COMPLAINTS OF SHIA IMAM IN HILLAH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 003188

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/29/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL IR IZ
SUBJECT: COMPLAINTS OF SHIA IMAM IN HILLAH

Classified By: Rule of Law Coordinator James Yellin for Reason 1.4 (d).

SUMMARY AND COMMENT


1. (C) Sayed Imam Kazwini, a Shia cleric who is close to
secular politician Ayad Allawi and who has been well-disposed
to the U.S., said during a meeting in Hillah that:

-- Iranian influence in Iraq has become "intolerable."

-- U.S. support for the current Iraqi government amounts to
support for an extremist regime like the Taliban.

-- Quick and well-publicized completion of U.S.-funded
projects that improve the quality of life for Iraqis will
help undercut growing Iranian influence.


2. (C) Embassy Rule of Law Coordinator emphasized that the
U.S. supports a democratic Iraq and the duly elected unity
government.


3. (C) COMMENT: The remarks of Kazwini echo those of many
supporters of a secular state, who feel threatened by the
specter of an Islamist state in Iraq similar to that in Iran.
END SUMMARY AND COMMENT.

THE CURRENT GOVERNMENT


4. (C) Kazwini met with Embassy Rule of Law (ROL)
Coordinator, PRT Babil ROL Coordinator, and Embassy Deputy
Legal Advisor in Hillah in the southern province of Babil on
August 13.


5. (C) Kazwini said that:

-- The current government of Iraq is led by "fools, former
exiles who know nothing about the country, and religious
extremists." Provincial councils are comprised of "thugs and
idiots," who will not help the Iraqis or the US.

-- U.S. support for the Iraqi government amounts to support
for a religious extremist regime like the Taliban in
Afghanistan.

-- The US made a grave mistake by "empowering" Shia Grand
Ayatollah Ali SISTANI, who is not qualified to play a
political role.

-- Liberal and nationalist parties cannot compete with Iraqi
religious parties, which get money, weapons, training and
other support from neighboring countries, including Iran,
Saudi Arabia, and Syria.

-- The US should disband the current government, rule Iraq
with a military dictatorship for at least six months, and
form a "national salvation government" when security is
restored and militias are disbanded.

IRANIAN INFLUENCE


6. (C) Kazwini said that Iranian influence in Iraq has
reached "intolerable levels." He claimed that:

-- Iran controls the Shia parliamentary alliance of the SCIRI
and Dawa parties, and provides SCIRI with five million
dollars per month for salaries alone. Iran also influences
Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and his Jaysh al-Mehdi militia.

-- Quick and well-publicized completion of U.S.-funded
projects that improve the quality of life for Iraqis will
help undercut growing Iranian influence.

OTHER SUBJECTS


7. (C) Kazwini said the Independent Electoral Commission of
Iraq (IECI) did not carry out its duties independently during
the December 2005 parliamentary elections; rather, he
claimed, it was strongly influenced by Iranian intelligence
and by pro-Iranian Iraqi politicians.


8. (C) Kazwini said the US will have to use force to disarm
and disband militias. Dialogue with the political parties
that run the militias will not be enough, he noted.

REMARKS OF ROL COORDINATOR


9. () ROL Coordinator responded that:

-- The US supports a democratic Iraq and the duly elected
unity government. International observers found the December
2005 elections to be free and fair.

BAGHDAD 00003188 002 OF 002



-- The Government of Iraq, not the United States, must govern
Iraq.

-- We agree that there should be no militias and that only
the country's legitimate security forces should be armed.

-- Iraqi parties should pursue their aims through peaceful,
democratic means.

BIO NOTE


10. (C) Kazwini, who participated in the 1991 uprising
against former president Saddam Hussein and subsequently
remained in Iraq, is a Shia cleric and vocal critic of both
the Sunni and Shia religious parties that constitute the
current government. He is an ally of secular politician and
former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, but declined to run on the
Iraqi National List of Allawi during the December 2005
elections. Kazwini is popular in Hillah, but enjoys less
support elsewhere in Babil province and does not have a
significant national following.
SPECKHARD