THE DEPUTY SECRETARY'S MAY 20 MEETING WITH IRAQI

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 AMMAN 004296

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/01/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER KISL ECON IZ SY IR
SUBJECT: THE DEPUTY SECRETARY'S MAY 20 MEETING WITH IRAQI
FOREIGN MINISTER ZEBARI

Classified By: CDA David Hale for Reasons 1.4 (b),(d)


1. (U) The Deputy Secretary met with Iraqi Foreign
Minister Hoshyar Zebari on May 20, 2005, at 9:30 am, at the
Dead Sea Movenpick Hotel, Jordan, on the margins of the
World Economic Forum conference.


2. (C) Participants:

U.S.

The Deputy Secretary
Ambassador Jones
Ambassador Wilson
Deputy Spokesman Ereli
NEA DAS Carpenter
NSC Director Pandith
Embassy Baghdad EconCouns Derse
D Special Assistant Waller
Notetaker Schedlbauer

Iraq

Foreign Minister Zebari
Iraqi Ambassador to Jordan Abdul Wahab
Assistant to Minister Robson
Prime Minister's Office Assistant Sherwan


3. (C) Summary: Iraqi Foreign Minister Zebari told the
Deputy Secretary May 20 that the Iraqi government had
received the Secretary's message on increasing Sunni
participation in the constitutional drafting process and
would likely add 12-14 new members. Zebari noted that
Transitional National Assembly (TNA) Speaker Hasani was
seeking international technical support for the
Constitutional Commission and not just Americans or
British. Zebari acknowledged that the constitutional
drafting process was the "cornerstone of our success or
failure" and that there were clear timelines in place that
had to be met or they would risk serious ruptures. Zebari
stressed that while the increase in sectarian violence,
including the assassinations of religious leaders, was
frightening, he did not believe it would lead to civil war.
The Deputy Secretary said he would like to see religious
leaders condemn Zarqawi's recent statement that it was
acceptable to kill women and children.


4. (C) Summary cont'd On the review of UN Security Council
Resolution 1546, Zebari said he would send a letter to the
Council and was also willing to appear before the Council,
as early as the last week in May. Zebari noted the Iranian
Foreign Minister's recent visit to Iraq and said that the
Iranians wanted to play an influential role in Iraq but
were mindful that it be a nonviolent role. Zebari
contrasted this with the Syrian agenda, stressing that
"this insurgency, believe me, is originating in Syria."
The Deputy Secretary said that both he and the Secretary
during each of their visits to Baghdad had urged the Iraqi
leadership to press Syria hard since Assad is already under
united international pressure. The Deputy Secretary said
it would be useful for Zebari to call Javier Solana and
explain why the Syrian government should not be invited to
the US-EU conference on Iraq in Brussels. End summary.

Malaysia willing to train Iraqis
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5. (C) The Deputy Secretary recalled his visit the
previous day to Iraq, only five weeks after his last visit
and on the heels of the Secretary's visit, in order to meet
with the new government and convey the USG's strong support
of ongoing efforts. He told Zebari that during his visit
the previous week to Malaysia, Malaysian Prime Minister
Badawi expressed a desire to be supportive of the new Iraqi
government, perhaps by providing training. The Deputy
Secretary told Zebari he had found this encouraging because

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Badawi is both the leader of the Organization of the
Islamic Conference (OIC) and has solid Islamic credentials.

Constitutional Commission:
Need to add Sunnis
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6. (C) The Deputy Secretary highlighted the need for an
integrated strategy (political, economic, security) to
defeat the insurgency. He voiced concern over
constitutional developments and underscored the need to get
broader Sunni participation in the constitutional drafting
process. He also said he was concerned by the increase in
sectarian violence.


7. (C) Zebari expressed his pleasure at meeting with the
Deputy Secretary in Jordan. He noted that the current
Constitutional Commission was a product of the Transitional
National Assembly (TNA),a body from which Sunni Arabs "are
absent." He said that the government is now proposing to
include Sunnis in the Constitutional Commission pursuant to
the message it received from the Secretary earlier in the
week. (Note: The Foreign Minister stressed twice during
the meeting that the Secretary's visit had a strong impact.
End note.) He said that 12-14 new members would likely be
added to the current 55 members. Zebari agreed this needed
to happen to prevent a rift; on a positive note, he said
the Sunnis are beginning to organize themselves and should
participate in the next election. The idea of including
Sunni Arabs in the Commission had not met with any
resistance from Iraqi Prime Minister Jafari, President
Talabani, or Barzani. The only resistance, he said, was
coming from SCIRI (Supreme Council for the Islamic
Revolution in Iraq) leader Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim. Zebari
said that he and others were stressing that such opposition
sent the wrong message. He asked for the Deputy
Secretary's assistance in persuading al-Hakim and others of

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the need to be inclusive.

