PRT-WASIT: PROVINCIAL SADRIST SIDESTEPS HARD

S E C R E T BAGHDAD 001849

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/18/2018
TAGS: PGOV IZ
SUBJECT: PRT-WASIT: PROVINCIAL SADRIST SIDESTEPS HARD
QUESTIONS

Classified By: Classified by: PRT Team Leader Robert Kagler for reasons
1.4 (b, d).


1. (U) This is a PRT Wasit reporting cable.


2. (S//REL) Summary. On June 17, Sadrist Trend Provincial
Council member Ahmed Ebrah affirmed the Salah al-Obeidi
statement that Sadrist politicians in Wasit will not stand
for seats in the upcoming Provincial elections under the
Sadrist banner (Ref A). Ebrah implausibly blamed Al Qaeda
for recent violence in Kut, including the fatal June 12 EFP
attack on the convoy of a private security company working in
support of the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). When
pressed to explain recent violence in Wasit and comment on
reports that Muqtada al Sadr has ordered a new Jaysh al Mahdi
(JAM) unit formed specifically to attack CF, Ebrah answered
indirectly, claiming that al Sadr gave an order to freeze
violence but allowed "self defense." He said the upcoming
ISF operations in neighboring Maysan Province would fail to
nab high-value targets since the top criminal leaders had
already left. End Summary.


3. (S//REL) In a brief meeting on FOB Delta, Ebrah, a regular
PRT contact (Ref B-D) claimed that a brigade-sized Al Qaeda
unit recently moved into the vicinity of Do'ar in Northwest
Wasit (Note. Do'ar is a sparse section of desert near the
Diyala border. End note.) Even more implausibly, when asked
for his thoughts on recent attacks in Wasit, he first said he
had no information, then, later, asserted that it "could also
be Al Qaeda." (Note: There were five enemy events during the
week of 8-14 June including two separate IDF attacks on CF
checkpoints, a small-arms attack on a US Military Police
convoy, an IED attack on al Kut SWAT (2 x KIA) and an EFP
attack on a private security company's convoy (2 x CF KIA).
According to CF intelligence and operation officers, it is
highly unlikely that any of said incidents were committed by
Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI). Wasit is 90 percent Shi'a and there
have been no recent reports of Al Qaeda in the vicinity of al
Kut. End note.) As in past meetings, Ebrah claimed groups
committing violence who were branded as JAM were not in fact
"true JAM"; however, when asked for specific information on
such "criminal groups" he promptly changed subject, asserting
that ISF leaders should be able to gather the information on
the recent violence and that the most-wanted leaders will
"stay outside" of Wasit.


4. (S//REL) Ebrah described the Sadrist Trend "not as a
political party, but a popular movement," and said members
are not obligated by political party rules. He added that
"sometimes we are called foreign agents by JAM members" due
to the nature of political work. Ebrah was
characteristically non-committal on his personal future. He
repeated his background as a former member of Fadilah,
ideologically loyal to Mohammed Sadiq al Sadr, and noted
Ja'afari party has a "good future," as it has "a good mix of
secular and religious representatives."


5. (S//REL) Comment: Although personable and willing to
discuss some subjects, Ebrah was unwilling to provide even
minor details about recent attacks in al Kut. His motivation
to talk to the PRT is probably due to a perceived ability by
CF to offer protection from arrest by the ISF, especially Al
Kut SWAT. Ebrah does not hesitate to assert the standard
Sadrist party line on most topics, including the penetration
of the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) by Da'wa, ISCI and the
Badr Organization and its use as a political tool by the
Prime Minister to attack the more popular Sadrist Trend.
Ebrah is a valuable source on general provincial issues, but
he has yet to provide specific information on JAM or Special
Groups. End comment.
BUTENIS