SCENESETTER FOR SANAA VISIT

S E C R E T SANAA 000393

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/16/2012
TAGS: PREL MARR YM COUNTER TERRORISM MARITIME SECURITY TERFIN
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR SANAA VISIT

Classified By: Charge Alan G. Misenheimer for reasons 1.5 (a),(d).


1. (U) Embassy Sanaa warmly welcomes the visit of GEN
Abizaid and his staff. You will find that operational
counterterrorism cooperation between the USG and the ROYG has
increased since your last visit.


2. (SBU) The grant transfer patrol boats for the Yemen Coast
Guard arrived on 15 February and we are now in the process of
getting them operational and training the Yemen Coast Guard
in their operation and war-fighting techniques. The Yemenis
plan a gala inaugural event for the YCG boars in mid-March,
and we will help the ROYG use that event to boost other donor
support for the YCG.


3. (C) Through SOCE-Yemen we have extended our &reach8
beyond Sanaa by conducting MTTs in outlying areas such as
Marib, Mukalla, Aden, and Hodeidah. These MTTs enhance the
credibility of in-country CT cooperation, as we help the
Yemenis project a visible and increasingly capable presence
in areas where the terrorists have operated and/or found
safehaven in the past.


4. (C) The USOMC has allocated all its FMF grant monies
through FY03 and has a viable plan for the FY04 allocation of
$14.9M once the allocation is formalized. We are working
through export license issues with the State Department, and
the recent Bloomfield memo should alleviate prior approval
problems. The Yemen MOD still does not have an authorized
freight forwarder under contract despite spending $500K
already for a non-authorized shipper. Under U.S. law, Yemen
is responsible for providing transportation for its FMF buys.
The USOMC and myself have been involved in this issue on a
daily basis with the Yemen MOD.


5. (C) Yemen,s regional policy is currently focused on
Saudi Arabia. Saleh is visiting the KSA this week to discuss
the bilateral contretemps over Saudi construction of sand and
concrete barriers along several stretches of the shared
border. The 2000 Jeddah Agreement ended decades of wrangling
by demarcating the border, but the current dispute -- which
hinges on the ROYG complaint that KSA has violated the
Agreement by building within an agreed 20km "no-construction"
zone -- has opened up old wounds. This is significant, since
bilateral cooperation to close the border to smuggling and
terrorist infiltration is key to security of both KSA and the
Gulf states.


6. (S) FM Qirbi,s recent U.S. visit was mostly upbeat, and
yielded Yemeni agreement to permit U.S. teams to come (timing
TBD) and interrogate al-Qaida detainees here. On the other
hand, the ROYG is resisting U.S. plans to freeze the assets
of prominent Yemeni Sheikh Abdulmajid al-Zindani for
terrorist financing. Ramifications of this issue are not yet
clear; but the overall bilateral relationship, especially CT
cooperation, is on a positive footing.


7. (C) There are still threats in Yemen; but Yemeni security
services have been prompt and effective in responding to
security issues (including active threats) and the overall
threat level continues to decline thanks to U.S.-Yemeni
security cooperation. Embassy planning for coming FYs is
shifting toward greater emphasis on development assistance,
especially in outlying areas where al-Qaida has been active
in the past. We are working with CJTF-HOA on a civil
military opns program that will complement this positive
evolution in U.S. engagement, even as we also focus on
sustaining the effective CT engagement established over the
past two years.


8. (C) Your meeting with Saleh will afford an important
opportunity to update his knowledge of the mutually
beneficial U.S. military engagement with Yemen and --
importantly -- to reinforce his personal relationship with
you. Again, we are truly looking forward to your visit.

MISENHEIMER