BADR CORPS TELLS GEN. CASEY IT SUPPORTS HUMAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 000397

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/08/2016
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR PINS PREL IZ IR
SUBJECT: BADR CORPS TELLS GEN. CASEY IT SUPPORTS HUMAN
RIGHTS

Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ROBERT S. FORD FOR
REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D).


1. (C) Badr Organization General Secretary Hadi al-Amari,
Badr Organization Deputy Secretary for Protection Tahsin
al-Azawi, and SCIRI parliamentarian Sheikh Dhiya al-
Fayyad told MNF-I Commanding General Casey and PolCouns
in a February 7 meeting that the Badr Organization fully
supports human rights, democracy, and the Iraqi
constitution. The U.S. may not like Badr, al-Amari
began, but the U.S. will have to work with it. The Badr
Organization will have 15 or 16 members in the next
Council of Representatives (CoR),and has no need to
assassinate its political opponents, he stated flatly.
The best way to ensure respect for human rights and
democracy takes root in Iraq is for GOI and coalition
forces (CF) to cooperate, according to al-Amari.


2. (C) When GEN Casey asked al-Amari about the Badr
Organization's ties to Iran, al-Amari replied that the
Badr Organization is not working to make Iraq an
extension of Iran. Iraqis may want good relations with
Iran, but that does not mean they are Iranian puppets.
Al-Amari said many members of Badr Organization and SCIRI
have family in Iran because they moved there after they
fled Saddam, just as many Iraqis fled to the United
Kingdom. Iraqis, like al-Amari, are Arabs, not Persians.
Indeed, al-Amari said that, despite spending over 20
years in Iran, he speaks no FARSI. He added that his
family has deep roots in the Arab peninsula. The Badr
Organization, he said, takes no money from Iran; the
Hakim family finances the organization from the Hakim's
access to donations from the Shia faithful (khoms). The
Badr Organization, he said, opposes terrorism from all
sources, including Iran. When asked about former Badr
Corps member turned insurgent leader Abu Mustafa al-
Sheibani, al-Amari said that he had been a Badr Corps
member once, but he had not heard from him since the fall
of Saddam Hussein.


3. (C) Comment: Hadi al-Amari's comments reflect the
standard SCIRI/Badr party line. While we doubt the
veracity of some of his statements, such as his claim
that the Badr Organization takes no money from Iran, he
did declare his support for upholding human rights. As
more such meetings occur, MNF-I and Post will work to
convince al-Amari that such statements should be made
publicly in conjunction with CF. End Comment


KHALILZAD