SCIRI POLITBURO MEMBER COMPLAINS ABOUT MALIKI;

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 001641 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/17/2016 TAGS: PGOV KDEM IZ SUBJECT: SCIRI POLITBURO MEMBER COMPLAINS ABOUT MALIKI; FADHILA NOT BUDGING; IRAQIYYA MEMBERS GIVE MIXED PICTURE OF INTENTIONS REF: BAGHDAD 1623 Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ROBERT S. FORD, FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) SCIRI political bureau member Ridha Jawad Taki complained to Poloff May 17 that PM-designate Nuri al-Maliki had failed to keep his word to SCIRI to allow the party to name the Interior Minister, Council of Ministers Secretary-General and advisors on the PM's staff. Taki said SIPDIS al-Maliki has blamed the USG for his inability to accept SCIRI-backed Qassim Daoud for the MOI position. Taki reported that Fadhila Spiritual Leader Yaqubi has refused to allow his party to rejoin government talks. Iraqiyya member Safia Suhail told PolOff May 17 that Ayad Allawi had added both her and Hamid Mousa to the bloc's government formation negotiating team. Suhail claimed that Allawi planned to leave town, deferring to the committee to make the right decisions. Fellow Iraqiyya member Medhi Hafedh, however, stressed that only Allawi can make decisions for the bloc. -------------- SCIRI COMPLAINTS ABOUT MALIKI -------------- ¶2. (C) Taki predicted to PolOff May 17 that SCIRI will be lucky to get the Trade Ministry, Council of Ministers Secretary-General (Bayan Jabr Solagh),and Municipalities SIPDIS (Hassan al-Ansari) as a result of government formation negotiations. Taki charged that PM-designate al-Maliki has not adhered to an agreement with SCIRI leader Abd al-Aziz al-Hakim reached on the eve of Jafari's announcement of his departure, whereby Dawa would get the premiership and SCIRI the right to name the Minister of Interior, the Secretary General of the Council of Ministers and all the advisors to the PM it deemed necessary. ¶3. (C) Taki further complained that al-Maliki has not kept his word to SCIRI regarding PM advisors. He said that al-Maliki was surrounding himself with Jafari's closest advisors, cutting himself off from even Shia Coalition partners. "He won't even consider a secretary from another party!" Taki exclaimed that Dawa policy man Falah Fiad is running the show behind al-Maliki, taking power away from other Coalition parties. Taki further charged that the presence of Sami al-Askari reinforces the Dawa-Sadrist �0A;partnership in the PM's office. ¶4. (C) Taki said that on May 16, al-Maliki attended a dinner at al-Hakim's house with the SCIRI leadership at which al-Hakim reminded the PM of their previous agreement. Taki said that al-Maliki promised to honor the agreement with the exception of allowing SCIRI to name the Minister of Interior (MOI). Taki said that Al-Maliki blamed the U.S. for red-lining SCIRI MOI candidate Qassim Daoud. (NOTE: Taki told PolOff he thought al-Maliki would reject anybody SCIRI puts forward for the ministry and blame the USG. END NOTE) Taki said he was disgusted that Ahmed Chalabi's name had been put forward by Dawa for MOI and Finance minister. Taki said that Chalabi is a red-line for SCIRI, the Kurds and Iraqiyya and hopes he will not find a place anywhere in government. ¶5. (C) Taki said that in a May 16 meeting with Badr organization head Hadi al-Amiri, al-Maliki tried to persuade al-Amiri to endorse newly proposed MOI candidate Nasir al-Amiri. Taki said that SCIRI had not yet decided to agree on Nasir al-Amiri for MOI because al-Amiri was too close to Dawa. (NOTE: On May 16, Dawa member Ali Adeeb told PolOff that he did not know how Nasir al-Amiri's name had been put forward and would like to know more about him. Also on May 16, Qassim Daoud said he was still waiting to hear about MOI but did not think his chances were good because of personality differences with Maliki. END NOTE) ¶6. (C) Taki reflected that SCIRI had been weakened by the PM nomination competition within the UIC. He said that Sistani's insistence on keeping the Shia Coalition together had seriously damaged SCIRI's maneuvering room and diminished its stature both nationally and within the UIC. Taki said he has had several conversations with Politburo members about the possibility of restructuring to make a come back. He said that SCIRI has thrown all its energies into the ministerial race, but has decided not to take drastic public measures (e.g., threatening to leave the UIC) to get better ministries. Taki said the party leaders have yet to think BAGHDAD 00001641 002 OF 002 about their approach to the provincial elections, acknowledging their importance. -------------- YAQUBI REJECTS FADHILA RETURN -------------- ¶7. (C) Taki noted that Dawa Tenzim's Abd al-Karim Ali Hussein al-Anzi went to Najaf on May 15 to persuade Fadhila Party Spiritual Leader Mohammed al-Yaqubi to allow Fadhila to re-enter government negotiations (reftel). Taki said that al-Yaqubi flatly rejected the possibility. Taki said there is little hope of changing al-Yaqubi's mind and a proposal by Fadhila Deputy Secretary-General Ali al-Dabbagh that his party receive the Trade Ministry in exchange for the Oil Ministry has no legs. -------------- -------------- ELEVENTH HOUR CHANGES TO IRAQIYYA NEGOTIATING TEAM -------------- -------------- ¶8. (C) Iraqiyya members continue to present a confused picture of their bloc's intentions. Safia Suhail told PolOff May 17 that Ayad Allawi had added two members to Iraqiyya's negotiating committee; herself and Hamid Mousa. She said that Allawi planned to leave town at this crucial stage in government negotiations, deferring to the committee to make the right decisions. She requested that the U.S. advocate for her "PM Assistant" position claiming that she has already obtained the support of the Kurds and Tawafuq. On May 17, original negotiating committee member Shaikh Hussein al-Sha'alan told PolOff that he was not convinced that Allawi would stay in town all week. He said that he and fellow Iraqiyya member Saad al-Janabi went to Allawi's home on May 16 to try to persuade him to stay. Al-Sha'alan would not confirm or deny that Safia Suhail and Hamid Mousa have joined the Iraqiyya negotiating team, smiling and rolling his eyes at the question. On May 17, close advisor to Allawi and Iraqiyya member Medhi Hafedh said that only Allawi can make the big decisions now. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶9. (C) Despite the unhappy chatter, the PM-designate's discussions with party leaders continue. Some of the complaints -- e.g., Taki re. the "broken promise" to SCIRI over the Interior Ministry -- would seem to reflect welcome developments; the position should not be under partisan control. Taki's comments, however, reaffirm the continued tensions within UIC. Maliki will likely be in a position to announce his government within the coming days, but he will still face challenges within the fractious Shia Coalition, as well as from his non-Shia partners in the National Unity Government. END COMMENT KHALILZAD