US embassy cable - 05BAGHDAD2604

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 002604 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/19/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, IZ, Sunni Arab, National Assembly 
SUBJECT: SUNNIS SAY THEY NEED ANOTHER DAY TO SETTLE ON 
CONSTITUTION COMMITTEE NOMINEES 
 
Classified By: Charge D'Affaires David M. Satterfield for reasons 1.4 ( 
 
b) and (d) 
 
1. (C) Two Sunni Arab leaders told Poloff June 19 that they 
would need one more day to reach agreement on their nominees 
for the TNA Constitution Drafting Committee.  Iraqi Islamic 
Party leader Naseer al-Ani assured Poloff the names of 15 
nominees and 10 expert consultants would be put forward by 
June 20.  Sunni Shaykh Anwar al-Nada separately told Poloff 
that he was confident that the issue would be settled in a 
June 20 meeting between all Sunni leaders who have 
participated in the dialogue so far. 
 
2. (C) Shaykh Anwar told Poloff that the real reason for the 
delay is ongoing maneuvering between political parties vying 
for more space on the committee.  He said he particularly 
resented the fact that three of the five members of the 
naming committee had nominated themselves for the committee, 
a move that called into question their objectivity.  Al-Ani, 
a member of the five-member committee assigned to pick the 
names, was still sensitive over the concession that Sunni 
Arab leaders made by accepting 15 additional members and 10 
expert consultants.  "We need more time because we are trying 
to represent all the different trends of the Sunni community, 
and that is difficult to do with only 15 names," he said. 
 
3. (C) COMMENT:  We expected some last minute theatrics from 
the fractious Sunni Arab community; it would be surprising if 
there were none. The Sunni leadership, such as it is, is 
still smarting from what they perceive to be a big concession 
in accepting 15 representatives.  Getting over that 
compromise and finalizing a unified list has apparently been 
too much for one weekend's work.  We are in continuous 
contact with our key Sunni and Shia interlocutors to urge as 
strongly as possible - invoking senior level USG interest - 
that the issue of names be resolved asap, in order to move 
forward on drafting the proposed constitution.  END COMMENT. 
 
4. (U) REO HILLA, REO BASRA, REO MOSUL, and REO KIRKUK, 
minimize considered. 
Satterfield