GLOBAL PATRIOT: PDASD COULTER, MG AL-ASSAR

C O N F I D E N T I A L CAIRO 001403 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR U/S BURNS AND NEA FO OSD FOR U/S EDELMAN AND ASD LONG NAVCENT FOR VADM COSGRIFF E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/04/2018 TAGS: PARM PREL MOPS EG SUBJECT: GLOBAL PATRIOT: PDASD COULTER, MG AL-ASSAR DISCUSS WAY FORWARD FOR RESOLUTION REF: A. RANA-STEWART E-MAIL 6/26 ¶B. COSGRIFF-ENAN LETTER 6/15 ¶C. CAIRO 1277 ¶D. CAIRO 1259 ¶E. CAIRO 1118 ¶F. CAIRO 1079 AND PREVIOUS Classified By: Ambassador Margaret Scobey for reason 1.4 (b). ¶1. (U) This message includes an action request; please see para 13. ¶2. (C) Summary: Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Michael Coulter met with Assistant Minister of Defense MG Mohammed Al-Assar June 26 and July 1 to discuss resolving the outstanding issues related to the March 24 Global Patriot shooting of Mr. Mohammed Affifi. During these meetings, the two sides worked three outstanding issues which required resolution: An agreed public statement for use in Egypt; an agreed mechanism to provide confidence that such an incident would not happen again; and a condolence package for the family. The two sides resolved the first two issues, and made significant progress on the condolence payment. The two sides agreed to set up bilateral military consultations to clarify Suez Canal transit security procedures, and agreed in principle on language for a proposed public letter from the Ambassador to the Minister of Defense. On July 1, PDASD Coulter told MG Al-Assar that DoD has authorized a 500,000 Egyptian Pound ($94,000) condolence payment to the Affifi family. MG Al-Assar rejected the U.S. 500,000 Egyptian Pound offer, criticizing the sum as too insignificant. Coulter said that he would be prepared to request that DoD authorize a 750,000 ($141,000) pound payment if that would satisfy the GOE. On July 2, MG Al-Assar told PDASD Coulter that the MOD would agree to a 750,000 Egyptian Pound ($141,000) condolence payment to the victim's family. End summary. ¶3. (C) On June 26, PSASD Coulter conveyed "deep regret" to the GOE and Egyptian people for the March 24 killing of Mohammed Affifi on behalf of the Department of Defense and Secretary Gates. He told MG Al-Assar that the U.S. values the bilateral relationship deeply and wants to move forward to resolve the Global Patriot issue in the context of the U.S.-GOE strategic partnership. Coulter said the U.S. investigation established that a warning shot from the Global Patriot killed Mr. Affifi, and he thanked MG Al-Assar for GOE assistance to the U.S. investigation. Coulter asked for MG Al-Assar's feedback on a draft public condolence letter from the Ambassador to the GOE expressing regret for the incident and an apology for the Global Patriot's early arrival which contributed to the incident, as well as proposing a renewed dialogue on Suez transit procedures and building a school in Suez (ref A). Coulter said the Secretary of the Navy, in consultation with the Chief of Naval Operations, the CENTCOM Commander and the Secretary of Defense's staff, has authorized a 500,000 Egyptian Pound condolence payment ($94,000) to the Affifi family. Coulter noted that the U.S. proposes building a USAID-funded school worth $1-2 million in Mr. Affifi's hometown of Suez as part of a condolence payment to the Affifi family, Suez and the Egyptian people. ¶4. (C) MG Al-Assar said the U.S. and Egypt need to exercise "mutual understanding" to resolve the issue. He thanked Coulter for President Bush's condolence phone call to President Mubarak March 27, and expressed appreciation for close U.S.-Egyptian coordination following the March 24 incident. He criticized the Global Patriot for "hastily" opening fire on an "innocent" Egyptian citizen in Egyptian territorial waters. He repeatedly described the events as an "unacceptable violation of Egyptian sovereignty." Al-Assar noted that the Egyptian public, media and parliament had taken great offense, and assessed that the Global Patriot incident has damaged the U.S. "image" in Egypt. The GOE had respected U.S. sovereignty by allowing the Global Patriot to leave Egypt, Al-Assar claimed. Al-Assar said "other agencies" had pressured the MOD to hold the ship, but the MOD refused these entreaties out of confidence that the U.S. would soon rectify the problem. ¶5. (C) Al-Assar complained that almost 3 months had elapsed between the March 25 autopsy witnessed by U.S. Embassy officers, which he said made clear that a shot from the Global Patriot killed Affifi, and VADM Cosgriff's June 17 presentation of the U.S. investigation's findings. Al-Assar rejected the U.S. investigation's finding that the Global Patriot fired warning shots consistent with standard procedures (ref B),declaring that the GOE would not accept U.S. rules of engagement that would lead to the shooting of an innocent Egyptian. Al-Assar emphasized that the GOE takes special precautions to provide security for U.S. ships transiting the Suez Canal. He requested that the U.S. and Egypt discuss transit procedures to prevent the U.S. from opening fire in Egyptian territory. Al-Assar requested that the Ambassador's letter note that the U.S. has investigated the incident and punished those responsible; he clarified that such a statement would be necessary for Egyptian domestic public consumption. ¶6. (C) Al-Assar rejected the U.S. 500,000 Egyptian Pound condolence payment offer, terming it "not acceptable at all." He criticized the U.S. for not taking the bilateral relationship or Egyptian public opinion into account when formulating the condolence figure. He added that the condolence payment is "about much more than the victim." Al-Assar said that the GOE would provide a condolence payment to the family if the U.S. is not able to offer an acceptable figure. Al-Assar said that the GOE could explain to the Egyptian public that the U.S. is financially stretched because of the Iraq war, but the GOE does not want to "go that route." Military Prosecutor MG Medhut criticized the U.S.