MOROCCO RAMPS DOWN SECURITY THREAT LEVEL

C O N F I D E N T I A L RABAT 001478 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/17/2017 TAGS: PTER MO SUBJECT: MOROCCO RAMPS DOWN SECURITY THREAT LEVEL Classified by Polcouns Craig Karp for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (SBU) Morocco's Interior Ministry announced September 15 that it was lowering its state of alert from "maximum" to "medium." The Interior Minister was subsequently quoted in the press explaining that the decision to ramp down was made for the same reasons that they had initially raised the threat. At the time the threat was raised, on July 5, MOI officials cited a continuing flow of credible threat reporting, including information from foreign governments, plus the approach of key events on Morocco's political calendar: Throne Day (July 30),the King's Birthday (August 21),and the Parliamentary Elections (September 7). These events have all since passed without any significant security incidents. MOI's September 15 announcement urged citizens to remain vigilant against a continuing general threat from terrorists. ¶2. (C) Comment: The GOM's move may reflect in part the practical need of security services to ramp down its personnel deployments during the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, which began September 14. We expect that the GOM will nonetheless retain an active and aggressive CT posture, particularly given the latest flare up of AQIM activity in Algeria. End comment. ***************************************** Visit Embassy Rabat's Classified Website; http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/rabat ***************************************** RILEY