C O N F I D E N T I A L BASRAH 000148

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 9/14/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR IZ
SUBJECT: BANI ASAD SHEIKH ON AUGUST 16 ATTACK AND SECURITY

REF: BASRAH 132

CLASSIFIED BY: Ken Gross, Regional Coordinator, REO Basrah, DOS.

REASON: 1.4 (b)


1. (C) Summary. The Regional Coordinator (RC) and Deputy RC
met with Bani Asad tribal leader Sheikh Hassan al-Asad on
September 12. Sheikh Hassan expressed concern over Basrah's
dismal security situation and provided background on his tribe's
August 16 attack on the Basrah government building. Sheikh
Hassan said that the Basrah Provincial Council (BPC) and the
governor formed a secret committee to investigate the murders of
his son and nephew, the events that precipitated the attack.
Sheikh Hassan said that establishing a safe and secure
environment is the paramount concern in Basrah. End summary.

--------------
The Government Building Attack
--------------


2. (C) The Regional Coordinator (RC) and Deputy RC met with
Sheikh Hassan al-Asad of the Bani Asad tribe on September 12,
and he recounted the events leading up to the August 16 attack
on the Basrah government building (see reftel). According to
Sheikh Hassan, the attack was a spontaneous act that erupted
when young members of the Bani Asad tribe were goaded into
action by militia members who had joined the funeral procession
of his nephew hours earlier. Sheikh Hassan said that his
nephew, an Iraqi police officer, was murdered the day before the
attack for "being in league with the Coalition Forces." Calling
the subsequent attack against the symbol of government wrong and
claiming that as soon as he heard about it he called off his
tribesmen, he said that he wanted to make sure that the RC
understood that the Bani Asad tribe was peaceful in nature and
against the kind of violence that is permeating Basrah. His
nephew's murder was the second death in the family. Earlier the
Sheikh's only son, also an Iraqi police officer, was murdered
for the same reason, according to his father.


3. (C) In dealing with the aftermath of the attack on the
government building, Sheikh Hassan said that a number of other
tribes offered assistance, but he refused the offers since they
would "only escalate the situation." He explained that the
governor and BPC established a secret investigative committee to
determine the facts behind his son and his nephew's murders.
The committee started its investigation shortly after the last
assassination, but Sheikh Hassan had no further information
about it. Sheikh Hassan asked the RC to help move the
investigation along, and the RC replied that he would try to
obtain information on the committee. Sheikh Hassan refused to
ascribe blame for the murders to any particular individual or
group. There is, he said, no active police investigation into
either murder.

--------------
Basrah Security and the Tribes
--------------


4. (C) Sheikh Hassan said that the Basrah security committee
formed by the Prime Minister in July is "good," but it will be
ineffective unless all of the political parties agree to
cooperate and work with it. He identified unemployment as the
biggest problem facing Basrah, noting that Iraqi Army members
dismissed after the fall of Saddam had "no jobs, nothing." To
feed their families, they and other jobless persons turn to
militias for employment.


5. (C) Comment. As one of the elders of the Bani Asad tribe,
reportedly the largest tribe in Iraq with over one and a half
million members, Sheikh Hassan is a steady and measured speaker
and is unique among the tribal leaders in the south - he was
well-reasoned and did not try to place blame on other tribes or
individuals for any of Basrah's many problems. Claiming that
his tribe stood for peace, he emphasized that security is his
main concern, saying that he would prefer "to be safe than to
have food" if he had to choose. He is concerned about the young
members of his tribe, the lack of opportunities in present day
Basrah for them, and what this may portend for the future. He
also made an interesting comparison between the old tribes and
the "newer" tribes he said were formed during Saddam's reign.
Sheikh Hassan said the new tribes are weak and are unable to
provide a strong enough bond to prevent its young members from
defecting to the militias. Overall, Sheikh Hassan is a
thoughtful leader concerned about the future of his tribe. End
Comment.

GROSS