8. (C) The Deputy Secretary said that inclusiveness was
his core message. The USG was ready to help as needed.
The Deputy Secretary noted that in his meeting May 19 with
Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Chalabi, Chalabi said he was on
board with increasing Sunni participation on the
Constitutional Commission. Zebari said he thought the
issue was manageable.

Technical Support for the Constitutional Commission
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9. (C) The Deputy Secretary then noted that Transitional
National Assembly Speaker Hasani wanted technical support
for the Constitutional Commission. Zebari said he was not
sure Hasani had formally asked for UN assistance.
Ambassador Jones said that the USG was told that Hasani had
sent a letter the day he had met with the Secretary but
agreed to follow-up with Hasani and press him for more
specifics on the assistance request. Zebari said that the
government "would prefer a more international face" if
technical experts are sent, and not just Americans or
British. The Deputy Secretary asked Ambassador Jones to
follow-up with Hasani and noted that the USG would be happy
to support the request.


10. (C) Zebari stressed that Iraq cannot squander this
last stage of the process. Drafting the constitution would
be the cornerstone of the new governments success or
failure. The Deputy Secretary responded that the
insurgents had failed to stop the elections, failed to stop
the government from forming, and, so, were now targeting
the constitutional drafting process.


11. (C) Zebari noted that there are clear deadlines in
place: August for drafting and October for a referendum.
He stressed that the deadlines must be met in order for the
government to retain its credibility. The Deputy Secretary
said that everyone said they wanted to abide by the August
15 deadline, but there was considerable wobbliness behind
those statements. Noting that the constitutional drafters
are people of courage and conviction who face an
extraordinary task, he observed that the opposition will
resort to whatever means it can, including murder, to try
to delay the process. If there are delays, he said, they
would take advantage of those delays.

Sectarian violence frightening but will not stop us
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12. (C) Zebari stressed that he believes they will manage
to complete the transition process, despite recent attempts
to foment sectarian violence. Zebari complained bitterly
about Arab League SYG Amr Musa, who has kept silent about
victims of the insurgency but who has made headlines in
recent days by talking about Iraq's sectarian violence. He
noted that in the past there had been assassinations of
local Baathists who were accused of having harmed people;
however, assassinations of religious leaders, whether Sunni
or Shia, with the possible collaboration of members of the
security forces, was a very frightening matter. Zebari
asked the Deputy Secretary for USG support in opposing
sectarian killings.


13. (C) The Deputy Secretary agreed that there were great
risks and dangers and many who did not want democracy to
succeed. He stressed that he would like to see the Iraqi
leaders speak as a group and note the total unacceptability
of sectarian violence. He also urged that Iraqi religious
leaders, as well as those in the broader Muslim community,
issue the same message. The Deputy Secretary pointed to
Zarqawi's recent statement on the acceptability of murder,
even of women and children. Religious leaders should
condemn such statements as outrageous and contrary to
Islam. He noted that he would emphasize this point in his
speech before the WEF plenary that night.
Violence will not lead to civil war
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14. (C) Zebari stressed that he did not think that the
sectarian violence would lead to civil war. The Deputy
Secretary replied that if the Iraqi government is able to

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move forward with the drafting of the Constitution, it can
beat the bombs with the continuation of the political
process. He stressed that as constitutional discussions
proceed, the commission needs to engage the public. He
suggested that the European Union example could serve as a
case study of what not to do -- only engaging the
intellectuals and elites on the constitution, not the
public. He noted that political support could be built by
opening up the process.

15. (C) The Deputy Secretary said he had told Speaker
Hassani that the government needs to continue to prepare
for the upcoming elections and that the International
Election Commission for Iraq (IECI) is a real asset with
which the ITG should continue to work.

Ready for UNSCR 1546 review at the end of May
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16. (C) Zebari said that UN Security Council resolution
(UNSCR) 1546 is up for review in June and the Iraqi
government is ready to cooperate. Ambassador Jones noted
that the Development Fund for Iraq is also up for review as
part of 1546. Zebari said that he would send a letter to
the UN Security Council and was also ready to give an oral
statement in New York before the Council. Ambassador Jones
said that the USG hoped to complete the review by the end
of May since both the US and French governments had agreed
that it was better if it was completed before the French
assume the Council presidency in June. Zebari said he was
ready to go to New York before the end of the month. The
Deputy Secretary stressed that it was important for the
UNSC to hear directly from a member of the Iraqi
government.

