US embassy cable - 03OTTAWA1461

S E C R E T OTTAWA 001461 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT. FOR NEA/NGA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/22/2013 
TAGS: PREL, CA, IZ, Iraq 
SUBJECT: CANADA ON RECALL OF IRAQI COM 
 
REF: STATE 126507 
 
Classified By: POLMIN COUNSELOR BRIAN FLORA.  REASON 1.5 (B) AND (D). 
 
1. (S) In response to reftel demarche, DFAIT Middle East 
Division Deputy Director Graeme McIntyre affirmed that the 
GOC had taken a decision to facilitate the return to Baghdad 
of Iraqi Charge d'Affaires Mamdouh S. MUSTAFA, the sole Iraqi 
diplomat remaining in Canada. POL/Liaison sources at post 
advise that CSIS (Canadian intelligence) was unaware of the 
GOC/DFAIT decision to facilitate Mustafa's departure from 
Canada. 
 
2. (C) According to McIntyre, Mustafa was accredited to 
Canada in 2000/01 as a full Charge d'Affaires -- as opposed 
to "ad interim"-- after his predecessor, Mohammad H. 
Al-Saffar, failed to resume his post. Though he could not 
give us a timeline for Mustafa's departure, McIntyre said it 
would help the GOC if Mustafa were included in the worldwide 
list of former regime officials posted abroad whose departure 
USG previously had encouraged to different host governments. 
 
3. (C) McIntyre said the GOC is particularly sensitive to the 
possibility of negative press coverage about Mustafa's 
departure (and, probably, the likelihood that left-leaning 
opposition MPs will attack the government decision as a 
"rights" violation etc.). Poloff noted that if Mustafa was 
accredited to Canada as a full charge, then it would appear 
that he fell into the category of "head of mission" and is 
thus covered by the instruction from the Iraqi MFA. 
CELLUCCI