BAHRAIN MOVES FORWARD WITH JOINT COUNTER TERRORISM

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MANAMA 000484

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR DS/IP/NEA, DS/ITA, DS/ATA, S/CT AND NEA/ARPI
RIYADH FOR LEGATT
FBI FOR JOHN PISTOLE, DEPUTY DIRECTOR; WILLIE HULON, DEPUTY
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR; TOM HARRINGTON, DEPUTY ASSISTANT
DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONAL SUPPORT; GARY BALD, EXECUTIVE
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR CT; FRANK BATTLE OPERATIONS RESPONSE
SECTION

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/29/2015
TAGS: ASEC BA PTER
SUBJECT: BAHRAIN MOVES FORWARD WITH JOINT COUNTER TERRORISM
CENTER

REF: MANAMA 435

Classified By: AMBASSADOR WILLIAM T. MONROE FOR REASONS 1.4 (b)


1. (C) Summary. An FBI-led team's March 19-22 visit to
Bahrain successfully kick-started Bahrain's effort to
establish a Joint Counter Terrorism Center (JCTC) within the
next two-four months. Most notably, Minister of Interior
(MOI) Shaikh Rashid pulled in senior leaders from CT-related
agencies, including the Bahrain National Security Agency
(BNSA) and the Bahrain Defense Forces (BDF),for a review of
the FBI presentation as well as MOI's plan, apparently
gaining their endorsement of the JCTC. Former Ambassador to
the U.S. Shaikh Khalifa, now Deputy Director at BNSA, was
deeply involved in all of the discussions and appeared to
play a helpful role. Embassy greatly appreciates the support
given to this effort by the FBI National Joint Terrorism Task
Force (NJTTF); as well as the Legatt office in Riyadh. End
summary.

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How It All Started
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2. (C) Chief of Public Security Major General Latif Al Zayani
requested embassy support from RSO (by letter) to establish a
CT Center in Manama in August 2004. RSO contacted DS/ATA and
S/CT to seek guidance and support for the venture. Both
groups endorsed the concept but could not provide material
support. Legatt Riyadh Fred Brink was contacted and provided
a copy of the letter from MG Zayani. In further discussions,
RSO and Legatt determined the proposed Bahrain CT Center
closely resembled an FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF)
and met many of the requirements for organization, training,
equipment and personnel. Legatt Riyadh contacted the NJTTF
to request a training visit to Manama to provide guidance and
direction to the Ministry of Interior in their pursuit of a
CT Center.

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The Initial Meetings
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3. (C) The FBI team arrived in Manama on March 17 and
conducted briefings on March 19 and 20 to senior MOI and NSA
personnel, including Chief of Public Security MG Zayani and
NSA Undersecretary Shaikh Khalifa Al Khalifa (recently former
Ambassador to the U.S.). The lengthy discussions were
productive and produced a vibrant dialog between the US and
Bahraini participants. Major General Zayani and Shaikh Al
Khalifa were impressed with the specific information provided
on personnel selection, equipment needs and the absolute
requirement by CT Center staff for dedication to the mission.
Each major participating agency; MOI, NSA, Bahrain Defense
Forces and National Guard; is required to support the goals
and objectives of the CT Center to ensure national security
for Bahrain.

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The Big Meeting
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4. (C) Minister of Interior Shaikh Rashid Al Khalifa called
together the Director of the National Security Agency Shaikh
Abdul Aziz Al Khalifa and Chief of Staff Bahrain Defense
Forces Shaikh Daij Al Khalifa on March 21 for a briefing by
the FBI team and a review of the MOI plan for establishment
of a JCTC. Major General Zayani opened the meeting by
discussing the need for a coordinated CT Center utilizing the
assets of MOI, NSA, BDF, the National Guard, etc. into a
cohesive unit to deter, investigate and prosecute terrorist
crimes. FBI NJTTF Supervisor Rodger Morrison then provided
an overview of how the 100 JTTF offices in the US are
organized, staffed, equipped and led. An MOI presenter
narrated the concept of operations for the CT Center. The
MOI vision is that each GCC country would create its own
JCTC, and those country JCTC's would eventually be linked to
a Manama-based regional center with representation from each
GCC country. The explosive attack in Qatar March 19 was a
sobering reminder to the attendees of the need to quickly and
accurately share terrorism information in Bahrain and
throughout the GCC. Agent Morrison concluded the FBI
presentation with "best practices" used by the NJTTF and the
100 JTTF offices in the US.

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Walk First
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5. (C) The initial plan is to open the JCTC at MOI
headquarters with a small staff from NSA, MOI, BDF, the
National Guard and Customs. The Director of the JCTC is
expected to be an NSA officer at the rank of Colonel with the
Deputy Director from MOI at Lieutenant Colonel rank. The
Director will report to the Chief of Public Security Major
General Zayani. The JCTC will consist of an Intelligence
Analysis Cell, Contingency Plans and Operations Cell, and
Protective Security Cell supported by officers from Criminal
Investigations Division, Coast Guard, Special Forces,
Customs, Immigration, BDF, National Guard, Attorney General,
Civil Aviation and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) used by the FBI JTTF was
provided and will be employed as the template for ensuring
the cooperation of participating ministries. MOI already
modified the document and had it cleared by their legal
department. The MOI plans to have the JCTC operational on a
small scale in 2-4 months. The equipment list provided by
the FBI team will serve as a baseline for acquiring the
necessities to begin operations.

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Principle Responsibilities
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6. (C) The MOI JCTC presentation offered the following
mission statement: The mission of the JCTC is to prevent a
terrorist attack in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The principle
responsibilities of the JCTC are to liase with national,
regional and international agencies to exchange information
and operational techniques; call regular meetings with
national ministries and agencies to share relevant
information and update contingency plans; ensure training and
exercises take place; ensure the Kingdom has the proper
equipment for every level of threat; and establish and
organization within the MOI to be the focal point for the
prevention of a terrorist attack in Bahrain.

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Where We Go From Here
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7. (C) The Minister of Interior will hold a meeting on March
30 with the Director NSA, Chief of Staff BDF, and Chief of
the National Guard to elicit their further support to create
the JCTC. The next step is to identify the JCTC director,
deputy director and skeleton staff. The documents provided
by the FBI team specifically identify the next sequential
steps to be taken by the MOI to establish the JCTC.
Milestones have been identified for the MOI to meet in order
for progress to be measured. Based on the MOI's progress,
RSO will advise the FBI team on MOI progress and the need to
revisit Bahrain and provide additional assistance. Bahrain
will likely open the first international CT Center organized
by DS and the FBI, fitting the JTTF mold. The Bahraini
vision, as presented to the GCC countries at the Riyadh,
Saudi Arabia security conference in February 2005, is to
create a JCTC in each country and later establish a regional
JCTC in Manama.

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Thanks To All
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8. (C) Post is extremely grateful to the LEGAT Fred Brink and
A/LEGAT Martin Reardon in Riyadh and the FBI NJTTF personnel
Rodger Morrison, Richard Teahan, Michael Reilly, Harlan Bell
and Terry Coward who traveled to Manama. Their efforts
provided the spark from which the JCTC shall begin. DS and
FBI leaders endorsed the program, recognizing the long-term
benefits of information sharing and coordinated effort in the
GWOT.
MONROE