THE AMBASSADOR'S FAREWELL CALL ON FORMER PM ALLAWI

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 000381

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/12/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM IZ
SUBJECT: THE AMBASSADOR'S FAREWELL CALL ON FORMER PM ALLAWI

Classified By: Classified by Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker for reasons 1.4
(b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: Former PM Ayad Allawi, clearly pleased with
the success of his Iraqiyya list in the recent provincial
elections, told the Ambassador during a February 12 farewell
call that he expected further gains for the party when the
final results are released later this month. Allawi also
recounted his recent audience with Ayatollah Sistani,
claiming the Najaf cleric is dissatisfied with the current
political situation. End summary.



2. (C) The Ambassador congratulated Allawi on the strong
showing his Iraqiyya list in the provincial elections.
Allawi, clearly pleased by Iraqiyya's performance, noted
that, as provisional results are revised, the list appeared
to be making further gains in Diwaynia, Babil, and Salaheddin
provinces. "This is an opportunity for us to rectify matters
at the national level," he stated.



3. (C) We need to draw lessons from the recent elections,
Allawi continued. Political party finance is a particular
issue requiring attention, he said, and there is a need for a
political party law that would regulate the parties and
require them to declare their finances. The Ambassador
offered his impression that while a lot of money had been
handed around in advance of the elections, at the end of the
day, people voted as they wished. Allawi did not disagree,
but noted that money made a big difference for parties in
pursuing media campaigns. Iraqiyya had been disadvantaged in
this regard, he asserted.



4. (C) Allawi noted that he had just returned from Najaf,
where he had had an audience with Ayatollah Sistani. Sistani
had complained that Allawi never called on him, he reported.
Allawi said that his minimal contacts with Sistani reflected
his rejection of intermingling religion with politics. He
described Ayatollah Sistani, and particularly his son
Mohammed Reda, as angry and dissatisfied by the current
political situation (Allawi did not elaborate further on
Sistani's dissatisfaction).



5. (C) Allawi said he urged Sistani to avoid sectarianism,
recalling that Iraqi Shiites had led the revolt against
British occupation in the 1920s, but they had done so not as
Shiites, but as patriots. He said he had also underlined to
Sistani his concerns about Iran: Iran is a neighbor of Iraq
and can be a friend, but only when international norms are
respected. Sistani did not disagree with this point, Allawi
maintained. Allawi said he and his colleagues intended to
keep an open channel to Sistani, his circle, and other
leading members of Najaf's clerical establishment.



6. (C) In an aside, Allawi told the Ambassador he had visited
the new Najaf Airport and had met with the principal
investor, an Iraqi expatriate, who offered a promising
example for the future of Iraq. The Ambassador emphatically
agreed: The Najaf Airport project offered a model of
infrastructure development through public-private partnership
that should be emulated across Iraq.



7. (C) Allawi said he regretted the Ambassador's departure
and hoped that the Ambassador would remain engaged with Iraq
and the region. "You have earned a lot of good will across
the region," he stated. While the Ambassador will be missed,
Allawi concluded, "our struggle will continue."

CROCKER