SENIOR SHIA CLERIC CALLS FOR FOCUS ON SECURITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 001703

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/22/2016
TAGS: PGOV IZ
SUBJECT: SENIOR SHIA CLERIC CALLS FOR FOCUS ON SECURITY


Classified By: Political Counselor Robert S. Ford
for Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D)


1. (C) Summary: Parliamentarian and senior SCIRI
cleric Sheikh Jalal al-Din al-Sagheer told PolOff May
22 that the new government's top priority should
beimproving security for the country. Al-Sagheer
warned that the Najaf clerical establishment
(marja'iyah) is rapidly losing patience and might
begin to openly blame the U.S. for the worsening
security situation. On a positive note, Al-Sagheer
assessed the new government of Iraq to be a vast
improvement over Ja'afari's, claiming that Prime
Minister Maliki at least is willing to listen to
advice. Sagheer rejected both Tawfiq al-Yasiri and
Hajim al-Hassani for Interior and Defense Ministries
respectively. As one of the more influential Shia
clerics in SCIRI, al-Sagheer's comments are indicative
of the tough fight Maliki still has in front of him to
finalize his cabinet. End Summary.

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Security is Paramount
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2. (C) In a meeting on May 22 with PolOff, senior
SCIRI member Sheikh Jalal al-Din al-Sagheer stated
that the new government's top priority should be a
plan on improving security for the country. Al-
Sagheer noted that the marja'iyah's language on the
importance of security - particularly that of Grand
Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and Ayatollah Muhammad Said
al-Hakim - was becoming tougher. Soon, he warned,
Najaf would begin to openly criticize the United
States for its failure to protect Iraqi citizens.


3. (C) PolOff responded that ensuring security for
Iraq is a top priority for the Iraqi Government and
for the USG. Al-Sagheer sighed that this is what the
Americans had said during the failed Tal'Afar effort.
The streets of Tal'Afar are again unsafe, al-Sagheer
claimed. "You need to be serious," he chided.

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Al-Maliki's Not Bad, but Need Rest of Government
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4. (C) Al-Sagheer assessed the new government of Iraq
to be a vast improvement over Ja'afari's, claiming
that Maliki at least is willing to listen to advice.
"We finally got rid of that 'Teacher' who couldn't
handle his real job," gloated al-Sagheer. He remarked
that the Embassy should not be worried about the
"staged walkout" of some of the Sunni Arabs members.
They will be back within weeks, al-Sagheer predicted.


5. (C) As for the Interior and Defense candidates, al-
Sagheer acknowledged that Tawfiq al-Yasiri and Hajim
al-Hassani are the frontrunner candidates, and blamed
the U.S. for not intervening to block them. According
to al-Sagheer, al-Yasiri is not active or competent
enough to handle the difficult Interior portfolio.
SCIRI's choice for the position is Qassim Daoud, whom
al-Sagheer characterized as a moderate, independent
choice. When it came to al-Hassani, al-Sagheer very
animatedly told PolOff that if al-Hassani is nominated
for Defense, the Shia Alliance would renominate Bayan
Jabr for Interior. When PolOff questioned how the
Shia would retract Jabr from Finance after he was just
sworn in as Minister, al-Sagheer waved aside the
question as "mere protocol." Neither al-Yasiri nor
al-Hassani would do anything to improve the security
situation in Iraq, al-Sagheer claimed.

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Comment
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6. (C) Al-Sagheer is one of the most influential Shia
clerics in Baghdad. The imam of the Baratha Mosque,
he narrowly escaped injury in the April 7 bomb attack
on the mosque shortly after Friday prayers. Much of
his complaining about American security policies is
standard fare from the imam; he would be a hard man Q
satisfy. Al-Sagheer's opinion about the Interior and
Defense ministries, meanwhile, foreshadows the
difficulties that still lay ahead for Prime Minister
al-Maliki as he tries to finalize his cabinet. While
al-Sagheer briefly mentioned al-Hassani, the
conversation largely centered around the Ministry of
Interior and Daoud's candidacy. Daoud classifies

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himself as a moderate independent, but he has chosen
to ally himself - however loosely - with SCIRI.
Daoud's close friendship and political support of
SCIRI's Adil Abd al-Mahdi for Prime Minister has
caused many political blocs to question Daoud's
independence. Beyond his health problems, it is
precisely the support of men like Abd al-Mahdi and
Shaykh Jalal ad-Din as-Sagheer that make many outside
the Shia Coalition uncomfortable with Daoud as
Interior Minister.
KHALILZAD