Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08BAMAKO217
2008-03-03 09:35:00
SECRET
Embassy Bamako
Cable title:  

GENERAL WARD'S MEETING WITH PRESIDENT TOURE

Tags:  PREL PGOV PTER PINR MASS MARR 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ1264
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBP #0217/01 0630935
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
R 030935Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY BAMAKO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8824
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS 0378
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
S E C R E T BAMAKO 000217 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/03/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER PINR MASS MARR
SUBJECT: GENERAL WARD'S MEETING WITH PRESIDENT TOURE

Classified By: Political Officer Aaron Sampson, Embassy Bamako, for
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)
S E C R E T BAMAKO 000217

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/03/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER PINR MASS MARR
SUBJECT: GENERAL WARD'S MEETING WITH PRESIDENT TOURE

Classified By: Political Officer Aaron Sampson, Embassy Bamako, for
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

1.(S) Summary: General Ward and the Ambassador met with
President Amadou Toumani Toure on February 26 to discuss
security in northern Mali. The meeting with the President
followed a separate meeting with Minister of Defense Natie
Pleah and senior Malian military leadership (septel).
President Toure welcomed the creation of AFRICOM and
expressed his deep appreciation for General Ward's visit.
The President said U.S. military training has yielded
qualitative improvements in the Malian Army and asked for
increased training opportunities. A Powerpoint presentation
by the Malian Military Chief of the General Staff, General
Seydou Traore, and the Malian Chief of Staff of the Army,
Colonel Gabriel Poudiougou, requested more training,
intelligence sharing, and materiel so Mali may strengthen
garrisons based in northern Mali, create a new garrison in
Taoudenni, and stand-up several smaller outposts in towns
like Tinzawaten and In-Khalil. Following this presentation,
President Toure met privately with General Ward and the
Ambassador to reiterate, on a personal level, his support for
AFRICOM and General Ward. During this meeting the President
made it clear that Algeria must be on board for any general
or specific actions targeting Islamic extremists in northern
Mali to succeed. End Summary.

--------------
Toure Requests Increased Assistance
--------------

2.(C) President Toure warmly welcomed General Ward and the
creation of AFRICOM during a meeting at the Presidency in
Bamako. President Toure opened the meeting by noting that he
had just returned from Washington where he met with President
Bush and officials at the Pentagon. He described these
meetings as highly successful as they provided him with a
rare opportunity to present Mali's concerns about security in
the Sahel-Sahara region. General Ward said officials in
Washington were extremely impressed by President Toure.


3.(S) The meeting between President Toure, General Ward, the
Ambassador and Mali's senior military leadership was animated
by a Powerpoint presentation led by Colonel Gabriel
Poudiougou and Chief of the General Staff Brigadier General
Seydou Traore. General Traore's brief identified porous
borders, traffickers looking to turn quick profits by
whatever means available, and the Malian military's lack of
resources as the key factors behind the continued instability
in northern Mali. To combat the GSPC/AQIM, said Traore, Mali
must cut off the routes used by drugs, arms and human
traffickers, equip Mali's National Terrorism Center and
conduct more multi-national exercises like the Pan-Sahel
Initiative (PSI),TSCTP and Flintlock. He requested more
US-trained companies, in addition to the three companies
equipped in 2004, so Mali may implement a broad plan to
reinforce existing garrisons in Tessalit, Kidal, Menaka, and
Anefis, create one new garrison in Taoudenni and erect
several smaller outposts in key towns like Tinzawaten and
In-Khalil.

4.(S) In addition to the current narco-trafficking,
banditry, and terrorist threats, the General cited the
increased level of oil prospecting activity as another reason
why the government wants to boost its security presence in
northern Mali. He said each of these units would need to be
equipped with 4x4s and lightly armored vehicles. He said
US-supplied vehicles and equipment were critical in the
Malian Army's response to the 23 May 06 attacks by Tuareg
Alliance for Democracy and Change. The presentation
described how PSI-supplied vehicles and SOCEUR-trained
soldiers were actively engaged in current operations against
Tuareg dissident Ibrahim ag Bahanga in the Kidal area. This
included photos of military vehicles destroyed over the last
six months by mines placed by Bahanga. General Traore
concluded with a pitch for intelligence sharing and air
support in the form of reconnaissance and combat helicopters
in order to ensure the effectiveness of patrols launched from
forward bases in northern Mali.

