FADILLAH EMISSARIES SEEK CLOSER TIES WITH U.S.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BASRAH 000028

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 4/15/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL IZ IR
SUBJECT: FADILLAH EMISSARIES SEEK CLOSER TIES WITH U.S.

REF: (A) 06 BASRAH 112, (B) 06 BASRAH 156

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CLASSIFIED BY: Louis Bono, Director, Basrah Regional Embassy
Office, Department of State.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)



CONFIDENTIAL

SIPDIS
PROG 04/15/07
LLBONO
PCKURATA

EXEC POL

REO BASRAH
SECSTATE WASHDC, PRIORITY
WHITE HOUSE NSC WASHDC, PRIORITY
SECDEF WASHINGTON DC, PRIORITY
IRAQ COLLECTIVE
IRAN COLLECTIVE

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958; DECL
TAGS: PGOV PREL IZ IR
SUBJECT: FADILLAH EMISSARIES SEEK CLOSER TIES WITH U.S.

REFS: (A) 06 BASRAH 112, (B) 06 BASRAH 156


1. (C) Summary. Two senior figures in Fadillah, Sheikh Abbas
al-Zaydi from al-Kut Province, and Ismail al-Wa'eli, the younger
brother of Basrah Governor Mohammed al-Wa'eli, met with the
Basrah Regional Embassy Office (REO) director April 12. Sheikh
Abbas said that Fadillah is interested in improving its
relations with the United States and Britain and distancing
itself from Islamic parties, particularly OMS and SCIRI. The
younger al-Wa'eli made a buffoonish effort to convince the REO
director that his reputation as his older brother's commander of
Fadillah kidnapping and assassination squads is untrue. The
visit of the two Fadillah members came at a time of rising
political tensions in Basrah. End Summary.


2. (C) Sheikh Abbas told the director that Fadillah seeks to
improve its ties with the United States and Britain, following
its March 2007 withdrawal from Prime Minister Maliki's United
Iraqi Alliance (UIA),which he derided as Iranian "proxies."
Abbas said the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in
Iraq (SCIRI) and the Office of Martyr Sadr (OMS) have
hereditary, family-based power structures; are deaf to dialogue;
and a threat to Fadillah, which welcomes closer ties with the
MNF Coalition. The sheikh said that Fadillah refuses to
subjugate itself to Iran. Rather, it seeks to define itself as
a nationalist, non-sectarian organization, supported by all
Iraqi Arabs. He added that Fadillah is trying to expand beyond
its power base in southern Iraq by establishing branches in
Kirkuk, Mosul and Anbar.


2. (C) Ismail al-Wa'eli, the younger brother of the Basrah
Governor, piggy-backed on Sheikh Abbas' visit to meet the REO
director and presented himself as the new chief of Fadillah's
international bureau. Ismail made a pathetic, long-winded
denial of wide-spread reports that he commands his older
brother's assassination and kidnapping squads. He showed the
director his gaudy ring and wrist watch encrusted with shiny
stones, and bragged that his jewelry cost "$240,000," money he
made as a "businessman 18 years ago." (Note: Ismail is about 35
years old. For more on Ismail's buffoonish manner and murderous
reputation, see ref A.) He said he just returned from Baghdad
where he accompanied his brother to meetings with General
Petraeus and senior commercial officers in the U.S. Embassy.
Commenting on the planned April 16 street demonstrations in
Basrah to remove Governor al-Wa'eli, Ismail said that his
brother took office through the democratic process and will
leave office the same way. (Note. Last September Sheikh Abbas
and Ismail were parties to conspiratorial talks about forming a
political group to unseat Prime Minister Maliki. Abbas and
Ismail accompanied Governor Wa'eli to Dubai where the talks took
place. Salih al-Mutlaq, Nadeem al-Jabiri and Sheikh Muzahim,
the head of the Basrah tribal council, were the other
participants. See ref B.)


3. (C) Abbas and Ismail questioned the REO director about his
views of Fadillah, the governor and Ismail. "I hear bad reports
about you and your brother," the director said to Ismail.
"Given your reputation, I think it is important for Fadillah to
build support among the common people." The director silenced
Ismail's renewed flurry of protestations, by asking, when the
next elections come, if there are no jobs, roads, or
electricity, who will the people blame? "The governor," Ismail
said meekly. The director said that was the point: regardless

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what the political opponents say, the governor's and Fadillah's
actions to improve the lives of the people of Basrah will speak
more loudly. He added that the United States does not support
or oppose any political party but will work with any that share
the goal of building a stable, prosperous Iraq that is at peace
with its neighbors.


4. (C) Comment. Sheikh Abbas' and Ismail's visit comes at a
time that Fadillah's relations with OMS and SCIRI, the dominant
parties in Prime Minister Maliki's government, show signs of
growing strain. Governor al-Wa'eli and local Fadillah members
have been increasingly cooperative with the REO and the British
since the beginning of 2007 when Britain made clear that it
intends to reduce its military presence in Basrah and turn
responsibility for security over to Iraqi authorities later this
year. The REO director's two-hour meeting with Abbas and Ismail
provided an opportunity to obtain first-hand impressions of two
Fadillah members who have engaged in high stakes political
discussions. Ismail's shameless self-aggrandizement and
mendacity poison Fadillah's attempts to portray itself as a
competent, honest political party. Nevertheless, he has been a
source of reliable information in the past on matters unrelated
to himself and his brother. End comment.
BONO