CODEL TANNER MEETINGS FOCUS ON COUNTERTERRORISM,

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 TUNIS 000710

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/FO (GRAY) AND NEA/MAG (HARRIS AND HOPKINS)
NSC FOR ABRAMS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/05/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER MASS OREP TS
SUBJECT: CODEL TANNER MEETINGS FOCUS ON COUNTERTERRORISM,
NATO

Classified By: Ambassador Robert F. Godec for reasons 1.4 (b) AND (d)

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Summary
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1. (C) During their May 30 to June 1 visit to Tunisia, the
ten members of CODEL Tanner were warmly welcomed by GOT
officials who stressed the history of positive bilateral
relations between the United States and Tunisia.
Highlighting that Tunisia is a loyal friend, FM Abdallah and
Defense Minister Morjane both pressed for increased military
assistance. Morjane delivered an impassioned plea for US
assistance for the Tunisian military to combat terrorism and
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM),while Abdallah also
pressed for greater trade ties. CODEL Tanner also met with
President Ben Ali (septel) and Chamber of Deputies President
Foued M'bazaa, who offered his support for parliamentary
cooperation while separately claiming the US Embassy was not
the target of a disrupted terrorist cell. Delegation
members, who said they were in Tunisia to listen, also
pressed for greater counterterrorism cooperation and praised
Tunisia's economic and social success. End Summary.


2. (U) The following members of CODEL Tanner, led by Rep.
John Tanner (D-TN),visited Tunisia from May 30 - June 1:

Rep. Paul Gillmor (R-OH)
Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO)
Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL)
Rep. Dennis Moore (R-KS)
Rep. John Boozman (R-AR)
Rep. Baron Hill (D-IN)
Rep. Albert Chandler (D-KY)
Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-FL)
Rep. Charles Melacon (D-LA)

In addition to their government meetings, the delegation also
visited the American Battle Monuments Commission North Africa
Cemetery and were hosted by the Ambassador for a reception
with GOT officials, civil society and business contacts.


3. (SBU) In a June 1 press conference at the conclusion of
their visit, Chairman Tanner and Rep. Gillmor stressed that
the United States and Tunisia have a long history of
friendship and shared values. They noted the delegation was
impressed with Tunisia's social and economic progress and
would share this positive impression with their congressional
colleagues. Both congressmen noted that Tunisia is ready for
increased political freedom, particularly freedom of
expression and association, although press coverage focused
little on this point. Noting that Islam is not the cause of
extremism, Rep. Tanner said that we must work together to
fight fundamentalist fanaticism. Rep. Gillmor added that he
hoped more US companies would invest in Tunisia.

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FM: Good Relations, but More Trade and Aid Needed
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4. (C) Foreign Minister Abdelwaheb Abdallah began his May 30
meeting with CODEL Tanner with a lengthy overview of
Tunisia's success in combating terrorism and poverty while
fostering moderation and tolerance. Tunisia has made an
irreversible choice to increase democracy, liberty and
pluralism and is advancing "as quickly as possible" towards
these goals. Abdallah said that Tunisia's efforts had
resulted in the elimination of extremism, but that
counterterrorism (CT) remained a priority. He added that
bilateral cooperation on political, security, and CT efforts
is excellent. When the Ambassador said further CT
information sharing was needed, Abdallah agreed that more
could be done to improve security and trade relations.
Specifically, Abdallah said that Tunisia would like to
attract more US businesses and that he wished Tunisia was
better known in the US business community. During his
upcoming June visit to Washington, Abdallah said that he
would seek to "improve our image in the United States." He
added that Tunisia's military needs US support, noting that,
"We benefit from every little bit" of US aid. Chairman
Tanner closed by thanking the Minister for his suggestions
and saying that the delegation is aware of the military's
need and will seek to improve relations.

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DefMin: Urgent Need for Increased Military Assistance

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5. (S) Minister of National Defense Kamel Morjane also used
his May 31 meeting with the delegation to argue for increased
US aid, particularly Foreign Military Financing (FMF).
Morjane told Reps. Tanner, Gillmor, Shimkus and Emerson that
the Tunisian Armed Forces, which have never been a GOT
priority, are stretched to the limits by recent increases in
counterterrorism and border surveillance activities. (NOTE:
Historically, GOT budget priorities are education, social
programs and funding for the Ministry of Interior. END
NOTE.) To combat terrorism, the United States and Tunisia
must cooperate, both in terms of sharing information and
intelligence, but also through the provision of equipment and
material assistance. In response to a question from Rep.
Gillmor, Morjane explained that that terrorist threat to
Tunisia is complicated by the difficult nature of the
country's borders, particularly in the southern desert
region. He opined that he did not believe the Al-Qaeda
system has any structure or hierarchy, as it seems that even
a single individual could announce he is an Al-Qaeda cell.
More dangerous, said Morjane, is the fact that terrorism has
become an ideology, rather than a means to an end. Terrorism
has no borders, therefore military and security cooperation
is more important than ever. "We talk about globalization,"
said Morjane, but the terrorists "are using it" to their
advantage.


