SADR CITY COUNCIL MEMBER COMPLAINS ABOUT GROWING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 003698

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/01/2016
TAGS: PGOV PHUM IZ KDEM
SUBJECT: SADR CITY COUNCIL MEMBER COMPLAINS ABOUT GROWING
STRENGTH OF JAM

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


1. (C) Summary. In a September 26 meeting, Baghdad's Sadr
City District Advisory Council (DAC) member Dr. Haider Jabr
Zedan told EmbOffs that he was facing increasing pressure
to become a member of the Jaysh al-Mahdi (JAM). Having
refused several overtures, Dr. Haider claimed that he had
received thinly-veiled threats from other JAM members,
including the current Sadr City DAC chair. Dr. Haider
reported that JAM had begun to publicly execute supposed
Sunni terrorists, which, while helping Shia families of
victims reach resolution, also instilled fear and
compliance in the community. Dr. Haider, who says he
attended school with some of JAM's current leadership,
explained that the Sadr City branch is comprised of 5
branches, four civilian and one military. He bemoaned the
organization's superior recruiting and media tactics, which
had led to its growth in other areas in Baghdad,
particularly in the Kadamiya district. End Summary.

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PRESSURE IS ON TO JOIN
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2. (C) In a meeting September 26, Sadr City District
Advisory Council member Dr. Haider (Independent) told
EmbOffs that over the past few weeks, JAM leadership had
approached him numerous times to join the organization. He
believed that his refusal to join was the reason behind
several threats he recently received, including one from
JAM member and Sadr City DAC chair, Abdulhasan Jabara. In
this particular threat, the DAC chair warned Dr. Haider
that rumors had spread within JAM that Dr. Haider was
performing poorly as a DAC member. Jabara continued by
saying that to redeem himself, Dr. Haider must request a
letter from the JAM commander in the sector in which he
lives saying that in fact Dr. Haider's work is acceptable.
Dr. Haider, noting that to do so would put him on even
weaker ground, said he has refused to follow through with
this request.

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PUBLIC EXECUTIONS SCARY BUT GIVE RESIDENTS SENSE OF JUSTICE
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3. (C) Dr. Haider asserted that JAM dominance of Sadr City
was growing in part because JAM provided Shia residents
with a sense of justice that government officials could not
provide. He claimed that anytime a car bomb or a suicide
attacker killed Shia, the JAM specifically went into Sunni
neighborhoods to kidnap and execute equal numbers of Sunnis
as Shia killed, in some cases with help from Jaysh al-Mehdi
members who occupy lower level positions in the police. He
also claimed that the JAM occasionally conducted public
executions. As a recent example, he alleged that on
September 25, JAM members brought an Sunni woman (who
happened to be Egyptian) to the same area in which over 30
Sadr City women were killed while waiting in line for
cooking gas September 24. The Egyptian woman was beaten
and stoned to death in public view of residents.

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Sadr City's Jaysh Al-Mahdi Organizational Chart
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4. (C) Dr. Haider, who claims to have attended school with
some of the prominent members of the Sadr City's JAM
organization, indicated that that it is composed of 5
branches, one military and four civilian. The civilian
side, which is formally known as Office of the Martyr Sadr
(OMS) is broken into the media branch, led by Abdul Hadi al
Derraji, the Society branch, led by Hazim al-Araji, brother
of Council of Representatives member Baha al-Araji, the
Culture branch led by Sheikh Jasim, and finally the
courts/punishment branch which is run by Ibrahim al Jaberi.

5 (C) Though Dr. Haider could not provide detailed
information on the Court/Punishment section, he did
indicate that judges for JAM sharia courts were often
recruited from the local population of tribal sheikhs, who
also had membership in JAM. The military branch, which Dr.
Haider says is broken up into 114 brigades of varying
numbers, is commanded by Hasan Karim, otherwise known as
Abu Dera. Each segment of Sadr City reportedly has its own
command structure that reports to Hasan Karim.


6. (C) When discussing the court structure employed by JAM,
Dr. Haider relayed a story about a DAC colleague who was
detained by JAM and shepherded through its extrajudicial

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court system. The DAC member was detained on suspicions
that he was urging Coalition Forces to raid the homes of JAM
members. Dr. Haider said that he and another DAC member
went to the JAM leadership to plead for the detainee's
release. Taking this into consideration, the Sadr City JAM
court system decided to elevate the case and transported
the individual to the JAM court in Najaf for further
deliberation.

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PR WORK and RECRUITING IS IMPORTANT
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7. (C) Part of the JAM's tactics, according to Dr. Haider,
was to claim credit for any public works projects that may
have been carried out by the Iraqi or U.S. government. He
said signs stating that the provincial council had funded a
specific project were often taken down by JAM media branch
members who would then put up a sign indicating that OMS
(Office of the Martyr Sadr) had paid for the project. Dr.
Haider told a specific story in which he himself had worked
to bring kerosene to the DAC to give out to needy
residents. Before he could distribute the kerosene, JAM
members approached him and suggested that they distribute
the kerosene so that he could attend to "more important
work."


8. (C) Dr. Haider opined that JAM membership was alluring
because it conferred a certain level of authority and
opportunity to those who otherwise would have no mobility
in Iraqi society, in many cases trumping the traditional
tribal system. In other cases, people joined JAM so that
they could receive employment, for example within the
Ministry of Health, or as bodyguards to Sadrist
politicians. He pointed to certain prominent members of
Baghdad government as important figures in the JAM
organization including Sadr City DAC chairman AbdulHasan
Jabara, Vice Chairman of Baghdad Provincial Council Muhan
al-Sa'adi, Deputy to the Mayor, Na'em Abob, and head of
Baghdad municipal services Kamel Al-Zaidi



9. (C) Dr. Haider explained that JAM was spreading out into
other areas of Baghdad as it slowly but surely recruits
members from each district, and has developed recruits in
the neighborhoods of Hurria and Qadamiya within the
Qadamiya district (Note: a local hire who lives in Qadamiya
has reported the increased prevalence of JAM members in her
area over the past couple of months). In other areas, he
said, Badr corps continues to dominate. For example,
Karada neighborhood in Karada district is still largely
represented by Badr Corps members (Note: this is consistent
with what a local hire who lives in Karada district has
reported over the past few weeks).

COMMENT
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10. (C) Dr. Haider is long-standing Embassy contact who has
provided reliable information in the past. Like any other
resident of Sadr City, he is privy to the public going-ons
of Jaysh-al Mehdi that others in Baghdad would not be aware
of. He lives with the JAM in his everyday life as well as
in his work as a DAC member. He spends his nights as an
emergency room doctor at a local hospital, which perhaps
contributes to his distaste of the organization and its
practices. As the JAM grows, it becomes an outlet to those
who have limited choices, and are eager to join for the
sake of revenge, for employment and stature, or simply
because of intimidation.
KHALILZAD