NAJAF'S KUFA UNIVERSITY - MUCH TO BOAST BUT "WORDS" OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 HILLAH 000052

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 5/5/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PINR SCUL SOCI IZ
SUBJECT: NAJAF'S KUFA UNIVERSITY - MUCH TO BOAST BUT "WORDS" OF
CAUTION

REF: 07 HILLAH 161

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CLASSIFIED BY: Angus T. Simmons, PRT Najaf Team Leader, PRT
Najaf, Department of State.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d),(g)



This is a Najaf PRT Reporting Cable


1. (C) SUMMARY: Kufa University staff has made impressive
progress since PRT Najaf's introductory meeting November last
year. With some PRT assistance, the influential university
president Dr. Razak Al-Essa has accomplished much that was on
his "wish list." (ref) In March, Kufa University became the
first institution in South Central Iraq to offer the English
TOEFL examination. Immediately after the Sadrist stream ended
its "civil disobedience," Dr. Razak successfully organized an
April 1 conference for political tolerance that was attended by
Sadrist Spokesman Salah al-Obaidi, ISCI part leader Amar
al-Hakim, as well as Dawa party representatives. The president
found substantial funding to initiate the much-discussed IT
network project to connect all campuses. Razak also indicated
that the Ministry's budget for Kufa would double in 2009 to
USD28 million. The PRT-sponsored USD 2.8 million ESF project to
build the Mechanical Engineering Faculty is close to completion;
other projects the PRT completed include replenishing the
English Department's library, nominating two professors for ECA
exchange programs, and funding a U.S. distance-learning course
for English lecturers. The PRT continues to push other projects
through the pipeline to help build capacity at Kufa. Amidst all
the good news, however, the president and other Kufa contacts
disclosed that they have received increased death threats and
words of intimidation. END SUMMARY

ENGLISH TOEFL TESTING CENTER - "FIRST IN 30 YEARS"
--------------

2. (C) From the first introductory meeting with the PRT in
November, Kufa University President Dr. Razak Al-Essa emphasized
time and again the importance of an English testing center in
South Central Iraq. The PRT, using seed QRF money to build an
initial allotment of testing booklets, helped Kufa University to
launch its first English TOEFL testing on March 17. The number
of testing booklets purchased should enable the program to
become self-funding. The PRT, Embassy Jordan, and Embassy
Baghdad OPA and GSO worked together to securely deliver the
testing booklets to Kufa's English Lecturer Ikhlas Ali, who also
heads the proctoring program. Dr. Razak sent Ikhlas to TOEFL
proctor training in Jordan, and working in conjunction with the
Ministry of Higher Education, built two campus classrooms
dedicated as the TOEFL Testing Center. Presently, transport
logistics present a big hurdle to success in the region, and the
PRT is working to help the university on logistical shortfalls.

CALL FOR POLITICAL TOLERANCE AMONG SHIA LEADERS
--------------

3. (C) Dr. Razak stated that he was pleased with the outcome of
the political tolerance conference that he organized April 1,
immediately after Sadrist leaders ended its three-day "civil
disobedience." During a meeting with PRT Leader the same
afternoon, he indicated that Sadrist Spokesman Salah al-Obaidi,
ISCI leader Amar al-Hakim, Dawa party leaders, academics and
Najaf officials successfully held constructive discussion, all
sitting together "in the first row," and left the symposium hall
satisfied and thanking him. Razak highlighted to the PRT that
Kufa University would be holding a humanitarian conference April
15 in which Obaidi would again attend. Asked about the value of
PRT reaching out to Sadrist political members, the president
responded with "leave it for a while," opining that the timing
is still premature. Comment: The PRT may consider reaching out
to Sadrist contacts using the university as a conduit should the
action be deemed safe for all involved. End Comment

IT NETWORK CONNECTIVITY - "WE FOUND FUNDING."
-------------- 4. (C) During Kufa University's
meeting with the PRT at FOB Endeavor, Head of IT Communication
Laith Kadlum highlighted that the university has found
substantial funding of USD 1.2 million to connect all campuses
to a single IT network, and that the project was already
underway (reftel). The PRT has also been actively looking for
funding for this comprehensive project and helped in soliciting
expert advice on its design. During Laith's technical
presentation, the USAID Rep offered to connect Intel and Cisco
company engineers with Laith's team. PRT Leader applauded Kufa
staff for being proactive and their commitment to build
capacity, and added that the PRT may assist the project in the
second or third phase in both advisory and financing capacities
should funding come through. This project would provide
internet access for all students and would enable the university
to participate in international academic dialogues far more
actively than it can today. Laith also informed the PRT that
MOE has doubles its 2009 budget commitment to Kufa University to

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USD 28 million, while expectation is for enrollment to increase
from 10,000 to 14,000 students.

