IRAQI NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR VISITS JAPAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TOKYO 004913

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/27/2016
TAGS: PREL IZ JA
SUBJECT: IRAQI NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR VISITS JAPAN


Classified By: CHARGE D'AFFAIRES JOSEPH DONOVAN FOR REASONS 1.4(B),(D)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Iraqi National Security Advisor Dr. Mowaffak
al-Rubaie visited Japan August 22-26. In Tokyo he met with
Minister of Foreign Affairs Taro Aso, Minister of State for
Defense Fukushiro Nukaga, and briefed MOFA officials on the
situation in Iraq. He also met with press representatives
and was the guest of honor at a dinner hosted by the Iraqi
Ambassador for members of the Diplomatic Corps. He expressed
Iraq's thanks to Japan for their active involvement in their
struggle and was generally upbeat about the situation in
Iraq, maintaining that progress is being made in bringing
security to Baghdad. He was interested in learning more
about the U.S.-Japan security relationship and asked for and
was provided with a copy of our Status of Forces Agreement
(SOFA). Rubaie also pressed the Japanese for continued
financial assistance. END SUMMARY.

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MEETING WITH FM ASO
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2. (C) MOFA Iraq desk officer Tomoko Watanabe provided
Embassy Tokyo Political Officer with a readout of Rubaie's
visit to Japan. According to Watanabe, Rubaie -- accompanied
by Iraqi Ambassador Dr. Ghanim Alwan Al-Jumaily -- met
separately with FM Aso and JDA Chief Nukaga on August 22 to
thank them yet again for the contributions made by Japan's
Ground Self Defense Forces (GSDF) in Muthanna Province and
for the recently enhanced role being played by the Air Self
Defense Forces. He remarked that the GSDF had completed
their mission without firing a shot and said they had behaved
in Iraq more like angels than like soldiers. Rubaie
emphasized that Iraq is at the front line in the global war
on terror and needs the continued support of the
international community. He also noted that as Iraq's
security relationship with the United States matures the
Iraqis would like to learn more about the U.S.-Japan security
relationship. Aso replied by thanking Rubaie for the
reception he received during his successful August 3 visit to
Baghdad. He said that Japan will actively support the
Compact with Iraq, and that Japan hopes the security
situation in Baghdad will improve.

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BRIEFING FOR MOFA OFFICIALS
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3. (C) Prior to his meeting with FM Aso, Rubaie meet with a
number of MOFA officials from the Middle East, Intelligence,
and Economic Cooperation Bureaus to provide a more in-depth
briefing on the current situation in Iraq. He provided them
with an update on the Baghdad security plan, stating that
calm has been restored to two of seven hotspots in the city
and that the plan is to duplicate this effort in the
remaining five areas before Ramadan begins. He said security
forces have removed politically provocative posters,
increased patrols, are working to urge people who fled their
neighborhoods to return, are employing young men to help
clean up and beautify the city, and are increasing the hours
of electricity available to the populace. The plan appears
to be working as the number of daily attacks has started to
decrease since July.


4. (C) On the economic front, Rubaie stated that although
inflation is up, so too is purchasing power, and that more
Iraqis than ever before are now linked to the outside world
economically, something that would have been impossible
during Saddam's era. Rubaie also presented a summary of the
growth and effectiveness of the Iraqi Security Forces, as
well as what he called the country's "three and a half"
intelligence agencies - the "half agency" being the Ministry
of State for National Security. According to Watanabe,
throughout his briefing the message that Rubaie continued to
emphasize was the effort of the Iraqi government to win the
hearts and minds of the people. He repeated several times
that it is critical the Iraqi people trust their government
and assist it to defeat the insurgents. Rubaie also asserted
that the press only prints the bad news, and said the fact
Iraq is the only country in the region with a developing
democracy makes its neighbors uneasy, especially Syria.


5. (C) According to Watanabe, Rubaie said Iraq is interested
in learning from the Japanese about how to manage a more
mature defense relationship with the United States, noting
that both Iraq and Japan had been occupied by the U.S.
following periods of conflict. He was particularly
interested in the SOFA between the U.S. and Japan and was, at
his request, provided with a copy.


6. (C) For their part, the Japanese asked a number of
questions of Rubaie, including about Iraq's national
reconstruction plan, debaathification, the role the Sunnis

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are playing in the government, the threat of civil war, and
what is being done to counter the threat posed by militias.
Rubaie replied that the national reconciliation plan is
moving forward and that meetings will be held to bring
together leaders from all the various political, religious,
and tribal factions. With regard to debaathification Rubaie
responded that in principle the concept is sound, but
expressed his opinion that it ought be carried out by
judicial authorities rather than a political body. On the
role being played by the Sunnis, Rubaie said he is hopeful
that Sunni politicians can play a greater role in
neutralizing the insurgency, but admitted they still have
concerns over what type of program the government will be
able to offer the insurgents to bring them on board. He
downplayed the threat of open civil war, pointing out that 30
percent of Iraqis are intermarried. He dismissed the recent
leak of a report by the former British Ambassador which
paints a bleak picture as British "domestic politics." On
the militia front, Rubaie maintained that Coalition
Provisional Authority Order 91 lays the framework for dealing
with the militias, but said that Iraq would look to the
Japanese for assistance in helping to fund a Demobilization,
Disarmament, and Reintegration program.

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ADDITIONAL OUTREACH
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7. (C) In addition to his official meetings, Rubaie also
granted interviews to the press, attended a dinner for
members of the Diplomatic Corps hosted in his honor by the
Iraqi Ambassador, and visited the cities of Hiroshima and
Kyoto. He was accompanied on his visit to Japan by his wife
and by two advisors, Hameed A. Ahmed and Rasim M. Hassan.
His visit was the subject of several small press stories
which emphasized his optomistic view that Iraqi security
forces will take control over all of Iraq by the end of the
year.


8. (C) Watanabe informed Political Officer that the next
senior Iraqi official currently scheduled to visit Japan is
Minister of Oil Shahristani, who is planning to visit on
October 22-23.

DONOVAN