US embassy cable - 05BAGHDAD4306

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 004306 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/19/2015 
TAGS: PINR, KDEM, IZ, Elections, Security 
SUBJECT: AYATOLLAH SADR SAYS MARJAYA SHOULD STAY OUT OF 
POLITICS 
 
 
Classified By: CHARGE D,AFFAIRES DAVID M. SATTERFIELD FOR REASONS 1.4 ( 
b) AND (d). 
 
1. (C) Summary.  At an October 17 iftar, Ayatollah Hussein 
al-Sadr told Ambassador Khalilzad that the Shia clerical 
establishment (Marjaya) should not endorse any electoral 
lists in the December 2005 elections.  Al-Sadr warned the 
Ambassador of the danger of Islamic extremism and said that 
he favors cross-sectarian political alliances.  Sadr also 
complained about the Iraqi Security Forces' (ISF's) inability 
to secure Iraq's borders.  End Summary. 
 
------------------------ 
The Dangers Of Extremism 
------------------------ 
 
2. (C) Ayatollah Hussein al-Sadr told the Ambassador that 
religion and politics should not mix.  "If a religious man 
enters politics, it spoils both of them," he said, adding 
that the only role religion should play in politics is as a 
spiritual "advisor to all."  Al-Sadr noted that care should 
be taken to make sure religion does not become a political 
tool, for this opens the door to religious extremism.  Islam, 
he said, gives power to the people, not political leaders. 
Accordingly, he argued, the Marjaya should only encourage 
other Iraqis to participate in the political process.  The 
Ambassador agreed that involvement in politics would benefit 
neither the Marjaya nor Iraq's political process. 
 
3. (C) Al-Sadr continued by saying that religious extremists 
are trying to divide Iraqi society.  It is necessary, he 
said, to build an Iraq that is "bigger than the sects," in 
which Iraqis of all stripes can live and work together.  The 
best waQto do this, he said, is to build cross-sectarian 
political alliances, which would eventually lead to 
cross-sectarian political parties.  Iraqis must think of 
themselves as Iraqis, not as Kurds or Shia or Sunni Arabs. 
 
------------------------------- 
Ayad Allawi:  Man Of The People 
------------------------------- 
 
4. (C) According to Sadr, the best person to lead such an 
alliance would be Ayad Allawi.  Allawi, Sadr said, would be 
capable of bringing together Iraqis from across the political 
spectrum.  If sectarian parties are elected, Sadr warned, 
then whole ministries would "belong" to a sect.  This, he 
warned, is one of the biggest drawbacks of the current Iraqi 
government. 
 
-------------- 
Broken Borders 
-------------- 
 
5. (C) Sadr complained that ISF are not adequately equipped 
or trained and are therefore unable to protect Iraq's 
borders.  He said that as a result, Saudi Arabia had to 
station 30,000 Saudi troops along its border with Iraq in 
order to protect Iraqis.  The Ambassador countered that 
building an Iraqi army from scratch will take time and that 
good progress has been made. 
Satterfield