US embassy cable - 05BAGHDAD4332

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 004332 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/20/2015 
TAGS: PREL, MARR, MOPS, PTER, IZ, Security 
SUBJECT: UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE EDELMAN MEETS WITH 
IRAQI MINISTER OF INTERIOR 
 
 
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires David M. Satterfield for reasons 1.4 ( 
a), (b), and (d). 
 
1.  (C) SUMMARY:  Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Eric 
Edelman and LTG Victor Renuart, Director of Strategic Plans 
and Policy, called on Iraqi Minister of Interior Bayan Jabr 
at his office on October 18, 2005.  Jabr was accompanied by 
GEN Babiker Shwakt, commander of the Iraqi Joint Forces 
(representing the Minister of Defense who was out of the 
country), and MG Adnan Thabit, head of the Ministry of 
Interior's Special Police Forces.  Jabr reviewed the progress 
being made by the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) and expressed 
gratitude to the U.S. for its continuing assistance.  He 
agrees with President Bush that we cannot back down and must 
continue to fight until the terrorists are defeated.  The ISF 
are improving in their abilities to fight on their own and 
are getting an increasing amount of cooperation from 
civilians who are pointing them to insurgents.  Edelman told 
Jabr that the Iraqis must continue to develop ministerial 
capacity and to spend sufficient amounts to support their 
investment in security.  With regard to cross-border threats, 
Jabr said that Syria is the number one problem with regard to 
support for the insurgency and played down any negative role 
played by Iran.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2.  (C)  USDP Edelman opened the meeting explaining that he 
and LTG Renuart had recently assumed their positions and 
wanted to visit at the earliest opportunity to assess and 
learn first hand what is taking place in Iraq.  So far they 
had visited Mosul, al-Kisik, and Taji to meet with ISF 
officers and to inspect training facilities.  USDP Edelman 
related that he and Renuart had been impressed by what they 
had seen. 
 
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IRAQI CAPACITY NEEDED 
--------------------- 
 
3.  (C)  USDP Edelman stressed the need for the Iraqis to 
develop the ministerial capacity required to support the 
progress and the investments already made, noting that the 
Iraqis have gone from zero security forces to a combined 
military/police force of over 207,000, with a goal of 
325,000.  He emphasized that, as these forces grow, so too 
does the need to build the capacity to sustain them.  USDP 
Edelman stressed they must be equipped, maintained, paid, 
fed, and housed in a way that will protect the investments 
already made and allow progress to continue.  He also 
acknowledged that this will pose challenges for the Ministers 
of Interior and Defense as they will be required to negotiate 
with the Minister of Finance and others over the amount of 
funding needed.  To prevail in these negotiations, the 
security ministries must ensure that institutions and 
procedures are in place to assure others that the money 
allocated will be well and properly spent.  The U.S. is 
confident that this type of ministerial capacity can be built 
because we have helped to do so in several Eastern European 
countries that recently have advanced to the point that they 
have been allowed to join NATO.  He assured Jabr that we are 
committed to helping the Iraqis successfully build their 
capacity as well. 
 
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PROGRESS ON THE SECURITY FRONT 
------------------------------ 
 
4.  (C)  Jabr thanked USDP for his remarks and welcomed him 
to Iraq.  He said he could speak for both the Ministries of 
Defense and Interior when he said that the Iraqis are 
grateful for all the training and assistance provided to them 
by the U.S.  Thanks to this assistance, the ISF have 
progressed to the point where they are capable of carrying 
out more duties at a higher level.  As an example, he noted 
the very successful outcome, from a security standpoint, of 
the recent referendum.  In comparison to the January 
election, more people voted and acts of violence were 
significantly lower.  The Iraqis will always remember the 
assistance given by the U.S. 
 
5.  (C)  Jabr said that the fight in which Iraq is involved 
is not merely a war between Iraq and a group of individuals. 
Rather, it is a "world war" against the phenomenon of 
terrorism.  If we do not work together to stop terrorism now, 
he warned, it will spread throughout the world.  Jabr said he 
agrees completely with President Bush that we must not back 
down in the face of terrorism and that to do so would be a 
serious defeat.  He said that the progress Iraq is making 
politically -- with its election, new government, draft 
constitution, and referendum -- is sending an important 
message to the people of the region living under 
dictatorships:  democracy is possible.  "If we obtain a 
victory here we will help many people throughout the region 
to win their freedom." 
 
6. (C) Thabit, who commands the police Commando and Public 
Order Brigades, reported that his forces have received 
excellent training and are becoming more and more successful 
in engagements with terrorists.  He boasted that the 
terrorists his forces encounter no longer stand and fight but 
run away instead.  When asked about the level of public 
support for the ISF, both Thabit and Babiker said that more 
and more civilians are coming forward to report terrorist and 
insurgent activities and their hiding places.  In addition, 
insurgents who are captured are informing on their colleagues 
more than has been true in the past.  LTG Renuart emphasized 
the need to have police forces that are trusted and respected 
by the public, as these are the security forces they see 
every day in their communities.  The force must be composed 
of individuals who are representative of all communities in 
Iraq.  Thabit replied that this is increasingly the case. 
 
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SYRIA A THREAT, IRAN LESS SO 
---------------------------- 
 
7. (C) USDP Edelman asked Jabr about problems caused by its 
neighbors.  Jabr replied that two kinds of interference are 
encountered: direct or government-supported interference and 
indirect interference in which individuals in a neighboring 
country are permitted to cause problems for Iraq.  With 
regard to the first, Syria is the major problem, as it opens 
its borders to fighters from other countries and allows them 
to pass through to enter Iraq.  He produced a handful of 
foreign passports he claimed were taken from foreign fighters 
and noted that the last stamps in all of them were entries 
into Syria.  He also showed one that had a receipt for a 
one-way ticket into Syria tucked inside.  With regard to 
"indirect" interference, he pointed to Saudi Arabia, stating 
that the Saudis permit their citizens to support the 
insurgents financially and that many of the foreign fighters 
who come to Iraq are Saudi.  When asked about Iran, Jabr 
replied that it was not a problem.  Only a handful of people 
have been arrested crossing the Iranian border to cause 
trouble.  Jabr did, however, acknowledge that the British 
have informed him that they suspect many of the improvised 
explosive devices that have killed their soldiers and others 
are based on technology imported from Iran. 
 
8.  (U)  This cable was cleared by USDP Edelman. 
Satterfield