Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08BAGHDAD1033
2008-04-03 18:41:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Baghdad
Cable title:  

BADR'S HADI AL-AMRI ON BASRAH CRACKDOWN AND TALKS

Tags:  PGOV PREL IZ IR 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO2755
OO RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #1033/01 0941841
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 031841Z APR 08
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6639
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 001033 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/09/2023
TAGS: PGOV PREL IZ IR
SUBJECT: BADR'S HADI AL-AMRI ON BASRAH CRACKDOWN AND TALKS
IN TEHRAN

Classified By: Political Counselor Matt Tueller for reasons 1.4 (b, d).


C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 001033

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/09/2023
TAGS: PGOV PREL IZ IR
SUBJECT: BADR'S HADI AL-AMRI ON BASRAH CRACKDOWN AND TALKS
IN TEHRAN

Classified By: Political Counselor Matt Tueller for reasons 1.4 (b, d).



1. (C) Summary: Badr Organization strongman Hadi al-Amri told
us April 2 that the recent GOI crackdown in Basrah was a
largely successful and long-overdue first step in "the
surgical removal of the disease of armed militias," a process
that will continue in the coming days. Hadi claimed that
Prime Minister Maliki's hand was forced by Jaysh al-Mahdi
(JAM) Special Groups that were eager to create a pretext for
terminating Muqtada al-Sadr's recently-extended JAM freeze
order and thus fomented violence in various parts of Iraq in
the two weeks preceding Maliki's Basrah "Operation Charge of
the Horsemen." Hadi said that future "disease eradication"
will focus on Basrah and the marshes around Amarah, "the open
door into Iraq" for movement of arms and money from Iran,
adding that he understood our point that GOI security
operations must be conducted in a non-partisan manner. The
gruff former militia leader expressed support for the
"Awakening" of southern tribes as key to holding GOI security
gains. Hadi was a member of a three-person United Iraq
Alliance (UIA) delegation that traveled to Iran late last
week to complain of Iranian supply of arms to JAM, a visit
that ended with Sadr's March 30 stand-down order for JAM
fighters. Hadi divulged his dismay that Iranian officials
"spoke the language of Sadr" when they insisted that the
Basrah operation was a politically-motivated USG-GOI plot to
destroy the Sadrist movement, and they hotly denied providing
arms to JAM. He also spoke at length about the need for
U.S.-Iranian dialogue to dispel misconceptions both sides
have about the other, opining that Tehran is ready for talks
that produce real results. End Summary.

Eradicating the Disease, Plucking the Weed
--------------


2. (C) Hadi said that JAM had instigated the violence,
running through a timeline of attacks in south-central Iraq
beginning in mid-March that forced the GOI to react. The
goal of such violence, in his view, was to create a pretext
for the termination of Muqtada al-Sadr's recently-extended
JAM freeze order: "JAM succeeded fully in this goal." The

gruff, plain-speaking Badr chairman hailed Maliki's
"Operation Charge of the Horsemen" as a largely successful
and long-overdue first step in "the surgical removal of the
disease of armed militias" and claimed the operation was
never meant to be directed at JAM. In fact, he asserted,
Maliki believed that Sadrists would cooperate in cracking
down on Basrah's armed criminal gangs, but instead they
claimed the operation was a politically-motivated attempt by
its Shia political opponents to destroy the Sadr movement.
He lauded the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) for being able to
contain Sadrist counter-attacks in various towns in
south-central Iraq and Sadrist strongholds in Baghdad. Hadi
said that future "disease eradication" will focus on Basrah
and the marshes around Amarah, "the open door into Iraq" for
movement of arms and money from Iran and an area Hadi knows
well from his Saddam-era days as a gun-running resistance
fighter. The one-time militia leader and current senior CoR
member assured Polcouns that he well-understood our point
about the importance that GOI security operations be
conducted in a non-partisan manner.


