MAYSAN CIVIC LEADER RECOUNTS ASSASSINATION CAMPAIGN AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BASRAH 000158

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/5/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL IZ IR
SUBJECT: MAYSAN CIVIC LEADER RECOUNTS ASSASSINATION CAMPAIGN AND
IRANIAN ACTIONS

REF: (A) BASRAH 47; (B) BASRAH 131

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

REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)




1. (C) Summary. A prominent civic leader in Maysan Province,
Abu Muslim al-Saadi, met with the Regional Coordinator (RC) on
October 4 and provided details about the growing number of
assassinations in his home province. He said that 138 people
have been assassinated in al-Amarah, the Maysan capital, in the
past two years, most of them independent politicians killed by
the Sadr or Badr militias. He expects that the tempo of
assassinations will speed up in the coming months because of
increased Iranian activity aimed at destabilizing the province,
and he views the turnover of security in Maysan to Iraqi control
as a long-term goal. End Summary.

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ASSASSINATIONS AND INTIMIDATION ENGULF AL-AMARAH
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2. (C) A prominent civic leader in Maysan Province and
long-time coalition contact, Abu Muslim told the RC on October 4
that assassinations in Al-Amarah, the provincial capital, were
increasing at an alarming rate. A former member of the Interim
Iraqi National Council and the founder of the al-Huda Foundation
for Strategic Studies, which operates programs supporting
democracy and encouraging tolerance (see Ref A for background
information),Abu Muslim said that 138 people have been
assassinated in Al-Amarah in the past two years. He explained
that most of the victims fit in certain broad categories:
independent members of the government (one example is the local
head of intelligence in Maysan - the three persons who have held
that office since 2002 have all been killed, and the office is
now vacant),former or alleged Ba'ath party members, and persons
accused of not following religious strictures (particularly
consumers of alcohol and prostitutes). Abu Muslim said the
killings reached a crescendo in mid-September when 10 people
were assassinated during a one-week span and avers that Sadr and
Badr militia members are responsible for the assassinations.


3. (C) A recent and unsettling development, according to Abu
Muslim, is that JAM has started patrolling the streets of
Al-Amarah and is manning check points parallel to operations
conducted by the police force, which is dominated by Badr
militia members. This increases the likelihood of further
clashes between JAM and Badr in the city.

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IRAN ACCUSED OF SUPPORTING THE VIOLENCE
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4. (C) Abu Muslim reported that between 20 and 30 people were
assassinated in August and September, and he expects the numbers
to rise in the next three months because Iran is contacting
members of JAM and Islamic parties to try and enlist their
services in five-man assassination squads. In an effort to
destabilize Maysan, Abu Muslim said that the Iranian
Revolutionary Guards Corps is providing funds, equipment, and
instructions to these new assassination cells. He said that JAM
and religious party members are being sought so as to not focus
attention solely on Badr members. Abu Muslim said that the
sources of his information on the increased Iranian influence
are trusted close friends who have direct knowledge.


5. (C) Questioned by the RC about Maysan's progress toward
achieving Provincial Iraqi Control (PIC),Abu Muslim said that
Maysan would not be ready to join its neighboring provinces in
of Muthanna and Dhi Qar in having its forces assume security
responsibility. Effective PIC requires that Iraqi authorities
eliminate weapons from the population, disarm the militias and
cleanse the police force of corruption, a process that he said
could take many years. The Maysan Provincial Council at present
is doing nothing in this regard, according to Abu Muslim.


6. (C) Comment. Abu Muslim has worked closely with coalition
forces since CPA days and believes wholeheartedly in the need to
educate the Iraqi people about democracy and instill the rule of
law. Because he spent several years in Iran studying at
religious institutes in Qom, his religious credentials are
impeccable. Combined with his fervent support of democratic
change in Maysan - and throughout Iraq - he is a much-needed
public counterweight to militia-led political infighting common

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in Al-Amarah. His report of the increased assassinations and
rise in Iranian influence are especially troubling since he has
not been a doomsayer in the past. End comment.
GROSS