NATO/MOROCCO: ICP PROSPECTS DIMMED BY GOM CONCERNS

C O N F I D E N T I A L RABAT 001730

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

USNATO FOR JOSE SANTACANA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/09/2017
TAGS: KPKO MARR MO NATO PGOV
SUBJECT: NATO/MOROCCO: ICP PROSPECTS DIMMED BY GOM CONCERNS

Classified By: Classified by Charge d'Affairs Robert P. Jackson for rea
sons 1.4 (b) and (d)

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Summary:
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1. (C) Turkish polcouns Turker Ari on November 8 told us
during a meeting concerning the possibility of Morocco
entering into a NATO Individual Cooperation Program (ICP)
that MFA Director General Youssef Amrani expressed support
for the idea of increased alliance cooperation, but made
clear his unhappiness at NATO's poor follow-through on
existing promises of support and training. Other contacts at
the Ministry of Defense (MOD) grumbled to Ari over NATO's
"unreasonable" request that the GOM shoulder a large share of
the costs for an upcoming NATO-proposed public diplomacy
conference in Rabat. Ari suggested USNATO (in conjunction
with other member missions) encourage the NATO Secretariat to
be more responsive to GOM information requests and fulfill
standing support commitments. End Comment.

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Background
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2. (SBU) Ari said that in June and September respectively,
Israel and Egypt signed ICP agreements with NATO formalizing
their military and political relationships with the alliance
as part of its Mediterranean Dialogue (MD) initiative. The
MD working group, made of member nation representatives at
NATO headquarters, would like to expand the number of
countries with ICPs and is focusing specifically on Morocco,
Tunisia and Algeria. Morocco has engaged with NATO at
several levels, including providing troops to SFOR in the
Balkans, hosting NATO conferences in Rabat and participating
in Operation Active Endeavor, NATO's maritime
counter-terrorism effort. Poloffs met with to discuss
strategies for formulating a NATO Individual Cooperation
Program (ICP) agreement with the Government of Morocco (GOM).


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Why us?
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3. (C) In a November 8 meeting in his office, Turkish
Polcouns Turker Ari told poloffs that he and his Ambassador,
in Turkey's capacity as NATO contact mission, demarched
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Ambassador Youssef Amrani
on this issue on November 1 and presented a NATO generated
shopping list of points. Amrani said that Morocco has no
desire to "be an example" and certainly does not want to be
considered in the same light as Egypt. Morocco has hosted
two major NATO and MD conferences, and is welcoming a public
diplomacy conference in November 2007. He asked NATO,
through Ari, to "shine the spotlight" elsewhere.

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The relationship so far is a one way street
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4. (C) Part of the NATO-generated shopping list Ari had
presented to Amrani included a request for a political
declaration by the MD countries (Algeria, Egypt, Israel,
Jordan, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia). Amrani expressed
amazement at the request since he had offered to lead a
similar effort a few years ago but was told by NATO to "not
be so ambitious" and to allow the alliance to solidify the
MD's position. Further, Morocco signed a cooperation
agreement in 2005 with the alliance in which Brussels
committed to provide certain equipment and training. Amrani
said that no concrete steps have materialized. Both Amrani
and Ari's contacts at the MOD told him that the lists of
clarification questions they sent to NATO headquarters have
gone unanswered, some for as long as a year. The Turks' MOD
interlocutors also were unhappy that NATO was asking the GOM
to shoulder a large portion of the logistical costs for the
November public diplomacy conference, despite the fact that
the GOM did not initiate it and were under the impression
that a similar conference in Egypt had been fully funded by
NATO.

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NATO's maps an issue
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5. (C) This same MOD contact told Ari in confidence that
NATO's official maps are also of deep concern since they
depict Western Sahara in a different color than Morocco
proper. The GOM is uncomfortable with the thought of such
maps being prominently displayed and used in official
briefings at the November conference in Rabat - particularly
when Morocco and the Polisario are in the middle of their
negotiation process. The contact did not ask NATO to change
the maps, just that it be sensitive to the GOM's concerns and
perhaps use neutrally colored public domain maps during the
conference.

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Comment:
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6. (C) Ari felt that Morocco is still committed to the idea
of cooperation with NATO, but that the growing relationship
needs a bit more reciprocity and respect from Brussels.
Morocco is seeing a lot of demands and requests for
partnership (many of which it has fulfilled by sending troops
and resources) but little in return. Post concurs with Ari
that it will be difficult to move forward on MD issues,
including the IPC, unless the NATO Secretariat reaches a
better understanding with the GOM to clear the information
and material backlog. NATO's financial help to the GOM for
the November public diplomacy conference would also be
helpful. At a minimum, the GOM's clarification questions
should be answered as soon as possible. Recommend USNATO
consult the Turkish Mission on next steps. End comment.


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Jackson