BAHRAIN: DEMARCHE IN ADVANCE OF AUGUST 20 ARAB

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAMA 001534

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/19/2016
TAGS: PREL BA LE IS REGION OFFICIALS
SUBJECT: BAHRAIN: DEMARCHE IN ADVANCE OF AUGUST 20 ARAB
LEAGUE MINISTERIAL

REF: STATE 136507

Classified By: CDA Susan L. Ziadeh for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) The Charge August 19 delivered reftel demarche
concerning the August 20 Arab League Ministerial meeting in
Cairo to MFA Assistant Under Secretary for Coordination and
Follow Up Shaikh Abdul Aziz bin Mubarak Al Khalifa. Before
responding to the points delivered, Shaikh Abdul Aziz asked
if the USG had received any news from the Israeli government
about the incursion near Baalbek that had occurred earlier in
the day. He said the GOI obviously felt it had to carry out
this operation, but the fact of the raid raises questions
about respecting UNSCR 1701. "People look at things how they
want," he said, and there are those (read Hizballah and
Syria) who will use this to impede implementation of the
resolution. The Charge replied that the situation
demonstrated the importance of implementing the resolution
fully and developing confidence-building measures, including
preventing the flow of arms to Hizballah and securing the
border.


2. (C) The Charge stated that the United States had already
pledged $50 million in humanitarian aid for Lebanon and asked
what Bahrain planned to do. Shaikh Abdul Aziz said the GOB
had earmarked a $5 million donation for Lebanon. The GOB had
also announced a few days earlier an additional $1 million
donation to UNICEF. This grant was made in response to a
request by the Lebanese Embassy in Bahrain as part of a
special appeal to the GCC countries. The GOL requested
$25-30 million for UNICEF from the GCC countries, with
contributions in proportion to their GNPs. Shaikh Abdul Aziz
noted that Lebanese PM Siniora had written to King Hamad and
Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa requesting their support for
the Lebanese government. The Bahrainis had replied
favorably. He said he would pass the USG views on the Arab
League summit to Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid, who would
depart later in the day for Cairo.


3. (C) Shaikh Abdul Aziz said the focus of Western press
reporting over the past few days had been about the
possibility of aggressive measures against Iran and Syria,
and Hizballah disarmament. "You are losing the point," he
said. The crux of the problem is the Palestine issue. Any
politician who takes the initiative to make peace between
Israel and the Palestinians and establish a Palestinian state
would go down in history as a remarkably successful leader.
Syria and Iran, he said, were trying to take advantage of the
situation just a few days after the ceasefire in Lebanon.
"We want to pull the rug out from under their feet," he said.
By making peace, 90 percent of the Arab street and almost
all Arab countries would be on the side of the United States.


4. (C) The Charge affirmed that the United States is
committed to achieving peace between Israel and the
Palestinians, but stressed that Iran and Syria have worked
against that aim. The Syrian government gives shelter and
support to the Palestinian rejectionists. Shaikh Abdul Aziz
said that if the United States is not getting the support it
needs to achieve its goals, then perhaps the goals are not in
the right priority order. Palestine should be the top
objective, not Syria and Iran. "Don't make them the issue,"
he recommended. Rather, the U.S. should channel its energy
and resources into the Palestinian issue, and so "water down"
the rejectionist stances of Syria and Iran.


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ZIADEH