Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06BAGHDAD2373
2006-07-06 14:49:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Baghdad
Cable title:  

FADHILA PARLIAMENTARY HEAD OFFERS TO COOPERATE ON

Tags:  PGOV PINS PNAT PREL PTER KDEM KISL IZ 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO0763
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #2373/01 1871449
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 061449Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5540
INFO RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON DC//NSC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 002373 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/05/2016
TAGS: PGOV PINS PNAT PREL PTER KDEM KISL IZ
SUBJECT: FADHILA PARLIAMENTARY HEAD OFFERS TO COOPERATE ON
BASRAH SECURITY

Classified By: Charge d,Affaires David Satterfield for reasons 1.4(b) a
nd (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 002373

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/05/2016
TAGS: PGOV PINS PNAT PREL PTER KDEM KISL IZ
SUBJECT: FADHILA PARLIAMENTARY HEAD OFFERS TO COOPERATE ON
BASRAH SECURITY

Classified By: Charge d,Affaires David Satterfield for reasons 1.4(b) a
nd (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: In a June 29 meeting, Nadeem al-Jabiri, the
head of the Fadhila Party parliamentary bloc, offered to help
find a solution to Basrah's security problem. The Ambassador
encouraged him to work with PM Maliki. Al-Jabiri attributed
many of Basrah's problems to struggles between the UK and
Iran and between Fadhila and SCIRI. SCIRI, al-Jabiri said,
is pushing for federalism so that SCIRI leader Abd al-Aziz
al-Hakim can rule over the Shia heartland. In other
comments, al-Jabiri gave Maliki credit for a good start,
citing detainee releases as important. Al-Jabiri predicted
that PM Maliki's attempts to disband militias and enforce a
weapons ban would fail. END SUMMARY.

--------------
Security in Basrah
--------------


2. (C) The Ambassador received Nadeem al-Jabiri at the
latter's request on June 29 and asked for al-Jabiri's views
on developments since government formation. Al-Jabiri said
the Fadhila Party wants the security situation in Basrah to
improve and admitted that Governor Mohammad Mossibh al-Wahili
is part of the problem. Al-Jabiri claimed that he spoke to
many people, including PM Maliki and the Iranian Ambassador,
about the security situation in Basrah but that still no
solution had been found. Al-Jabiri said that he now wants
the Ambassador's views on how to move forward. The
Ambassador urged al-Jabiri to work with PM Maliki to solve
Basrah's problems and offered to phone the PM to let him know
al-Jabiri would soon contact him.


3. (C) Al-Jabiri placed some of the blame for poor security
in Basrah on an ongoing rivalry between the UK and Iran.
According to al-Jabiri, Iran currently has the upper hand in
this rivalry. Iranian influence is a destabilizing force in
Basrah, and activities such as smuggling oil across the
Iranian border undermine the rule of law.



4. (C) The Ambassador pointed out that people with ties to
the GOI commit crimes. The GOI has been unable to stymie
corruption. "It is even possible for criminals to rent out
police cars," the Ambassador said. In Basrah, Ambassador
added, there are officially 15,000 police officers, but only
3,000 actually show up for work; the other 12,000 exist only
on paper. Al-Jabiri agreed, likening the police in some
areas to a mafia.


5. (C) The Ambassador asked al-Jabiri's opinion on possible
military options to resolve the problems in Basrah. Although
not advocating it, al-Jabiri said that the threat of
increased Coalition Forces in Basrah could put pressure on
Governor al-Wahili to restore the rule of law.


6. (C) Al-Jabiri told the Ambassador that many of the
problems in Basrah are a result of a struggle between Fadhila
and SCIRI. SCIRI, al-Jabiri claimed, is pushing for
federalism in Iraq so that SCIRI head Abd al-Aziz al-Hakim
can rule over the Shia heartland. Iran, al-Jabiri said,
favors this. Fadhila is not pushing for federalism,
al-Jabiri said, because it would cause unnecessary friction
with the Sunni Arabs and possibly ignite a civil war. He
argued that the UIC either should delay debate on federalism
or divide the nine Shia provinces into three separate
regions.

--------------
Disbanding Militias
--------------


7. (C) Al-Jabiri said that he thinks the PM is doing okay,
but he predicted that Maliki likely would fail in his
attempts to disband militias and to enforce a weapons ban.
Dawa, al-Jabiri said, has no militia and therefore must work
with the Sadrist-backed Jaysh al-Mahdi. Pointing out that
SCIRI will want to exploit this, al-Jabiri emphasized the
need to work politically to solve the militia problem and not
focus simply on the violence. This is one of the failings of
the Baghdad security plan, al-Jabiri said.

--------------
National Reconciliation
--------------


8. (C) Pointing out that de-Ba'athification is an important
part of the national reconciliation process, the Ambassador
told al-Jabiri he agrees with PM Maliki's view that between
90-95 percent of former Ba'athists can be reintegrated into

BAGHDAD 00002373 002 OF 002


Iraqi society. The Ambassador commented that al-Jabiri
agreed with this idea once, too. Al-Jabiri acknowledged
this, but he lamented that the de-Ba'athification process too
often is used as a weapon against political opponents. The
Ambassador agreed, noting that even al-Jabiri has been
accused of being a Ba'athist. The Ambassador added that, if
the former Ba'athists who currently oppose Iraq truly lay
down their arms, the UIC perhaps should be more generous in
supporting amnesty for them.

--------------
Prisoner Releases
--------------


9. (C) Nadeem al-Jabiri praised the recent release of 2,700
MNF-I-held detainees. The Ambassador said that if more
detainees renounced violence, more could be released. The
Ambassador estimated that, of the approximately 12,000
detainees still held by MNF-I, about 8,000 could be released.
SATTERFIELD