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PP RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #1150/01 1040705
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 130705Z APR 08 ZDK ZUI RUEHAS 7553 SVC. VOL ALL OTHERS
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6820
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 001150 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID PREL IZ REL UK
SUBJECT: CHALABI'S PROVISION OF SERVICES COMMITTEE - APRIL 8 
 
BAGHDAD 00001150  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY: The first meeting to last over two hours in nearly four 
weeks, the April 8 Provision of Services Committee was otherwise 
business as usual. The Ministries of Defense, Health, Finance, 
Electricity, Trade and Transportation attended. The Amanat was also 
present. Services in Sadr City topped the agenda with Dr. Chalabi 
complimenting many of the ministries efforts during this crisis. The 
committee discussed water with the Karkh Water Treatment Plant 
Director and they heard extensively from the Ministry of 
Transportation. Several recommendations were made and decisions were 
taken. END SUMMARY. 
 
- - - - - - - - - - - 
Services in Sadr City 
- - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶2.  Dr. Chalabi began the meeting with a discussion on services in 
Sadr City. According to the Deputy Minister of Electricity, 
currently the only significant electricity problem facing Sadr City 
is the downed electrical station in the Jamilya area. Inoperable for 
72 hours, repair crews cannot access the site due to security 
threats. The Deputy Minister of Electricity also reported that the 
Deputy General for the Ministry of Electricity (MoE) in Sadr City 
asked for, and received, additional supplies and materials, 
including 40 generators. He noted that moving the supplies into the 
city was problematic due to traffic congestion and checkpoint 
hindrances. Dr. Chalabi will write a letter to the Prime Minister 
(PM), praising MoE's endeavors during the current conflict. 
 
¶3.  Checkpoint and traffic delays also posed problems for the 
Ministry of Trade. The Deputy Minister of Trade stated that 50,000 
bags of flour were held up at two checkpoints outside of Sadr City 
since April 3. Chalabi will initiate a memo to the Prime Minister 
and the Baghdad Operations Command (BOC) urging them to expedite the 
passage of Trade's vehicles into Sadr City. 
 
¶4. The Deputy Minister of Health said that trauma medications were 
needed as were food supplies for the hospitals in Sadr City. Not 
unlike the ministries of Trade and Electricity, Health noted 
checkpoint holdups for medical supplies and ambulances, despite the 
Prime Minister's previous order to expedite the latter's movement. 
The committee will issue a letter to the BOC and MoH regarding the 
ambulance delays. The committee reported that two trucks carrying 
medical supplies for Sadr City were being held in Abu Ghraib. 
Chalabi requested that the BOC follow up with this issue, too, 
although, unusually, no BOC representative was in attendance. In an 
attempt to limit vehicular supply movement, the central Ministry of 
Health (MoH) authorized greater reserves for the hospitals of Sadr 
City. For example, a 400 bed hospital is authorized a reserve supply 
sufficient for 500 persons. There is a cash shortage among the 
hospitals which is limiting their ability to purchase needed 
supplies. This problem is due to irregular and unpredictable banking 
hours and altogether closures. As an immediate solution the MoH 
reported that they had delivered 50 million Iraqi Dinars in cash to 
the hospitals to be used as "reserves" until the banks are 
accessible. Dr. Chalabi also intends to issue a letter of 
commendation to the MoH and the Russafa Health Center for their 
efforts during the Sadr City conflict. 
 
¶5. The conflict in Sadr City has impacted Baghdad more widely 
according to the Deputy Mayor of Baghdad, Mr. Naeim. Trash 
collection throughout the city has been slowed and/or halted for 
more than 15 days because of the curfews and traffic congestion. He 
estimates that less than 50% of trash produced is removed daily as a 
result of the current conflict. (Note: The vast majority of the 
Amanat's laborers are from Sadr City. End Note) Less than 25% of 
laborers are currently showing up for work and approximately only 
30% of equipment needed is available. (Note: Again, many of the 
laborers are from Sadr City and the equipment is parked/stored 
there. End Note) Naeim also complained that public parks and gardens 
are being used as ad hoc trash dumps, damaging significant Amanat 
investment to beautify those areas. The Deputy Mayor claimed that 
military operations have also damaged the parks. Other public 
gardens not affected by trash or conflict went uncared for, again 
due to labor shortages. The Amanat then suggested deferring the next 
scheduled Clean-Up Day (Karrada) until next month because many of 
the drivers live in areas where a curfew is in place. Dr. Chalabi 
went one step further and will issue a resolution that Clean-Up Day 
is postponed until further notice. 
 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
Other Issues: Trade, Water and Civil Aviation 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶6. Problems for the Ministry of Trade at the Port of Um Qasr have 
been all but eliminated according to the Deputy Minister. She 
thanked the Ministry of Transportation for prioritizing Trade's 
shipments. However, milk delivery continues to be delayed because 
the Ministry is unable to get the milk to testing sites due to fuel 
shortages. Dr. Chalabi will send a memo to the Ministry of Oil (MoO) 
to inform them that the Ministry of Trade is willing to pay the MoO 
directly for an increased monthly allowance of diesel. (Note: In 
previous meetings, Dr. Chalabi has championed fuel importation by 
the ministries as opposed to "fixed" allocations from the MoO. It is 
 
