CHARGE OF THE KNIGHTS III: BASRAH UPDATE

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 BASRAH 000033

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 4/18/2018
TAGS: PGOV PINS ECON IZ
SUBJECT: CHARGE OF THE KNIGHTS III: BASRAH UPDATE

REF: A) Baghdad 1151 B) Basrah 32 C) Basrah 31

BASRAH 00000033 001.2 OF 003


CLASSIFIED BY: Howell Howard, Director REO basrah, REO Basrah,
Department of State.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)

1. (S//REL MCFI) SUMMARY: Charge of the Knights (COK) II,
clearing of Basrah City's Qibla district, winds down as COK III,
clearing of the strongest JAM stronghold Hyyaniyah, is about to
begin. JAM, possibly with IRGC help, may make COK III its major
fight. Sadrists are reportedly behind several attacks against
Al-Sistani representatives. In a week MG Mohammed Jawad Hawadi
will replace MG Mohan as BOC commander while Air Force MG Adil
Kamal Daham will replace General Jalil as police chief. MG
Mohammed plans to give Adil a free hand for three months to
reform the police, reducing the numbers to a smaller basic
policing presence with a non-local QRF force. Television is the
main news source for Basrawis. CMOC teams will ground truth a
media report that Sadrists are the main humanitarian assistance
providers. Food prices are still up as Basrawis hoard for the
anticipated Hyyaniyah battle. MOJ Safa al-Safi has become more
receptive to PRT and PC input in spending of the GOI's $100
million targeted for Basrah. The PC has a comprehensive
development strategy for Basrah's next three years. The
technocrat Umm Qasr Deputy Director reports that the port has
improved markedly after the IA took over security. END SUMMARY.

CHARGE OF THE KNIGHTS III
--------------

2. (C//REL MCFI) The Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) operation
(Charge of the Knights II COK II) to isolate, then search
Basrah's Qibla neighborhood for wanted criminals and illegal
weapons is beginning to wind down, though some house-to-house
searches continue (Refs A & B). Qibla remains quiet, but it
remains to be seen whether Jaysh al-Mahdi (JAM) intend to
reassert their influence when the ISF presence there declines.


3. (S//REL MCFI) Previous reporting (Ref B) indicated that
follow-on ISF operations (Op Charge of the Knights III) might
focus on Qurnah to the North of Basrah, but planning is underway
to confront JAM in their traditional stronghold of Hyyaniyah
next. (Deputy Corps Commander MG Flynn has been trying to hold
General Mohan back from clearing Hyyaniyah until the IA was
truly ready.) Iraqi Army (IA) 14th Division Commander, MG
Mohammed Jawad Hawadi, told us April 16 that the plan changed
because GOI leaders decided to clear Basrah City first and then
work outwards. ISF units continue to isolate Hyyaniyah. With
the GOI keeping many of the details from MND-SE and MNCI, the
timing of the operation is yet to be confirmed, but we
understand it is scheduled to begin the morning of April 19.


4. (S//REL MCFI) Reports indicate that JAM intends a robust
defense of Hyyaniyah, deploying IED screens and organizing
militants for an attack. MND-SE assesses that most JAM leaders
remain outside of Basrah, will attempt to re-infiltrate once the
ISF's operational posture has stabilized, and then initiate a
long, sustained campaign against the ISF. A single source
report indicated that Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRCG)
members recently arrived in Hyyaniyah to advise and assist JAM
members for the upcoming fight. Atmospherics indicate that
Basrawis continue to support CF and ISF efforts to eliminate the
militias, improve security, and raise the standard of life.


