PRT TIKRIT: TRIBES FORM SALAH AD DIN SUPPORT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 002155

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/29/2017
TAGS: PGOV PINR MCAP PTER IZ
SUBJECT: PRT TIKRIT: TRIBES FORM SALAH AD DIN SUPPORT
COUNCIL TO FIGHT TERRORISM

Classified By: PRT Lead Steven R. Buckler for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (U) This is a PRT Tikrit, Salah ad Din cable.


2. (C//REL TO USA, ACGU) SUMMARY AND COMMENT. In its June 13
meeting, the Salah ad Din (SaD) Sheikhs' Council established
the Salah ad Din Support Council to act as a liaison between
the tribes and the provincial government on local security
issues. Based on a five-point plan, the Support Councils' 55
members intend to rid their local tribal areas of terrorism
by coordinating information and conducting operations with
the local Iraqi Police (IP) and Iraqi Army (IA) units.
Sheikh Mouawia Ahmed Naji Ajbarah al Jabouri, nephew to the
SaD Deputy Governor and son of kidnapped former Sheikhs'
Council President Ahmed Naji, has emerged as the Support
Council's leader and is reportedly in Baghdad meeting with
the Prime Minister's Office to receive official approval of
the Support Council's mandate. The Support Council emerged
after several weeks of rumors about an al Anbar-style
awakening in Salah ad Din. The provincial leadership, with
the backing of the Sheikhs' Council, has been careful to cast
the Support Council in a different light than al Anbar's
tribal movement against terrorism and to ensure that all
security-related tribal activities are sanctioned by both the
provincial and central governments.


3. (C//REL TO USA, ACGU) With the support of the Sheikhs'
Council and the guidance of the Salah ad Din Support Council,
many tribes in the province will likely become more engaged
with the security situation in their local areas and will
coordinate more closely with the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF)
to improve security and reduce terrorist acts. However,
given the decentralized nature of the tribal structure in
Salah ad Din, it is unlikely that a tribal body at the
provincial level will be able to create a province-wide
tribal campaign against terrorism.


4. (C//REL TO USA, ACGU) The SaD tribes formed the Salah ad
Din Support Council in order counteract terrorist attacks on
members of their tribes, and al Qaeda (AQIZ)/Islamic State of
Iraq (ISI) will be their primary target. The Support
Council, however, will likely not reduce insurgent activity
in the province, to which SaD tribal authorities have
traditionally turned a blind eye as part of an "honorable
resistance" to occupation. While recognizing its inherit
limitations, we see the development of the Support Council as
a step in the right direction to securing the province and
curbing the influence of AQIZ/ISI, especially within the
framework of the province's IA and IP activities. END
SUMMARY AND COMMENT.

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Formation of the Salah ad Din Support Council
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5. (C//REL TO USA, ACGU) On June 13, the SaD Sheikhs' Council
established the Salah ad Din Support Council to serve as a
liaison group between the tribes and the provincial
government on local security issues. The Sheikhs' Council
meeting, attended by SaD Governor Hamad Hamoud al Shakti al
Qaisi, SaD Deputy Governor Abdullah H. M. Ajbarah al Jabouri,
and several provincial security force leaders, was
uncharacteristically chaired by the Deputy Governor. Interim
Sheikhs' Council President Khamees Ahmed Naji Ajbarah al
Jabouri, the Deputy Governor's nephew and son of the
kidnapped former Council President Sheikh Ahmed Naji, also
featured prominently in the meeting. The meeting strictly
followed a five-point plan that key tribal leaders
established before the meeting (see para 8).


6. (C//REL TO USA, ACGU) After reiterating that SaD was not
like al Anbar because it had a functional provincial
government and for that reason did not need an Awakening
Council, the Deputy and the assembled sheikhs agreed to form
"The Salah ad Din Support Council." The Deputy Governor
supported the idea of "tribal amnesty" for terrorists who
desire to give up their extremist ways and return to society,
while also calling for strict policing of each tribe's local
area by the resident tribe in coordination with the local
Iraqi Security Forces (ISF). Calling terrorism "personal,
not tribal," the Deputy Governor and assembled sheikhs listed
several grievances against terrorists, including abduction
and murder of loved ones and other violent activities. The
Deputy Governor also insisted that the tribes nominate and
elect the sheikhs on the SaD Support Council, rather than the
provincial or local governments choosing the individuals.
After the meeting, the Council secretariat drafted a letter
presenting the names to the GOI for approval by the Office of
the Prime Minister (see para 12). The Governor encouraged
the sheikhs not to be afraid and to join the movement.


7. (C//REL TO USA, ACGU) Sheikh Mouawia Ahmed Naji Ajbarah al
Jabouri, also nephew to the Deputy Governor and son of

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kidnapped former Sheikhs' Council President Ahmed Naji, has
taken a leading role on the Support Council. He is
reportedly in Baghdad meeting with the PM's Advisors for
Security, Dr. Basima al-Jaydri, and the PM's Advisors for
Tribal Affairs: Dr. Fael Nema and Sheikh Anwar Nada
Al-Luheibi, as well as Generals Sadiq and Sultan from the
Ministry of Defense. According to Sheikhs' Council Interim
President Sheikh Khamees, they have received "100 percent
support" from the PM's office.

