PM MALIKI ON SISTANI MEETING, ELECTIONS, SFA, AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 001616

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/26/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL IZ IR
SUBJECT: PM MALIKI ON SISTANI MEETING, ELECTIONS, SFA, AND
TAWAFUQ RETURN

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


1. (C) Summary: In a May 23 meeting, Prime Minister Nuri
al-Maliki told the Ambassador that Grand Ayatollah Sistani is
generally supportive of a long-term security agreement with
the USG and is keenly interested in upcoming provincial
elections. Sistani told the PM he will issue a public
statement encouraging people to vote but will not endorse
specific parties or allow them to use his photo or name in
their campaigns. After the Ambassador noted that GOI and
MNF-I security experts and UNAMI officials believe election
security and integrity can best be served by holding
provincial polls on a single day rather than the staggered
schedule Maliki has publicly endorsed, Maliki responded that
no decisions have been taken on this matter but electoral
registration fraud and police unreliability are major
concerns. On SFA/SOFA talks, the PM expressed satisfaction
with progress so far and suggested that the two sides AIR all
points of agreement and contention, adding that any final
agreement must address Iraq's unique circumstances. He said
he would ask President Talabani to convene a meeting of the
Political Council for National Security (PCNS) so the
political leadership could be briefed (the PCNS met May 26).
Maliki acknowledged that ongoing security operations in Sadr
City and Mosul are going well, noting that he is pressing GOI
ministries to do better in providing services and employment
in the wake of a similarly successful security operation in
Basrah. Maliki attributed the most recent delay in Tawafuq's
return to the cabinet to intra-Sunni wrangling but expressed
hope that the matter could be resolved prior to the upcoming
International Compact with Iraq meeting in Stockholm. He
said he would travel to Italy at the invitation of the Pope,
and the Ambassador noted this would be an excellent
opportunity for the PM to show concern for Iraqis of all
faiths. End Summary.

May 22 Sistani Meeting Read-Out
--------------


2. (C) Maliki said he had a very productive May 22 meeting in
Najaf with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who told the PM he
is interested in the long-term security agreement with the
USG and then pressed Maliki for details on negotiations.
Maliki confided he was surprised by the degree of Sistani's
focus on agreement details, and said he had promised to send
a follow-up team to brief the cleric. Maliki noted that
Sistani had received inaccurate information about the
agreement from non-GOI sources (read Iran) and was uneasy as
a result, but the PM said the follow-up team would explain
and clarify any wrong input Sistani had received. Sistani
also expressed keen interest in upcoming provincial
elections, telling the PM he will issue a public statement
encouraging people to vote but will not endorse specific
parties or allow them to use his photo or name in their
campaigns. (Religious images and mosques, Sistani told the
PM, should be separate from political campaigns.) Maliki
said Sistani inquired whether the elections would use an open
or closed list system, adding that the cleric agreed with him
that the open list system is preferable because voters will
know for whom they are voting. Maliki said Sistani expressed
displeasure with JAM and with Iran's actions in Iraq. In an
apparent reference to ongoing GOI security operations, Maliki
said Sistani is completely supportive of the principle that
only GOI personnel may carry arms and he claimed that Sistani
told him he advises people that it is religiously
impermissible (haram) to oppose the GOI. At the same time,
however, Sistani expressed concern over the killing of
innocent civilians during security operations, and Maliki
said he told the cleric he shared this concern.

Elections and Security Operations
--------------


3. (C) Fingering a strand of prayer beads throughout the
hour-long meeting, Maliki listened impassively as the
Ambassador pointed out that GOI and MNF-I security experts
and UNAMI officials believe election security and integrity
can best be ensured by holding provincial polls on a single
day rather than the staggered schedule Maliki has publicly
endorsed. Maliki replied that no decisions had been taken on
this matter ("it might be one day or elections over three
days") and suggested that the matter might involve a
province-by-province determination that takes into account
concerns regarding security and electoral fraud. He listed
Anbar province, Basrah, and Kirkuk as places of particular
concern, noting the unreliability of local police (for
example, he said the Maysan police are loyal to JAM while
Anbar police are biased toward "Awakening" movements) and the
high potential for voter registration fraud in Kirkuk.
Maliki flagged electoral fraud and falsification of identity
and electoral documents as a real concern and encouraged the
USG and the UNAMI to work with IHEC to help address this

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issue.


4. (C) Maliki acknowledged that ongoing security operations
in Sadr City and Mosul are going well, noting that Iraqi
security forces are showing that they are self-sufficient in
all areas except AIR support. When asked about GOI follow-up
after the Basrah operation, Maliki replied that Safa al-Safi
is coordinating GOI efforts there but has so far experienced
problems in distributing reconstruction funds and providing
public services and employment. The PM said he had ordered
GOI service ministries to redouble efforts to address these
issues. In reply to the Ambassador's question about whether
Ahmad Chalabi still chaired a GOI committee dealing with
provision of services, Maliki laughed and said Chalabi no
longer has a formal GOI position but still churns out
"propaganda."

SFA/SOFA
--------------


5. (C) Maliki noted that he planned to draft a letter
spelling out his concerns with respect to the SOFA and the
SFA, but he wanted to address the PCNS first. He added that
it was important for the two sides to AIR all points of
contention so as to better frame issues and move forward. He
also called attention to an upcoming trip by the GOI SOFA
negotiating team to several countries which have entered into
a SOFA with the USG. Maliki replied that while it will be
beneficial for the GOI to learn how such agreements are
implemented in other countries so that Iraq may "take the
positive points," he warned that any final agreement must
address Iraq's unique circumstances.

Tawafuq Return and Foreign Travel
--------------


6. (C) In reply to a question about the state of Maliki's
discussions with Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi over
Tawafuq's return to the cabinet, Maliki attributed the most
recent delay to intra-Sunni wrangling between Hashemi, Adnan
al-Duleimi, and Khalaf al-Ayan over candidate names. He said
CoR Speaker Mashadani had also inserted himself into this
process, and had warned Maliki that precipitate action
without Sunni consensus could further inflame intra-Sunni
rivalry which in turn might spill into the "Sunni street."
The Ambassador urged Maliki to press ahead with a solution,
noting that Tawafuq's return prior to the late-May
International Compact with Iraq meeting in Stockholm would
project a strong image of national unity.


7. (C) Maliki said he looked forward to meeting the Secretary
on the margins of the Stockholm meeting. The Ambassador
noted that Maliki had other European invitations, including
from Germany, France and Italy, the latter including the
Pope. A visit by the Iraqi PM to the two leading European
critics of 2003 would be a very positive signal. The
Ambassador noted that a Papal meeting would be a good
opportunity for the PM to show concern for Iraqis of all
faiths. He also urged more engagement with neighbors such as
Turkey and Jordan. Maliki said he would visit Italy, but was
less clear on France and Germany. Maliki noted that the GOI
and Turkey are in discussions about a bilateral Joint
Commission meeting in Baghdad. With regard to GOI-Turkey
relations, the Ambassador noted that Frank Wisner had
recently been appointed as the new USG Special Envoy on the
PKK situation and would soon be traveling to the region to
talk about new ideas to resolve the PKK issue.
CROCKER