IRAQ AWAKENING MOVEMENT CHOOSES NEW DEPUTIES,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 000433 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/14/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM IZ SUBJECT: IRAQ AWAKENING MOVEMENT CHOOSES NEW DEPUTIES, SEEKS TO ATTRACT EDUCATED MEMBERS REF: BAGHDAD 400 Classified By: Political Counselor Matt Tueller for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (U) This is a PRT Anbar reporting cable. ¶2. (C) Summary: The Anbar-based Awakening Movement of Iraq took a step toward transforming itself from a tribal security force into a political party February 12 when 300 supporters met to elect new deputy leaders and to signal their intention to attract better educated members into the movement,s ranks. The plan is to move aside some of the tribal sheikhs from positions of power, but to maintain tribal influence by recruiting their better-educated relatives. Among SAI,s new 50-member General Secretariat is Hameed Al-Heiss, who recently alarmed IIP members by declaring that the ruling political party had "30 days" to leave Anbar or they would be forced out of the province. Ahmad told us he and other SAI leaders would "talk to him" and make him "stop threatening violence." End Summary. From Street Fighters to Politicos -------------- ¶3. (SBU) The Anbar-based Awakening Movement of Iraq, or Sahawa Al-Iraq (SAI),took a step toward transforming itself into a full-fledged political party when at least 300 sheikhs and community leaders met in Ramadi on February 12 to elect new deputies and inject a crop of intellectuals into its ranks. ¶4. (SBU) SAI leader Sheikh Ahmad Abu Risha told the crowd of supporters gathered at his Ramadi compound that it was time for SAI to recruit more educated Iraqis into the movement,s leadership, so they could evolve from anti-Al-Qaeda street fighters into political players. The goal was to make SAI a viable alternative to the dominant Iraqi Islamic Party (IIP) in both the provincial and national political scenes. ¶5. (SBU) The day before the meeting, Ahmad had explained to us that his plan was to remove some tribal sheikhs from immediate positions of power, but to maintain tribal influence by recruiting their better-educated relatives. SAI has long been accused by its political rivals in Anbar of being comprised of modestly educated tribal sheikhs who wield power locally but are intellectually unprepared for the business of administering government at either the provincial or national level. Ahmad also told us that he intends to register the SAI as a legal political party as soon as possible. ¶6. (C) In the packed meeting hall decked with Iraqi flags and satin-yellow Sahawa banners, Ahmad announced the formation of a 50-member SAI General Secretariat, which includes university-educated Anbaris, many of whom have family ties with local tribal leaders. ¶7. (SBU) However, the move to bring in new blood raised hackles among some longtime Sahawa supporters at the meeting. They protested that they had been with the organization since its founding, and that their participation in the fight against Al-Qaeda should ensure them leadership roles in SAI. They also protested that membership in the General Secretariat was determined before the meeting and that the SIPDIS broader SAI membership did not play a role in its formation. ¶8. (SBU) Ahmad assured the dissenters that they would always play a role in the organization, but that their family members with formal educations should represent Sahawa. ¶9. (C) "Sahawa is trying to grow and evolve," said Dr. Jabbir Khalaf Awad al-Jabber, a Ramadi-born physician with a PhD in internal medicine and psychiatry from Paris University, and a member of the leading family of the Ramadi-based Jabber tribe. Jabbir was selected to serve as a new member of SAI,s General Secretariat. He is married to a U.S. citizen, but spends much of his time in Amman and Ramadi. "Sahawa needs to show people that it can do more than provide security. It needs to have educated people who can develop the economy and provide basic services." New Deputies -------------- ¶10. (SBU) Despite the call for better-educated members, the General Secretariat includes many longtime SAI partisans. Midway through the meeting, it met in closed-door session to elect three new SAI deputies. A hastily emptied facial tissue box served as the ballot box. The new leaders are: -- Latif Obaid Ayadah, the Mayor of Ramadi, was selected as BAGHDAD 00000433 002 OF 003 SAI First Deputy; -- Sheikh Walid Khalid Arraq Albu Ali Jassim, a member of the Anbar Provincial Council, was chosen as Second Deputy; and -- Muayed Ibrahim Humeesh, SAI liaison to