Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07BAGHDAD2239
2007-07-06 02:13:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Baghdad
Cable title:  

READ OUT FROM JULY 01 MCNS

Tags:  IZ MARR MOPS PINR PINS PNAT PREL 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO4438
RR RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #2239/01 1870213
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 060213Z JUL 07 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2068
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 002239 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/04/2017
TAGS: IZ MARR MOPS PINR PINS PNAT PREL
SUBJECT: READ OUT FROM JULY 01 MCNS

BAGHDAD 00002239 001.2 OF 003


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

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 002239

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/04/2017
TAGS: IZ MARR MOPS PINR PINS PNAT PREL
SUBJECT: READ OUT FROM JULY 01 MCNS

BAGHDAD 00002239 001.2 OF 003


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


1. (C/REL MNF-I) SUMMARY: Prime Minister Maliki presided over
the June 16 meeting of the Ministerial Committee for National
Security, during which:

-- Maliki directed Acting Minister of Justice Dr. Safi
al-Safi to convene a July 2 meeting to deal with all
unresolved issues regarding the GOI-planned takeover of the
Rusafa Rule of Law Complex on August 1. Both the Ambassador
and General Petraeus expressed their frustration with the
GOI's lack of progress on finalizing the transfer and
stressed the Coalition would not extend its funding support
beyond July 31.

-- Minister of Interior Bulani stressed that he expected all
his "brothers" at the table to support the legitimate
judicial process as it dealt with the case against the
Minister of Culture Asad Hashimi. Deputy Prime Minister
Zubai demanded an independent investigation because his party
believed the raid on the Minister's house was unjust, and the
signed confessions were made by witnesses under duress and
subjected to torture.

-- Zubai said that Ameriya neighborhood of Baghdad was secure
but that the residents were suffering from a shortage of
basic goods and services. Maliki agreed and assured Zubai
that he had directed the Minister of Trade to distribute food
rations immediately. Maliki also said he had met with
Ameriya leaders to discuss their concerns and thank them for
their efforts to fight Al Qaeda.

-- Maliki directed all ministries to support the
stabilization and reconstruction of Diyala. Commander in
Chief Joint Forces General Babakir al-Zebari gave an
operational update on Baqubah, concluding most of Baqubah was
Al Qaeda-free. Minister of State for National Security
Shirwan Waeli said that many Al Qaeda members had fled to
Khalis. General Petraeus agreed that the enemy was fleeing
into areas south toward Khan Bani Sad, north toward Khalis

and Samarra, and east along the Diyala river valley, but
stressed that the Coalition was tracking them down.

-- Petraeus provided an update on the surge offensive ongoing
throughout Iraq against Al Qaeda, discussed the recent
reductions in civilian casualties, and outlined his briefing
plans on the malign actions by Quds Force, as well as
Lebanese Hezbollah, in Iraq. He also discussed U.S. military
successes in large-scale reconstruction.

-- Maliki said that, despite recent improvements, the Iraqi
Security Forces in Samarra still suffered from inadequate
life support and protection. He also said he expected Bulani
to rein in the National Police operating in Samarra. Maliki
said the National Police had been accused of looting houses
and lack of discipline. While Bulani defended his forces,
Minister of Defense Abdul Qadir blamed National Police
Commander Adnon Thabit for the problems in Samarra.

-- Deputy National Security Advisor Dr. Safa'a asked for the
group's opinion of the proposed legislation he presented last
week to create an overarching strategy for national
intelligence. While Maliki supported the legislation in the
frank discussion which ensued, he also directed that more
time be provided the relevant stakeholders to review and
comment on the draft. END SUMMARY.

ROL complex transfer
--------------


2. (C/REL MNF-I) Maliki directed A/Minister of Justice Dr.
Safi al-Safi to convene a July 2 meeting to deal with all
unresolved issues regarding the GOI-planned takeover of the
Rusafa Rule of Law Complex on August 1. In addition to Safi,
other participants are to include Minister of Interior
Bulani, representatives from the Supreme Judicial Council,
and members of the Economic Council. (Note: This meeting
occurred with MNF-I officers present, and both sides reached
a broad agreement to fund the complex using existing
contractors through Foreign Military Sales until 31 Jul 07 at
which point Iraqis would negotiate their own contracts for
security and life support at the facility. End Note.)