6. (C) Returning to the need for more military assistance,
Morjane clarified that ten years ago FMF cuts were not
serious. Today, the need is urgent, as half of Tunisia's
army is on the borders and the maintenance of these efforts
is extremely costly. Morjane explained, "We count on (the
United States) because we cannot depend on ourselves."
Tunisia has an urgent need for helicopters, which are
suitable for the desert and mountainous border terrain, to
support the troops on the borders. Highlighting the need for
US assistance, Morjane explained that the Tunisian Air Force
is comprised almost entirely of US equipment, and it is
difficult to change, even if other partners were willing to
help. He added that material and financial constraints
prevent Tunisia's military from offering greater support for
bilateral and multilateral objectives, including UN
peacekeeping operations. Tunisian Air Force Chief of Staff
Brigadier General Mahmoud Ben M'hamed added that Tunisia is
familiar with NATO equipment and procedures, but cannot
engage in joint operations "because our equipment is too
old." With US assistance for Tunisia's equipment, the
military could dedicate its own funds to upgrading existing
facilities and engaging in more exercises. BG Ben M'hamed
lamented the delays in Tunisia's receipt of refurbished UH-1H
helicopters, which the minister assured Rep. Emerson Tunisia
is ready to put into immediate use. Chairman Tanner told the
Minister that he would look into the helicopters' delay,
while Rep. Emerson promised to examine Tunisia's FMF levels.


7. (C) Turning to NATO, Minister Morjane urged the group to
convey to NATO the importance of explaining its objectives to
the Arab and Muslim world. "NATO has a perception issue in
the region," Morjane said, in part because of its stance on
the Israeli-Palestinian issue. As NATO reviews its mission,
"don't let people think NATO is anti-Muslim," warned Morjane.

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Deputies: Ready for NATO, not Focused on Security
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8. (C) During the CODEL's May 31 meeting with Foued M'bazaa,
President of the Chamber of Deputies, M'bazaa said the
Chamber enjoys good relations with the US Congress and would
be interested in expanding its relationship with NATO
parliamentarians. M'bazaa suggested an annual Maghreb-NATO
parliamentary meeting could be established, particularly as
the Chamber's First Vice President Afif Chiboub leads the
Arab Maghreb Union Parliamentary Council. Chairman Tanner
welcomed the idea, noting that NATO is shifting its focus
from Eastern Europe to the Mediterranean. When Congressman
Shimkus stressed the need for greater information sharing of
threat information, M'bazaa, detouring from GOT talking
points, said that the disrupted December/January terrorism
plot targeted tourist areas, not the US embassy. While the
investigation is underway, M'bazaa said that it is clear that
the Tunisian public rejects such activities and extremism,
more generally. Ambassador said that the USG recognized
Tunisia's success in disrupting the plot and clarified that
he had been officially informed the embassy was a target. In

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any case, said M'bazaa, such issues are the purview of the
GOT, not the Parliament, which focuses on legislation.

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Comment
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9. (C) The CODEL's visit capped several busy weeks of
bilateral engagement, particularly on military issues. The
GOT clearly welcomed the visit as another indication of the
strong bilateral relationship and chose to highlight economic
and security ties while glossing over sensitive political
issues. Given the increasing terrorist threat and the urgent
need for military assistance, we can expect similar themes to
be echoed during FM Abdallah's upcoming visit to Washington.


10. (C) On counterterrorism cooperation, officials preferred
to stick to generalities rather than address the delegation's
specific requests for greater information sharing. It is
unclear if M'bazaa's statement that tourist areas were the
target of the disrupted cell, or if he in fact was revealing
more than he should have about the true threat.
Unfortunately, the continued lack of substantive details from
the GOT about the event means we have little by which to
judge his statement. END COMMENT.


11. (SBU) CODEL Tanner did not clear this message.
GODEC