SOUTH CENTRAL LEADERS DISCUSS SECURITY AND U.S.

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 003977

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/06/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV IZ
SUBJECT: SOUTH CENTRAL LEADERS DISCUSS SECURITY AND U.S.
STRATEGY WITH DEPUTY SECRETARY

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Patricia A. Butenis for reasons 1.4(b)
and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: Deputy Secretary Negroponte welcomed Iraqi
leaders from the south central region to a meeting at the
Regional Embassy Office in Al Hillah on November 27. Common
themes from the discussion included strengthening the Iraq
Security Forces and the Rule of Law, encouraging Iraq,s
neighbors to play a constructive role in the country,s
development, and concern over application of the &Anbar
Awakening8 model to the middle-Euphrates region. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) Deputy Secretary Negroponte welcomed the governors of
Babil, Najaf, Karbala, and Diwaniyah, their respective
provincial council (PC) chairmen, Iraqi security force (ISF)
officials including 8th Iraqi ARMY Division Commanding
General MG Uthman al-Ghanimi, tribal leaders and the
President of Kufa University to the U.S. Regional Embassy
Office in Al Hillah to discuss the economic, political and
security situation in the middle-Euphrates region of Iraq.


3. (C) As the discussion went around the table, the
provincial leaders praised the Iraqi police (IP) and Iraqi
Army (IA) for their role in establishing security in the
region, called for increased and sustained support for the
ISF, stressed the importance of passing pending national
legislation, sought U.S. influence in persuading Iraq,s
neighbors to support national reconciliation and development,
asked for stronger linkages between U.S. and Iraqi
universities, called for further USG assistance in the
opening of the Najaf airport, and raised concerns over U.S.
tribal engagement. In general, the provincial officials and
tribal leaders asked that the U.S. support legal institutions
that will enforce the rule of law, while encouraging U.S.
officials to prod Baghdad lawmakers and neighboring countries
to support political progress and economic development in
Iraq.


4. (C) The tribal leaders from Babil, Karbala and Diwaniyah
were careful to express their strong support for ISF, while
calling on the U.S. to provide greater assistance to the IA
and IP. The tribal leaders expressed support for provincial
authorities while emphasizing that the tribes could and
should play a greater role in the political and economic
development of the region. In response, the provincial
officials expressed strong reservations over a policy of
tribal engagement to the south. Echoing many other comments,
Governor Sheikh Hamid Mousa Ahmed Al Kudary of Diwaniyah said
that the U.S. policy of forming tribal &awakening8 or
&salvation8 councils worked well in Fallujah, Ramadi, and
Ninewa because there was a vacuum of security and government
services in those areas. In south central Iraq, by contrast,
security and services are being provided by the provincial
governments. Since there is no security void to fill in the
region, the officials commented that empowering the tribes
would fuel conflict rather than resolve it.


5. (C) The middle-Euphrates regional leaders also voiced
concerns over recent news that the U.S. was adjusting its
goals in Iraq. Karbala Governor Aqeel Al-Ghazali warned that
scaling back strategic aims or benchmarks would give
neighboring countries an opportunity to further their own
goals in Iraq.


6. (U) The Deputy Secretary,s party has cleared this cable.

BUTENIS