DEPUTY SPEAKER ATTIYAH DISCUSSES VISIT WITH

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 001273

SIPDIS

NOFORN
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/23/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV IZ
SUBJECT: DEPUTY SPEAKER ATTIYAH DISCUSSES VISIT WITH
SISTANI, THE SADRISTS, LEGISLATION, AND OTHER ISSUES

Classified By: Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (S/NF) Summary. Deputy CoR Speaker Sheikh Khalid Attiyah
told the Ambassador, S/I Satterfield, and Special Assistant
to the President Brett McGurk, that he met with Grand
Ayatollah Sistani on Wednesday (April 17) in Najaf. While
Sistani believes the security situation has improved in the
South, he is concerned about the Sahawa movement, the
situation in Sadr City, the oil law and the peshmerga, as
well as reconstruction of the Samara shrine; he plans to
discuss these issues with PM Maliki. Attiyah spoke strongly
about the need to dissolve militias and rid their influence
from provincial elections. Attiyah expressed concerns about
the elections law received from the Council of Ministers
(CoM) and said he will meet with the Prime Minister to
propose amendments soon. He highlighted DPM Saleh's $5
billion reconstruction plan as a positive effort to deliver
services to the Iraqi people. He was optimistic about
Tawafuq's potential return to the GOI. End Summary.

MEETING WITH SISTANI
--------------


2. (S/NF) Sheikh Attiyah told the Ambassador, S/I
Satterfield, and McGurk that he met with Sistani in Najaf on
Wednesday, April 17, and while Sistani believes the situation
in the South has improved, he expressed several concerns.
First, Sistani fears the 90,000 Sahawa members reportedly in
the Iraqi Army (sic) will turn into a militia group and cause
an "imbalance." Secondly, he is concerned about the
deteriorating situation in Sadr City. He also supports
dissolving the militias and keeping them away from provincial
elections. Sistani also voiced concerns about the Kurdish
region and specifically the oil law and peshmerga. Sistani
believes all the people own the oil resources and that the
peshmerga are a militia group. Sistani is also concerned
about the slow rehabilitation of the Samara shrine. These
are all issues, Attiyah said, that Sistani would like to
discuss with PM Maliki in the near future.

SADRISTS, MILITIAS, IRAN
--------------


3. (S/NF) The Ambassador raised with Attiyah the PM's recent
announcements regarding his campaign against militias and
asked about economic and political efforts underway with the
Sadrists. In response, Attiyah said the Iraqi people are
frustrated with the Sadrist movement and its militia.
"People are afraid of them," he emphasized, again stressing
that militias need to be dissolved. He added some CoR
members have received threats from the Sadrists. Attiyah
also mentioned from his meeting in Najaf that Sistani thinks
Moqtada al-Sadr (MoS) is "imbalanced." At the same time,
Attiyah said Sistani is reluctant to issue religious opinions
on MoS and the militias. He agreed that Iran is supporting
the militia groups, including Jaysh al-Mahdi (JAM).

LEGISLATION
--------------


4. (C/NF) Sheikh Attiyah received a copy of the elections law
from the Council of Ministers (CoM) this week. Attiyah said
he has some concerns with the law and had some proposed
amendments. "I will talk to the Prime Minister about the
issue of revisiting the law," he added without providing
detail regarding his objections. He said the current draft
calls for an open list model. The United Nations will
provide the CoR with ideas of how the ballots should be put
together, he noted. "Everyone should take part in the
elections and this democratic system," he said, while he
noted that militias can have no role and this might impact
the Sadrists' participation. Regarding the oil law, Attiyah
agreed it is a critical piece of legislation and said he is
engaging Oil Minister Shahristani on this issue.


5. (C/NF) Attiyah told the Ambassador that DPM Saleh has put
aside a $5 billion supplemental budget that will focus on
delivering services to the people. "We must cut through the
red tape on this issue," stressed Attiyah. He noted that
both DPM Saleh and the Mayor of Baghdad would be at the CoR
on Tuesday (April 22) to discuss these projects in more
detail. "This will give people hope," he said. The
Ambassador encouraged the CoR to invite other members of the
GOI to come provide testimony and explain the problems in
each of their ministries. Attiyah agreed this is a good idea
and that it will make a good impression on the CoR.

NEGOTIATIONS OVER RETURN TO THE GOI
--------------


6. (S/NF) Attiyah stressed the Tawafuq front return is very

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important to the national reconciliation effort. VP Tariq
al-Hashimi agreed to Tawafuq's return in principle, he said,
in a meeting with the Prime Minister. He is working out the
details of the return, including the positions of ministers
in the cabinet, he added. When asked by the Ambassador about
the status of the PM's engagement with the Sadrists, Attiyah
said the Sadrists have suffered a severe setback in power.
CROCKER