VZCZCXRO4608
OO RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK RUEHMOS
DE RUEHBC #0075 1351242
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O P 151242Z MAY 06
FM REO BASRAH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0340
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
RUEHBC/REO BASRAH 0359

C O N F I D E N T I A L BASRAH 000075 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  5/15/2016 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM KJUS IZ
SUBJECT: BASRAH GOVERNOR WANTS POLICE CHIEF OUT 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Ken Gross, Regional Coordinator, REO Basrah, 
Department of State. 
REASON: 1.4 (b) 
 
¶1.  (U) On May 13, the Governor of Basrah, Mohammed al-Wa'eli 
declared in a press conference that he was suspending the Chief 
of Police, Hassan Sawadi Assad, because of his failure to 
improve the deteriorating security situation.  In a flyer 
distributed the same evening throughout Basrah, the Governor 
said that he intended to suspend the Chief of Police and demand 
the resignation of the Commander of the Iraqi Army's 10th 
Brigade (based in Basrah), General Abdul Latief Thuaban. 
 
¶2. (SBU) A local embassy employee on May 14 confirmed that the 
Governor had had the flyer distributed and stood behind 
everything it said.  Furthermore, the Governor stated that he 
would present the issue of the suspension of the Chief of Police 
to the Basrah Provincial Council (BPC) for a decision at its 
next meeting.  In a telephone call to Deputy Provincial Council 
Chairman Nussaif Jassim, he confirmed that the BPC would discuss 
the issue at its meeting on May 17. 
 
¶3. (C) In a separate meeting on May 14, BPC member Dr. Hamid 
al-Thalmi told the Regional Coordinator (RC) that a vote had 
been taken almost four months ago to remove Sawadi from office 
and had received the necessary two-thirds majority.  Dr. Hamid 
said that the decision to remove Sawadi must be submitted to the 
Ministry of Interior (MoI) along with potential three candidates 
to fill the job.  According to Dr. Hamid, the BPC has not been 
able to agree on replacement candidates.  Deputy BPC Chairman 
Nussaif told Regional Embassy Office staff in a subsequent phone 
call that there have been no viable candidates for the position. 
 Nussaif stated that the BPC had been looking at people who were 
either too old or too inexperienced.  The Chief of Police on May 
13 denied that he is being removed from his position and said 
that the Governor would have no right to do so. 
 
¶4.  (C) Comment:  Rumors regarding the imminent demise of the 
Chief of Police have been floating around for several months. 
However, this latest move by the Governor against Sawadi is the 
most serious one to date.  Although the Governor is also 
demanding the resignation of General Abdul Latief Thuaban, he 
does not have the authority to remove the general.  During the 
last month, the Governor has come under pressure from other 
groups to vote him out of office because of his lackadaisical 
attitude towards redressing serious security concerns.  As a 
result, he is eager to show that he is taking decisive action to 
manage the deteriorating security situation in Basrah, and he 
had chosen Sawadi as his scapegoat.  Most observers in Basrah 
believe the Governor's ploy to place blame on Sawadi for the 
chaotic security situation will be seen solely as an attempt to 
deflect attention away the Governor.  End comment. 
 
GROSS