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FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
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INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 001479 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/01/2017 
TAGS: PGOV PINS PINR IZ
SUBJECT: ADHAMIYA WALL DIVIDES POLITICIANS FROM REALITY IN 
BAGHDAD 
 
Classified By: Classified by Political Counselor Margaret Scobey 
for reasons 1.4(b) and (d). 
 
1.(U) This is a Baghdad PRT Cable. 
 
2.(C) Summary: The security barrier in Adhamiya is 
generating a great deal of controversy in the press and 
provoking widespread condemnation of 'wall-building' in 
Baghdad.  Comments from Baghdad's leaders and residents 
indicate that this controversy is largely one of political 
rhetoric, and not genuinely about enforced sectarian 
division in Baghdad's neighborhoods.  While Baghdad's 
highest-ranking leaders have roundly criticized the 
Adhamiya wall, local leaders and residents have stated 
their belief that barriers are indeed helping to secure 
their neighborhoods. End Summary. 
 
---------------------------------- 
Walls are a good idea before Cairo 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (C) On April 22, prior to the Prime Minister's remarks 
in Cairo regarding the Adhamiya wall, PRTOff discussed the 
Baghdad Security Plan (BSP) with Baghdad Provincial Council 
Chairman Mueen al-Khademi (SCIRI).  During the discussion, 
Mueen expressed interest in the security barrier being 
emplaced in Adhamiya and asked for details on its 
construction and progress.  He noted that he had received a 
request from a local council leader in Adhamiya that the 
barrier be extended an additional five kilometers along a 
route that would connect with the Army Canal; this would 
effectively make large portions of the Tunis and Shamasiya 
neighborhoods completely bounded by either a barrier or the 
canal.  Mueen was unsure where the resources to build such 
a barrier would come from, and asked for PRT assistance in 
coordinating with the military to complete the wall. 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
The rhetoric: An American project to divide us 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶4. (C) The next day, Monday April 23, Chairman Mueen was 
quoted in local media (Voice of Iraq) as being extremely 
critical of efforts to build walls around Adhamiya; he 
stated that American forces should be finding other ways to 
fight the terrorists.  Building walls around Iraqi 
neighborhoods will have 'negative psychological effects' 
and will contribute to more sectarianism.  He was quoted as 
calling for increased intelligence gathering as a more 
effective way to eliminate Baghdad's armed groups. (Note: 
Mueen departed for a trip to Jordan and could not be 
reached to discuss his statements.) 
 
¶5. (C) Baghdad Governor Hussein al-Tahan told PRTOff on 
April 26 that the construction of the security barrier in 
Adhamiya was widely believed to be an American project, 
intended to divide Baghdad's different sectarian 
communities.  Governor al-Tahan saw no reason to disabuse 
Iraqis of that false impression, and claimed that it looked 
bad for Iraqis to 'look like other countries that have 
walls'.  Governor al-Tahan has been briefed on the Baghdad 
Security Plan numerous times over the past weeks and knows 
full well that security barriers are being emplaced in 
different parts of the city as part of the Iraqi-led 
security initiative. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
Baghdadis see walls differently than politicians 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶6. (C) Statements from other local leaders indicate a clear 
divide between those who see barriers as enhancing the 
security of their neighborhoods, and the higher-ranking 
politicians who claim that such barriers are part of an 
American project to divide Iraqi society.  Candidly, 
several Baghdad leaders expressed support for barriers, but 
indicated that politically it would be dangerous for them 
to voice that opinion openly. 
 
¶7. (C) Attending the weekly Baghdad Provincial Council 
Security Committee meeting, Adhamiya District Council 
representative Abd al-Kareem al-Saedi stated that the 
barriers currently under construction in Adhamiya were both 
effective and welcomed by residents, and the military 
should not stop their planned construction.  Al-Saedi 
stated that 'Arab media' had blown the issue out of 
proportion.  Adhamiya District Council member Hassan Khalid 
said that there were both advantages and disadvantages to 
the construction of the barrier; it would be more difficult 
for him to visit relatives on the other side, but it would 
also prevent militia groups from entering central Adhamiya, 
in his view. 
 
BAGHDAD 00001479  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶8. (C) Baghdad Provincial Council member Tariq Bakash 
(Da'wa) said that even though they might increase traffic 
jams, some parts of Baghdad needed barriers as a temporary 
way to increase security in some neighborhoods.  Provincial 
Council administrative staff member Rasoul Rasan said that 
he personally believed walls were necessary in parts of the 
city.  He also stated that he had heard PC members talking 
about the Adhamiya wall and one of them said that he 
supported the construction of the wall, but he couldn't say 
that on the news because he would be 'wanted in Adhamiya' 
if he said such a thing. 
 
¶9. (C) Sadr City official Mohammed Chalab went so far as to 
state that al-Maliki's statement in Cairo was 'a mistake', 
and that Iraqi politicians were falling in behind him to 
'protect' him.  Chalab said that it was obvious that 
barriers were the right way to secure Baghdad, and the most 
expedient way for Iraqi politicians to get the walls they 
want and not be compared to Israel is to blame the US for 
their construction. 
 
---------------------------------------- 
Comment: Rhetoric different than reality 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶10. (C) Comment.  Baghdad's provincial leadership has 
largely followed the lead of national and regional leaders 
who have condemned the construction of the security barrier 
in Adhamiya as an American-driven program to widen the 
sectarian divisions within Baghdad society, while local 
leaders and residents continue to report that the barriers 
in their neighborhoods are improving security.  This 
disconnect indicates that a political nerve has been hit, 
and the most expedient way for provincial leaders to pass 
the buck is to blame the US.  While strident rhetoric about 
barriers in Adhamiya may circulate in the press, most 
residents of Baghdad feel that good T-walls make good 
neighbors. End Comment. 
SPECKHARD