BAHRAIN OFFERS TO HOST IRAQ FACTIONS MEETING

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAMA 001762

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/24/2014
TAGS: PREL IZ BA
SUBJECT: BAHRAIN OFFERS TO HOST IRAQ FACTIONS MEETING

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


1. (U) Bahrain Foreign Minister Shaikh Mohammed Al Khalifa,
speaking at the November 22-23 Sharm El Sheikh conference on
Iraq, reported Bahrain's readiness to host a meeting of all
factions in Iraq prior to the scheduled January 30 elections
in order to encourage broad participation in the vote. He
noted that the King had first raised this idea in July 2003,
when he expressed "Bahrain's readiness to host a national
conference for all Iraqi factions and political tendencies to
contribute to the success of the elections in Iraq."


2. (C) One day before Shaikh Mohammed's remarks, King Hamad
told visiting Secretary of the Navy Gordon England that he
had been thinking of inviting all political parties in Iraq
to a conference in Bahrain. Bahrain, he said, is neutral and
has no interests in Iraq, so it could offer a useful venue
for such a conference. The idea behind the conference would
be to help identify moderates from the Sunnis, Shia, and
Kurds. If the moderates get support, he said, they can
maneuver into the government. "We want to embrace and
support and embrace the moderates."


3. (C) Attempts to develop more information or background on
the proposal from the MFA yielded little. The senior MFA
official in town, Undersecretary Yousif Mohammed Mahmoud,
simply reiterated to the Ambassador what Shaikh Mohammed said
-- that this was an idea that had first been proposed in July

2003. The Iraqi Ambassador told the Ambassador that the
proposal was a surprise to him, and to his Foreign Ministry.
In checking with Baghdad, he was told that, as an initial
reaction, his government supported the idea in principle, but
believed that the meeting should be held in Iraq, not outside
the country.


4. (C) Comment. The King (and Shaikh Mohammed) will be in
Washington on November 29 for meetings with the President and
other senior USG officials. To the extent that Washington
finds the proposal potentially useful or wishes to explore it
further, the visit offers an excellent opportunity to do so.


5. (U) Baghdad minimize considered.
MONROE