VZCZCXRO4124
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHMOS
DE RUEHKUK #0065/01 0771908
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P R 181908Z MAR 06
FM REO KIRKUK
TO RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD PRIORITY 0532
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0568
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
RUEHKUK/REO KIRKUK 0596

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KIRKUK 000065 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
BAGHDAD FOR POL, POLMIL, NCT, ROL COORDINATOR, USAID, IRMO FOR 
BATES AND CAPLES 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  3/18/2016 
TAGS: PGOV KCOR PHUM PINS PREL PINR PTER KWMN IZ IR
SY, TU 
SUBJECT: KURDISH TRIBAL OPINION OF COALITION WORSENING OVER 
SECURITY? 
 
REF: KIRKUK 61 
 
KIRKUK 00000065  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Scott Dean, Regional Coordinator (Acting), Reo 
Kirkuk, Department of State . 
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY.   The leader of the influential Baradusti tribe 
in the Kurdish region of Iraq described the Iraqi security 
situation as worse today than during Saddam Hussayn's era.  The 
continued violence throughout Iraq is denting Kurdish popular 
opinion of the Coalition.  The U.S. presence, however, is 
keeping the Kurdish region from dividing.  Nepotism - "a 
cultural issue" - and the fear of losing supporters between the 
two Kurdish parties are key components fueling the corruption 
problem in northern Iraq.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) This is second in a series of interviews with leaders 
of four influential tribes in the Kurdish region of Iraq, 
including the Harki (REFTEL), Baradusti, Surchi, and Zebari.  On 
March 9, IPAO's met with Shaykh Hussayn Lolani, leader of the 
Baradusti tribe.  The majority of Baradusti tribal members today 
live in Arbil city, due to Saddam Hussayn's decision in 1978 to 
displace this tribe from its territorial homeland in Lolan - an 
area in Iraq that borders both Iran and Turkey. 
 
Security First; Repatriation Second 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (C) Shaykh Hussayn identified security as the most important 
issue to his tribe, saying that improved security would result 
in safer transportation routes to the rest of Iraq and improve 
the Kurds' access to services.  He said that when the security 
situation improved, he hoped his tribe would be allowed to 
return to Lolan.  Hussayn feared that the PKK, PUK, or KDP might 
kill his people if they tried to return before then. 
 
Kurdish Independence-Western Support Key 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (C) Shaykh Hussayn said he was optimistic about the merger of 
the two Kurdistan Regional Governments. When asked for his views 
on national leadership, Hussayn said he backed those officials 
who supported a national unity government but lamented that he 
had yet to see anyone who fitted that bill.  He said he favored 
having the U.S. carve out a Kurdish state from the territory 
occupied by Kurds in Iraq, Turkey, Iran, and Syria.  Hussayn 
added that the result could not be any worse than the current 
security and political situation.  He remarked that Saddam 
Hussayn's predecessor, Ahmad Hassan al-Baqr, a close friend to 
his father, had said that a Kurdish state would be possible only 
if the western powers created one.  Hussayn added that if the 
U.S. left the region, the natural result would be a divided 
Kurdistan. 
 
Kurdish Public Opinion on Coalition Worsening 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (C) Hussayn argued that in 2003 most Iraqis admired the 
Coalition, but the continued violence and political chaos had 
caused them to change their view.  He contrasted, for example, 
the dangers of traveling to Baghdad today with those during 
Saddam's time.  Hussayn said that the average Kurd blamed the 
U.S. for the Al Askariyah mosque bombing in Samarra, because 
most Kurds believed the U.S. was powerful enough to prevent such 
bombings from occurring if it wanted. 
 
Kurdish Region Plagued by Corruption, Nepotism 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶6. (C) Shaykh Hussayn said that more should have been done to 
prevent corruption in northern Iraq.  Nepotism was the primary 
problem - but that "it was a cultural issue of trying to help 
your own first."  He argued that religion should never be used 
to resolve a conflict because religion only exacerbated 
problems.  The rivalry between the KDP and PUK also allowed 
corruption to flourish in northern Iraq.  For example, Hussayn 
said, KDP leaders would keep members they knew were corrupt 
because if the KDP dismissed those persons, the PUK would hire 
them to work against the KDP.  Hussayn told us that he hoped 
that by merging the two KRG's, jobs would be distributed through 
the government instead of the parties. 
 
Baradusti Tribal History, Relations 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) The Baradusti tribe originally came from around Iran 
 
KIRKUK 00000065  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
before it migrated to Lolan.  Geographically, Shaykh Hussayn 
identified his neighbors as Turkey to the north, Iran to the 
east, the Balak tribe to the south and the Barzani tribe to the 
west.  In 1946, the Iraqi king commissioned the Baradusti tribe 
to protect the Iranian border from smuggling operations. 
 
¶8. (SBU) The Baradusti tribe consists of approximately 10,000 
families throughout Iraq, Iran, and Turkey; however only 4,000 
families live in Iraq.  After Saddam evicted the Baradustis from 
Lolan in 1978, tribal members resettled in Arbil city, where the 
majority of Baradustis live today. 
 
Regional Alliances 
------------------ 
 
¶9. (SBU) Shaykh Hussayn said his tribe had closer relations with 
the KDP than the PUK because most Baradusti members lived in KDP 
areas.  He added that the Baradusti tribe also had relations 
with the PUK, but those ties had weakened since the PUK 
administration left Arbil in 1996.  Husayn said Presidents 
Talabani and Barzani attended his father's funeral and had met 
with Hussayn at his house. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Shaykh Hussayn said the Baradustis had played a 
peacemaker or arbitrator role between the major Kurdish parties, 
adding that his tribe had protected both the KDP and PUK from 
each other at different times.  Hussayn's father once told KDP 
founder in Iraq Mullah Mustafa that the Baradustis always would 
fight beside him, except against Talabani and the PUK. 
 
Relations With Turkey 
--------------------- 
 
¶11. (SBU) Shaykh Hussayn said his tribe had no relations with 
the governments in Tehran or Ankara, however, the Baradustis 
engaged in a small amount of trade, visited extended family, and 
settled disputes with Kurds in Turkey.  Hussayn claimed the 
Baradusti tribe did not have a political connection to the PKK, 
despite the presence of PKK bases in his tribal area. 
 
Women 
----- 
 
¶12. (SBU) According to Shaykh Hussayn, there is no tribal 
education requirement for women on either curriculum or 
attendance.  He said his tribe traditionally placed importance 
on setting up schools for religious (and other) education when 
public schools were closed.  Women work as teachers, but female 
tribe members do not take on professional occupations such as 
engineering, architecture, or business.  He said there were no 
Baradusti women in positions of influence in either business or 
politics. 
 
Biographic Note: 
 
¶13. (SBU) Shaykh Hussayn, an independent on the KDP list, is a 
member of the Kurdistan National Assembly.  His cousin is on the 
Arbil Provincial Council.  Hussayn and most Baradustis are Sufi 
Muslims.  Hussayn wore a black and white kafia and dressed in 
the traditional garb of a Kurdish shaykh.  Both his father and 
grandfather were influential tribal leaders.  Hussayn heads a 
tribal council of representatives and frequently meets with 
senior Baradusti family members in his home.  He said he has not 
announced his successor, but he has three sons.  Hussayn does 
not speak English. 
ORESTE