SECRETARY OF THE NAVY ENGLAND MEETING WITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 001759

SIPDIS

STATE FOR D, NEA/ARPI
SECNAV FOR SECRETARY ENGLAND
NSC FOR T POUNDS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/24/2014
TAGS: PREL MARR PTER ASEC BA
SUBJECT: SECRETARY OF THE NAVY ENGLAND MEETING WITH
MINISTER OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS ABDUL GHAFFAR


Classified By: Amb. William T. Monroe. Reason: 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: MFA Minister of State Abdul Ghaffar told
Secretary of the Navy England November 22 that the King will

SIPDIS
use his upcoming visit to Washington to stress to the
President that Bahrain is proudly aligned with the U.S., and
to remind the people of Bahrain that the people of the Gulf
owe a great debt to the U.S. for liberating Kuwait and
overthrowing Saddam. Secretary England stressed the
continued importance of fighting terrorism, noting in
particular our concern about the four terrorist suspects
released on November 1. Abdul Ghaffar said Bahrain is
committed to fighting terrorism, but wants to do it in
accordance with the Kingdom's legal system. On Iraq, Abdul
Ghaffar said that the upcoming elections were extremely
important in giving more legitimacy to the Iraqi government,
but advocated postponement if security and foreign influence
could not be rolled back. End Summary.


2. (C) Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Mohammed Abdul
Ghaffar opened the November 22 meeting with Secretary of the
Navy Gordon England by expressing Bahrain's gratitude for the
King's November 29 visit to Washington and meetings with
President Bush and other senior officials. Bahrain
recognized that it was a great privilege to visit so soon
after the election. The King will tell the President that he
is coming as an ally and to discuss what can be done to
develop closer cooperation.


3. (C) Abdul Ghaffar stated that the King will seek to
reinforce with President Bush that Bahrain is proudly and
unabashedly aligned with the United States. At the same
time, he wants to remind the Bahraini people that the nations
of the Gulf owe a great debt to the U.S., which liberated
Kuwait and removed Saddam Hussein. While there may have been
some mistakes in Iraq, the United States is a close friend
and ally of Bahrain and the region. "Very few people in the
region are saying this these days," Abdul Ghaffar said. "We
will say this in Washington." When asked by the Ambassador
if the King would say this publicly in Washington, Abdul
Ghaffar said he did not want to get into details at this
time, but reiterated that the King was determined to put
forward this message during the visit.


4. (C) The SecNav expressed appreciation for this statement
of support. He stressed, at the same time, that fighting
terrorism remained an important U.S. priority, and in that
connection the terrorist suspects who were released by the
court November 1 are of great concern to Washington
officials. This could be expected to be a topic in the
King's meetings there. Abdul Ghaffar said the GOB is
committed to keeping all the country's residents safe from
terrorism, especially Americans on the island. He added that
he hoped the terror suspects would be convicted in their
trial, which begins December 6. He assured the SecNav that
the government would do everything possible to obtain the
suspects' conviction, but he emphasized that the separation
of powers placed limits on what the government could do to
influence the courts. "We want to fight terrorism," he said,
"but want to do it in a legal way." He likened the situation
to the disagreements between American courts and USG
officials on Guantanamo. He hoped the case of the six
suspects would not negatively impact bilateral relations, as
this would only benefit terrorists and those who seek to
diminish the American role in Bahrain.


5. (C) Abdul Ghaffar stressed that the GOB is committed to
fighting terrorism and is eager to improve its ability to do
so. He thanked the SecNav for the USG's ongoing assistance
in this regard. He noted that Minister of Interior Shaikh
Rashed Al Khalifa wants to open more channels with U.S.
agencies working on counter-terrorism. He said that the GOB
is interested in U.S. assistance to build a counter-terrorism
operations center and to improve its technological means of
fighting terrorism.


6. (C) Asked by the SecNav about Iraq, Abdul Ghaffar said
that the upcoming elections were extremely important as a
step forward in giving more legitimacy to the Iraqi
government. But there has to be some order in order to have
successful elections. Fallujah may need some time to heal.
If violence and foreign influence cannot be rolled back in
time, the elections should be delayed. He said that he had
met many Iraqis who told him about American-led
reconstruction projects, and he was disappointed that the
media only highlights the negatives. He added that security
in Iraq is vital to the security of the entire Gulf. He said
the King would present more ideas on Iraq during its visit to
Washington. Abdul Ghaffar noted that Iran would also be on
the agenda.


7. (C) Abdul Ghaffar emphasized that the (DOD) Bahrain
School is a fixture in American-Bahraini relations and urged
the SecNav to keep it open. England assured him that the USG
would find a way to keep the school in operation.

MONROE