Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06MANAMA1827
2006-10-22 15:24:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Manama
Cable title:  

SCENESETTER FOR UNDER SECRETARY HUGHES' OCTOBER

Tags:  PREL SCUL PGOV OEXC KMPI BA POL REFORM 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO6689
OO RUEHDE RUEHDIR
DE RUEHMK #1827/01 2951524
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 221524Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY MANAMA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5826
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHBVAKS/COMUSNAVCENT PRIORITY
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 MANAMA 001827 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

FOR R, NEA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/19/2016
TAGS: PREL SCUL PGOV OEXC KMPI BA POL REFORM
OFFICIALS
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR UNDER SECRETARY HUGHES' OCTOBER
31-NOVEMBER 1 VISIT TO BAHRAIN

Classified By: Ambassador William T. Monroe for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)
.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 MANAMA 001827

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

FOR R, NEA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/19/2016
TAGS: PREL SCUL PGOV OEXC KMPI BA POL REFORM
OFFICIALS
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR UNDER SECRETARY HUGHES' OCTOBER
31-NOVEMBER 1 VISIT TO BAHRAIN

Classified By: Ambassador William T. Monroe for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)
.


1. (C) We warmly welcome your October 31-November 1 visit to
Bahrain. Your trip comes at an important moment in promotion
of the freedom agenda in Bahrain, with parliamentary and
municipal elections to be held November 25 and December 2.
Of the 221 candidates standing for election to parliament, 18
are women and one of them, Lateefa Al Qaoud, is running
unopposed, guaranteeing she will become Bahrain's, and the
Gulf's, first woman elected to parliament. For such a small
country, there is a wide variety of media outlets
representing a range of political and social perspectives.
While we receive largely favorable coverage of our
programming and successfully place stories, interviews, and
editorials, several widely read anti-American columnists
routinely criticize U.S. policies, their favorite targets
being Iraq, Israel, and Guantanamo. Our education and
exchange programs focus on increasing mutual understanding
and building trust between Americans and Bahrainis and
boosting public support for U.S. polices and reform goals.
Working in concert with the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, we
have coordinated exchange programs in both Bahrain and the
United States designed to promote moderation and tolerance in
religious discourse.


2. (C) Bahrain is an avid participant in the range of
MEPI-funded programs, the exception being the National
Democratic Institute's (NDI) democracy program, which the
government forced out of the country in May over alleged
unhappiness with the project director's ties with
oppositionists. Cultural ties between the U.S. and Bahrain
go back over 100 years, when the American Mission Hospital
was established in Manama in 1903. The U.S. Navy has had a
presence in country for 50 years and Bahrain hosts the
headquarters of the U.S. Naval Forces, U.S. Central Command
(Navcent)/Fifth Fleet. Bahrain is a major non-NATO ally and

a staunch supporter of U.S. policies in Iran, Iraq, and the
Global War on Terror. The recent visit of a senior U.S.
interagency delegation resulted in King Hamad's decision to
work with us to accelerate, broaden, and deepen our security
relationship under the rubric of the Gulf Security Dialogue
(GSD). The U.S.-Bahrain free trade agreement (FTA),the
first in the Gulf and third with an Arab country, entered
into force on August 1 and bilateral trade is on track to
surpass $1 billion for the first time.

-------------- ---
221 Parliamentary Candidates, Including 18 Women
-------------- ---


3. (C) The first round of parliamentary and municipal
elections will be held on November 25, with the second round
one week later on December 2 for run-offs between the top two
vote-getters. These are the second set of elections since
the adoption of the 2002 constitution and feature the
participation of political societies representing all
political trends in the Kingdom, including the Shia
oppositionists who boycotted the 2002 elections. There are
221 candidates, including 18 women, running for the elected
lower house of parliament's 40 seats. One of the women,
Lateefa Al Qaoud, is running unopposed, making her the first
elected member of parliament in Bahrain and the Gulf. The
new parliament will include a much broader cross-section of
Bahraini political opinion than the outgoing parliament,
enhancing its credibility and providing a boost for the
King's political reform project. A recently leaked report
drafted by a former advisor to a minister and senior member
of the ruling family alleges that the minister had organized
a secret team and disbursed over $2.5 million in an attempt
to sway election results. The resulting uproar has roiled
the political scene and, possibly as a result of the outcry,
the King announced that a plan to use e-voting in the
elections would be shelved, and the government has indicated
its approval of the deployment of truly independent election
monitors, possibly even international monitors, for the
elections.

