestion of expanding the powers of the central 
government, at the expense of regional powers, is in itself a 
contradiction of the constitution, which calls for a federal system. 
The people of Kurdistan Region have voted for a federal system and 
the institutions in the Kurdistan Region have been established on 
this basis. Any retreat from this will be a violation of the just 
rights of our people. 
 
-- Finally, the sovereignty of the new Iraqi state should not be 
jeopardized by inviting neighboring countries to meddle in our 
affairs. Nowhere in the report is there a reference to a federal and 
democratic Iraq, which we believe is an example for the Middle East 
and a sign of our victory in the war on terror. 
 
We urge you not to consider the suggestions in the ISG report, as 
they not match the interest of the people of Kurdistan, and they are 
a violation of the permanent constitution of Iraq. 
 
We would like to reiterate that the people of the Kurdistan Region 
are your strategic friends and allies, and we are looking forward to 
the continuation of your support. We share the same vision and 
objective, which is the establishment of democracy, human rights, 
justice, stability and the common interests of the people of the 
Region. 
Sincerely, 
Adnan Mufti 
Speaker of the Kurdistan National Assembly 
 
END TEXT. 
 
KHALILZAD