Brussels Conference: Iraqi delegation urged to come with
economic priorities
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17. (C) Zebari raised the June 22 US-EU conference on Iraq
in Brussels, noting that he had received a good response to
it during the recent Latin American-Middle East summit in
Brazil, especially from Egypt. He confirmed the Iraqi
Foreign Ministry would take the lead in organizing it, per
Ambassador Jones' earlier suggestion. He said he would set
up a small unit in the Foreign Ministry to coordinate the
Iraqi delegation. He stressed that the Iraqi delegation
would include both government and TNA political leaders of
different stripes so that it would appear "truly
representational."


18. (C) The Deputy Secretary said he had noticed the
international community's change in attitude since the
elections and the Iraqi government's formation. He
stressed that now was the time to move forward and get more
support for reconstruction. He urged Zebari to have his
economic team come to the conference with a clear plan with
sharp targets on agriculture, employment, rebuilding the
private sector, etc., and priorities (perhaps packaged as a
100-day plan) to create a sense of momentum.


19. (C) The Deputy Secretary noted that it was a good
decision to have Barham Salih take a lead role with the
donor community. He said he knew that Salih and Finance
Minister Allawi could work together and urged Zebari to
have the Foreign Ministry in the lead to keep driving the
process forward.

Iran - clever approach
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20. (C) Zebari noted that Iranian Foreign Minister
Kharrazi's May 17 visit to Baghdad was intended to send a
political message: Iran, like the US, has a presence in
Iraq and expects to enjoy some influence. Zebari observed
that the Iranians have been clever to cultivate support
without directly sponsoring violence. During Kharrazi's
visit, the Iranians expressed interest in reviving a joint
Prime-ministerial committee and the Iraqis agreed. The two
sides also agreed to establish reciprocal consulates (with
the Iranian consulates being located in Najaf and Karbala
to facilitate Iranian pilgrimages).

Syria - Insurgency is originating there
--------------

21. (C) Zebari contrasted the Iranian role with the Syrian
agenda that continued to be destructive despite the
continuous contacts and meetings between the two
governments and despite what happened in Lebanon. Zebari
said that some in the Syrian government (SARG) are sending
the message that it wants to change and take a new approach
with the Iraqi government. Zebari said he had passed a
list of wanted people active in Damascus to the SARG.
Nevertheless, the recent car bomb attacks, according to
Iraqi information, originated in Syria, Zebari said.
According to intelligence he had seen, Zebari said that
some are organizing a terror network in Saudi Arabia and
Jordan to recruit and move people. He said that his
government's consistent request to the SARG has been that
"we know you, we dealt with you in the past. We expect you
not to send arms. We know you know every person who enters
(Syria) since when we were there you helped us with
smuggling." Zebari noted that the best assurance to the
SARG is a government in place in Iraq that is friendly to
it. Again, Zebari stressed, "This insurgency, believe me,
is originating in Syria. Ramadi, Falluja . . . it's all
coming from Syria."

Now is the time to press Syria hard
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22. (C) The Deputy Secretary said the Secretary had
pressed the issue of Syria. He noted that Assad is feeling
under pressure after having totally miscalculated in
Lebanon. As the Deputy Secretary told PM Jafari May 19,
now is the time to press hard on Syria while the
international community is united. The Deputy Secretary
posited that "geography is reality," suggesting Zebari
remind his Syrian interlocutors that Iraq is not going
anywhere, it will eventually be stronger than Syria again,
and its leadership has very long memories. The SARG should
start acting appropriately.

Syria should not be invited to Brussels conference
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23. (C) The Deputy Secretary said the USG does not feel it
would be appropriate for the SARG to participate in the
Brussels conference. The Deputy Secretary pointed out to
Zebari that it would be very useful for Zebari to call
Solana and explain why the SARG should not be invited. The
Deputy Secretary asked rhetorically why the SARG should be
given additional legitimacy by being at the conference when
it is trying to undermine the Iraqi government. Again, the
Deputy Secretary urged Zebari to speak with Solana who
would likely be impressed by the facts.


24. (U) This cable has been cleared by the Deputy Secretary.

HALE