--------------
Press Environment
--------------


4. (SBU) Considering the small size of the market, Bahrain
has a vibrant media environment with six Arabic dailies, one
Arabic weekly, and two English dailies, which cater to the
Western and Asian expatriate population. Bahrain TV
broadcasts in Arabic and English and regional Arabic and

MANAMA 00001827 002 OF 004


other foreign language stations are available via satellite.
Blogs have become a key communication method for
oppositionists, especially young people. The government
blocks some internet sites but allows many other highly
politicized sites and blogs to operate. We receive largely
favorable coverage of our programming and successfully place
stories, interviews, and editorials. However, several widely
read columnists routinely criticize American policies, their
favorite targets being Iraq, Guantanamo, and Israel. The Al
Watan newspaper is particularly hostile to the U.S. freedom
and democracy agenda and another, Akhbar Al Khaleej, has many
"former" Baathists and pan-Arabists among its reporters and
columnists who are vehemently against U.S. policies on Iraq,
Iran, and Israel.

-------------- --------------
Education and Exchange Programs, Islamic Outreach
-------------- --------------


5. (SBU) Bahrain is regionally known as a leader in
education and is committed to the education of all Bahrainis.
At the primary and secondary level, government schools are
single sex; private schools are mostly coed. The
state-sponsored University of Bahrain is coed as are almost
all private universities. Many students go abroad for
university education; the U.S. and UK are the most popular
Western destinations. We have a very productive relationship
with the Ministry of Education. MEPI's "My Arabic Reader"
and civic education programs are welcomed in the classrooms.
The Bahrain ACCESS English language micro-scholarship program
is the largest in the Gulf. We are launching our Youth
Exchange and Study (YES) program this year, and participation
in the Fulbright and Humphrey programs is robust. We are
installing an American Corner in the main reading room of the
flagship new Bahrain National Library.


6. (SBU) Dr. Fareed Muftah, under secretary of the Ministry
of Islamic Affairs, is the moving force behind an initiative
to promote tolerance and moderation in religion. To support
his efforts, we have arranged for, and R has supported, an
American Imam to visit Bahrain during the past two Ramadans.
Imam Yahya Hindi of Georgetown University visited in 2005 and
spoke to a number of influential Bahraini audiences about
shared values, interfaith dialogue, and freedom of religion
in the United States. Imam Bashar Arafat, president and
founder of the Baltimore-based Civilizations Exchange and
Cooperation Foundation, visited Bahrain in October 2006 and
discussed bridging cultural divides and Islamic life in the
United States. Four Bahraini clerics representing both the
Sunni and Shia sects participated in a ten-day Voluntary
Visitor program in June 2006 and met with other religious
scholars, activists, and academics to broaden their
understanding of the United States and the role of religion
in public and private life.

--------------
MEPI Partner
--------------


7. (C) Bahrain is a robust participant in MEPI programming
covering areas such as democratic development, rule of law
and legal reform, civic education, women's empowerment,
commercial law development, FTA implementation, labor reform,
and environmental protection. After months of negotiations
aimed at establishing a legal means to allow NDI to continue
operating, the GOB forced the NDI project manager to depart
the country in May. Although the public reason for his
departure is that he had no legal status in the country,
government officials privately expressed their concern that
the project manager had become too close to political
oppositionists, in particular leading Shia opposition
political society Al Wifaq. Many people close to the
situation believe the ouster reflected the government's
nervousness about NDI working with all willing political
societies in the run-up to the elections, and perhaps that
the NDI representative knew the local political environment
too well. The government has been careful not to end the
program entirely and has agreed to allow representatives of
political societies and organizations involved in the
elections to participate in an NDI study program in the
Washington, DC area coinciding with the November mid-term
elections. In urging the GOB to allow the NDI program to
resume operations, we have emphasized the damage this
incident has had on the bilateral relationship and Bahrain's
reputation.


8. (SBU) The women's pillar is a major focus of our MEPI

MANAMA 00001827 003 OF 004


programming. Following on a November 2005 Freedom House
family law conference in Bahrain, MEPI is funding another
Freedom House project to develop family law advocacy
materials for Bahraini and Kuwaiti reformers and to train
them to use the materials to reach communities at the
grassroots. The International Republican Institute conducted
a MEPI-funded campaign school in Dubai for six Bahraini women
candidates and others from the region in June 2006 and will
hold consultations with the Bahraini candidates in the
lead-up to the parliamentary and municipal elections. Post
is currently holding discussions with civil society group
representatives to conduct a MEPI-funded "Get Out The Vote"
awareness campaign targeting women voters.

--------------
Military Relations
--------------


9. (SBU) The U.S. Navy has worked closely with Bahrain for
more than fifty years. When the U.S. Fifth Fleet was
re-commissioned in 1995, Bahrain took the controversial step
of being the first Gulf state to provide host government
support for regionally "home-ported" U.S. Navy forces, and
Bahrain remains the only country in the region which hosts a
permanent component command headquarters, specifically, U.S.
Naval Forces, U.S. Central Command. Navcent directs naval
operations in the Arabian Gulf, Arabian Sea, and Gulf of Aden
in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom,
CJTF Horn of Africa, as well as Maritime Interception
Operations to enable freedom of navigation and to prevent oil
smuggling, piracy and various other operations in support of
the Global War on Terrorism.


