PRESIDENT KHALIFA SHARES VIEWS ON IRAN, IRAQ, AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ABU DHABI 004328

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/21/2016
TAGS: PREL PARM KNNP KDEM IR IZ LE SY AE
SUBJECT: PRESIDENT KHALIFA SHARES VIEWS ON IRAN, IRAQ, AND
LEBANON WITH FORMER PRESIDENT BUSH

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Classified by Ambassador Michele J. Sison, reasons 1.4 (b)
and (d).


1. (C) Summary: In a cordial meeting with UAE President
Khalifa November 21, former President Bush emphasized the
strength of bilateral relations and reminisced about
cooperation during the liberation of Kuwait and why some
regional players had sided with Saddam. Bush inquired about
Khalifa's views on Iran, Iraq, Middle East peace, and
Lebanon. Khalifa said neighbors are a "fact of geography"
and that Iran's nuclear programs caused concern -- with
emphasis on potential environmental dangers (citing Chernobyl
as a precedent). Khalifa said the Iranian people maintained
a reservoir of good will for America after a long history of
cooperation and that current difficulties are political, not
people-based.


2. (C) Summary continued: Khalifa agreed with his visitor
that a solution to the Golan Heights issue might "pull Syria
out of Iran's orbit," adding that "the heart of the problem
in the Middle East remains the Palestinian issue." Khalifa
lamented the lack of effective steps taken by the Quartet.
On Iraq, Khalifa said "there is a civil war taking place now"
and advised accelerated training of the Iraqi police and
military, which is "taking too long." Discussing key players
in the Lebanon situation, Khalifa said UAE policy was to
maintain good relations with all sides -- and all were
welcome to visit the UAE, including Hizballah leader
Nasrallah. Lebanon was a victim of foreign powers settling
scores on its soil, he said, citing the natural beauty and
historic role of that nation. On the UAE's cautious steps
towards democracy, Khalifa said the nation was moving forward
"in compliance with our heritage and customs." End summary.


3. (C) Khalifa was very warm in his welcome to the Former
U.S. President George H.W. Bush on November 21, noting the
close friendship and good relations enjoyed between the two
nations. Smiling (as he recalled recent U.S. election
results),Khalifa said the UAE cooperated with the American
people regardless of the party in power. Mutual interests
included military, civil, and oil issues, he noted. Khalifa
was joined in the meeting by Minister for Presidential
Affairs Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Managing Director of the
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (and Chairman of the Zayed
Charitable Foundation) Ahmed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Khalifa's
eldest son and member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council
Sheikh Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, and other senior
sheikhs. President Bush was joined by Ambassador, Bush staff
member Jim Appleby, and Embassy note taker.

Recalling the liberation of Kuwait
--------------


4. (C) Responding to Bush's expression of thanks for the
UAE's hosting of U.S. Air Force personnel at Al Dhafra Air
Base (which Bush had visited the day prior),Khalifa
reminisced about the liberation of Kuwait, noting that Saudi
Arabia had been hesitant to invite the allies into the
region. Former President Zayed had said it was impermissible
to have Kuwait occupied by Iraq and moved quickly to welcome
U.S. forces -- including through an airport in Al Ain that
was not even completed yet (Khalifa noted that the U.S. had
used the unfinished runway for cargo flights and refueling
aircraft). Bush noted Zayed's unfailing support, to which
Khalifa said through his translator that "a friend in need is
a friend indeed."


5. (C) Asked why Arafat had sided with Saddam in 1990,
Khalifa said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had told him
that PLO founding member Farouq Qaddumi "pushed" Arafat
towards that stance. Khalifa suggested that an ulterior
motive might have been to side with the potential new
powerhouse in the region should Saddam's influence expand
even beyond Kuwait. Yemen saw the same potential in siding
with Saddam, he said. The two discussed why Jordanian King
Hussein took a similar view and had few answers, with Khalifa
wondering if the King's health had something to do with the
miscalculation, as Hussein was generally known to be wise and
moderate.


6. (C) Khalifa said Saddam had reportedly sent a message to
Iran when he occupied Kuwait that he was "ready to open a new

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page" in relations, as his (Saddam's) "frontiers now stretch
to the Hormuz" and beyond. Khalifa recalled telling General
Schwartzkopf that the Iraqis were trying to hit Gulf states
with missiles but that when they targeted the UAE they aimed
the trajectory too high and the missiles fell right back on
Iraqi soil!

