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