VZCZCXRO5814
RR RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHKUK
DE RUEHIHL #0041/01 1491206
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 291206Z MAY 09
FM REO HILLAH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1193
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
RUEHIHL/REO HILLAH 1266

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HILLAH 000041 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  5/29/2019 
TAGS: PGOV PINR IZ
SUBJECT: "INDEPENDENT" BABIL GOVERNOR ON A SHORT DA'WA LEASH 
 
HILLAH 00000041  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Kenneth Hillas, PRT Leader, Babil PRT, Dept of 
State. 
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY:  Newly elected and nominally independent Babil 
Governor Salman Nasir Zargany has begun his official duties with 
a flourish, but there is speculation in Al-Hillah that he is 
keeping the governor's seat warm until Da'wa Chairman Abu Ahmed 
al-Basri can replace him.  Even though Da'wa is keeping Zargany 
on a short leash, the governor has no love lost for ISCI and 
former governor al-Muslimawi.  The former governor is widely 
believed to have been responsible for the allegations of sexual 
harassment and corruption that forced Al-Zargany from his 
position two years ago as Babil's Director of Sewage.  Poised to 
show that he can make a difference as Governor, Zargany is eager 
to cooperate with the PRT/USG, especially in light of the 
province's budget shortfall this year and its limited ability to 
fund projects.  He also shares our concern about the recent 
uptick in violence in the province directed at US personnel. 
Zargany is perceived as competent and honest.  His focus is 
strongly on improving public services, and he has taken an 
aggressive stand on corruption.  END SUMMARY. 
 
PLUCKED FROM OBSCURITY, 
WITH FEW KNOWN ALLIES 
----------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Outside of government circles, Salman Nasir Zargany was 
largely unknown until Da'wa elevated him to the governorship. 
He was born in 1967 to a poor family in the Thawra neighborhood 
of Hillah and later received a degree in engineering from 
Baghdad University.  Married with three children, Zargany is one 
of five brothers, who are for the most part working class: Jasim 
Nasir (deceased), who had been an admiral in the Iraqi Navy and 
contender for Babil governor in 2003; Dakhil Nasir, a chemistry 
professor at Babylon University; Jaleel Nasir, the owner of a 
flour factory; and Hamza Nasir, who runs a trucking business. 
 
¶3. (C) Zargany served as Babil's Director for Sewage until 2007 
when he was suspended for six months and sent to Karbala after, 
it is widely believed, former governor al-Muslimawi and others 
in ISCI lodged accusations against him of sexual harassment and 
corruption.  Al-Zargany's supporters contend the charges were 
false and resulted from Zargany's opposition to ISCI's attempts 
to manipulate the placement of public works projects for 
political gain.  Aside from the time of his banishment to 
Karbala, Zargany lived in his modest family home until he was 
elected governor. 
 
¶4. (C) Despite having been rescued from his Karbala exile by 
Da'wa, Zargany has no political base of his own, and is heavily 
reliant on Da'wa to maintain his position.  He was picked by 
Da'wa because he was viewed as a competent, independent 
technocrat.  Da'wa party leader Abu Ahmed al-Basri told us that 
al-Zargany signed an undated letter of resignation, which Da'wa 
has retained should it wish to replace him.  In a sign of the 
limits of his independence, Zargany is waiting to be informed by 
the governing Da'wa-led coalition about who will fill the 
advisor and assistant positions in the governor's office -- key 
chits for Da'wa to buy political allies in the Provincial 
Council.  According to Zargany's assistant, the governor fears 
being replaced within a year by al-Basri, whose educational 
qualifications have thus far disqualified him from eligibility 
for the governorship, according to the Provincial Powers Law. 
Al-Basri expects to receive in early June his bachelor's degree 
in education at al-Kahara University. 
 
COOPERATIVE ON SECURITY, 
BUT TRYING TO AVOID STICKY POLITICS 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (C) Zargany has signaled his intent that political 
maneuvering not interfere with Babil's security, and his desire 
to work closely with the U.S.  Like a majority of PC members, 
Zargany signed a letter requesting the release from U.S. custody 
of Ehsan Talib Hassan, a JAM deputy brigade commander who is 
also the husband of a Sadrist PC member.  However, Zargany 
concurred in our decision to take this question off the table in 
the current security environment, so as not to send the wrong 
signal to JAM/SG.  Zargany is cautious about dealing on his own 
with sensitive political issues like this one, and he generally 
follows the lead of Da'wa on such matters.  His instincts on 
security issues are solid.  Within an hour of the arrest 
recently of a Special Groups (SG) operative caught red-handed 
emplacing an IED on a road, the Governor called from his convoy 
into a radio show to praise the police officer who made the 
arrest, offering him a letter of commendation and an award. 
Zargany said he did this immediately after the arrest in order 
to preempt any political entities from trying to exert pressure 
on the IP to release the detainee. 
 
 
HILLAH 00000041  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶6. (C) The governor has expressed concern that, in the run-up to 
parliamentary elections, those who lost the provincial election, 
i.e. ISCI/Badr, would try to manipulate Special Groups to show 
that the new provincial government is not as able to maintain 
security as the previous one led by ISCI.  He has also proposed 
consultations with us on the aims of the JAM/SG forces operating 
in Babil, with a particular focus on the role/influence of a 
"foreign power" (i.e. Iran).  He has expressed uncertainty about 
Iran's aims, which he believes may also be to intimidate 
moderate Sadrist leaders in order to maintain Iranian influence. 
 
 
¶7. (C) Al-Zargany is most comfortable immersing himself in 
technocratic issues related to essential services - his obvious 
strong suit.  At a PRT briefing on past and current projects, 
al-Zargany zeroed in on master plans for Babil's water and 
sewage systems.  He showed comparatively less interest in other 
PRT projects and programs related to governance, economic 
development or the rule of law.  He has stressed his desire to 
work closely with the PRT -- noting in his first conversation 
after his election that he "trusts" the PRT, based on its record 
in the province -- and that our work be coordinated directly 
with his office, rather than the various committees of the 
Provincial Council. 
 
COMMENT: ANTI-CORRUPTION AGENDA WILL TEST GOVERNOR'S 
EARLY RETICENCE TO WADE INTO POLITICAL WATERS 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶8. (C)  The governor's desire to stay out of thorny political 
issues may be compromised if he pursues his stated objective of 
aggressively pursuing corruption in the province.  This strategy 
appears to be coming at the behest of Da'wa, which has 
identified anti-corruption as a key pole in its strategy in the 
run-up to parliamentary elections.  In public pronouncements and 
private discussions with the PRT, al-Zargany has voiced his 
commitment to combating corruption, particularly in the 
government contracting process.  The decisions of the previous 
ISCI government -- which obligated all of this year's and 
probably most of next year's budget -- are likely to be an 
object of great scrutiny in any anti-corruption campaign.  After 
being banished to Karbala as a DG, Zargany seems ready to 
investigate ISCI's contracting practices, and Da'wa is not 
likely to restrain him. 
HILLAS