SISTANI REPRESENTATIVES TARGETED
--------------

5. (U) On April 15, unknown assailants targeted three
representatives of Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the spiritual
leader of the Islamic Supreme Council in Iraq and Badr
Organization. In the Basrah neighborhood of Khor al-Zubair,
gunmen ambushed Sheikh Ali al-Fadli's vehicle seriously injuring
him and a guard, and killing his driver. Also in Basrah, gunmen
seriously wounded Sheikh Ali al-Khafaji as he finished evening
prayers at a mosque. In Wassit Province, Habib Salman al-Khatib
escaped injury when he was fired at the same day. Comment:
Observers in Basrah assume that the Sadrist trend is responsible
for targeting the Sistani representatives as a reprisal for the
April 11 assassination of Riyadh al-Nouri, the brother-in-law of
Muqtada al-Sadr. End Comment.

ISF CHANGE OF COMMAND
--------------

6. (C//REL MCFI) As previously reported (see Ref B),Basrah's
top ISF leaders will change within a week and we now know who
their replacements will be. Basrah Operations Commander, LTG
Mohan Hafith Fahad, has been reassigned to be an advisor to the
MinDef. MG Mohammed Jawad Hawadi, will replace Mohan. MG Abdel
Aziz al-Thalami, who came to Basrah in Prime Minister Nouri
al-Maliki's entourage on March 23 and was assumed to be Mohan's
replacement, will assume command of 14th DIV.


7. (C//REL MCFI) Police Chief MG Jalil Khalaf Shuwayl has also
been reassigned and told us he anticipates an appointment as the
Chief of Staff for Land Forces in the MoD. Air Force MG Adil
Kamal Daham, who we hear is the deputy commander of the National
Police in Kharq, will replace him. A disgruntled Jalil told us

BASRAH 00000033 002.2 OF 003


April 16 that he attributed his transfer to an unwarranted
whisper campaign against him by Maliki advisors (Septel).
Comment: The GOI has publicly tried to spin the reassignments as
promotions, but even the local press has reported their tenure
as failures. End Comment.

NEW BOC COMMANDER ON REORGANIZING IRAQI POLICE
-------------- -

8. (C/REL MCFI) General Mohammed Jawad (Septel) told us on April
16 (Septel) that he had just discussed a mutual vision for the
Iraqi Police (IP) in the province with the new Chief of Police,
MG Adil Dahhan (who is now in Basrah). Mohammed wants the IP to
be "weakened" until it is a force capable of only doing basic
police work. Mohammed envisioned a police force minimally
staffed in the police stations, with others doing criminal
investigations and traffic patrols. A QRF force would deal with
civil disturbances; the QRF forces for different cities in the
province would be switched so that they did not develop ties
with local militias. Mohammed said he step back and give Adil a
free hand three months to fix the police.

BASRA MEDIA
--------------

9. (U) Basra media have grown rapidly since 2003. MND-SE
surveyed media preferences of Basra residents recently.
Television emerged as the leading medium (92%) followed by
newspaper (37%),Internet (27%) and radio (12%). Media outlets
are highly partisan. Two TV stations are dominant. Al Iraqiya TV
is operated by the GOI and its audience is Shia. Al Sharqiya TV
is Sunni and independently owned. The MND-SE survey noted when
respondents were asked about newspapers, frequently the response
was "kilam jara `id" (newspapers lack credibility). Comment:
Media efforts to communicate USG military and reconstruction
efforts should there concentrate on television. We have not yet
received an assessment of the pamphlet-dropping campaign for
weapons turn-in. End Comment.

HUMANITARIAN EFFORTS
--------------

10. (U) The MNCI's Civil Military Operations Center (CMOC),
recently headquartered at MND-SE is acting as a clearing-house
for humanitarian efforts in Basra, in cooperation with the PRT
and UN. The CMOC and Basra Province PRT met with the technical
advisor to the Governor on April 16 to identify responsibility
for battle damage. According to CMOC and MND-SE J-9
representatives, the advisor was not clear whether the GOI or
Coalition funding should pay for damaged structures. An
agreement was reached to prioritize the projects and to develop
a way ahead.


