Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06MOSUL33
2006-03-24 14:27:00
CONFIDENTIAL
REO Mosul
Cable title:  

NINEWA: TAL AFAR AND RABIYA CITY COUNCILS SEARCHING FOR

Tags:  PREL PINS PINT PGOV PHUM IZ MARR 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO0895
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHMOS #0033/01 0831427
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 241427Z MAR 06
FM REO MOSUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0444
INFO RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUEHLU/AMEMBASSY LUANDA 0038
RUEHMOS/REO MOSUL 0463
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSUL 000033 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 3/24/2016
TAGS: PREL PINS PINT PGOV PHUM IZ MARR
SUBJECT: NINEWA: TAL AFAR AND RABIYA CITY COUNCILS SEARCHING FOR
ANSWERS TO BASIC SERVICES AND SECURITY

REF: MOSUL 30

MOSUL 00000033 001.2 OF 002


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



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

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSUL 000033

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 3/24/2016
TAGS: PREL PINS PINT PGOV PHUM IZ MARR
SUBJECT: NINEWA: TAL AFAR AND RABIYA CITY COUNCILS SEARCHING FOR
ANSWERS TO BASIC SERVICES AND SECURITY

REF: MOSUL 30

MOSUL 00000033 001.2 OF 002


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



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


1. (C) The city councils of the west Ninewa towns of Tal Afar
and Rabiya seek to improve security and basic services to their
communities. While both councils are pleased with improved
security, they realized more work would need to be done to shore
up Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) in number and training to ensure
that peace would prevail. Both city councils claim they had
little help from the provincial and central governments,
especially in the areas of development and reconstruction. Tal
Afar wants to repair bridges and clean up the city, while Rabiya
seeks new schools and a hospital. The city councils have their
problems -- the former mayor of Rabiya was just arrested for
corruption, and the Tal Afar city council has motivation
problems -- but both entities show signs of progress. End
Summary.


2. (SBU) PRT PolOff and MNF-N met with members of the Tal Afar
City Council on March 15, and members of the Rabiya City Council
on March 16.

--------------
SECURITY ISSUES
--------------


3. (C) The city councils of Tal Afar and Rabiya expressed
cautious optimism over the state of security in their respective
cities. While there had been improvements in coordination with
Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) and Coalition Forces (CF),the
general sense from the meetings was that more needed to be done
to ensure security improved over the months ahead. Tal Afar
Mayor Najim Al Jubouri (reftel) and city council member Mohammed
Sadiq Younis spoke of several recent successes by the ISF with
capturing insurgents, locating improvised explosive devices
(IEDs),and establishing additional checkpoints on roads coming

into Tal Afar. Col Abdul Aziz Ahmed, Iraqi Army (IA) Brigade
Chief of Statt, asked for more help from civilians to strengthen
intelligence to capture insurgents in the area. The IA was
doing a better job of how it was conducting nighttime raids on
homes and improving treatment of its detainees, he said.
Executive Office of the Police Force Col Mahmood said his forces
were increasing patrols, and that 75 percent of Iraqi Police
(IP) missions were joint operations with CF and IA. Al Jubouri
said the Ministry of Interior (MOI) in Baghdad had recently
approved hiring additional officers and the construction of new
IP stations. He was working with IP officials to improve
representation of Sunnis and Shias (the current breakdown was
about 70 percent Sunni to Shia, roughly the same as the Tal
Afar's population). He said the city would consider hiring
civilians and military that served during the former regime.
There were currently 1,707 IP, with 37 more on the way in the
first week of April.


4. (C) On a visit with city council members of Rabiya, Deputy
Mayor Jassam Mohammed said the biggest frustration was the
recent redeployment of 150 IP from Rabiya to other parts of the
province. The IP was redeployed because it was believed there
were "too many" officers in the city that needed to be used
elsewhere. He said the city was looking to hire more IP, as
well as beef up the border patrol. Mohammed said an increase in
IEDs planted on roads leading into the city might have been a
result of the fewer IPs and IP stations outside of Rabiya. More
officers and checkpoints were needed to better security on the
roads, he said. IP station chief Col Ahwad said the IP had 16
total trucks for patrols but that four were in need of repairs.
He was hoping for more cooperation from the GOI and provincial
government on the issue.

