VZCZCXRO3334
PP RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDH RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #0508/01 0561626
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 251626Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6837
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 000508 
 
SBU 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: IZ PGOV
SUBJECT: PRT TEAM LEADERS CONFERENCE: TRANSITION ISSUES AND 
PREPARATION FOR ELECTIONS 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Embassy Baghdad's Office of Provincial 
Affairs (OPA) held its quarterly Team Leaders Conference of 
Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) at Embassy Baghdad. 
Embassy, NEA, and military officials briefed Team Leaders on 
the state of play regarding the national election scheduled 
for March 7, and held lengthy discussions about the roles of 
the PRTs in the coming 18 months as the military continued 
its planned troop drawdown.  The Embassy emphasized that it 
would be looking to the PRTs for reporting and analysis 
during the pre- and post-electoral period, and briefed on the 
Embassy,s observation efforts on and around Election Day. In 
break-out and question-and-answer sections, OPA and the Team 
Leaders discussed current political trends in the country as 
well as USG priorities during this transition period, 
including the 2010 elections, public diplomacy and plans for 
five longer-term provincial posts. END SUMMARY. 
 
INTRODUCTION: IRAQ DURING THE TRANSITION 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) In his welcoming remarks, AMB Hill emphasized that 
Iraq was on the verge of a transformation.  With a raft of 
oil tenders coming out, the country stands poised in the 
coming years to overtake both Iran and Libya in terms of 
daily production. The economy is gradually stabilizing, with 
the GOI able to set forth and fund its own priorities, such 
as health care and education.  Meanwhile, security 
improvements have forced terror cells to seek out softer and 
softer targets.  With the election fast approaching, however, 
internal Iraqi politics remain dynamic, and it could take 
months for a new government to be seated, AMB warned the Team 
Leaders.  For the Embassy, the next year will also be one of 
transition as the military continues its draw-down, the PRTs 
plan for their summer 2011 scale-back, and plans move forward 
for the creation of enduring presence posts (EPPs).  Italian 
AMB Mellani joined AMB Hill in praising the work of the PRTs 
and underscored the importance of the Italian-American 
relationship in the ongoing process of helping Iraq. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Political Counselor pointed to the upcoming election 
and seating of a new government as the beginning of a year of 
change for both the GOI and the U.S. mission, as U.S. forces 
continue to draw down their presence.  She provided an 
overview of the pre-election period and the recent 
de-Ba'athification crisis, saying the USG response to the 
controversy emphasized the importance of an institutionalized 
and transparent process over preference for any particular 
outcome.  She also thanked the PRTs for their contributions 
to political reporting, emphasizing their importance as the 
&eyes and ears8 of the Embassy on the ground in the various 
provinces. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Assistant Chief of Mission for Assistance Transition 
(ACM) identified improving budget execution, building 
institutions, and increasing Iraq's appetite for free trade 
as areas of focus for her office, and highlighted the key 
role PRTs play in supporting the Embassy's goals at the 
provincial level.  Now that the PRTs are out of the "bricks 
and mortar" business, it was important for the teams to focus 
on more traditional missions, like supporting U.S. and 
international business efforts in the provinces, she said. 
 
THE VIEW FROM USF-I 
------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) General Raymond Odierno, Commanding General of U.S. 
Forces-Iraq (USF-I), laid out his vision of developing a wide 
base of partnerships in order to make Iraq a long term 
strategic partner and promote long-term stability in the 
region.  The first prong of this strategy is developing 
Qregion.  The first prong of this strategy is developing 
security skills in the areas of border security, foreign 
military sales, and training.  The second category for 
development is economic, specifically luring foreign 
investment, developing a tourism industry, solidifying the 
banking sector, creating jobs and developing the oil 
industry. Finally, General Odierno emphasized the need for 
Iraq to become an international player by developing and 
improving diplomatic representation at embassies, the World 
Trade Organization, and in the United Nations.  General 
Odierno cited the PRTs as crucial partners in helping Iraqis 
develop these capabilities, and has included USF-I,s support 
to PRTs in the Joint Campaign Plan (JCP). 
 
¶6. (SBU)  USF-I Deputy Commanding General-Operations (DCG) 
provided an overview of the military's current operating 
environment, citing Sunni disenfranchisement, Shi,a 
opportunism (including Iranian meddling), and Arab-Kurd 
tension as the greatest threats to stability.  He assured the 
team leaders that USF-I was committed to supporting all 16 
PRTs though June 2011 and said training for incoming Advise 
and Assist Brigades (AAB) was continuously refined to reflect 
 
BAGHDAD 00000508  002 OF 003 
 
 
the move to stability operations and U.S. civilian primacy. 
DCG praised the civilian-military partnerships developed by 
the PRTs, and encouraged the teams to continuing wielding 
their considerable influence in support of mission goals. 
 
THE JOINT CAMPAIGN PLAN 
----------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Political-Military Minister Counselor (PMMC) updated 
Team Leaders on the current status of the JCP.  The two-year 
JCP, based in large part on the President,s Camp LeJeune 
speech, brings together political, economic, rule of law and 
security elements, determining how to achieve the goals 
through 2011 so that the civilian presence that takes over 
the process in 2012 is teed up for success. PMMC and Team 
Leaders also addressed the necessary balance between the 
Embassy,s role in maintaining cohesion of activities and 
goals and the PRTs role in providing local context.  That 
said, it is essential that the process also retain the local 
context that the PRT can provide. 
 
