US embassy cable - 05BAGHDAD4885

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 004885 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/07/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, KDEM, IZ, Elections 
SUBJECT: SUFI POLITICAL PARTY PESSIMISTIC ON ELECTIONS, 
IRAQI POLITICS 
 
Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ROBERT S. FORD, FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) 
AND (D). 
 
 1. (C)  SUMMARY:  Party officials from the slate 
representing Iraq's Sufi Muslims complained about 
intimidation in the election campaign, interference by 
neighboring states, and the sectarian and extremist character 
of Iraqi politics during a December 3 meeting with poloffs. 
Anticipating they will be crowded out by the powerful 
coalitions, they expressed hope they would gain a handful of 
the 45 (out of a total of 275) reserved "compensatory" seats. 
 Overall, they predicted that Sunni participation would lead 
to a "big" decrease from January in the number of seats won 
by the Shia and Kurdish blocs.  They also expect a marginal 
increase in electoral strength from the independent and 
moderate parties.  The Sufi community remains engaged in an 
active civic education campaign, using the media to promote a 
message of tolerance and moderation.  END SUMMARY 
 
2. (C)  Poloffs met December 3 with two party officials from 
the Sufi Muslim slate, the Unified National List.  Abdul 
Azeem Mohamed, who is handling the slate's media campaign, is 
a resident of Baghdad who also manages Al-Mashriq TV.  Dr. 
Jafar al-Khafaji, who is handling the slate's public 
relations, is a former Baghdad University Islamic philosophy 
professor who moved to Sulimaniyah during the Saddam era and 
remains there now because of the security situation in 
Baghdad. 
 
3. (C)  Khafaji complained about Badr and peshmerga 
penetration of state organs, and said the Unified National 
List has been prohibited from participating in the election 
campaign in the Kurdish areas.  He reported one of the list's 
members had been kidnapped from Baghdad to Sulimaniyah.  He 
claimed the IECI had ties to the "big parties," and expressed 
fear the parties would control access to the polls.  He 
predicted the United National List is most likely to gain a 
few of the 45 reserved (out of a total of 275) "compensatory" 
slots.  Although Khafaji said there are Sufi adherents 
throughout Iraq and the Middle East, he reported they won 
only at the provincial level during the January elections. 
He predicted independent parties with a patriotic vice 
sectarian platform to increase their share in the new 
legislature but assessed these probable gains as marginal. 
He also predicted that the participation of the Sunni 
community would lead to a "big fall" in the number of seats 
won in January by the major Shia and Kurdish blocs. 
 
4. (C) Khafaji blamed the United States for policies he said 
had had the effect of encouraging sectarian extremism, and 
expressed disappointment that the USG had not provided more 
support to moderate groups of technocrats like the Sufis. 
"The people you put in power," he charged, "placed their 
personal interests before the nation's."  Khafaji also 
expressed concerns about the activities of neighboring 
countries, and complained about Iraq's lax borders, warning 
that troublemakers would exploit the hajj to meet in Saudi 
Arabia and transport money and arms.  He and Mohamed said 
they opposed a withdrawal of coalition forces at this time. 
 
5. (C)  Mohamed described the Sufi message of tolerance, 
citing the order of Kasnazandi.  (Comment:  Kasnazani is a 
Kurd who reportedly was first allied with Saddam against 
Talabani and then switched sides, actions that illustrate how 
the former regime perverted even the historically pacific 
Sufi community.  End Comment.)  Mohamed outlined the group's 
civic education campaign and its pursuit of a nonviolent, 
middle road between the Shia and Sunni extremists.  He said 
the new government needed to focus on the economy, 
unemployment, and supporting vulnerable populations like 
widows.  Poloffs welcomed the party's emphasis on civic 
education and agreed to look for shared opportunities to 
promote democracy training. 
KHALILZAD