AMBASSADOR MEETS VP HASHIMI, TAWAFUQ LEADERS,

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 001185 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/06/2017 TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM IZ SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR MEETS VP HASHIMI, TAWAFUQ LEADERS, CALLS FOR ENGAGEMENT AND PATIENCE WITH GOI Classified By: Ambassador Ryan Crocker for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Ambassador Crocker paid an introductory call on VP Hashimi April 1; Tawafuq bloc leader Adnan Dulaimi, Tawafuq ministers, and CoR members were in attendance. The VP said he was eager to work together on the challenges facing Iraq, and cited reform of security institutions as the key to stopping the violence. While he hoped the BSP would succeed, the VP said there were concerns over reports of human rights violations and sectarian behavior among lower ranking officers in its implementation. The VP called for U.S. intervention to achieve sectarian balance in the GOI and increased coordination and power sharing in decision making. The Ambassador affirmed USG support for the Tawafuq bloc's efforts to make the national unity government work - despite the many personal losses that Hashimi and his colleagues had incurred. The Ambassador urged Hashimi to continue engaging on the issues he raised, and emphasized that all sides had a shared responsibility to improve the security situation. Given how complex and intertwined the political and security issues were, the Ambassador opined, Hashimi and Tawafuq must exercise strategic patience in pushing for change. End Summary. -------------- --- TAWAFUQ BLOC GATHERS TO GREET NEW AMBASSADOR -------------- --- ¶2. Iraqi Vice President and IIP Secretary General Hashimi invited a group of twenty Tawafuq figures such as bloc leader Adnan Dulaimi, Sunni Arab CoR members, advisors, and Tawafuq GOI Ministers to meet Ambassador Crocker. While the official host of the meeting was Tariq Al-Hashimi, the elderly Adnan Dulaimi, considered the symbol of Tawafuq, sat at Hashimi's side, and freely interjected as Hashimi and the Ambassador conducted the meeting. The Ambassador relayed the US President's continued support for efforts of the national unity government and for Tawafuq's active participation. The Ambassador said that the work of Hashimi and Tawafuq in support of the political process - in the face of considerable personal sacrifices - was acknowledged and appreciated by the U.S. -------------- -------------- HASHIMI SEEKS COOPERATION, HIGHLIGHTS CONCERNS -------------- -------------- ¶3. (C) The VP expressed his desire to work in partnership with the new Ambassador on achieving shared goals - on the top of the list was improving the security situation. He said that while he hoped the BSP would succeed, he was increasingly concerned over reports of human rights violations during ISF searches and arrests and verbal sectarian baiting by lower ranking officers. He added that the unresolved status of thousands of detainees in MoI and MNF-I custody was a major irritant to the public and an obstacle to achieving Sunni buy-in to the BSP. To emphasize this point, Adnan Dulaimi subsequently presented the Ambassador with a list of detainees in MNF-I custody and a request for their release to Dulaimi's guardianship. ¶4. (C) The VP called for increased coordination and power sharing and decision making in the BSP, highlighting that it was being designed and executed by predominantly Shia officers. Hashimi said that the lack of power sharing and coordination was plaguing all the GOI ministries, and especially the PM's office. The PM's close hold on decision making was contrary to the agreements made during government formation negotiations and was affecting the ability of Sunni Arabs to play a meaningful role in the government. The delay in constitutional review - which was intended to fix the institutional inequities and the PM's "overstepping" his authorities was exacerbating the situation, Hashimi argued. (Note: Hashimi was referring to the PM's summary termination of Sunni Endowment Chair Abdulghafour Sammraie's employment, which under the constitution falls in the purview of the Presidency. End note.) ¶5. (C) The Ambassador said that security was a shared responsibility; he noted the positive role that Hashimi and the IIP had played in support of the BSP thus far, and encouraged him to continue engaging on the important issues he had raised. The Ambassador agreed that a stable security situation was the foundation for a functioning democracy; he expressed a desire for strong partnership with Hashimi and Tawafuq in addressing shared concerns. The Ambassador called for strategic patience as Hashimi and Tawafuq engaged their partners in the GOI on these important issues. CROCKER