VZCZCXRO6808
OO RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHMK #1277/01 1931512
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 121512Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY MANAMA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5215
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RHBVAKS/COMUSNAVCENT  PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 001277 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/11/2016 
TAGS: PREL BA IZ REGION
SUBJECT: FRACTIOUS IRAQI PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION VISITS 
BAHRAIN 
 
REF: MANAMA 1213 
 
Classified By: Ambassador William T. Monroe.  Reason: 1.4 (B)(D) 
 
¶1. (C) Summary.  A diverse group of Iraq parliamentarians, 
led by Speaker Mashadani, visited Bahrain July 9-11, meeting 
with a range of officials, parliamentarians, and business 
leaders.  Before visiting Bahrain, the delegation stopped in 
Iran, where they found a confident Iranian leadership that 
urged the Iraqis to raise Shia issues in Bahrain.  Shia 
delegation members apparently did just that at the Bahraini 
parliament, angering Bahraini Sunnis.  Mashadani, meanwhile, 
actively engaged the press, using some harsh anti-American 
rhetoric.  In a discussion with the Ambassador, in contrast, 
he was full of praise for Ambassador Khalilzad and General 
Casey, clearly valuing the American presence in Iraq. He 
urged Bahraini business leaders to come to Iraq, but the 
President of Bahrain's Chamber of Commerce and Industry said 
Bahrainis would be hesitant until the security situation 
improves.  This fractious group, which showed little cohesion 
as a delegation, gave Bahrainis a good snapshot of the new 
Iraq --both the divisions troubling the country and the new 
phenomenon of Sunnis, Shia and Kurds all speaking their minds 
freely.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (C) Speaker of the Iraqi Council of Representatives 
Mahmoud Mashadani led a diverse group of Iraqi 
parliamentarians on a visit to Bahrain July 9-11 at the 
invitation of Bahrain's Shura Council.  The group met with 
Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa, 
Parliamentary leaders from the Shura and Council of 
Representatives, the President of the Bahrain Chamber of 
Commerce and Industry, and groups from the Sunni and Shia 
community. The delegation was comprised of a wide range of 
Iraqis, including Sunnis, Shia, Kurds, and Turkomens, a 
diversity that proved a bit unwieldy for the small Iraqi 
Embassy as it attempted to support the visit.  As the Iraqi 
Ambassador commented to us, "It was not a homogenous group." 
 
¶3. (C) Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid, in a conversation with 
the Ambassador, described his meeting with the group as 
constructive, although the Iraqis "clearly came with no 
agenda" and were not a cohesive delegation.  Nobody seemed to 
care what Speaker Mashadani said, and everyone wanted to 
speak for themselves.  As soon as the meeting started, he 
added, mobile phones started ringing and people stopped 
paying attention.  "I had a chance to see first-hand the new 
Iraq," Shaikh Khalid quipped. 
 
¶4. (C) Before visiting Bahrain, the group stopped in Tehran. 
According to Mashadani's newly-appointed security affairs 
advisor, the group found the Iranians arrogant and full of 
confidence.  They argued that Iraq should kick the Americans 
out of Iraq.  When Mashadani responded that Iraq's security 
forces were not yet strong enough to do that, they responded 
that Iran would be happy to supply the Iraqi government with 
whatever it needed in terms of money and arms to maintain 
security.  On Bahrain, the Iranian interlocutors reportedly 
urged the Iraqis to press the Bahrainis on the question of 
treatment of Shia in Bahrain.  The Shia members of the Iraqi 
delegation apparently did just that during a meeting at the 
Council of Representatives, angering Bahraini Sunni 
parliamentarians and drawing a rebuke from speaker Mashadani. 
 This annoyed the Iraqi Shia delegation members, who then 
demanded that the delegation leave Bahrain a day early (which 
they did, only to have their plane diverted to Amman because 
of a sandstorm in Iraq). 
 
¶5. (U) In the meeting at the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and 
Industry (BCCI), Mashadani, according to press reports, urged 
Bahrain business representatives to visit Iraq to explore 
trade and investment opportunities.  He said that there were 
numerous opportunities, and that the Iraqi government and 
parliament would support any initiative by Bahraini 
companies.  BCCI President Esam Fakhro told the press that 
the Bahrain private sector is interested in exploring 
business opportunities in Iraq, but that Bahrainis will be 
hesitant until the security situation improves.  When the 
security situation does improve, he stated, the BCCI can 
start organizing trade delegations to visit Iraq. 
 
¶6. (U) On arrival in Bahrain, Mashadani gave a full-page 
interview with the Arabic daily "Al-Watan" which, if quoted 
correctly, included some strong anti-American rhetoric.  He 
reportedly said that the occupation forces had left the 
country in a miserable situation, and that "our clash is with 
the Americans, and not the Shia or Kurds."  He described 
former CPA head Bremer as a thief who stole Iraq, consulted 
with Israel, and sought to break up the Iraqi army and 
security institutions.  In a separate interview, he 
 
MANAMA 00001277  002 OF 002 
 
 
reportedly accused the United States of taking control of 
Iraq's oil and "stealing it and distributing it as it 
desires." 
 
¶7. (C) During a dinner hosted by the Iraqi Ambassador for the 
delegation, the Ambassador expressed to Mashadani his concern 
about the anti-American rhetoric in the press interview. 
Mashadani brushed off the Ambassador's concerns, saying that 
he had the highest praise for Ambassador Khalilzad and for 
General Casey and didn't want the Americans -- and especially 
Ambassador Khalilzad --  to leave.  He also talked proudly of 
having met President Bush.  He sat next to the Ambassador at 
the dinner, and could not have been more friendly. 
Mashadani's national security advisor, in trying to explain 
the press rhetoric, said that Mashadani is under tremendous 
pressure, caught between the large number of Shia in 
Parliament on the one hand and the Sunni extremists outside 
of Parliament on the other.  When he speaks, he must be 
attentive to different audiences. 
 
¶8. (C) Comment.  We have been urging the Bahraini government 
to invite Iraqi leaders to come to Bahrain to increase 
engagement and expose Bahrainis to the new Iraq.  This 
delegation certainly did that.  Although in some ways the 
delegation only served to further solidify concerns -- almost 
everyone could find something to be alarmed about, from the 
Shia delegation members bringing up local Shia issues to 
Mashadani enunciating a strong Sunni line -- the fact is that 
Bahrainis saw an Iraq they would have never seen before, with 
Sunnis, Shia, and Kurds all freely speaking their mind. 
 
********************************************* ******** 
Visit Embassy Manama's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/manama/ 
********************************************* ******** 
MONROE