Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06ABUDHABI2041
2006-05-17 06:55:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Abu Dhabi
Cable title:  

UAEG DISCUSS SECURITY CONCERNS WITH NDU DELEGATION

Tags:  PREL PTER KISL KWBG IR IZ AE 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO7458
PP RUEHDE
DE RUEHAD #2041/01 1370655
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 170655Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5159
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RUEHDE/AMCONSUL DUBAI 6159
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 002041 

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/17/2016
TAGS: PREL PTER KISL KWBG IR IZ AE
SUBJECT: UAEG DISCUSS SECURITY CONCERNS WITH NDU DELEGATION


ABU DHABI 00002041 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: AMBASSADOR MICHELE J. SISON, REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 002041

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SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/17/2016
TAGS: PREL PTER KISL KWBG IR IZ AE
SUBJECT: UAEG DISCUSS SECURITY CONCERNS WITH NDU DELEGATION


ABU DHABI 00002041 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: AMBASSADOR MICHELE J. SISON, REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D).


1. (C) Summary: On May 13, senior officials from the
Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Economy, and Education met
with a visiting delegation from the National Defense
University's (NDU) National War College and discussed
regional security issues, accompanied by Ambassador and
alternatively the DCM. MFA Undersecretary Abdullah Rashid
al-Noaimi stated that Iran tops the list of concerns facing
the UAEG, adding that Iraq's current instability as well as
the threat of terrorism in the UAE are close behind.
Al-Noaimi stated that all of these problems require
international cooperation to address, emphasizing that this
is not merely a problem for the Gulf Cooperation Council
(GCC) or the Arab League, but for the international community
as a whole. End Summary.


2. (U) A delegation from the NDU's National War College led
by NDU professor Kamal Beyoghlow, visited Abu Dhabi and Dubai
May 11-14. The group's program included meetings with
Sheikha Lubna al-Qasimi, Minister of Economy, and Sheikh
Nahyan bin Mubarak al-Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education,
accompanied by the Ambassador, in addition to a meeting with
MFA U/S Abdullah Rashid al-Noaimi, accompanied by the DCM.
The group also met with business people, media professionals,
and students.

Threats to UAE Security
--------------

3. (C) Starting with a declaration that "we have had enough"
of instability and lack of peace in the region, al-Noaimi
announced that the UAEG places high importance on reaching
out to the U.S. in particular and cooperating on our "common
concerns and issues." The UAE, he said, aspires to help
bring stability in the region and this, in turn, has led the
UAEG to focus on three primary areas of concern: Iran, Iraq,
and terrorism.

Iran ) Gulf Security Vacuum
Filled by International Powers
--------------

4. (C) "Iran concerns us the most," explained al-Noaimi.
"They are near, they are large, and they are well armed."

Calling the Iranian leadership a "dangerous group of
ideologues," he described Iran's recent actions as those of a
large country that wants to reclaim "the power and hegemony"
that it has known in the past. Al-Noaimi stated that the
current problems predate the Mullahs and go all the way back
to the era of the Shah. He stated that both the Mullahs and
the Shah wanted a "Grand Iran" that would be the major power
and act as the policeman for the entire Gulf. In the face of
this ambition, he explained, the GCC recognizes that all of
the GCC countries combined could not stand up to Iran.
"There was a time when the call was to have no foreign
interference in the region," al-Noaimi stated, "but that time
is gone." Recognizing that Iran's weapons systems go way
beyond defensive needs, and that there is a "security vacuum"
left between a strong Iran and a weak GCC, the GCC wants
partners "interested in stability" such as the US, UK,
France, and Japan. It is only Iran that wants these
international powers out, he added.


5. (C) Al-Noaimi was quick to point out that the UAE does not
have an adversarial relationship with Iran, simply a cautious
one. Expounding further, al-Noaimi stated that Iran is a
neighbor the UAE wants to live with * since, there is no
other option. (In a separate meeting with the NDU group,
Economy Minister Sheikha Lubna stated that Iran is among the
UAE's largest trading partners and that "they need us and we
need them". She went on to say that when the U.N. passes a
formal resolution, the UAE would of course comply, but until
that time, "Business is business.") Al-Noaimi concluded his
comments on Iran by warning that Russia and China are both
playing the role of spoiler in Iran by preventing the
international community from having a unified voice. He
didn't know if the Russians and Chinese had specific
objectives or if they were being played by the Iranians,
noting that "the Iranians are very good at games and dividing
the international community."

