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RR RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #3622/01 3050724
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FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
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INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 003622 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/01/2017 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR PTER IZ
SUBJECT: ANBAR PARLIAMENTARIANS OPPOSED TO ACCEPTANCE OF 
CABINET  POSITIONS BY ANBAR SHEIKHS 
 
REF: BAGHDAD 3538 
 
Classified By: Acting Political Counselor Ellen Germain 
for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (U) This is a joint Anbar PRT/POL reporting cable. 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶2. (C) Six of the nine Anbari members of the Council of 
Representatives (CoR), all members of parties in the (Sunni) 
Tawafuq bloc, told Poloffs during October 30 and 31 meetings 
that they do not believe Awakening Council of Iraq (SAI) 
leader Sheikh Ahmad Abu Risha will accept the offer from PM 
Maliki that he should propose candidates to fill ministerial 
positions vacated by Tawafuq, a statement that contradicts 
what Sheikh Ahmad told us, namely that the SAI will accept 
cabinet seats if Tawafuq does not rejoin Maliki's government 
(reftel).  The Anbari CoR representatives said they are 
reaching out to Sheikh Ahmad, even while he is currently in 
the U.S., to lobby him against any decision to be represented 
in the Maliki government.  They remain convinced that SAI 
will not break "Sunni unity" and join PM Maliki's government 
until he changes his policies and stops what they called 
"sectarian practices." The CoR members stressed their hope 
that the USG would "work mostly through the elected 
representatives of the Anbari people," stating that SAI is 
not part of the elected government.  Finally, the CoR 
deputies expressed confidence that Tawafuq candidates will be 
successful in upcoming provincial elections in Anbar, but 
cautioned that Tawafuq's success will depend on the return of 
educated Anbaris who fled the country during the insurgency 
and are considered to be the backbone of their support in 
Anbar.  End Summary. 
 
CoR Members Predict SAI Will Not Join Maliki's Government 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
¶3. (C) On October 30 and 31, Poloffs met with six of the nine 
Anbari CoR deputies at the Tawafuq party headquarters in the 
CoR building. (All nine Anbari CoR members belong to 
Tawafuq.) The six deputies - Sheikh Khalaf al-Dulaimi, Dr. 
Mustafa Mohammed Ali al- Hiti, Dr. Nadirah al-Ani, Dr. Salman 
al-Jumaili, Dr. Asma al-Duleimi, and Ahmad Sulayman al-Alwani 
- expressed confidence that Sheikh Ahmad Abu Risha and SAI 
would not break "Sunni unity" and join PM Maliki's 
government. Al-Hiti said he had been in touch with Sheikh 
Ahmad by telephone while Sheikh Ahmad is currently in the 
United States on an International Visitors Leadership (IVLP) 
program with other Anbari leaders. 
 
¶4. (C) "I just spoke with Sheikh Ahmad on the telephone in 
the U.S.  I am confident that we can be allies with Sheikh 
Ahmad and he will not split the unity of the Sunni and the 
people in Anbar," al-Hiti said.  "First, we believe that the 
SAI will not join Maliki's government until it changes its 
policies and is not sectarian.  Second, we believe that 
Sheikh Ahmad will not try to replace Tawafuq."  Al-Hiti 
added: "Originally Sheikh Ahmad and SAI may have wanted to 
take positions in PM Maliki's government but I think they 
realized there is another partner for them, and that partner 
is Tawafuq."  Asma al-Duleimi concurred with the group's 
assessment.  "There is no division between Tawafuq and SAI in 
our eyes.  I believe that Sheikh Ahmad is a good man.  But we 
need experienced men who are educated, scientific, and 
cultured.  So Sheikh Ahmad needs the help and support of 
Tawafuq because he is not as experienced," she said. 
 
"There is More than Just One Tribe in Anbar" 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (C) While stressing that they saw SAI as "an ally of 
Tawafuq," the Anbari CoR deputies argued that the SAI is not 
the "only tribal force in Anbar."  Sheikh Khalaf al-Dulaimi 
noted the importance of other tribes that he said fought the 
insurgency in the last several years, including the Abu Mahal 
tribe in western Anbar, the Abu Issa tribe in the Fallujah 
area, and the Abu Fahad in the Euphrates River valley.  "I 
have also gathered my people to fight al-Qaeda.  Our people 
killed thirty terrorists at one point.  But I had to stop 
because I had knee surgery" he said, lifting up his sheikh's 
robes to display his scars. 
 
¶6. (C) "It is important for the American government to work 
with all the tribes and all the parties in Anbar, and not 
just the SAI," Nadira al-Ani agreed.  "The nine of us in 
Parliament are the elected representatives of Anbar, and we 
hope that the American government will work first through 
us," she added.  In recent weeks, two other Anbari CoR 
deputies, Asma al-Duleimi and Omar Abdulsattar, have 
expressed similar sentiments.  During an October 7 "iftar" 
 
BAGHDAD 00003622  002 OF 002 
 
 
(meal breaking the fast during the Islamic holy month of 
Ramadan) hosted by Tawafuq leader Adnan al-Duleimi, 
Abdulsattar said that Anbar's "democratically elected 
representatives speak for the people of Anbar.  People should 
work with us first." 
 
Tawafuq Hopeful about Success in Anbar Elections 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶7. (C) The CoR deputies said that while they are hopeful 
Tawafuq candidates can be successful in upcoming provincial 
elections in Anbar, their success will depend on the return 
of educated Anbaris who fled the country due to the 
insurgency.  "The doctors, lawyers, and engineers who fled 
Anbar for Damascus, Amman, and Baghdad during the fighting, 
these are the people who will support us," al-Hiti said.  The 
deputies acknowledged low voter turnout in Anbar Province in 
earlier elections, but expressed confidence that Tawafuq 
candidates could prevail even with higher voter turnout.  The 
deputies all stressed the importance of creating a mechanism 
for casting absentee ballots for Anbaris living outside the 
province.  "If we have a process for absentee ballots, if the 
voting is fair, if we watch the voting boxes to make sure 
there is no cheating, then we will be successful," al-Ani 
added. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶8. (C) Anbar's Tawafuq CoR members continue to cling to the 
hope that SAI will not break ranks and join PM Maliki's 
government in an effort to replace Tawafuq.  Their claims 
that Tawafuq outreach convinced Sheikh Ahmad that "Tawafuq is 
a partner" of SAI will be tested in the coming days, 
influenced no doubt by what he hears and concludes this week 
in Washington. However, if Sheikh Ahmad and SAI do join 
Maliki, the Anbari Tawafuq CoR members warn that Maliki will 
have to accept the consequences of appointing people who have 
not been elected or held public office and who are incapable 
of representing broader (i.e., non Anbari) Sunni interests. 
End Comment. 
BUTENIS