STATE MINISTER KHADIM PROMOTES SUNNI SHI'A UNITY,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 002464

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NOFORN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/10/2025
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM IZ
SUBJECT: STATE MINISTER KHADIM PROMOTES SUNNI SHI'A UNITY,
CHALLENGES NGO COMMUNITY DESPITE MEAGER MONTHLY BUDGET

REF: BAGHDAD 2346

Classified By: Acting Political Counselor Henry S. Ensher.
Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY. State Minister Khadim for Civil
Society told PolOff on June 7 that despite his
ministry's meager budget, he intends to maintain a
robust travel schedule and meet with NGO leaders both
in Baghdad and the provinces. Khadim, a follower of
Muqtada al Sadr, has met with Sunni and Shi'a tribal
leaders in order to promote Sunni inclusion in the
political process. Rounding out his ambitious work
plan, Khadim intends to actively participate in the
constitution development process from both within
government and through polling from the NGO community.
END SUMMARY.


2. (C) On June 7, State Minister for Civil Society
Affairs Ala'a Habib Khadim briefed PolOff on the
status of his ministry and its latest initiates to
promote Iraqi unity and social contributions of the
NGO community. Khadim reviewed the following key
areas:

-- NGO CONTRIBUTIONS IN THE NEW IRAQ: Khadim said that
Iraqi NGOs needs to focus their energies on positive
contributions to the Iraqi people, suggesting that
many NGOs are formed simply to win grants.

-- SUNNI AND SHI'A UNITY: Khadim said that on two
occasions during the past two weeks, he met with Sunni
and Shi'a tribal leaders to promote unity, Sunni
inclusion in the political process, and to hear tribal
grievances and concerns on behalf of the government.
Principal grievances include high unemployment,
unreasonable arrests, and the prevalence of water
pollution. The tribes also wish to relieve the ISF
and MNF-I from their duties, and have asked Khadim to
allow them to assume responsibility to enforce
violations of law that occur in their respective
areas, such as Al Anbar, Ninewa, Diwaniyah, Kut, An
Najaf, and Samarra, among others. Khadim stressed
that the tribal leaders are in a better position to
exert local control, and seek a larger role in
reclaiming their communities from the insurgents.
Khadim said he already presented a detailed plan to
Prime Minister Ja'afari, and plans to see the PM as
soon as possible to discuss possible courses of
action. Khadim said the role, as tribal interlocutor
is a natural for his state ministry.

-- SPECIFIC CUES FROM MUQTADA AL-SADR: Khadim provided
details regarding his recent meeting with Muqtada al-
Sadr, pointing out that Muqtada specifically said he
would not interfere with the business of his state
ministry. Khadim said that Muqtada provided him
specific guidance on the conduct of his duties,
telling him, "You are Iraq. The Iraqi people elected
(sic) you." He said Muqtada advised him to "work hard
and lift the burden of the Iraqi people", telling him
work towards the "unification of the Iraqi people"
through reconciliation between the Sunni and Shi'a.
Muqtada also directed him to "ask the occupying
forces" to leave Iraq. Khadim considers Muqtada's
instructions as entirely consistent to the purpose of
his ministry.

-- CONSTITUTION PARTICIPATION AT SEVERAL LEVELS:
Khadim explained that his ministry has a very specific
role in the constitution development process. First,
he serves as a member of a "support committee"
organized by the PM to assist the Constitution
Committee. Second, he serves as a member of an inter-
ministerial constitution committee under the Council
of Ministers. Third, he intends to conduct "surveys"
with the NGO community to coordinate civil society
input directly to the Constitution Committee.

-- TALL ORDERS FOR MINIMALLY FUNDED MINISTRY: Khadim
complained that he is still waiting for a response
from the Secretary General of the Council of Ministers
on his budget increase request, claiming that the
Secretary General's bloated 1,100 member staff (only

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200 are needed, he claimed) has created an impossible
bureaucracy. Khadim said he submitted a budget plan
that calls for the following: an NGO training center,
several national unity conferences for Iraqi tribal
leaders, conferences for NGOs, and publishing a
monthly magazine. Khadim stated his staff has finally
cleared an initial backlog of 1,000 NGO registration
application packages, and he plans to sign the
individual certificates by the end of the week.
Khadim also claims that international donors
contributed USD 145 million for three specific
ministries: Women, Human Rights, and his ministry.
However, he stated, he cannot find any records that
indicate his ministry has received any of this
funding. (Note: Post is researching the source and
intent of these funds; there is nothing to indicate
that any of these ministries received such funding.
End note.)
-- REVISIONS TO CPA ORDER 45: Khadim said he has
talked with NGOs regarding revisions to CPA Order 45
("NGO Order") in order to address "ambiguous parts" of
the order. While he does not believe a wholesale re-
write is necessary, he does not discount that
possibility. However, he stated he intends to keep
the changes focused on the subject of NGOs without
venturing into general discussions of non-profit
organizations.


3. (C/NF) COMMENT. Khadim appears to be more
proactive than his predecessor with respect to
developing a strategy for active engagement with civil
society and the NGO community (his predecessor could
hardly explain a coherent strategy until the final
days of his 8-month tenure). Current staff levels and
the budget shortfall will prevent Khadim from carrying
out his stated objectives. His focus on "shaping" the
NGO community could mean attempts to assert government
control over an NGO community whose mission includes
democracy development and oversight of that same
government. On a positive note, his civil society
outreach may prove to be the best mission his ministry
could perform. End comment.


4. (U) REO HILLAH, REO BASRAH, REO MOSUL, and REO
KIRKUK, minimize considered.


Jeffrey