PM'S ESC DISCUSSES BORDER CLOSURES, BSP, PUBLIC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 000512 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/10/2017 TAGS: ECON IZ PREF SUBJECT: PM'S ESC DISCUSSES BORDER CLOSURES, BSP, PUBLIC OUTREACH Classified By: ECONOMIC MINISTER-COUNSELOR DANIEL WEYGANDT, E.O. 12958 REASONS 1.4 (b)(d) ¶1. (C) Summary. The Executive Steering Committee (IESC), chaired by PM Maliki met in its third session on February 9. Topics discussed included the plan to close Iraq,s points of entry (POE,s) with Syria and Iran on February 14, efforts on coordinating services in conjunction with the Baghdad Security Plan (BSP),popular mobilization and media strategy. A presentation by VP Abdel Mahdi on the political committee,s work indicated that this committee is very much still in its formative stage. This was the first IESC meeting which was attended by the Foreign, Defense and Interior Ministers, and the first attended General Petraeus. The group agreed to continue to hold regular weekly meetings. End summary. ¶2. (C) The PM opened the meeting by noting that the BSP is starting soon and in fact in many ways has already started. He said the initial response to efforts to improve security at Yarmouk Hospital was favorable and that this needed to be continued, with others suggesting that Medical City be next. He anticipated that the public,s response to the forthcoming appearance of sizable numbers of troops on the streets would be even more positive, but it was the work of the IESC to make sure that the greatest possible public support was obtained. He predicted that when people who had fled their homes in the face of sectarian cleansing returned to their original neighborhoods there would be joint celebrations by Sunni and Shi,a residents. It would be critical to provide infrastructure services to the populace as people started to return. He said that DPM Zubaie was in daily contact with the responsible ministries in support of providing needed services. Militias and terrorists were fleeing the city, which made it easier to accomplish security goals. He welcomed General Petraeus to the IESC and thanked General Casey for his service to Iraq. ¶3. (C) Vice President Abdel Mahdi made a presentation on the work of the Political Committee he chairs under the IESC mantle. He said that he had presented a detailed plan to the PM for his consideration, but that this plan was still being developed. The emphasis of his plan would be focus on establishing longer term goals for the BSP. It would be impossible to stop all the acts of violence, but re-establishing the government,s strength and prestige would be the main outcomes. He planned to name the members of his committee soon. General Casey noted that the adjournment of the Council of Representatives (CoR) meant that the government would need to get out the political message on its own. The positive results of the BSP should become visible in early to mid-April so any supporting political initiatives should be timed to coincide with that timeframe. MFA Zebari said he plans to use Iraq,s embassies in the region to build support among Iraq,s neighbors for the BSP. He solicited the support of the U.S. embassy in this campaign, but made clear that Iraq would be in the lead. ¶4. (C) National Security Adviser Rubaie recommended that before FM Zebari initiates his regional outreach plan on the BSP, that the Prime Minister send letters to regional counterparts explaining to them the goals and plans for Baghdad security. All agreed with Dr. Muwaffaq's suggestion. FM Zebari added that he would be going to Saudi Arabia in the next days and knew that there was great interest in the BSP in the kingdom. The Prime Minister concluded that he planned to call in both neighboring country ambassadors as well as Iraq,s ambassadors in the region for a roll-out meeting on the BSP. - - - - - - POE Closing - - - - - - ¶5. (C) NSA Rubaie said that the Syrian and Iranian borders would be closed at 21:00 on February 14 and remain closed until 9:00 on February 18. Some POE,s would remain closed indefinitely. There was an extensive discussion of various POE,s along the Iranian border and the importance of ensuring that fuel trucks were allowed to enter Iraq since supplies were so low that even a three day shut down could have serious consequences. The PM summed up the discussion by saying that fuel was the key issue. He expressed some hesitancy about the plan and whether 72 hours of shutdown would be sufficient to make the improvements needed needed to make the POE,s more effective in stopping smuggling of weapons and contraband but in the end he approved the plan,s going forward. Former DPM Chalabi highlighted Iraq,s dependence on Iran for kerosene and expressed concern