CHALABI DISCUSSES NEW DIRECTIONS FOR POPULAR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 001000 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/22/2017 TAGS: PGOV PINS PINR IZ SUBJECT: CHALABI DISCUSSES NEW DIRECTIONS FOR POPULAR COMMITTEES Classified By: PRT Team Leader Joseph Gregoire for Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D). ¶1. (C) Summary: Ahmad Chalabi, chair of the Baghdad Security Plan's popular mobilization committee, told PRToffs March 21 that his latest efforts focus on mosque re-openings, ensuring the distribution of food rations to unstable areas, and detainee inquiries. Chalabi had several guests he said were Jaysh Al-Mahdi commanders on site to discuss re-opening Sunni mosques in Shia enclaves in west Baghdad. End Summary. Chalabi Hosts JAM Leaders to Facilitate Mosque Re-Openings -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) Ahmad Chalabi, chair of the popular mobilization committee of the Baghdad Security Plan (BSP) told PRToffs March 21 that his latest efforts focus on mosque re-openings, ensuring the distribution of food rations to unstable areas, and detainee inquiries. The headquarters for the popular committee effort is based at a house in Mansour about 200 meters from Chalabi's home. When PRToffs arrived, Chalabi was hosting five men he said were Jaysh Al-Mahdi (JAM) commanders for west Baghdad in one room and about 20 tribal sheikhs he said were discussing reconciliation initiatives for an area northeast of Ghazalia in another. ¶3. (C) Chalabi said he was meeting the JAM leaders to try to secure their support for re-opening several Sunni mosques in predominantly Shia areas of west Baghdad. He said he is working on re-opening the Al-Farouq mosque in the Hurriyah neighborhood in Kadhamiya, but Shia leaders are resisting because of the mosque's "strategic location" and security concerns over some Sunnis who worshipped there. Chalabi said a Sunni mosque he did not name will re-open in Shula on March 25 or 26. ¶4. (C) Chalabi said the liaison officers heading popular committees in the city's 10 security sectors are identifying opportunities for mosque re-openings. Chalabi added that members of the popular committees are attending mosque re-openings. JAM Losing its Grip in Baghdad? -------------- ¶5. (C) Chalabi said JAM leaders feel they are losing community support as Coalition and Iraqi security efforts expand and are seeking ways to demonstrate their willingness to work toward community objectives. Chalabi characterized the assassination attempt on Sadr City One Qaimaqam Rahim Al-Daraji as a failed effort by JAM to reassert its influence and authority. ¶6. (C) Chalabi said part of the reason JAM reacted so strongly to Al-Daraji was its misperception about the Joint Security Station (JSS) in Sadr City, which JAM believed to be unique in Baghdad. Chalabi said he has launched a media campaign to dispel this misconception and is working with the Ministry of Defense to explain to the public that JSSs are a citywide phenomena. Popular Committees Used to Oversee Food Distribution -------------- -------------- ¶7. (C) Chalabi said members of the popular committees are identifying areas where security problems have prevented the distribution of food rations. He said the popular committees are cooperating with Iraqi Army forces to ensure rations are distributed to these areas. Chalabi cited the example of Ghazalia, where he said 35 ration distribution agents had not received deliveries for five months. Chalabi's Lawyers Conduct Detention Facility Inspections -------------- -------------- ¶8. (C) Chalabi highlighted concerns raised by his team of lawyers regarding several detention facilities in Baghdad. He began with Ministry of Defense's (MOD) Muthanna Airport detention facility, which his team said was housing 850 people in a facility designed for 75. He said that the facility was holding underage detainees and two women, all of whom were being subjected to sexual abuse. He said that MOD and the Ministry of Interior are beginning to 'clean up their act' and that this was driven largely by fear of further inspections by Chalabi's team. Chalabi said the team will conduct a surprise inspection of another MOD detention facility in Kadhamiya March 22. Chalabi mentioned that the 17 lawyers are not yet receiving a salary but that the Prime Minister has assured him that money is forthcoming. ¶9. (C) When asked by PRTOffs about a possible role for the BAGHDAD 00001000 002 OF 002 Ministry of Human Rights (MoHR) in further inspections, Chalabi said that MoHR programs are "unhelpful" and they do not have the staying power required to have any serious impact. Chalabi Seeks Improved Security Coordination -------------- ¶10. (C) Chalabi requested Embassy assistance in providing the popular committees' team staff with a formal interface to existing joint security programs such as the Baghdad Joint Coordination Center. He said that his team would benefit from having access to information about security operations so that they could convey this information to local communities, dispelling rumors. Chalabi's staff later mentioned that they have collected a large quantity of intelligence data in need of follow-up by "trustworthy" individuals. Sunni Committees Struggling to Find Members -------------- ¶11. (C) In response to questions about the operating capacity of the popular committees, Chalabi said that, although he is seeking to eventually recruit one committee member per thousand families, the effort is currently well short of that mark. He characterized Sadr City as the most successful committee so far, with approximately 300 members, but said he is struggling to get participants from Sunni-majority districts like Mansour. He said that Naseer Alaani, his ostensible co-chair, will be working to improve Sunni participation in the committees. Sunni Sheikh Says Mosque Re-Openings Merely Cosmetic -------------- -------------- ¶11. (C) A Sunni sheikh who Chalabi implied was a member of the steering committee for the popular mobilization effort openly contradicted Chalabi's claim that the mosque re-openings indicate improved security or sectarian reconciliation. The sheikh added that Sunni families displaced from the areas surrounding the re-opened mosques are not returning and that Sunni worshipers are afraid to pray in the re-opened mosques. He said that security forces had participated in driving Sunni families out of the areas and that security would not improve until those forces were replaced with U.S. personnel. Even then, he said, U.S. personnel would eventually have to leave and the situation could deteriorate again. Comment -------------- ¶12. (C) The Popular Mobilization headquarters is not a large enough facility to accommodate the type of large-scale, rapid-response operations Chalabi has indicated. PRTOffs observed workspace for fewer than a dozen employees on-site. KHALILZAD