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 -------------- AQI IS ENEMY NUMBER ONE -------------- ¶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. -------------- CLAIMS MALIKI DISCLOSED HIS ANTI- AQI ACTIVITIES -------------- ¶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. -------------- IRAN IS ENEMY NUMBER TWO -------------- ¶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. -------------- CALLS FOR NATIONAL UNITY GOVERNMENT - RELEASE OF DETAINEES -------------- ¶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. -------------- LACK OF TRUST COMPLICATES MASHADANI DEAL -------------- ¶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. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶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