"FIRST 'WEBINARS'"
--------------

5. (SBU) In addition, Laith explained that Kufa University was
holding its first "webinar" offered by the University of
Birmingham in the U.K. The webinars comprised 10 sessions and
will provide knowledge to setup and implement Digital Video
Conferencing (DVC) technology. Already in the design as a
follow-on project is the building of six DVC rooms on different
campuses after the initial network connectivity project is
completed. Kufa University staff has set up five accounts for
their first e-learning course - using slow internet connection
while learning how to access new techniques. Kufa was also
first and evidently still the only Iraqi university to provide
logon accounts to all 5,000 of its staff, in addition to
individual web pages to all its 1080 faculty members.

PRT PROGRAMS MADE PROGRESS
--------------

6. (C) Working in close coordination with Cultural Affairs
Office, the PRT successfully nominated two Kufa professors on
the Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) programs thus far.
The nomination of an English assistant professor to the United
States Institute on Contemporary American Literature would
hopefully bring American works to Kufa's English syllabi. The
Dean of Law Faculty Dr. Shukri, an expert on constitutional and
comparative law, will participate in an International Visitors
Program on Human Rights. In addition, the PRT purchased a
comprehensive library of textbooks for Kufa's English Department
after consulting with Post's Regional English Language Officer.
PRT is also offering to English lecturers the opportunity to
participate in a distance learning program co-designed by a
stateside university and the State Department dedicated to
Middle-East English educators.

LETTERS OF INTIMIDATION
--------------

7. (C) Dr. Razak and several close contacts at the PRT confirmed
rumors that they have been receiving increased death threats.
Both the president and his staff were surprised by the PRT's
knowledge but immediately stepped forward and asserted adamantly
that they "would not be intimidated," indicating at the same
time that they must also "exercise caution" in appearance. They
noted that "American security forces" on the campus on several
occasions likely created some unwarranted "attention."
(Comment: This is a matter that raises contradictory emotions
for us, too, in a university campus where there has never been a
security incident in five years and where we are trying to
support progress and a sense of normalcy and confidence in the
future. End Comment.) They further noted that although travels
to meeting at FOB Endeavor can be conspicuous due to its remote
location, alternating meetings between the FOB and on campus can
have the benefit of some privacy without being observed.


8. (C) During a private conversation with PRToff, the president
expressed deep concern for the safety of his two sons - both
graduates of Kufa University. He quoted, "we will start with
your sons before you" from one of the bullet-enclosed letters he
received. He acknowledged that although he would not be
intimated by such threats, he feared for his sons and would like
to send them to graduate studies outside of Iraq. He felt that
once he knows they are safe, he can continue work unencumbered
and show "them" there is a right way to ask the U.S. and the
U.K. for help. (Comment: Unfortunately, such threats are not
unknown in Najaf and all over Iraq for those prominent in public
life, even when the issue is not relations with the U.S.
Nonetheless, we convey to our contacts that we are very
conscience about their security and always ask them to decide to
meet at a pace and at locations with which they are comfortable.
End Comment.)

PRT PROGRAMS IN PIPELINE
--------------

9. (C) After successfully helping to deliver most of the items
of President Razak's original wish list, the PRT reached out to
the Law Faculty, and is also attempting to find funding for
construction of the Civil Engineering Faculty. PRToffs were
duly impressed during a tour of the new 1.5 million square
meters campus that will host six faculties as well as the
central library and administrative building. The ESF-funded
Mechanical Engineering building, also located on this green
field site, is nearly completed. The Najaf Tourism Conference,
another project sponsored by the PRT, will take place at Kufa's
symposium located close to the Governor's compound. The PRT
will help replenish the Law Faculty library next, and is working
to get medical textbooks for the Faculty of Medicine as well.


10. (C) COMMENT: The dynamism and openness of Kufa University
leadership is a key factor in much of the recent university

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progress. Dr. Razak is reputedly well-respected among Ministry
of Education officials and has the reputation of being "the man
of firsts." His ability to convince MOE officials to double
Kufa's 2009 budget to USD 28 million is a testament of his solid
reputation. One local political pundit told PRToff that Dr.
Razak was well-known among Baghdad academia during the Saddam
era for his disdain of politics, and his strong advocacy for
education. The president has built around him a management team
of like-minds who are open-minded, proactive, and willing to
work with the international community. The PRT highly values
this team and will continue to work sensitively and at their
pace in supporting Kufa University's ability to build Najaf and
influence Iraq's future. END COMMENT
SIMMONS