UAE CRISIS MANAGEMENT: MOVING FORWARD INCH BY INCH

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 ABU DHABI 003370

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR S/CT, EB/ESC/IEC, INR/EC, DS/ITA, PM/PPA, NEA/ARPI
NSC FOR FTOWNSEND, MMALVESTI

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/20/2016
TAGS: PTER ASEC EPET ENRG PINR KHLS AE
SUBJECT: UAE CRISIS MANAGEMENT: MOVING FORWARD INCH BY INCH

REF: A. 2005 ABU DHABI 3243


B. IIR 6 931 0011 06

C. ABU DHABI 2445

Classified By: CDA Martin Quinn for reasons 1.4 b and d.


1. (C) Summary. Recognizing that the UAE lacks unified
crisis response capabilities, the UAE leadership initiated a
plan to develop a national crisis management system over a
year ago. However implementation of the plan is moving
forward at a glacial pace, and UAE authorities continue to
develop separately and independently their own crisis
management structures that are not necessarily interoperable.
In addition, a private UAE company has plans to launch a
National Crisis Management Training Center, but this venture
is in the very beginning stages. Until there is a national
plan for integrated emergency response for all military,
police, and emergency services, the UAE will remain
ill-prepared to respond effectively to a significant crisis.
End summary.

National Emergency Management Agency: In Theory Only
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2. (S) Influential Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme
Commander of UAE Armed Forces Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed
al-Nahyan (MbZ) has been the driving force behind the UAE's
efforts to create a unified crisis management structure. At
his urging, the UAE Ministry of Presidential Affairs
contracted with Raytheon Corporation in early 2005 to design
a strategy for developing and operating a crisis management
structure (ref A). In the study, Raytheon proposed that the
UAE establish a National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA)
to oversee a National Crisis Management Center and three
regional Emergency Response Centers (in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and
the northern emirates). The vision is that NEMA will
coordinate all UAE federal and emirate-level authorities
responsible for responding to a crisis, and it will develop a
unified command and control structure (ref B).


3. (S) Since the study's completion in the fall of 2005
little tangible progress has been made on implementing it.
In April, Raytheon briefed the UAE's key decision-makers on
the study. In attendance were President Khalifa, Vice
President/Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai Mohammed bin
Rashid Al-Maktoum (MbR),Deputy Prime Minister Hamdan bin
Zayed Al-Nahyan, the federal State Security Director, and the
Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Interior, and Presidential
Affairs (all brothers of President Khalifa). Bob Lunday
(protect),Vice President of Raytheon Middle East, told
econoff that MbZ wanted MbR's support, because as Vice
President he would be able to allocate federal funds for the
project. "Without MbR's buy-in, this would be an Abu
Dhabi-only venture," Lunday said. According to Lunday, MbR
recognized the need to implement a crisis management
structure and agreed to the proposal. "Now we are just
waiting on the UAE to allocate the funds," said Lunday.



4. (S) In June, the UAE took the first step to implementing
this plan by announcing the establishment of a National
Security Council (NSC) (ref C). The NSC is comprised of the
senior UAEG leaders involved in security matters (the same
members who were present at the April Raytheon briefing). It
will be responsible for developing a national security
strategic plan -- a key component of which is the
establishment of NEMA. The next steps for the NSC are to
select a National Security Advisor and allocate funds to
establish NEMA, but individuals familiar with the project do
not anticipate that either will happen until the fall. The
NSC must then determine the organizational structure of NEMA,
select its staff, and select sites for the National Crisis
Management Center and three Emergency Response Centers.

