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. -------------- DEVELOPMENT OF INSTITUTIONS INCOMPLETE -------------- ¶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. -------------- MASHADANI PROPOSES SOLUTIONS -------------- ¶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