SENATOR NELSON HEARS ALGERIAN VIEWS ON IRAQ AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L ALGIERS 000791

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/03/2017
TAGS: PREL KDEM AG
SUBJECT: SENATOR NELSON HEARS ALGERIAN VIEWS ON IRAQ AND
U.S. RELATIONS


Classified By: DCM Thomas F. Daughton; reasons 1.4 (b, d)


1. (C) In separate June 3 meetings with Senator Bill Nelson
(D-FL),Prime Minister Belkhadem and President Bouteflika
reviewed Algerian thinking on Iran (septel),Iraq, and
bilateral relations. Belkhadem encouraged Nelson to spread
the word that U.S. non-hydrocarbon investment in Algeria was
welcome. Algeria especially sought investment from the U.S.
in pharmaceuticals and drugs, transportation, and new
communications technologies. Belkhadem said Algeria was
fortunate to possess great hydrocarbon wealth, but it most
needed technology transfer and investment to create jobs and
reduce unemployment. He said Algeria's interest in building
highways, railroads, schools, housing and universities
provided opportunities for American business.


2. (C) Later that same day, Bouteflika told Senator Nelson
and the Ambassador that he was pleased with the collaboration
between the U.S. and Algerian governments in
counterterrorism. The Algerian authorities worked "with
enthusiasm" with their American counterparts, he observed.
Turning to education -- and ignoring his interlocutors'
references to financial and judicial reforms -- Bouteflika
urged the U.S. to encourage more collaboration between U.S.
and Algerian universities. He observed that U.S.
universities were the best in the world and that partnerships
with them would help Algerian institutions. The Ambassador
noted that we were trying to expand programs in primary and
secondary schools and universities. Bouteflika encouraged
this effort, but seemed largely uninformed about it.


3. (C) Turning to the May 17 Algerian legislative elections,
Bouteflika flatly acknowledged that the turnout was very low,
but he said he had refused to let the Ministry of Interior
pad the figures. He remarked that both houses of the
Algerian parliament suffered from low credibility. (Comment:
Senate President Abdelkader Bensalah sat stone-faced and
silent throughout the meeting. End Comment.) Bouteflika
said that Algerian legislators had been miserable at
maintaining contacts with their constituents; too many only
went home to the voters right before the elections. He
alleged that legislation hiking their salaries further
alienated them from voters. The president noted that the
Trotskyst Workers' Party was the only political party with a
message that rang true to many voters. As a result, it had
picked up a substantial number of seats thanks to the votes
of low-income Algerians. Bouteflika concluded that the
Algerian public wanted strong parliamentary institutions that
are democratically elected. In an aside after the meeting,
Bouteflika told the Ambassador that he had been harsh about
the parliament, but what he said was true. The Ambassador
urged Bouteflika to allow steady if gradual change to the
parliament to increase its credibility.

IRAQ: MAYBE FEDERALISM AFTER ALL
--------------


4. (C) Tuning to Iraq, Bouteflika said the U.S. had no good
choices available. He opined that the U.S. would suffer if
it stayed in Iraq but it would have even more problems if it
withdrew quickly. The president warned that an unstable Iraq
could well create stability issues in countries like Saudi
Arabia and Syria and perhaps even Turkey. Bouteflika said
national reconciliation is the best option for Iraq, but he
was dubious about how it could be achieved. He said there
are genuine, sharp differences between the Sunni Arabs and
Shia. The problems with the Kurds add another layer of
complexity. Bouteflika commented that ideally a strong
central government in Iraq would be reestablished but more
likely the Arab states would have to accept a federal or even
confederated Iraq. The Iraqis would have to decide on an
equitable division of the country's natural resources,
however, in order for even that kind of arrangement to work.
In an aside, he commented that the U.S. should be careful how
it handles the Kurds lest Washington be left with a fait
accompli of Iraqi Kurds declaring their de facto
independence.

COMMENT
--------------


5. (C) Bouteflika appeared frail but his color was far better
than when the Ambassador sat with him at length last
September. He spoke quietly but was entirely lucid, at times
understanding Senator Nelson's English but always speaking in
French. His remarks about accepting an eventual federal or

even confederated Iraq were interesting. In addition, he was
remarkably blunt in his criticism of the Algerian parliament,
but he gave no indication either of extreme concern about the
low turnout in the May election or of how to restore
credibility to the parliament. Unlike Belkhadem, Bouteflika
recognized the existential problem between the Shia and
Sunnis in Iraq. The president openly discussed autonomous
regions while the prime minister, an Arab nationalist and
former foreign minister, emphasized the need to reestablish
somehow a unitary state.


6. (U) Senator Nelson did not have the opportunity to clear
this message.
FORD