OMAN CONDEMNS QATAR TERROR ATTACK

UNCLAS MUSCAT 000479 SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE FOR NEA, NEA/ARPI E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PTER PREL OPRC XF MU SUBJECT: OMAN CONDEMNS QATAR TERROR ATTACK ¶1. (U) The March 19 VBIED attack on a theater in Doha provoked swift condemnation by the Omani government. A Foreign Ministry statement (most likely penned by Under Secretary Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi) released on March 20 SIPDIS pledged the Sultanate's support for Qatar's security and its protection against "such acts of absurdity." The Oman News Agency carried block quotes of the release. "The Sultanate's Government also condoles the families of the victims, wishes swift recovery to those injured and prays to the Almighty to save the sisterly state of Qatar from harm. The Sultanate calls on all states in the region and the world to unite against all acts of terrorism and work together to uproot the phenomenon wherever it exists." Omani Arabic and English dailies gave full coverage of the MFA, GCC and other regional condemnations of the terror attack. ¶2. (SBU) When the matter has come up in conversations with Emboffs, Omani contacts have been roundly critical of the attack. State Council Vice President Shaykh Aflah al-Rawahi shook with anger and emotion when discussing the terror incident with a visiting US university official. Submissions on the Internet message board Al Sablah, which rarely pass up an opportunity to lay blame on the USG, were uniform in denouncing the attack. Moreover, contributors expressed concern that Oman could suffer a similar attack. The March 16 announcements allegedly from Saudi al-Qaeda figure Saleh al-Oufi specifically calling for attacks on Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, and UAE were frequently cited by worried writers, many of whom presumed that the US military presence in Qatar may have raised that country's profile among terrorists. BALTIMORE