SUNNI RELIGIOUS LEADER WANTS FEDERALISM AMENDED

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 003470

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/25/2025
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM IZ
SUBJECT: SUNNI RELIGIOUS LEADER WANTS FEDERALISM AMENDED
FOR SUNNI ACCEPTANCE OF THE CONSTITUTION


Classified By: Political Counselor Robert Ford for reasons
1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: At an August 24 meeting with PolOff, the
influential former Sunni Waqf (Endowment) leader, Adnan
Dulaimi, urged the U.S. to ensure either the removal or the
watering down of references to federalism in the draft
constitution. Otherwise, he said, Sunnis would not support
the text. Dulaimi said that the President's August 23
statement welcoming the new constitution would lead many
Sunnis to conclude that they have to choose between either
federalism or violence. PolOff strongly countered that the
Sunnis should instead pursue their constitutional
objectives through peaceful negotiations with other Iraqi
communities. End Summary.


2. (C) Dulaimi pressed for U.S. "intervention" to either
delete all mention of federalism from the draft
constitution or to make the text sufficiently vague in
order to postpone a clear definition of the concept.
According to Dulaimi, "Sunnis hate the word 'federalism'
because they believe it will separate Iraq." PolOff told
Dulaimi that Sunni leaders should discuss their concerns
directly with the Shi'a and Kurds.


3. (C) Dulaimi said that U.S. expressions of support for
the new constitution, particularly as expressed by the
President August 23, had made the climate more difficult
for talks among Iraq's three communities. He said the U.S.
position has led Sunnis to conclude that they had to choose
between federalism and violence. PolOff countered that
Dulaimi should make every effort to press for peaceful
Sunni dialogue with other communities.


4. (C) Dulaimi argued that opposition to federalism extends
beyond Sunnis to members of all communities who are
concerned about Iran's growing influence in southern Iraq.
He warned that "Iran wants to export the Shia revolution to
Iraq with clerics ruling the government." Dulaimi claimed
that a group of like-minded Iraqis from all communities
(Shia and Sunni, Arab and Kurd) would hold a conference in
Baghdad, September 3, in order to call for a rejection of
"federalism".


5. (C) COMMENT: Several of our Sunni Arab contacts on
August 24 noted that the Arab media's spin on the
President's August 23 remarks concerning the Iraqi
constitution had made negotiations harder. The general
thrust of the President's remarks, as reported in papers
such as Sharq al-Awsat and the BBC Arabic service, was that
the President had said that Sunni Arabs should either
accept the draft constitution or face living with more
violence. We are sharing the actual text of the
President's remarks with Sunni Arab contacts to show the
media spin here was quite wrong. Dulaimi's effort to blame
the U.S. for the Sunni position on the constitution -- and
even violence -- is self-serving. However, he has remained
an influential figure among many Iraqi Sunnis, and we will
are trying to get him to take a moderate and constructive
stance. Getting Sunni Arabs like Dulaimi to support the
draft will be hard, but would pay benefits in terms of
broadening support for the political process and
undercutting Sunni Arab community support for violence.



Khalilzad