VZCZCXRO0357
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #0851 0801156
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 201156Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6352
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 000851 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/20/2018 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PINS KCRS IZ
SUBJECT: PRT SALAH AD DIN:  ANXIETIES BUILD AMID QUESTIONS 
AS DEBAATH APPLICATION LOOMS 
 
REF: BAGHDAD 636 
 
Classified By: PRT Salah ad Din Team Leader Rick Bell 
for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (U) This is a PRT Tikrit, Salah ad Din reporting cable. 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶2. (C) With anxieties building as the April 14 application 
deadline set in the Justice and Accountability Law 
approaches, Salah Ad Din (SaD) provincial officials have 
begun to collect data on former Firqah and Shuba level 
Baathists.  However, many former Baath Party members who 
could benefit from the law have expressed concern that 
identifying themselves on applications is potentially a form 
of entrapment that will lead to their exclusion from public 
life.  SaD officials complain that the GoI is failing to 
provide guidance but feel compelled to move the process 
forward locally.  End Summary. 
 
¶3. (C) With the April 14 deadline nearing for former Firqah 
and Shuba level employees to apply for reinstatement to their 
positions or to receive a pension, and absent guidance from 
Baghdad, Provincial officials, including Deputy Governor 
Abdullah Jabara (who is Firqah-level himself) have begun to 
gather names and related information in order to prepare for 
the April 14 deadline.  The Province has developed 
application forms for those seeking reinstatement, continued 
service, or pensions as envisioned in the Accountability and 
Justice Law.  While that law, which came into force on 
February 14, directed the Council of Representatives (CoR) to 
name a seven-member committee to promulgate rules to meet the 
law's requirements, with less than one month to go before 
applications are due, the CoR has not even named the panel. 
In previous discussions with the National De-Baathification 
Commission (reftel), Provincial leaders were told that no 
action in developing implementing regulations would be taken 
prior to the naming of the seven-member committee. 
 
Province Tries to Prepare 
------------------------- 
 
¶4. (C) On March 19, Jabara expressed to us his deep concern 
that the GoI has not yet provided any guidance on the 
process.  He gave PRTPolOff forms that the Province has 
developed for those who stand to benefit from the law.  These 
forms request basic information about the applicant  The 
Province hopes to gather this information before the April 14 
application deadline so provincial officials will have 
sufficient time to submit these applications in case the 
deadline is not extended. Jabara also noted that he had 
received calls from colleagues in Ninewah and Kirkuk 
requesting his advice on how they should proceed.  (Note: 
PRTPolOff promised to forward the Salah Ad Din-developed 
application forms to the PRTs in those Provinces. End Note.) 
 
Suspicion of New De-Baath Law Remains 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (C) There is an undercurrent of suspicion in the Province 
about the true motivation behind the Accountability and 
Justice Law and the lack of instructions from Baghdad. 
Tikrit Law School Dean Amer Ayesh and Provincial Council (PC) 
Member Yousif Suleiman visited Baiji to brief former Baath 
Party members on their Baghdad meetings.  The consensus of 
those in attendance was that the application process was a 
trap to get the names of former Baath Party members in order 
to continue their exclusion from public life.  None thought 
that they would receive jobs or pensions.  Jabara confirmed 
that this sentiment is shared by others in the Province, 
though he agreed with us that the biggest blunder would be to 
miss the application deadline. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶6. (C) To accommodate its large population of former Baath 
Party members, Salah Ad Din has decided to work proactively 
to prepare for what could be a mad dash to get applications 
of former Baath Party members to Baghdad.  In Salah Ad Din, 
the treatment of former Baathists is the key measure among 
many of whether the GoI is truly serious about 
reconciliation.  The current lack of GoI progress on 
implementing the Accountability and Justice Law is viewed in 
this Province as a very negative signal.  End Comment. 
CROCKER