PRT SALAH AD DIN: POLITICAL TENSIONS INCREASE AS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 003211 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/04/2018 TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER PINS IZ SUBJECT: PRT SALAH AD DIN: POLITICAL TENSIONS INCREASE AS ELECTIONS APPROACH REF: BAGHDAD 1684 Classified By: Richard Bell for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (U) This is a PRT Salah ad Din reporting cable. SUMMARY -------------- ¶2. (C) As provincial elections approach, the PRT is hearing more complaints of political infighting, and accusations against provincial officials in Salah ad Din (SaD). One key duel is between two of the most powerful figures in the provincial government, Deputy Governor Abdullah Hussein Jebara and his political rival, the Governor's Assistant for Technical Affairs, Qahtan Hamada Saleh (strictly protect throughout). The rivalry is fueled by the disproportionate power of Juboori tribe members in the SaD Provincial Government and by possible intra-tribal rivalries between Abdullah and Qahtan. Abdullah allegedly uses his good relationship with Iraqi Police (IP) and Coalition Forces (CF) to manipulate the political scene. Other potential rivals of Abdullah in the upcoming provincial elections also report threats and intimidation from him. The PRT has witnessed an increase in abuses of power and expects that accounts of such abuse will increase elections approach. So far, the jockeying does not appear to be spilling over into violence. END SUMMARY. ¶3. (C) The Sunni Arab boycott of the last elections led to a disproportionate share of power in the provincial government for Juboori tribe members, who did vote. Deputy Governor Abdullah, whose late brother was the top Juboori sheikh in SaD, is indisputably the leader of the Juboor (plural of Juboori) in the Tikrit area, especially Al-Alam sub-district. All provincial security departments are under Juboori control. This has caused resentment among other tribes, who accuse the Juboor of hijacking the provincial government to enrich themselves and target their political rivals. It has also produced claims that Abdullah has resorted to threats and intimidation to retain control.4. (C) Qahtan told the PRT that Abdullah attempts to have potential rivals removed by making accusations against them to the police or Coalition Forces (CF),with which Abdullah enjoys good relations. Deputy Governor Abdullah allegedly controls the police and other security elements in the province. Qahtan accused Abdullah and Colonel Jasim Hussein Jebara, Abdullah's younger brother and director of National Security for SaD, of using their positions to extort kickbacks from projects throughout the province. INTRA-TRIBAL RIVALRIES -------------- ¶5. (C) Other tribes consistently make accusations against the Juboor, and the Juboor make accusations against each other. Ra'id Khutab (strictly protect throughout),a Juboori from the same hometown (Al-Alam) as the Deputy Governor, recently approached the PRT and accused Abdullah of abusing his power to enrich himself and his close circle. Ra'id also provided what he said was a copy of a fraudulent letter from Ahmed Chalabi exempting Abdullah from de-ba'athification. (NOTE: As a former firqa-level Ba'ath Party member, Abdullah is vulnerable to losing his job or being barred from running for political office, according to the 2008 Accountability and Justice Law, which replaced the previous de-ba'athification law. END NOTE). ¶6. (C) Abdullah and his power clique, Qahtan, Raid, and Bara'a Salih (protect throughout),editor of a PC-funded local newspaper, all represent different rival groups. The PRT has seen accusations and infighting increase as these groups jockey for position prior to the elections. Several PRT contacts have reported that Deputy Governor Abdullah has attempted to intimidate them into not running against him. This includes Qahtan, who has emerged as the key figure handling reconstruction and directing the work of the various Directors General. He told the PRT that Abdullah has been accusing him of being a terrorist and is threatening to arrest him. Qahtan also said that Abdullah and Jasim have pressured contractors to falsely accuse Qahtan and threatened to have him arrested. Qahtan, who is also a Juboori, told the PRT that Abdullah is suspicious of everyone and sees Qahtan as a political rival (NOTE: Qahtan has registered to run for Provincial Council (PC) on a list separate from Abdullah's, and expressed confidence that he would do well in the elections. END NOTE.) OTHER ACCUSATIONS AGAINST ABDULLAH -------------- ¶7. (C) Bara'a Salih (protect throughout),Editor of the BAGHDAD 00003211 002 OF 002 PC-funded newspaper, Al Muntasf, told the PRT that Abdullah proposed at a closed PC meeting in August that Bara'a be fired. While Bara'a was not present, he claims to have five separate reports of the meeting, according to which Abdullah was the only PC member to vote in favor of his own proposal. As Bara'a tells it, "the Deputy Governor kept his hand raised for about five minutes and during that time no other hands raised to join his." Bara'a said that the reason Abdullah gave for wanting to fire him was that "people have been coming to Bara'a to get contracts signed" (i.e., that Bara'a was corruptly influencing the project contracting process). Bara'a suspects Abdullah's actions are intended to intimidate him. Bara'a intends to run for the PC and thinks Abdullah believes that firing him would cause him to drop out of the race. (NOTE: Bara'a successfully ran for PC during the last election. He gave up his seat due to the assassination of someone close to him. END NOTE.) ¶8. (C) The PRT has heard rumors of political intimidation before. In May, the Governorate Election Officer (GEO), Hatim Abdulhamid (strictly protect),told the PRT that provincial leaders, including Governor Hamad Hamood Shekti and Deputy Governor Abdullah, were threatening him in the hopes that he would resign. He said they hinted that he could suffer the same fate as the former GEO, who was arrested in May 2007 on theft and corruption charges (reftel). COMMENT -------------- ¶9. (C) That Qahtan seemed genuinely afraid for his safety is an indication that tensions have risen beyond their normal levels, which we attribute to the run-up to elections. It also suggests that the Deputy Governor is not confident of being able to rig the elections (assuming he wished to). From our extensive contacts, it seems clear that all segments of society in SaD see provincial elections as a watershed event. It is not unexpected that abuses of power could increase as elections approach. At the same time, there is evidence that politicians (in and out of power) will try to manipulate the Coalition against their rivals. So far, the jockeying for position does not seem to be spilling over into violence, but the PRT will be watching closely. (END COMMENT) CROCKER