11. (U) On April 15 USA Today cited a Refugees International
report that the Sadrist movement is the main provider of social
services in Basrah. USAID's OFDA found this report not based on
solid evidence, noting that many other religious and
community-based groups are providing social services in the
absence of adequate central government programs. Comment: The
Iraqi government should do more to establish itself as a service
provider for Basrawis in need. The CMOC agreed to Regional
Embassy Office (REO) Basrah's request that CMOC teams accompany
the Iraqi Army on humanitarian missions to asses Sadrist
involvement in assistance.


12. (U) Food prices are now tracked by CMOC. In their latest
report, eggs have increased 30% and tomatoes 100% since March

19. Reports suggest people are hoarding food in anticipation of
markets closing because of conflict in the city and this is
driving prices up.

Update on GOI's $100 million for Basrah (Ref C)
-------------- --

13. (C/REL MCFI) According to a PRT employee who works directly
with the Provincial Council (PC),the Provincial Reconstruction
Development Committee (PRDC) provided, at Acting MOJ Safa
al-Safi's request, a suggested list of projects (not included in
the PRDC's Basrah 2008 budget plan) for all sectors. Safi is
still working on allocations but indicated that $10 million
would to the electricity generation sector. The PRDC is going
to meet Safi on April 21. Safi is working more or less on his
own, with none of the planned arrivals of deputy ministers that
will round out his decision committee.


14. (C/REL MCFI) Safi expressed interest at implementing
projects at the sub-provincial level, and was interested in the
information that the PC provided him on QRF projects that the
PRT is executing at the sub-provincial level. The PC also
briefed a receptive Safi to the past and future training
activities that the PRT has organized to build capacity for
project management. Our PC contact reported Safi saying that he
had not expected to find such a positive role that the
British-led PRT had played. Safi has asked for a meeting with
the PRT's governance expert. Comment: Safi appears to be

BASRAH 00000033 003.2 OF 003


warming up to input from the Coalition on how to organize his
$100 million project. With the key deputy ministers still in
Baghdad, and his realization that reconstruction work by PRT, J9
and PC merit study, we suspect Safi's goal to finalize a
spending plan by the end of the month may slip.



15. (U) REO met with representatives of the Basrah Provincial
Council regarding its three-year development strategy. The
strategy may be the most comprehensive plan in any Province that
is created and endorsed by provincial stakeholders. It outlines
over 2000 projects covering seven provincial districts and 16
service sectors. While the Provincial Council estimates that
the strategy will cost approximately $2.25 billion, the central
government has only committed to fund 45 percent of the
estimated costs. The Council believes the difference can be
addressed by combining resources from foreign governments, NGOs,
and possibly profits from its oil sector. In addition to
funding issues, the Council acknowledged its need for outside
technical expertise and support. Similar to its recommendation
regarding additional funding sources, the Council believes
foreign donors can better meet their objectives in the region by
pooling their technical resources and expertise together under
the Council's Basrah-led strategy.

Port of Umm Qasr Update
--------------


16. (C//REL MCFI) REO Officers met April 17 (Septel) with
Captain Hussein Mohammed Abdullah, Assistant Director General
(A-DG) for Management at the Port of Umm Qasr (PUQ). Hussein
confirmed that the GOI sacked the PUQ Acting DG for Technical
Affairs Safa Abud al-Hussein, who with militia influence had
been appointed to his position a little less than a year ago.
Hussein advised that the replacement, former A-DG for Management
Hamid al-Husseini, is technically competent. Hussein was
sanguine about port prospects. He said the security situation
had improved markedly with the Iraqi Army (IA) having displaced
the JAM-saturated Facilities Protection Service (FPS).

17. (C//REL MCFI) Hussein also confirmed that the GOI Council of
Ministers approved commercialization plans for the PUQ that
broadly follow a proposal advanced by the Embassy's Office of
the Transportation Attachi (OTA). He said he was heading up a
committee of port technocrats that would select a reputable,
international consultant to help the GCPI write tender documents
to bring in a management company for the north port and a
long-term concessionaire for the south port. The committee
would be meeting to discuss the matter next week.
HOWARD