GARDEN CHATS WITH PAPA JA'FARI AND CREW

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 002906

SIPDIS

NOFORN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/11/2025
TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR IZ
SUBJECT: GARDEN CHATS WITH PAPA JA'FARI AND CREW

Classified By: Political Counselor Robert S. Ford.
Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D).


1. (S/NF) SUMMARY. Prime Minister Ja'fari
unexpectedly sat in on an informal meeting between
departing PolOff and one of Ja'fari's aides on July 7.
Revealing insights into his own worldview, Ja'fari
provided lengthy "love-life" counseling and advice
while also sharing details about his own family. On
the constitution, Ja'fari said he preferred a
presidential system; he complained that in the current
structure there are too many ways to block the
executive power's ability to make decisions. He
doubted the constitution committee would accept a
presidential system and instead establish a
parliamentary system with more checks and balances.
He also stated a preference for a Swiss model of
federalism. He commented that Kurds pretend to be
victims while acting like victimizers--always asking
and pushing for more. The PM's advisors said Ja'fari
misses being "social" and prefer not to discuss work
over meals or in the evenings. Ja'fari's advisor
complained about the continuing disorganization of the
PM's office and the state of the Da'wa party. They
describe a Da'wa party without strong, effective
leaders, grassroots support, and funding. It must
reform or be irrelevant, said one advisor who hopes
Da'wa will remain on a ticket with SCIRI in the next
elections. END SUMMARY.


2. (S/NF) Departing PolOff received unexpected
counseling and advice from Prime Minister Ibrahim al-
Ja'fari who dropped in on PolOff's July 7 late evening
meeting with PM advisor Bashar al-Nahar. PolOff and
Nahar were meeting in the PM residence's garden,
replete with a new volleyball net (Ja'fari told us he
joins in the games; his advisors say he is quite
athletic.) and the newly arrived geese in the fetid-
looking pond surrounding the house. PM Ja'fari was
still in his suit, but in a relaxed mood. (We now
rarely see the PM without a suit and tie as opposed to
his former customary dishdasha.)

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"Papa" Ja'fari's Marital Advice: Look for "Moral
Beauty"
-------------- --------------


3. (S/NF) Knowing PolOff was departing soon, Ja'fari
asked her about next steps and then began to dispense
marital advice. Ja'fari delivered a lengthy lecture
on the importance of family, which he stressed is the
cornerstone of Iraqi society. Choosing a marital
partner is not like choosing a career or moving
locations. It is imperative to choose carefully
because making a mistake in one's choice of a marriage
partner negatively impacts women more than men.
(Note: Another advisor later told PolOff one of
Ja'fari's daughters had been married only a short time
and then divorced. This may explain the importance he
placed on wise marital decisions. End Note.)


4. (S/NF) Ja'fari emphasized the planning involved in
finding the right person with the right values and
qualities and urged PolOff to begin this preparation
since she was at the age at which she should get
married. He said PolOff was the same age as Ja'fari's
eldest son and his daughters who were younger were all
married. Shared values are the most important
ingredient, continued Ja'fari. "Physical beauty will
decline but if there is "moral beauty" in the person,
then they grow more and more beautiful to you over the
years", noted Ja'fari. Ja'fari said he met his wife
while they were in medical school in 1975; they were
both 24 years old. He fell in love with her instantly
and they get closer and closer each year, Ja'fari
said. (Note: One of Ja'fari's advisors said his wife
is a very strong woman and very much in charge of the
household. End Note.)

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PM Stresses Women's Ability to Choose, Defends Islamic
Identity
-------------- --------------


5. (S/NF) Ja'fari said the general love and
compassion he feels towards people was from his
mother, who taught him to love the good in each person
no matter how much bad there is. His mother would
always point out the positive elements about each
person she met. PolOff took the opportunity to raise
the broader topic of women's issues, including
accounts NGOs have brought up of the PM's office
seeking to make women under 40 obtain permission of a
male relative to travel. Ja'fari looked slightly
pained and said, "Don't believe all of the things you
hear. What you have heard me say to you is what I
truly believe and act upon. For religion and women's
issues, there must be choice." Ja'fari said his three
daughters and wife all wear the hijab because they
choose to, not because he forces them. However,
Ja'fari also said that it would was important to
respect the "Islamic identity" of Iraq and very
difficult to remove, for example, the clause in the
current TAL that "no law can contradict Islamic
principles".

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Constitution Preferences
--------------


6. (S/NF) On the constitution, Ja'fari said he
prefers a presidential rather than parliamentary
system because it is more effective. All the
government would be "of the same mind" in a
presidential system. Ja'fari complained that in the
current structure there are too many ways to block the
executive power's ability to make decisions. However,
Ja'fari said he did not believe the constitutional
committee would accept a presidential system because
parties will insist on balancing power and on having a
greater number of positions for all the various
factions in Iraq. On the topic of federalism, Ja'fari
said he prefers the Swiss model of "geographic
federalism". Finally, Ja'fari complained about the
Kurds, as victims acting like victimizers--always
asking and pushing for more.

