SANAA ATMOSPHERICS: LOCAL IMAMS CALL FOR JIHAD,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SANAA 002255 E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/05/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER EPET PINR KPAL KISL YM SUBJECT: SANAA ATMOSPHERICS: LOCAL IMAMS CALL FOR JIHAD, SALEH AGREES! Classified By: Ambassador Thomas C. Krajeski for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: On July 30, President Saleh suggested in a televised interview with Al-Jazeera that Yemen and other Muslim countries should send volunteer fighters, as well as financial and material support, to the "resistance" against Israel in Lebanon and Palestine. Average Yemenis were strongly supportive of the President's statements, especially when contrasting his words with what they viewed as the silence of other Arab leaders. Some were more critical, accusing Saleh of cynical election-year rhetoric, especially in light of continuing restrictions against travel to Syria and Jordan -- possible jumping-off points for jihadis going Iraq. In general, Yemenis are strongly opposed to Israel's offensive in Lebanon and critical of American support for Israel. For the most part, Saleh's calls for a new jihad will likely inspire few Yemenis to direct action, but they have done little to improve an already tense atmosphere. END SUMMARY. -------------- Saleh Makes Inflammatory Statements -------------- ¶2. (U) In the last week, Saleh has taken an increasingly strident position, coming close to calling for a religious war against Israel. In a July 30 interview on Al-Jazeera, Saleh said: "This has become a war imposed on us and it is the duty of every Muslim to fight on this front," and called for Arab and Muslim support for Hezbollah "resistance." On three separate occasions, he suggested that Israel's neighbors should open their borders to allow support to flow to Palestinian and Lebanese fighters. When asked to clarify his position, Saleh said: ¶3. (U) "Let the masses move. Let the people donate funds, ammunition, weapons, and youth who can go. In the same way we helped Afghanistan resist the communist occupation, why do we not help our brothers in Palestine and Lebanon with the Arab blood of the Mujahidin and fighters? Why do we not help them? Why do we not send funds and missiles as we used to do in Afghanistan to fight the communists there?" ¶4. (U) Saleh also suggested in the interview that unless Arab regimes force an immediate ceasefire, they will "lose control of the Arab street and European and U.S. interests in the Middle East will be harmed. In other statements, Saleh said Arab countries could stop oil exports to the West. In recent days, the ROYG has abandoned earlier calls for an emergency Arab summit, largely ignored by Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan, and is instead advocating a global summit to find a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. -------------- "He is a Giant, Isn't He?" -------------- ¶5. (C) Saleh's public statements have met with broad approval among average Yemenis, especially against the background of perceived Arab silence. "He is a giant," said one Sanaa high school teacher. Many were upset with an earlier Saudi fatwa against those who fight alongside Shi'a Hezbollah forces, saying the Saud family were "traitors" who supported America. "It is forbidden for Arab leaders to remain silent," said a number of Yemenis at weekend qat chews. An engineer at an international oil company said: "Bin Laden was right when he said that we, the Muslims and Arab nations, should eliminate our leaders or regimes before blaming the enemies, because these leaders are the betrayers and agents of America and Israel." ¶6. (C) Many educated Yemenis, on the other hand, recognized that the President's statements were essentially empty rhetoric. "Saleh used to accuse Hezbollah of supporting al-Houthi rebels," said one Sanaa resident, referring to the Shi'a rebels in Yemen's Sa'ada region. "He is mostly concerned about upcoming elections and a desire to gain the moral high ground over other Arab leaders," said another observer. Perhaps in response to such accusations, Saleh promised to donate YR 1 billion (approximately USD 5 million),originally raised by Yemeni businessmen for Saleh's campaign, to the Lebanese and Palestinian people. -------------- Arab Street Provides Mixed Support -------------- ¶7. (C) Despite the President's warnings about the "Arab street," public demonstrations in Sanaa have generally been fairly subdued. For the most part, daily routines at qat markets and wedding halls remain unchanged although the conflict