Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
04MANAMA265
2004-02-24 17:05:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Manama
Cable title:  

SCENESETTER FOR UNDERSECRETARY GROSSMAN'S VISIT TO

Tags:  PREL PHUM ETRD BA 
pdf how-to read a cable
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 000265 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/24/2013
TAGS: PREL PHUM ETRD BA
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR UNDERSECRETARY GROSSMAN'S VISIT TO
BAHRAIN


Classified By: Charge Robert S. Ford. Reason 1.4(D).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 000265

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/24/2013
TAGS: PREL PHUM ETRD BA
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR UNDERSECRETARY GROSSMAN'S VISIT TO
BAHRAIN


Classified By: Charge Robert S. Ford. Reason 1.4(D).


1. (C) Mr. Grossman, the American Embassy in Bahrain looks
forward to your visit next week, and we know the Bahrainis
will be anxious to talk to you about the Greater Middle East
Initiative. Bahrain, a Major Non-NATO Ally, and the United
States are long-time friends, and King Hamad is a
particularly strong supporter of the President. We will seek
a meeting for you with him. The King telephoned Ambassador
Neumann in Baghdad on February 22 to ask about the Greater
Middle East Initiative, and he said he might issue a public
statement in support of it. The King perceives that he and
his country are among the leading reform success stories in
the Arab World.


2. (C) On other foreign policy issues, King Hamad and his
government are anxious that we stabilize Iraq. They are
nervous about a newly assertive Shia majority in Iraq because
the Sunni Al-Khalifas rule a Shia majority in Bahrain.
Meanwhile, King Hamad and his team also hope that the United
States will be able to spur faster progress on the Middle
East peace process to rebuild U.S. credibility. They view
greater U.S. credibility as very important to our engaging
more deeply with the public in Bahrain on issues like
democracy.


3. (C) King Hamad has liberalized some aspects of the
Bahraini political system. He released three years ago all
political prisoners, and some who used to be in political
exile came home to work in the press or even in government.
However, many Shia want more so they boycotted the 2002
parliamentary elections. The King for his part has no
intention of handing full power to the Shia.


4. (C) The reestablished national Parliament, with its
elected lower house, is slowly growing more assertive.
Notably, earlier this year it investigated financial scandals
at the government-managed social security fund and compelled
the government to implement transparency reforms. The
parliamentary investigation may cost a minister or two their
jobs. The King perceives the Parliament's work to be a net
positive, although at times its members are too bombastic for
his taste. In any case, he is determined that the
parliamentary experience move forward and always at a

controlled speed.


5. (C) We are working with the Parliament and nascent
Bahrain political parties through a MEPI-funded NDI program.
This popular NDI program encompasses training of
parliamentary deputies and politicians from all sides of the
Bahraini political spectrum, including those who boycotted
the 2002 elections. Notably, NDI works with Islamic
conservatives who are among America's most vocal critics in
Bahrain. The British, meanwhile, also are starting a program
of institution-building at the Bahraini Parliament.


6. (C) The U.S. is also working with the Bahrainis in the
area of judicial reform through a MEPI-funded program with
the American Bar Association (ABA). This new program is a
follow-up to the September 2003 judicial reform conference
held in Bahrain with Supreme Court Justice O'Connor. An ABA
staffer in Bahrain is setting up a training program for
judges and investigators. The Justice Minister is committed
to moving ahead, but he cautions that American involvement in
judicial reform in Bahrain is highly sensitive. In
particular, strong Islamist elements in the Ministry and
Parliament suspect we will overthrow the Islamic principles
imbedded in the Bahraini judicial system in favor of western
principles. The Minister wants the ABA program to stay low
profile, therefore.


7. (C) We are also engaged deeply with Bahrain on economic
issues. Bahrain's economy is perhaps the most open in the
Arab world, according to the latest assessment from the
Heritage Foundation. However, the economy is not generating
enough jobs, and unemployment is a big political issue. We
are now negotiating a Free Trade Agreement with Bahrain. The
government here hopes the FTA will lead to greater foreign
direct investment and jobs. We in turn are using the FTA
negotiations to leverage additional economic reforms. The
Bahraini economic policy team is small and at times
overwhelmed by the amount of work generated by the FTA. We
have a small MEPI-funded technical assistance program, but so
far its impact has been relatively limited.


8. (SBU) We are also deeply engaged with Bahrain on the
educational and cultural side through the Middle East
Partnership Initiative and ECA's Partnership for Learning
(P4L) programs. We are currently implementing six new MEPI
and P4L programs:

-- Journalism training via Internews;
-- Two MEPI university linkages with the University of
Bahrain;
-- Partnership For Learning Undergraduate Studies;
-- Introducing civics education in K-12 public schools via
Civitas;
-- Arabic Language Book Program for elementary students;
-- Junior Achievement in high schools.

Our contacts at the Ministry of Education and the University
of Bahrain welcome our scholarships, linkages, and
leadership/exchange programs for high school and collage
students. Bahrainis welcome U.S. education and training
because they believe this will help them to solve their
unemployment problem and compete economically with their
neighbors. Education officials are undergoing their own
educational reform process. They want our programs to fit in
with these ongoing changes in curriculum and training that
are already underway. The pace of education reform can be
slow; the Ministry's absorptive capacity is limited in part
by the shortage of trained managers and administrators. We
are also getting some push back from mid-level officials,
principals, teachers, and even parents who either worry that
we are trying to introduce too much democracy too quickly, or
that American culture may overwhelm traditional Bahraini
Muslim culture.


9. (U) Our team looks forward to meeting you in Bahrain.
FORD