MODERATE ISLAMIST DEPLORES 555 INTIMIDATION;

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 000776

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/10/2026
TAGS: PGOV KDEM IZ
SUBJECT: MODERATE ISLAMIST DEPLORES 555 INTIMIDATION;
LOOKS AHEAD TO PROVINCIAL ELECTIONS


Classified By: Pol Couns Robert Ford, reason 1.4 (d)


1. (C) National Iraqi List CoR member for Baghdad
Izzat al-Shahbandar told Poloffs that Allawi's party
was beginning to prepare for provincial elections. He
said Allawi's list was planning steps to counter
"forgery and intimidation," use local media, and set
up effective get-out-the-vote programs. "Some of us
reached the desperate point where we must have our own
militias to defend ourselves," he said. The Shia
Islamist Coalition (List 555) practices intimidation
even on itself, he said, pointing to reports he
claimed to have received from multiple, credible
sources within the List 555 that the Sadrists had used
intimidation against independent and even Fadhila
Party backbenchers to get them to support Jafari.


2. (C) Shahbandar said the National Iraqi List wants
provincial elections delayed until at least September
to allow for enough time to prepare. He expressed
concern that the party would not be ready in time
without help. Shahbandar praised the National Iraqi
List for accommodating moderate Islamists like himself
-- he said Iraqiya had 5 Islamists out of 25 members
in the Council of Representatives. He said that
moderate Islamists deserved more USG support and that
they represent the best defense against terrorism and
terrorist ideologies. He compared USG programs to
support democratic parties unfavorably to Iranian
programs. "Iran spends money without filtration or
processing or stages," he said, "whereas you have to
have signatures, approvals, and if we have a
conference, NDI will have us say how many chairs, how
much food, and we have to return unused money
afterwards." In contrast, Iran would have a religious
leader deliver money to the party directly, and if it
did a good job, it would get more.


3. (C) Shahbandar's Democratic Islamic Trend (also
led by Muhammad Abd al-Jabbar, now publisher of the
al-Sabah newspaper) was the first party listed on the
ballot in the January 2005 election, but could raise
only USD 50,000 to spend. Most of that money came as
a loan from Ayad Allawi, Shahbandar said. They were
offered two seats in the United Iraqi Coalition (UIC,
list 169) slate in January 2005, but chose to test
their support on their own, and got 16,000 votes.


4. (C) Comment: So far, we do not detect much
sign that the Allawi-led collection of moderates
and secular politicians has given much thought to,
much less started planning for, provincial
elections. These elections seem unlikely to take
place before September, given the delays in
standing up the national government.
KHALILZAD