ANBAR: LOCAL GOVERMENT PLAYERS WATCH WARILY AS

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 004502 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/01/2016 TAGS: PGOV PINR IZ SUBJECT: ANBAR: LOCAL GOVERMENT PLAYERS WATCH WARILY AS SHEIKH'S COUNCIL JOINS PROVINCIAL COUNCIL Classified By: Anbar PRT Leader Jim Soriano, for reasons 1.4 b and d This is a PRT Anbar reporting Cable ¶1. (C) Summary: After a negotiation session brokered at the request of the PM, the Anbar Provincial Council voted in early November to include eight members of the Anbar Salvation Council (ASC) tribal sheikhs organization in the Provincial Council (PC). In this early phase, PC members are wary of their new colleagues, whose leadership spent the better part of the previous three months publicly and privately denouncing Anbar government and claiming credit for fighting Al-Qaeda. Other points of tension include the Salvation Council's raising of what appears to be an extra-legal fighting force in Anbar, the direct access to the PM enjoyed by their leader Sheikh Abd Al Sittar Abu Risha, and allegations that the Salvation Council relies on highway extortion as its main source of funds. Salvation Council Deputy Chairman Colonel Fadl asserted to PRT officials November 28 that the purpose of the sheikhs alliance was to defeat Al-Qaeda, and not take over the PC. Fadl claimed that the PC did not have public support and was a failed institution. He argued that the Iraqi Islamic Party (IIP) which controlled the council had been given a chance to govern Anbar and had failed - and would not fare well in a free election. The PC chair and the Governor of Anbar have acknolwedged the importance of developing a constructive relationship with the ANCS, forging a unified stance to fighting Al Qaeda in Anbar and taking concrete steps to improve communication with national level GOI interlocuters. End Summary. -------------- -------------- ANBAR PC AND TRIBES "SALVATION COUNCIL" COME TOGETHER -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) The ASC appeared in September of this year; it's leader Abd Al Sittar, a minor sheikh of the Abu Risha tribe, appeared on the media denouncing the Provincial Council and Anbar governor Ma'moun Alwani as illegitimate and called for its downfall. The Salvation Council (which, according to its leadership, includes twenty-five Anbar tribes) also began to raise a fighting force to combat Al-Qaeda. Sittar also gained special access to the PM; in private meetings he received reassurances of support for the Council's efforts in Anbar. However the PM stopped short of promoting Sittar over the elected government of Anbar, opting instead for mandating a negotiation session between both sides chaired by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Raf'aa Essawi. The session resulted in the addition of eight Salvation Council Members on to the PC and the establishment of a "consultative committee" - an Anbar kitchen cabinet of sorts composed of the Governor, PC Chair, a Sittar rep, Essawi, and PM Adivsor Mohammed Salman - that would be the sole advisory body to the PM on Anbar. The goal of these moves was to include Sittar in decision-making, while limiting the access of individual sheikhs to the PM. -------------- -------------- SECURITY AND GOVERNANCE IN ANBAR: TWO SIDES OF THE COIN -------------- -------------- ¶3. (C) Colonel Fadl, Sittar's deputy met with PRT officials November 28 and expressed his doubts about the PC. . Fadl, who was in Baghad meeting with MOI about getting the Sittar fighting force on the MOI payroll, while calling the PC was a failed institution, said that the Salvation Council had no intention to take over the PC - it's purpose was to fight Al-Qaeda. He noted that the ACS was willing to work with the PC "despite its failures." The IIP, where most of the Council's original elected members came from, were in hiding, according to Fadl. This discredited party would not fare well in future elections, he continued, because if Anbaris were to get out and vote, they would vote based on tribal connections. ¶4. (C) Fadel told PRT Officials that the Salvation Council has established nine police stations and is in the process of settng up three "emergency" police battalians in Zangora, Jazeera, and Abu Faraj),that would be under the command of the provincial police chief, General Hameed Shouqa. Sheikh Sattar reprotedly pays for many of the police force uniforms out of pocket. According to Fadl, the Salvation Council has "hit the insurgency badly", killing "70-80 insurgents" since mid-September and captured 30-40 others, and burned 35-45 cars belonging to AQI. He predicted that the Salvation Council could defeat AQI in "three to six months." He asked for support from the US Marines int he form of small arms, transprotation, and commpuncation equipment. (Note: PRT officials have emphasized with Fadl and others that the US supports any efforts to fight AQI - however given our ongoing concerns regarding militias and our strong support for the PC, we are committed to providing support to ensure that the Salvation Council's actions are consistent with the rule of law.) ¶5. (C) On the PC side, both the PC Chairman and prominent PC member Dr. Ashour have expressed strong concern about direct CF and GOI support for the Salvation Council. They argue that the Council has no legal authority to raise police emergency units, and expressed fears that the Council is a "militia in disguise." They appeared frustrated at MoI's endorsement of Salvation Council - and not PC - efforts at police recruitment. They compared the Salvation Council to AQI, indicating that both groups rely on highway extortion as a source of financing. -------------- THE WAY FORWARD -------------- ¶6. (C) Now that the Salvation Council sheikhs have a seat at the table, their leadership has stopped public criticism of the Anbar elected government. However, it is clear that the Council is in the throes of adjustment pangs, as both sides size eachother up. Governor Alwani and PC Chair Abdullah have, in good faith, opened the door to the Salvation Council and have repeatedly pointed out to PRT officials and PC members that the Salvation Council must longer refer to themselves as "Salvation Council members" when they talk to the media or to GOI interlocuters, but rather "Provincial Council Members." ¶7. (C) Comment: The challenge posed by the Salvation Council has had the indirect benefit of pushing the PC leadership and Governor into the forefront of advocating for Anbar's interests with the national level government and with MNF-I and the Embassy. Despite their concerns about the Salvation Council's intentions, PC Chair Abdullah and Governor Ma'moun have demonstrated flexibility and leadership in their approach to this challenge, upholding their role as the elected leaders of Anbar while opening the floor for new voices to have a say in how the province is governed. As the newly enlarged Provincial Council begins to tackle the political and socio-economic issues facing Anbar, power dynamics will sort themselves out as both sides recognize their relative strengths and weaknesses, and strengthen the recently agreed upon mechanisms for consultation and cooperation. KHALILZAD