10. (C) Bahrain's relatively stable and secure political
environment allows deployed U.S. Navy ships to stop,
replenish supplies, and provide crews much needed onshore
rest and recreation opportunities. In 2004, 421 U.S. Navy
ships called at Manama while 377 ships called in 2005.
Bahrain is currently one of the U.S. Navy's busiest overseas
port. In direct support of OEF and OIF, Bahrain in 2003
deployed 1,500 troops, a tank battalion task force, and its
frigate the RNBS Sabha to defend Kuwait. Bahrain also flew
combat air patrols over Kuwait and Bahrain and continues to
keep F-16's on 24-7 strip alert. A special operations unit
embedded in a UAE contingent deployed to Afghanistan in 2005
and Navcent and the Bahrain Navy are currently discussing
Bahraini participation in one of the combined maritime task
forces in the Arabian Gulf or Sea.

--------------
Dealing With Iran
--------------


11. (C) The Bahraini leadership is greatly concerned about
increased tensions between the international community and
Iran. Bahrain hosted a two-day conference in mid-September
for GCC countries during which the Interior Minister
expressed concern about GCC countries finding themselves
caught in the middle of nuclear powers. Crown Prince Salman
suggested to the interagency Gulf Security Dialogue
delegation that the U.S. and GCC countries hold a significant
military exercise in the Gulf, which would send a strong
signal to Iran. The U.S.-organized Proliferation Security
Initiative Leading Edge exercise will take place in Bahrain
at the end of October, wrapping up on October 30. Bahrain
will participate in the exercise and the
boarding/interrogation portion will take place in its
territorial waters.


12. (C) Bahrain's relationship with Iran is complex. The
Bahraini leadership is united in its suspicion of Iranian
intentions regarding Bahrain and often sees an Iranian hand
in incidents involving Bahrain's Shia community, which
comprises some 70 percent of the country's citizens. They
are convinced Iran seeks to develop nuclear weapons and
assert its influence around the region. At the same time,
Bahrain faces the reality that it must live with its large
neighbor across the Gulf. Bahrain maintains "correct" but
not warm diplomatic relations with Iran, with Bahraini
leaders welcoming Iranian officials when they visit.
Bahraini officials repeatedly assert their strong view that
the international community should engage in diplomacy to
deal with Iran, and not resort to a military solution. They
recognize, however, that a robust military posture can
facilitate diplomacy. The economic relationship is based on
Bahraini imports of Iranian fruit and other foodstuffs and
some Iranian investment in Bahrain. It is not clear that the

MANAMA 00001827 004 OF 004


Bahraini leadership has come to grips with how it will handle
efforts to ratchet up the pressure on Iran if that includes,
for example, calls for cutbacks in trade and engagement.

--------------
Next Steps on Iraq
--------------


13. (C) The GOB publicly supports U.S. operations in Iraq,
but as King Hamad and Crown Prince Salman told the GSD
delegation, it believes Iraqi forces should be moving to the
front lines in place of coalition forces. The Crown Prince
believes there would be three benefits to such a move: it
would (a) shore up support in the United States for continued
military engagement in Iraq; (b) force Iraqis to take
responsibility for their own security; and (c) put the GOI
into the position of requesting assistance from its Arab
neighbors, which it has not yet done. The GOB's greatest
concern related to Iraq is that sectarian tensions and
violence could spill over into Bahrain. Bahraini officials
will support long-term measures to reduce sectarian violence
while recognizing that the near-term situation in Iraq is
extremely difficult.

--------------
Counter-Terrorism
--------------


14. (C) A counter-terrorism bill entitled "Protecting
Society from Terrorists Acts" entered into force in August.
The law defines the types of acts considered to be terrorism,
applies tough penalties, and criminalizes conspiracy to
commit terrorist acts. There is some question about whether
the conspiracy clause will hold up given the constitutional
court's June decision that a similar article in the penal
code was unconstitutional. In a first test of the law, the
prosecutor general in late September released eight Bahrainis
on bond following an investigation into possible terrorist
activities. Although several members of the cell admitted to
planning to travel to Afghanistan for "jihad," the prosecutor
general decided he did not have enough evidence to charge
them under the CT law.

--------------
First FTA in the Gulf
--------------


15. (SBU) The U.S.-Bahrain free trade agreement entered into
force on August 1, 2006. It is the first FTA with a Gulf
country and the third, after Jordan and Morocco, with an Arab
country. Perhaps partly as a result of increased interest
generated by the signing and ratification of the FTA,
bilateral trade is up 55 percent during the first eight
months of 2006 compared with the same period in 2005.
Bilateral trade will exceed $1 billion for the first time
this year. Since entry into force, the USG has organized and
participated in several high profile events publicizing the
FTA in Bahrain and the United States. Bahraini public and
private sector promotion of the agreement has lagged. We
continue to push the Bahrainis to promote the agreement to
ensure that the people and economy of Bahrain enjoy its
benefits.


********************************************* ********
Visit Embassy Manama's Classified Website:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/manama/
********************************************* ********
MONROE