VZCZCXRO1851
RR RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #4205 3640929
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 300929Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5037
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS BAGHDAD 004205 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EFIN PGOV IZ
SUBJECT: CURRENT STATUS OF GOI FUNDING FOR CLCS 
 
REF: A. BAGHDAD CLASSIFIED OI OF 12/05/07: COR CHAIR 
        RECEIVES CLC TRANSITION BRIEF 
     ¶B. BAGHDAD CLASSIFIED OI OF 11/07/07: SALARY 
        DISTORTIONS CONTRIBUTE TO BRAIN DRAIN 
     ¶C. BAGHDAD 3722: ESTABLISHING EMPLOYMENT FOR CLCS 
     ¶D. BAGHDAD 3649: SHIA DEPUTY ON CLCS 
 
¶1. (SBU) Begin Summary: Coalition efforts to secure 
counterpart GOI funding for the transition of Concerned Local 
Citizens (CLCs or Awakening Councils) have garnered positive 
responses from Finance Minister Bayan Jabr and Chair of the 
Council of Representatives (CoR) Economic Committee Dr. 
Haider al-Abadi. Jabr claimed that the Council of Ministers 
approved an allocation of USD 150 million in the 2008 federal 
budget, but admitted that the CoR would ultimately determine 
funding levels for CLCs in the budget. Dr. al-Abadi told MG 
Bergner that he would support the proposed allocation in the 
2008 budget. We have not yet seen documentary evidence that 
the CoR is considering explicit funding for CLCs in ongoing 
budget deliberations. End Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) In a December 13 meeting with MG S. Scott, Finance 
Minister Bayan Jabr expressed his support for the CLC 
reintegration plans and said that the approximately USD 70 
million in the 2008 DDR budget and USD 126 million of unspent 
funds in the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MoLSA) 
2007 budget could theoretically be used to support CLC and 
Joint Technical Education and Reintegration Program (JTERP) 
plans. Jabr indicated that authorization to carryover unspent 
2007 MoLSA funds would require some finessing and would be 
tied to timely budget passage without providing further 
details. He expressed his support in securing the carryover 
authorization. Jabr objected to paying CLCs the current USD 
300 per month salary, and noted that salaries would need to 
be reduced to USD 150-200 to gain his support. (Note: The 
current salary rate for CLCs is nearly double the going rate 
for entry-level skilled workers. See ref B. End Note) Jabr 
said he anticipated certain parties in the CoR would seek to 
block the allocation due to concern over the potential 
militarization of Iraqi society. 
 
¶3. (SBU) During a December 6 meeting, MG Bergner raised the 
CLC funding issue with Dr. Haider al-Abadi following an 
earlier December 4 meeting at which Dr. al-Abadi received a 
brief on CLC transition plans (ref A). Dr. al-Abadi claimed 
that initial suspicions that the CLCs represented a new 
militia had been largely dispelled. He also noted that he 
raised the prospect of GOI funding for CLC transition 
programs with Finance Minister Bayan Jabr and Prime Minister 
Maliki who expressed their support. He was optimistic that 
the USG request for counterpart funding of approximately USD 
150 million in the 2008 federal budget would be successful, 
reiterating his own support for the request. 
 
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Comment 
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¶4. (SBU) We will know more about the fate of CLC funding in 
the 2008 budget once the CoR reconvenes, and budget 
deliberations resume. At this stage, we do not know how the 
CoR will react to this request although the Sadrist bloc and 
other Shia groups (reftel D) will likely oppose it. We will 
continue our outreach to key CoR deputies to shore up support 
for this important initiative. 
 
CROCKER