SUNNI ARABS EXPAND SECURITY DIALOGUE WITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 005096

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/21/2015
TAGS: PGOV KDEM IZ
SUBJECT: SUNNI ARABS EXPAND SECURITY DIALOGUE WITH
AMBASSADOR AND GENERAL CASEY

Classified By: Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad for Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Sunni Arab leaders from the Iraqi Tawafuq
(Consensus) Front met with the Ambassador and General Casey
to continue a dialogue on security issues and outreach on
December 21. The group, led by Iraqi Islamic Party leader
Tariq al-Hashemi and National Dialogue Council leader Khalaf
al-Ayan, was still preoccupied with election results and
fraud allegations. They ultimately touched on several key
issues including ways to combat Iranian influence in Iraq,
the need to expand detainee abuse investigations, the need
for a committee to review all MNF-I and Iraqi government
detainees, and ways to expand the calm that accompanied the
elections. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) The delegation of Sunni Arabs from the Iraqi Tawafuq
(Consensus) Front discussed the following key issues in a
December 20 meeting with the Ambassador and General Casey.

-- IRANIAN INFLUENCE: The group alleged that trucks from
Iran had been found entering Iraq with fake ballots. General
Casey said these reports were found to be false on the basis
of U.S. intelligence and an Interior Ministry investigation.
National Dialogue Council member Abd al-Nasser al-Janabi
argued that the U.S. should fund the Mujahideen al-Khalq
(MEK) and use it to defend the Iran-Iraq border.

-- DETAINEE ABUSES: The group asked for a copy of the
results of the Iraqi government's Jadriyya prison
investigation and called for further raids. Hashemi passed
Poloff further details on allegedly secret Ministry of
Interior detention facilities. We have passed these on to
MNF-I personnel conducting joint MNF-I and Iraqi Government
inspections.

-- DETAINEE RELEASES: The group passed multiple lists of
detainees for review and asked to form a joint committee to
review the status of all MNF-I and Iraqi government security
detainees. National Dialogue Council member Mahmud
Mashhadani specifically appealed for the release of one
prominent Salafist and one prominent Ba'athist, both of whom
he said were prepared to work to restore calm in their
radicalized currents if given a chance.

-- MAINTAINING CALM: The group agreed on the need to remain
calm, but al-Ayan warned that the street might spiral out of
control if the Sunni Arab community begins to perceive the
elections as a fraud or see their community marginalized.
General Casey agreed on the need to address these concerns
but warned against using violence to achieve Sunni Arab
goals. Ayan said he intended no threat, but Hashemi confided
that he heard reports that violence would escalate over the
next two days.
KHALILZAD