VZCZCXRO0358
OO RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #1882/01 1740835
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 220835Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7907
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 001882 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SCUL KPAO PREL PGOV PHUM EAID PINR IZ
SUBJECT: MOSUL BENEFITS FROM MAYOR'S VOLUNTARY VISITOR 
PROGRAM TO U.S. 
 
This is a Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) Ninewa message. 
 
Sensitive but unclassified - please handle accordingly. 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) During a short June 2008 debriefing, Zuhair Muhsin 
Abdul Aziz Al Aaraji, Mayor of Mosul - one of Iraq's most 
strategic cities - reported that his trip to the United 
States was extremely beneficial.  Mayor Al Aaraji took part 
in the US-Arab Cities Forum hosted in May 2008 by the 
Honorable Richard M. Daley, Mayor of Chicago, and then in a 
10-day International Visitor Leadership Voluntary Visitor 
Program that took him to Minneapolis and Philadelphia.  The 
trip was the first time the Mayor had ever left Iraq.  The 
program focused on critical infrastructure issues that Mosul 
must tackle and the Mayor returned to Mosul energized by his 
exposure to numerous new ideas. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Al Aaraji focused his attention on solid waste 
management, waste water treatment, and neighborhood 
redevelopment.  Al Aaraji indicated that Mosul had already 
seen direct results from his Voluntary Visitor program. 
Shortly after returning, he formed a committee to study solid 
waste treatment issues for the city.  The committee has 
produced a comprehensive solid waste study for the 100 tons 
of solid waste produced each day in the city of Mosul.  The 
comprehensive study has been submitted to the Provincial 
Council and includes many ideas that were highlighted during 
the program. 
 
Mayor Maintains Contact with Interlocutors 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) While working on the solid waste management plan, Al 
Aaraji indicated that he received guidance from individuals 
he met during his 10-day program.  He also reported utilizing 
information from numerous websites he was provided during the 
program.  During the initial five days in Chicago at the 
US-Arab Cities Forum, Al Aaraji reported meeting many mayors 
from all over the Arab world and enjoyed the opportunity to 
exchange views.  He indicated that he had continued to 
correspond with some of the mayors via email. 
 
Many Surprises During Visit 
--------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) After being in the United States, Al Aaraji reported 
a new understanding of the value of trash segregation and 
recycling.  He reported exploring creative incentives to 
encourage families in Mosul to separate their trash.  After 
seeing the efficiency of private sector garbage collection in 
the United States, Al Aaraji also indicated that he would 
like to divide the city of Mosul into sectors.  Some sectors 
would have private garbage collection and some would be 
serviced by the public sector.  Al Aaraji thought this 
approach would provide incentives for the public sector to 
effectively compete against the private sector and 
potentially improve the quality of service.  Based on 
information he received in the United States, he also 
reported an interest in developing an educational campaign to 
teach people how to recycle and the benefits associated with 
proper usage of collection and transfer stations. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Al Aaraji indicated that he was most surprised by 
the great care that cities take to ensure that their water 
treatment process meets high standards.  He was surprised 
that the cities didn't dump their waste water into the river 
for the next city to deal with on their own.  He has given 
information he received from water treatment facilities to 
the Mosul Water Department to improve the water treatment 
capabilities of the city. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Al Aaraji said that everything ran exactly as it was 
stated in the program book and he was surprised to find the 
same well organized systems in every sector of US society. 
He noticed the well organized systems of planning, 
implementation, mentoring, and auditing and, as Mosul 
recovers from the war's devastation, he will attempt to 
replicate some of the same organizational systems. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) This was the first opportunity for Al Aaraji to 
travel outside of Iraq.  PRT Ninewa congratulates the Bureau 
of Education and Cultural Affairs (ECA) on the excellent 
organization and the high-quality program.  The program was a 
tremendous success and showed many positive aspects of 
American society.  We will continue to work with the Mayor to 
 
BAGHDAD 00001882  002 OF 002 
 
 
encourage the excitement and attitude he brought out of the 
program. Since Mosul Reconstruction is one of Iraq's highest 
priorities, the Mayor's travel to the United States could not 
have come at a more opportune time. 
CROCKER