--------------
RULE OF LAW
--------------


5. (C) Executive Officer of the Tal Afar Police Force Col
Mahmood said the IP was working with lawyers in the area to
shore up criminal investigation procedures. He claimed Tal
Afar's two judges refused to help because they felt the effort
was "beneath them." Mahmood said unless there was more
intervention by Ninewa Chief Judge Faisal Hadeed to get Tal
Afar's judges involved, the IP would continue training with

MOSUL 00000033 002.2 OF 002


lawyers. Younis said training of interrogators was currently
being done with help from CF, and each year they trained
approximately 50 to 60 of them. The training was helping IP
conduct better interrogations and searches, and improving human
rights. He claimed a "no tolerance" policy for abuses, and that
if a soldier or officer were found to have disrespected a
female, for example, he would be fired immediately.

--------------
BASIC SERVICES AND RECONSTRUCTION
--------------


6. (C) Tal Afar members said their biggest frustration was that
37 million dollars promised them by the GOI had not yet made its
way to the city (NOTE: This money was promised by PM Ja'afari a
year ago). Al Jubouri asked for assistance from the provincial
government to locate the funds from the GOI. On reconstruction
projects, he said the city was working on efforts to get
contracting approval from the GOI to build small bridges in
town, repair the sewer system, and provide furniture and
learning materials to schools. Regarding fuel, he has been
working on efforts with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)
in Dohuk to bring more and cheaper petrol and cooking gas to Tal
Afar. In Rabiya Deputy Mayor Mohammed said no construction was
currently being done in the city and outlying villages. Rabiya
needed a hospital since it was relying on four small clinics not
equipped to handle demand, he said. City Councilmember Sheikh
Hassan Faris believed residents were forced to travel to Mosul
and Tal Afar hospitals for everything from serious accidents to
births, which was a burden on Rabiya's 100,000 inhabitants.
Mohammed said construction of school buildings was necessary
since most were made of mud and wood. Schools were also
overcrowded, he said, so more would need to be built.

--------------
REPARATIONS FOR DAMAGES
--------------


7. (C) Members of the Tal Afar City Council and Mayor Al
Jubouri were concerned they did not have enough funding to cover
all claims filed to the city regarding damages sustained during
counterinsurgency operations from last September. Al Jubouri
said the city was given four million dollars to settle claims,
but that the city would probably need more money from the GOI,
possibly around 10 million dollars, since the current amount of
money would only help settle about 10 percent of the cases. Al
Jubouri said the city had received 7,500 claims so far, some
stemming back to April 2004. Cases of missing vehicles, stolen
or broken furniture, and the injured or killed made up the
majority of the claims, he said.

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


8. (C) It was good to see city governments in two strategically
important areas of western Ninewa functioning, but we should
note that both city councils are not without their problems. In
Rabiya, city council members said the former mayor had just been
arrested in Mosul after fleeing for allegations of corruption.
A new mayor had been appointed but he was not present during our
informal meeting. Tal Afar has its own problems as well.
According to Mayor Al Jubouri members are reluctant to meet
regularly. Sheikh Tawfiq, a provincial councilmember and Tal
Afar resident, got word of this and apparently forced the city
council to get together, claimed Al Jubouri. Although the Tal
Afar meeting started strongly, covering issues of security and
reconstruction, it quickly digressed into requests for "respect
education" of the IP -- to recognize public officials and
politicians so they are not pulled over indiscriminately at
police checkpoints -- and for weapons permits for council
members. While these issues raise questions regarding the
sustainability of the local governments, the leaders we spoke to
(at least when on message) seem concerned about finding
solutions to real problems.
MUNTER