VZCZCXRO4257
PP RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK RUEHMOS
DE RUEHBC #0056/01 1051119
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 151119Z APR 06
FM REO BASRAH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0311
INFO RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
RUEHBC/REO BASRAH 0329

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BASRAH 000056 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  4/15/2016 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER KDEM KISL SOCI IZ
SUBJECT: TRIBAL LEADERS FED UP WITH BAD SECURITY IN BASRAH 
 
REF: A) BASRAH 52, B) BASRAH 53 
 
BASRAH 00000056  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Ken Gross, Regional Coordinator, REO Basrah, 
State Department. 
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary:  On April 12, Basrah Regional Coordinator (RC) 
met with Sheikh Kadim Al Gatrani, the Chair of the Basrah 
Council of Nobles (CoN) and leader of the Al Gatrani tribe in 
Basrah.  As one of the most powerful and influential sheikhs in 
Basrah, Sheikh Kadim's message that security in Basrah was the 
biggest concern of Basrah's tribal leaders underscores the 
degree to which the deteriorating security situation in the city 
affects all members of society.  Sheikh Kadim blamed Basrah 
Governor Muhammed Wa'hil for the poor security in Basrah and the 
increase in murders, and said he supported his removal from 
office.  End Summary. 
 
"Check the Morgues" 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (C) On April 12, the RC met with Sheikh Kadim Al Gatrani, 
the Chair of the Basrah CoN and leader of the Al Gatrani tribe 
in Basrah.  With 120,000 members, the Al Gatrani tribe is one of 
the largest and most influential tribes in the area.  Sheikh 
Kadim immediately launched into a critique of Basrah's bad 
security situation, saying this was the CoN's greatest concern. 
An unofficial curfew exists in Basrah from 10:00 p.m. to 8:00 
a.m. when people are too afraid to go out on the street.  Cars 
without license plates or with Dubai plates roamed the city, 
inciting fear.  He claimed that 20-30 murders were occurring 
each day in Basrah, even though many of these murders were not 
reported in the media or even recorded officially.  Motives for 
murder were for political control and control over oil and other 
resources -- for personal gain, in other words.  He advised the 
RC to "check the morgues" for proof of the killings. 
 
Basrah Governor to Blame 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (C) According to Sheikh Kadim, the CoN met with Governor 
Mohammed al Wa'hil a few days ago and blamed him for the 
murders.  Most of the murders, he said, were being carried out 
by politically affiliated militia members within the police 
forces, many of whom answered directly to the Governor.  The CoN 
also met with the Basrah Provincial Council (BPC) about a week 
ago, he said, and delivered a letter that demanded that those 
responsible for the assassinations be turned over.  He also said 
that the CoN requested that cars without license plates be 
removed from the streets.  He said that the council had received 
no response from the local government regarding their demands. 
He commended the British military for netting several of the 
killers in recent operations. 
 
¶4.  (C) Sheikh Kadim's preference for the removal of Governor 
Wa'hil was clear, although he was closed-mouth on the subject of 
who he would like to see in his place (Refs A and B).  He said 
that the matter would be resolved "within a few days," and that 
if we heard a lot of noise and gunshots in the street, not to be 
surprised.  The RC responded that it would be much preferable, 
as well as simpler, for the BPC to remove the Governor through 
the voting process; resorting to force to oust the Governor 
would not be acceptable.  Citing the need for security in Basrah 
in order to attract foreign investments and economic 
development, Sheikh Kadim replied that "all means necessary" 
were justified in getting rid of the Governor.  Poloff stressed 
that foreign investors looked at changes of government very 
carefully when assessing whether or not to invest and that 
democratic changes of government were preferred to violent 
overthrows.  Sheikh Kadim responded that the best solution would 
be for the current Governor to leave the country; if he 
remained, someone would surely kill him. 
 
Sheikh Kadim Leery of Democracy 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶5.  (C) Even if the Governor were removed, Sheikh Kadim said, 
this in itself would not be sufficient to rid the streets of 
militias and murderers.  He said that as the liberators of Iraq, 
the United States bore the responsibility for ensuring its 
security and dragging criminals off the streets.  Poloff 
responded that the United States was very concerned about the 
security of Iraq, and we also believed that Iraqis are capable 
of local self-government.  The United States could not take the 
place of the elected leaders of Basrah.  Sheikh Kadim responded 
with an allegory: if you order your servant to bring you tea, 
and he brings you water, and then on his next try, brings you 
juice or something else, at some point you will have to beat 
 
BASRAH 00000056  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
your servant until he understands that he must bring you what 
you ordered.  Poloff responded that the master-servant 
relationship was not a good comparison to the role of the United 
States in Iraq, but rather the relationship between an older 
relative guiding and advising a younger one.  Unconvinced, 
Sheikh Kadim began grinding his heel into the carpet, saying 
that force was the only thing that would produce results.  The 
RC stressed that only a democratic solution is acceptable. 
 
Comment 
---------------------- 
 
¶6.  (C) A traditional tribal leader, Sheikh Kadim's enthusiasm 
for the enforcement of peace in Basrah through violence can be 
understood, even if not supported.  The important thing is that 
Basrah's tribal leaders all agree that security in Basrah has 
gotten out of hand and must be addressed.  When or if a change 
of government takes place in Basrah, tribal leaders can be 
counted on to lend their full support to the process, democratic 
or otherwise.  By taking the time to exchange ideas with him, 
however, the Basrah REO clearly advocated democratic means to 
attain the goals of the CoN.  Sheikh Kadim's comments concerning 
violent actions against the Governor are bluster designed to 
match the visceral anti-Wa'hil rhetoric prominent in local 
politics.  If, however, peaceful demonstrations calling for the 
Governor's removal led him to respond violently, a 
counter-reaction could be expected. 
 
¶7.  (C) BIONOTE: Sheikh Kadim became the Chair of the CoN when 
it was established in 2004.  The CoN meets on an irregular basis 
in its headquarters in central Basrah.  The CoN issues laminated 
identification cards to its members.  Sheikh Kadim was nominated 
the leader of the Al Gatrani tribe 36 years ago and considers 
himself to be one of the more senior sheikhs in Iraq.  He was 
imprisoned under Saddam for eight months.  He maintains open 
relations with the Coalition and attends weekly meetings with 
tribal leaders at the British Consulate in Basrah.  He has a 
high school education.  He has three wives and sixteen children. 
GROSS