Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06BAGHDAD1735
2006-05-24 16:11:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Baghdad
Cable title:  

MUTLAK SAYS HE WANTS TO BE IN GOVERNMENT

Tags:  PGOV PNAT KDEM IZ 
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VZCZCXRO6199
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK RUEHMOS
DE RUEHGB #1735 1441611
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 241611Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4666
INFO RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 001735 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/24/2016
TAGS: PGOV PNAT KDEM IZ
SUBJECT: MUTLAK SAYS HE WANTS TO BE IN GOVERNMENT


Classified By: Political Counselor Robert S. Ford for
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 001735

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/24/2016
TAGS: PGOV PNAT KDEM IZ
SUBJECT: MUTLAK SAYS HE WANTS TO BE IN GOVERNMENT


Classified By: Political Counselor Robert S. Ford for
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Sunni Hewar leader Saleh Mutlak told Poloff on May
23 that he believed SCIRI and perhaps President Talabani
engineered the exclusion of his party from the cabinet.
Mutlak claimed to be still very interested in being part of
the government and was looking for Embassy support. He
said, however, the Sunni street was very angry that Bayan
Jabr was given a senior position and that the security
Ministers had not been named. Mutlak said he had to show
he was a "meaningful" partner in government to justify his
decision to participate.


2. (C) Mutlak said that it was critical that the Ministers
of Defense and Interior be non-sectarian and termed the
demand for sectarian leaders in these ministries by Hewar's
National Dialogue leader Sheykh Khalaf Alayan as "stupid or
selfish." He said Tawfiq al-Yasiri was a good choice for
the Interior Ministry and suggested that Nuri Ghafel al-
Dulaymi or Ali Khalifa Hamid al-Abid would be appropriate
for Defense, but that Muhammad Bara Najib al-Rubaie is no
good. Former Speaker Hachim al-Hasani was fine for Mutlak
but he doubted that Tawafuq would accept him.


3. (C) Mutlak would decide whether to participate in
government after the security ministers are named. He
would work with Tawafuq and the Kurds to get back the two
ministries that were originally offered (Environment and
Women's Affairs). He did not appear to believe that
replacing the two current ministers -- one Kurdish
Alliance, one Tawafuq -- would pose a problem. For
himself, he wanted a position that would allow him to
influence the dialogue in Iraq. A Minister of State
without portfolio would not be sufficient but would be
acceptable if it included a Vice Presidency in the National
Security/Policy Council. (Note: By nature of Hewar's 11
CoR seats, Mutlak has a seat on the Council in any case.
End note.) Poloff told Mutlak that he would have to work
with PM Maliki to negotiate his potential inclusion in
government and would have to temper his public statements
critical of the national unity government if he wanted to
be part of it.
KHALILZAD