FADHILA NOT TAKING CHANCES ON BASRAH GOVERNOR'S COURT CASE

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 BASRAH 000083

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NOFORN
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E.O. 12958: DECL: 9/9/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR PINS IR IZ
SUBJECT: FADHILA NOT TAKING CHANCES ON BASRAH GOVERNOR'S COURT CASE

REF: A. BASRAH 38 B. BASRAH 44 C. BASRAH 53 D. BASRAH 77 E. BASRAH 71

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



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



(U) SUMMARY
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1. (S/NF) Fadhila member Aqueel Talib provided the REO director
on September 8, a letter from Council of Representatives Speaker
Mahmoud Mashadani to Prime Minister Maliki. The letter supports
Basrah Governor Muhammed Wa'eli (Fadhila) in his court case
against the Provincial Council's (PC) no-confidence vote.
Fadhila is exerting its influence over PC members to ensure that
if the High Tribunal Court finds the PC's vote improper, then
subsequent no-confidence votes are doomed to fail. Meanwhile,
the Iranian Ambassador to Iraq reportedly told Maliki to force
Wa'eli out or risk losing Iranian support. MND-SE officials are
contemplating reengagement with Wa'eli given the prospects that
he may actually remain in office. The Badr Organization-Sadrist
alliance of convenience to depose the Governor is at an end,
while Fadhila ends its dialogue with the Badr-led Basrah Islamic
List (BIL) and focuses its attention on the Sadrists. End
Summary.

(C) MASHADANI SUPPORTS BASRAH'S GOVERNOR
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2. (C) Mashadani's letter states that the PC's vote of no
confidence against the Governor violated the law and the PC's
own rules of procedure because it was undertaken door-to-door
instead of in the Council chamber (ref A). Mashadani also wrote
that Maliki's letter demanding Wa'eli to step down violated the
constitution, claiming he did not have such authority and
demanded that all efforts to depose the Governor cease in order
to allow the pending court case to decide Wa'eli's fate (ref B).
(Note: Mashadani is likely referring to the SYG of the Council
of Minister's letter calling for the governor to leave office.
End note.)

(C) FADHILA FLEXES ITS MUSCLES WITH COUNCIL
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3. (C) According to Talib, Fadhila is taking measures to ensure
that if the Court rules the original vote improper, then the PC
will lack enough votes to depose the Governor in a second
no-confidence vote. Talib told us that Fadhila has approached
PC members who might have been intimidated to vote against the
Governor and offered them Fadhila's protection.


4. (C) Talib also told us the Governor had the Ministry of
Education (MOE) investigate whether some PC members possess the
requisite high school education for PC membership according to
the law. The MOE (controlled by Badr) responded that five PC
members did not have diplomas from schools they listed on their
applications for PC membership. The REO director asked if it
mattered whether they received their education outside of Iraq.
Talib reasoned that a foreign education was permissible if it
was reported correctly to the MOE. In this case, they did not,
making their applications for PC membership fraudulent. The
five members were: Wa'eli's arch-rival Hassan al-Rashid (Badr)
and Second Deputy Chairman Khalif Shamhud Bustan (Iraqi National
Accord),Hakim Abdul Sahib Kadum (Iraqi Labor),Abd al-Hussain
Naser (aka Abu Fatima al-Bazuni - Iraqi Hizbollah Movement),and
Basim Saddam Muhsin (Iraqi Hizbollah Movement).

(S/NF) IRAN TELLS MALIKI TO DUMP WA'ELI
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5. (S/NF) Talib, a Wa'eli confidante, later called the director
to report that the Iranian Ambassador to Iraq Hasan Kazemi-Qomi
met with PM Maliki earlier that day, telling the PM to remove
Wa'eli or risk losing Iranian support. Talib opined that the
Iranians were pushing harder to spread their influence in Basrah

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(ref C). Comment: We cannot verify Talib's claim about the
meeting, but we believe that Wa'eli's ties with Iran are tenuous
at best. Wa'eli is likely seeking U.S. support as a counter to
Iranian pressure. End Comment.

(C) FADHILA AND THE BRITISH
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6. (C/NF) Talib said that on September 7, a very senior member
of Fadhila met with British officials to discuss reengagement
with the Wa'eli, who UK representatives have refused to meet
with for months. British officials have reported that in early
July, Maliki requested HMA Dominic Asquith to sever ties with
Wa'eli. Talib also said that Wa'eli remains upset with the
British for their perceived hostility toward him and support for
al-Rashid (ref D). (Note: We have encouraged the British to
meet with Wa'eli. End Note.)

(U) SOME ALLIANCES OVER, OTHERS BEGIN
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7. (C) Talib said that the relationship between Badr and the
Sadrists was not as bad as it has become in nearby provinces,
but the Basrah Sadrists have been directed by their superiors in
Karbala to cease their cooperation with Badr to depose Wa'eli.
Talib noted, however, that Iranian influenced Jaish al-Mahdi
elements were not taking their instructions from Karbala and
still opposed the governor. He also said that the Sadrists and
Fadhila recently met in Najaf to discuss cooperation, while the
secret meetings between Fadhila and the Basrah Islamic List (BIL

SIPDIS
- led by the Islamic Supreme Council in Iraq/Badr) were over
(ref E).

(U) COMMENT
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8. (C) Fadhila is leaving nothing to chance by shoring up
additional support for Wa'eli's court case and influencing the
non-aligned PC members from supporting another coup attempt.
But if Wa'eli attempts to use the fraudulent education
credentials as a pretext for removing his adversaries from the
PC, it could raise the ire of BIL, particularly Badr. The
changing alliances show how fluid and fragile politics are in
Basrah mostly as a result of the incessant competition for
control over Basrah's governing institutions and its resources.
BONO