Iran
--------------


7. (C) Asked whether he saw Iran as a concern, Khalifa said
the UAE looks at Iran as a neighbor. Neighbors are a fact of
geography. Iran has been through various regimes, from the
Shah to the mullahs -- leadership decisions are internal
matters. Of greater concern to the neighbors is Iran's
nuclear program. Khalifa said he had met Iran's National
Security Advisor recently and expressed UAE concerns, which
he (Khalifa) characterized for Bush as including old Soviet
equipment and technology still in use in Iran and stirring up
images of Chernobyl. He cited regional repercussions in the
event of an accident as one of the UAE's concerns. The
Iranian official's reply to these concerns had been comical,
said Khalifa, suggesting that the UAE send its nuclear
experts to investigate Iranian facilities -- knowing full
well that "we don't have any" nuclear experts.


8. (C) Khalifa agreed with Bush that the Iranian people
"undoubtedly" maintain a reservoir of good will for America
after a long history of cooperation (Bush recalled his
business dealings with Iran 30 years prior when times were
different). Most Iranians are "not hostile" to the U.S.,
Khalifa suggested, so the current difficulties revolve around
politics, not people-to-people disagreements.

Iraq
--------------


9. (C) Regarding Iraq's current situation, Khalifa said "a
civil war is ongoing" and the situation is critical. He
advised accelerated training of the Iraqi police and military
when asked what he would do "if he were President of the U.S.
today." Emphasizing the urgency of "proper training of the
army and police," which is "taking too long," Khalifa
acknowledged that ethnic issues in Iraq intervene to make
cohesive training more difficult -- it is "difficult to have
truly effective forces." The goal must be, however, to
withdraw U.S. forces from populated areas (operating "over
the horizon"). President Bush stated that the U.S. was
trying to pursue that very goal.

Middle East peace and the Golan
--------------


10. (C) Bush asked whether a resolution in the Golan Heights
issue might "pull Syria out of Iran's orbit," an assessment
which Khalifa agreed had merit. A solution to Golan would
help with the situations in Iraq and Lebanon as well, he
noted, adding the caveat that "the heart of the problem in
the Middle East remains the Palestinian issue." Khalifa said
that unfortunately the Quartet was not effective in taking
concrete steps to calm the situation. He said the EU had an
important role to play, but that the U.S. role is clearly
more important on complicated issues of this nature. It is
important that the U.S. be seen around the world as a
guarantor of Israeli and Palestinian security "without taking
sides," emphasized Khalifa.


11. (C) Bush lamented the international perception in some
quarters that the U.S. is against Islam, to which Khalifa
said only certain "ignorant" elements harbored this view.
The majority know the U.S. is not against Islam, he stated.
He agreed that the U.S. might do a better job of explaining
its positions, but that greater effort to solve the critical
Middle East issues of Israel-Palestine, the Golan, and Iraq
was where American energy really needed to focus.

Lebanon and Syria
--------------


12. (C) Khalifa, asked about his relationship with Syrian
President Bashar Al Asad, said the UAE tried to maintain good
relations with "all players," including the Syrians. His

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government had invited Bashar to visit, a trip which Khalifa
said would soon take place. In Lebanon, he said the UAE
maintains good relations with PM Siniora and his government
but also with Aoun -- whose planned visit to the UAE has
temporarily been delayed. "Even Nasrallah can come," said
Khalifa, asserting again the UAE "policy" of keeping contact
with all sides in order to play a positive role.


13. (C) Lebanon's historic problems are many, said Khalifa,
calling that country the victim of everyone else trying to
solve their problems on Lebanese soil. Iraq, Syria, and now
Iran "export (their) problems to be resolved in Lebanon."
Lebanon used to be peaceful and remains one of the most
beautiful places in the world, according to Khalifa, who
admired a land with mountains to resort to in the heat of the
summer. Khalifa said the UAE sought stability in Lebanon,
but also in the world generally "to ensure prosperity and
good living." He appreciated Bush's comment about quality of
life in the GCC, adding that the UAE offered a particularly
good lifestyle for its citizens.

Cautious steps towards democracy
--------------


14. (C) On the UAE's cautious steps towards democracy,
Khalifa said the nation was moving forward "in compliance
with our heritage and customs." (Note: Similar points have
been highlighted in extensive media coverage of Khalifa's
recent interview with Al Sharq Al Awsat, in which the
President notes the need for cautious evolution towards
democracy. Khalifa's interview will be reported septel. End
note.)

Katrina relief
--------------


15. (C) Accepting Bush's thanks for the UAE's contribution
after Hurricane Katrina, Khalifa used the Arabic phrase "no
need to thank me for doing my duty." UAE support was "truly
out of friendship" to the American people, he said, and the
UAE wished it could do even more -- having found it
cumbersome to send supplies directly, the UAE had made a
financial donation instead ($100 million).
SISON