UAE ESTABLISHES NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABU DHABI 002445 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR S/CT, INR/NESA, DS/ITA, NEA/ARP NSC FOR FTOWNSEND, MMALVESTI, MDORAN, EABRAMS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/15/2016 TAGS: PGOV PTER EPET PINR ASEC KHLS AE SUBJECT: UAE ESTABLISHES NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL REF: A. 2005 IIR 6 931 0011 06 ¶B. 2005 ABU DHABI 3243 Classified By: Ambassador Michele J. Sison, for reasons 1.4 b and d. ¶1. (U) On June 13, the UAE passed a long-anticipated federal law establishing a National Security Council (NSC). According to the public announcement of the council's formation (which was the front-page headline story on all Arabic and English papers),the NSC will be responsible for formulating and implementing a national security strategic plan. It will also be responsible for directing and coordinating the various agencies involved in security issues with the goal of improving their crisis management capabilities. According to the law, the Council will meet once every three months, or more often, as necessary. ¶2. (SBU) According to the law, UAE President Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan will chair the council, and UAE Vice President/Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum (MbR) will serve as the vice chairman. Council members will include five key al-Nahyan Abu Dhabi ruling family members plus two others: - Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan (MbZ); - Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan (AbZ); - Interior Minister Saif bin Zayed al-Nahyan; - Minister of Presidential Affairs Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan; - State Security Director Hazza bin Zayed al-Nahyan; - Chief of Staff of the UAE Armed Forces Major General Hamid Thani al-Rumaithy; - The National Security Advisor (TBD) ¶3. (C) According to press, the NSC will establish a permanent secretariat to implement the Council's decisions. Embassy SIPDIS and DAO contacts familiar with the UAE's plans for an NSC anticipate that the secretariat will be staffed full-time with 30-50 westerners with emergency management experience. According to our contacts, these staffers will monitor 24-hour intelligence from across the UAE's land and sea borders in a new crisis management center. The formation of the UAE NSC has been expected since the fall of 2005 (ref A); however, the public announcement did not provide details on how the secretariat will lash-up with the UAE's military and police forces. It is unclear whether the secretariat members will have the authority to redirect forces or take defensive action based on incoming threats. ¶4. (C) Comment: The UAE's efforts to coordinate its national security apparatus have thus far been ad-hoc, with the al-Nahyan brothers meeting informally to discuss how to best protect the UAE against internal and external threats. Thus, the main changes under the NSC are a) formalizing the process; and b) bringing MbR officially into discussions. MbR's active participation will be critical to implementing a country-wide national security strategy. ¶5. (C) Comment continued: Under the current informal national security mechanism, no one player had the authority to direct or implement strategic decisions across interagency and inter-emirate lines (ref B). With the establishment of the NSC under the chairmanship of President Khalifa, it is possible that the UAE will take a more strategic approach to protecting its borders, countering threats, and implementing an integrated crisis management mechanism. However, we anticipate this may be a messy process. Each entity will likely try to continue with its own plans and programs, and it will be a challenge to corral all of the various initiatives into a unified effort. End comment. SISON