IRAQ EXECUTIVE STEERING COMMITTEE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 001262 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/07/2027 TAGS: ECON EFIN ENRG EPET KPAO PGOV PREL SUBJECT: IRAQ EXECUTIVE STEERING COMMITTEE Classified By: Ambassador Ryan Crocker, E.O. 12958, Reasons 1.4 (b) (d) ¶1. (C) Summary: The Iraq Executive Steering Committee met April 6 to review recent progress by its six committees. Prime Minister Maliki underscored the importance of the ICI, noting that all international partners had signed on except for Syria. Minister of the Interior Bolani said that MOI had begun the process of registering the location of all political parties' offices, as well as inventorying their personnel and vehicles. Bolani also briefly described his Ministry's program for rewarding people who report the location and production of IEDs. Ambassador Carney, U.S. Coordinator for Economic Transition in Iraq, reported that the U.S. was providing $7.3 million toward completion of the Mussaib power plant, a project that is virtually complete and that will add 200MW initially to the Baghdad grid when completed. The Minister of Health complained that he had not received the supplemental funds promised to him to fund incentive pay for doctors working in Baghdad. Bolani noted that the Ministry of Justice was slowly processing detainees, and had moved juvenile detainees from the general detainee population to a juvenile facility. PM Media Advisor Yassin Majid stressed the importance of reaching out to the media to publicize positive events, and lamented that the foreign Arab press continued to portray the Fardh al Qanoon negatively. End Summary. ¶2. (C) The Iraq Executive Steering Committee met on April 6. PM Nouri al-Maliki chaired the meeting. In a departure from both the agenda and previous meeting format, he said that each committee head would report on their accomplishments since the previous meeting and their future plans. -------------- Political Committee -------------- ¶3. (C) Political committee member Hajim al-Hassani reviewed developments since the last I-ESC meeting, noting that progress on a number of issues is pending actions by ministries or decisions by the Presidency Council or the Council of Ministers. ¶4. (C) I-ESC Participants also noted that there had been a number of briefings over the past week on the Fardh al Qanoon (FAQ),including at briefing for EU Ambassadors by National Security Advisor Rubaie and Defense Minister Obedei. The EU ambassadors requested follow-up on developments. Members of the Political Committee had also engaged Council of Representatives (CoR) Speaker Mashadani to discuss more active coordination between the Political Committee and the CoR. The FAQ had also been raised in the UN in the context of preparations for the International Compact with Iraq (ICI) meeting slated for early May in Egypt. ¶5. (C) Prime Minister Maliki underscored the importance of the ICI, noted that all international partners had signed on except for Syria. Ahmed Chalabi discussed the success of the similar International Compact for Afghanistan, asserting that the plan for Iraq would and should be much broader. ¶6. (C) Minister of Interior Bolani said that, following a decision by the I-ESC two weeks before, the MOI had contacted police stations to begin to register the location of political party offices, as well as an inventory of vehicles and personnel. He expressed some frustration with what he characterized as mixed media coverage of the FAQ, noting that the parties have more ready access to media and should be used in this context. -------------- Finance Committee -------------- ¶7. C) The Prime Minister asked about a program of rewards for citizens who provided information on the location and production of IEDs. Bolani noted a program within the police. PM Maliki encouraged the development of a more robust program of financial rewards for Baghdad residents who come forward with useful information. Maliki also emphasized the importance of providing information on the FAQ to Iraqi Embassies so they could positively influence understanding abroad of the FAQ. ¶8. C) Minister of Electricity Karim presented a detailed report on transformers and distribution lines repaired in the Karkh and Rusafa areas. While the repair statistics were impressive, he noted that 6 members of his repairman had been killed ( check ). He said that they had also installed street lights in some areas and had established 3 new maintenance centers. Karim noted, however, that there were BAGHDAD 00001262 002 OF 003 still some areas that are too dangerous for Ministry crews to attempt repairs there are too many "people not wanting them fixed." Karim said that MoE is also looking at private generators for some areas. One Iraqi official sarcastically stated that the average Iraqi doesn't care how many transformers MoE has repaired - they just want more power every day. Karim replied that some areas were receiving a full day of power. He added that he is hopeful that MOE will soon reach 6,000MW daily peak power through the addition of generating units coming on line. ¶9. (C) Ambassador Carney, U.S. Coordinator for Economic Transition in Iraq (CETI),stated that USMI would provide $7.3 million to help complete the Mussaib power plant project. Carney noted that the project, which required only $20 million to complete, could quickly add 200MW to the Baghdad grid. Finishing the project would bring on line 10 diesel generators and complete a