THE 2010 NATIONAL ELECTION 
-------------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) A panel discussion, focused on the March 7 
parliamentary elections, highlighted the USG,s support for a 
credible, legitimate, and Iraqi-led process.  Representatives 
from the Political Section, OPA, and USAID announced an 
Embassy observation effort that will take into account the 
Security Forces Agreement. The panelists emphasized, that 
while international observation is valued a far more 
important guarantor of the Iraqi elections process will be 
the roughly 200,000 trained domestic observers who will 
oversee the electoral process in every polling location on 
Election Day.  The PRTs will also play a vital reporting role 
during the process, working their contacts for information 
and ensuring the Embassy has a clear picture of the situation 
country-wide.  The panelists also announced a series of 
in-depth election briefings for early February that would 
update the PRTs on election-day modalities and observation 
and reporting issues. 
 
 
PUBLIC DIPLOMACY AND THE PRTS 
----------------------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) In a session on public diplomacy, the Director of 
USF-I Civil Affairs and the Embassy Regional Coordinator for 
Public Affairs both praised the excellent coordination 
between military and PRT elements.  They emphasized the 
importance of the  Iraqi and western media,s message of 
stability and growth to these differing audiences.  Several 
Team Leaders pointed out that the media gap would get filled 
by other sources if Embassy, USF-I, and PRTs do not fill it. 
Embassy Public Affairs described how the Embassy had been 
increasing press outreach over the last several months, as 
well as efforts to engage local and western media on the 
positive impact PRTs are having throughout the country. 
 
PANEL DISCUSSIONS FOCUS ON OIL, SECTARIAN DIVISIONS 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶10. (SBU) Four panel discussions featured dialogue on: 
Sunni-Shi,a cleavages, the Kurdish situation, oil and gas 
development, and Iranian influence.  The Kurdish session 
provoked a spirited exchange on USG priorities in the region 
and the prospects of a settlement.  Team Leaders heading 
northern PRTs expressed the desire for increased coordination 
with the Embassy as policy on this issue continues to evolve. 
 In the oil and gas session, representatives from the 
Economic Section discussed the hydrocarbons law, stressing 
that there would be no further progress in this area until 
after the seating of a new government. 
 
MANAGEMENT/RESOURCE SUPPORT TO THE PRTS 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶11. (SBU) Deputy Management Counselor focused on support that 
Q11. (SBU) Deputy Management Counselor focused on support that 
the Embassy,s Management Section provides to the PRTs.  She 
described the system of Regional Management Officers (RMOs), 
dedicated staff assigned to provide GSO support to the PRTs. 
Team Leaders emphasized a desire for greater direct 
interaction with RMOs, and encouraged them to visit their 
teams in the field.   Embassy Information Management Officer 
announced the deployment of Blackberrys to each PRT in time 
for the elections. He also outlined the program to upgrade 
unclassified internet capacity of priority PRTs (the 
so-called &VSAT8 upgrade) over the next three months. 
 
¶12. (SBU) In a session on mission staffing, ACM Haslach, 
Deputy Management Counselor, and representatives from USAID 
 
BAGHDAD 00000508  003 OF 003 
 
 
and OPA addressed contract renewals and other staffing 
concerns.  ACM Haslach stated that her office is working to 
identify funding to retain USG interagency detailees from the 
U.S.Department of Agriculture, and Department of Justice, as 
well as engineers and USAID personnel for the PRTs until the 
end of their mission in Summer 2011. She also stated that she 
is requesting limited authority to continue hiring subject 
matter experts, i.e. &3161s8, once the Iraq Transition 
Assistance Office (ITAO) hiring authority expires in the 
spring. 
 
 
¶13. (SBU) For its part, USAID pledged to provide a 
representative on each PRT through summer 2011.  However, 
USAID anticipates operating under a scheme of regional 
platforms with teams stationed in north, south and central 
regions of Iraq.  USAID emphasized that this arrangement 
would not affect the footprint of the implementing partners. 
 
ENDURING PRESENCE POSTS 
----------------------- 
 
¶14. (SBU) As the military continues its withdrawal and the 
PRTs prepare to close in 2011, the Embassy is moving forward 
on plans to assess the locations for five future enduring 
presence posts. The Management Section announced the 
deployment of a 14-person EPP assessment team which would 
travel to PRTs in all prospective EPP locations during the 
month of February. 
 
 
PRT OPERATONAL PRIORITIES 
------------------------- 
 
¶15. (SBU) Team Leaders' stressed the importance of keeping 
PRTs adequately staffed.  They also highlighted the value of 
positive working relationships between themselves and OPA, 
and between OPA and tbe Political Section.  The Team Leaders 
welcomed more Embassy input on policies at the provincial 
level. In a separate session, QRF officers and OPA discussed 
with PRTs how they could fund projects to support the March 7 
national election. 
 
 
 
 
 
HILL