ARAB LEAGUE SYG MOUSSA ON IRAQ VISIT AND SECURITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 008244

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/26/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER EG IZ SY LE
SUBJECT: ARAB LEAGUE SYG MOUSSA ON IRAQ VISIT AND SECURITY
COUNCIL DELIBERATIONS ON HARIRI INVESTIGATION

REF: A. STATE 197619 (NOTAL)

B. BAGHDAD 4344

C. BAGHDAD 4339

D. CAIRO 8111

E. STATE 192650 (NOTAL)

F. CAIRO 7982 (NOTAL/NODIS)

G. CAIRO 7963 (NOTAL)

H. BAGHDAD 4186

Classified by Ambassador Ricciardone for reasons 1.4 (b) and
(d).

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Summary
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1. (C) During an October 26 meeting with the Ambassador, the
Arab League's Moussa briefed on his recent trip to Iraq and
described planning for a preparatory meeting in Cairo in
mid-to-late November. Moussa intends to invite (plus or
minus) 50 Iraqis from all politically significant groups to
the Cairo meeting, and will play a low-key role on agenda
setting and deliberation. A senior AL envoy will travel
shortly to Baghdad to make arrangements for the conference
and preparatory meeting. Moussa expected that Coalition
force withdrawal will feature in the talks and said that the
position of the Ulema Council on this topic had recently
softened. Moussa agreed that the meetings should be
Iraqi-led and should not undermine the Iraqi government or
the political process put in place by UNSCR 1546. Briefly
discussing UN Security Council deliberations in New York (ref
A) on the Hariri murder investigation, Moussa expressed hope
that any UNSC resolution on the issue be confined to a
criminal investigation and not be used for broader political
purposes. End summary.

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Moussa Describes His Iraq Visit
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2. (C) A relaxed and visibly pleased Amre Moussa told the
Ambassador that he had been "very well received by all
factions" during his October 20-24 visit to Iraq. Moussa,
who travelled to Baghdad, Najaf, and the north during his
visit, said that his meetings with SISTANI, Ulema Council
head al Dhari, government representatives, and others had
been very positive. "People came in the hundreds," he said
to offer greetings and to be supportive of the Arab League
initiative, including many senior military officers. Moussa
said that he had "good chemistry" with Hakim. The only sour
point, he noted, had been Moqtadr Sadr's insistence that
Moussa publicly condemn terror attacks and Saddam Hussein
before he would meet Moussa. The Secretary General told the
Ambassador that he had dropped the meeting from his itinerary
as a result, calling Sadr's effort "childish," and suggested
that Ahmed Chalabi had provided Sadr with "poor advice" in
this regard. Nonetheless, Moussa noted that the League would
approach Sadr "at lower levels" in order to include him in
the League's reconciliation efforts.

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Next Steps for the Arab League
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3. (C) Moussa said he had received broad encouragement from
Iraqis during his trip to move forward on the League's
"reconciliation conference" proposal, including hosting a
Cairo preparatory meeting during the "second half of
November." The Cairo preparatory meeting, he said, would be
held at the Arab League and would include about 50--maybe 30,
maybe 80--participants from various Iraqi political groups.
Moussa said the League would issue invitations but he did not
specify selection criteria. Participants (including all
factions, women, and "some senior GOI officials"),he added,
must have sufficient clout in order for their preparatory
work in Cairo to elicit respect in back in Iraq. Moussa also
said he had been pleased to hear Iraqi Government spokesman
Leith Kuba publicly support - "two days after my departure" -
wide participation in the conference, including by
representatives of militant groups ("gama'at musallihat").
These details would be addressed during a visit to Baghdad by
Arab League Assistant Secretary General Ahmed Ben Helli
immediately after Ramadan.


4. (C) Moussa confirmed that it would be entirely up to the
Iraqis to agree among themselves on the agenda - "I'll
welcome the group to the League in the opening session, and
then stand aside," he said. Turning to the subject of
Coalition force withdrawal, Moussa told the Ambassador that
he had discussed this topic at length in Iraq and expected
the issue to be raised during the meeting. Moussa said he
had conveyed to the Iraqis his belief that the Americans
would "not attempt to veto" any discussion of the topic.
Responding, the Ambassador emphasized the importance of
allowing Iraqis, and not third parties, to take control of
the conference. The preparatory conference, in particular,
should not be a venue whereby the Iraqis feel compelled to
negotiate the participation of non-Iraqis. Furthermore, he
continued, it is crucial that League efforts neither
undermine the current Iraqi government nor diverge from the
political process outlined in UNSCR 1546. Moussa assured the
Ambassador that his intention is to allow the Iraqis to "own
the conference."


5. (C) Moussa reported that during his meeting with Muslim
Ulema Council head Hareth al Dhari, the latter spoke of the
"gradual withdrawal" of Coalition forces -- something Moussa
determined to be a positive and important "new position" of
Dhari's and the Council. Moussa also stressed the common
complaint heard during his visit, security concerns,
especially on the part of Sunni Iraqis. These groups, Moussa
added, accuse the government and coalition forces of carrying
out kidnappings and violent attacks targeting them--while
Shiites accuse the Sunnis of similar crimes against them. It
was crucial, Moussa said, for the USG to do everything it can
to "alleviate some of the suffering of these people."
Lastly, Moussa reported that he would travel soon (uncertain
of specific timing probably not before the November meeting
in Cairo) to Iran and Turkey to engage on the subject of
Iraq. And, despite "continuing criticism from many quarters"
over his Iraq visit, Moussa said he would remain steadfast in
his efforts to facilitate Iraqi reconciliation.

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United Nations Security Council, Mehlis Report
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6. (C) The Ambassador raised the topic of ongoing UN
Security Council deliberations on Syria and the Hariri murder
investigation. We provided a copy of the draft UNSC
resolution on Syria (ref A),and stressed our objective, with
other UNSC members, to get full and genuine Syrian
cooperation with the UNIIIC. Moussa, who had not yet seen
the text, conveyed his view that the UN resolution should be
confined to the criminal investigation into the Hariri murder
and not be used for broader political purposes. Moussa
stressed his hope that future Syrian cooperation with the
investigation would be "genuine." Such cooperation on
Damascus' part, he said, should "take the pressure off
elsewhere."


RICCIARDONE