CODEL INHOFE MEETS WITH TNA MEMBERS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 005051

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/19/2015
TAGS: PGOV KDEM PBTS PINR MOPS IZ
SUBJECT: CODEL INHOFE MEETS WITH TNA MEMBERS

REF: A. BAGHDAD 4692

B. BAGHDAD 4746

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


1. (SBU) Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) met December 12
with TNA members Dr. Saad Qindeel, Wijdan Salim, and
Yunadem Kanna.

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Security Situation: We are in a Catch-22
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2. (C) Wijdan Salim said the security situation is
still "very bad," and the Iraqi government needs to
protect people, particularly candidates and campaign
workers. Later, she suggested that the Ministry of
Interior is loyal to Iran. She also said the U.S.
military is making Iraqis hate them because of their
security and construction projects, citing a plan to
build barricades on the ring roads in Baghdad. Dr.
Qindeel described the security situation as "not good,
but improved." He added that "we do not see the light
at the end of the tunnel although we are moving in the
right direction." Dr. Qindeel said Iraq is caught in
a Catch-22: it needs MNF-I to build up the ISF so that
it can assume the security portfolio and MNF-I can
leave, which most Iraqis want to happen as soon as
possible. He stated that, from the Government of
Iraq's perspective, MNF-I is acting as a hindrance to
the build-up of ISF to self-sufficiency.


3. (C) Dr. Qindeel did not miss another opportunity to
note that the control of the intelligence services
needs to be returned to the Government of Iraq
(reftels). (NOTE: This demand was also contained in
the TNA Sovereignty Commission Report issued in
September. The Shia Alliance has repeatedly claimed
that the INIS is closely affiliated with U.S.
intelligence services and is infiltrated by former
Ba'athists. END NOTE.) He added that Iraq's 2006
Budget did not contain any funding for the
intelligence services (which he estimated at $250
million). He alleged that the entire budget is being
financed by the USG. He concluded by saying, "How can
we get to self-sufficiency if we do not have control?"

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Kanna's Soliloquy: How to Fix Iraq and Stop Depending
on the Kurds
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4. (C) Yunadem Kanna took advantage of the meeting to
speak at length on a variety of topics. He said that
90% of Iraqis were happy when Saddam's regime fell,
but they did not all move in the same direction since
some of them had different dreams for Iraq. He
stressed the importance of Iraq stopping destabilizing
external factors (e.g., foreign terrorists crossing
open borders) and ridding itself of bad internal
factors (e.g., Ba'athists). In order to move forward,
there needs to be reconciliation to bring in the Sunni
Arabs and De-Ba'athification against real criminals.
Wijdan Salim disagreed with Kanna's viewpoint on de-
Ba'athification, saying most Iraqis were Ba'athists
and the De-Ba'athification process is adversely
affecting many ordinary Iraqis. She added that those
Ba'athists who committed crimes to Iraqis need to be
judged through the courts.


5. (C) Kanna's intense dislike for the Kurds (whose
actions have disenfranchised those Chaldo-Assyrians in
northern Iraq who do not support the Kurdish Alliance)
was evident when he criticized the U.S. for relying on
the same people for advice, creating a situation where
the U.S. had the love of 3 million and made 24 million
suffer. He later added that "maybe the Kurds will be
brought down by a Shia/Sunni Alliance."

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BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
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6. (C) Baghdad-native Saad Qindeel is a moderate Shia
and head of the political bureau of SCIRI, the largest
party in the Shia Alliance. He also serves on the
Constitutional Committee. Baghdad-native Wijdan Salim
is Chaldean Assyrian Christian and Secretary of the
TNA's Committee on Foreign Relations. She is a
supporter of former PM Ayad Allawi and is running on
his list in December. She is also a reliable
interlocutor on the life of ordinary Baghdadis.
Yunadem Kanna is also Chaldean Assyrian Christian, and
serves as Secretary General of the Assyrian Democratic
Movement and Chairman of the Services and
Reconstruction Committee. He is a well known advocate
for Christian rights as well as a member of the
Constitutional Committee and the De-Ba'athification
Commission.
KHALILZAD