Expand All Collapse All Extent 13 folders, approximately 992 pages Summary This collection consists of records related to Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Muhammad al-Sadr, a prominent Shi’ite cleric in southern Iraq who became a leader in the opposition to Sadaam Hussein and the Baath Party. This collection contains press materials, emails, cables, correspondence, and memoranda. Most of these records concern the assassination of the Ayatollah in February 1999. Scope and Content Note The materials in FOIA 2009-0010-F are a selective body of documents responsive to the topic of the FOIA. Researchers should consult the archivist about related materials. Ayatollah Muhammad Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr was a prominent Shi’ite cleric in Southern Iraq. Throughout the 1990s, following the Persian Gulf War, Shi’a Muslims in Iraq opposed the Baath Party and its leader, Saddam Hussein. Sadr, who lived in Baghdad, ministered to the impoverished Shi’a in the south. Over time, Sadr became a powerful Shi’ite leader in opposition to the Baath Party. Many Shi’a migrated to Baghdad and established a neighborhood which they named “Revolution City.” However, in the late 1990s, the Baath regime began to actively combat the Shi’a opposition. On February 19, 1999, Sadr and his two sons were ambushed with gunfire as they left a mosque in the southern Iraqi city of Najaf. All three died. Many Iraqis and international observers believed that the murders were the work of Saddam Hussein. Sadr believed he was a target, and even wore a funeral shroud to his final Friday sermon. In response, the Iraqi Shi’a rioted against the Baath Party government throughout the spring of 1999. Sadr remained a symbol of opposition for many Iraqi Shi’a. After the fall of Baghdad in 2003, Revolution City was unofficially renamed Sadr City in honor of the late cleric. The majority of the records related to this FOIA are closed for national security reasons. The records that have been released consist primarily of press materials related to the death of the Ayatollah and the subsequent Shi’a uprisings. The emails also include several copies of a March 3, 1999 letter from President Clinton to Congressional leadership reporting on the status of the effort to obtain Iraqi compliance with United Nations Security Council resolutions. The letter mentions the Sadr assassination in the context of human rights abuses in Iraq. Additional memoranda and letters concern a July 22, 1999 report to Congress on Iraq’s compliance with United Nation Security Council resolutions and note the assassination of this senior Islamic cleric. Record Type Textual System of Arrangement Records that are responsive to this FOIA request were found in these collection areas – Clinton Presidential Records: White House Office of Records Management (WHORM) Subject Files, Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files, Clinton Presidential Records: ARMS Emails, and Clinton Presidential Records: NSC Cable, Email, and Records Management Systems. The White House Office of Records Management (WHORM) contains a variety of series created to organize and track documents and correspondence. The WHORM Subject file was compiled by the White House Office of Records Management and is a series of categories designated by a letter/number combination. Staff and Office Files were maintained at the folder level by staff members within their individual offices and document all levels of administration activity. WHORM files are processed at the document level; whereas, Staff and Office files are processed at the folder level, that is, individual documents are not selected and removed from a folder for processing. While this method maintains folder integrity, it frequently results in the incidental processing of documents that are not wholly responsive to the subject area. The Automated Records Management System (ARMS) is a database that contains email records of the executive office of the President. This system maintained unclassified Presidential email. The ARMS dataset is comprised of 7 sub-series of email records called “Buckets.” The buckets include NPR, OPD, POTUS, WHO, CEA, Default, and NSC. ARMS emails are arranged chronologically by creation date. FOIA 2009-0010-F includes WHORM records from this subject code: CO080 Iraq, Republic of Access Collection is open to all researchers. Access to Clinton Presidential Records is governed by the Presidential Records Act (PRA) (44 USC 2201) and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 USC 552, as amended) and therefore records may be restricted in whole or in part in accordance with legal exemptions. Copyright Documents in this collection that were prepared by officials of the United States government as part of their official duties are in the public domain. Researchers are advised to consult the copyright law of the United States (17 USC, 101) which governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Provenance Official records of William Jefferson Clinton’s presidency are housed at the Clinton Presidential Library and administered by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) under the provisions of the Presidential Records Act (PRA) Subject Headings Iraq Shiites Assassination Murder Person Names Ṣadr, Muḥammad Ṣādiq, 1943-1999 Processed by Staff Archivist, 2013. Previously restricted materials are added as they are released. Last Modified Date 2015-03-02 Container List The following is a list of documents and folders processed in response to FOIA 2009-0010-F: Box 1 Clinton Presidential Records: WHORM: Subject File Category Case Number CO080 311876SS Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files National Security Council Near East and South Asian Affairs Cooper, Kathleen [Cooper/NESA] Chron Files, February – December 1999 [30079 – 30360]: [30081] [OA/ID 2455] Clinton Presidential Records: Automated Records Management System [Email] NSC [OA/ID 1200000] [al-Sadr and Iraq] [03/03/1999] [03/05/1999 – 09/06/2000] Clinton Presidential Records: NSC Cable, Email, and Records Management System NSC Cables Jan 1999 – Dec 2000 [al-Sadr and Iraq] [02/09/1999 – 02/24/1999] [OA/ID 530000] [02/25/1999 – 02/26/1999] [OA/ID 530000] [03/01/1999 – 03/18/1999] [OA/ID 530000] [03/19/1999 – 03/30/1999] [OA/ID 530000] [04/01/1999 – 04/30/1999] [OA/ID 530000] Box 2 [05/01/1999 – 10/13/1999] [OA/ID 530000] [01/18/2000 – 12/06/2000] [OA/ID 530000] NSC Emails Exchange – Record (Sept 97 – Jan 01) [al-Sadr and Iraq] [02/22/1999 – 04/01/1999] [OA/ID 620000] Exchange – Non-Record (Mar 97 – Jan 01) [al-Sadr and Iraq] [03/02/1999 - 03/17/1999] [OA/ID 630000]