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One Week Earlier: The Support Council's Five Point Plan
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8. (C//REL TO USA, ACGU) In preparation for the June 13
Sheikhs' Council meeting, Sheikh Mouawia, a major tribal
leader from the Tikrit area, with the assistance of his uncle
the SaD Deputy Governor, sent a letter to the Prime Minister
on June 3 to announce that the tribes of SaD were
establishing a tribal council to assist the ISF in expelling
terrorists from the province. In the letter, Sheikh Mouawia
said the council would be formed using the following five
points:

- Sheikhs from each tribe who have a social stature that
will allow them to lead their tribes will be elected to the
SaD Support Council.

- Incumbent on each of the elected sheikhs is the
responsibility to clean up his tribe by providing information
and assistance to the police and army and allowing tribesmen
to support the police and army.

- Also incumbent on each sheikh is the responsibility to
enforce army and police regulations and provide information
and support to police and army units. However, no tribal
group will be a substitute for the security forces and all
security will be coordinated appropriately.

- Each tribe will cooperate with the police and army to chase
terrorists out of their areas of control and will coordinate
with other tribes as necessary.

- The SaD Support Council will not be founded on sectarian
and cultism. It will include all Iraqis, under the motto of
"Devotion to Iraq First."


9. (C//REL TO USA, ACGU) In response to the letter,
Provincial Director of Police General Hamad Nams Yaseen al
Jabouri and several PC members traveled on June 6 to Baghdad
at the Office of the Prime Minister's bequest. They met with
PM Advisor for Security Dr. Basima, PM Advisor for Tribal
Affairs Sheikh Sata, and other IP and IA representatives to
discuss the possibility of integrating SaD's tribes into the
fight against terrorists.


10. (C//REL TO USA, ACGU) After the delegations returned,
the Governor, Deputy Governor, and Provincial Director of
Police made statements on June 7 saying that provisions were
being made to integrate the local tribesmen into IA and IP
operations.

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Two Weeks Earlier: Not Anbar and Not an Awakening
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11. (C//REL TO USA, ACGU) On May 24, Sheikh Sabah Hassan al
Shumari and Sheikh Hammed Ibrahim Salim al Jabouri, two
largely unknown tribal sheikhs, announced the establishment
of "The Salah ad Din Awakening Council." On the same day the
SaD Deputy Governor made a statement on Salah ad Din TV
saying that the Awakening Council does not represent the
tribes and that SaD is not al Anbar and does not need an
Awakening Council. He said, "Each tribe can protect its
people, and we do not need a militia in Salah ad Din
province." In subsequent meetings, the Deputy Governor said
that the provincial government supports coordinating with
their local IP and IA units to secure each tribe's area. On
June 3, the Salah ad Din Sheikhs' Council, the major tribal
authority in the province, announced that it "refuses the
idea of starting an Awakening Council in the province," but
supports tribes assisting their local ISF. Sheikh Sabah and
Sheikh Hammed are only marginally involved with the Salah ad
Din Support Council.

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Statement Annoucing the Support Council's Establishment
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12. (U) The following statement was issued by the SaD
Sheikhs' Council after the June 13 meeting that established
the Salah ad Din Support Council:

Statement Issued by Salah ad Din Tribes


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The tribes of Salah ad Din Province met on the morning of the
13th of June 2007 and discussed the rules for the tribes'
support to the local government and the police forces in
performing their duties and in fighting terror and
eliminating terrorists.

The tribes decided on the following:
- To Form a council called the "Salah ad Din Support
Council," which will be responsible for coordination between
the local government and the tribes within the province.

- Salah ad Din Support Council members have been elected to
represent their tribes and to deliver their directives and
requests and to coordinate the work between themselves and
the local government.

- The Support Council decided that every tribe would be
responsible for enforcing security and order and for
eliminating terrorists in its geographical area and not to
allow its area to become a safe haven for terrorists who come
from other areas or tribes.

- Every tribe must provide help and support to the local
government, police, and army forces when working in its area
and must also provide information needed for apprehending
terrorists.

- The tribes promise to cooperate among themselves to
achieve security and order and to create a safe environment
for all Iraqis in the province.

- The Salah ad Din tribes reject sectarianism and
denominationalism that divide the children of a single nation
and declare that Salah ad Din is a safe place for all Iraqis
with no exception.

- The Salah ad Din tribes support national reconciliation
and demand the acceleration in its implementation in order to
secure the unity and the cohesion of the Iraqi citizens.

- To enable the tribes to perform their duties, they request
that the central government form five police battalions
consisting of members who are chosen from those tribes. The
battalions to be spread over the geographical landscape of
the province and to work under the Salah ad Din Police
Department to increase the effectiveness of the police and
army forces in enforcing security and order and to ensure the
elimination of terrorists.


13. (U) For additional reporting from PRT Tikrit, Salah ad
Din, please see our SIPRNET Reporting Blog:
http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Tikrit
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