VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHGB #0208/01 0251325
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 251325Z JAN 08
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5384
INFO RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC

UNCLAS BAGHDAD 000208 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/I, INL 
 
STATE ALSO PASS USAID FOR ANE 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: IZ KCOR PGOV EAID PINR
SUBJECT:   NEW CPI COMMISSIONER FAVORS TRANSPARENCY AND TERM LIMITS 
OVER SENSATIONALISM AND PUBLICITY 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  Summary and introduction:  Days after his appointment as 
the head of the Commission on Public Integrity (CPI), Judge Raheem 
Al-Ugaili sounded consistent themes in interviews with local media 
and meetings with emboffs.  Speaking frankly of the danger public 
corruption poses to Iraqi society, Judge Raheem called for a 
long-term strategy to combat this "cancer."  He spoke of the need 
for financial transparency throughout the public sector, adding a 
populist note by calling on parliamentarians to publicly declare all 
sources of income and decrying the disparity in compensation between 
elected officials and public servants.  In private discussions with 
emboffs, Raheem stressed the importance of maintaining CPI's 
independence.  He expressed gratitude for USG assistance to CPI and 
asked for the Embassy's continued support.  Judge Raheem does not 
foresee initiating an immediate housecleaning of CPI staff...with 
the exception of former acting-Commissioner Musa Faraj.  End summary 
and introduction. 
 
--------------------- 
Changing of the Guard 
--------------------- 
 
¶2.  (U) In meetings with emboffs on January 20 and 22, Judge Raheem 
received emboffs with credentials in hand, presenting a copy of the 
signed order from the Secretariat of the Council of Ministers (COM 
SEC) appointing him interim CPI Commissioner (effective January 17, 
2008) and forwarding his name forward to the Council of 
Representatives (COR) as the new official head of the Commission. 
Under CPA Order 55, Judge Raheem will serve a five year term if 
ratified by the COR. (Note:  Post does not yet have a sense of when 
the COR will vote to ratify Judge Raheem's appointment.  End note.) 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  This same COM SEC order dismissed Musa Faraj as acting 
CPI Commissioner.  According to Deputy CPI Commissioner Sami Shabek, 
Musa Faraj will officially remain on CPI's books on administrative 
leave for the next 30 days.  Judge Raheem told emboffs bluntly that 
Faraj will not be returning to CPI; criticizing Faraj's poor 
management skills and general unfitness for leadership, Raheem said 
firmly "I will not work with him." (Note:  In a January 21 interview 
with Baghdad Radio, Faraj blamed the U.S. for his dismissal from 
CPI, claiming that he had been fired in an effortQ cover-up his 
own corruption investigations.  End note.) 
 
---------------- 
The Work at Hand 
---------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  Judge Raheem, who served as deputy CPI Commissioner in 
2004-05, stressed the need to build a culture of professionalism at 
CPI.  He described a deficit of leadership through the agency and 
stressed the importance of building institutional resiliency so that 
CPI "is not dependent on one man."  While quick to note that many 
CPI staff lack strong qualifications for their positions, Judge 
Raheem does not want to further damage agency morale by ordering 
mass dismissals.  Instead, he said that he will keep the current 
staff, but with the proviso that job performance will be monitored. 
Personnel who do not perform over time will face the consequences. 
Eschewing micromanagement, Raheem spoke of empowering CPI staff by 
providing the training and technology necessary to conduct quiet, 
professional investigations.  Saying that he wishes to lower the 
profile of CPI investigations and avoid the sensationalist 
appearance of political bias in order to build public confidence for 
the agency, Judge Raheem requested strong USG support for his 
efforts to develop CPI's capacity. 
 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  In his press interviews, Judge Raheem minced no words 
about the challenge before CPI, saying that political will to 
address corruption remains weak.  He then called for a series of 
actions to enhance public sector transparency, such as requiring 
government agencies to account for the management of public funds 
and adequate wages for civil servants to inoculate against bribery. 
With emboffs, he spoke of his admiration for fixed terms of office, 
a practice Iraq should adopt to break the Ba'athist practice of 
allowing incumbents to hold lucrative offices for decades. 
 
------------------ 
A Respected Choice 
------------------ 
 
¶6.  (U) Post has heard only positive reaction to Judge Raheem's 
appointment to CPI.  The Chairman of the COR Anti-Corruption 
Committee Sheik al-Sa'adi described Judge Raheem as a "first rate 
son of Iraq" whose patriotism and dedication will help guide the GOI 
its struggle to replace corruption with honesty.  Dr. Adel Mohsen, 
the Prime Minister's Anti-Corruption Advisor and member of the Joint 
Anti-Corruption Committee, observed that Judge Rahim was honest and 
 
fair and predicted that his appointment would improve relations 
between the ministerial Inspectors General and CPI.  'Atifa 
'AbdulQadir al-'Ubaydi, the Director General of the Judicial 
Training Institute, lamented Judge Raheem's departure from her 
faculty, but lauded him as the right man to tackle public 
corruption.  DOJ/ICITAP advisors report a marked uptick in morale 
among CPI staff since the announcement of Judge Raheem's 
appointment.  Judge Raheem has impressed Embassy and PRT staff 
familiar with his work at CPI, JTI and Baghdad's Karada trial court 
as a smart, serious and dedicated judge and administrator not known 
to mix politics with legal matters. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The COM's appointment of a respected jurist to lead CPI is 
a strong step polishing the image of an agency tarnished by 
cross-accusations of mismanagement, malfeasance and political 
mischief following the dramatic departure of former Commissioner 
Radhi al-Radhi in September 2007.  Although acting Commissioner Musa 
Faraj had demonstrated some growth once in office in recent months - 
for example, becoming a surprisingly feisty advocate of CPI's 
independence - his political baggage and erratic leadership 
seriously retarded the agency's development.  In contrast, Judge 
Raheem's public and private remarks since his appointment reflect 
serious analysis of Iraq's vulnerability to corruption and offered 
reasoned strategies to boost society's immunity. 
 
¶8.  (SBU)  As part of the Embassy's 2008 anti-corruption initiative, 
post will evaluate USG support for CPI to date and will determine 
how U.S. engagement should continue. 
 
--------- 
Bio Notes 
--------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU)  According to his C.V., Judge Raheem Hassan al-Ugaili was 
born in Baghdad in 1966.  He graduated with a law degree from 
Baghdad University in 1991 and worked as a lawyer for the next four 
years.  He began judicial training in 1995 and was given his first 
judicial appointment in 1997.  He served as a trial judge between 
1999 and 2004.  He served with the General Secretariat of the 
Council of Ministries from August 2004 until April 2005, and with 
CPI as a commissioner from October - November 2004 and as deputy 
commissioner from April - November 2005.  Judge Raheem returned to 
work as a trial judge in Baghdad from September 2005 until his 
January 2008 appointment to CPI.  During the same period, he 
lectured at the Judicial Training Institute and published four major 
legal books.  Although his C.V. lists Arabic as his only language, 
Raheem's reactions in meetings with emboffs revealed a limited 
understanding of English. 
 
CROCKER