5.(S) General Ward thanked General Traore and President
Toure for the presentation and said it highlighted the
importance of knowing what is occurring in northern Mali and
the need to develop the capacity to control Mali's northern
zones. General Ward said Mali's partnership with the U.S.
has enhanced both of these elements. He also praised Mali
for its willingness to work closely with neighboring
countries to address security threats. General Ward
expressed hope that the U.S. could help facilitate even
greater cross-border cooperation. He said the U.S. would
continue to try to secure the assistance requested by Mali
and that he would advocate for increased assets on Mali's
behalf. General Ward underlined, however, that the case for
increased assistance to Mali would be strengthened by the
engagement of Malian forces, using equipment and training
already provided, against terrorist elements and other
threats to security in the north.

6.(S) President Toure said he shared General Ward's point of
view and hoped a future meeting of Sahel/Sahara Heads of
State in Bamako would help to hash out specific shared policy
positions which would enable Mali to better control what
amounts to roughly 650,000 sq. km of terrain in northern
Mali. Toure said he was counting on U.S. support for this
venture. "I would like to assure you," said President Toure,
"that it is Mali who needs to fight the Islamists." Toure
noted that Mali had recently arrested several Mauritanian and
Algerian Islamists. He described cross-border coordination
between Mali, Mauritania and Niger as good. Coordination with
Algeria, Toure added, was less so. If Algeria could control
its borders, said Toure, there would be no Islamists in Mali.


--------------
Algeria is the Key
--------------

7.(S) Following a general discussion involving General
Traore and others, President Toure invited General Ward and
the Ambassador to a private meeting. Although this meeting
was intended to focus on specific counter-terrorism issues,
Toure used the meeting to provide more personal views of what
was already discussed. He said Mali wants to help the U.S.
counter Islamic extremism but that Mali must deal with its
security issues on its own. He said that because most Malian
officers were trained in the former USSR, new training
opportunities were crucial because the Malian army is
relatively young and previous training programs like PSI have
revitalized the military and produced qualitative
improvements in the commitment and morale of those involved.
President Toure said that most of the Malian military's
equipment is also from the former Soviet Union. Mali
recently purchased 20 trucks and several helicopters from
Bulgaria. Because the Malian military is more familiar with
former Soviet equipment, Mali has turned toward suppliers
from the former Soviet bloc (although he made clear he hopes
for help from the US as well). Toure said Mali does not
require complex military hardware, just durable, easy to
maintain equipment familiar to Malian soldiers.

8.(S) For Toure, Algeria remains the key to resolving the
security situation in the north. He stressed that Algeria
must be involved in any solution regarding the Islamic threat
in northern Mali. He said he hoped General Ward and AFRICOM
could help work toward this end. The President said he had
good personal relations with Algerian President Bouteflika
but reiterated his belief that members of the Algerian
security services in southern Algeria are complicit in
illegal trafficking and are acting outside the control of
Bouteflika in Algiers. Toure made it clear that Algeria must
be on board as part of the team before any general or
specific action can be taken against AQIM.

--------------
Comment:
--------------


9. (C) President Toure and the Malian military leadership
have a clear understanding and appreciation for the added
value of AFRICOM in unifying US military engagement on the
continent, and General Ward's visit was an excellent
opportunity to demonstrate the value we attach to the US-Mali
relationship. We are encouraged that President Toure is
serious about a regional summit to discuss security in the
Trans-Sahara region, and Mali's plan to reinforce the north
offers opportunities to advance our TSCTP objectives. Recent
arrests in Mali of AQIM operatives, and comments by President
Toure and other senior Malian leaders about the growing
threat in the sub-region suggest that Mali is moving slowly
away from the passivity that has characterized the
government's approach to security in the north in recent
years. At the same time, Mali clearly needs to move from
planning to deployment.


10. (U) General Ward has cleared this message.
MCCULLEY