PRT WASIT: WHO IS BURNING BADRAH'S FRUIT ORCHARDS?

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 001244 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/22/2018 TAGS: IR IZ PINS PGOV SUBJECT: PRT WASIT: WHO IS BURNING BADRAH'S FRUIT ORCHARDS? Classified By: Acting PRT Team Leader LTC Rob Jones for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) This a PRT Wasit reporting cable. ¶2. (C) Summary: In April 14 and 18 meetings with the PRT, Badrah Qada mayor Ali Hadi al Meshoeh speculated that Iranian interests were behind a recent series of orchard burnings was linked to the March 18 seizure of a large weapons cache by ISF. Ali also discussed his likely run for a seat on the Wasit Provincial Council (PC) and expressed fears that the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) would be unable to effectively combat fraud and that the elections would be marred by increased violence. End Summary. ¶3. (C) According to Ali, the March 18 seizure of a large weapons cache in an orchard southeast of Badrah was the proximate cause of a wave of orchard burnings which, the mayor claims, have destroyed roughly 100 orchards covering approximately 150 donhams of land (roughly 37 hectares). The mayor connects the two events based on timing (the first fire was set "three or four days" after the March 18 seizure) and location (the first orchard to be burned was the one where the weapons were discovered). The mayor said he believed unnamed Iranian interests were involved in setting the fires, but was also clear individuals from across the border were unlikely to be engaged in setting the fires. "The Iranians do not need to do such things themselves," Ali said. "Half of Badrah works for Iranian intelligence." ¶4. (C) Looking forward to his own likely run for a PC seat, Ali said that despite being mayor of Badrah his power base would be urban Kut, where the roughly 5,000 members of his tribe, the Ghurbawi, are based. Asked if tribal leaders could really deliver their members to support a particular candidate, Ali said "Well, the people hate the parties, and they get to vote for ten names. So, they will at least give me one of their votes." Ali also questioned whether elections would be able to be held in a fair and non-violent manner, citing the potential for multiple voting. Asked whether he thought Wasit's Independent High Electoral Commission could safeguard against fraud, Ali said "Come on, they have to hire 6,000 elections workers. The parties will totally infiltrate them." Ali also fears more violent forms of electoral manipulation. "I am afraid that, when it comes time to select a governor from the PC members," he said "the parties will engage in tit-for-tat assassinations." ¶5. (U) Biographical data: Badrah Mayor Ali Hadi al Meshoeh was born in al Mouaffiqiyah, south of al Kut on July 1, 1956, and lived in Kuwait for seven years as a teenager before returning to al Kut to finish high school and enter the Army Academy in Baghdad. He retired from the Army in 1991, after reaching the rank of Major in a career that focused on the repair of damaged tactical and armored vehicles. After operating for twelve years a rice milling business in al Kut, Ali was appointed Mayor of Badrah, a position that he retained after winning elections in 2005. ¶6. (C) Comment. Mayor Ali is a serious, no-nonsense mayor who has been willing to go on TV more than once to chastise the provincial government for their handling of the provincial budget, yet who is sensible enough to have organized a demonstration in support of the government on March 26, when al Kut and Numaniyah were turning into battlegrounds. While some of his comments seem a bit casual, he is also easily the most straightforward Qada mayor in Wasit and his observations, whether about Iranian infiltration in Badrah or the danger of party infiltration of IHEC's operations, should be considered accordingly. End comment. BUTENIS