MAY 23 I-ESC MEETING FOCUSES ON SADR CITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 001598

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/23/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER IR IZ
SUBJECT: MAY 23 I-ESC MEETING FOCUSES ON SADR CITY
RECONSTRUCTION

Classified By: Economic Counselor Todd P. Schwartz. Reasons 1.4 (a) and
(d).

SUMMARY
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1. (C) Prime Minister Maliki chaired the May 23 meeting of
the Iraq Executive Steering Committee (I-ESC) in support of
Fardh Al Qanoon (FaQ),the Baghdad Security Plan. Maliki
declared that Iraqi Security Forces in Sadr City "will never
leave," and said a quick plan is now needed to demonstrate
the GOI,s commitment to meeting basic needs. He stated 100
million USD in emergency funds should be used for services
and construction, but especially, to create jobs. Dire
conditions persist in Sadr City and the GOI must still
address damage to the electricity infrastructure and
disruptions in the Public Distribution System (PDS). On May
26, the GOI will reopen the Al-Sarafiya Bridge, which a
terrorist attack severely damaged in April 2007. The Council
of Ministers reported limited progress on the refurbishment
of 11 GOI buildings. End Summary.

MALIKI: "OUR FORCES WILL NEVER LEAVE SADR CITY"
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2. (C) Declaring Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) in Sadr City
"will never leave," Prime Minister Maliki said a quick plan
is now needed to demonstrate the GOI,s commitment to meeting
basic needs. Services are already increasing in Sadr City,
he explained, in part due to Shia militia groups having
denied the provision of GOI services for so long in this
area.

MALIKI ORDERS NEW JOBS FOR SADR CITY RESIDENTS
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3. (C) Maliki said the Sadr City Reconstruction Committee,
led by Hak Al-Hakim and consisting of representatives of all
of the Service Ministries, should direct its 100 million USD
in emergency funds towards job creation, construction, and
services. The funds should not go through the Baghdad Amanat
or be put into a budget, he stressed. Stating, "Go out and
give jobs," Maliki instructed Al-Hakim to seek out Sadr city
residents "daily" and give them three month contracts.
Al-Hakim said military operations are delaying the
disbursement of the emergency funds, but he stands ready to
hire 5,000 Sadr City residents and deploy 50 new garbage
trucks to assist in the clean up. Al-Hakim highlighted the
problem of population density and said the GOI needs to build
4,000 residential units outside of Sadr City to relieve such
pressure. (Comment: Notably, representatives of the Amanat
and the Provincial Council will not be participating directly
in the Al-Hakim Committee. The Al-Hakim Committee is
somewhat similar to the former Chalabi Services Committee in
terms of participating members. However, Chalabi never had
an independent budget, and served more as an Ombudsman for
spot issues in all of Baghdad rather than a specific area
like Sadr City. End Comment).

TOUGH CONDITIONS PERSIST
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4. (C) The Deputy Minister for Displaced Persons and
Migration said conditions are still dire in Sadr City.
Garbage is piling up, sewers are backed up, there is no
electricity in many areas, and stagnant water compounds
health risks, he said. Health clinics are not working, and
while students are going to school, these buildings require
extensive repair. The Deputy Minister also said his
committee received 600 applications for compensation, but was
still waiting for guidelines on procedures and awards.
General Aboud, commander of the Baghdad Operations Center
(BOC),shared his observation that streets are completely
dark at night, due to lack of exterior lighting. He said
this creates a significant security threat and asked
Al-Hakim,s committee to also address this issue.

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION SAYS MOST SCHOOLS CLOSED
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5. (C) A representative from the Ministry of Education (MOE)
complained that many schools remain closed and lamented his
ministry's lack of funds to restart refurbishment projects.
He said the March and April fighting in Sadr City had "hit"
many schools that the MOE had already began refurbishing, and
complained the MOE budget lacked funds to restart such
projects. Maliki suggested that the MOE apply for
supplemental funds, but the representative said that he
needed to refurbish the schools prior to the end of summer
vacation.

SADR CITY PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM STILL AFFECTED

BAGHDAD 00001598 002 OF 002


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6. (C) The Minister of Trade said the MOT needs 1,000
additional workers immediately to assist in distributing food
rations and complained about closed roads in Sadr City.
According to the MOT, it could only distribute 5,000 tons of
its 6,000 ton obligation. Appealing to Hak Al Hakim in a bid
to create jobs, the Minister stated, "1,000 men, however, can
make the difference." The MOT complained that supply routes
to PDS warehouses are still closed, a problem which the
Minister of Defense argued is now solved.

DAMAGE TO ELECTRICITY INFRASTRUCTURE
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7. (C) The Minister of Electricity reported significant
damage to power lines, stations, and transformers in Sadr
City. He said fighting had damaged 32 lines, and asked ISF
to allow workers in to repair them. He also cited damage to
the Jamila, Muthana, and Rosafa power stations, as well as 20
transformers. He added that in Basrah, fighting had
destroyed 280 transformers.

AL-SARAFIYA BRIDGE TO REOPEN
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8. (C) An engineer from the Ministry of Housing and
Construction reported that on May 20 his team completed work
on the Al-Sarafiya bridge, which an insurgent attack severely
damaged in April 2007 (Comment: We expect the reopening of
the bridge, which links the northern part of Baghdad over the
Tigris river, to significantly alleviate traffic congestion
and increase public confidence in the GOI, especially when
the bridge's second lane is opened. The rebuilding of the
Sarafiya bridge, completed on time, within budget and with
almost no Coalition assistance, is a rare but welcome example
of GoI capabilities. End Comment). The engineer said the
bridge is now stronger than before and stated his team could
duplicate these efforts on the Taji bridge. The MOHC and the
PM,s Office are planning a reopening ceremony for the bridge
on May 26. Maliki called the bridge's reopening a "victory
over terrorism."

GOI BUILDING REFURBISHMENT
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9. (C) The Secretary General of the Council of Ministers
(COM) reported limited progress on the refurbishment of
eleven GOI buildings, explaining that surveys and bid
solicitations are ongoing. In response to a question from
the MNF-I Deputy Commanding General, a Ministry of Finance
representative said the GOI had not yet identified a suitable
site for the Central Bank (CBI).

LESS ROLE FOR I-ESC SUPPORTING COMMITTEES?
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10. (C) Maliki praised the past accomplishments of the I-ESC
Supporting Committees, but said that it is now time for the
Ministries to increase their role. (Note: During the May 9
I-ESC, NSA Rubaie announced that the I-ESC would be narrowing
its attendance. Judging by Maliki,s comments, the future of
the Deputy IESC Meeting and its Supporting Committees also
seems to be in flux. Saeed Jabour, the IESC Secretary from
the NSA Office, indicated that there is some discussion of
moving the Supporting Committees to the auspices of the
Provincial Council. Given that the PC is the natural home
for coordination of service issues in Baghdad, this would
have some positive benefits, but given difficulties in
travelling to the Red Zone, it would reduce our ability to
interact with the body. Jabour also told us last week that
the PM has officially revoked the Executive Order of the
Chalabi Services Committee. End Note).

CROCKER