Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
04MANAMA1882
2004-12-15 12:33:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Manama
Cable title:  

DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR HADLEY'S DECEMBER

Tags:  PREL MARR KDEM PGOV SA IR SY IZ 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MANAMA 001882 

SIPDIS

NSC FOR DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR HADLEY

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/07/2014
TAGS: PREL MARR KDEM PGOV SA IR SY IZ
SUBJECT: DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR HADLEY'S DECEMBER
5 MEETING WITH SAUDI FOREIGN MINISTER SAUD AL FAISAL

REF: MANAMA 1814

Classified by A/DCM Hallie H. Hahn for reasons 1.4 (b) and
(d).

-------
Summary
-------

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MANAMA 001882

SIPDIS

NSC FOR DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR HADLEY

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/07/2014
TAGS: PREL MARR KDEM PGOV SA IR SY IZ
SUBJECT: DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR HADLEY'S DECEMBER
5 MEETING WITH SAUDI FOREIGN MINISTER SAUD AL FAISAL

REF: MANAMA 1814

Classified by A/DCM Hallie H. Hahn for reasons 1.4 (b) and
(d).

--------------
Summary
--------------


1. (C) Deputy National Security Advisor Hadley met with
Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al Faisal December 5 on the
margins of the IISS Gulf Security Dialogue conference in
Manama. DNSA Hadley encouraged Saud to reach out to Iraqi
Sunnis to participate in the January 30 elections. The
Foreign Minister said that the SAG had done so but questioned
whether the elections would result in a stable and secure
government and country. He recommended that the Iraqis start
with municipal elections and allow local political leaders to
establish credibility and form the nucleus of political
parties. Saud doubted Syria would allow itself to become an
assembly, training, and financing point for the Iraqi
insurgency, saying this is "too obvious." Iran is fully
operational inside Iraq, spreading its influence and
establishing cells. Saudi Arabia wants to normalize its
relations with the U.S. while carrying out its internal
reform process at deliberate speed, keeping in mind the
nature of Saudi society. DNSA Hadley pointed out that Saudi
Arabia could do more, and said that Saudi Arabia's failure to
include women voters in municipal elections had gotten a lot
of attention in the U.S. End Summary.

--------------
Reaching Out to Iraqi Sunnis
--------------



2. (C) DNSA Hadley opened the meeting by expressing the
President's intention to reach out to friends and allies in
order to reach global solutions to global problems. He said
the President plans to expend political capital on issues in
the Middle East, particularly Israel/Palestine, where he sees
an opportunity to achieve a breakthrough. He also will focus
on advancing the cause of liberty in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In response to the Foreign Minister's question, DNSA Hadley
replied that the U.S. is encouraging contact with Sunni

opposition groups in Iraq, noting that he had delivered this
message to each of his interlocutors at the IISS Gulf
Dialogue conference. Saud stated that the Sunnis had ruled
Iraq for 50 years, and the IIG now faced a difficult
diplomatic battle in getting the Sunnis to join the political
process. He said that the SAG had spoken with those Sunnis
it knows inside Iraq and encouraged them to participate in
the elections.


3. (C) DNSA Hadley noted that some say the IIG should delay
the January 30 elections to buy more time for outreach to the
Sunni community. He said that while the U.S. agrees that
outreach is important, we are very worried about letting the
date slip. There could be a negative reaction from the Shia
in Iraq and the political process could lose momentum. The
ForMin stated that the elections are a means not an
objective, and the important thing is the result, which
should lead to a stable and secure government and country.
Holding the elections that accomplish nothing could lead to
people to say that the U.S. had tried elections, failed, and
now was free to carry out a "full fledged occupation."

--------------
Start With Municipal Elections
--------------


4. (C) Saud continued that Saudi Arabia believes a system of
gradual elections would be best, starting with municipal
elections. Elected local officials could assist people in
rebuilding their lives in peace and security. As a result of
this process, political leaders would emerge who would form
the nucleus of political parties. Then ordinary citizens
would not want to lose what they had gained and would turn
away from the insurgents. This would allow for conditions to
improve from the ground up. Pushing for elections and
knowing they would be boycotted would be a tragic mistake. A
reasonable person could do more damage than good by trying to
accomplish the impossible. DNSA Hadley replied that the U.S.
believes that both a good election and a good outcome are
possible. He emphasized that those who spend their time
advocating for a delay could better devote their energies to
encouraging Sunnis to participate.

