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.

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Saleh Makes Inflammatory Statements
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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.

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"He is a Giant, Isn't He?"
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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.

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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.

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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.

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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