"INDEPENDENT" BABIL GOVERNOR ON A SHORT DA'WA LEASH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HILLAH 000041 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 5/29/2019 TAGS: PGOV PINR IZ SUBJECT: "INDEPENDENT" BABIL GOVERNOR ON A SHORT DA'WA LEASH HILLAH 00000041 001.2 OF 002 CLASSIFIED BY: Kenneth Hillas, PRT Leader, Babil PRT, Dept of State. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Newly elected and nominally independent Babil Governor Salman Nasir Zargany has begun his official duties with a flourish, but there is speculation in Al-Hillah that he is keeping the governor's seat warm until Da'wa Chairman Abu Ahmed al-Basri can replace him. Even though Da'wa is keeping Zargany on a short leash, the governor has no love lost for ISCI and former governor al-Muslimawi. The former governor is widely believed to have been responsible for the allegations of sexual harassment and corruption that forced Al-Zargany from his position two years ago as Babil's Director of Sewage. Poised to show that he can make a difference as Governor, Zargany is eager to cooperate with the PRT/USG, especially in light of the province's budget shortfall this year and its limited ability to fund projects. He also shares our concern about the recent uptick in violence in the province directed at US personnel. Zargany is perceived as competent and honest. His focus is strongly on improving public services, and he has taken an aggressive stand on corruption. END SUMMARY. PLUCKED FROM OBSCURITY, WITH FEW KNOWN ALLIES -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Outside of government circles, Salman Nasir Zargany was largely unknown until Da'wa elevated him to the governorship. He was born in 1967 to a poor family in the Thawra neighborhood of Hillah and later received a degree in engineering from Baghdad University. Married with three children, Zargany is one of five brothers, who are for the most part working class: Jasim Nasir (deceased),who had been an admiral in the Iraqi Navy and contender for Babil governor in 2003; Dakhil Nasir, a chemistry professor at Babylon University; Jaleel Nasir, the owner of a flour factory; and Hamza Nasir, who runs a trucking business. ¶3. (C) Zargany served as Babil's Director for Sewage until 2007 when he was suspended for six months and sent to Karbala after, it is widely believed, former governor al-Muslimawi and others in ISCI lodged accusations against him of sexual harassment and corruption. Al-Zargany's supporters contend the charges were false and resulted from Zargany's opposition to ISCI's attempts to manipulate the placement of public works projects for political gain. Aside from the time of his banishment to Karbala, Zargany lived in his modest family home until he was elected governor. ¶4. (C) Despite having been rescued from his Karbala exile by Da'wa, Zargany has no political base of his own, and is heavily reliant on Da'wa to maintain his position. He was picked by Da'wa because he was viewed as a competent, independent technocrat. Da'wa party leader Abu Ahmed al-Basri told us that al-Zargany signed an undated letter of resignation, which Da'wa has retained should it wish to replace him. In a sign of the limits of his independence, Zargany is waiting to be informed by the governing Da'wa-led coalition about who will fill the advisor and assistant positions in the governor's office -- key chits for Da'wa to buy political allies in the Provincial Council. According to Zargany's assistant, the governor fears being replaced within a year by al-Basri, whose educational qualifications have thus far disqualified him from eligibility for the governorship, according to the Provincial Powers Law. Al-Basri expects to receive in early June his bachelor's degree in education at al-Kahara University. COOPERATIVE ON SECURITY, BUT TRYING TO AVOID STICKY POLITICS -------------- ¶5. (C) Zargany has signaled his intent that political maneuvering not interfere with Babil's security, and his desire to work closely with the U.S. Like a majority of PC members, Zargany signed a letter requesting the release from U.S. custody of Ehsan Talib Hassan, a JAM deputy brigade commander who is also the husband of a Sadrist PC member. However, Zargany concurred in our decision to take this question off the table in the current security environment, so as not to send the wrong signal to JAM/SG. Zargany is cautious about dealing on his own with sensitive political issues like this one, and he generally follows the lead of Da'wa on such matters. His instincts on security issues are solid. Within an hour of the arrest recently of a Special Groups (SG) operative caught red-handed emplacing an IED on a road, the Governor called from his convoy into a radio show to praise the police officer who made the arrest, offering him a letter of commendation and an award. Zargany said he did this immediately after the arrest in order to preempt any political entities from trying to exert pressure on the IP to release the detainee. HILLAH 00000041 002.2 OF 002 ¶6. (C) The governor has expressed concern that, in the run-up to parliamentary elections, those who lost the provincial election, i.e. ISCI/Badr, would try to manipulate Special Groups to show that the new provincial government is not as able to maintain security as the previous one led by ISCI. He has also proposed consultations with us on the aims of the JAM/SG forces operating in Babil, with a particular focus on the role/influence of a "foreign power" (i.e. Iran). He has expressed uncertainty about Iran's aims, which he believes may also be to intimidate moderate Sadrist leaders in order to maintain Iranian influence. ¶7. (C) Al-Zargany is most comfortable immersing himself in technocratic issues related to essential services - his obvious strong suit. At a PRT briefing on past and current projects, al-Zargany zeroed in on master plans for Babil's water and sewage systems. He showed comparatively less interest in other PRT projects and programs related to governance, economic development or the rule of law. He has stressed his desire to work closely with the PRT -- noting in his first conversation after his election that he "trusts" the PRT, based on its record in the province -- and that our work be coordinated directly with his office, rather than the various committees of the Provincial Council. COMMENT: ANTI-CORRUPTION AGENDA WILL TEST GOVERNOR'S EARLY RETICENCE TO WADE INTO POLITICAL WATERS -------------- -------------- ¶8. (C) The governor's desire to stay out of thorny political issues may be compromised if he pursues his stated objective of aggressively pursuing corruption in the province. This strategy appears to be coming at the behest of Da'wa, which has identified anti-corruption as a key pole in its strategy in the run-up to parliamentary elections. In public pronouncements and private discussions with the PRT, al-Zargany has voiced his commitment to combating corruption, particularly in the government contracting process. The decisions of the previous ISCI government -- which obligated all of this year's and probably most of next year's budget -- are likely to be an object of great scrutiny in any anti-corruption campaign. After being banished to Karbala as a DG, Zargany seems ready to investigate ISCI's contracting practices, and Da'wa is not likely to restrain him. HILLAS