AL-HETAR OFFERS CANDID ASSESSMENT OF EXTREMIST

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SANAA 003560 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/21/2015 TAGS: PTER PREL KMPI PGOV PHUM YM COUNTER TERRORISM SUBJECT: AL-HETAR OFFERS CANDID ASSESSMENT OF EXTREMIST "DE-PROGRAMMING" PROCESS REF: 03 SANAA 2454 Classified By: CDA Nabeel Khoury for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary: At a meeting with pdoff and poloff, Judge Hamoud Al-Hetar provided a more candid and straightforward assessment of the efficacy of his rehabilitation program than previously heard. While defending the overall merits of his attempts to convince young radicals of the error of their ways, Al-Hetar acknowledged frankly that there may well be occasional participants merely saying what he wants to hear. He admitted, moreover, that program 'alumni' may have (as post has heard reports) slipped into Iraq to join the insurgency. Nevertheless, Al-Hetar stressed that "even if we are only 90 percent effective, then the program is successful and we should continue doing it." End summary. -------------- A Fruitful Visit -------------- ¶2. (U) On December 19, pdoff and poloff went to the home of Judge Hamoud Al-Hetar at his request to hear the Judge's impressions of his recent visit to the United States under the auspices of a regional International Visitor program on "Promoting Interfaith Dialogue." Al-Hetar described his experience in very positive terms, saying that he was happy to have had the chance to discuss issues of religious diversity and dialogue with so many counterparts from the region and the United States. He described the United States as a model of religious diversity and harmony, and expressed his surprise (and that of his colleagues on the program) at the religion-friendly nature of American secularism: that it provides a neutral space for freedom to worship, rather than manifesting hostility towards religion. Al-Hetar placed repeated emphasis on the need for similar such programs in both directions (i.e., not only visitors to the United States, but also American visitors to the region),and stressed the need for open and honest conversation without acrimony between the United States and the Arab and Muslim worlds. He said that he decided while on his trip to launch a center for interfaith dialogue in Yemen, and has already issued a press release announcing his plans. He is hopeful that he will be able to develop a fruitful partnership on this and other related projects with the U.S. counterparts he met while on the IV program. Overall, Al-Hetar was appreciative of the opportunity, and post is very pleased that he already has begun to leverage his experience in the United States to bring positive benefits to Yemen. -------------- I Debated The Judge And The Judge Won -------------- ¶3. (C) Al-Hetar then discussed the relative success of his rehabilitation program for security detainees (see reftel). The Committee for Theological Dialogue With Extremists rehabilitation program, which debuted on September 5, 2002, has now 'graduated' approximately 420 detainees through a program in which Judge Al-Hetar and others engage in open debate with detainees on their respective Islamic viewpoints. Using the Koran as a basis, Al-Hetar attempts to convince the detainee of a moderate interpretation of Islam regarding terrorism and jihad, while the detainee is free to try and convince Al-Hetar the opposite. In principle, at least, the detainee eventually is shown the error of his ways through this frank and open discussion. As he therefore no longer poses a threat, he may be released from detention as long as a) no criminal charges are pending against him, b) he receives an official release order from President Saleh, and c) he signs a statement pledging not to support terrorism again - a pledge that is kept on file with the Political Security Organization. ¶4. (C) Whether the results of this dialogue manifest themselves as loftily as the principle is a matter of some debate. Poloff asked Al-Hetar whether it was true, as reported, that 'graduates' of his program have slipped out of Yemen to join the Iraq insurgency. Al-Hetar noted that these press reports surfaced while he was in the United States. In view of the vociferous opposition to his moderate program by certain religious conservatives, he said, these reports -- together with others alleging that his program soon would be shut down -- probably were planted as a way of attacking him personally. He acknowledged, however, the possibility that the reports are true, simply saying that he has heard no information to substantiate them. Al-Hetar emphasized that the issue of Iraq never has been one of the subjects discussed with detainees in the rehabilitation program, and that therefore even if the reports were true, they would not represent a failure of the program. He conceded, though, that in view of the ongoing insurgency, the Committee should incorporate a discussion of Iraq into their agenda with detainees. He concluded by noting that the Committee could not observe all of its past participants all the time, but that in the aggregate, the program still represents a substantial success in teaching detainees the true meaning of Islam. ¶5. (C) Al-Hetar responded similarly to the question of whether the participants in his program were simply telling him what he wanted to hear in order to secure their release from prison. He reiterated that his project is designed not merely to convince detainees of an interpretation of Islam, but also to rehabilitate and reabsorb these young men into productive society. He said that the percentage rate of success in this regard is very high: by and large, his 'graduates' now are healthy, productive, working members of society, instead of remaining on the radical margins. At the same time, he acknowledged that his program undoubtedly is imperfect, and that there may well be occasional deception on the part of participants eager for an alternative to prison and willing to lie to him about their supposed new-found moderation. In the end, he said, even if the program is "only 90 percent successful," it is still a great success, repeating that he personally knew of no recidivists. ¶6. (C) Comment: Al-Hetar's rehabilitation program undoubtedly is imperfect. The benefit of this conversation was Al-Hetar's candid admission of that fact. His candor in this regard, as well as his openness to new tactics such as discussion specifically devoted to Iraq, may expand his outreach beyond the strictly local al-Houthi supporters to those with a broader Islamist agenda. ¶7. (C) Comment continued: In addition to pragmatic concerns as to whether the program really works, post has lingering due process and criminal justice concerns regarding whether the movement of security detainees through this extra-judicial rehabilitation process is legal and appropriate. Overall, however, it is encouraging that a prominent ROYG official -- who has recently had a positive experience in the United States -- is still willing to stand up both publicly and privately to the warped interpretation of Islam that al-Qaida and its supporters pedal in order to gain influence and recruits. End comment. Khoury