ANBAR SHEIKHS MEET WITH PM MALIKI

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 003366

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/08/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL IZ
SUBJECT: ANBAR SHEIKHS MEET WITH PM MALIKI

REF: A) BAGHDAD 03198 B) BAGHDAD 03311

Classified By: Anbar PRT Team Leader Jim Soriano for reasons
1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (U) This is a Anbar PRT reporting cable.


2. (C) SUMMARY: On October 1 a delegation of Anbari leaders
from the anti-insurgency movement Sahawa al-Iraq, or
Awakening Council of Iraq (SAI),met with Prime Minister
Maliki in Baghdad to discuss security and other Anbar-related
issues. During the meeting PM Maliki promised to provide GOI
funding for 6,000 additional police for Anbar Province, which
would raise the official number of police in the province to
27,000, according to SAI leader Sheikh Ahmad Bezia Ftaykhan
al-Rishawi. Ahmad also told us that PM Maliki confirmed a
promise made at an Economic Development and Governance forum
in Ramadi September 6 - known as Anbar Forum II - that the
GOI would separately fund 6,000 government workers for Anbar
Province. Sheikh Ahmad's meeting with PM Maliki, as well as
his other meetings while in Baghdad with the Minister of
Defense, Ambassador Crocker and General Petraeus, were an
important first step in his consolidation of SAI leadership.
The meetings showcased Ahmad as a tribal leader to be taken
seriously in Anbar. END SUMMARY.


3. (C) On October 1 a delegation of Anbari leaders from the
anti-insurgency movement Sahawa al-Iraq, or Awakening Council
of Iraq (SAI),met with Prime Minister Maliki in Baghdad to
discuss security and other Anbar-related issues. The group
was led by SAI's newly appointed leader, Sheikh Ahmad Bezia
Ftaykhan al-Rishawi, who was making his first trip to Baghdad
since he assumed leadership of SAI in the wake of his
brother's September 13 assassination (ref A).

AHMAD: MALIKI PROMISES MORE POLICE
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4. (C) The most significant result of the meeting, according
Sheikh Ahmad, was a promise by Maliki to provide GOI funding
for 6,000 additional police for Anbar Province, which would
raise the official number of police in the province to
27,000. (Note: We have not received independent confirmation
of Maliki's reported promise of 6,000 additional police.
Ahmad's version is at variance with earlier statements from
the GOI that they would not approve an increase beyond the
21,000 police. End Note.) Ahmad described Maliki's promise
for additional police as part of the GOI's commitment to
capitalize on the successful fight against Al Qaeda in Iraq
(AQI) in Anbar, and a victory for SAI. Flush with success at
the outcome of the meeting, Ahmad told us that SAI,s
credibility as "the leader" of the anti-insurgency movement
in Anbar was critical in gaining Maliki,s support for
additional police.


5. (C) Moreover, Ahmad added that PM Maliki also confirmed a
promise made at the September 6 Anbar Forum in Ramadi that
the GOI would fund 6,000 government workers for Anbar
Province.


6. (C) Also attending the meeting for the Anbaris were Ramadi
sheikhs Hameed al Heiss and Moad Al Humaish, Fallujah Sheikh
Ifan Sadoon Afam, and Tarik Yousif Mohammed, SAI,s security
director. GOI officials included Minister of Finance Bayan
Jabr and National Security Advisor Muwafaq al Rubaie. Also
discussed were plans to refurbish Anbar's highways - another
deliverable from Anbar Forum II - and a proposal to rebuild
tourism infrastructure at a Saddam-era lakeshore resort near
Habbiniyah. In separate meetings, Sheikh Ahmad met with
Minister of Defense Abdul Qader Jassim, Ambassador Crocker
(ref B),and Commanding General Petraeus.

COMMENT
--------------


7. (C) Sheikh Ahmad's meeting with PM Maliki, as well as his
other meetings while in Baghdad, were an important first step
in his consolidation of SAI leadership. The meetings
showcased Ahmad as a tribal leader to be taken seriously in
Anbar, as was his brother, Sheikh Sattar Abu Risha. If
Ahmad's report that he received a commitment from the PM for
additional police pans out, it could enhance his credibility
as an effective anti-insurgency leader and a major player in
Anbar tribal politics. END COMMENT.
CROCKER