SALEH TELLS GEN ABIZAID HE ACCEPTS WEAPONS

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 SANAA 003378

SIPDIS

WHITE HOUSE FOR ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT FOR HOMELAND
SECURITY AND COUNTER-TERRORISM FRANCES FRAGOS TOWNSEND
DEPARTMENT FOR PM A/S HILLEN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/26/2015
TAGS: PREL PTER IZ SY YM COUNTER TERRORISM
SUBJECT: SALEH TELLS GEN ABIZAID HE ACCEPTS WEAPONS
INVENTORY SYSTEM; OFFERS MEDIATION WITH SYRIA AND IRAQI
BAATHISTS

REF: SANAA 3349

Classified By: CDA NABEEL KHOURY FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D).


1. (S) SUMMARY: In a November 26 meeting with visiting
CENTCOM Commander GEN John Abizaid, President Saleh accepted
long-standing U.S. offers to create a weapons inventory
system for the Yemeni Armed Forces. He claimed that Syrian
President Bashar al-Asad had expressed willingness to
cooperate with the USG on stopping the infiltration of
fighters into Iraq, but needed more assistance from the
United States. Saleh said he proposed direct contacts with
the USG to Bashar, urging specifically a visit by GEN Abizaid
to Damascus. On the subject of political reconciliation in
Iraq, Saleh said only a "full dialogue" with all of Iraq's
political actors, particularly "ordinary Baath party
members," would help move the process forward. He offered to
gather Baathists in Sanaa as a first step in that dialogue.
The President asked GEN Abizaid for information on Yemeni
detainees in Iraq, and lauded the new energy in Yemeni-Saudi
counter-terrorism cooperation. He also urged the USG to
support the new government in Somalia and requested financial
assistance to retain Yemen's liaison officers in Tampa and
Djibouti. END SUMMARY


2. (C) In a cordial atmosphere punctuated by an unexpected
invitation to lunch, President Saleh informed GEN Abizaid
that he had decided to accept U.S. offers of assistance in
creating a system to keep track of weapons procured for the
Yemeni Armed Forces. Referring to previous conversations
between Embassy's Office of Military Cooperation and the
Minister of Defense, Saleh said that the system should cover
"not one, but many units" (reftel). He emphasized, however,
that the ROYG would look to the USG to provide funding for
it. GEN Abizaid replied that keeping control of small
arms/light weapons was important to improving the security
not only of Yemen, but of the region, and that the USG would
look for ways to support that common goal.


3. (S) Saleh told the General that he had sent a message to
President Bashar "four or five days ago" recommending that
Bashar support a visit by the CENTCOM Commander. Saleh
claimed that Bashar was now ready to cooperate with the USG
with regard to stopping the flow of fighters into Iraq, and
had even begun building a barrier along the border, but would
need more U.S. assistance to enhance his efforts. "We do not
want to see a point of tension with Syria like in Iraq,"
Saleh advised. GEN Abizaid promised that he and Ambassador
would convey to their superiors in Washington Saleh's
concerns and his recommendation for a visit to Damascus by
the General.


4. (C) The President praised CENTCOM's efforts to train,
equip and enable Iraqi units to take the lead on more
security operations, with support from coalition forces.
Coalition forces, he said, should remain on their bases in
Iraq and Iraqis should be responsible for providing security
and taking the risks inherent in doing so. Saleh also hailed
the news that all former Iraqi armed forces members below the
rank of major would soon be allowed to re-join the military.
GEN Abizaid said that was a decision that the Iraqi Minister
of Defense had recently announced, and that the USG supports,
but that would not be implemented until after the December 15
elections and the formation of a new government.


5. (C) Saleh advised the General that only a "full dialogue"
with all of Iraq's political forces, particularly "ordinary
members" of the Baath party, would help bring peace to the
country. He offered to "use our ties" with the Baathists to
bring a number of them to Sanaa for the first step in this
dialogue. Saleh named former Prime Minister Ayad Alawi as a
natural leader to conduct the dialogue, but cautioned that
Alawi will not do it unless he has permission from
Washington. "Power in Iraq is not with Zarqawi," Saleh
advised, "but with the Baathists."


6. (C) GEN Abizaid agreed that the terrorists were rapidly
losing support from the Iraqi population, and said the USG
was interested in maintaining a dialogue with anyone except
for al-Qaida and its associates. It was somewhat difficult,
however, to find political leaders willing to participate in
a dialogue. He said that "many things that were not possible
before will be possible" after the December elections, and
added that a national dialogue of the type Saleh was
suggesting would be in the best interests of all Iraqis at
that time.


7. (S) Turning to other issues, Saleh asked the General to
provide as much information as possible on Yemeni detainees
in Iraq, but declined the General's offer for ROYG security
officials to visit the detainees. With more information --
particularly the detainees' names -- he said, ROYG
authorities would be able to obtain more information from
their families on the detainees and their associates still in
Yemen. Saleh said the ROYG collected what information it
could from telephone monitoring, for example on the recent
killing of six Yemenis in Iraq, but information gathered
through these methods came all too often after an incident
had occurred. GEN Abizaid promised to provide what
information he could on the detainees as soon as possible.


8. (C) Asked about Yemen's cooperation with Saudi Arabia on
counter-terrorism, Saleh said it was "excellent now." He
said the ROYG had passed information recently to the Saudis
that was critical in foiling planned attacks in Mecca and
Medina. Such cooperation is good "not only for the Saudis'
sake," he said, "but for regional security." He said he was
particularly impressed with the level of cooperation his
officials were receiving from Saudi Assistant Minister of
Interior Mohammed bin Naif. Saleh said he had also met with
the newly named Ambassador to the United States, Turki
al-Faisal, and was "impressed." Saleh asked for the USG to
use its influence with Saudi Arabia, and indeed with other
Gulf countries, to invest in Yemen and help alleviate the
poverty that drives youth to extremism.


9. (C) Saleh also said increased regional cooperation with
the United States and Ethiopia was critical to bringing
stability to Somalia. The three countries should do all they
can to support the Yusufi government so that it can take
action against terrorist elements. He said that Eritrean
President Isaias Afwerki did not like the Yusufi government,
and was "supporting any elements against it, including
terrorists and insane people." GEN Abizaid agreed that the
United States and Yemen needed to increase their cooperation
to deny terrorists a safehaven anywhere, whether in Somalia,
Yemen or Iraq.


10. (C) Reiterating points made in an earlier meeting with
the Minister of Defense, Saleh asked GEN Abizaid for support
in providing health insurance and billeting to Yemen's
liaison officers at CENTCOM headquarters in Tampa and at the
CJTF-HOA headquarters in Djibouti. The General said he would
ask his staff to research what support CENTCOM could provide
to Yemen, because it is important to maintain Yemen's laision
officers at these locations.


11. (S) COMMENT: Saleh's report of improved CT cooperation
with the Saudis confirms what we have heard elsewhere and
provides a useful foundation for exploring opportunities for
the USG to help in that regard. His offers to mediate with
Bashar and Iraqi Baathists are well-meaning, but probably not
particularly useful right now in light of the pressure the
international community is exerting on Bashar to cooperate
with the UN investigation, and the internal political
dynamics in Iraq. We are very encouraged by the fact that
Saleh has at last given the political green light needed to
begin the implementation of a nationwide weapons inventory
system. As the President made clear, however, he is
expecting the USG's financial and technical support for the
creation of a system that we have been strongly advocating
for some time.


12. (U) GEN Abizaid has cleared this cable.
KHOURY