BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN: MOD CHIEF OF STAFF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SANAA 000167

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/23/2015
TAGS: PREL PTER MASS YM COUNTER TERRORISM
SUBJECT: BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN: MOD CHIEF OF STAFF
RETURNS

REF: A. 2005 SANAA 1868

B. 2005 SANAA 2487

C. 2005 SANAA 3349

D. 2005 SANAA 3378

Classified By: CLASSIFIED BY DCM NABEEL KHOURY FOR REASONS 1.4 (b) and
(d)


1. (C) Summary. During a January 18 meeting with OMC Chief,
MG Mohammed Ali Al-Qassimi, Chief of Staff for the Armed
Forces, expressed his appreciation to the USG for granting
him access to Bethesda Naval Hospital (ref A). Qassimi, who
returned to Yemen in December after six months of cancer
treatment, seemed to be in good health and spirits. He
accepted an invitation to attend a DOD-sponsored conference
in February, hoping to combine the trip with a required
medical check-up at Bethesda. While he offered his
conditional approval for monthly meetings between Embassy and
MOD officials that began during his
absence (ref B),Qassimi appeared eager to re-assert his
authority over day-to-day Ministry activity by discussing the
proposed weapons inventory control system (ref C) and border
security assistance. End Summary.

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Mil-Mil Cooperation: Working Group Can Continue, For Now
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2. (C) Qassimi expressed his conditional support for
continuing the monthly working group meetings between OMC and
MOD officials. He credited the meetings for improving
military-to-military cooperation and planned to attend the
next meeting. He also agreed with the priorities put forward
in the MOD 3 - 5 Year Counter Terrorist and Border
Security Plan (ref B),recognizing the plan and the working
group as a means to focus limited USG assistance on areas of
mutual concern.


3. (C) Qassimi singled out assistance for developing
counter terrorism units, perhaps within the Yemeni Special
Operations Force (YSOF),and creating a new border security
force as MOD's top priorities. He mentioned that the
Jordanian Armed Services Chief of Staff would provide a
briefing on electronic border surveillance techniques during
a January 23 visit to Yemen. Qassimi encouraged the USG to
convince Yemen's wealthier neighbors to commit more resources
to help the ROYG strengthen border security, adding that he
would soon the discuss the same issue with the Saudis.



4. (C) Pending President Saleh's approval, Qassimi accepted
an invitation to attend the February Army Central Command
Land Forces Symposium in Atlanta. During the visit, Qassimi
hoped to meet with officials at CENTCOM, DSCA, and the
Pentagon, in addition to returning to Bethesda Naval Hospital
for a required check-up. He also assigned officers to attend
two upcoming regional conferences sponsored by the Combined
Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa and the Joint Staff.
(Comment: This is a step forward for MOD, whose past
participation in such regional fora had been lacking. End
Comment).

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Weapons Inventory Control System: We Agreed?
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5. (C) OMC Chief stated that he hoped to soon receive a
formal Letter of Request (LOR) from MOD for USG assistance
implementing a weapons control inventory system. Seemingly
unaware of previous meetings on the issue, Qassimi asked if
President Saleh had approved the USG proposal. OMC Chief
replied that Saleh approved USG support for an inventory
system during the November 2005 visit of CENTCOM Commander
General John Abizaid (ref D).

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Comment
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6. (C) Comment. During Qassimi,s absence, post
established a close and routine working relationship with MOD
officials. Prior to his departure, coordination with MOD was
sporadic and limited in scope. All major decisions in the
last six months went through the Minister of Defense instead,
who permitted military officials to meet with OMC on a
regular basis, resulting in a more comprehensive
military-military relationship. It remains to be seen how
Qassimi's efforts to re-assert himself will affect regular
contacts with, and cooperation from, MOD officials. End
comment.
Krajeski