ABDEL AZIZ AL-HAKIM DISCUSSES IRAQI FUTURE WITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 001862

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/13/2014
TAGS: PREL PTER BA IZ
SUBJECT: ABDEL AZIZ AL-HAKIM DISCUSSES IRAQI FUTURE WITH
BAHRAIN LEADERSHIP

Classified By: William T. Monroe Reason: 1.4 (B)(D)


1. (C) Summary. SCIRI Chairman Al-Hakim visited Bahrain this
week, bringing a positive message of reassurance that Iraqi
Shia wished to work with Sunnis to forge a new Iraq.
Hegemony of one faction, he insisted, was not a model for
Iraq. He said he had talked with many Sunni religious
leaders in Ramadi and elsewhere who complained of
intimidation by extremists. He accused the media of
distortion in suggesting that civil war was developing in
Iraq, saying that Sunnis and Shia were much too linked for
the country to split apart. He said the terrorists who
attacked the consulate in Jeddah had been trained in Iraq and
slipped back into Saudi Arabia after Ramadan. King Hamid
reiterated to Al-Hakim Bahrain's support for the political
process. Bahrain's Minister of Islamic Affairs complained
over lunch with Al-Hakim about certain recent actions by Shia
Bahrain. End summary.


2. (C) SCIRI Chairman Abdel Aziz Al-Hakim visited Bahrain
December 11-12 as part of a tour of the region, meeting the
King, Prime Minister, and a wide range of local Shia leaders
and scholars. Al-Hakim told the press that the purpose of
his visit was to reassure neighboring countries of the
positive political role that the Shia would play in the
future of Iraq, a message that was reflected in both his
public and private comments. In addition to Bahrain, his
itinerary also includes the UAE, Kuwait, Syria, Turkey, and
Saudi Arabia (twice: first to do Umrah last week, and
returning this week to meet Crown Prince Abdullah),according
to Iraq's Ambassador to Bahrain Ghassan Hussein.


3. (C) Ambassador Hussein told the Ambassador that the
meeting with the King lasted a full 80 minutes, during which
the King reiterated Bahrain's full support for the political
process in Iraq and its hope for the full participation of
all parties in the upcoming elections, including Sunnis.
Al-Hakim, for his part, told the King that Iraq cannot
develop into a hegemony of one faction over others. There
should be a consensus of all factions. The Shia as a
majority, he said, cannot impose its will on others. Hakim
praised the model of the Governing Council which he felt,
although criticized by many, was in fact a reflection of a
kind of consensus among many factions. Even the Christian
member did not feel that he was just one against 24, but
rather one of 24. The decision to head the Governing Council
from a rotating panel of nine reflected this desire for
consensus. It was, he said, a model for a new Iraq. "We
don't want hegemony of one faction," he repeated.


4. (C) Turning to the elections, Al-Hakim cited a recent
independent poll in Iraq which indicated that 60 percent of
the people in Ramadi are in favor of holding elections. He
said that he had met many prominent Sunnis religious scholars
from that area who complained of intimidation by extremists
who wanted to impose their views on them. He used similar
language in describing Falluja, saying the people there had
been taken hostage by the extremists who wanted to impose
their views. He noted that after the liberation of Falluja,
there had been no demonstrations or protests in Iraq, not
even in Ramadi. The King joked that even in Bahrain there
had been two protest marches against the action in Falluja.


5. (C) Al-Hakim dwelled at some length in his meetings on the
distortion of developments in Iraq by the media, which
describes the situation as a case of civil war. It is true
that Zarqawi is calling for a civil war and wants to wage
civil war, Al-Hakim stated, but he has failed in this effort.
In fact, Iraq is much more complex than a simple Sunni-Shia
division that risks succumbing to civil war. It has major
tribes (Janahiya, Jabbour, Shamar) that are half Sunni, half
Shia. Shia and Sunnis have many links, including through
intermarriage. He said that he could not imagine that Iraq
could be split apart.


6. (C) According to Ambassador Hussein, Bahrain's recent
offer at Sharm Al-Shaykh to host a meeting in Bahrain of
moderate political parties was raised in passing during the
meeting with the King. Al-Hakim thanked the King for his
offer, but did not explore it more deeply.


7. (C) Al-Hakim discussed with the King, and also with the
media, the recent attack on the U.S. consulate in Jeddah.
Al-Hakim told the King that terrorists in the attack had been
trained in Falluja over the previous six months, and had
returned to Saudi Arabia just after Ramadan to launch their
attack. He cited this to the press as an example why it was
important for Iraq's neighbors to work together for the
stability of Iraq. He denied to the press that Iran or Syria
were interfering in the election process.


8. (C) Ambassador Hussein said that Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister for Islamic Affairs Shaykh Abdullah Al-Khalifa
invited Al-Hakim for a luncheon on December 12 that was
attended by major Shia leaders and ulema in Bahrain,
including the leaders of the four opposition Shia groups that
boycotted the last election and have remained outside the
political process. During the lunch, Shaykh Abdullah had
critical words for the Shia in Bahrain. He complained that
Shia leaders had recently set up a Religious Scholars Council
that in effect rivaled the existing official Supreme Council
for Islamic Affairs, which falls under Shaykh Abdullah's
Ministry of Islamic Affairs. And he complained that Shia
picked December 17 to celebrate Martyrs Day, even though that
comes at the same time that the country celebrates is
National Day/King's Coronation Day. Al-Hakim told Shaykh
Abdullah he was not aware of these concerns.


9. (U) Baghdad Minimize considered.
MONROE