Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05SANAA460
2005-03-04 13:02:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Sanaa
Cable title:  

U/S DOBRIANSKY'S MEETING WITH PRESIDENT SALEH

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

041302Z Mar 05
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SANAA 000460 

SIPDIS

PLEASE PASS TO MCC, G/NICOLE BIBBINS SEDACA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/04/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM KDEM KMPI PTER PINR EAID ECON YM COUNTER TERRORISM DEMOCRATIC REFORM ECON COM
SUBJECT: U/S DOBRIANSKY'S MEETING WITH PRESIDENT SALEH


Classified By: Ambassador Thomas C. Krajeski for reasons 1.4 b and d.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SANAA 000460

SIPDIS

PLEASE PASS TO MCC, G/NICOLE BIBBINS SEDACA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/04/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM KDEM KMPI PTER PINR EAID ECON YM COUNTER TERRORISM DEMOCRATIC REFORM ECON COM
SUBJECT: U/S DOBRIANSKY'S MEETING WITH PRESIDENT SALEH


Classified By: Ambassador Thomas C. Krajeski for reasons 1.4 b and d.


1. (C) Summary. Visiting Under Secretary for Global Affairs
Paula Dobriansky thanked Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh
on February 24 for Yemen's partnership in the GWOT. Praising
Yemen's strong CT cooperation, U/S called on the ROYG to be
more forthcoming on intelligence sharing. Discussions
centered on pressing democratic and economic reforms.
Commending the ROYG's democratization efforts, U/S urged the
Yemeni President to take concrete action to move forward on
political and economic reforms, and to avoid any further
regression in press freedoms. U/S pressed for specific steps
to combat Yemen's pervasive corruption. End Summary.

--------------
CT Cooperation: "It Will Never Stop"
--------------


2. (C) President Saleh briefed U/S on recent ROYG CT
operations, pointing to a round up of "20 terrorists"
planning to attack "UNDP headquarters, foreign embassies, and
aircraft" in Sanaa. (Note: Saleh often lumps together
separate incidents and may be referring to two or more
different cells that were captured by ROYG security forces.
End Note.) U/S thanked President Saleh for his partnership
in the GWOT, and for his continued CT cooperation with the
U.S. "Let's go further," she suggested, "we would like to
see an expansion in ROYG information sharing." Saleh
responded that Yemen was very satisfied with existing
U.S.-Yemeni CT cooperation, and praised USG programs to train
the Central Security Forces Counter Terrorism Unit and Yemen
Coast Guard. The President claimed he "always cooperates"
with USG requests for access to CT-related information and

"personally orders the security agencies to cooperate
whenever the Embassy brings him a request." You have better
cooperation with us than any other country in the region,"
Saleh continued, "and this cooperation will never stop."

--------------
Democratic Reforms: "Democracy is a Virus"
--------------


3. (C) Saleh said he wanted a new democracy center in Sanaa
to serve as a resource for the region. "We have influenced
our neighbors," Saleh told U/S, "they used to criticize our
democratic reforms...now they have Shura councils and we just
saw limited elections in Saudi Arabia." Democracy is like a
virus, continued Saleh, "it spreads from one country to
another." U/S agreed that Yemen had much to contribute,
noting that "Yemen has valuable experience in areas of
democratization, particularly in conducting good elections."
U/S told Saleh Yemen should have not just a regional but an
international role in promoting democracy. She suggested
that the ROYG link up with Hungary's proposed Global Center
for Democratic Transition, a center to link governments and
individuals with democracy transition experience with new and
emerging democracies needing guidance in their transition.


4. (C) Turning to governance issues, U/S praised Saleh's bold
moves toward democratization. Under your leadership the pace
of democratic reform in Yemen has been ahead of others in the
region, she told Saleh, you put Yemen on the map. U/S
stressed, however, that the time has come for the ROYG to
move forward to implement concrete actions domestically and
take a leadership role regionally.

--------------
Saleh on Corruption: "It's Simple"
--------------


5. (C) U/S stressed the urgency of dealing with corruption in
lights of serious development challenges, saying, "We hope
you will use your leadership to take significant steps to
combat this serious problem." Reversing the U/S's formula,
Saleh stressed the need to fight poverty in order to
eradicate corruption. Saleh claimed that corruption in Yemen
was due to unemployment, and asked for U.S. assistance in
securing soft loans of 6-7 billion USD in order to create
jobs. "People on the streets cannot get work, new graduates
cannot find jobs," said the President, claiming "it's simple
-- corruption would disappear in two years if you solve
unemployment."


6. (C) Saleh raised what he considers inadequate if not
non-existent development assistance from Gulf countries. "We
always invite them to invest in Yemen," complained the
President." Saleh asked U/S, as he often does with senior
U.S. officials, to increase U.S. pressure on Saudi Arabia
and other Gulf countries to step up to the plate. "Our
security is their security," said Saleh, "our oil rich
neighbors have a duty to help fight poverty in Yemen." "You
are the only country that can influence them," Saleh told
U/S, "please talk to them, they listen to no one else." U/S
promised to take Saleh's message back to Washington.

-------------- --------------
Upping U.S. Development Assistance: "What about Mexico?"
-------------- --------------


8. (C) Returning to U.S. assistance, Saleh complained that
U.S. aid was not sufficient and "lectures" from U.S.
officials did not help solve Yemen's development problems.
"You Americans have a double standard in development as in
politics -- why don't you treat us like Mexico?" U/S
responded that she traveled a long way, stopping only in
Yemen "to show that Yemen was special and to talk about how
you can move forward on reform -- I did not come here to
discuss other countries." U/S recommended that the ROYG not
waste the opportunity offered by MCC threshold assistance,
but focus quickly on creating programs based on Yemen's
assessment of its own development needs and tackling its
shortcomings. "I was trying to provoke you, quipped Saleh,
"but we are in agreement and ready to move forward on
reform."

--------------
MCC: The Threshold Years
--------------


9. (C) "President Bush has made clear that development in the
region is high on the agenda," U/S told Saleh, "but we
consider development aid as part of a partnership." U/S said
the door is open for Yemen to receive additional assistance,
provided the ROYG demonstrates a willingness to tackle
corruption. To qualify for MCC, U/S told Saleh, we much see
tangible results, "Do not waste this opportunity," she said,
"go further and we will support you."
Khoury