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PP RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #1480/01 1561134
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 051134Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3355
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 001480 
 
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SENSITIVE 
 
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TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON AMGT EAID EAGR SOCI IZ
 
SUBJECT: MAY 2009 PRT TEAM LEADERS CONFERENCE: SECURITY, STABILITY, 
AND CERP 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFED - HANDLE ACCORDINGLY 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary: On May 26-27, Embassy Baghdad's Office of 
Provincial Affairs (OPA) hosted its quarterly conference for leaders 
of the Iraq Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs). All PRTs, 
embedded Provincial Reconstruction Teams (ePRTs) and Regional 
Embassy Offices (REOs) participated, including the Coalition team 
led by the Italians.  The conference centered on guidance from the 
Administration and senior civilian and military leadership leaders, 
and the announcement of unexpected availability of CERP funds for 
the remainder of the year.  End Summary. 
 
-------------------------------- 
NEW ADMINISTRATION, NEW GUIDANCE 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Provincial Reconstruction Teams are "the vehicle by which 
[the United States] can engage the Iraqi people" and are "pulling 
more than their fair share" of the reconstruction burden," 
Ambassador Christopher Hill told PRT leaders May 26. The American 
people have been shouldering a large budget burden, and Iraqis 
should take more responsibility.  The PRTS will continue to play an 
important role as Coalition Forces draw down, and it is imperative 
for USG personnel working in Iraq to show American audiences at home 
our successes here. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The Ambassador reiterated White House guidance that the 
present configuration of 23 PRTs and embedded PRTs will remain until 
after the Iraqi national election slated for early 2010. Following 
the election, and coupled with the planned troop drawdown from 
135,000 to 50,000, PRTs would go from 23 to 16 in August 2010 then 
to 6 teams by December 2011.  As PRTs depart some provinces, ways 
will be found to maintain the reach of the remaining teams. 
 
-------------------------------------- 
VIEWS FROM THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) United Nations Special Representative for the 
Secretary-General (SRSG) Staffan de Mistura praised the strong 
relationship between UN Assistance Mission Iraq (UNAMI) and the 
PRTs.  He called the PRT program a "great success" which provided 
the UN with the platform to extend its own reach. 
 
¶5. (SBU) The UN's three priorities for Iraq this year will be easing 
Kurd-Arab tensions, supporting national elections, and continuing 
capacity building efforts in Iraq. SRSG warned that conflict between 
Kurds and Arabs was the most dangerous issue facing Iraq, and went 
on to discuss UN efforts to diffuse the ethnic tension through the 
recent release of the Disputed Internal Boundaries (DIBs) reports. 
He affirmed the UN's commitment to support the national elections 
process, praising the partnership with the PRTs and military in 
support of elections.  Finally, he pledged UN support for continued 
capacity-building. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Italian Ambassador to Iraq Maurizio Melani spoke on lessons 
learned from the original Afghanistan PRTs from which the Iraq PRT 
program developed. These lessons included recognizing the importance 
of civilian leadership of the PRTs, focusing on host country 
capacity building, developing the PRTs role as catalysts for 
international support, and publicizing PRT efforts for audiences 
back home. 
 
¶7. (SBU) World Health Organization Representative Dr. Naeema 
al-Gasser discussed past successes and future plans for development 
assistance in Iraq. She spoke of increased UN engagement and 
incremental expansion into UN priority program areas of governance 
and public sector modernization, economic growth and restructuring, 
and internally displaced persons.  She emphasized the need to 
Qand internally displaced persons.  She emphasized the need to 
coordinate and partner with OPA, MNF-I, USAID, and other groups to 
draw on each others' successes and work towards the objectives of 
the International Compact for Iraq and the Paris Agreement. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
MNF-I AND MNC-I INVITE CERP PROPOSALS, PLEDGE SUPPORT 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Multi National Force Iraq (MNF-I)Commanding General Raymond 
Odierno framed his presentation around President Obama's three 
objectives for Iraq: supporting development of a sovereign, stable, 
and self-reliant Iraq; ensuring the government of Iraq is 
representative and accountable; and building a U.S.-Iraq partnership 
that contributes to peace and stability in the region.  To achieve 
these goals and maintain current momentum in Iraq, the military is 
planning a responsible drawdown. 
 
