Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07BAGHDAD3060
2007-09-11 17:03:00
CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN
Embassy Baghdad
Cable title:  

FOLLOWING GOI "CONCESSIONS," NATIONAL DIALOGUE

Tags:  PREL PGOV ECON PINR KBIO IZ 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO4287
OO RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #3060/01 2541703
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 111703Z SEP 07
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3318
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 003060 

SIPDIS

NOFORN
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/11/2027
TAGS: PREL PGOV ECON PINR KBIO IZ
SUBJECT: FOLLOWING GOI "CONCESSIONS," NATIONAL DIALOGUE
PARTY RETURNS TO PARLIAMENT HOPING TO UNSEAT MALIKI

Classified by Political Section Deputy Rob Waller for reasons
1.4 (b) and (d).

-------
Summary
-------

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 003060

SIPDIS

NOFORN
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/11/2027
TAGS: PREL PGOV ECON PINR KBIO IZ
SUBJECT: FOLLOWING GOI "CONCESSIONS," NATIONAL DIALOGUE
PARTY RETURNS TO PARLIAMENT HOPING TO UNSEAT MALIKI

Classified by Political Section Deputy Rob Waller for reasons
1.4 (b) and (d).

--------------
Summary
--------------


1. (C) Dr. Mustapha Al Hiti, a senior parliamentarian in the
Iraqi Front for National Dialogue Bloc (or, Hewar party led
by Sunni politician Salah al Mutlaq),confirmed to poloffs on
September 10 that Hewar had ended its two-month boycott of
the Council of Representatives (CoR) after the government
took action on a number of Hewar's issues. Those issues
included the national hydrocarbons law, improving CoR
performance, supporting Iraqi refugees, CoR relations with
the Prime Minister, and the investigation into the April 2007
bombing at the CoR. Regardless of the supposed GOI
"concessions" that smoothed Hewar's September 9 return to
parliament, Hiti highlighted his party's focus on the oil law
and the removal of PM Maliki. With U.S. pressure, he argued,
the Kurds might abandon their "short-sighted" alliance with
Maliki and the Shia to form a "National Salvation Front"
government. Hiti, who holds a PhD in Pharmacology, bemoaned
Iraq's severe depletion of intellectual talent due to the
country's security problems. End summary.

--------------
Hewar's Five Demands Met
--------------


2. (C) During a September 10 meeting with poloffs, Dr.
Mustapha Al Hiti confirmed that the Hewar parliamentary bloc
(11 members) has ended its walk-out begun last July and
returned to the legislature. Hiti, representing Hewar while
its better-known leader Saleh Mutlaq remains abroad, said the
party's decision to return was prompted by political progress
by the Government of Iraq (GOI) in five key areas, namely:
passage of a hydrocarbons law; payments to Iraqi refugees; PM
Maliki's appearance before Parliament; strengthening
parliamentary professionalism; and progress on the
investigation into the April 2007 bomb attack in the CoR.


3. (C) Offering details on Hewar's core political concerns -

shared widely by many of Iraq's Sunnis - Hiti focused on what
he said were previous efforts to force a hydrocarbons law
through the government with minimal consultation and debate
among key political constituencies. The draft oil law, he
said, would soon be debated again in parliament in the wake
of senior political consultations (i.e., the August 26
leaders communique). This debate, he noted, would profoundly
impact decisions on federalism and national reconciliation,
and was not one that Hewar could be absent from. Kurdish
ambitions to take control of oil-rich Kirkuk, he explained,
and other northern regions of strategic importance to Iraq's
Sunni community had to be challenged.


4. (C) Hiti said another agreement was recently struck
between key political actors to improve the professionalism
and credibility of government administration and oversight.
On September 9, he said, the CoR Speaker, his two deputies,
and leaders of the CoR's major political blocs, agreed that
political bloc leaders would sit with each CoR committee to
review its accomplishments and goals, and work to eliminate
any obstacles to better performance. A key aim of the
process, he said, would be to remove unqualified personnel
and challenge the system of party-based job apportionment
both in the CoR and the ministries.


5. (C) Highlighting Hewar's complaint that the CoR lacked a
mechanism by which to compel the PM to appear before
parliament for questioning and debate, Hiti said PM Maliki
agreed that he would accept the CoR's invitation to address
the body on September 10. Hiti, having just come from that
session with Maliki, bragged that he had questioned the PM in
front of the entire CoR, "How can you call this a government
of national unity when 17 of 36 ministers are not
participating in your cabinet?" Maliki, he said, did not
reply. As for Hewar's other issues of concern, Hiti said the
GOI had just announced a decision to pay Iraqi refugees and
displaced persons roughly USD 120 each to help address their
pressing needs. Lastly, the Ministry of Interior had
promised, he said, to provide an update on its progress into
investigating the April 2007 bombing that occurred in the CoR
cafeteria which killed several CoR members.

--------------
"With the Kurds, We Can Oust the PM"
--------------


6. (C) Hiti returned to the subject of inter-factional
alliances, casting scorn on the Kurdish decision to align

BAGHDAD 00003060 002 OF 002


with the Shia in government for their own "short-term"
interest to secure territorial gains from Sunnis in areas
like Kirkuk. This approach was not conducive to true
national reconciliation, and should be challenged by
Washington, he argued. The Kurds, he said, are allied with
the Shia in return for promises from them to consolidate
control over resource-rich territory in the north that are
claimed by Sunni Arabs. Why should the Kurds get away with
taking positions at odds with efforts at national
reconciliation, he asked rhetorically. He derided a comment
reportedly made by the KRG Oil Minister at a recent
conference in Dubai, wherein the Kurdish official "rudely"
told attendees that if the draft oil law is further amended,
he would "throw it in the trash." Oil, Hiti added, is a
resource of the state, and revenues from its sale must be
shared equally among its citizens.

--------------
Comment
--------------


7. (C) Hewar's return to the CoR marks a positive step for
the democratic process, though it appears to be only a
tactical shift in the party's strategy. The party bolted (in
July) at a time of maximum U.S.pressure on PM Maliki, most
likely hoping that if the PM was forced out, Hewar/Mutlaq
could claim significant credit for the ouster and increase
its stature vis-a-vis other Sunni politicians. Back in
government, Hewar's focus will remain the same: the ouster
of Maliki, a stronger voice in governance for Sunnis, and
influence on the outcome of hydrocarbons debate (and other
issues that will impact the Sunni heartland such as
Provincial Powers and de-Baathification). Splitting the
Kurds from Maliki and the Shia will also remain a key goal,
as will efforts to convince Washington to join Sunni Arab
neighbors (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan) to help Ayad
Allawi regain the reins of government.

--------------
Bio Notes
--------------


8. (C/NOFORN) Al Hiti was born in 1949 in Anbar Province and
received most of his education in Baghdad. He earned a PhD
in Pharmacology in London and later took a job at the College
of Pharmacology at Baghdad University. He remained an
educator there and a member of the Baath Party up to the fall
of Saddam's regime. After reported disagreements with Saddam
(NFI),Hiti became a founding member of the (now defunct)
Brotherhood and Peace Party. Following the ouster of Saddam,
threats on Hiti's life led him to relocate his family to
Amman where he took up a teaching post at Amman University.
Hiti reportedly accepted Coalition assistance in rebuilding
the School of Pharmacology at Baghdad University, where he
later became Dean and President of the University. Bemoaning
Iraq's brain drain problem, Hiti said that he had been one of
100 PhD's in Baghdad University's Pharmacology College in

2003. In 2005, he said, there were only 3 PhD's in the
department, either murdered or living outside the country.
BUTENIS