FORMER IRAQI PM SHARES VIEWS DURING VISIT TO OMAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L MUSCAT 000368

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/14/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL IZ MU
SUBJECT: FORMER IRAQI PM SHARES VIEWS DURING VISIT TO OMAN

REF: MUSCAT 188

Classified By: Ambassador Gary A. Grappo for Reason 1.4 (b, d)


1. (C) On April 14, the Ambassador discussed the April 8
visit of Iraq's former premier Iyad Allawi with Minister
Responsible for Foreign Affairs Yusuf bin Alawi. Per bin
Alawi, the Omani government welcomed Allawi to Muscat as part
of its efforts to strengthen relations with Iraq, as
requested by the Secretary. Bin Alawi noted to the
Ambassador that both he and Allawi agreed that reconciliation
among rival groups represented the key to addressing the
current level of strife and violence in Iraq.


2. (C) Toward achieving this goal, Allawi commented that the
current government in Baghdad would need to redress the
process of de-Baathification by reviewing the profiles of
previous party members to determine to what extent they were
involved in political, as opposed to criminal, activities.
He predicted that after such a review process, most would be
eligible to return to government service. Allawi further
stated that current Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki posed an
obstacle to forging unity among the country's various
factions. He viewed Maliki as essentially "reactive" to
special interest groups, and claimed that he had failed to
seize the initiative to promote his own reconciliation plan.
Emphasizing that Iraq needed a leader for "all Iraqis,"
Allawi asserted that Maliki was "not the one."


3. (C) Allawi also raised with bin Alawi the possibility of
forming an Arab group to look at formulating "independent"
policies in the region. The group, as envisioned by the
former Iraqi PM, would serve as a regional sounding board for
U.S. policies, with the overall purpose of ensuring that the
views of the Arab nations and the U.S. were not in
disagreement on important regional initiatives. To this end,
Allawi told bin Alawi that Oman's participation in the group
would be "particularly helpful."


4. (C) Comment: Allawi's trip to Muscat, coming less than
two months after the visit of a delegation led by Iraq's
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs (reftel),helped
raise the profile of Oman's relationship with Baghdad. In
his meetings with bin Alawi and Deputy Prime Minister Sayyid
Fahad, Allawi only looked to share his own thoughts on how
Iraq could move forward from its current state; per bin
Alwai, he refrained from asking for assistance from the Omani
government. Oman plans to build upon recent discussions with
Iraqi visitors by sending one of its officials to Iraq next
month. End comment.
GRAPPO