FORMER GOVERNOR OF BAGHDAD ASKED TO TAKE ISCI

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 001832

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/29/2017
TAGS: KDEM PGOV PINR PINS IZ
SUBJECT: FORMER GOVERNOR OF BAGHDAD ASKED TO TAKE ISCI
ADVISOR JOB

REF: BAGHDAD 1552

Classified By: Deputy Political Counselor Charles O. Blaha for reasons
1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (U) This is a Baghdad PRT reporting cable. This cable is
the third of a series describing political moderates in
Baghdad and efforts to encourage moderate politicians and
empower moderate movements.


2. (C) SUMMARY: Former Governor of Baghdad Ali Fadel
al-Misir recently took a position as a special advisor in the
office of Vice President Adel Abd al-Mehdi, ending his
self-imposed exile from politics in Baghdad begun in 2005,
when he was asked to step down from the Governorship by ISCI
(formerly SCIRI) leadership. Al-Misir claims that in 2005
his pro-American stance cost him his position, but due to a
recent change in ISCI strategy it is now considered an asset
to an ISCI party looking to strengthen its pro-American
credentials. While having long-standing ties to members of
the ISCI establishment, al-Misir considers himself a
political independent and hopes to maintain ties with ISCI
while establishing a coalition of political moderates who
worked with him when he served as Governor. END SUMMARY.

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Recruited by ISCI to take a position in the VP's office
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3. (C) Ali Fadel al-Misir told PRTOff that earlier this
month that he was asked by Humam Hamoudi (ISCI
parliamentarian) to take a position as a special advisor on
Vice President Adel Abd al-Mehdi's staff. Al-Misir said that
the position involves attending conferences on behalf of the
Vice President, like the recent UN-sponsored conference on
water resources in Jordan. Al-Misir has not held any
position since resigning as Governor of Baghdad in early 2005
and told PRTOff that his signing on with Abd al-Mehdi
indicated two things: one, that ISCI seeks to downplay its
Iranian-sponsored legacy through the inclusion of more
moderates with pro-American credentials and two, he just
really needs a job.

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Previous work experience: Governor of Baghdad
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4. (C) Al-Misir was elevated to serve as Governor of Baghdad
in December 2004 when then-Governor Ali al-Haidery was
assassinated. Al-Misir was then Baghdad's Provincial Council
Chairman. Under the CPA local council system in place at the
time, Provincial Council members were chosen from lower
councils in a cascading caucus process. A Neighborhood
Council chose al-Misir to serve on a District Council, that
District Council chose him to sit on the Provincial Council
(PC),and that body selected him to serve as its Chairman.
Al-Misir maintained a cooperative relationship with Coalition
forces and Embassy personnel and openly expressed his
pro-American leanings while serving on these councils. After
al-Haidery's assassination, the PC voted for al-Misir to be
Governor of Baghdad.


5. (C) Elections for a new Provincial Council were held in
January 2005 and a SCIRI/Badr coalition took a majority of
the council's seats (28 out of 51). While politically
independent, al-Misir felt that his previous connections to
SCIRI (now ISCI) leadership while in exile in the 1980's
would keep him in office. Humam Hamoudi, a family friend and
SCIRI party leader, came to him in March 2005 and indicated
that he would be offered a Deputy Governor position by the
new PC, but would not be asked to remain as Governor.
Al-Misir was told by others that his openly pro-American
attitude did not sit well with members of the new PC. This
PC broke off relations with Embassy and Coalition personnel
soon after sitting in session in March 2005. Al-Misir
submitted his resignation and the PC chose a Badr Corps
commander, Hussein Ali al-Tahan to serve as Baghdad's
Governor.


6. (C) After his resignation, al-Misir decided to stay aloof
from politics, biding his time until a comeback was possible.
From 2005 until 2007 he met periodically with Coalition and
Embassy personnel (including PRTOff) to provide atmospherics
and intelligence on Baghdad politics and political leaders.
Al-Misir remained a member of the Karkh District Council, but
chose to remain a 'behind-the-scenes' advisor to that
council's leaders. Al-Misir says he was approached by
several parties to run in the December 2005 elections, but
decided to maintain his credibility as an independent.

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A history with SCIRI leadership

BAGHDAD 00001832 002 OF 002


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7. (C) Al-Misir explained the series of events that brought
him into contact with SCIRI party leaders. Growing up in the
Karkh district of Baghdad he was friends with Gadir Hamoudi,
nephew to Humam Hamoudi. During the Iran-Iraq War, al-Misir
and Gadir Hamoudi deserted the Iraqi Army and eventually
ended up crossing the border into Iran, where they were
promptly thrown in jail by the Iranians. Humam Hamoudi, then
in exile in Iran, lobbied for their release and gave al-Misir
a job writing press reports for his office. Al-Misir said he
was approached by Iranian intelligence and asked to work as
an agent against Iraq, but he refused. Humam Hamoudi then
arranged for him to work with Mohammed al-Haidery (then SCIRI
leader, and now ISCI parliamentarian) in Syria. Deciding to
sneak back into Iraq at the close of the war with Iran,
al-Misir rode from Damascus back to Baghdad on a motorcycle.
Iraqi intelligence never tracked him down after his
desertion, and he never told his family his true whereabouts
for the nine months he was missing.

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Working with the Americans to build a new Iraq
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8. (C) Al-Misir comes from a wealthy Shia family with a long
history in the Karkh district. The family fortune took a hit
after the 1991 invasion of Kuwait and worsened under the
sanctions subsequently placed on the regime. Al-Misir said
that throughout the 1990's he and his family looked forward
to the inevitable fall of Saddam Hussein's regime. "It was
just a matter of time until the Americans came and helped us
get rid of Saddam," al-Misir said. Religious extremism, in
the form of Wahhabism and resurgent Shiism, began to grow in
largely secular Iraq at this time, concerning seculars like
al-Misir. With the invasion and liberation of Iraq, al-Misir
looked forward to a peaceful post-war reconstruction guided
by the US and its Western principles. "In 2003, we thought a
new Iraq would someday turn out like Germany did, with
American help," al-Misir said. He eagerly volunteered to
serve on a local neighborhood council in Karkh in 2003,
working closely with Coalition and Embassy personnel.

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ISCI weakness forces them closer to the US
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9. (C) Al-Misir told PRTOff that the ISCI party is in
trouble, challenged by the rise of the Sadr Movement. Their
strategy is to find a pragmatic balance between their ties to
Iran and the US. ISCI leaders approached him because his
pro-American stance will lend them credibility in this
endeavor, in his view.

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Politics is about pragmatism
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10. (C) While working for the ISCI party, Al-Misir intends
to continue his efforts to build a coalition of political and
social moderates that will support civil society
organizations in Baghdad and may possibly run in future
elections in Baghdad. Called the 'Baghdad League', this group
consists of many members of Baghdad's local councils that
worked with al-Misir when he was Provincial Council Chairman
and Governor of Baghdad. Al-Misir criticizes the major
political parties as being run by extremists, and beholden to
foreign interests and says that ISCI is certainly guilty of
being "too close" to Iran. However, politics is about being
pragmatic, al-Misir said, so one must always balance the
short term needs with the long term goals. "Right now,"
al-Misir said, "I just need a job."
CROCKER