 
¶9. (SBU) General Odierno noted that the Iraqi military, especially 
 
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the latest generation of General officers, seem less tied to 
political or sectarian parties.  He emphasized the importance of 
establishing rule of law in Iraq and of encouraging Iraqis to solve 
their problems through political means instead of violence. 
Withdrawing U.S. troops from the cities in accordance with the June 
30 deadline set by the Security Agreement was imperative to 
demonstrate U.S. commitment to honoring the agreement. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Stressing unity of effort in civil capacity building, 
General Odierno said he saw the State Department and PRTs in the 
lead with support from the military.  With some $560 million 
becoming available in CERP funds for the remainder of FY 2009, he 
invited the PRTs to submit project proposals in coordination with 
brigades and with Provincial Councils. 
 
¶11. (SBU) Recently-arrived Commander of Multi-National Corps Iraq 
(MNC-I) Lieutenant General (LTG) Charles Jacoby made an unscheduled 
but welcome appearance at the conference.  He pointed to the June 30 
deadline for U.S. combat troops to withdraw from Iraqi cities as 
critical for affirming the perception that the U.S. military is 
adhering to the Security Agreement.  National elections in January 
will be a second decisive event; the Iraqi people are hungry for a 
representative government that can effectively deliver services.  A 
third decisive point will be responsible drawdown and transition 
from military combat units to Advise and Assist Brigades (AABs). 
Pledging full support to the PRT program, Jacoby underscored the 
importance of balancing short-term security objectives with 
long-term capacity building, especially considering limited time and 
resources available. 
 
------------------------ 
CHANGE IN OPA LEADERSHIP 
------------------------ 
 
¶12. (SBU) Outgoing OPA Director Phyllis Powers introduced incoming 
Director Greta Holtz, and paid special tribute to the Team Leaders, 
crediting progress -- in the face of often ambiguous guidance -- to 
their leadership and hard work. There is no handbook per se on how 
to develop or run a PRT but Team Leaders are writing the book as 
they work. 
 
¶13. (SBU) Incoming OPA Director Greta Holtz aligned her vision for 
the PRTs with those of the President, the Ambassador and the 
Commanding General.  Committing to focus on ensuring adequate 
resources for the PRTs during the military drawdown, she encouraged 
Team Leaders to be proactive in identifying their operational needs. 
Her focus will be on ensuring that the civilian footprint across 
Iraq is structured and supported by the military and Department of 
State to have the maximum effect on helping achieve U.S. strategic 
goals between now and 2011.  Ms. Holtz tasked the PRT leaders with 
assessing the "unofficial" support not covered by the MOU that the 
PRTs get from their brigades and other military partners, so as the 
military draws down, Department of State and Department of Defense 
leadership will know what resources are needed to keep a robust 
civilian presence across the country. 
 
-------------------------------- 
ADDITIONAL CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶14. (SBU) Representatives from Baghdad PRT, together with partners 
from Multinational Division--Baghdad and the office of the Deputy 
Mayor of Baghdad, gave a timely presentation on their Memorandum of 
Agreement (MOA) process which governs all BCT and PRT-initiated 
public works projects in Baghdad.  The MOU addresses problems 
including an unwieldy number of contractors, limited quality 
assurance and control, and operation and maintenance once projects 
Qassurance and control, and operation and maintenance once projects 
are turned over to the Government of Iraq.  The MOA document will 
require projects to be approved by Baghdad City Hall prior to 
breaking ground. 
 
¶15. (SBU) Agriculture (USDA) Attach Fred Kessel urged PRTs to 
rethink their strategies and to enable Iraqis to take ownership of 
their agricultural development. Kessel cited numerous examples of 
how U.S.-introduced agricultural projects failed because local 
conditions were not considered and local knowledge was not 
solicited. Better to involve local agricultural advisory 
associations, he counseled. 
 
¶16.  (SBU) Embassy Baghdad Coordinator for Economic Transition in 
Iraq (CETI) Ambassador Marc Wall led a panel discussion on the 
Strategic Framework Agreement (SFA), along with John Fox, Deputy 
Political Counselor for Provincial Affairs, and Susan Ziadeh, Acting 
Public Affairs Counselor.  The SFA provides the structure for normal 
bilateral relations with Iraq, especially in economic, cultural and 
political endeavors.  Wall noted the need for the Government of Iraq 
to ratify long-term bilateral agreements, stalled since 2005, in 
order to enhance economic cooperation and development.  Although the 
 
BAGHDAD 00001480  003 OF 003 
 
 
PRTs are not directly affected by the SFA, they are key implementers 
- e.g., identifying candidates for the Embassy's numerous cultural 
and educational exchanges. 
 
 
¶17. (U) Other sessions included a presentation by the Transportation 
Attach, a discussion of operational concerns with OPA, RSO, and 
Embassy management officers, and a briefing from the Office of 
Hostage Affairs. 
 
FORD