LEGISLATIVE TOUR D'HORIZON WITH INFLUENTIAL COR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 003713

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/08/2017
TAGS: PGOV IZ
SUBJECT: LEGISLATIVE TOUR D'HORIZON WITH INFLUENTIAL COR
LEADER ALI AL-ADIB

Classified By: Political Counselor Matt Tueller for reasons 1.4 (b) and
(d).


1. (C) Dawa Party Deputy Bloc leader Ali al-Adib told S/I
Satterfield on November 10 that his party and Prime Minister
al-Maliki favor submission of the Council of Ministers draft
of the De-Baathification law for Council of Representatives
(CoR) debate, with the possibility that amendments could
later be introduced to bring the draft more in line with the
leaders' draft. He predicted the Sunni Tawafuq Bloc would
oppose the bill, thus providing cover for others to do the
same. Adib complained about an "unfair" Kurdish approach on
the draft Hydrocarbons Framework Law and urged USG pressure
to facilitate compromise. Adib said the Shia coalition had
prepared a solid draft Provincial Powers bill that would go
forward after the De-Baath Law debate. He complained at
length about claimed efforts by Vice President al-Hashemi to
stymie political progress; cautioned about the long-term
effects of tribal "awakening" movements; and warned about
public perceptions of an MNF-I tilt toward Sunnis in the
Concerned Local Citizens (CLC) program. When asked about a
long-term bilateral security partnership, Adib stated that
Iraqis want to work together to battle al-Qaeda in a way that
does not embarrass GOI leaders. End Summary

De-Baath Law: Tawafuq Opposition Opens Door to Nay-Sayers
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2. (C) After Satterfield emphasized the critical importance
of CoR passage in the current session of the so-called
leaders' draft of the De-Baathification Law (Law on
Accountability and Justice),Adib said that Dawa favors
submission of the competing Council of Ministers draft to the
CoR with the possibility that amendments could later be
introduced to bring the draft more in line with the leaders'
draft. He said that Maliki and the Kurdish parties support
this approach as well. When asked to speculate on the CoR's
likely handling of this matter, Adib predicted that the Sunni
Tawafuq Bloc would oppose the bill, thus providing cover for
the Sadrists and some in the Shia United Iraqi Alliance (UIA)
coalition to also oppose the bill on the grounds that the
draft already contains significant Shia concessions. He
opined that Tawafuq and others are determined to deny the GOI
political achievements. Satterfield noted that the Council
of Ministers would meet on November 13 to consider whether to
withdraw its draft and put forward the leaders' draft for CoR
debate. Regarding a possible submission of the leaders'
draft by the Presidency Council, Adib responded that, apart
from possible constitutional implications surrounding this
matter, such a move would be a mistake as it would signal
that the CoR and Iraq's top leaders are in dispute: better to
go forward with the Council of Ministers draft, he stated,
and amend it later according to the will of the parliament.

Hydrocarbons Framework Law: "Provocative" Kurdish Conduct
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3. (C) Satterfield briefly recounted his recent meetings
with Masood and Nechirvan Barzani about pending national oil
and gas laws, noting that he had expressed USG support for
laws acceptable to all Iraqis and USG displeasure over
unilateral Kurdish oil and gas contracts that complicate
enactment of such laws. Adib replied that these contracts
are "provocative" not only to non-Kurd Iraqis but also to
Iraq's neighbors, who view the deals as assertions of Kurdish
independence. He questioned the fairness of the Kurd
position of demanding exclusive rights over revenues from
oil/gas deposits located within its territory while also
insisting on a 17 percent share of revenues from deposits
found outside its territory, and Adib predicted that others
in Iraq would soon want the same deal for themselves. Adib
asked that the USG lean hard on the Kurds to bring them
around to compromise on the Hydrocarbons Law as well as the
draft bill on Distribution of Financial Resources. He opined
that the recent PKK-Turkey flare-up had made the Kurds better
aware of their relative weakness, characterizing the Kurdish
announcement that the PKK is a terrorist organization as a
concession that betrayed weakness.

Provincial Powers Law
--------------


4. (C) Adib said the UIA had prepared a solid draft that the
CoR would take up after the De-Baath Law debate. He said
that possible points of dispute could revolve around the
extent of authority given to provincial councils: after
examples of abuses of authority in Basrah, Diwaniyah and
other places, the UIA decided to limit such authority more
than they had originally thought necessary. Adib said that
Iraq's experience of centralism under the former regime had
been very harsh for Shia and the Kurds, and therefore they
favored federalism. However, what passes for "federalism" in

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Kurdistan is actually confederation, and the Kurds are
providing a bad example to the rest of Iraqis who will
someday demand a similar arrangement for themselves, thus
greatly weakening the central government. He said that the
goal of true federalism is for the central government to
assist the provinces in maximizing their potential.

Complaints about Hashemi, Caution on "Awakening" and CLCs
-------------- --------------


5. (C) Warming to a theme that has come up repeatedly during
Satterfield's discussions with leading Iraqi political
figures, Adib complained at length about Vice President Tareq
al-Hashemi's attempts to stymie political progress. He
accused Hashemi of casting a de facto veto on 28 pieces of
approved legislation by refusing to sign them, and of
preventing Tawafuq cabinet ministers from returning to their
posts. He claimed that senior officials in Hashemi's Iraqi
Islamic Party (IIP) had expressed dissatisfaction with his
leadership, and he predicted that Sunni tribal leaders will
not support the IIP in future local elections as they believe
the IIP has poorly represented their interests and prevented
their areas from receiving much-needed reconstruction
funding. In reply to Satterfield's question about views on
local "awakening" movements, the smooth-talking legislator
opined that such movements are good short-term measures to
fight terrorism but over the long term are negative as they
encourage competition and division among tribes. Instead,
Adib averred the GOI should better promote the concept of
citizenship, and Satterfield added the GOI must follow this
with better provision of services and funding.


6. (C) Adib claimed that current Sunni-Shia tensions in
Baghdad were based largely on socio-economic differences and
the presence of organized crime, while a high level of
sectarian tension remains in "complex" Diyala province.
After Adib delivered a monologue on Saddam's exploitation of
religion to divide Sunnis and Shia after the 1991 Kuwait war,
he complained that Coalition Forces appear to be empowering
armed Sunni groups through the Concerned Local Citizens (CLC)
program. When asked for views about a long-term bilateral
security partnership, Adib acknowledged Iraq's need for
continuing economic and security support but stated that the
GOI wants a system in which the GOI and the U.S. work
together to battle al-Qaeda and that U.S. efforts to this end
are properly coordinated with the GOI to avoid embarrassing
Iraq's leaders.
CROCKER