MBZ OFFERS COUNTER PIRACY SUPPORT

S E C R E T ABU DHABI 001419 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/17/2018 TAGS: PTER PBTS PHSA MOPS AE SUBJECT: MBZ OFFERS COUNTER PIRACY SUPPORT Ref: A) ABU DHABI 1405, B) STATE 129941 Classified by Ambassador Richard Olson, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (S) On December 14, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince (and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces) Mohammed bin Zayed (MbZ) discussed regional naval issues with OSD Assistant Secretary for International Security Affairs Mary Beth Long in Abu Dhabi. MbZ said the UAE wanted to assist in the fight against piracy with "a ship" and hoped to coordinate deployment with the U.S. He wryly compared pirates to extremists captured in Afghanistan and suggested they should not be dealt with softly. Recognizing legal complications for the U.S. in dealing with persons under control (PUC),MbZ did not offer a particular alternative yet was not convinced that rehabilitating the pirates was possible -- this reminded him of the Guantanamo dilemma. (He made reference to an unrepentant extremist settling down "in a little mosque in a village" to mobilize a "gang" with Osama-like stories of grandeur, suggesting that neither extremists nor pirates should be released easily.) ¶2. (S) MbZ also offered his "humble opinion" that if the U.S. Navy were not in the Gulf now, "you will have to deal with one oil producer" (as Iran would control the region). OLSON