NAJAF TRIBAL LEADERS CAUTION AGAINST ANBAR MODEL

C O N F I D E N T I A L HILLAH 000013 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 1/27/2018 TAGS: IZ PGOV ECON SUBJECT: NAJAF TRIBAL LEADERS CAUTION AGAINST ANBAR MODEL REF: HILLAH 00002 CLASSIFIED BY: SIMMONSAT, TEAM LEADER, PRT DIWANIYAH , DOS. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) Classiefied by PRT Najaf Leader Angus T. Simmons. REASON: 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (U) This is a PRT Najaf cable. ¶2. (C) SUMMARY: In a January 17 meeting, Najaf tribal representatives cautioned Najaf PRT Team Leader that the USG should not try to replicate Anbar-style Awakening Councils in the south central region. While praising the Najaf provincial government, the tribal leaders stressed that the south central tribes are unified and are committed to promoting development and reconstruction in the province. The representatives requested USG support for a number of local projects. END SUMMARY. ¶3. (C) In a January 17 meeting at the Regional Embassy Office in al-Hillah, seven Najaf tribal leaders, including the Najaf Governor's Tribal Representative, Chasib Abdul Ridha Aziz, cautioned Najaf PRT Team Leader that Anbar-style Awakening Councils are not suitable for the south central region, where the tribes are unified and where Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) violence is absent. Comment: The USG is not pursuing any efforts similar to Al-Anbar in Najaf (or Karbala). End Comment. The seven tribal representatives who attended the meeting were hand-picked by the Governor of Najaf, and the meeting was designed to serve as a precursor for a requested, larger meeting with the AMB in Baghdad (reftel). The tribal leaders were receptive to the notion of tribal political mobilization, but insisted that the tribes should not be armed and should resolutely support the provincial authorities in the imposition of the rule of law. The tribal leaders were also effusive in the praise for the USG and the Najaf provincial government. . They pledged to oppose any militia that attempted to operate in the region, and insisted that they were opposed to attempts to impose Iranian hegemony in south central Iraq. ¶4. (SBU) The representatives insisted that the role of the tribes in Najaf should be to support reconstruction and development by monitoring projects throughout the province. Several representatives stressed the urgent need to increase electricity generation in the province, citing the harmful effects of only six hours of electricity per day on rice production and the economy as a whole. They urged the USG to fund the construction of a new power station, offering that it would be named the "George Washington Power Station." The tribal leaders also asked for USG support to complete the construction of the Najaf Airport, reopen the local tire factory, construct a new oil refinery, build a new athletic stadium, construct agricultural infrastructure and distribute agricultural equipment and inputs such as fertilizer and pesticide. ¶5. (C) The representatives supported tribal empowerment in Najaf. They pointed out the need to have a direct line of communication with Baghdad, as opposed to working through the provincial government exclusively. They voiced their support for the creation of a second national legislative body that would be comprised of tribal leaders and serve a role similar to that of the House of Lords in the United Kingdom. On the ground, they supported the creation of a new organization to monitor development in the province, but uniformly rejected the notion of Awakening Councils. ¶6. (C) COMMENT: The attendees all were coordinated by the Najaf Governor's Tribal Affairs Representative sheikh Chasib so presumably their views, while not scripted, would be within the range of what ISCI would be willing to discuss with tribal leaders.. Nonetheless, the sheikhs were lively in their discussion and complaints about inadequate services such as electricity, support for agriculture, and education. They were also authentic tribal leaders, including Sheikh Azziz al Wahid whose grandfather played a prominent role in the Council of Lords in the 1920s. Some of their suggestions were sound, and if implemented deftly, could serve as a model of how to mobilize and channel tribal elements in the south central region. END COMMENT. SIMMONS