IRAQ ELECTION DEMARCHES: BAHRAIN ASKS ABOUT

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAMA 000022

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/04/2015
TAGS: PREL AL JO IZ BA
SUBJECT: IRAQ ELECTION DEMARCHES: BAHRAIN ASKS ABOUT
ELECTION DELAY REPORTS, REMAINS CONCERNED ABOUT IRAN

REF: A. 04 STATE 275109 B. 04 STATE 274965

Classified By: Ambassador William T. Monroe. Reason: 1.4 (B)(D)


1. (C) Ambassador delivered on January 4 to Minister of
State for Foreign Affairs Mohammed Abdel Ghaffar demarches
on the January 6 Iraq Neighbors Conference and January 9 Arab
League Meeting (Ref A) and support for the international
mission for Iraq elections (Ref B). Iraq also figured
heavily in a January 4 meeting the Ambassador held with
Minister of Defense Gen. Khalifa Al-Khalifa.


2. (C) Both Abdel Ghaffar and Gen. Khalifa, in addition to
dwelling on long-standing fears about excessive Iranian
influence in the elections, queried the Ambassador on a
statement by Iraq Defense Minister Hazem Shaalan in Cairo,
prominently reported in the local press, which raised the
possibility of postponing the elections. According to this
report, Shaalan told reporters that he has asked Egypt and
Gulf countries to try to persuade Sunnis to participate in
the election. "And if they agreed," he said, "then we could
postpone the date to let all Iraqis go to the polls in one
day." To both Ministers, Ambassador stressed that there was
no plan to delay the elections and that, in any event, there
was no evidence of any Sunnis coming forward to say that they
would participate if there were a delay in the elections.


3. (C) Abdel Ghaffar stated that DPM/FM Sheik Mohammed
Al-Khalifa would represent Bahrain at the Iraq Neighbors
Conference in Amman, and that Abdel Ghaffar would represent
Bahrain at the Arab League meeting. He said that at these
meetings Bahrain would maintain its support for the elections
and stability in Iraq, while opposing Iranian influence
there. On that latter point, he (and Defense Minister
Khalifa) went on at some length, raising concerns, for
example, that Iranian agents had completely infiltrated Iraqi
intelligence services in southern Iraq and flooded the region
with Iranian-based voters. Asked what the Bahraini
leadership thought of the relatively moderate message SCIRI's
Abdel Aziz Al Hakim brought during his recent visit to
Bahrain, Abdel Ghaffar acknowledged that his message was
indeed moderate but that he did not like the idea of clerical
leadership ruling Iraq.


4. (C) Comment: While fully supportive of our policy on Iraq,
including the need to move forward with elections, Bahrain
would be sympathetic to a delay in the elections if that
would help check post-election Iranian influence in Iraq.


4. (U) Baghdad minimize considered.
MONROE