AQI, IRAN ENEMIES OF IRAQ SAYS SUNNI HARDLINER

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 002457

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/25/2017
TAGS: PGOV PTER PINR IZ
SUBJECT: AQI, IRAN ENEMIES OF IRAQ SAYS SUNNI HARDLINER

Classified By: Political Counselor Robert Ford for reasons 1.4 (b) and
(d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: Sunni Hewar Leader Khalaf Allyan told
Poloff that fighting Al-Qaeda was the first priority in
Iraq and promised to support the Coalition. Fighting Iran
and promoting a national unity government was the second
priority. The Ministries of Defense and Interior must be
cleansed of sectarian influences and detainees should be
released to promote national unity. PM Maliki was
sectarian and incapable of taking these steps, Allyan
charged. Distrustful of his own Tawafuq parters, Allyan
accused Tawafuq leader Tarik al-Hashimi of a secret deal
with the Shi'a to deny Allyan his right to name someone to
replace Speaker Mashadani. No Sunni agreement with the
U.S. was valid unless all three Tawafuq leaders sign on, he
concluded. This conversation was vintage Allyan who is, in
the end, a Sunni Arab tribal figure. There is some
evolution in his thinking too, especially on his view of
the AQI and the Coalition. It is possible that Allyan's
standing in his home base of Anbar has diminished somewhat
due to his constant trips. That said, for now he remains a
strong figure within the Sunni Arab Tawafuq bloc in the
national government. End Summary

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AQI IS ENEMY NUMBER ONE
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2. (C) In a July 21 meeting with Poloff, Iraqi National
Dialogue Council (Hewar) leader Sheykh Khalaf Allyan,
recently returned from an extended trip outside of Iraq,
said that Al-Qaeda (AQI) was the number one threat to Iraq.
He said that his brother and six of his personal bodyguards
were killed by AQI as well as numerous members of his
extended (Dulaym) tribal family.


3. (C) Describing Anbar Sheykh Satar as a local smuggler
with little real influence in Anbar tribal affairs, he
called Satar's anti-AQI activities overrated. (MNF-I
Comment: Sheykh Satar has been one of the most supportive
Sheykhs in the past several months and is probably the
individual most responsible for Sunni Arabs in Anbar
"flipping" against AQI. End Comment.) Allyan recounted his
own battles with AQI, claming that he was directly
responsible for the killing of 31 AQI operatives after the
death of his brother, boasting that the deaths mimicked
"their methods." He recounted numerous conversations on
security cooperation with former CG Casey and said he has
had no contact with CG Petraeus. (MNF-I Comment: GEN
Petraeus's office has no record of Allyan ever attempting
to contact the office or meet.) He said he previously gave
DCG Lamb a memory stick on AQI locations in Anbar. He
proposed discreetly putting his agents into Anbar cities to
kill AQI with the Coalition getting the credit for forcing
AQI out of the cities.

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CLAIMS MALIKI DISCLOSED HIS ANTI-
AQI ACTIVITIES
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4. (C) Allyan said it was critical that his involvement in
fighting AQI remain secret to protect his family and allies
from AQI retribution. He claimed that PM Maliki leaked the
fact that Allyan was cooperating in anti-AQI efforts. Seven
days after he gave Maliki information about AQI locations
and activities, the information was in AQI hands putting
his life at risk, he charged. Iraqi Security Forces raided
his red zone home in Baghdad, confiscated his weapons and
arrested his guards forcing him to live in the IZ for his
own safety. Terming as false Maliki's charge that he
supported terrorists, Allyan claimed that Maliki wants to
destroy anyone who opposes the Shi'a plan to control Iraq.


