MOROCCO: FYO6 SECTION 1206 PROGRAMS

UNCLAS RABAT 001618 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/MAG, PM/PPA - AMY COLETTA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: MAS PARM PREL MO SUBJECT: MOROCCO: FYO6 SECTION 1206 PROGRAMS REF: STATE 133715 ¶1. (U) This cable is sensitive but unclassified. Please protect accordingly. ¶2. (SBU) Per reftel, Poloffs met August 29 with MFA Bilateral Affairs and Counterterrorism officer Karim Halim to inform the Government of Morocco (GOM) of the likely provision of a combined $6,200,000 for Algeria, Chad, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, and Tunisia, to secure the Trans-Sahara region against terrorism by developing a secure multinational information-sharing network. Halim, as he has done on several occasions, explained that the GOM is supportive of all initiatives that work to increase stability in the region, but said that they would need more concrete details on this proposal before he could provide a substantive response. ¶3. (SBU) Halim offered an (informal) list of specific questions on the $6.2 million program presented reftel: How will the money be distributed among the participating countries? Is the money intended to procure equipment and/or train personnel or will these costs be funded separately? Halim wondered what type of information would be shared through the multinational program, noting that Morocco already has information-sharing arrangements with the countries named reftel. ¶4. (SBU) Halim questioned the premise of establishing the program with the military, underlining that the Moroccan military is not the lead agency in the GOM's counterterrorism regime. Depending on the specifics of the information-sharing network, Halim said, the program may be better suited for another department of the government, such as the National Police (DGSN). ¶5. (SBU) Halim also wondered why Mauritania, given its strategic location in the Sahel, has not been included in this information-sharing program. Halim opined that two other countries which could potentially play a role in combating Trans-Saharan terrorism, Mali and Niger, are missing from this program. ¶6. (SBU) Halim reaffirmed the GOM's support in principle for this and other CT efforts and said he looked forward to more details on the program discussed reftel. ****************************************** Visit Embassy Rabat's Classified Website; http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/rabat ****************************************** RILEY