PRESIDENT SALEH, AFTER WASHINGTON VISIT: "I GET

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SANAA 003364

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/23/2010
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL SY YE DOMESTIC POLITICS
SUBJECT: PRESIDENT SALEH, AFTER WASHINGTON VISIT: "I GET
IT!"

Classified By: Classified by DCM Nabeel Khoury for reasons 1.4 b and d.


1. (C) Summary: President Saleh told Ambassador that he has
taken to heart the messages he heard in Washington from
President Bush, Secretary Rice, MCC/CEO Danelovich, World
Bank Wolfowitz and others. He said that he had convoked his
cabinet upon his return and demanded a plan of action to
respond to Washington's concerns. The cabinet, according to
Saleh, will remain seized of the issues until they deliver
the desired plan. The actions recommended would then be
formalized at the GPC convention next month. Saleh also said
that he delivered a very strongly worded message to President
Bashar al-Assad of Syria, based on what he heard from
Presidents Bush and Chirac during his visits with the two
leaders. "I promise you, " said Saleh on his talks in
Washington, "I have heard the message and I will take
action." End Summary.

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Advice for a Young President:
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2. (C) Ambassador and DCM met with President Saleh, 11/23,
for follow-up discussions to Saleh's Washington visit. Saleh,
anxious to convey how he is living up to promises made,
showed us a letter he had sent to President Bashar al-Assad
of Syria with a personal envoy of Bashar's. Saleh's assistant
read portions of the letter aloud but did not give us a copy.
In essence, the letter advises al-Assad that Saleh discussed
the Syria question with both Presidents Bush and Chirac and
came back with the same strong message:

A. Syria has to comply fully and quickly with the Mehlis
commission.

B. Syria must stop funding Hamas and Hizbullah in Lebanon.

C. Any assistance to the Palestinian people must only be
offered through the Palestinian Authority.

C. Syria must coordinate with the U.S. measures to stop the
infiltration of fighters into Iraq.
Saleh said that he strongly counseled Assad to change his
father's old guard, "much like Abdallah of Jordan and Mohamed
VI of Morocco did upon assuming power." Saleh added that he
told Assad that he didn't have anything to lose as neither
France nor the U.S. had any plans to attack Syria and that
compliance would only help him strengthen his rule by
modernizing the country and ending its isolation within the
international community. Saleh added, "I told him not to fool
himself by assuming that Arab countries supported him. I
assured him that Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan were all
against him if he persisted in defying the international
community."

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"You will see some strong reform measures, soon."
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3. (C) Turning to Yemen, Saleh said that he had come back
from Washington with new resolution to confront all the
problems that had negatively impacted his country's image
overseas. To wit, Saleh listed plans for the creation of a
new independent judicial council, a new tender monitoring
committee, new laws to combat corruption and a new law that
protects the rights of journalists. To that end, he had
convoked the government and given them the word that they
were to remain in constant session until they presented him
with concrete plans and policies to fix the situation.
(Comment: We heard that, in fact, the Yemeni government has
been meeting every night all last week along with leaders of
the ruling GPC to hammer out a new reform package that will
be presented formally at the GPC convention in mid-December.
End comment.) When the Ambassador reminded him that Yemen's
MCC suspension resulted from the lack of action on previous
promises, Saleh said, "I know, I know, believe me you're
going to see some strong measures over the next two months."


4. (C) Saleh asked the Ambassador to deliver a personal
message to President Bush, saying that he was quite touched
by the personal attention shown him by the President and that
he feels a very personal commitment to live up to the
promises he made. The Ambassador reassured Saleh that
President Bush fully understood the difficult challenges
facing Yemen and the difficult task ahead for President
Saleh. "The President, therefore, appreciates your efforts
all the more and wants to help you meet the challenge."

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Comment:
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5. (C) Between the messages he had received from us before
his departure, the suspension of Yemen's MCC Threshold
Program and the direct talk he heard in Washington, President
Saleh seems to us fully cognizant of the high expectations
placed on him and the serious choice he needs to make: "You
can raise U.S.-Yemeni relations to a higher more strategic
level and modernize your state institutions in the process,
or you can neglect our advice and watch our aid dwindle and
the relationship falter." We believe that Saleh truly wants
to make the right choice. Action, however, not words, will
tell over the next few months - particularly as we watch for
new decisions and announcements out of the GPC convention.
End comment.
Krajeski