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IRAN IS ENEMY NUMBER TWO
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5. (C) Iran was the second enemy of Iraq said Allyan,
claiming that the Maliki government, especially the
Ministries of Interior (MOI) and Defense (MOD),were
controlled by Iranian agents. He said the two ministries
were purged of all Sunni officers and Sunnis are present in
these ministries only at lower levels. The MOI is run by
JAM, Badr, and Iran, he stated. He said he feared going to
the MOD for fear of being kidnapped. Defense Minister
Abdul Qadir (Sunni Arab) was the worst Minister in the
government said Allyan, allowing the Shi'a to roll back
progress in the Ministry through sectarian appointments.
Last year, the MOD was somewhat trusted by the Sunni Arabs,
he stated, whereas today the MOD is as sectarian and feared

BAGHDAD 00002457 002 OF 002


as the MOI.

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CALLS FOR NATIONAL UNITY GOVERNMENT -
RELEASE OF DETAINEES
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6. (C) Only a national unity government led by a strong man
like Ayad Allawi can change the political situation in
Iraq, claimed Allyan. He proposed forming a Committee of
Iraqi, U.S. and Arab League leaders to check on the
implementation of political agreements in Iraq. Detainees
should be released from MOI and Coalition detention to
promote national unity. A real unity government was needed
to professionalize and cleanse the MOD and MOI of sectarian
influence. Most officers there served in Iran with the
Badr Corps, he charged. Maliki was not to be trusted
because he was a liar, he concluded. Poloff told Allyan
that the U.S. Government would not support any
unconstitutional means to make government changes.

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LACK OF TRUST COMPLICATES MASHADANI DEAL
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7. (C) Turning to the crisis with Speaker Mashadani, Allyan
confirmed that Mashadani would retire at the end of the
week. He complained that since his return as Speaker on
July 19, Mashadani was not being allowed to sign papers and
exercise his authority. He was the Speaker until he
retires, said Allyan. Saying he was not personally
interested in the job, he named MP Dharfur Al-Ani (from
Adnan Dulaymi's Conference of the Iraqi People) as his
choice to replace Mashadani. However he feared that the
Iraqi Islamic Party (IIP - the dominant party in the
Tawafuq coalition) reached a secret deal with the Shi'a to
oppose any candidate proposed by Allyan to force the
nomination of IIP leaders Osama Al-Tikriti or Ayad
Samarrai. (Note: Under the political agreement between the
three parties in Tawafuq, Allyan's Hewar has the right to
name the Speaker. End Note.)


8. (C) Indicating the level of distrust among the three
Tawafuq leaders, Allyan said he and Adnan Dulaymi told IIP
leader and Vice President Tarik Al-Hashimi that they would
repudiate any political agreements Al-Hashimi made with the
United States unless they or their representatives
participated. Despite this apparent lack of trust in the
IIP, which he said had little support among the Sunni
population, Allyan said his Hewar would not leave Tawafuq.

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COMMENT
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9. (C) This conversation had much vintage Allyan, an
Embassy contact since January 2005. He still sees Iranians
infesting the security ministries; he distrusts Prime
Minister Maliki and Vice President Hashimi equally; Iraq
needs a strong authority figure for leader; there are more
Sunni Arabs than Shi'a in Iraq' the parliamentary elections
were forged; the choice of the Speaker of the Parliament is
his quote right unquote. (Allyan is, in the end, a tribal
figure.) There is some evolution too. In early 2005 he
emphasized the importance of American forces withdrawing.
This time he did not. In early 2005 he mentioned al-Qaida
only in passing. This time he called it enemy number one.
(Enemy number two is still Iran and their alleged Shia
allies.) Allyan's natural political constituency is his
home region of Anbar and thus he is probably especially
sensitive to figures like Shaykh Satar poaching on Allyan's
turf. It is possible that Allyan's standing in his home
base has diminished somewhat due to his constant trips
outside Anbar and Iraq. That said, for now he remains a
strong figure within the Sunni Arab Tawafuq bloc in the
national government.


10. (C) BIO NOTE: Khalaf Allyan had knee replacement
surgery in Dubai in June/July of 2007. In explaining his
lengthy absence from Baghdad in the last few months, he
told Poloff that both knees were replaced but showed the
approximately eight inch diagonal scar only on the left
kneecap. Allyan had no apparent difficulty in walking
around during the meeting and did not exhibit a noticeable
limp.
CROCKER