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