US embassy cable - 05MANAMA22

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAMA 000022 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/04/2015 
TAGS: PREL, AL, JO, IZ, BA 
SUBJECT: IRAQ ELECTION DEMARCHES: BAHRAIN ASKS ABOUT 
ELECTION DELAY REPORTS, REMAINS CONCERNED ABOUT IRAN 
 
REF: A. 04 STATE 275109 B. 04 STATE 274965 
 
Classified By: Ambassador William T. Monroe.  Reason: 1.4 (B)(D) 
 
 1. (C) Ambassador delivered on January 4 to Minister of 
State for Foreign Affairs Mohammed Abdel Ghaffar demarches 
on the January 6 Iraq Neighbors Conference and January 9 Arab 
League Meeting (Ref A) and support for the international 
mission for Iraq elections (Ref B).  Iraq also figured 
heavily in a January 4 meeting the Ambassador held with 
Minister of Defense Gen. Khalifa Al-Khalifa. 
 
2. (C) Both Abdel Ghaffar and Gen. Khalifa, in addition to 
dwelling on long-standing fears about excessive Iranian 
influence in the elections, queried the Ambassador on a 
statement by Iraq Defense Minister Hazem Shaalan in Cairo, 
prominently reported in the local press, which raised the 
possibility of postponing the elections.  According to this 
report, Shaalan told reporters that he has asked Egypt and 
Gulf countries to try to persuade Sunnis to participate in 
the election.  "And if they agreed," he said, "then we could 
postpone the date to let all Iraqis go to the polls in one 
day."  To both Ministers, Ambassador stressed that there was 
no plan to delay the elections and that, in any event, there 
was no evidence of any Sunnis coming forward to say that they 
would participate if there were a delay in the elections. 
 
3. (C) Abdel Ghaffar stated that DPM/FM Sheik Mohammed 
Al-Khalifa would represent Bahrain at the Iraq Neighbors 
Conference in Amman, and that Abdel Ghaffar would represent 
Bahrain at the Arab League meeting.  He said that at these 
meetings Bahrain would maintain its support for the elections 
and stability in Iraq, while opposing Iranian influence 
there.  On that latter point, he (and Defense Minister 
Khalifa) went on at some length, raising concerns, for 
example, that Iranian agents had completely infiltrated Iraqi 
intelligence services in southern Iraq and flooded the region 
with Iranian-based voters.  Asked what the Bahraini 
leadership thought of the relatively moderate message SCIRI's 
Abdel Aziz Al Hakim brought during his recent visit to 
Bahrain, Abdel Ghaffar acknowledged that his message was 
indeed moderate but that he did not like the idea of clerical 
leadership ruling Iraq. 
 
4. (C) Comment: While fully supportive of our policy on Iraq, 
including the need to move forward with elections, Bahrain 
would be sympathetic to a delay in the elections if that 
would help check post-election Iranian influence in Iraq. 
 
4. (U) Baghdad minimize considered. 
MONROE