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 �00A;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