3. (C) Returning to his pet theme about the need for cracking
down on armed groups ("there is no other solution") but using
different rhetorical imagery, Hadi likened the presence of
militias to that of a garden weed: if handled early, a weed
can be plucked and killed with two fingers, but great effort
and heavy tools will be needed to accomplish the same end if
the weed is not dealt with in a timely fashion. Hadi claimed
the Basrah operation "showed us the nature and weaknesses of
the enemy and the size and scope of their weaponry." He
stated that the operation was a type of wake-up for Iraqis
about the reality of armed groups, "a good thing because we
now better understand that all is not well in Iraq." He
complained that Western media analysis of the Basrah
operation falsely portrayed Sadr as the winner, adding that
the press is confused "because American officials kept
telling them for many months that the Iraq situation is good
and stable." He said the GOI should find employment
opportunities to draw people away from armed groups, but
should employ the same tactics and degree of force now used
against AQI to deal with those who refuse to leave such
groups. Even though Hadi and ISCI/Badr were strongly opposed
to southern "Awakening" only a few weeks ago and they
frequently accused the USG of abetting such movements among
Shia tribes, Hadi expressed strong support for the
"Awakening" of southern tribes as key to holding ISF security
gains.

Speaking in Tongues in Tehran
--------------

BAGHDAD 00001033 002 OF 002




4. (C) Hadi joined Dawa's Ali al-Adib and a Dawa Tanzim
representative to form a three-person United Iraq Alliance
(UIA) delegation that, in consultation with Maliki, traveled
to Iran late last week to voice complaints to Iranian
Government officials about the supply of Iranian arms to JAM.
Hadi said the visit was particularly important as it marked
the first time that the UIA had spoken on this topic with a
single voice to Iranian officials. Hadi said that the group
spoke frankly to the Iranians about Iran's provision of arms
and training to Sadrists and demanded an end to these
practices. In reply, the Iranians hotly denied that they
supplied such assistance and demanded evidence to support the
accusations. Furthermore, Hadi was dismayed to find that
Iranian officials "spoke the language of Sadr" by insisting
that the Basrah operation was a politically-motivated USG-GOI
plot to destroy the Sadrist movement, and they cited recent
POTUS media statements of support for the operation as proof
of collusion. They also accused the delegation of "speaking
with the American tongue." Hadi said the group pushed back
hard, asking sarcastically whether the JAM's weapons simply
fell to them from the sky, and attempted to shame the
Iranians by pointing out that Tehran's actions do not match
its words about concern for Iraq's Shia. Hadi sighed that
"the Iranians told us again and again that they support
Maliki and do not arm JAM, but nevertheless we Iraqis have a
disaster on our hands." Regarding direct negotiations
between the UIA team and Muqtada al-Sadr, Haitham
al-Husseini, a senior aide to Hadi's boss ISCI Chairman Abdul
Aziz al-Hakim, told us separately that the delegation
extracted the best deal they could in Sadr's March 30
nine-point stand-down order for JAM fighters, which he
claimed represented a Sadr "concession" that was made after
an entire night of nasty, heated discussion and considerable
Iranian pressure upon the Iraqi cleric. Haitham said
ISCI/Badr remains concerned that Sadr's March 30 statement
did not expressly acknowledge the GOI's right to control and
impose the rule of law in Sadrist stronghold neighborhoods.

"Need for Dialogue between Great Satan and Axis of Evil"
-------------- --------------


5. (C) Hadi spoke at length about the need for U.S.-Iranian
dialogue to dispel misconceptions both sides had about the
other. Employing an Iraqi adaptation of a famous Talleyrand
maxim, Hadi intoned that "there is no haram and halal in
politics, only interests" and he claimed that U.S. - Iranian
dialogue will be in the interests of both countries and of
Iraq. Describing himself as an "expert" on Iran who lived
among Iranians for many years, Hadi stated that the Iranians
are tough and stubborn but ready to move beyond game-playing
and engage in a conversation that will produce something
real. Polcouns replied that we do not seek discussions
simply for the sake of holding discussions and believe that
discussions must produce results. He noted that Iran appears
to have a serious misunderstanding regarding the aim of
ongoing discussions between the USG and the GOI over a
long-term strategic relationship, adding that Iran needs to
hear from Iraqis that their relationship with the U.S. is not
directed against Iran. Hadi closed the meeting by stating
that the time had come for dialogue "between the Great Satan
and the Axis of Evil."
CROCKER