US embassy cable - 05CAIRO8244

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 008244 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/26/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PTER, EG, IZ, SY, LE 
SUBJECT: ARAB LEAGUE SYG MOUSSA ON IRAQ VISIT AND SECURITY 
COUNCIL DELIBERATIONS ON HARIRI INVESTIGATION 
 
REF: A. STATE 197619 (NOTAL) 
     B. BAGHDAD 4344 
     C. BAGHDAD 4339 
     D. CAIRO 8111 
     E. STATE 192650 (NOTAL) 
     F. CAIRO 7982 (NOTAL/NODIS) 
     G. CAIRO 7963 (NOTAL) 
     H. BAGHDAD 4186 
 
Classified by Ambassador Ricciardone for reasons 1.4 (b) and 
(d). 
 
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Summary 
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1.  (C) During an October 26 meeting with the Ambassador, the 
Arab League's Moussa briefed on his recent trip to Iraq and 
described planning for a preparatory meeting in Cairo in 
mid-to-late November. Moussa intends to invite (plus or 
minus) 50 Iraqis from all politically significant groups to 
the Cairo meeting, and will play a low-key role on agenda 
setting and deliberation.  A senior AL envoy will travel 
shortly to Baghdad to make arrangements for the conference 
and preparatory meeting.  Moussa expected that Coalition 
force withdrawal will feature in the talks and said that the 
position of the Ulema Council on this topic had recently 
softened.  Moussa agreed that the meetings should be 
Iraqi-led and should not undermine the Iraqi government or 
the political process put in place by UNSCR 1546.  Briefly 
discussing UN Security Council deliberations in New York (ref 
A) on the Hariri murder investigation, Moussa expressed hope 
that any UNSC resolution on the issue be confined to a 
criminal investigation and not be used for broader political 
purposes.  End summary. 
 
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Moussa Describes His Iraq Visit 
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2.  (C) A relaxed and visibly pleased Amre Moussa told the 
Ambassador that he had been "very well received by all 
factions" during his October 20-24 visit to Iraq.  Moussa, 
who travelled to Baghdad, Najaf, and the north during his 
visit, said that his meetings with Sistani, Ulema Council 
head al Dhari, government representatives, and others had 
been very positive.  "People came in the hundreds," he said 
to offer greetings and to be supportive of the Arab League 
initiative, including many senior military officers.  Moussa 
said that he had "good chemistry" with Hakim.  The only sour 
point, he noted, had been Moqtadr Sadr's insistence that 
Moussa publicly condemn terror attacks and Saddam Hussein 
before he would meet Moussa.  The Secretary General told the 
Ambassador that he had dropped the meeting from his itinerary 
as a result, calling Sadr's effort "childish," and suggested 
that Ahmed Chalabi had provided Sadr with "poor advice" in 
this regard.  Nonetheless, Moussa noted that the League would 
approach Sadr "at lower levels" in order to include him in 
the League's reconciliation efforts. 
 
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Next Steps for the Arab League 
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3.  (C) Moussa said he had received broad encouragement from 
Iraqis during his trip to move forward on the League's 
"reconciliation conference" proposal, including hosting a 
Cairo preparatory meeting during the "second half of 
November."  The Cairo preparatory meeting, he said, would be 
held at the Arab League and would include about 50--maybe 30, 
maybe 80--participants from various Iraqi political groups. 
Moussa said the League would issue invitations but he did not 
specify selection criteria.  Participants (including all 
factions, women, and "some senior GOI officials"), he added, 
must have sufficient clout in order for their preparatory 
work in Cairo to elicit respect in back in Iraq.  Moussa also 
said he had been pleased to hear Iraqi Government spokesman 
Leith Kuba publicly support - "two days after my departure" - 
wide participation in the conference, including by 
representatives of militant groups ("gama'at musallihat"). 
These details would be addressed during a visit to Baghdad by 
Arab League Assistant Secretary General Ahmed Ben Helli 
immediately after Ramadan. 
 
4.  (C) Moussa confirmed that it would be entirely up to the 
Iraqis to agree among themselves on the agenda - "I'll 
welcome the group to the League in the opening session, and 
then stand aside," he said.  Turning to the subject of 
Coalition force withdrawal, Moussa told the Ambassador that 
he had discussed this topic at length in Iraq and expected 
the issue to be raised during the meeting.  Moussa said he 
had conveyed to the Iraqis his belief that the Americans 
would "not attempt to veto" any discussion of the topic. 
Responding, the Ambassador emphasized the importance of 
allowing Iraqis, and not third parties, to take control of 
the conference.  The preparatory conference, in particular, 
should not be a venue whereby the Iraqis feel compelled to 
negotiate the participation of non-Iraqis.  Furthermore, he 
continued, it is crucial that League efforts neither 
undermine the current Iraqi government nor diverge from the 
political process outlined in UNSCR 1546.  Moussa assured the 
Ambassador that his intention is to allow the Iraqis to "own 
the conference." 
 
5.  (C) Moussa reported that during his meeting with Muslim 
Ulema Council head Hareth al Dhari, the latter spoke of the 
"gradual withdrawal" of Coalition forces -- something Moussa 
determined to be a positive and important "new position" of 
Dhari's and the Council.  Moussa also stressed the common 
complaint heard during his visit, security concerns, 
especially on the part of Sunni Iraqis.  These groups, Moussa 
added, accuse the government and coalition forces of carrying 
out kidnappings and violent attacks targeting them--while 
Shiites accuse the Sunnis of similar crimes against them.  It 
was crucial, Moussa said, for the USG to do everything it can 
to "alleviate some of the suffering of these people." 
Lastly, Moussa reported that he would travel soon (uncertain 
of specific timing probably not before the November meeting 
in Cairo) to Iran and Turkey to engage on the subject of 
Iraq.  And, despite "continuing criticism from many quarters" 
over his Iraq visit, Moussa said he would remain steadfast in 
his efforts to facilitate Iraqi reconciliation. 
 
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United Nations Security Council, Mehlis Report 
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6.  (C) The Ambassador raised the topic of ongoing UN 
Security Council deliberations on Syria and the Hariri murder 
investigation.  We provided a copy of the draft UNSC 
resolution on Syria (ref A), and stressed our objective, with 
other UNSC members, to get full and genuine Syrian 
cooperation with the UNIIIC.  Moussa, who had not yet seen 
the text, conveyed his view that the UN resolution should be 
confined to the criminal investigation into the Hariri murder 
and not be used for broader political purposes.  Moussa 
stressed his hope that future Syrian cooperation with the 
investigation would be "genuine."  Such cooperation on 
Damascus' part, he said, should "take the pressure off 
elsewhere." 
 
 
RICCIARDONE