MAYSAN DEPUTY PC CHAIR LAUDS CONTINUED USG PRESENCE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 003634

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/16/2018
TAGS: PGOV IR PINR EINV IZ
SUBJECT: MAYSAN DEPUTY PC CHAIR LAUDS CONTINUED USG PRESENCE

Classified By: PRT Team leader Dan Foote for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


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


2. (C/REL MCFI) Summary: Da,wa provincial party head and
Deputy Provincial Council Chair Latif Abud Kaseem told PRT
members that Maysan has benefited from the increased USG
presence in the province, and emphasized the need for
continuing USG training assistance for the Iraqi Security
Forces (ISF),voter education and reconstruction. He said
the four major political parties in Maysan -- ISCI, Sadrist
Trend, Fadhilah, and Da'wa -- are actively preparing for
the upcoming provincial elections, and predicted there will
be a high level of political rhetoric and incidents of
political violence. He added that Maysanis are in desperate
need of voter education training. He strongly
believes that foreign investment is the key to Maysan,s
reconstruction efforts. While he supports the SOFA, he
claimed that most Iraqis' hesitancy was a result of a
misunderstanding of the terms. He recommended the GOI and
U.S. widely broadcast an explanation of the terms to make the
agreement appear "normal," given the U.S.
has concluded many similar agreements with other countries,
including some of Iraq,s Arab neighbors. End Summary.

USG Assistance Making a Difference in Maysan
--------------


3. (C/REL MCFI) In a November 6 meeting at Camp Garry Owen,
Da'wa provincial party leader and Deputy Provincial Council
(PC) Chair Latif Abud Kaseem told PRT PolOff and Governance
Advisor that Maysan has benefited from the USG presence in
Maysan. Contrasting U.S. with British reconstruction
efforts, Latif said, "At this moment, the situation is
totally different. The U.S. is working well with the
Provincial Council and the provincial government." He added
that the security situation continues to improve, although
the long border with Iran continues to be a destabilizing
factor. He encouraged the U.S. to continue to act on its
intelligence within the province, which he deemed "correct."


Training for ISF is Still Critical
--------------


4. (C/REL MCFI) Latif emphasized the importance of
continuing U.S. assistance to train the ISF, commenting
that although security progress continues, IED attacks remain
a regular occurrence. He said training provided by
Coalition Forces (CF) has helped professionalize the ISF, and
optimistically predicted that if the process is applied
properly, the ISF will achieve stability in five years.

Anticipation of Violence in the Provincial Elections
-------------- --------------


5. (C/REL MCFI) Latif said there would be volatile rhetoric
in the run up to the provincial elections in
January, and even predicted many candidates will face the
possibility of political assassination. He said the main
political parties in the province -- ISCI, groups linked with
the Sadrist Trend, Da'wa, and Fadhilah -- were
actively preparing for the elections. He said there were
close to 1,000 candidates vying for 27 PC seats, but he did
not offer any predictions which party would gain an
advantage. He boasted that his Da'wa party advocated a
different view of peace and dialogue from the other parties.

Great Need for Voter Education
--------------


6. (C/REL MCFI) Latif said there was a pressing need for
voter education in Maysan and expressed support for any
assistance to train local government officials and civil
society groups. He said it was important to learn from the
U.S. experience. He added that there were many effective
organizations in the province that could benefit from
training and building a closer relationship with the U.S. He
stated emphatically, "Let,s start training the NGOs now
because time is short."

Investment is the Key to Reconstruction
--------------


7. (C/REL MCFI) Latif spoke at length about the need for
foreign investment in Maysan, claiming that it was the key
to reconstruction efforts. He said, "If we wait on the GOI,
we will not get to where we need to go. We need
investors to build the province." He stressed the need for
revamping the oil sector, stating that it was necessary to
get it up and running quickly. He requested investment
development training assistance for provincial officials. He
also suggested organizing an investment conference in Maysan,

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which would offer potential investors opportunities
to meet with Maysani officials to explore different
development options.

SOFA Agreement: A Simple Misunderstanding
--------------


8. (C/REL MCFI) Latif said that Iraqis remained hesitant
about the SOFA agreement because they do not understand
what it entails. He said that in discussions with GOI
officials, most have been reluctant to discuss the details
of the agreement. Personally, he felt that the agreement is
necessary to organize the U.S. presence. He suggested
that both the GOI and the U.S. need to publicize widely a
broad explanation of the agreement, explaining that it is
no different than a number of agreements the U.S. has reached
with other countries, including some of Iraq's Arab
neighbors.

Comment
--------------


9. (C/REF MCFI) PRT engagement with PC members continues to
improve slowly as more members are receptive to
engagements. Latif, like most of the other political party
representatives the PRT has met, remains noncommittal about
his party's chances in the upcoming provincial elections, but
is obviously bolstered by ongoing security operations
targeting Sadrist trend leaders. End Comment.
CROCKER