VZCZCXYZ0003
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHNY #0420 0941246
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 041246Z APR 06
FM AMEMBASSY OSLO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3732
INFO RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN PRIORITY 0264
RUEHCP/AMEMBASSY COPENHAGEN PRIORITY 2048
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 1334
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 0898
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME PRIORITY 0475
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD PRIORITY 0074

C O N F I D E N T I A L OSLO 000420 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR, DSERCC, DS/1P/ITA, DS/IP/EUR 
COPENHAGEN FOR LEGATT 
OVP FOR JIM MARRS 
JUSTICE FOR SWARTZ 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/04/2016 
TAGS: PREL PTER ASEC IZ NO
SUBJECT: ONE LESS KREKAR HURDLE: NORWEGIAN AMBO TO IRAQ 
 
REF: OSLO 316 
 
Classified By: P/E Counselor Mike Hammer, reason 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1.  (C) Norway now has an accredited Ambassador to Iraq. 
Ambassador Sverre Stub (resident in Amman) presented his 
credentials to Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari on April 
¶3.  This important step in formalizing relations between 
Norway and Iraq has been laying in abeyance for some time 
(over a year) and, now that it is done, may help facilitate 
the Norwegian efforts to come into dialogue with Iraq on the 
conditions for the return to Iraq of former Ansar al-Islam 
leader Faraj Ahmed Najmuddin (Mullah Krekar). 
 
¶2.  (C) MFA desk officer for Iraq Anita Krokan (protect) told 
us that she had been fighting a bureaucratic battle within 
the MFA to get Ambassador Stub to schedule his presentation 
of credentials.  For reasons she did not specify, Krokan said 
that Ambassador Stub had been reluctant to do so.  However, 
Krokan indicated that the way is now open for Norway to begin 
discussions with Iraqi central government authorities about 
the conditions for Mullah Krekar's return.  Krokan did not 
have a specific timeline for approaching Baghdad on the 
question of Krekar's return, but Norway will wait for the 
formation of a new Iraqi government. 
 
¶3.  (C) Comment.  Public opinion against Krekar continues to 
bubble, as many see his case as a prime example of severe 
problems in the Norwegian immigration system.  On April 4, 
Norwegian daily Verdens Gang announced the immigration 
"scandal" that the Norwegian Directorate for Immigration 
granted Krekar's Iraqi mother-in-law permanent residence 
status in Norway in the fall of 2005, even as Norway seeks 
Krekar's expulsion on the grounds of national security. 
Getting rid of Krekar will certainly remove one thorn from 
Norwegian government's side, and Labor and Integration 
Minister Bjarne Haakan Hansen has made clear that he hopes to 
expel Krekar as soon as possible (reftel).  That said, while 
the accreditation of Ambassador Stub is a welcome step 
forward in normalizing Norway's relations with Iraq that may 
facilitate Norway formally approaching Iraq on the question 
of Krekar's return, we still doubt that Krekar's expulsion 
from Norway is imminent. 
Visit Oslo's Classified website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/oslo/index.cf m 
 
WHITNEY