Anbar Governor Ma,amoun, was chosen as SAI,s General Secretary. ¶11. (SBU) Ahmad,s leadership was not under consideration, and was not questioned by anyone at the meeting. He directed the proceedings. Return to the Fold -------------- ¶12. (C) Selected as a member of the SAI,s General Secretariat was Hameed Al-Heiss, who recently alarmed IIP SIPDIS members by declaring that the ruling political party had "30 days" to leave Anbar or they would be forced out of the province. The IIP-dominated Provincial Council voted February 9 to recommend prosecution against Heiss and his sometimes partner, Sheikh Ali Hatim Abdul-Rizk Sulemain (reftel). ¶13. (C) Both Heiss and Ali Hatim had been top SAI deputies until November when they made anti-Coalition statements to the press, which prompted their expulsion. Several SAI members told us that Heiss and Ali Hatim have recently resorted to using sharp rhetoric against the IIP to cajole provincial leaders into including them in the Anbar Higher Committee (AHC),a conflict-resolution body formed in late ¶2007. The AHC includes Ahmad, provincial IIP leaders, and other prominent non-SAI sheikhs. ¶14. (C) Ahmad told us that Heiss, return to SAI had been under discussion for weeks, but he doubted that Heiss would be given a top leadership position any time soon. In response to a question about Heiss, recent threats against the IIP, Ahmad responded that he and other SAI leaders would "talk to him" and make him "stop threatening violence. We want to work within the law; This is very important for Sahawa." ¶15. (C) It should be noted that Heiss typically appears in the press as speaking on behalf of an organization called the "Anbar Salvation Council," not to be confused with the SAI. He was its co-founder in 2006 with Ahmad,s brother, the late Sheikh Sattar Abu Risha. The latter unilaterally abolished the Salvation Council last summer after Heiss made overtures to Prime Minister Maliki on filling Cabinet vacancies created by the Tawafuq walkout. Sattar considered Heiss, move as breaking ranks. Nonetheless, since that time, Heiss continues to speak for the Anbar Salvation Council, but it is not clear if that organization has much of a following. ¶16. (SBU) Ali Hatim, who was reportedly injured in a deadly car bomb at his Baghdad headquarters the day before, did not participate in the meeting. It is not clear if Ali Hatim will be brought back into the SAI fold. Eight Demands -------------- ¶17. (C) The congress did not include a discussion of SAI,s platform or future plans. The party platform, which includes a call for new provincial elections with an eye toward SAI control if the Provincial Council, was announced in April 2007 and remains unchanged. However, Ahmad reiterated eight demands SAI submitted to the AHC. These demands, designed to loosen IIP,s grip on provincial power and give SAI a broader role, include the following: -- restructuring the Provincial Council to include more SAI members; -- re-examining district and sub-district council structures; -- re-examining qualifications for provincial department heads and Directors General; -- re-evaluating procedures for hiring 6,000 new provincial government employees; -- re-appointing members to the Governate Electoral Office; -- de-politicizing internal security forces and the Iraqi Army in Anbar; -- coordinating consensus on the content of provincial government statements; and -- including SAI members in discussions of provincial projects. Neither Governor Ma,amoun nor Provincial Council Chair Abdulsalam "both members of the AHC" has responded to the demands, Ahmad told us. Comment BAGHDAD 00000433 003 OF 003 -------------- ¶18. (C) The SAI meeting was designed not only to confirm Ahmad,s dominant leadership role, but also to signal the movement,s transformation into a political party. The announcement that SAI is seeking better educated members has not changed its decision-making core. It seems more an attempt to silence criticism that many SAI members lack formal education, and to create a cadre of future politicians. Ahmad has signaled his intent to rein in Hameed Al-Heiss, long known for his erratic character and inflammatory rhetoric. It should be noted that Ahmad has made no public condemnation of Heiss, recent threatening utterances against the IIP. His reaction has been confined to telling his USG contacts that he will speak to Heiss privately about toning down his rhetoric. Strictly speaking, while Heiss was on the outside, SAI could not be held responsible for his threatening statements. But if Heiss again resorts to such tactics, SAI,s posture as a moderate and responsible political grouping will be taken to task. CROCKER