BAGHDAD 00001150  002 OF 002 
 
 
not clear if Trade even attempted to import their own diesel. End 
Note) Additionally, MNF-I will investigate and report back next week 
the U.S. military's interests in some of Trade's warehouses in Taji. 
According to the Deputy Minister, the U.S. military seeks to take 
over these warehouses for an unknown reason. (Note: MND-B states 
that this is an issue between the Ministry of Trade and the Ministry 
of Interior (MoI). MoI is requesting transfer of a portion of an 
under-used administrative building at Trade's Grain Distribution 
Warehouse in Taji for use as a temporary Iraqi police station. 
According to MND-B, the MoI's temporary use of a portion of this 
under-used facility will have no impact whatsoever on the operation 
of the grain facility. End Note) 
 
¶7. The Director of the Karkh Water Treatment Plant (KWTP) attended 
the meeting. He addressed several issues including the Tigris River 
water levels, Abu Niwas pumping station, the Mosul Dam and the KWTP. 
According to the Director, the river is in desperate need of 
dredging because debris in front of the KWTP is preventing raw water 
from being drawn and treated to potable water standards. Chalabi 
made a resolution for the Amanat and the Ministry of Water Resources 
(MoWR) to dredge the river. The Director noted that dredgers were a 
premium and that several dredgers belonging to the Amanat were 
trapped in Taji because it could not pass a U.S. owned/controlled 
floating bridge. They requested that it be taken down to allow the 
dredgers to pass up stream. MNF-I agreed to look into it further. 
(Note: MND-B has determined that the floating bridge is no longer an 
issue. MOWR decided to try to reduce the blockage in front of the 
KWTP raw water intake using an on-shore excavator. MND-B also noted 
that dredgers have passed this bridge previously under a trestle 
bridge that connects to the floating bridge should the on-shore 
excavators not resolve the issue; therefore, eliminating the need to 
take down the floating bridge. End Note) 
 
¶8.  The Karkh Director complained that the Americans (U.S. Army 
Corps of Engineers) did not complete (approximately 60-70% complete) 
the Abu Niwas pumping station, resulting in significant 
under-utilization, only 200 cubic meters per hour. He said the 
Baghdad Water Authority refuses to take over the pumping station 
until the work is completed. The Director then discussed the weak 
foundation of the Mosul Dam. He noted the low water levels due to 
the weak foundation and the persistent power outages there. Finally, 
ITAO Operations Director, General Snyder, commented that the Baghdad 
Water Authority testing of switch gear for two existing back-up 
generators at the Karkh Water treatment plant remained an urgent 
issue to complete installation and make back-up power available for 
the summer. The committee recommended moving two, 22mw generators to 
the treatment plant as an alternative. Chalabi also asked the 
Director to deliver a written report on matters discussed. 
 
¶9. Along with the Deputy Minister of Transportation, the Director 
General of Civil Aviation and the Director of the Iraqi Airways 
attended the meeting. Their list of issues included problems with 
the Amanat, corruption, independent airway assessment and airspace 
and airport ownership. The Deputy Minister of Transportation 
complained that some Amanat employees were hindering progress. 
Chalabi asked the Deputy Mayor to address these problems. The 
Ministry also asked the Deputy Mayor for his assistance and 
cooperation to clean the main entrance to the Baghdad International 
Airport (BIAP). Transportation requested their own buses to run 
several routes along Route Irish to BIAP to avoid the current 
overcharging of Iraqis utilizing public transportation. The Deputy 
Minister mentioned some legal hurdles for the Ministry to accomplish 
this, but no solutions were offered. 
 
¶10. The DG of Civil Aviation requested an audit or assessment of 
BIAP, to the tune of 200 million dinars. He maintained that the last 
audit was in 1997. Dr. Chalabi told them to write a request to his 
committee for the funding. (Note: This is contradictory to our 
understanding of Chalabi's committee's capabilities. Until now, they 
have been without funding. We are investigating whether or not this 
has changed. End Note) The Deputy Minister of Transportation was 
also concerned that they needed funding to continue contract 
training of air traffic controllers for certification and that 
airspace control below 29,000 feet would be re-claimed by the U.S. 
if the Iraqis didn't take the proper steps to claim it. (Note: The 
issue is a training contract currently being funded by the USG which 
terminates soon. The USG does not want airspace control below 
29,000. End Note) Chalabi suggests that they write the PM about this 
issue. The Ministry also asked that the U.S. turn over hangers at 
BIAP to them. The Director of Iraqi Airways pled for funding for 
equipment and spare parts. Dr. Chalabi requested a report of their 
needs. He also asked the Ministry of Transportation to prepare a 
report for next week's meeting detailing their concerns. 
 
Butenis