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Viewing cable 09HILLAH47, THE NEW ANTI-DAWA COALITION - MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
09HILLAH47 2009-08-16 13:44 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY REO Hillah
VZCZCXRO3680
RR RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHKUK
DE RUEHIHL #0047/01 2281344
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 161344Z AUG 09
FM REO HILLAH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1207
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
RUEHIHL/REO HILLAH 1280
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HILLAH 000047 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PINS IZ IR
SUBJECT: THE NEW ANTI-DAWA COALITION - MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING 
 
REF: HILLAH 46 
 
HILLAH 00000047  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
1.    (U) This is a PRT Babil cable. 
 
 
 
Summary 
 
------- 
 
 
 
2.    (SBU) Summary:  On August 9 Iraqi press reported the 
formation of a new, 18 PC member coalition, the Babil National 
Coalition (reftel).  The coalition reportedly formed in 
opposition to the ruling DAWA coalition.  Press reports and 
sources from a variety of parties disagree on the membership of 
the coalition, citing numbers ranging from 16 to 19 members, and 
the strength of the coalition and its purpose remain unclear. 
Although under Law 21 it only takes 16 votes to remove the 
Governor, at this time the new coalition appears to lack both 
the vision and the will to do much of anything.  End summary. 
 
 
 
Governor Al-Zargany Is Not Worried 
 
---------------------------------- 
 
 
 
3.    (U) Babil Media reported this week that the National 
Reform Trend (Dr. Ja'afary) has joined the new anti-DAWA 
coalition on the PC (Babil National Coalition), increasing 
coalition membership to 19.  Reportedly the Babil National 
Coalition confirmed that they believe the performance of the 
Governorate and Provincial Council is unsatisfactory.  Babil 
Governor Mr. Salman Al-Zargany (independent, affiliated with the 
DAWA coalition) reportedly responded to the new coalition that 
there was room for more than one political view in the new 
democratic Iraq.  He echoed this view in his comments to PRT 
Leader over lunch on August 11:  "from my perspective, I do not 
think the new coalition will change a lot on the political map, 
if so and they would like to change the governor; I will work in 
any governmental department and would be happy to help." 
 
 
 
Sheikh Shanan Offers DAWA Concessions 
 
-------------------------------------- 
 
4.    (SBU) On August 10, the day following the announcement of 
the formation of the Babil National Coalition, Sheikh Ali 
Shanan, a tribal leader from Kifl who is close to Babil DAWA 
chief Abu Ahmed Al-Basri, called on the PRT to seek USG support 
for what he implied was Abu Ahmed's proposed plan to resolve the 
tension between Governor Al-Zargany and Deputy Governor Iskander 
Witwit, the leader of the new coalition.  Shanan said that DAWA 
knew they had wronged Witwit by limiting his authority, and that 
DAWA was willing to offer the Deputy Governor more 
responsibilities to resolve the matter.  PRT leader mentioned 
that the PRT would be meeting with Witwit later in the week, and 
Shanan attempted to enlist PRT Leader as a midwife for his 
solution, suggesting that he encourage Witwit to call on the 
governor and hint that DAWA was willing to offer the Deputy 
Governor more power. 
 
 
 
Coalition Without a Mission 
 
--------------------------- 
 
 
 
5.    (SBU) On August 13, Deputy Governor Witwit met with the 
PRT.  Wiwit was critical of the Governor and the PC Chair Kadhum 
Majeed Tuman, saying that he and other members of his coalition 
had documents proving mistakes both had made while in office. 
He indicated for example that the Governor had sent someone else 
to a meeting that the Deputy Governor should have attended, and 
that the PC Chair had abused his position to give jobs to a 
number of unqualified Sadrists with unsavory connections. 
Witwit alleged that two Shi'a clerics are the masterminds behind 
the Governor's actions - Sayyid Rasool Al- Mousawi and Sayyid 
Hasan Tuhmazi - implying that these two are getting their 
instructions from Iran but providing no further information. 
The Deputy Governor remarked that he had recently met with the 
Governor and had been given greater responsibilities addressing 
some of his complaints.  When pressed, Witwit was unable to 
articulate what additional actions he wanted the Governor and 
the PC Chair to take to resolve the problems he raised, or to 
 
HILLAH 00000047  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
describe the desired end state that would satisfy his concerns. 
He asserted that the Coalition did not have replacement 
candidates in mind for these two officials, which seemed odd 
given that Witwit was formerly Governor of Babil and lost that 
job to Al-Zargany in the provincial elections.  The Deputy 
Governor said that a number of the members of the new collation 
were currently travelling, and that upon their return the 
members would have a meeting to share their concerns about the 
current officials and discuss how they wanted to proceed. 
 
 
 
Source Close to Sadrists Acknowledges DAWA Mistakes 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
 
 
6.    (SBU) Also on August 13, PRT LES met with Murtada Kammil, 
a former PC member (independent but close to the Sadrists, the 
PCC and DAWA PC member Dr. Ne'amah Jassim Hamzah Al-Bekry). 
Kammil had just returned from Iran, and had not yet heard about 
the new coalition.  He confirmed the tension between the 
Governor and Deputy Governor, and said that he had expected this 
and had warned DAWA that this might happen because DAWA policy 
was marginalizing members of their own coalition. 
 
 
 
Comment - Just a Paper "Dawsha" 
 
------------------------------- 
 
 
 
7.    (SBU) Comment:  The spike in concern about the new 
coalition appears to be only so much folderol.  In conversations 
with the leadership of the coalition we determined that there is 
really no intent to change either the PCC or the governor nor is 
there any clearly defined end state.  This, in essence, is a 
paper "dawsha" - lots of posturing and breast beating brought 
about by bruised egos and displaced senses of entitlement, 
signifying little. 
ROBERTS