refinery topping plant that would provide diesel fuel to the generators. He added that the topping plant would also produce Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) that could be utilized at Mussaib's thermal (steam-driven) stations. Carney stressed that the Ministry of Oil had a crucial role to play both in running the topping plant and supplying crude oil and diesel fuel. ¶10. (C) Karim stated that the GOI had given the original Texas-based contractor everything it needed to complete the project, only to have the company pull out of the project. He had received Council of Ministers permission to terminate the contract with the contractor, and would complete the project with the help of the U.S. Embassy which was providing both partial funding and a new contractor. He estimated that it would take 1 1/2 months to bring the first four units on line. ¶11. (U) MNF-I Commanding General David Petraeus said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would work with the Embassy and MOE to complete Mussaib, noting that this project represented a good team effort. ¶12. (U) MG Scott, MNF-I Deputy DCS for Strategic Effects, summarized the joint project to install solar street lights in Baghdad. In Doura, MNF-I has installed 91 of 270 lights, with a total of 179 foundations poured. He noted that the solar system still needs environmental testing, since it is rated only to 110 degrees Fahrenheit, well below Baghdad's summer peak. MG Scott added that MoE plans to install a total of 5,200 solar lighting units. ¶13. (C) Minister of Oil Husayn Shahristani said that waiting times at Baghdad gas stations are down to 0-15 minutes at stations to that MoO can supply with fuel. He added, however that some private stations are a problem, either working with terrorists or diverting fuel to other locations for sale. Minister of the Interior Bolani said that there was disagreement on this issue, with MoO claiming that private stations are a problem and Minister Chalabi claiming that the private stations do not cause a problem. Bolani said that the Rosafa area is a success story in terms of fuel availability. -------------- Services Committee -------------- ¶14. (C) The Minister of Health complained that the salary incentive program (extra pay) for Baghdad physicians had not begun even though the PM had signed the authorization to fund the program. His statement was followed by 5 minutes of arguing between the MoH and the VP on the bureaucratic processes required to solve the problem. -------------- Public Forces Committee -------------- ¶15. (C) With regard to popular committees, Chalabi reported that he and others leading the effort had met with a number of local leaders in several Baghdad districts. He spoke of modest improvements in a number of areas, including Sadr City where violence had been reduced. Chalabi also noted positive movement in the Ministry of Interior with regard to ensure review of the case files of a number of detainees, with the hope that they could soon be transferred to Ministry of Justice facilities. ¶16. (C) Chalabi expressed frustration over an impasse in reopening the al Farooq mosque because of rival claims by both the Sunni and Shia endowments. Maliki suggested that leaders of the two endowments convene at the prime minister's office to reach a solution. BAGHDAD 00001262 003 OF 003 -------------- Legal Committee -------------- ¶17. (C) Minister of the Interior Bolani said that they had met with detainee lawyers, who had visited the detention centers, and that 100 detainees/day were being processed. He added that the investigative judges involved in these procedures need security. In one camp with 1140 detainees, however, only 22 of the 218 deposed had been released. Bolani noted that juveniles had been removed from the general detainee population and moved to special juvenile facilities. -------------- Media Committee -------------- ¶18. (C) Media Advisor to the Prime Minister Yassin Majid reiterated the importance of working with satellite radio and television stations operated by the political parties to disseminate information on the FAQ. He said the media committee had not yet reached out on this, but such an effort could complement other publicity efforts. He lamented that international Arab media continued to portray the FAQ in a negative light -- just as the situation in Baghdad began to improve, they began to focus more on violence outside of the capital, including Kirkuk. He noted efforts underway to hold an Iraqi Music festival in Baghdad. He also mentioned a campaign to distribute 30,000 tee-shirts with the slogan "My Darling Baghdad." ¶19. (C) Majid expressed frustration, however, with attempts to transport journalists to cover "positive stories," only to discover negative developments at the locations where the journalists were taken. He cited as an example the recent reopening of access to two major hospitals -- when the journalists arrived, they found that the hospitals had no medical staff. He also expressed the view that many in the local media are sensing that the FAQ is starting to slow down. ¶20. (C) Vice President Mahdi, who assumed the chair after Maliki's early departure, closed the meeting by announcing the assassination in Ninewa of Sheikh Ghazi Hanash Humood. Mahdi described Humood as a "martyr" who understood the importance of the political process for resolving Iraq's violence. He asked that GOI officials present express condolences to the family in statements to the media. CROCKER