PRT BAGHDAD: QADA COUNCIL LEADERSHIP BELIEVES

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 000892 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/18/2016 TAGS: PGOV PINR IZ SUBJECT: PRT BAGHDAD: QADA COUNCIL LEADERSHIP BELIEVES BADR ORGANIZATION SEEKING TO EXPAND INFLUENCE IN MADA,IN Classified By: Joe Gregoire for reasons 1.4 (B) and(D). 1.(C) During a meeting with the Chairman of the Mada'in Qada Council, Salem Abdul Walhy, and its Security Committee Chairman, Hussein Ali Al-Khozaiy, both told us they believe the Badr Organization is attempting to expand its influence within their qada (a geographical entity similar to a county in the United States). ¶2. (C) Salem, a Shia, told a PST team member on March 13 that former Ba'ath party official Jassim Mohammed Salman, aka "Abu Hassan," resides in a former Saddam Fedayeen camp in Basmayah, aka the "Village of Imam Al-Saddaq", south of Salman Pak. A Badr Organization member (who allegedly has concealed his past association with the Ba'ath Party),Jassim seems to be widely supported by the Baghdad leadership of the Badr Organization. Among other things, he forcibly removed a number of farmers from their land over the past year and claimed that land for the Badr Organization. ¶3. (C) With the aid of the Mada'in Qaim Mucaam (akin to a county commissioner),Fadil Barah Jorda, Jassim was also recently installed as chairman of the Tribal Sheikhs' Council for the qada although Jassim has no local or tribal affiliation. Representatives from the Dulaimi, Jabouri, and Shammar tribes were reportedly very upset that Fadil installed Jassim as their chairman. ¶4. (C) Subsequently, the Mada'in Qada Council passed a decree abolishing elections for the chairman of the Tribal Sheikhs' Council. Instead, the chairman will be appointed by the tribes. Jassim refused to accept this decree and sought counsel with Fadil, a Badr loyalist himself. ¶5. (C) Fadil enlisted the assistance of the Badr Office in East Baghdad and the deputy of that Badr Organization office, Abu Shema Al-Baghdadi, requested a meeting with the Qada Council leadership to discuss the matter. The Mada'in Qada Council has refused to meet with Abu Shemma, but is seeking a meeting with the Chairman of the Baghdad Provincial Council (PC) or the Governor of Baghdad Province to mediate a resolution to this issue. ¶6. (C) Both the Chairman and the Security Committee Chair of the Mada'in Qada Council are convinced that the Badr Organization is attempting to expand its influence in the qada by placing Badr loyalists on its key councils. They intimated that acceptance of a meeting with Abu Shemma Al-Baghdadi would be tantamount to accepting Badr Organization maneuvering in Mada'in. ¶7. (C) The Chairman of the Mada'in Qada Council is worried that neither the PC Chairman nor the Governor of Baghdad will side with the Qada Council because the PC Chairman is a Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq party member and the Governor is a senior Badr Organization commander. ¶8. (C) Comment. The Chairman and the Security Chair of the Mada'in Qada Council may be exaggerating the extent of the encroachment by the Badr Organization in Mada'in. We have seen no other indication that Badr is attempting to maneuver its way into the leadership positions of the Qada Council or its nahia councils. End comment. SATTERFIELD