Crisis Management: Everyone's on the Bandwagon
-------------- -


5. (C) As the bureaucratic process for establishing NEMA and
the National Crisis Management Center move forward slowly,
individual UAE agencies continue to establish their own
crisis management systems and centers. In fact, just weeks
after the announcement of the NSC, Dubai announced it would
be forming its own Crisis and Disaster Management Team that
will be chaired by Dubai's Police Chief, Lieutenant General
Dhahi Khalfan Tamim. Contacts within the Dubai Police
department say that this team will lash up with the federal
system, once it is in place. The federal Ministry of

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Interior also has its own crisis management team. This team,
led by Brigadier Ahmed Nasser Al-Raisi, General Director of
the Ministry of Interior's Central Operations Department, is
comprised of 50 first responders trained in rescue
operations. According to Al-Raisi, "The Ministry of Interior
is the lead organization tasked with responding to any crisis
in the country, and other elements -- like the military --
should get involved only when asked."


6. (C) Elements of the UAE military continue to improve and
upgrade their own crisis management centers, but not in an
integrated manner. The Air Force's Operations Center and the
Navy's Maritime Control Center are each being upgraded with
the intention of eventually feeding into the National Crisis
Management Center. The UAE's Special Operations Command is
also building a crisis management center that will feed into
the national system. However, equipment for each center is
being purchased piece-meal and is not necessarily
interoperable.


7. (C) Additionally, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company
(ADNOC) is nearing completion of its own crisis management
center. Nick Glover, the Crisis Management Team Leader for
the UAE's Supreme Petroleum Council, gave econoff a tour of
the brand new facility, located in ADNOC headquarters. This
crisis management center will have the latest technology and
it will link up all of ADNOC's operating companies,
refineries, and facilities using WebEOC (a web-based
emergency management communications system). Glover said
that he is hopeful that the National Crisis Management Center
will also adopt WebEOC as its interface, but he said that the
ADNOC leadership (in particular, ADNOC CEO Yousef bin Omeir)
decided ADNOC could not risk waiting for the federal system
to be implemented at some unspecified point in the future.


8. (C) In addition to needing a coordinated national crisis
management system so that each agency will know its role and
responsibilities, there are technical reasons for
implementing such a structure. For example, the
communications systems used by the Ministry of Interior still
are not interoperable with military communications or with
ADNOC's crisis response teams. All three entities are
independently considering investing in TETRA secure
communications system, but this is not a decision that they
are coordinating together.

Disaster Management Training Center: Nascent Idea
-------------- --------------


9. (C) A key element of having a unified crisis response plan
is ensuring that the first responders are adequately -- and
symmetrically -- trained. The plan for NEMA does not
specifically include a training component; however, a private
UAE company Tadreeb (translated "training") has partnered
with the UAE Offsets Group to launch a National Disaster
Management Training Center in Abu Dhabi. This training
center would be a corporate, for-profit venture, and it will
provide crisis management training to the range of first
responders (police, military, firefighters, healthcare
workers, public works officials, etc). The training center's
programs will include Command, Planning, Operations,
Logistics/Equipment, and Finance/Administration.


10. (C) Thus far, this venture is in the concept stage. In
July, Dr. Adel Al-Shamry of Tadreeb brought trainers from the
University of Georgia's Center for Mass Destruction Defense
and the University of Texas' Southwestern Medical Center to
Abu Dhabi to conduct a National Disaster Life Support course
for 40 health care professionals. Dr. Al-Shamry told econoff
he viewed this training as a "pilot program" in order to
gauge UAE interest. Tadreeb now wants to reach out to other
U.S. crisis management training programs to see if any could
provide a "train the trainer" program to an eventual Tadreeb
training staff. It was apparent during the meeting with
econoff that Dr. Al-Shamry and officials from Offsets were
not coordinating this project as a part of the UAE's efforts
to establish a National Emergency Management Agency. As
Offsets is part of the UAEG, econoff encouraged them to
approach NEMA once its director is announced.

Comment
--------------


11. (C) Each of the individual agencies understands the
importance of being prepared to respond to a crisis, and they
are all implementing their own efforts. However, until the
national crisis management structure is fully in place, the

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UAE will remain ill-prepared to respond effectively to a
significant crisis.
QUINN