NINEWA SCIRI REP CLAIMS KURDS NOT SUPPORTIVE OF AL JAAFARI

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSUL 000019

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2/21/2016
TAGS: PREL PINS PINT PGOV PHUM IZ
SUBJECT: NINEWA SCIRI REP CLAIMS KURDS NOT SUPPORTIVE OF AL JAAFARI
NOMINATION BECAUSE OF KIRKUK ISSUE

MOSUL 00000019 001.2 OF 002


CLASSIFIED BY: Cameron Munter, PRT Leader, Provincial
Reconstruction Team Ninewa, State.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)



--------------
SUMMARY
--------------


1. (C). Ninewa Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution of Iraq
(SCIRI) Spokesman Aref Yousef claimed that recent personal
attacks against Shia coalition nominee and current Prime
Minister Ibrahim Al Jaafari as unjust and motivated by Kurds.
Yousef accused Kurds of working against Al Jaafari because he
did not interpret Article 58 (of the TAL) to cede control of
Kirkuk to Iraqi Kurdistan. He said as a result Kurds were
working with Sunni Arabs and secularists, such as Ayad Allawi,
to "block" the selection of Al Jaafari for a second term.
Yousef trumpeted last year's passing of the constitution and
anti-insurgency efforts in Tal Afar as successes that should be
directly attributed to Al Jaafari. End Summary.


2. (SBU) PRT Poloff met with Supreme Council for Islamic
Revolution of Iraq (SCIRI) provincial spokesman Aref Yousef in
Mosul on February 19.

-------------- --------------
KURDS BEHIND ATTACKS ON AL JAAFARI FOR "SELFISH" REASONS
-------------- --------------


3. (C) SCIRI spokesman Yousef said although Al Jaafari's first
term was not a complete success, most of the allegations against
him have been exaggerated. He claimed Kurds are upset over the
Shia Coalition's nomination of Al Jaafari because the prime
minister did not "give them Kirkuk." Yousef said Kurds
preferred a very liberal interpretation of Article 58 in the TAL
regarding issues of the displaced, and as a result had their
"eyes on Kirkuk." However, Yousef said, Al Jaafari "did not
yield" on the issue. He said other non-Kurd areas of the
country, such as Salahadin province, should also be looked at
since they, too, were affected by Saddam Hussein's tinkering.
He recommended that Al Jaafari be commended for not ceding to
pressure from the Kurds on this issue.

--------------
CRITICISM OF AL JAAFARI UNFAIR
--------------


4. (C) Yousef said criticism of Al Jaafari is unfair. He
claimed Al Jaafari's tenure should also be viewed in relation to
the government he "inherited from [Ayad] Allawi." Yousef
claimed Al Jaafari received a deteriorating infrastructure and
fallout from terrorists attacks in Fallujah and Najaf. He said
Al Jaafari was not in office long enough to address all of the
issues that he wanted to, since the term was less than one year.
Yousef claimed Al Jaafari's work with Sunni Arab tribal leaders
in Al Anbar province, for example, helped solve security issues
there. He claimed Al Jaafari reacted "very level-headed" when
dealing with anti-insurgency issues in Tal Afar in September of
last year. Yousef said Al Jaafari "could have overreacted" at
the news that "200,000 Shias" were killed or displaced.
Instead, said Yousef, Al Jaafari took time to develop a plan to
settle security problems there. Yousef claimed that the
successes with the writing and passing of the constitution, and
a peaceful national election, should be credited to Al Jaafari
as well.

--------------
SUPPORT FOR AL JAAFARI'S NOMINATION
--------------


5. (C) When questioned whether SCIRI members were disappointed
that their candidate, Dr. Abdul Al Mahdi, lost the nomination by
one vote, Yousef preferred not to answer the question directly.
He said he hoped Al Mahdi would have been nominated since he is
"very qualified and skillful," and had a record of "bringing
people together." Yousef claimed, however, that the process was
fair and therefore should be respected. Yousef responded to
recent claims by Sunni Arab, secular, and Kurdish parties that
they would seek to block the nomination of Al Jaafari as
"unlikely." He said even if Kurds work with former Prime
Minister Ayad Allawi to oppose the selection of Al Jaafari, such
a move could push the political process back and delay the
formation of the new government. Yousef said SCIRI hopes that
the new government would be inclusive and work for the benefit
of the Iraqi people. He said he hopes future elections do not
digress along sectarian and tribal lines.

--------------

MOSUL 00000019 002.2 OF 002


PROVINCIAL ELECTION PREPARATIONS
--------------


6. (C) Yousef said he did not expect provincial elections to
take place before this coming September. He said that once the
new government was set then preparations would move forward for
the provincial elections. Yousef said SCIRI had mobilized its
offices in Mosul, Sinjar, Tal Afar, and Telkaif, but that it had
no nominees to date.

--------------
COMMENT
--------------


7. (C) Yousef maintained a cautious attitude, especially
because his party's candidate, Al Mahdi, lost by a razor-thin
margin. He toed the party line, however, on building up Al
Jaafari's first term as prime minister, but did hint that he did
not believe the Shia coalition had picked the best candidate for
the job. He appeared to be dreading the possibility as well
that Al Jaafari's nomination might not go through, which would
push the process back to square one. Yousef was adamant that
the Kurds were responsible for the "anti-Jaafari" movement
because of their "selfish" motivations over Article 58 and the
Kirkuk issue. We could sense from this meeting that Yousef and
other local SCIRI members and politicians will be spending much
of their time working on damage control from Al Jaafari
nomination, rather than concentrating on their work in the new
national assembly.
MUNTER