VZCZCXRO1700
OO RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #2884/01 2400659
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 280659Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3060
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 002884 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV ECON OVIP KBIO IZ
SUBJECT: CODEL TAUSCHER AUGUST 26 MEETINGS WITH SENIOR 
IRAQI LEADERS 
 
This message is sensitive but unclassified.  Please handle 
accordingly. 
 
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Summary 
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¶1.  (SBU) Congresswoman Tauscher and accompanying CODEL 
members/staff met separately during their August 25-26 visit 
to Baghdad with Kurdish Regional President Barzani, Vice 
President Abdulmehdi, and National Security Advisor Al 
Rubaie.  In each meeting, Representatives Tauscher (D-CA), 
Moran (D-VA), and Porter (R-NV) pressed for details on the 
status of Iraq's leadership talks, expectations for political 
progress, and the future of U.S. engagement with Iraq. 
Barzani assured Kurdish commitment to the national 
constitution and principles of national unity and political 
reconciliation, but directed blame toward Sunnis and Shia for 
continued insurrection.  Barzani lauded Kurdistan's progress 
and stability and clarified his view on the issue of a 
national flag.  Kurds should receive "between 25-30 percent" 
of national oil revenues based on current demographics.  Vice 
President Abdulmehdi highlighted Iraqi achievements in the 
economic and political spheres, counseling U.S. patience in 
light of the ongoing war on terror.  He warned against a 
precipitate U.S. withdrawal, arguing this would embolden 
terrorists and eventually bring the U.S. back to Iraq. 
Rubaie told the CODEL that the GOI remains in its infancy, 
calling for American patience with Iraq's nation building 
experiment.  Rubaie (as did Abdulmehdi) welcomed Rep. 
Tauscher's call for a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) and 
predicted that internal debate on the topic would commence 
next month.  End summary. 
 
¶2.  (U) Joining Representatives Tauscher, Moran, and Porter 
were Armed Services Committee staff members Michael Casey and 
Stephanie Sanok, along with Embassy Legislative Affairs 
Officer and Political Officer (notetaker). 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
Kurdistan President Barzani Lauds Achievements 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶3.  (SBU) During their 50-minute August 26 meeting at the 
residential compound of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, 
Kurdish Regional President Masoud Barzani thanked the U.S. 
for its assistance in liberating Iraq from Saddam Hussein. 
Noting the complexity of the Iraq conflict, Barzani warned 
that the war on terror in Iraq remained incomplete, hampered 
by continuing sectarian fratricide.  Failing to defeat terror 
in Iraq, he cautioned, would threaten peace and stability in 
the region, and far beyond.  Acknowledging domestic 
responsibility for resolution of Iraq's political troubles, 
Barzani said "if we're not serious about solving our own 
problems, you can't do it for us."  The cost of freedom has 
been high, he noted, recounting that Saddam's regime 
destroyed 4,500 Kurdish villages, and murdered over 8 
thousand Kurds - including 37 of Barzani's own family 
members, three of them brothers. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The Kurds fought alongside the U.S. to liberate 
Iraq, Barzani asserted, and opted not to "seek revenge" on 
our previous oppressors.  Instead, he said, the Kurds 
developed their economy and social institutions.  Now, Iraq's 
Kurdish region is a haven from the Shia/Sunni feuding further 
south.  Such feuding, he lamented, has "opened the door for 
interference by regional powers."  Alluding to ongoing 
political talks among Iraq's five most senior political 
leaders (septel), Barzani cast blame toward the "other 
parties" for failure to assure more meaningful progress.  We 
Kurds, he added, "won't go back on our commitments, but don't 
want to be burned by the fire caused by others."  Barzani 
invited U.S. Congress Members to visit Kurdistan to witness 
the development and stability of the north. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Asked by Rep. Moran about the dispensation of 
Iraqis moved by Saddam Hussein to Kurdistan and charges of 
ongoing "ethnic cleansing" in these areas, Barzani said the 
allegations were "untrue and unfounded," and pledged fealty 
to Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution.  When there is talk 
of "normalization" there, he continued, we talk of those who 
were brought there and are willing to go ("Shia, not Sunni - 
willing to go if compensated").  Kurdistan today is a refuge 
from the sectarian violence further south, he added.  Asked 
what percent of national oil revenues should accrue to the 
Kurdish region, Barzani said "17-18 percent was not enough." 
If based upon an "accurate census," Kurdistan should receive 
"25-30 percent" of national oil revenues. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Responding to a question on the respective flags of 
Iraq and the Kurdish region, Barzani said that the flag (one 
 
BAGHDAD 00002884  002 OF 002 
 
 
with three stars) currently flown in Baghdad violated Iraq's 
constitution.  The stars, he said, based upon a 1986 law (Law 
33), represented the principles of the now-banned Baath 
Party.  Since Parliament refused, he said, to clarify for him 
the meaning of the three stars, "we will not fly it." 
Barzani closed with a historical overview, noting how "Turks, 
Arabs, and Persians all tried, but failed, to divide and 
annihilate us."  Pointing to Kurdish commitment to the 
guarantees of autonomy in Iraq's constitution, he stated "our 
existence will not be denied." 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
VP Abdelmehdi Warns of Precipitate Withdrawal 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) During the CODEL's 40-minute meeting with Deputy 
President Adil Abdelmehdi, Members admonished the Iraqi 
political leadership for limited progress on political 
reconciliation and its failure to assume more responsibility 
for Iraqi security.  Abdelmehdi sought to direct attention to 
what he characterized as successes within the economic realm, 
cautioning that Iraq's political sphere required time and 
(U.S.) patience in which to mature.  A precipitate USG 
withdraw would be considered a "childish" waste of resources 
and vision, and would be considered a victory for extremists 
and terrorists. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Asked whether the Prime Minister could effectively 
lead the country, Abdelmehdi suggested that the PM's staff 
had failed to provide the "vision" that Maliki himself 
lacked.  Still, Maliki retained the "confidence" of the 
Council of Representatives and would likely remain in power, 
at least for another month or so, he said.  Abdelmehdi 
responded favorably to Rep. Tauscher's suggestion that a 
Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) be negotiated in order to 
remove the problem of "occupation" by U.S. troops.  He said 
the GOI had proposed such an agreement in 2003 to Ambassador 
Bremer, but the idea was rejected by then SecDef Rumsfeld. 
 
-------------------------------- 
National Security Advisor Rubaie 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Rubaie opened by thanking the American people for 
their sacrifices for the people of Iraq.  Rep. Tauscher 
stressed the importance for GOI leaders to achieve progress 
on the political front quickly.  Responding to Rep. Porter's 
comment regarding strong American public sentiment for 
withdrawal from Iraq, Rubaie raised Anbar and Diyala 
Provinces, suggesting that Al Qaida in Iraq would likely 
reclaim control of those areas were U.S. troops to depart. 
Rep. Tauscher was pleased to hear from Rubaie that the GOI 
will begin discussions on terms of a Status of Forces 
Agreement (SOFA) beginning in late September; he estimated 
that a bilateral agreement could be finalized "next year." 
To Rep. Moran's inquiry regarding Sunni/Shia ratio for 
detainees in Iraqi detention centers, Rubaie estimated an 
even split.  Summing up his views on the status of Iraq's 
political process, Rubaie said that Iraqis are struggling to 
identify themselves after 35 years of tyranny and in the wake 
of the Samarra bombing and other acts of terrorism. 
 
¶10.  (U) CODEL Tauscher did not have the opportunity to clear 
on this message. 
CROCKER