THE GAMBIA: REPORTED GOTG DECISION TO PLACE

S E C R E T BANJUL 000023 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS DAKAR PLS PASS RAO E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/18/2017 TAGS: ASEC PTER PGOV PREL GA SUBJECT: THE GAMBIA: REPORTED GOTG DECISION TO PLACE EMBASSY UNDER SURVEILLANCE Classified By: AMBASSADOR JOSEPH STAFFORD, REASON 1.4 (C AND D) ¶1. (C) On January 17, Embassy received e-mail message from knowledgeable source and transmitted through Embassy Dakar claiming that the GOTG had decided to place the Embassy under surveillance out of concern that the Embassy was secretly recruiting both Gambians and non-Gambians for "possible deployment to Iraq." (Embassy passed e-mail to Dept. -- DS and AF/W). Following receipt of e-mail, Ambassador conveyed Embassy's Emergency Action Committee (EAC),and members agreed that Embassy's security posture remained appropriate. EAC members also agreed that the capacity of the GOTG's security apparatus to conduct surveillance was exceedingly limited and that such activity would not pose a significant security threat to the American community, official or private. It was also noted that GOTG surveillance of the Embassy was not new, as, in the past, FSN employees had occasionally reported the presence of persons near the chancery that were known to be officials of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA). ¶2. (S/NF) COMMENT: The reported GOTG decision to place the Embassy under surveillance is also being covered in SIMO channels. We do not know the basis for the GOTG's concern about Embassy's alleged secret recruitment of persons for service in Iraq, although security officials may have picked up expressions of interest by local residents in working in Iraq for the U.S. We note, in this connection, that Embassy recently received a letter from a Gambian youth indicating a desire to join the U.S. military and serve in Iraq. END COMMENT STAFFORD