--------------
PM's Office Still in Disarray
--------------


7. (S/NF) In a separate conversation with former
Chief of Staff Adnan Ali al-Kadhimy July 8, Kadhimy
told PolOff he had heard from Ja'fari of his
counseling and advice to PolOff and smiled at
Ja'fari's nostalgia at playing the fatherly role.
Kadhimy then proceeded to tell PolOff "off the record"
of the problems in the PM's office and how he had
distanced himself from them when he saw that it was
clear Ja'fari would fail. Kadhimy noted he had
developed a plan of how to organize the PM's office to
be a team--the most important characteristic in his
view for the success of the government. Kadhimy had
hired Laith Kubba and Emad Diya, which required
convincing a reluctant Ja'fari who did not know them
well. Kadhimy had planned to hire about 15 more
advisors as capable as Kubba and Diya.


8. (S/NF) Kadhimy said he had told Ja'fari the PM's
role is strategic and visionary; he should be able to
come in to a clean desk in the morning and let his
staff handle the details. Kadhimy said Ja'fari just
was not comfortable with that arrangement and takes
every decision seriously because he knows it will
reflect on him if it fails. Ja'fari instead
surrounded himself with loyal, highly moral people and
long-time Da'wa members who have never managed and who
know little about organization or generating results.
Kadhimy mentioned that July 7 he had been in the PM's
office and a senior advisor was signing a stack of
files that he could have assigned to an administrative
assistant. PM advisor Nahar separately complained to
PolOff July 7 of the hopeless disorganization of the
PM office and his desire to get various consulting
companies to help them operate better. Nahar said the
British Adam Smith consultants did not provide the
practical assistance the office needed.

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Diminishing Power Base of Da'wa
--------------


9. (S/NF) "Da'wa is in trouble", observed Kadhimy,
and must reform in order to stay relevant. The party
is becoming out of date with the "old guard"
leadership who lacks energy and organization. The
party elders, such as Ja'fari, Ali Adeeb and Jawad al-
Maliki are more suited for writing treatises than
running a party, he complained. Da'wa also lacks the
grassroots support and the funding of SCIRI. Kadhimy
said he would prefer Da'wa run on a joint ticket with
SCIRI in the next elections to not only benefit from
SCIRI's ground support but also to dilute the Iranian
influence in the government. Da'wa could keep better
tabs on SCIRI's activities and power if it were in a
coalition with them. Kadhimy opined that going it
alone would hurt Da'wa such that it could drop to
third or fourth of the major parties.


10. (S/NF) Despite the party's quandaries, Kadhimy
said he would never leave Da'wa and knows that because
of its long history, many other Iraqis feel the same.
Da'wa also has the advantage of a defined ideology and
political writings. SCIRI, on the other hand, could
dissolve at any time; there is no one keeping the
various entities within the council together. Kadhimy
confided that Vice President 'Adil 'Abd al Mehdi had
approached him to join SCIRI but he declined, saying
any alliance must await Da'wa party approval and that
he would not break with the party. (Comment: SCIRI
bested Da'wa in nearly every provincial council
contest in the January 2003 elections. Kadhimy said
he believed 'Abd al Mehdi would be Iraq's next prime
minister. End Comment.) Kadhimy said he had met with
Ali Adeeb and Jawad al-Maliki, who are frustrated with
Ja'fari and blame him for many of the problems Da'wa
is facing. However, they both acknowledge their fate
is tied to Ja'fari's within the Da'wa party, and they
must face the party's predicament together.


11. (S/NF) Comment: While Kadhimy was criticizing
the disorganization in the PM's office, Ja'fari aide
Bachar Nahar was lecturing PolCouns July 9 on
Kadhimy's shortcomings and warning that Kadhimy cannot
speak for Ja'fari. Our sense is that the immediate
aides around Ja'fari are still jockeying for influence
and portfolio assignments are still fuzzy. The one
thing they all agree on is that the PM's office is not
well managed. Meanwhile, Ja'fari's advisors say
Ja'fari misses being "social" and do not like to talk
business over meals, preferring philosophical topics
in general. Although it is not surprising Ja'fari
would dispense such advice given what we know of his
genuinely compassionate personality, it is telling
that the Prime Minister would take two hours out of
his evening for an informal chat with an Embassy
Poloff mostly about personal issues. The
organizational problems in his office and the already
widespread sense of unease among Da'wa leaders do not
bode well for Ja'fari's prospects in the elections or
next government. Moreover, Kadhimy's comments of the
problems besetting the Da'wa party itself, such as
lack of strong leadership and funding base, echo
comments we have heard about its diminishing power
base.


12. (U) REO HILLA, REO BASRA, REO MOSUL, and REO
KIRKUK, minimize considered.


Satterfield