VZCZCXRO2295
RR RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK RUEHMOS
DE RUEHGB #0747 0671609
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 081609Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3161
INFO RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS BAGHDAD 000747 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA-I/POL 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM IZ
SUBJECT: PST BAGHDAD: BAGHDAD PROVINCIAL COUNCIL DISPUTE 
WITH BAGHDAD CITY COUNCIL 
 
¶1. In a recent meeting, Provincial Council (PC) Deputy 
Chairman Mohan Al-Saidi commented that the PC is firmly 
committed to ensuring that the dissolved Baghdad City 
Council (BCC) not be reconstituted. The PC holds this 
position despite a recent court decision in the BCC's favor 
validating the right of the BCC to exist since the PC did 
not have the authority to dissolve the BCC in April 2005. 
 
¶2. Mohan said he believes the BCC is a redundant layer of 
local government.  Over the past 11 months, he said, 
Baghdad City has operated with greater efficiency without 
the BCC.  He further asserted that the superior performance 
of the PC's Baghdad Essential Services Committee, which de 
facto has taken over the operations of the BCC, shows there 
is no need at all for the BCC. 
 
¶3. Mohan noted that the PC, as a conciliatory gesture, 
would like to bring the members of the former BCC into the 
PC as subject matter advisors.  Mohan further noted that 
the members of the BCC are Baghdad District Council members 
and still serve the public in their local positions, which 
according to him is what really matters. 
 
¶4. Mohan made clear that the PC will work to prevent the 
BCC from reconstituting itself.  The PC has already begun 
preparing its arguments for an appeal of the court 
decision, which favored the BCC.  He claims that his 
position is the unified position of the PC leadership. 
 
¶5. COMMENT: Mohan suggested that compromise is not a 
feasible option to resolve the PC-BCC legal dispute. 
Although he is willing to extend an olive branch to BCC 
members by offering them advisory positions within the PC, 
he is unwilling to entertain any scenario that would allow 
the BCC to reconstitute itself.  It is likely that this 
inflexibility will lead to further conflict between the two 
councils and yet another round of protracted legal 
wrangling in the courts. 
 
¶6. COMMENT CONT'D: The dispute between the BCC and the PC 
is highly visible because it involves a court case, but 
another such dispute exists between the PC and the Baghdad 
Regional Council (RC), another institution created by the 
former Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA).  Past 
comments by PC members indicate that they also consider the 
RC redundant and that it should be dissolved.  Taken 
together, these disputes indicate a growing and perhaps 
irreconcilable conflict between the independent and locally 
selected bodies created by the CPA and the largely partisan 
bodies elected during the January 2005 national and 
provincial elections.  END COMMENT. 
 
KHALILZAD