ADNAN PACHACHI IS BAGHDAD BOUND

S E C R E T ABU DHABI 002170 SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARP AND NEA/NGA E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/04/13 TAGS: PREL IZ TC SUBJECT: ADNAN PACHACHI IS BAGHDAD BOUND ¶1. (U) Classified by Ambassador Marcelle M. Wahba for reasons 1.5 (B) and (D). ¶2. (S) Former Iraqi foreign minister Adnan Pachachi contacted the Ambassador over the local weekend with the news that he will be flying into Baghdad on Tuesday, May 6 aboard a UAE Air Force C-130 with a small group of his supporters. MFA Minstate Hamdan bin Zayid and Armed Forces Chief of Staff Shaykh Muhammad bin Zayid separately told the Ambassador that the UAEG is supporting the establishment of an office for Pachachi in Baghdad and providing him with security, until he has set- up his own Iraqi security detail. ¶3. (S) Comment: Pachachi believes he has much to contribute in the evolving dialogue on the future Iraqi government. The octogenarian statesman has spent the last several weeks touring various Arab capitals briefing leaders, including Hosni Mubarak and King Abdullah, on his vision, and soliciting their advice. Here in Abu Dhabi, where he has resided with his wife since the early 1970s, Pachachi has been hosting informal diwans where Iraqi expats of all stripes have been airing their concerns about the current state of affairs and presenting suggestions on how to shape the new government. For the Emiratis, Pachachi's moderation, his message of inclusion and his strong pan-Arab credentials are an important balance to what they view as the alarming emergence of Shi'a sectarianism coupled with signs of Iranian meddling in Iraqi affairs. End Comment. WAHBA