SHI'A OFFICIALS VOICE CONCERN OVER EVENHANDEDNESS

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 001732

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/23/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV PINS IZ
SUBJECT: SHI'A OFFICIALS VOICE CONCERN OVER EVENHANDEDNESS
OF MNF IN DIYALA

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


1. (C) CoR members Qassim Daoud and Taha Dera (both
Solidarity Bloc, Shi'a coalition) discussed with the
Ambassador on May 21 their concerns about the evenhandedness
of MNF in Diyala. Daoud told the Ambassador that Ayatollah
Sistani's "representative" had recently asserted during
Friday prayers that there was "cooperation" between MNF and
Baathists and Al-Qaeda in Diyala. (Note: Daoud later
identified the imam as Mehdi al-Karbala'e in Karbala. End
note.) Dera elaborated on several concerns, alleging, for
example, that (1) MNF did not protect villages in Diyala that
were targeted by terrorists but instead raided villages where
no terrorists existed; (2) MNF had released a terrorist
captured by ISF; and (3) MNF had detained several Shi'a, but
not Sunni, officials and ISF officers. He handed the
Ambassador a paper outlining several additional alleged
causes for concern, noting that the marja'iya took note of
these incidents. What was needed, Dera claimed, was "a
better understanding by MNF of how to deal with the local
population." Daoud also noted that "people were asking"
whether the continued presence of the MEK was also somehow
part of U.S. political calculations.


2. (C) The Ambassador told Daoud and Dera that there was
absolutely no basis for claims that MNF would cooperate with
al-Qaeda or Baathists. Pointing out that many U.S. soldiers
had died fighting al-Qaeda, he asked how a representative of
Sistani could make such an assertion and urged Daoud to relay
his response to Sistani's representative and note to him that
assertions like the one he made help al-Qaeda. He told Daoud
that the U.S. considered the MEK a terrorist organization and
that the Embassy and MNF were studying ways of resolving the
issue of Camp Ashraf. The Ambassador noted to Dera that
mistakes sometimes are made in the heat of a battle but that
the goal of MNF was to fight terrorists and those outside the
law in Diyala, in coordination with the GOI and with Diyala
citizens. Stressing the importance of open communication, he
thanked Dera for his paper and assured him that the Embassy
and MNF would study it and respond.

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As Do South-Central Governors
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3. (C) In a meeting on May 22 with the governors of the five
south-central provinces, the governor of Najaf, seconded by
the governor of Karbala, also expressed concern to the
Ambassador about the situation in Diyala. There were many
Shi'a families in Najaf displaced from Diyala, he said, and
these IDPs were "afraid of the U.S. because they think you
are with the Sunnis." The Ambassador assured the governor
that MNF was committed to fighting terrorists in Diyala and
that within days additional troops would be arriving there.
The governor thanked the Ambassador for his explanation and
said he would relay it to the Diyala IDP community in Najaf.

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Comment
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4. (C) The idea that MNF favors any sect over another in
Diyala or anywhere else is, of course, wrong. Given the
extent to which the perception that MNF is "with the Sunnis"
appears to have spread among Shi'a constituencies, however,
it is important to address the perception directly. The
Embassy and MNF plan to study the specific concerns raised in
Dera's note and respond in writing in a way that can be made
public. End comment.
CROCKER