PROMINENT SHIA CLERIC IN WASIT CRITICIZES SADRIST

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 001832

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/09/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV IZ
SUBJECT: PROMINENT SHIA CLERIC IN WASIT CRITICIZES SADRIST
LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Classified By: Classified by PRT Team Leader Kevin Blackstone for Reaso
ns 1.4 (b and d).

This is a PRT Wasit reporting cable.


1. (C) Summary and Comment: On June 27, Provincial
Reconstruction Team Wasit officers met Said al-Khateib, a
prominent Shi'a cleric and one of two personal
representatives of Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani in Wasit
province. They discussed local governance issues, national
elections in January 2010 and security concerns after the
June 30 withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraqi cities.
Al-Khateib criticized Sadrist-dominated municipal governments
across Wasit for funneling services and investment away from
areas of Sistani supporters. He agreed to PRToff's request
to use his influence in Numaniyah to educate Iraqi citizens
about the June 30 pullback and the fact that Iraqis would
still see U.S. forces in urban areas on a variety of
missions. This was the first time al-Khateib agreed to meet
PRT representatives, and he emphasized that the meeting did
not change Ayatollah Sistani's "quietist" policy of not
cooperating or speaking directly with the U.S. and Coalition
Forces (CF). Nonetheless, al-Khateib said that Sistani had
approved the meeting. It appears that tensions between
Sadrist-controlled municipal governments in Wasit and
Sistani's supporters have led al-Khateib to seek outside help
to improve services and encourage institutional reform in
Wasit. End Summary and Comment.


2. (C) PRT Wasit officers traveled to Numaniyah, the
second-largest town in Wasit, on June 27 and met with Said
al-Khateib, one of the most prominent Shia clerics in Wasit
and one of two personal representatives of Ayatollah Ali
al-Sistani in the province. This was the first time a PRT
representative had met with al-Khateib, and only the second
time since 2003 that he has agreed to see American officials.
Al-Khateib welcomed engagement with the PRT on
reconstruction and capacity-building issues. He deplored the
lack of transparency, corruption and favoritism in provincial
councils across Wasit, and complained that while he supported
democracy and representative government, Iraq's current
leaders, at both the national and provincial level, were more
interested in political intrigues and personal gain than
governing the country and looking after the interests of
their constituents. Al-Khateib urged the U.S. to use its
influence to promote an "open list" ballot system in the
January 2010 elections. The cleric said that "this one simple
thing" would go a long way toward increasing transparency in
Iraqi government and politics.


3. (SBU) Al-Khateib said Numaniyah's municipal authorities,
dominated by Sadrists and led by an ex-Sadrist mayor,
systematically excluded Sistani neighborhoods from public
works projects and essential services, and put up obstacles
to NGO investment. He cited various examples such as new
school construction, healthcare infrastructure construction,
and road paving/trash collection. Mercy Corps, a U.S.-funded
NGO, had met previously with al-Khateib and discussed
possible projects in Numaniyah's Sistani neighborhood;
however city officials subsequently blocked further action
and channeled investment toward Sadrist areas. The cleric
said that he had just donated a substantial sum of money for
construction of a new hospital for the Sistani districts.
Al-Khateib said that he understood the PRT had to work
through the existing, elected municipal government regarding
reconstruction assistance, but urged PRToffs to engage with
community organizations as well to ensure that all districts
Qcommunity organizations as well to ensure that all districts
received assistance and were not inadvertently excluded.


4. (C) Al-Khateib expressed concern over recent attacks in
Baghdad and elsewhere and questioned whether Iraqi Security
Forces were fully prepared to assume primary responsibility
in urban areas after June 30. He told PRToffs that he would
be pleased to see American forces remain in the cities for a
longer period if it increased safety and security. He agreed
to PRToff's request to use his influence in Numaniyah to
educate Iraqi citizens about the June 30 pullback and the
fact that Iraqis would still see U.S. forces in urban areas
on a variety of missions-including escorting PRT personnel to
meetings and projects. Al-Khateib said certain elements were
willfully misinterpreting the agreement to foment anger
toward coalition and Iraqi forces, and that others were
simply poorly educated and uninformed about what the date
meant since politicians had unfortunately co-opted it for
their own purposes.


5. (SBU) Bio Note: Al-Khateib's oldest son was murdered by
Jaish al-Mahdi elements in 2005 in an internet caf in
Numaniyah. Many local Sistani supporters wanted to form a
militia and carry out revenge attacks in reprisal for the
killing, but al-Khateib, speaking at his mosque, disavowed

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vengeance and forbade his supporters to engage in violence,
stating that it would not bring back his son and only lead to
more senseless bloodshed. This stance earned the cleric
increased respect from many Iraqis in Wasit, but also
alienated some followers inclined to meet violence with
violence.
HILL