ARAB LEAGUE TO CONTINUE CONFIDENCE BUILDING BEFORE

C O N F I D E N T I A L CAIRO 004855

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/07/2016
TAGS: PREL PTER IZ EG
SUBJECT: ARAB LEAGUE TO CONTINUE CONFIDENCE BUILDING BEFORE
SCHEDULING BAGHDAD CONFERENCE

Classified by ECPO Counselor Catherine Hill-Herndon for
reasons 1.4(b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: Arab League Chief of Staff Hesham Youssef
said that although participants at the late July Iraq
Reconciliation Preparatory Conference made progress on
divisive issues, reconciliation will be a long process and
circumstances, including security, are not yet conducive to
scheduling the Baghdad Reconciliation Conference. The League
will be implementing several confidence building initiatives,
Youssef added, in an effort both to outline a plan for
agreement on agenda items and to enlarge participation and
enhance communication at the next conference, which will
likely take place in the fall. He also said that while the
lack of all groups' participation at the July meeting was
disappointing, the communication among those who came was
much improved from the first Preparatory Conference in
November 2005. Al Maliki's recent discussion of troop
deployments to Baghdad was not particularly problematic at
the conference because many conference participants
acknowledge the need to address increasing violence in the
capital. End summary.


2. (C) Arab League Chief of Staff Hesham Youssef said that
at the late July Iraq Reconciliation Preparatory Conference,
participants agreed to focus on confidence building among all
Iraqi groups before scheduling a reconciliation conference in
Baghdad. Refuting press allegations that the conference had
been a failure because participants did not set a date for
the Baghdad meeting, Youssef said reconciliation would be a
long process, but the groups are improving their
communication with each meeting. Issues such as protocol,
seating arrangements, and speaking order, all of which were
complex and sensitive at the November 2005 conference, were
"non-issues" at the most recent gathering, Youssef offered.
The key now, Youssef explained, will be to devise ways to
diffuse tension among the groups on a routine basis, rather
than waiting to do this at League-sponsored conferences
outside of Iraq. To this end, Youssef said that participants
agreed to use the League's representative in Baghdad as an
intermediary. This will allow them to vent their suspicions
and address damaging behavior without delay.


3. (C) Youssef downplayed the Sadrists' lack of
participation, noting only that there is still much work to
be done before the Reconciliation Conference can take place
in Baghdad. The aim, he said, will be to increase
communication among groups, via e-mail if necessary, because
they cannot meet in Baghdad. Youssef also said the
participants formed a committee of Shiite and Sunni leaders
that will work to end the use of religious sites and fora to
incite violence. While cautioning that he did not want to
sound overly optimistic, Youssef said he believes that
participation at the next League-sponsored meeting will be
greater. Before the next meeting, the League will also
coordinate among all groups to craft an action plan for each
item on the agenda for the Reconciliation Conference. The
plan will outline the steps and major impediments to reaching
agreement on key issues.


4. (C) Security in Baghdad, Youssef said, must also improve
before a conference can take place there. Al Maliki's recent
reference to troop deployments in Baghdad was not a major
topic of discussion, he added, noting that many Iraqis are
suspicious of local forces and trust only U.S. troops.
Youssef said he believes most groups participating in the
conference understand that reconciliation is about a process,
not a conference, and that it will take time.
RICCIARDONE