VZCZCXRO5700
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #1974 1801254
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 281254Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8020
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 001974 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/28/2018 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PINS KCRS IZ
SUBJECT: PRT SALAH AD DIN:  VP HASHEMI VISITS SAMARRA 
 
REF: BAGHDAD 1871 
 
Classified By: PRT SaD Team Leader Rick Bell for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d 
). 
 
¶1.  (U) This is a PRT Salah ad Din reporting cable. 
 
¶2.  (C) Summary: On June 22, Sunni Vice President Tareq 
Al-Hashemi made an unannounced visit to Samarra in southern 
Salah ad Din province to deliver a message of support for 
reconstruction efforts.  Hashimi is the most senior GOI 
official to visit the city since the end of violence that 
ensued following the bombings of the Shi'a Golden Mosque in 
2006 and 2007.  Hashemi heard numerous complaints from city 
council members about the lack of progress by the provincial 
and central government to promote reconstruction in Samarra. 
Hashemi also received a briefing on security issues from 
Major General Rasheed, the head of Iraqi Security Forces 
(ISF) in Samarra.  Following a meeting with religious and 
Sons of Iraq (SOIZ) leaders, Hashemi expressed his support 
for integration of SOIZ members into the Iraqi Army (IA) and 
Iraqi Police (IP).  A newly reopened local business appealed 
to Hashemi for GOI assistance to expand its business.  End 
Summary. 
 
¶3.  (C) Sunni Vice President Tareq Al-Hashemi met with local 
political, religious, and business leaders during a surprise 
visit to Samarra on June 22.  Mayor Mahmood Khalif Ahmed 
briefed Hashemi on reconstruction efforts in this predominant 
Sunni city.  City council members complained loudly to 
Hashemi about the lack of reconstruction progress and openly 
blamed the provincial and central government for their 
lackluster efforts to promote development, a sentiment they 
said is held by the majority of Samarrans.  They cited as an 
example that the provincial government has not awarded any 
contracts to local Samarran contractors. 
 
¶4.  (C) Hashemi received a briefing on security issues from 
Major General Rasheed, the head of Iraqi Security Forces 
(ISF) in Samarra.  Hashemi also met with Sons of Iraq (SOIZ) 
leaders who appealed for increased integration of SOIZ 
members into the Iraqi Security Forces.  Religious leaders at 
this meeting requested assistance to reopen a religious 
studies institute and complained that local leaders were not 
permitted to enter the Shi'a Al-Askari (Golden) Mosque 
compound, which is currently under renovation.  At the 
meeting's conclusion, Hashemi expressed his support for 
integration of SOIZ members into the Iraqi Army (IA) and 
Iraqi Police (IP). 
 
¶5.  (C) Hashemi concluded his visit with tours of the Shi'a 
Al-Askari (Golden) Mosque and the newly reopened Samarra Drug 
Institute, where plant management requested his assistance to 
increase drug orders from the Ministries of Defense, 
Interior, and Health. 
 
¶6.  (C) Comment:  Hashemi is the most senior GOI official to 
visit the city since the end of a wave of violence that 
gripped the city following the bombings of the Golden Mosque 
in 2006 and 2007.  Hashemi's visit also signals the first 
time a high-level GOI official has called on city officials 
before visiting the Golden Mosque, which official visitors 
have not typically done in the past.  Samarra is a 
predominantly Sunni city, and its residents are sensitive to 
unannounced visits to the (Shi'a) Golden Mosque, particularly 
by GOI or provincial officials who do not make the effort to 
discuss broader reconstruction efforts with city officials. 
End Comment. 
CROCKER