Iraq ) Its Stability a Strategic Asset
--------------

6. (C) Al-Noaimi described Iraq as a "strategic asset" for
the UAE, explaining that stability in Iraq would lead to
greater stability in the entire region. At this time, the
UAE's goal is to do whatever it can to assure a united,
stable, and prosperous Iraq. Pointing out that while other
countries in the region rejected the original ruling council
in Iraq as an "American council," the UAE officially received
its members in an effort to grant them recognition and
legitimacy. Al-Noaimi also reminded the NDU group that when
reconstruction first began in Iraq and the U.S., UK,

ABU DHABI 00002041 002.2 OF 002


Australia, Japan, and Canada were making plans, the UAE was
also in Iraq as the only Arab state. He noted that the UAE
is there now providing humanitarian aid, and will continue to
do so as long as it is needed.


7. (C) Al-Noaimi said that the future of Iraq now lies with
its leadership. He cautioned that they need to recognize
that the concept of 4wI$@Xx from Iran and Turkey as "very
dangerous" and the greatest obstacles to eventual peace.
Al-Noaimi warned that Iraq is at a particularly fragile stage
and that if the outside interference can be contained for a
short time, in the end the Iraqi people will reject them.
When asked what Turkey's goal is in interfering, al-Noaimi
responded that Turkey, Syria, and Iran all fear the emergence
of a strong Kurdish element.

Terrorism ) &We are a target8
--------------

8. (C) "We are a target," claimed al-Noaimi. "We face both
internal and external threats ... We will work with friends
and allies to form a cohesive, preventive policy." In a
separate meeting, Sheikha Lubna told the delegation that
Emiratis &are born traders" and as such "we have to live by
our trade." She explained that the UAEG will do everything
possible to combat terrorism, internally and externally,
especially in the area of transshipment of terrorist
materials, because as traders "it is not in our interest to
damage our reputation."


9. (C) Speaking of threats close to home, al-Noaimi stated
that the UAE has two territorial disputes, one with Saudi
Arabia and the other with Iran. The UAE disputes a maritime
boundary with the Saudis, and Iran currently occupies three
islands in the Gulf that the UAEG claims as their own.
Al-Noaimi characterized both issues as "under control" and
stated that neither of these issues will ever be allowed to
"flare up" or lead to war, although he stated that there are
several issues from the 1974 border agreement that need to be
revisited with the Saudis.


10. (C) Externally, al-Noaimi stated that the UAE is
concerned broadly with the growing Islamic fundamentalism in
the region, particularly in Lebanon, Syria, and the
Palestinian territories. He added that it is in the UAE's
interest to leave Lebanon and Syria alone, but that the
various factions within each country continue to reach out
and try to draw other countries into their disputes in order
to gain the strength that they lack at home.

Higher Ed Minister warns of
dangers of Fundamentalism
--------------

11. (C) Higher Education Minister Sheikh Nahyan, who also met
with the delegation separately, warned that the problem of
Islamic fundamentalism, and terrorist violence in the region,
will get worse before it gets better. He stated that
fundamentalist ideologies in the region all continue to feed
off a common source of hatred: the U.S. relationship with
Israel. He explained the Arab view of this relationship
saying that it is not just support of Israel that angers
Arabs, but that the Arab world sees the U.S. as
indiscriminately punishing a nation full of innocent victims
(the Palestinians) for the crimes of a few extremists.
Sheikh Nahyan added that Pakistan took one positive step
towards fighting fundamentalism when it outlawed "madressas,"
or Islamic schools, but that Pakistan largely failed in its
efforts because it failed to offer an alternative at the same
time. He proposed that until education and poverty are
addressed throughout the region, other efforts to combat
terrorism are likely to fail.
SISON