A/S BURNS' OCTOBER 5 MEETINGS WITH MFA

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 004546

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/FO, NEA/ARP, NEA/IPA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/08/13
TAGS: PREL IZ TC
SUBJECT: A/S BURNS' OCTOBER 5 MEETINGS WITH MFA
MINSTATE HAMDAN BIN ZAYED AND ARMED FORCES COS
MUHAMMAD BIN ZAYED

(U) Classified by Ambassador Marcelle M. Wahba,
Reasons 1.5 (B) and (D).


1. (S) SUMMARY: NEA Assistant Secretary met
separately in Abu Dhabi on October 5 with MFA Minstate
Hamdan Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (HbZ) and with UAE Armed
Forces Chief of Staff LTG Shaykh Muhammad bin Zayed
Al-Nahyan (MbZ). Information Minister Shaykh Abdullah
Bin Zayed attended the meeting with Shaykh Muhammad.
Burns was accompanied by the Ambassador and Polchief
(notetaker). Topics covered included Iraq,
Israel/Palestine, and Iran. On Iraq, the Emiratis
argued that the current governing system is simply not
sustainable and proposed that the Iraqi Governing
Council (GC) select a president to a one-year term to
help stabilize the political process. Hamdan
expressed concern over the Israeli strike on Syrian
soil, and said it was time Israel help the U.S. in
return for all that the U.S. has done for Israel.


2. (S) Hamdan, who will be in Washington in late
October, agreed to A/S Burns' proposal to reschedule
the U.S.-UAE bilateral Strategic Dialogue to the
beginning of next year, using the next few months to
hold a series of working sessions to achieve progress
on a range of issues, including a Trade and Investment
Framework Agreement, export controls, and ICC/Article

98. Burns thanked the UAE for assisting the Iraqi GC
to be seated at the Arab League, and congratulated the
Emiratis for hosting a successful IMF/World Bank
summit in Dubai. He expressed appreciation for the
central UAE role in organizing the Madrid Donors
Conference and urged a generous UAE financial package.
He also applauded the UAE for progress in addressing
the trafficking in persons problem. HbZ told A/S
Burns that they would be signing an MOU with Germany
to train Iraqi police in the UAE. END SUMMARY.

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Iraq
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3. (S) Burns thanked HbZ and MbZ for their support on
Iraq and especially their role in the Core Group's
preparation for the Madrid conference. HbZ and MbZ
criticized the GC and Ahmed Chalabi in particular.
"The problem now is that the Governing Council looks
like your representative to the Iraqis, not the
representative of Iraqis to you or the rest of the
world," MbZ said. In addition, most of them are not
known to Iraqis and have zero credibility with Iraqis
at large.


4. (S) HbZ and MbZ urged the U.S. to seek ways to
improve the GC's credibility and help stabilize the
Iraqi political process. They recommended the GC drop
the policy of one-month rotating presidents and select
a "broadly-acceptable" president to serve for a
minimum of one year or until elections. "We believe
this can be a positive step to facilitate affairs in
Iraq," HbZ said. Work on a new Iraqi constitution
could progress at the same time. A/S Burns confirmed
the U.S. commitment to rapid, orderly progress in the
political process outlined by Ambassador Bremer, in
addition to working for greater security and economic
reconstruction.


5. (C) HbZ said that during German Chancellor Schroeder's
visit to Abu Dhabi this week, the two countries will sign
an agreement to train new Iraqi police officers in the
UAE. Burns called this type of cooperation, which the
Germans are financing, extremely helpful. Burns briefed
HbZ and MbZ on USG efforts within the Security Council to
pass a resolution on Iraq. Burns also briefed MbZ on
efforts to encourage other nations to contribute troops
in Iraq. MbZ agreed with Burns that getting Iraqis back
in uniform to take over the security of their country was
vital. MbZ told A/S Burns that he had received some
inquiries from the French military about contributing to
a multinational force in Iraq, in cooperation with the
UAE. Burns expressed considerable skepticism, but MbZ
insisted that he sensed potential interest and would let
us know if he heard more.

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Middle East Roadmap
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6. (S) With the October 4 Haifa bombing and October 5
Israeli attack inside Syrian territory as a backdrop,
Burns briefed MbZ and HbZ on the status of the Middle
East Roadmap, underscored President Bush's commitment
to a two-state solution, and thanked the Emiratis for
their humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian
people. In HbZ's view, the U.S. has done a lot to
help Israel, and it is now Israel's duty and
obligation to help the U.S. "The vital interests of
the U.S. are being negatively affected," HbZ said. It
is in everyone's interest that "the roadmap be
implemented." Burns and HbZ also agreed that Syria
had made a serious miscalculation when, after the Iraq
war started, it stepped up its assistance to the
Hezbollah.

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U.S.-UAE Bilateral Issues
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7. (C) Both sides reaffirmed the importance of
following up on last year's first bilateral U.S.-UAE
Strategic Dialogue in Washington. Burns suggested
rescheduling the planned October 5-6 meetings to early
2004, and using the next two to three months to
achieve tangible progress on various bilateral issues,
such as TIFA, export controls, Article 98, and MLAT.
HbZ concurred. Turning to the problem of trafficking
in persons, Burns said that he had told Congress that
the UAE's comprehensive campaign to address the issue
was a model for other countries. HbZ said the UAE's
unprecedented move from Tier 3 to Tier 1 in the TIP
means added responsibility for his country. He spoke
of the need to do more and for continued cooperation
with the US to face the obstacles that lie ahead.


8. (U) This cable was cleared by A/S Burns.

WAHBA