Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08HILLAH49
2008-04-26 07:38:00
SECRET
REO Hillah
Cable title:  

SADRISTS IN NAJAF

Tags:  PGOV IZ IR PTER JAM 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO8725
OO RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK
DE RUEHIHL #0049 1170738
ZNY SSSSS
O P 260738Z APR 08
FM REO HILLAH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD IMMEDIATE
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
RUEHIHL/REO HILLAH
S E C R E T HILLAH 000049 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 4/26/2018
TAGS: PGOV IZ IR PTER JAM
SUBJECT: SADRISTS IN NAJAF

S E C R E T HILLAH 000049

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 4/26/2018
TAGS: PGOV IZ IR PTER JAM
SUBJECT: SADRISTS IN NAJAF


1. (C) Begin Summary: On April 24, Team Leader met with
Sheikh and COR member Hussein Ali Al Shalan (Diwaniyah) and
Sheikh and COR member Ra'ad Wahid Al Fitlah (Najaf). The two
COR members say the Sadrists (and all parties) show restraint
and do not fight in Najaf, and those Sadrists who are in Najaf
are more influential and authoritative than the Sadrists bloc in
Parliament. Former Governor and PRDC Chief Engineer Haidar
Mayali says the Sadrists support the airport project along with
all other Najaf political parties. End Summary.

Don't Fight in the Holy City!
--------------


2. (S) Team Leader (TL) opened by noting that, during the
recent uptick in Sadrist violence in Basrah, Baghdad, and
Nasariya, Najaf had remained stable, and even had remained calm
after the assassination of senior Sadrist and Moqtada
brother-in-law Sayid al Nuri. TL asked the two COR members for
the reasons behind this stability. They replied that all
parties respected a very strong taboo against fighting in the
holy city of Najaf. It was not just that the Marjaiya exerted
influence to keep the city calm, it was because all parties
recognized that if something were to start in Najaf, it might
prove impossible to stop. When TL noted that both COR members
dealt with the Sadrist bloc in the Parliament and asked who they
thought had the more authoritative voice among the Sadrists,
absent Moqtada, the two COR members were unequivocal that
Sadrist leaders in Najaf like MOS spokesman Salaah Obaidi and
Ahmed Shabani were more authoritative than any of the Sadrist
bloc Parliamentarians. At the same time, they acknowledged that
they were often perplexed by the command and control structure
of the Sadrist movement and expressed some frustration at its
opacity when there were flare-ups. They took it as read fact
that the rogue elements of JAM had been heavily infiltrated by
Iranian special force units. As for the Sadrists' ability to
morph into an entity which would practice politics by peaceful
means and respect the Iraqi constitution, both expressed
uncertainty. However, they both believed it was important to
keep pushing the Sadrists in that direction. The Sheikhs also
believed (and possibly know for a fact?) that former Prime
Minister Allawi is meeting with some Sadrists and trying to
bring them into the political process and to abandon militia
tactics. They also expressed confidence that, if push came to
shove, it might be a hard fight, but that the JAM could be dealt
with.

All Support the Najaf Airport
--------------


3. (C) In a separate conversation, former CPA Governor, and
current PRDC Chief Engineer Haidar Al Mayali told Team Leader
that the Provincial Council had an Airport Committee made up of
representatives of all seven parties that had representation in
the ISCII-dominated Provincial Council. Team Leader asked if
the Sadrists supported the airport since the Provincial Council,
unlike the Najaf Local Council, did not have any direct Sadrist
representation. Mayali, who had run into a fair amount of
difficulty with the Sadrists during his term as Governor, noted
the airport project had started during a time when there was a
Sadrist Minister of Transportation. The Minister had been very
supportive of the Najaf airport program, and when he left office
instructed his Deputy to keep pushing the project and keep him
in the loop. Mayali concluded that, no matter how much he might
disagree with the Sadrists across a range of issues, with
respect to the airport, the Sadrists were also supporters.

SIMMONS