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RR RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #4758/01 3632148
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 292148Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8805
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 004758 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSTIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER EPET KPAO KMDR US IZ
 
SUBJECT:  Media Reaction:  Barzani Says Americans Will Not Stay 
Forever in Iraq 
 
 
This is an Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Reconstruction Team (RRT) 
cable. 
 
¶1.  (U)  SUMMARY:  Speaking in everyday language directly to the 
Kurdish people, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President 
Massoud Barzani made a statement to a special session of the 
Kurdistan National Assembly (KNA) on December 26 in which he 
downplayed the significance of the Iraq Study Group report, but said 
that Americans "will not stay forever" in Iraq.  Without the U. S. 
acting as an intermediary, Barzani warned, there could be attempts 
to delay or sideline the Constitutional referendum on Kirkuk.  Any 
such move would lead to "a disaster," and he intimated the Kurds 
might be required to take up arms to defend Kirkuk.  He said that in 
his recent trip to Baghdad he had reached an agreement with the 
Iraqi central government on budget and oil revenue sharing.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  (U)  KDP and PUK media outlets covered the statement of KRG 
President Massoud Barzani to a special session of the Kurdistan 
National Assembly on December 26.  In his statement Barzani 
downplayed the importance of the Iraq Study Group report citing a 
phone call with President Bush and a meeting with Senators Joseph 
Lieberman and John McCain during his recent trip to Baghdad. 
However, he also foreshadowed the eventual withdrawal of U. S. 
troops from Iraq.  He said: 
 
-- "I spoke with President Bush by telephone and he understands the 
sadness of the Kurdish people at this report.  He told me this 
report is just like any other report and the final decision is up to 
him alone.  President Bush also rejects any steps outside the Iraqi 
Constitution." 
 
-- "I met members of the U. S.  Congress from both the Democratic 
and Republican sides.  They told me that neither the Congress nor 
the U. S. government is committed to the report.  They said they 
appreciate what the Kurdish people have achieved in recent years and 
feel an ethical commitment to the Kurds." 
 
-- "But how long will the Americans stay?  They will not stay here 
forever.  If they feel there is no solution (to the ethnic violence 
in the south) they will pull out and we will be alone." 
 
¶3.  (U)  Without the U. S. acting as an intermediary, Barzani warned 
there could be attempts to delay or sideline the Constitutional 
referendum on Kirkuk.  He called on neighboring countries to stop 
political interference that is destabilizing the situation in Kirkuk 
and Mosul and suggested Kurds might be called upon to take up arms 
in defense of Kirkuk.  He said: 
 
-- "The Kurdish people have sacrificed a lot to secure a better 
future and achieve the rights that are guaranteed in the Iraqi 
Constitution.  We do not accept any move to circumvent the 
Constitutional process." 
 
-- "Neighboring countries are interfering in Iraqi sovereignty by 
smuggling groups of mercenaries, terrorists, and former Baathists, 
with the goal of drawing the Kurds into a national civil war. 
Already more than 2000 Kurds have been killed in Kirkuk, Mosul, and 
Diyala, and more than 3000 Kurdish families have been forced out of 
Mosul because of this war." 
 
-- "Any postponement or modification to the implementation of 
Article 140 of the Constitution will lead to a disaster." 
 
-- "We will struggle against any tribe that interferes with the 
Constitution, and the victory will be for us." 
 
¶4.  (U)  Barzani said he supports the movement to form a new 
coalition to marginalize militia leaders in Baghdad, but warned 
against factions in the government who are not committed to national 
reconciliation.  He promised that Peshmerga forces would not be sent 
to protect Baghdad in the context of sectarian violence.  He said: 
 
 
-- "We (the Kurds) live inside the framework of Iraq and are part of 
this state.  Any deterioration in the situation in the rest of Iraq 
will have a negative impact on the situation here." 
 
-- "There are people who support the government, the parliament and 
the political process on the surface. However, in practice, they 
side with the terrorists and militias which carry out killings every 
day." 
 
-- "We agreed (Kurdish and Iraqi officials) in Baghdad that we need 
a national coalition to handle the security situation in Iraq." 
 
-- "We will form coalitions with any group that believes in the 
Constitution, democracy, federalism, coexistence and mutual 
participation.  And we will never be allies with sides that oppose 
 
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these principles, whether they are Shia or Sunni." 
 
-- "The Peshmerga's duty is to protect the democratic regime. 
However, if they want the Peshmerga to go to Baghdad and become part 
of the Shia-Sunni conflict, then we would not do that.  If the aim 
is that the Peshmerga is stationed on the streets of Baghdad to 
become a target for snipers and booby-trapped vehicles, we will not 
tolerate that." 
 
¶5.  Barzani also commented on the success of his visit in reaching 
accommodation on economic issues: 
 
-- "We have reached an agreement on the budget where 17 per cent of 
the national budget will be shared with us." 
 
-- "We are close to announcing an agreement for sharing oil revenues 
in which all parties will get an equal share." 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  COMMENT:  Barzani used his statement to downplay the 
significance of the Iraq Study Group report, a departure from his 
staunchly negative rhetoric and that of other KRG officials in 
recent weeks.  This suggests that he realizes the government has 
overplayed its opposition to the report with protests and petition 
campaigns among students and civil society organizations that have 
been orchestrated by party officials behind the scenes for 
international media consumption.  He also intimates that the 
prospect of an eventual withdrawal of U. S. troops from Iraq could 
bring attempts to delay or sideline the Constitutional referendum on 
Kirkuk.  In this situation, he intimates, the Kurds might be 
required to take up arms to defend Kirkuk.  END COMMENT.