NINEWA: TWO PROMINENT SUNNI LEADERS CRITICIZE US

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 002560 NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/13/2018 TAGS: PGOV PHUM IZ SUBJECT: NINEWA: TWO PROMINENT SUNNI LEADERS CRITICIZE US POLICY TOWARD THE KRG Classified By: Ninewa PRT Leader Alex Laskaris: Reasons 1.4 (b&d) This is a Ninewa Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) message. ¶1. (C/NF) Summary: Two prominent Sunni leaders in Ninewa Province criticized the USG, claiming that we are backing the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG); both said that US support for the redrawing of Ninewa's provincial boundaries would lead to violence in the province, and both criticized the KRG for authoritarian rule within the region, and for heavy-handed tactics in areas of Ninewa under its effective control. Both said that the experience of traversing Kurdish checkpoints was humiliating, and both said that Kurdish Iraqi Army divisions in Ninewa were not under GOI control. Neither leader acknowledged the suffering of the Kurds under the Saddam Hussein regime or recognized the superior security and economic conditions in areas under Kurdish control. End summary. ¶2. (C/NF) PRT leader paid a courtesy call on Sheikh of Sheikhs Abdullah, traditional leader of the Shammar tribe, on July 31. Along with acting 3rd ACR RCO, PRT leader traveled to Rabia'a, near the Syrian border, for a meeting with Abdullah and his two brothers. On August 5, PRT leader met with Dr. Muhammed Shakr, Ninewa head of the Iraqi Islamic Party (IIP) and three of his colleagues. Both Abdullah and Shakr are longtime PRT and USG contacts; both profess friendship to the coalition and eagerness to engage in the political process. Between Shakr's leadership of the IIP and Abdullah's overt support for Al-Hudba, the two men represent the visible spectrum of Sunni engagement in the political process. Shakr is a UK-trained ophthalmologist, while Abdullah represents a form of political legitimacy that predates modern Iraq. ¶3. (C/NF) Abdullah said that there are those "who believe the U.S. is willing to cede parts of Ninewa to the KRG under the Article 140 process." He said this could have dire consequences, including turning Sunni public opinion against the USG and emboldening the KRG to make additional demands. Abdullah repeatedly maintained that "all the Americans have to do is tell the Kurds to stop." We noted our support for the UN process, and the fact that Abdullah had already made these views know to the UN's negotiating team, as well as to senior US officials. ¶4. (C/NF) Abdullah complained that the KRG is actively impeding political activity in areas under its full or partial control. He said that the KRG's instrument of choice was Kurdish units of the Iraqi Army, and their charge of choice was always "terrorism." He cited the example of a Yezidi member of Al-Hudba arrested by the Kurdish IA commander in Sinjar ) on charges of terrorism ) because he had tried to open party offices in the area and flown the Iraqi flag. (Note: Discussions with 3rd ACR confirmed Abdullah's account.) ¶5. (C/NF) Abdullah accused the KRG of racism against Sunni Arabs, citing the humiliations the latter endure at Peshmerga checkpoints even when they are seeking medical care. He referred to Kurdish IA divisions as KDP instruments fielded as a means of gaining territory and oppressing Sunni Arabs. He said that the failure of the KDP-dominated provincial government was another example of Kurdish racism. ¶6. (C/NF) For his part, Shakr said the main impediment to security in the province was the Kurdish-dominated Second Division of the Iraqi Army. Shakr insisted that violence will only recede once genuinely representative Iraqi Army and Iraqi police units are recruited from throughout the province. ¶7. (C/NF) Shakr and other members of the IIP delegation said they blamed the US for insecurity in Ninewa, saying that we had "done nothing to reel in KDP leader Barzani." Shakr said that there is growing distrust of American intentions, with many Sunnis believing that there is a "secret deal" with the Kurds on Kirkuk. We rebutted the claims. We said that the security situation in the province has been steadily improving, and that, thanks to CF and ISF, it is better than the underlying socio-economic conditions would make one expect. We added that the US continues to support the UN-led process on disputed internal boundaries, which is the means by which Iraqis have agreed to address the issue. ¶8. (C/NF) Shakr said that there should be no attempts to change internal borders until the Iraqi government can improve security and establish the rule of law. Shakr said BAGHDAD 00002560 002 OF 002 he believed that a solution could be worked out with the Kurds through dialogue. He added, however, that only more violence will result if the Kurds try to reach for more territory in Ninewa. We agreed on the need for dialogue, but said that all need to support the UN-led process and make clear their opposition to violence. We noted that making security and the rule of law preconditions for resolving the issue amounted to saying that it should not be addressed at all. ¶9. (C/NF) Comment: These conversations, seen alongside recent PRT reporting on Yezidi and Assyrian Christian views, bring the issue of internal boundaries into high relief in Ninewa Province. We will continue to inform our interlocutors of our support the UN-led process, but expect continued polarization on this issue. Both Abdullah and Shakr are longtime contacts of the PRT and CF; although they have personal political interests at stake, we believe they are also reflecting grass-roots Sunni Arab opinion. End Comment. CROCKER