Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06BAGHDAD2462
2006-07-12 02:27:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Baghdad
Cable title:  

KARKH RESIDENTS ON THE CHALLENGES OF DAILY LIFE

Tags:  ECON KDEM PGOV PHUM PNAT IZ 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO5990
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #2462 1930227
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 120227Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5659
INFO RHEHWSR/WHITE HOUSE SITUATION ROOM WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 002462 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/28/2016
TAGS: ECON KDEM PGOV PHUM PNAT IZ
SUBJECT: KARKH RESIDENTS ON THE CHALLENGES OF DAILY LIFE


Classified By: Political Counselor Margaret Scobey for reasons 1.4 (b)
and (d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 002462

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/28/2016
TAGS: ECON KDEM PGOV PHUM PNAT IZ
SUBJECT: KARKH RESIDENTS ON THE CHALLENGES OF DAILY LIFE


Classified By: Political Counselor Margaret Scobey for reasons 1.4 (b)
and (d)


1. (C) Summary. When asked in a meeting with PolOff to
identify the most pressing issue affecting their lives, six
residents of Baghdad's Karkh district (comprised of a mixture
of Sunni, Shia, and Kurds) answered by highlighting the lack
of electricity and its affect on their daily lives. Several
went so far as to say that the lack of electricity was a more
pressing issue than poor security. At the same time, all the
residents maintained that Iraqi police could not be trusted,
even under the new government. End Summary.


2. (C) On June 19, six residents of Baghdad's Karkh district
told PolOff that the most pressing problem they faced was
lack of electricity. They maintained that with just four
hours of electricity per day, life had become very difficult.
They noted that their neighborhood was dominated by high-rise
apartment buildings and the lack of electricity affected
air-conditioning, sewage and basic life needs (Note: Current
temperatures in Baghdad are approaching 120 degrees
Fahrenheit and are expected to reach 140 in August). Several
in the group claimed that the electricity problem was more
serious than security issues, even taking into account the
internationally reported June 5 incident of an alleged
50-person kidnapping in the Karkh neighborhood of Salhiya.


3. (C) The group reported that lack of trust in Iraqi
Security Forces (ISF) was also a major concern. "All Baghdad
residents know who are conducting these nighttime raids" one
resident said. "They appear in certain uniforms and drive
certain types of cars -- it is no secret who these people are
or that they are infiltrated by militias". One member of the
group, a Shia Arab in his mid-fifties, recounted how his
nephew had recently been detained by police who held him for
a $35,000 ransom. When asked how he knew the kidnappers were
police, he responded by saying that his nephew told him he
saw the face of one of the kidnappers and recognized him as a
local police official.


4. (C) When asked whether the residents thought Baghdad
security would improve in the next year, several said that it
was difficult to give an opinion, but that they were
beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel with the
establishment of the new government. "We do not have a bad
opinion of the new prime minister, nor the Interior Minister,
but the people underneath are still bad and have associations
with militia", one resident commented. When asked, none of
the residents had any comments on the impact of the Baghdad
security plan.
SATTERFIELD