is a common topic of conversation. Street vendors offer portraits of Hassan Nasrallah, but few appear in car windows. The Government denied a rumour that the ROYG has forbidden the display of Nasrallah,s photo, as well as of the Hezbollah flag. ¶8. (C) Lebanese flags were flying high, however, outside a "resistance tent" erected at a busy Sanaa intersection. The tent was raised under the auspices of the President's nephew, Yahya Saleh, and features daily speeches and fundraising for Lebanese victims, with Yahya declaring himself head of the "Qana Association," in memory of those killed in the Lebanese town. On August 1 and 2, Parliament requested permission to march on the U.S. Embassy. The request was denied and several thousand protestors instead made their way to the United Nations Headquarters. ¶9. (C) In Sanaa's mosques, the ROYG has given preachers a long leash to express their outrage at Israel and the United States. On August 4, in a sermon at the Grand Mosque carried on live television, preacher Ahmad Abdul Razzaq Al-Ruqayhi denounced what he viewed as an attack on Islam, saying: "People of Islam, the enemy is now oppressing and is thirsting for blood, more blood, and is attacking with the support of the United States and Britain...." Other Friday sermons have involved loud cries for jihad. Many Yemenis expressed the belief that despite differences among leaders, the conflict had brought Shi'a and Sunnis closer together at the popular level. ¶10. (C) In more remote regions, most Yemenis remain primarily concerned with local issues. An elderly resident of Marib recently told members of the Horn of Africa Civil Affairs team that he was more interested in what the United States could do for his community than about events in Lebanon. Another resident, however, asked why the team was doing good and constructive work in Marib while the United States is assisting the GOI to secure weapons. -------------- Conflict Complicates Bilateral Relations -------------- ¶11. (C) On August 3, Foreign Minister Abubakar Al-Qirbi criticized the United States for delivering weapons to Israel saying it would give Israel "more power to continue with the war." In general, the conflict and American support for Israel has had a direct impact on Post's relations with Yemeni interlocutors and negatively shaped impressions of U.S. support for reform. "While Americans are trying to improve their image in Yemen by giving money to NGOs," said one civil society contact, "their purpose is defeated when they stand behind Israel and work against a cease-fire in Israel." Outside a hospital, where the public affairs section was donating equipment for the cancer ward, one observer shouted: "You're donating medical equipment to Yemeni children with this hand and killing their brothers in Lebanon with the other." ¶12. (C) "You (the United States) have placed a mark on your head that you will not erase for 20 years," said Sakhr Al-Wejeh, a reform-minded member of Parliament. Abdulwahab Thabet, a prominent businessman currently working with Post to launch a Yemeni-American business advisory board, warned that the timing is wrong for an American-sponsored business event. He suggested that he himself might be willing to donate money to support Hezbollah. "America's support for Israel is having a negative effect on what we are all trying to accomplish," said Thabet. -------------- COMMENT: Saleh's Rhetoric Adds Fuel to Fire -------------- ¶13. (C) Despite inflated rhetoric to the contrary, the ROYG differs little from other moderate Arab regimes in its concern about Hezbollah. One year ago, Saleh accused both Hezbollah and Iran of supporting Al-Houthi rebels in the north. Indeed Saleh recently told CDA that Hezbollah was to blame for the violence in Lebanon and that they had to be stopped. Liberal contacts doubt Saleh's sincerity and say he has no in intention of allowing jihadis to join the fight from Yemen. Much of the President's rhetoric can be attributed to electoral politics. Two weeks ago, opposition leader Sheikh Abdul Majid Al-Zindani made a similar call for volunteer fighters to support Hezbollah, and Saleh is feeling pressure to stay one step ahead of his competitors. By many accounts, Saleh also delights in putting pressure on President Mubarak, King Abdullah, and other moderate Arab leaders, positioning himself as the true defender of the Arab cause. Saleh is not expected to back up his position with any concrete steps, but the increasingly volatile public discourse taps into a general sentiment of anger and frustration among Yemenis and could potentially inspire some extremists to action. Krajeski