SADRIST LEADER REACHES OUT TO U.S.

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 BASRAH 000057

SIPDIS

NOFORN
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 6/28/2017
TAGS: PREL PTER OEXC SCUL EAID IR IZ
SUBJECT: SADRIST LEADER REACHES OUT TO U.S.

REF: BASRAH 55

BASRAH 00000057 001.2 OF 002


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


1. (S/NF) Summary and Introduction: A senior cleric of the
Office of Martyr Sadr (OMS) organization, Sheikh Mohammed
Daoud-al-Basyri, held secret talks with the director of the
Office of Provincial Affairs and the director of the Basrah
Regional Embassy Office (REO) at the Basrah Air Station June 26.
Al-Basyri expressed concern that Basrah is headed toward
anarchy, largely due to Iranian-co-opted elements of the Ja'ish
al-Mahdi (JAM) and appealed for U.S. assistance to reverse this
trend. Al-Basyri was accompanied by Iraqi National Dialogue
Front (IDNF) Southern Director Awad al-Abdany who arranged the
meeting. End summary.


2. (S/NF) Al-Basyri, the head of the OMS office for financial,
cultural and humanitarian affairs in Samawah and Basrah, said
that JAM elements in Basrah have fallen under Iranian control
and are fomenting a campaign of violence and terror. (See
reftel.) He said the Iranians are ultimately seeking control
over Basrah and the region; he called them a "cancer" and said
that "they will do more harm to Iraq than Hezbollah has done to
Lebanon." He said he is reaching out to the United States to
prevent Basrah from spiraling into anarchy. "I'm ready to
cooperate with the United States to eliminate violent elements,"
he stated. Al-Basyri said that the OMS leaders and clerics are
looking to start "a new era." He emphasized though that "this
is a personal visit," but added that he "has influence to direct
people in the organization." He offered to provide the REO
director with the names of troublesome Ja'ish al-Mahdi (JAM)
leaders and asked the Coalition Forces to capture them. The REO
director suggested he pass the names through Awad and promised
that he would forward them to the appropriate officials.


3. (S) The Sadrist cleric, who was born in Kuwait and came to
Iraq after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990, said by
launching humanitarian, cultural and educational initiatives
under his guidance, the United States will see its image in Iraq
brighten. The REO director pointed out that the United States
has spent $1.2 billion in Basrah alone on multifaceted
reconstruction projects. The cleric asked "what projects? The
people of Basrah are not aware of any American projects." He
added that the violence in Basrah is carried out by people from
Amara, the capital of Maysan Province, which includes porous
marshlands on the Iranian border. (Note: JAM's powerbase in
Basrah is centered in the Hayanniyah and Jumhurriyah districts,
which are populated by the Marsh Arabs. (See reftel.) End
note.)


4. (S) The cleric said that the reeducation of clerics, who
exert strong social influence, is an important factor in
quelling the JAM violence. He explained that clerics are highly
schooled in religious matters but have limited knowledge of
other fields. He recommended that the United States organize
programs to allow them to travel abroad and see the benefits of
other fields of knowledge. The cleric, who appeared to be about
40 years old, cited a colleague who traveled to Europe and
discovered that the spirit of Islam flourishes in countries with
few Muslims, in contrast to Iraq, which has many Muslims but
little Islam. He commented that his travels to Arab countries
that have good ties to the United States opened his eyes to the
benefits that countries reap from American friendship.


5. (S) Illustrating his concerns about the future, the cleric
related that the toy that his young son most craves is a toy
rifle. "I must change his path away from violence," he said.
He claimed that he has stopped JAM militants from attacking
Coalition targets on numerous occasions and encouraged them to
play sports and study instead. In order for his exhortations to
have a large-scale impact, he said he needs support from the
United States to show disenfranchised youths new directions.
"Don't pass up my offer to work with you," he said. "I am
risking my life by coming to see you today."


6. (S) Pulling the threads of his discourse together, he briefly
outlined how the United States should cooperate with him and the
Sadrists. "One of the keys to eliminating Iranian influence,"
he said, would be to "isolate and eliminate non-nationalistic
Sadrists," i.e. those under foreign control. The second
proposed method of cooperation would be for the United States to
fund programs to draw youth away from violence and to open the
eyes and expand the horizons of clerics and other influential
members of society. Soccer leagues and educational trips abroad
were two examples cited by the cleric as programs the USG could
fund. He also suggested development projects to improve

BASRAH 00000057 002.2 OF 002


Basrah's infrastructure as another way to cooperate with the
Sadrists. He said JAM members could be formed into a private
security force to protect the projects or other foreign
investments. The cleric said that he would be the "manager" of
these programs and projects between the USG and the Sadrists.
He cautioned that USG cooperation and assistance would have to
remain confidential until the public's image of the United
States improves.


7. (S) The REO director welcomed the cleric's visit and praised
his courage, saying he hopes that it will become a fruitful
dialogue focused on our shared goals of peace and prosperity for
Iraq. "We both need to seize this opportunity," he said and
encouraged the cleric to enlist his Sadrists colleagues in his
cause. The cleric said it was too dangerous for him to return
to the Air Station for future meetings and recommended that they
meet in neighboring countries, such as Jordan or Kuwait.


8. (S/NF) Comment: While al-Basyri's visit was a welcome
opportunity, it remains to be seen whether he is sincere about
building a long-term relationship or is merely trying to use the
U.S. to purge JAM of its militant elements. His request to
establish cultural exchanges seems to be a worthy suggestion,
but his recommendation that we put him in charge of new programs
raises suspicions. In any event, we should continue to explore
this opportunity with al-Basyri and encourage him to include
other OMS members in the dialogue.
BONO