US embassy cable - 05BAGHDAD4118

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 004118 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/03/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, IZ, SA, Shia Islamists 
SUBJECT: IRAQI SHIA DON'T THINK MUCH OF SAUDI FOREIGN 
MINISTER'S REMARKS 
 
 
Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ROBERT FORD FOR REASONS 
1.4 (B) AND (D). 
 
1. (C) SUMMARY:  Recent comments by the Saudi Arabian 
Minister of Foreign Affairs, combined with the Arab League 
Secretary General's decision to travel to Iraq, have raised 
 
SIPDIS 
the ire of many Iraqi Shia.  They  expressed anger at 
assertions that Iran has undue influence in Iraq, and they 
are unhappy with comments from neighboring Arab states that 
the Shia have too much influence; they perceive that as 
interference on behalf of the Sunni Arabs.  Ambassador 
Khalilzad's recent trip to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, however, 
has received positive coverage in the Shia media, with the 
Ambassador portrayed as a defender of the Shia.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
2. (C) Comments by Saudi Arabian Minister of Foreign 
Affairs, Saud al-Faisal, that the U.S. used Iraqi Shia to 
hand control of Iraq to Iran, angered many Iraqis.  Iraqi 
Interior Minister Bayan Jabr responded to the comments by 
saying  that Iraq needed no lessons on democracy from the 
"Bedouin camel herders" in Saudi Arabia.  He added that 
Shia in Saudi Arabia suffer more than the Shia in Iraq 
because of Saudi Arabia's stratified social system, with 
King Faisal's family at the top, the Ismaili Muslims 
underneath them, and the Shia on the bottom.  The Iraqi 
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hoshyar Zebari, has apologized 
for these comments, but many Iraqi Shia of all stripes 
support Minister Jabr and do not feel an apology should 
have been issued.  Prominent Shia imam and parliamentarian 
Jalal ad-Din as-Saghayr told PolCouns that the Saudis 
should stay out of Iraq's business.  National Security 
Advisor Muwaffak Rubai'e was similarly visibly unhappy with 
Faisal's remarks over dinner with the Ambassador October 1. 
 
3. (C) News about possible travel by Arab League Secretary 
General Amru Musa to Iraq to mediate the constitution 
process is seen by many Iraqi Shia as anathema.  The Arab 
League is viewed as a pro-Sunni organization, and Secretary 
General Musa is widely disliked among Iraqi Shia.  He is 
considered to be close to the Iraqi insurgency, and has 
even met with Dr. Harith Sulayman al Dari, head of the 
hard-line Sunni Arab Association of Muslim Scholars.  In an 
October 3 meeting with PolCouns, TNA Constitution Drafting 
Committee chair Haman Hamoudi asked how Musa could possibly 
help finalize the constitution.  Hamoudi was deeply 
suspicious of Musa's motives. 
 
4. (C) In contrast, the Iraqi Shia media has applauded 
Ambassador Khalilzad's visit to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.  The 
October 4 edition of the newspaper Al-Bayyna, for example, 
reports that Ambassador went to Saudi Arabia to ask them to 
pressure the Arab League into normalizing relations with 
Iraq.  According to Al-Bayyna, Khalilzad warned the Saudis 
not to involve themselves in Iraq's political process.  He 
also told them not to threaten the Shia in eastern Saudi 
Arabia, who numbers 4 million.  This press coverage 
contrasted with questions from suspicious parliamentarians 
we fielded on October 3 about the trip.  Hamudi and 
as-Saghayr, 
for example, questioned us carefully about the Ambassador's 
trip. 
 
5. (C) COMMENT:  These events highlight the sectarian 
differences that plague Iraqi society.  There is enormous 
mistrust among the various ethnic groups, with the Sunni 
Arabs and Shia both willing to accuse each other of 
collaboration with foreign powers.  We need to keep these 
sensitivities in mind as we ponder how Arab states might be 
able to help stabilize Iraq. END COMMENT. 
Khalilzad