MODERATING SUNNI ISLAMIST SENTIMENT IN IRAQ:

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAMA 001915 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/28/2015 TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM IZ BA REGION SUBJECT: MODERATING SUNNI ISLAMIST SENTIMENT IN IRAQ: BAHRAIN REF: STATE 231032 Classified By: Ambassador William T. Monroe. Reason: 1.4 (b)(d) ¶1. (C) The Ambassador on December 28 conveyed reftel talking points to Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid Al-Khalifa urging help in reaching out to Sunni and other contacts in Iraq. Shaikh Khalid responded that Bahrain wants to help in any way that it can. He said that Bahrain has many contacts in Iraq, and that he would discuss with the Bahrain leadership what steps Bahrain could take. ¶2. (C) Shaikh Khalid said that Bahrain shares our view that the new government be as inclusive as possible. He hoped that whoever forms the new Iraqi government not come with a sectarian agenda. In that connection, he noted that the outgoing Minister of Interior was widely viewed as blatantly sectarian ("a complete agent of Iran"),and it was critically important that the Ministry of Interior not be seen as having a sectarian agenda. At the same time, while Bahrain has had concerns about Iranian influence on Iraq's Shia, it would be important that these concerns not be countered by a Sunni-Kurdish alliance against the Shia. The goal should be to find leaders who promote national unity, not sectarian interests. MONROE