PRT ANBAR: EMBASSY KABUL DCM DISCUSSES AWAKENING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 000823

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/18/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER PINS IZ
SUBJECT: PRT ANBAR: EMBASSY KABUL DCM DISCUSSES AWAKENING
MOVEMENT WITH SAI'S SHEIKH AHMAD ABU RISHA

Classified By: PRT Anbar Team Leader Jim Soriano
for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (U) This is a PRT Anbar Reporting Cable.


2. (C) Summary: On March 12, Embassy Kabul DCM, Ambassador
Chris Dell, met with Sheikh Ahmad, the leader of the
tribal-based anti-Al Qaeda Awakening Movement of Iraq (SAI),
to discuss the origins and success of SAI and what lessons
could potentially be applied to Afghanistan. Ahmad described
the population's transformation of perception toward
Coalition Forces (CF) from occupiers to a force for good. He
also stressed the importance of tribal councils, saying these
institutions need to be strengthened in Afghanistan. Ahmad
described his organization's efforts to publicize the
Coalition's good deeds through local media and mosques. He
also highlighted efforts to mobilize young men to join the
Iraqi Police. End Summary.


3. (C) Embassy Kabul DCM, Ambassador Chris Dell, met on March
12 with Sheikh Ahmad Abu Risha, leader of the tribal-based
anti-Al Qaeda Awakening Movement of Iraq, or Sahawa al-Iraq
(SAI),at the sheikh's Ramadi compound. Ambassador Dell and
Sheikh Ahmad discussed the origins and success of SAI and
what lessons could potentially be transferred to Afghanistan.

Germany, Japan, and Vietnam
--------------


4. (C) Ahmad described what he called a transformation in
popular perceptions of Coalition Forces in Anbar Province.
Many initially saw the CF as occupiers who had upset the
Sunnis, favored position in Iraq. However, Al Qaeda's
brutality toward the local population helped bring about the
realization that Coalition Forces were needed to combat the
terrorism being perpetrated against locals. According to
Ahmad, the key point came when his late brother, Sheikh
Sattar Abu Risha, declared that Coalition Forces were
friendly. Befriending the U.S. is the best policy for Iraq,
he said. He added that U.S. occupation is not necessarily a
bad thing. The U.S. occupied Japan and Germany at the end of
World War II, and now U.S. consumers are buying German and
Japanese goods, boosting their respective economies. He
added that Vietnam resisted U.S. occupation, and Vietnam
remains a relatively poor country. "We have to establish an
economic relationship with the United States," he said. "No
country in the world can prosper without a good relationship
with the U.S."

Tribal Councils
--------------


5. (C) Ahmad stressed to Ambassador Dell the importance of
tribal councils. In Anbar, tribal councils have helped build
consensus on a common strategy and have played an important
role in providing security. Similar institutions need to be
strengthened in Afghanistan, he said.

Get the Word Out: The Coalition is a Force for Good
-------------- --------------


6. (C) Ahmad described SAI's efforts to inform the local
population that the Coalition was a force for good. He noted
one case where Coalition Forces had rendered medical
assistance to a local child. SAI officials made sure to
publicize the case, distributing photographs to locals. SAI
also publicized how Coalition Forces were helping to build
hospitals and roads. Sheikh Ahmad stressed the need to
promote a pro-Coalition message in the mosques. Imams speak
to hundreds of people every week, and their influence and
standing in the community is vital to delivering a
pro-Coalition message to Iraqi citizens. He said SAI was
active in organizing meetings between Imams and Coalition
Forces. "Al Qaeda claimed that they were defending Iraq, but
what we did was show the truth," Ahmad said. "They showed
their real face and we helped show the real face of the
Americans."

Mobilizing the Youth
--------------


7. (C) Another important factor to SAI's success was its
ability to mobilize young men to join the Iraqi Police (IP)
force. Once it was established that it was acceptable to
work with Coalition Forces and U.S.-backed authorities, local
tribes made a serious effort to convince their young men to
join the local IP force. It became a matter of honor and
duty, Ahmad said. His late brother and founding leader of
SAI, Sattar, visited many police units in an effort to
encourage them. He noted that many police worked for months
without being paid.


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8. (C) Ahmad offered to draft a report detailing how SAI
developed and succeeded to play a major role in marginalizing
Al Qaeda in Anbar province.
CROCKER