NSA RUBAIE ON CURRENT SECURITY ISSUES AND

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 001093

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/07/2018
TAGS: MARR MCAP MOPS PGOV PINS PNAT PTER IZ
SUBJECT: NSA RUBAIE ON CURRENT SECURITY ISSUES AND
BLACKWATER CONTRACT RENEWAL

REF: BAGHDAD 1066

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires, a.i. Patricia A. Butenis for reasons
1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (S) SUMMARY: During a meeting on April 6 with the Charge
d'Affaires, Iraqi National Security Advisor (NSA) Rubaie
called the April 5 Declaration by the Political Committee for
National Security (PCNS) a breakthrough. It had isolated the
Sadrists, he said, and forced them to choose whether or not
they wished to remain a part of the political process.
Concerning the current security situation, he described the
government's focus in Basrah as recruitment of new security
forces and the provision of services. Sadr City was more
complicated, he lamented, calling it a difficult law and
order problem. The situation was complicated by the
so-called "million-man protest march" by Sadrists on April 9
which the government would allow, but strictly control its
security aspects. Rubaie confirmed Deputy Foreign Minister
Hamoud as lead negotiator for the Status of Forces Agreement
(SOFA) but admitted the GOI had not finalized the lead or the
negotiating team for the Strategic Framework negotiations. On
the Blackwater contract renewal, Charge said the USG was
continuing to work with the joint Iraqi-U.S. Commission and
noted that the number of "escalation-of-force" incidents had
decreased. She added that Blackwater's Iraqi lawyers were
working closely with the Iraqi Interior Ministry on licensing
procedures. Based on this cooperation, the USG believed the
Iraqi government was apprised of its intention to continue
this contract. Rubaie responded that the Prime Minister had
just given an interview with CNN without this specific
information and said this might cause a discrepancy between
the Iraqi and U.S. press statements which he hoped both sides
could mitigate. END SUMMARY.

PCNS Declaration a "Breakthrough"
--------------


2. (S) During a meeting on April 6 with the Charge
d'Affaires, PolMil M/C Ries and NSC Senior Director McGurk,
the Iraqi National Security Advisor (NSA) Rubaie described
as a "breakthrough" the April 5 Declaration by the Political
Committee for National Security (PCNS) (Reftel). Of the
fifteen points, Rubaie related that the two most contentious
for the Sadrist representatives were support for the
government's crackdown in Basrah and agreement to immediately
disband militias as a condition for continued participation
in the political process. As the negotiations stretched into
the night, he described the two Sadrists as increasingly
isolated and said they were repeatedly challenged to declare
whether their party intended to remain inside the Iraqi
political process or not. Rubaie added that he considered
the Declaration's tenth point one of the most important --
condemnation of neighboring country interference (i.e. Iran)
in Iraqi internal affairs. He assessed the agreement and
implementation of the Strategic Framework and the Status of
Forces Agreement as the most helpful assistance the USG could
offer Iraq on this point. Rubaie told us that Prime Minister
Maliki is also considering an appeal to the UN on this issue
and could bring it up in discussions with the NATO SecGen in
a few weeks. McGurk urged Rubaie and the GOI to take
advantage of the political momentum offered by this
Declaration, perhaps with a speech this week by the Prime
Minister explaining the fifteen agreed points to the Council
of Representatives (CoR). Rubaie said that was under serious
consideration. (Note: Per septel, Maliki has expressed
concern to others that such a speech could prompt the
Sadrists to walk out of the CoR, stealing the media focus
away from his message. End note.)

Current Security Situation in Basrah and Sadr City
-------------- --------------


3. (S) Turning to current security situation, Rubaie said the
current government focus in Basrah was the
recruitment/processing of new security forces ("Sons of
Basrah") and the provision of essential services like
electricity, water, and medical care. He confirmed that
acting Minister of Justice Safa was in charge of the
distribution of a $100 million emergency aid package and that
Deputy Prime Minister Salih was developing a longer range
services response. Regarding Sadr City, Rubaie said the
biggest challenge will be the upcoming, self-described
"million-man march" on April 9. Although a similar march
took place last year in Najaf, its current potential to
ignite additional violence in Baghdad prompted Iraqi Security
Forces (ISF) to develop an extensive security plan. Rubaie
explained the goal as protecting legitimate protesters taking

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part in the march and preventing Special Group Criminals
(SCG) from transforming it into a platform for violence. In
that regard, the GOI had three requirements for the Sadrist
party: the march would occur wholly inside Sadr City, the
Sadrists would accept ISF protection, and there would be no
overtly provocative acts. Rubaie reiterated that government
operations in Sadr City remained a law and order -- not a
political -- issue.

Update on SOFA Negotiator
--------------


4. (S) Answering a query from McGurk, Rubaie clarified the
role of Deputy Foreign Minister Hamoud as the chief Iraqi
negotiator in the upcoming SOFA negotiations. He added they
had not determined who would be their lead for the Strategic
Framework negotiations and admitted they had not yet
designated all the team members either.

Blackwater Contract Renewal
--------------


5. (S) In response to earlier questions from Rubaie about
renewal of the Blackwater contract, Charge explained that the
USG was continuing to work with the joint Iraqi-U.S.
Commission formed to examine the incident and had already
implemented many changes in procedures for the personal
security details. She noted that the number of
"escalation-of-force" incidents had decreased dramatically
and there was an increased emphasis by security teams on
maintaining respect for Iraqi citizens. She added that
Blackwater's Iraqi lawyers were working closely with the
Iraqi Interior Ministry on licensing procedures. Based on
this cooperation, the USG believed the Iraqi government was
apprised of its intention to continue this contract. But the
Charge pointed out that this renewal would be subject to
reversal pending the outcome of the FBI investigation into
the incident which occurred last September. Although Rubaie
appeared satisfied with this explanation, he told the Charge
that Prime Minister Maliki had already given an interview
with CNN earlier in the day without this specific information
and suggested there could be a public disconnect between the
Iraqi and U.S. press statements which he hoped to mitigate.
BUTENIS