O 281436Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1916
INFO IRAQ COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 000518 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/28/2019 
TAGS: IZ PREL GCC IR
SUBJECT: GOI REACTION TO THE PRESIDENT'S IRAQ SPEECH 
 
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Patricia Butenis for reasons 1.4 (b) 
and (d). 
 
¶1.  (C)  Foreign Minister Zebari told the Charge this 
afternoon that he liked the President's Camp Lejeune speech 
on Iraq, especially the clear statement that the U.S. does 
not support sectarian security forces.  He also liked the 
President's insistence that the GOI focus on building its 
capacity to govern effectively.  He noted, however, that some 
senior officials felt the U.S. had "informed rather than 
consulted" with the GOI prior to the speech.  The GOI's 
understanding, he explained, was that in accordance with the 
Security Agreement, security decisions would be the product 
of close bilateral consultation.  He assured the Charge that 
the President's speech was "generally in line with" the 
Security Agreement, but there were some "deviations."  For 
example, there was no mention of the possible referendum on 
the Security Agreement.  The speech was also vague on the 
transitional force.  The public announcement of a date 
certain for withdrawal of troops by the end of 2011 also 
caused unease, as did the President's caveat that the U.S. 
would reconsider its withdrawal decision if violence 
returned. 
 
¶2.  (C)  The Charge reminded Zebari that she and the CG had 
briefed Prime Minister Maliki on several occasions prior to 
the speech, and fully intended to continue closely consulting 
with the GOI leadership.  There was adequate consultation 
prior to the speech.  Zebari took the Charge's point, noting 
he simply wanted to share the reaction. 
 
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GCC 3 Note 
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¶3.  (C)  Continuing, Zebari noted that the Kuwaiti Foreign 
Minister (who visited Baghdad February 27, readout septel) 
and other Arab colleagues had expressed concern about the 
speech's description of the comprehensive regional engagement 
envisioned by the U.S. and the President's "rush" to 
accommodate Syria and Iran.  There is "great anxiety" that 
the withdrawal of U.S. forces will create a vacuum that Iran 
will seek to fill; U.S. outreach to Iran is moving too 
quickly.  Zebari said the Arab side would raise these 
concerns at the March 2 GCC 3 meeting in Sharm-el-Sheikh, and 
ask the Secretary to explain the U.S. vision for the region 
as a whole. 
 
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Too Many Envoys 
--------------- 
 
¶4.  (C)  Zebari also expressed a bit of concern that having 
too many regional Special Envoys would be distracting.  The 
Charge assured him that these were our best diplomats, and 
that having them serve as Special Envoys would ensure that 
more attention is paid to critical areas. 
 
 
BUTENIS