3. (C/REL MNF-I) Noting that he had already transferred USD
50 million to the MOJ at the PM's request, Minister of
Finance Bayan Jabr asked what remained outstanding for the
ROL complex. Dr. Safi argued the problems were largely with
taking over the contracts from the Coalition for operating
the complex. He said they all needed to be reviewed to

BAGHDAD 00002239 002 OF 003


ensure they were in line with Iraqi law. Safi also said he
was not clear whether the GOI could use Foreign Military
Sales Case to fund the complex as proposed by MNF-I. Safi
and others also wondered who would be in charge of the
complex once it was transferred, given the operation involved
three major entities, the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of
Interior, and the Supreme Judicial Council.


4. (C/REL MNF-I) Both the Ambassador and General Petraeus
expressed their frustration with the GOI's lack of progress
on finalizing the transfer and stressed the Coalition would
not, under any circumstances, extend its funding support
beyond July 31. The Ambassador said the complex was built by
the Coalition; it was a vital pillar in the Iraqi judicial
system, and now was the time for the Iraqis to take over
responsibility for the complex. General Petraeus warned the
Prime Minister that that if the GOI fails to support this
critical project because of mere "bureaucracy," he and the
international community would find it difficult to defend the
GOI's position that it is taking positive steps toward
establishing rule of law in Iraq. Petraeus added that he
found it tragic that "our soldiers and yours are dying out
there to give you a chance to make this work and your
bureaucracy is holding it up!"

Political interference in the Culture case
--------------


5. (C/REL MNF-I) Minister of Interior Bulani stressed that
he expected all his "brothers" at the table to support the
legitimate judicial processes as it dealt with the charges
against Minister of Culture Asad Hashimi. He lamented the
current political interference in the process, arguing that
the arrest warrant against Hashimi came after a two year
investigation and two signed witness statements. Deputy
Prime Minister Zubai retorted that neither he nor his Iraqi
Accordance Front condoned criminal or terrorist activity, but
neither do they support illegal judicial processes. Zubai
went on to say the Iraqi Security Forces seemed to have
improperly raided the Minister's house, and the Iraqi
investigators relied on torture to obtain forced statements
from the witnesses. Zubai demanded an independent
investigation of the case. General Petraeus said he told
Coalition forces and private security contractors not to
intervene in the case.

Ameriya secure but needs government support
--------------


6. (C/REL MNF-I) Zubai said that reports from Ameriya
indicate the Baghdad neighborhood was secure but that the
residents were suffering from a shortage of basic goods and
services. He said they especially needed fuel and food.
The Prime Minister assured Zubai that he had directed the
Minister of Trade to provide food rations to the area
immediately and that he would speak to the Ministry of Oil
about sending fuel into the area. Maliki also said that he
had a pleasant meeting with leaders from Ameriya in which he
discussed the importance of defeating Al Qaeda as well as to
meet the residents' needs in order to maintain the calm.
Bulani said he would ensure adequate security was provided
for deliveries to be made to the neighborhood.

Diyala update
--------------


7. (C/REL MNF-I) Maliki directed all ministries to support
the stabilization and reconstruction of Diyala. He said
military operations had largely cleared the area and that the
government must now follow through with immediate relief for
the citizens and take measures to rebuild Baquba and its
infrastructure. He said the Minister of Trade had already
committed to sending 72 trucks of food with a promise for an
additional 20. DPM Saleh supported Maliki's push, adding
that in his recent meeting with the Diyala Governor and
provincial council they requested one million dollars for
development projects as well as immediate fuel deliveries.
Minister of Defense Abdul Qadir and Bulani offered security
assistance for any government convoys headed to the area.
Petraeus said coalition forces also stood ready to provide
security support.


