FADHILA MEMBER AND SUNNI ARAB SHAYKH STRESS

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 000509 SIPDIS SIPDIS C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (ADDED CAPTION) E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/17/2026 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PNAT IZ SUBJECT: FADHILA MEMBER AND SUNNI ARAB SHAYKH STRESS IMPORTANCE OF INTERIOR MINISTRY IN GOVERNMENT FORMATION Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ROBERT S. FORD, FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). ¶1. SUMMARY: In a February 16 meeting, Fadhila Member Mohammed al-Kusai told PolOff that he doubted PM Jafari would be successful leading the new government. However, he maintained that the UIC 555 would seek to motivate Jafari to perform well. Also on February 16, an al-Dulaymi tribal leader linked support for the insurgency to Sunni Arab fear of sectarian persecution. Both the Dulaymi shaykh and Kusai stressed the importance of filling the interior ministry appropriately. END SUMMARY -------------- FADHILA MEMBER ON JAFARI'S WEAK POINTS -------------- ¶2. (C) In a February 16 meeting, Mohammed Ismail al-Kusai, recently-elected Council of Representatives member and close aide to Fadhila Party head Nadeem al-Jabiri, told PolOff that Prime Minister Ibrahim Jafari would not be successful leading the new government. Kusai faulted Jafari for his poor relationship with the Kurds. He added that the next prime minister's biggest challenge would be ending sectarianism in Iraq. The best way to address this issue would be to form a national unity government, with no red lines for any party or individual to serve in a particular capacity in government. Kusai said this approach would also help end the insurgency, as more Sunni Arabs are brought into the political process and eschew violence. He added that Jafari would have to achieve some early successes because he had signed a letter of resignation which he would have to submit one year after assuming office if his performance is not satisfactory. Kusai said, however, that this letter was meant to motivate Jafari to perform well, and that the UIC 555 wants Jafari to succeed. ¶3. (C) Choosing heads of some ministries, such as the Ministry of Interior (MoI),will be very contentious, Kusai said. There are some in UIC 555 who feel the Shia Coalition should always control the MoI, he added. Many Sunni Arabs, Kusai acknowledged, believe the Interior Minister should be an independent. The Fadhila Party, al-Kusai said, has some good candidates for the Interior Minister post, although he declined to offer any names. -------------- Dulaymi Tribal Leader: Interior Is Key -------------- ¶4. (C) Shaykh Mohamad al-Dulaymi told PolOff, February 16, that new ministers, but especially the new interior minister, must be non-sectarian and nationalist. PolOff told Dulaymi that the USG also hoped to see a cross-sectarian government. Dulaymi said a Shi'a leader could be the next interior minister, adding that there is widespread Sunni Arab support for either Ayad Allawi or Fadhila's Nadeem al-Jabiri. Dulaymi said the new interior minister must focus on accountability and transparency. There will be a massive reaction in the Iraqi streets - either good or bad - the minute the GOI announces the new Interior Minister, he said. ¶5. (C) Dulaymi linked support for the insurgency to Sunni Arab fear of sectarian persecution. He said that the small number of foreign fighters in Iraq had "brainwashed" locals so well that many Iraqi insurgents "no longer know right from wrong." The solution, he said, would be to have an interior ministry that helped Iraqis - especially Sunni Arabs - feel safe from persecution. KHALILZAD