C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 001961

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR NEA/I, ISN/NESS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/20/2029
TAGS: TPHY SENV TRGY TSPL PARM ENRG KGIT KNNP KSCA
OSCI, IZ
SUBJECT: IRAQ'S NEW ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION

REF: A. 08 BAGHDAD 3143

B. UNVIE VIENNA 281

Classified By: DCM Robert Ford for reasons 1.4 (b, d, e, f, g, h.).


1. (U) This is an action request. Please see paragraph 9.

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SUMMARY
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2. (C) The Council of Ministers (CoM) signed an order in
April 2009 establishing the Iraqi National Atomic Energy
Commission, an inter-ministry commission mandated to provide
coordination and advice regarding all nuclear issues.
Minister of Science and Technology (MoST) Ra'id Fahmi Jahid
said the commission is considering nuclear energy from a
long-term perspective only and has made no decisions or
recommendations. Noting that UNSCR 707 could possibly remain
in effect for some time to come, fully restricting Iraq from
working with nuclear energy technologies, Minister Fahmi
quipped, "707 can be interpreted in many ways--there are big
margins, and that's where we are working." Minister Fahmi
said that recent Iraqi press reports based on an interview in
which he claimed Iraq had decided to build a reactor were
inaccurate and he has requested a retraction. Embassy
believes it is likely Iraq will begin importing and
developing nuclear energy technologies as soon as UNSCR 707
restrictions are removed. Please see paragraph 9, action
request. End Summary.

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IRAQ'S NEW ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION
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3. (SBU) Minister of Science and Technology (MoST) Ra'id
Fahmi Jahid told EmbOffs on 9 July that the Council of
Ministers (CoM) signed an order in April 2009 establishing an
inter-ministry commission called the "Iraqi National
Commission for Atomic Energy." Created on the recommendation

of Minister Fahmi, the commission has no authority to make
decisions and no budget, simply a mandate to act as a forum
for inter-ministry discussion and advice to the Prime
Minister on all nuclear issues. "When the Minister of
Electricity told the press several months ago in France that
Iraq wanted to pursue nuclear energy, he had no clue about
United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 707,"
Fahmi said. "This commission will allow us to coordinate our
policy in an informed and inclusive way." Minister Fahmi
claimed that perhaps the commission was poorly named given
that its focus is on nuclear issues in general, not just
energy. Dr. Talib Ebrahim, MoST Director General for the
Materials Science and a member of the commission, said that
the commission's present objectives are to coordinate a way
ahead on non-energy related issues, such as health,
agricultural, and industrial applications of nuclear
technologies. (Note: In September 2008, Minister Fahmi told
the Embassy that Iraq was not/not considering developing
nuclear power (ref A). End note.)


4. (SBU) Stating Iraq has the right to develop nuclear
energy "just like Jordan and the UAE," Minister Fahmi said
that the commission is considering nuclear energy from a
long-term perspective only and has made no decisions or
recommendations. UNSCR 707 prohibits Iraq from working with
nuclear energy at this time, but it is only prudent to plan
ahead, he said. A reactor program would require 600-1000
highly trained personnel, of which Iraq has very few. A
viable commercial reactor would take 15-20 years to implement
and require an enormous amount of resources. Economic
viability, site selection, human resources, all of this takes
Qviability, site selection, human resources, all of this takes
an immense amount of inter-ministry coordination, he
continued. When asked, he said that Iraq was not reaching
out to expatriate Iraqi nuclear scientists in particular, but
continues to encourage Iraqi specialists from all fields to
contribute to Iraq's reconstruction.

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WORKING IN THE MARGINS OF UNSCR 707
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5. (C) Noting that UNSCR 707 could possibly remain in effect
for some time to come, fully restricting Iraq from working
with nuclear energy technologies, Minister Fahmi quipped,
"707 can be interpreted in many ways--there are big margins,
and that's where we are working." Underscoring Iraq's

BAGHDAD 00001961 002 OF 003


ambitions to have UNSCR 707 restrictions lifted as soon as
possible, he quickly followed up, "the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) is quite happy with our cooperation on
all nuclear issues." Minister Fahmi claimed that the
Government of Iraq had signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation
Treaty Additional Protocol (AP) and was simply waiting for
Parliament to ratify it, a prerequisite to having 707 lifted,
he said (ref B). (Note. Iraq signed the AP in October 2009,
but has not yet submitted their declaration to the IAEA
bringing the AP into force. End note.)

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MINISTER CLAIMS PRESS REPORTS WERE NOT ACCURATE
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6. (SBU) Minister Fahmi said that recent Iraqi press reports
(Buratha News Agency, June 15 and Al Bayyna Newspaper, June
16) based on an interview with Minister Fahmi claiming Iraq
had decided to build a reactor were inaccurate and he has
requested a retraction. "The press filled in some blanks
with things I did not say," claimed Minister Fahmi. Claims
of U.S. support for the commission were also published out of
context, he said, clarifying that what he meant was that the
United States supports several other GOI nuclear-related
activities, such as clean-up of Tuwaitha Nuclear Complex and
cooperation with the Iraq Scientist Engagement Program.

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TEXT OF THE GOI ORDER ESTABLISHING THE COMMISSION
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7. (SBU) MoST provided EmbOffs a copy of CoM Order 53 which
established the Atomic Energy Commission. The order assigns
14 GOI members by name to the commission from eight
ministries (including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs), the
Prime Minister's and Deputy Prime Ministers' Offices, and the
Iraq Radioactive Source Regulatory Authority. The Commission
works under the supervision of MoST and is headed by MoST
Deputy Minister Fouad Mousawi. The order also states the
commission's responsibilities are:

a) Propose Iraq's policies in the field of peaceful
uses of atomic energy and the implementation mechanisms.

b) Coordinate national efforts in the field of peaceful
uses of atomic energy.

c) Coordinate joint cooperation between Iraq and
international, regional, and Arab organizations in the field
of atomic energy.

d) Propose a national comprehensive program for
developing specialized cadre in this field.

e) Recommend the approval of national activities and
projects in the field of peaceful uses of atomic energy.

f) Provide scientific and technical advice and
expertise to decision makers concerning all peaceful
applications of atomic energy.

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COMMENT
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8. (C) Noting Iraq's loose usage of the term "Atomic Energy"
to include non-energy related nuclear technologies (e.g.,
cancer therapy, mine detection, industrial sterilization),
even the commission's limited focus on nuclear energy is
disturbing given Iraq's history with nuclear technology.
Iraq's three previous nuclear reactors (the 40-megawatt
Osiraq Materials Testing Reactor, the 800-kilowatt Isis
Research Reactor, and the five-megawatt IRT-5000 Research
Reactor) still lay in bombed heaps in Tuwaitha Nuclear
Complex. As the GOI has placed a hiring freeze on MoST and
reduced its already small budget, the Minister may feel
Qreduced its already small budget, the Minister may feel
MoST's political future is in question and is using the
nuclear issue to try and create a secure role for the
ministry. Considering together the claimed misquotes from
the news interview, the written order's focus on nuclear
energy, Iraq's history with nuclear technologies, and MoST's
search for a mission, the Embassy believes it is likely Iraq
will begin importing and developing nuclear energy
technologies as soon as UNSCR 707 restrictions are removed.

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ACTION REQUEST
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9. (SBU) Embassy requests demarche instructions to inform
the GOI of the United States Government's policy regarding
Iraq's development of nuclear energy.
FORD