AFRICOM CONSULTATIONS IN EGYPT

C O N F I D E N T I A L CAIRO 001889

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/19/2012
TAGS: PREL PHUM MOPS EG
SUBJECT: AFRICOM CONSULTATIONS IN EGYPT

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Stuart Jones
for reasons 1.4(b) and (d).


1. (C) Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for
Policy Ryan Henry, accompanied by an interagency delegation,
briefed Egyptian Ministry of Defense (MoD) officials on USG
planning for AFRICOM on June 12. The MoD delegation included
the Assistant Minister of Defense for Policy, MG Al Assar,
the Assistant Minister of Defense for Armament, MG Fouad Abd
el Halim, the Policy Advisor for the Directorate of Military
Intelligence (DMI),MG Fouad Arafa, and the Chief of US
Relations, MG Ahmed Mo'taz.


2. (C) Mr. Henry opened the meeting by giving MoD officials
an overview of USG planning for AFRICOM and the status of
consultations with other African nations. MG Al Assar
thanked Mr. Henry for coming in person to consult on the new
command and for the informative briefing. Each member of the
MoD delegation then took the opportunity to ask questions and
to share impressions about AFRICOM. The MoD officials'
concerns and Mr. Henry's responses are as follows:

-- Timing: MG Mo'taz said that because of the regional
situation, the timing is not right for a new command. Mr.
Henry replied there may not be a clearly ideal time for the
transition. The US wishes to assist Africa now in developing
the capabilities to address Africa's problems, rather than
waiting to respond to problems as they arise.

-- AFRICOM-AU dynamic: MG Mo'taz observed that AFRICOM's
role and tasks may "interfere" with those of the AU. Mr.
Henry explained that the US had consulted with the AU and
that AFRICOM will complement, not compete with the AU's
efforts and those of other African nations. African nations
are best positioned to address Africa's challenges, Mr. Henry
stressed.

-- Fear of a colonial approach: DMI's MG Fouad Arafa
expressed fear that AFRICOM will impose solutions on Africa.
He asked (more than once) if the new command intends to
consult with African nations regarding AFRICOM's initiatives.
Mr. Henry reiterated that leadership on African issues must
come from African nations; AFRICOM will play a supporting
role; and there are no plans to base troops on the continent.


-- Egypt's role: MGs Fouad and Al Assar separately said that
not including Egypt in AFRICOM may impact negatively Egypt's
ability to protect its security interests in Africa. Mr.
Henry said the USG believes CENTCOM will better serve Egypt's
interests, particularly concerning Foreign Military Financing
(FMF). He said that the AFRICOM Commander will, however,
include Egypt in all AFRICOM consultations and activities
after first coordinating with the CENTCOM Commander.

-- AFRICOM map: MG Al Assar warned that excluding Egypt from
the AFRICOM maps currently in public circulation may damage
or call into question Egypt's influence within Africa and
asked the US to include Egypt in both commands. Mr. Henry
explained that the need for a sole accountable command
prevents the US from including Egypt in both AFRICOM and
CENTCOM but said the USG can explore possible ways to
highlight Egypt's unique role within AFRICOM.

-- Civilian vs. military entity: MG Al Assar suggested that
the US may want to consider that a civilian entity, with
military components, may be better suited to perform the
tasks envisioned for AFRICOM. Mr. Henry explained that the
USG has given considerable thought to new command's role and
composition and noted that military troops are currently
performing civic functions in many regions.


3. (U) The delegation cleared this message.
JONES