over possible confusion that could result from the POE closing. Vice President Adel Abdel Mehdi also cautioned against the plan. He asked why only the Syrian and Iranian POEs were to BAGHDAD 00000512 002 OF 003 be closed. He said that if the reasons were related to security, then he wanted to be briefed on the reasons; if the reason was to send a political message, then he wanted to know that. He said he thought it was a dangerous course because if Iraq could take such a measure, then the neighboring countries could do the same to Iraq. Rubaie made the argument that a benefit of the closing would be to show Iraq,s neighbors that the GOI can exercise its sovereignty, while Interior Minister Bulani downplayed the economic implications of the plan and predicted that the 72 hour period would be sufficient for installing equipment and vetting border guards. He said the plan had been fully coordinated with U.S. forces and was well-designed. The Prime Minister concluded the discussion by reiterating that the MCNS had already taken a decision on the POE closures and that the discussion at hand was for informational purposes only. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Popular Mobilization/Media Committees - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶6. (C) The next point covered was how to make best use of the popular mobilization committees and how to coordinate media outreach. Already some misconceptions had spread that the local committees under the popular mobilization effort were to be staffed by paid employees. There were also rumors about whether the committees were in fact armed self-defense committees, reminiscent of the former regime. The Prime Minister himself said he was worried that the committees could become militias and further complicate the mission of the ISF. He did not want the committees to start trying to countermand ISF commanders as to operations in the neighborhoods. Ways to address these problems and fears among the population about serving on local committees and how to organize the work of the committees were discussed at length, if somewhat inconclusively. - - - - - Services - - - - - ¶7. (C) DPM Zubaie made a clear and focused presentation on his efforts to coordinate with the U.S. mission on developing lists of priority immediate term projects to support the services side of the BSP. He expected t have a detailed list prepared by February 12. He gave a status update on the purchase of solar street lights in a pilot project in the Doura district of Baghdad and reported that the ministry of Electricity was proceeding on the purchase of 50 1.75 MW generators for localized use in support of upgrading services in focus areas of the BSP. He also reported on efforts to clean the Federal Protection Service at Baghdad hospitals to rid the FPS of militia influence. He was seeking urgent approval, along with the Minister of Health for an incentive pay system to lure back Iraqi doctors who had gone to neighboring countries. He argued the incentive payments could be financed by increased fees for health service since the government was heavily subsidizing services that were not benefiting the entire population. He said his plan would include ways for the High Contracting Committee to streamline approval for BSP related contracts and that he would be working with the municipality on electricity and health care centers as well as specific water projects. He added that he was working to get the HFO-fueled thermal power plants repaired and that there was a project that would soon be producing asphalt for use in the BSP but he criticized the Ministry of Oil for problems at the Latifiyah (Karkh) fuel depot that threatened fuel supplies for the overall BSP. DPM Barham Salih seconded Zubaie,s concerns about fuel supplies and outlined his own plans for targeted micro loans for small businesses and grant to unemployed workers who wished to start businesses. General Odierno presented a brief overview of plans for improved security at the Bayji refinery, and PM Maliki stressed that fuel would be a key focus of his and the committee,s overall activities. - - - - - Security - - - - - ¶8. (C) NSA Rubaie raised the issue of who should be covered by an amnesty and when it should be announced. DefMin Abdul-Kadir argued that it was premature to consider any amnesty program. The scpe of any program would depend on the success and rate of progress of the BSP. MoI Bulani also discussed plans for &flying squads8 of judges and prosecutors to enforce the rule of law under the BSP, and noted that expansion and modernization of the Abu Ghraib prison would also be an important part of making the BSP work effectively and in keeping with appropriate standards on human rights. BAGHDAD 00000512 003 OF 003 SPECKHARD