IT IS NOW 2008: WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR US LATELY? MEETING

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HILLAH 000002 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON EAIR PREL IZ SUBJECT: IT IS NOW 2008: WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR US LATELY? MEETING WITH IRAQI OFFICIALS IN NAJAF HILLAH 00000002 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (U) This is a PRT Najaf cable. ¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY: Governor Asaad Abu Gulal al-Tae and various advisors met with PRT Leader and PRToff at former Camp Endeavor, on January 2. Recommending airport security and design companies, planning the upcoming tourism conference, visiting Kufa University, moving the PRT to Najaf, developing local banking infrastructure, a request for facilities for a Shi'a tribal office, seeking a meeting with Ambassador Crocker and Shi'a tribal sheikhs and delivering new scholastic textbooks were among the topics discussed. END SUMMARY. ¶3. (SBU) Team Leader noted he had passed recommendations for three airport security companies to Deputy Governor Abtan, at his request (Armor Group, Sally Port, and Global). The Governor suggested the Team Leader coordinate with Mike McCormick (Transportation Attache) and recommend one company. He also said he would be comfortable if the USG would recommend one airport consultant and design manager, rather than refer choices to the Najaf authorities, since he had confidence in the expertise of the US Embassy Transportation Attache. The Team Leader said he would pass the Governor's views to the Transportation Attache in Baghdad. Governor Al-Tae said Deputy Governor Abtan was expected to return from meeting with the airport consulting firm in Erbil that had been the British firm John Scott's subcontractor in Erbil. The Governor also stated that distant business people will not come to Najaf without an airport and that more than two million people came to Najaf during the recent Eid Al Adha at the end of December without incident. ¶4. (SBU) Team Leader noted the importance of planning the Najaf tourism conference in advance. The Governor recommended it be held during the month of March. He went on to state that the airport project will contribute to the success of the conference and that buses from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Kuwait had come to Najaf during the recent Eid Al Adha without incident. The Governor supported the idea of an independent tourism training institute, which could be managed under the DG of Tourism. The Team Leader agreed that such a training facility would useful, suggesting that Kufa University might also be a possible institutional home for such a facility. The Governor noted that he had laid a foundation stone for such a facility in the past, but nothing further had ever happened. Governor Al-Tae agreed that Kufa University could cooperate with the Tourism Committee and the Tourism DG in planning for such a facility, as well as the tourism conference. ¶5. (SBU) Team Leader noted that he planned to visit Kufa University on January 3 to discuss TOEFL training, installing IT connectivity between Kufa campuses, and distant learning classes. ¶6. (SBU) Governor Al-Tae asked for an update on the PRT's move to Najaf. The Team Leader said the MiTT team had just arrived at Camp Endeavor and that he looked forward to working with Najaf from the new location in the near future. The Governor reiterated that the PRT is responsible for Najaf and warmly welcomed its relocation to Najaf. ¶7. (SBU) Team Leader introduced newly arrived Finance and Banking Advisor Darrell Brown, who said he was here to assist with the local banking industry. The Governor responded on the spot that there are five or six government banks and four or five private banks in Najaf and promised to arrange a meeting between Darrell Brown and local bankers within the next week. ¶8. (SBU) The Governor introduced the PRT Leader to Sheikh Jasab Al-Hillo, his Advisor for Tribal Affairs, who requested assistance in funding the construction of a building for holding meetings of local tribal sheikhs on a regular basis. The sheikh stated the tribes owned land on which the building could be located. The Team Leader was non-committal. ¶9. (SBU) The Governor requested a meeting with Ambassador Crocker for himself and 22 Najaf Shi'a sheikhs. He noted that the Sunni sheikhs had received a great deal of attention and financial support and that the Shi'a sheikhs were envious of that attention. Governor Al-Tae also stated the GOI is opposed to CLC programs in Shi'a areas, but was concerned that the aforementioned envy could fan discontent toward coalition and GOI entities, and recommended the USG consider doing some programming for Shi'a tribes. When Team Leader noted the Governor's colleague in Diwaniyah was completely opposed to the non-CLC agriculture union's seed and fertilizer support program for rural tribes, the Governor laughed and said, "That's because he is not distributing them, the Iraqi Army is doing it. Anyway, I would just like to see some programs to support tribes, and if you are doing such programs in Najaf, I don't even care if the Army distributes the seeds and fertilizer." HILLAH 00000002 002.2 OF 002 ¶10. (SBU) Team Leader gave the Governor a box of new, nicely illustrated Scholastic Arabic elementary school textbooks to review, saying many more could be made available to Najaf schools in the near future, if the Najaf DG of Education wanted them. Governor Al-Tae admired the books and said he would like the books for schools with "talented" students. He also said the MOE could not object to the books being placed in school libraries, if they were not formally made part of the school curriculums. He opined that there were 1,000 schools in Najaf that could benefit from the books, and would respond to the Team Leader after reviewing them with his Education DG. SIMMONS