MOI CANDIDATE AL-ARAJI A POLITICAL UNKNOWN

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 001896

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/04/2016
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM IZ
SUBJECT: MOI CANDIDATE AL-ARAJI A POLITICAL UNKNOWN


Classified By: Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Ambassador and General Casey met on May 30 with Farook
Mohammed Sadik al-Araji, who is under consideration by Prime
Minister Maliki for the Interior Minister position. Farook
told the Ambassador and General Casey that he is an
independent, non-sectarian, has good relations with everyone,
and is not tied to any political parties. Al-Araji's
military background, which he reviewed in detail, was solid:
he commanded a brigade at his high point in 1979 and retired
in 1992 as a colonel. Al-Araji said that his career
advancement was limited because he was not a Ba'th Party
member. He was the Senior Inspector General of the Armed
Forces and held instructor posts at the Iraq Military Academy.


2. (C) He told us that he is interested in establishing order
and discipline in the Interior Ministry. The Iraqi Police,
he asserted, must be subordinate to the Iraqi government and
not any other political or other institution. The time of
the militias is over, al-Araji continued, and there can be no
security in Iraq with militias. To resolve the Shia and
Sunni divide, al-Araji said he must win the hearts of all
people and reconcile punishment and forgiveness, which will
not happen right away. When asked by the Ambassador how he
would deal with the inevitable political pressure on the
Minister of Interior, al-Araji said that the Ba'thists were
the toughest and he had managed to resist them. Gen. Casey
asked Araji how he will manage the MOI, with its 200,000
people, when the largest organization he commanded was a
brigade of 3,000-5,000 people. Al-Araji said that he could
manage and that "my experience is good."


3. (C) COMMENT: Al-Araji was reading from our playbook when
he stressed that he was independent, non-sectarian, and not
tied to any political party. His first name is Farook (a
Sunni name) but he is a Shia. With a solid if unimpressive
past, he is a political unknown to our interlocutors. He
proudly stated that he has never set foot outside of Iraq.
Trained as a lawyer, he has spent the last 14 years as deputy
"adeen" or head of the al-Araji tribe, taking care of family
business interests in the oil sector. The lack of
information on his political or sectarian views is somewhat
troubling. END COMMENT.


4. (C) BIO NOTE: Born in Najaf in 1948 and finished high
school in Basra. He lives in Baghdad with his wife and seven
children. He has a BA from the Military Academy (1968) and a
BA in law from the al-Mustansirya University in Baghdad
(1974). Al-Araji rose to colonel in a military career that
had him command a brigade and the Military Police. He worked
as a Deputy Prosecutor, member of the 5th Military Court, and
as an instructor, Senior Staff Officer, and Assistant to the
Head of the Second Military Academy. Al-Araji was the Senior
Inspector General of the Armed Forces when he retired in

1992. He practiced law for two years after retirement and
worked as the Legal Advisor to the Ministry of Sciences and
Technology in 2004. He was detained in 1981-82 and accused
of opposing the regime, and he claims that he was tortured
and psychologically abused. He was released on May 9, 1982.
Al-Araji told POLOFF on May 30 that he sits on the Board of a
Saudi company working in the oil business. END BIONOTE.
KHALILZAD