COR SPEAKER ARGUES GOI MUST TAKE BOLD STEPS TOWARD

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 001184

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/04/2017
TAGS: PGOV KDEM IZ
SUBJECT: COR SPEAKER ARGUES GOI MUST TAKE BOLD STEPS TOWARD
RECONCILIATION, BUILDING INSTITUTIONS


Classified By: Ambassador Ryan Crocker, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: The Ambassador met Speaker Mahmoud Mashadani
April 1 at the Council of Representatives (CoR). Mashadani
said he believed Iraq was making the transition from a
country of chaos to one of institutions, but argued that
these institutions were sectarian, and lacked capacity and
coordination. While Mashadani enjoyed good personal
relations with President Talabani and PM Maliki, there was
little coordination between the institutions they led. He
said that the CoR had not evolved into a real counterweight
to the Prime Minister and was still plagued by a demand or
sectarian quotas, pointing to the previous day's debate over
sectarian quotas in IECI commission selection procedures as
the most recent example. Mashadani called for closer
coordination, and bold steps towards reconciliation that
would "jolt Iraqis out of their sectarian mentality". This
would bolster the position of Sunnis in the government, who
were largely viewed by their constituencies as having failed
them. The Ambassador acknowledged that the challenges ahead
of the nascent GOI were complex, but pointed to the Iraqi
people's impressive political accomplishments over the past
three years as a sign that the challenges could be overcome.
The Ambassador said he hoped to play a supporting role as
Mashadani and others worked towards strengthening
institutions and asked Mashadsani to continue to push for
change. End Summary.

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DEVELOPMENT OF INSTITUTIONS INCOMPLETE
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2. (C) Mashadani said that the formation of Iraq's
constitutionally-mandated institutions was complete, but they
required internal "finishing". He discussed his continuing
dissatisfaction with MoD Abdalkadr and claimed that he was
showing different faces to the Iraqis and Americans on the
BSP. In front of the MNF-I CG, the MoD said he was "breaking
the back of terrorism", but to Iraqis he frequently
complained he still did not have sufficient authority to
carry out security operations. Mashadani said that the GOI
lacked coordination, and while he enjoyed harmonious personal
relationships with the PM and the President, he was not up to
date on their policy decisions. As Speaker, he complained,
he frequently heard of the PM or the President's foreign
policy initiatives from the media.


3. (C) Mashadani that "there was no escape" from the Iraqis'
preference for sectarian quotas in GOI positions. He pointed
to the previous day's debate over a mechanism to choose the
CoR's hiring committee for IECI commissioners, and how some
Kurdish CoR members fervently argued that a formula for
sectarian distribution of commissioners must be established
before the hiring committee started its work.

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MASHADANI PROPOSES SOLUTIONS
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4. (C) Mashadani called for a more active relationship
between the three Presidencies in decision making, noting
that these bodies contained sufficient representation from
all groups and would be a legitimate vehicle for policy
making. He said that the PM must be empowered to choose GOI
Ministers; then only the PM would be accountable for the
performance of their ministries. Mashadani said that the
Parliament "must be strong" to act as a counterweight to the
PM. He said that the PM must implement a "bold
reconciliation plan" that would surprise the Iraqi people and
jolt them out of their sectarian mind set He said the Sunni
political figures who had joined the GOI needed to show more
results because they were widely perceived as having failed
their constituency, which was unlikely to go to the polls
again if they saw no results.


5. (C) The Ambassador highlighted the accomplishments of the
Iraqi people since 2003 in forming institutions of government
and agreed that strengthening them was key to achieving
stability. He pointed to the accomplishments of the CoR to
date as steps in the right direction, emphasized the
importance of strengthening the legislative body and
expressed a desire to act in close partnership with Mashadani
in achieving shared objectives.
CROCKER