5. (C) Saud suggested that greater attention should be
devoted to security at the Iraq-Saudi border. He is
concerned about spillover from Iraq to Saudi Arabia, saying
the SAG does not want jihadists from Iraq joining the fight
inside Saudi Arabia. He asserted that the SAG controlled
movements across the border from Saudi Arabia into Iraq, and
requested a strong effort to stop movement from Iraq into
Saudi Arabia. He said that inside Saudi Arabia, Al Qaida is
almost completely destroyed, but there are signs of a new
leadership entering the Kingdom from Iraq.

--------------
Pressure Points on Syria
--------------


6. (C) In this regard, DNSA Hadley stated that the Syrian
border concerns us the most. Syria had become an assembly,
training, and finance point for foreign fighters. We are
getting only symbolic cooperation at the border. The ForMin
said that the U.S. could use several pressure points with the
Syrians: the SARG badly wants a relationship with the U.S.;
it does not want to be at the "tail end" of peace agreements
with Israel; and the "silly" way Syria handles its
relationship with Lebanon could be used to motivate Syria in
the war against terror. He doubted whether Syria was in fact
a center for the leadership of the Iraqi resistance. This
was "too obvious;" Syria played a very careful game in
dealing with Palestinian rejectionists. DNSA Hadley
disagreed, saying that the SARG tolerated Hamas and PIJ in
Damascus.


7. (C) In response to the DNSA's question, Saud said that
Iran is confused about its nuclear program. You get
different answers each day about whether the program is for
power or fuel enrichment. The government says one thing, the
parliament something else, and influential people like
Khamenei and Rafsanjani provide another view. Iran is "fully
operational" inside Iraq, with hundreds of thousands of
people and enormous amounts of money. Iran is quietly
spreading its influence and creating cells inside Iraq while
the U.S. is engaged with the Sunni insurgency.

--------------
Desire to Normalize Bilateral Relations
--------------


8. (C) With regard to bilateral issues, the ForMin said that
there was much press commentary in the U.S. about issues of
concern in the relationship. Although the 9/11 commission
"completely exonerated" Saudi Arabia, the SAG continues to
hear the same accusations as before. He stated that Saudi
Arabia wants to normalize our bilateral relations and not be
forced to respond to what is written and said in the American
media.


9. (C) Saud said that Saudi Arabia had done a lot in the war
on terror and terrorism financing, but this goes unrecognized
in the U.S. He stated that the Kingdom's reforms may not be
theatrical, such as, hypothetically, appointing a woman as
president of the Shura Council, but the country is moving in
the right direction, at deliberate speed, keeping in mind the
nature of Saudi society. For example, the SAG did not say
Yes or No to women participating in municipal council
elections, but it permitted women to be elected to chambers
of commerce, where they now work side by side with men. The
government does not force solutions on the people, but
creates the environment for them to take their own decisions.
The government intends to open to debate all subjects that
formerly were taboo. He asserted that ten years ago, Saudi
Sunnis believed that Shia inside the country "were devils."
Now shaikhs from the two sects talk and eat dinner together.
Saud cautioned that Saudi reforms would proceed at a
sustainable, "deliberate" rate and that Saudi Arabia would
never look like the West. Moving faster on Shia rights was
just too hard. In a comment revealing much about how Saudi
Arabia's Wahhabi heartland regards its Shia co-religionists,
the ForMin said that forcing Nejdis to accept the validity of
Shia Islam "would be like the President bringing Michael
Jackson to the Midwest and insisting he be everyone's role
model."


10. (C) The Foreign Minister said that Saudi Arabia's rate
of population growth had declined to 2.2 percent, a normal
rate of increase. The expat workforce inside the country was
down to six million. Per capita income rose from $7,000 to
$11,500, and the poverty that was talked about earlier is
"not there." Unemployment is down from millions to tens of
thousands.
--------------
Do What is Workable
--------------

11. (C) DNSA Hadley stated that from the U.S. perspective,
the SAG had combated terrorism seriously since the May 2003
Riyadh attacks. We were less understanding about what Saudi
Arabia had done to combat terrorism financing. Saudi
Arabia's failure to include women voters in municipal
elections had gotten a lot of attention in the U.S. Saud
replied that the SAG would always choose to do what was
workable. The majority of Saudis do not want to change the
role of women. In addressing reform, Saudi Arabia must move
with alacrity but carefully, without breaking social cohesion
and maintaining societal consensus. But when the time comes
for real decisions, the SAG does the right thing. For
example, the government four years ago directed that males
and females receive the same education, over the objection of
the religious establishment. The SAG has removed from the
mosques those who preach hate. But the government avoids
taking symbolic steps with no real impact.


12. (U) Baghdad minimize considered.


13. (C) The NSC cleared this message.

MONROE