8. (C/REL MNF-I) Commander in Chief Joint Forces General
Babakir provided his weekly progress report on military
successes against Al Qaeda in Baquba. Minister of State for
National Security Waeli stressed that while the joint forces
had succeeded in getting Al Qaeda out of Baquba, it was now
relocating to Khalis. Waeli said the Iraqi Army should take
immediate action against AQI in Khalis. General Petraeus

BAGHDAD 00002239 003 OF 003


agreed that AQI was pushing north to Khalis and east and
south along the Diyala River Valley and noted there were
still about 100-150 AQI members operating in western Baquba.
The Prime Minister expressed satisfaction with the military's
progress, noting "it looks like Diyala will be the finishing
blow to AQI." He stressed, however, the importance of the
military destroying the remaining pockets of AQI before they
could establish new bases of support. General Petraeus
assured Maliki that special and conventional forces were
conducting operations against Al Qaeda every day and night
throughout Iraq.

General Petraeus Security Update
--------------


9. (C/REL MNF-I) General Petraeus summarized military
operations, discussed the recent trends in population
security indicators, and outlined his briefing plans for the
coming days. He said June metrics indicated a decrease in
civilian casualties, VBIEDs, sectarian killings, and suicide
attacks. He said that although the level of violence was
still unacceptable, the numbers were coming down in these key
population security indicators. Describing an early morning
operation conducted in Sadr City that killed 25 people,
Petraeus said the Coalition had only responded when JAM
members "fired on our soldiers" with small-arms fire, IEDs
and RPGs. He stressed that no civilians were killed, despite
claims to the contrary by some media outlets. Petraeus said
that he will publicly brief the actions of Quds Force and
Lebanese Hezbollah on Monday, July 2. Petraeus also plans to
brief Maliki and any other interested Iraqi officials on the
twenty-eight large scale development projects completed by
the Army Corps of Engineers in the last two weeks. Saleh
expressed frustration that the media only reported VBIEDs and
did not cover the good news that comes from these kinds of
reconstruction projects.

Samarra Update
--------------


10. (C/REL MNF-I) Maliki said that, despite recent
improvements, the Iraqi Security Forces in Samarra still
suffered from inadequate life support and protection. He
urged Qadir and Bulani to continue to monitoring the
situation and ensure more support is provided. Bulani said
the Coalition transition team was most helpful and thanked
Petraeus for the protection his forces had provided to the
Sixth Brigade of the second National Police Division. Bulani
urged his fellow ministers to contribute to the effort in
Samarra by providing for the citizens' needs.


11. (C/REL MNF-I) Maliki said he was disappointed with the
performance of the Sixth Brigade of the Second National
Police Division in Samarra. He said that he was angered to
hear that the police were looting homes and were overall
ill-disciplined. He told Bulani that they "must be educated
on how to deal with the people" and that leaders must
supervise their forces. General Petraeus said the new
commander of forces in Samarra, Major General Rashid, was a
calming influence on the forces, but that he suffered from a
shortage of officers. He agreed with Maliki that the brigade
also suffered from disciplinary problems. Minister of
Defense Qadir agreed with Petraeus' assessment but added that
Samarra's previous National Police commander, Adnan Thabit,
failed to provide the needed leadership and discipline.
Bulani defended the brigade, arguing that the investigation
showed that the second Samarra Shrine bombing was due to the
militia-infiltrated local facility protection force.

Intelligence National Security Legislation
--------------


12. (C/REL MNF-I) Deputy National Security Advisor, Dr.
Safa'a asked for an update on views concerning the
legislation proposal he presented at the June 26 MCNS that
would create an overarching strategy for national
intelligence. This law, he reminded the group would not
create a new intelligence organization. It would help to
bring transparency and clarity of roles and responsibilities
for all intelligence entities within the Iraqi government.
The FM Zebari said the proposal needed close scrutiny in a
separate forum with legal and intelligence experts. Saleh
supported this assessment. Maliki said he advocated the
proposed legislation, considering it "the constitution for
intelligence." Maliki, however, directed that more time be
provided the relevant stakeholders to review and comment on
the draft.

CROCKER