VZCZCXRO6418
PP RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #4094 3051455
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 011455Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7801
INFO RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON DC//NSC// PRIORITY
RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS BAGHDAD 004094 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PINS ECON EZ
SUBJECT: AL-BATHA MAYOR SEEKS DONOR SUPPORT 
 
 
¶1.  (U) This is a PRT Dhi Qar cable. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) SUMMARY:  Dhi Qar PRT and U.S. Army Civil Affairs 
(CA) personnel met with the Mayor of Al-Batha, a small town 
located approximately 15 KM from provincial capital, 
Al-Nasiriyah, on September 12 at the Mayor's office.  The 
mayor, Mr. Ali Faad Al Shershab, discussed his view of 
ongoing US reconstruction projects, the security situation, 
and the local population's perception of Coalition Forces in 
Dhi Qar.  While admitting that the province is "restive," the 
mayor stated that Dhi Qar citizens remain thankful that 
Coalition Forces overthrew the previous regime and are 
looking forward to further cooperation with the PRT and 
Coalition Forces as reconstruction proceeds.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The agenda of the meeting included discussions 
about ongoing CA projects in Al-Batha, including a road 
paving project and an agricultural irrigation project.  The 
CA lead commander confided privately to the PRT's IPAO prior 
to the meeting that the Mayor and the City Council have done 
a good job of overseeing the contracting process for these 
projects, conscientiously finding quality bidders and 
ensuring the contracts were executed correctly. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) During the meeting, the CA commander emphasized to 
the Mayor the Coalition Forces' and international donors' 
commitment to rebuild Dhi Qar, but indicated it was difficult 
to attract donors in the current security environment.  He 
used as an example the fact that the Tallil U.S. Air Force 
Base came under rocket attack last week at the very moment he 
was escorting a UN delegation around the base and trying to 
communicate to them the relative safety of the province. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The Mayor and other Iraqi officials present 
responded by downplaying the rocket attack on Tallil and 
other recent insurgent violence, suggesting that the 
insurgency, though a threat to CF, is not popular among 
citizens of the province.  The Mayor said the local people 
consider the American forces as friendly forces because they 
are here to rebuild the country and we deposed Saddam 
Hussein.  Moreover, he emphasized that the people are willing 
to cooperate fully with the CF and international donors.  He 
said the general feeling on the street is that American 
forces are not "occupiers," but rather the people who got rid 
of Saddam Hussein.  The mayor opined that Dhi Qar could be 
the stepping stone for the rest of the south:  when the rest 
of the south sees how well things are going here, people in 
the other southern provinces will cooperate more fully with 
Coalition Forces. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) COMMENT:  The Iraqis are trying hard to communicate 
that Dhi Qar is a safe area for PRT, CF, and international 
donors and that citizens of the province are serious about 
cooperating with us to the extent we can help them rebuild. 
Their principal concern is inducing the U.S. side to provide 
money and projects.  To this end, they take pains to 
emphasize that the security situation in Dhi Qar is 
relatively stable when compared to other areas of Iraq.  They 
understand that violence will divert money away from the 
province and they thus have a vested interest in cracking 
down on militants.  The mayor and other Iraqi attendees at 
this meeting had definite ideas on how to spend the donors' 
money, and were genuinely concerned that donor money not be 
wasted on projects based on patronage and that quality 
control be assured for every project.  END COMMENT. 
KHALILZAD