VZCZCXRO5776
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHMOS
DE RUEHIHL #0092/01 1441157
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 241157Z MAY 06
FM REO HILLAH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0635
RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD PRIORITY 0621
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
RUEHIHL/REO HILLAH 0686

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HILLAH 000092 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
BAGHDAD FOR NCT 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  5/24/2016 
TAGS: PGOV KISL KDEM IZ
SUBJECT: ISLAMIC DA'WA PARTY CHIEF IN BABIL CALLING FOR IRAQI 
FEDERALISM, U.S. COOPERATION, AND COALITION WITHDRAWAL 
 
HILLAH 00000092  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Alfred Fonteneau, Regional Coordinator, REO 
Hillah, Department of State. 
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
 
 
¶1. (U) This is a Babil PRT cable. 
 
¶2. (C) SUMMARY. During a recent meeting Abu Al-Basri, Islamic 
Da'wa Party Chief of Babil Province, offered Provincial 
Reconstruction Team (PRT) staff insight into the party's 
opinions on reconstruction, the Provincial Council (PC), other 
Shi'a Islamist parties and the question of U.S. withdrawal from 
Iraq.  Al-Basri expressed candidly that the party sees little 
direct signs of reconstruction and remains frustrated with the 
ineffectiveness of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in 
Iraq-dominated (SCIRI) Provincial Council (PC).  Despite 
criticism of the PC and his attempts to distance Da'wa from 
other Shi'a Islamist groups during the meeting, he underscored 
that Iraq needs a federal system of government giving Shi'a 
complete primacy in southern Iraq.   Al-Basri's also stated that 
it is time for the United States to be "honest" with the people 
of Iraq and called for the expedited withdrawal of Coalition 
Forces from the country.  END SUMMARY. 
 
------------------------------------- 
ISLAMIC DA'WA VIEWS ON RECONSTRUCTION 
------------------------------------- 
¶3. (C) Starting off, Al-Basri focused upon Coalition 
reconstruction efforts in the province, and in Iraq as a whole. 
The goal of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, he argued, was to remove 
Saddam, establish a representative government and then quickly 
depart, but the continued presence of American and Coalition 
forces contradicts the originally stated mission.  He further 
maintained that U.S. uses the concept of reconstruction as a 
rationalization for an open-ended presence in Iraq, as there are 
no indications at all of rebuilding.  Citing the inability of 
the United States to rebuild the country, Al-Basri further 
stated that it is time for Iraqi people and Iraqi companies to 
take over the reconstruction efforts, with the backing of U.S. 
funds. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
ISLAMIC DA'WA VIEWS ON THE BABIL PROVINCIAL COUNCIL 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
¶4. (C) Asked if the SCIRI-dominated PC provides adequate support 
to Coalition reconstruction efforts, Al-Basri replied that the 
PC is a weak body, unable to conduct the basic functions of the 
government, let alone assist with reconstruction efforts.  He 
further added that "talk on the street" suggests the people 
blame the United States for the lack of reconstruction, as 
opposed to the PC.  Asked if the people view the recent 
Iraqi-led, U.S.-supported date palm tree spraying program as 
successful, Al-Basri laughed and replied that there are more 
bugs threatening the palm trees in South-Central now than before 
the initiation of the May campaign.  Despite this claim, 
Coalition Forces and the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture report 
that the campaign was highly successful. 
 
¶5. (C) Al-Basri further attacked the PC, stating that the 
individual members remain unwilling to coordinate their efforts 
due to petty infighting.  Often, he added, the PC makes such 
rash decisions that the Council of Representatives quickly 
overturns their hasty legislation.  Employing the ongoing 
controversy of the PC attempt to fire Babil Police Chief General 
Qais Al-Momouri as an example, he argued that the PC failed to 
study their position and its eventual implications.  Considering 
that the government of Iraq was about to be sworn in and a new 
Minister of the Interior appointed, the PC, he contended, should 
have delayed their decision to fire the General before causing 
such a scandal. 
 
------------------------------------------- 
ISLAMIC DA'WA AS A DISTINCT POLITICAL PARTY 
------------------------------------------- 
¶6. (C) Al-Basri then went on to illustrate his vision of the 
future of the Islamic Da'wa Party in Babil.  The party, he 
argued, is popular with the people because its platform calls 
for the universal respect of human rights and the protection of 
individual freedoms.  When asked about the party's prospects, 
Al-Basri boasted that Da'wa will win the "lion's share" of PC 
seats, if they decide to run on their own ticket in the upcoming 
local and provincial elections.  He added that the previous 
appointment of Ja'afari as Prime Minister (PM) certainly 
increased the visibility of the party on a national level and 
that such name recognition will be crucial in the province, 
despite the former PM's failure to win a second term. 
 
¶7. (C) Al-Basri then criticized other Shi'a Islamist 
 
HILLAH 00000092  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
organizations in South-Central, arguing that only Da'wa should 
be termed as an actual political party.  SCIRI and the Sadrists, 
he stated, formed after the fall of Saddam, whereas the Da'wa 
party was created in the late 1950s to oppose the old regime. 
Moqtada Al-Sadr, he argued, has not created a political party in 
the true sense of the term, but on the contrary, exploited his 
father's cult of personality to gain followers.  SCIRI, he 
stated, has not publicized their objectives and does not possess 
an enunciated political program.  However, there are 
commonalities between all Shi'a organizations, he stated, and 
the implementation of federalism in Iraq is certainly one of 
them. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
ISLAMIC DA'WA VIEWS ON THE U.S. IN IRAQ 
--------------------------------------- 
¶8. (C) The Islamic Da'wa Party Chief concluded that the United 
States needs to be truthful with the Iraqi people and carry out 
the promises given in 2003, including rebuilding the country and 
departing.  If the Americans are truthful, he stated, then the 
Iraqi people will cooperate with their U.S. counterparts in true 
friendship.  If the Americans are untruthful, he warned, then 
the "Iraqi people will have another talk with them."  PRT staff 
asked if he could provide examples of when the United States has 
lied to the people of Iraq.  Unwilling to provide an example, 
Al-Basri politely dodged the question by stating that he felt 
that it was time for Coalition Forces to depart. 
 
¶9. (C) COMMENT.  The meeting on a whole was friendly, but the 
Islamic Da'wa Party Chief of Babil was obviously frustrated with 
both the lack of reconstruction in the province and the presence 
of Coalition forces in Iraq.  While he may have overestimated 
the support his party has in the province, the intensifying 
efforts of all the Shi'a Islamist parties to consolidate power 
in South-Central goes forward unfettered.  END COMMENT. 
MEURS