-proposed sum as not being significant enough to be consistent with an admission of responsibility. He asserted that the victim's widow and two small children would not be able to live off the U.S.-proposed sum. He also charged that no international law would allow for the "perpetrator" to determine the payment amount. ¶7. (C) Stressing that he was speaking personally and not officially, MG Al-Assar criticized the offer of $1-2 million USAID funding for a school in Suez, saying that such a project would deduct money from current Economic Support Funds that Egypt could use for other purposes. Al-Assar said he believed that the GOE could not consider such an offer, but committed to providing an official response. (Comment: The idea of a U.S.-funded project in Suez originated with MG Al-Assar. End comment.) Al-Assar also accused the Global Patriot of using internationally banned bullets in the March 24 incident. ¶8. (C) PDASD Coulter replied that DoD's payment determination process follows strict regulations. Coulter noted that DoD had doubled its assessment in light of the political sensitivities. Coulter committed to revisit the amount within DoD, but cautioned that DoD would not be able to increase the sum significantly. Coulter said that the U.S. is ready to convene a bilateral meeting to clarify security procedures for canal transit, and that he would discuss establishing such a mechanism with VADM Cosgriff. ¶9. (C) Regarding Al-Assar's request for a reference to punishment for the Global Patriot security team in the Ambassador's proposed public letter, Coulter, in coordination with the OSD OGC representative, suggested that the letter could note that the U.S. would hold the security team accountable, consistent with internal procedures, but that we could not make false statements regarding punishment. Al-Assar agreed in principle to such a formulation in the letter, and asked to see a subsequent draft. Coulter confirmed that U.S. forces use only internationally approved munitions, which are also used by other allies. At the conclusion of the June 26 meeting, Coulter confirmed that DoD considers the following issues resolved: Setting up bilateral military consultations and moving forward with a U.S. letter. Coulter noted that a subsequent meeting would be needed to determine whether DoD should consider a modest increase to the proposed 500,000 pound ($94,000) condolence payment figure, or whether the GOE should pay. ¶10. (C) PDASD Coulter returned to Cairo July 1 and told MG Al-Assar that VADM Cosgriff is ready to begin military-to-military consultations with the GOE to clarify Suez Canal security transit procedures. Coulter said that Washington is reviewing language on accountability in the Ambassador's proposed letter. Coulter reiterated that the U.S. considers the issues of bilateral military consultations and a U.S. letter resolved and concluded. Coulter told MG Al-Assar that he is prepared to ask the Department of Defense to authorize a 750,000 Egyptian Pound payment ($141,000) if such a revised amount would satisfy the GOE, but Coulter did not promise he could deliver that sum. Coulter noted that the U.S. wants to deliver payment to the victim's family as soon as possible. ¶11. (C) On July 1, MG Al-Assar reiterated the points he made June 26 (paras 4 and 5) regarding the GOE rejecting current U.S. rules of engagement in the Suez Canal and the angry Egyptian public reaction. Al-Assar clarified that when he proposed on June 26 for the GOE to pay the family if the U.S. could not provide an appropriate amount, he assumed that such an arrangement would not be acceptable to the U.S. On July 2, MG Al-Assar called PDASD Coulter to say that the MOD is committed to good relations and could accept a condolence payment of 750,000 Egyptian Pounds ($141,000). On July 3, MG Al-Assar conveyed the same message to the Ambassador. ¶12. (SBU) The following draft text of a letter from the Ambassador to the Minister of Defense represents language agreed upon in principle during the PDASD Coulter-MG Al-Assar meetings, with the exception of the bracketed language on accountability which MG Al-Assar has yet to review. We anticipate that the MOD would release the letter to the public. Begin draft letter text: Your Excellency: On behalf of the United States of America, I convey to you and to the people of Egypt our deepest regret for the tragic incident of March 24, during which an Egyptian citizen, Mr. Mohammed Fouad Affifi, was accidentally killed by a warning round fired by a U.S. Navy Embarked Security Team aboard the MV Global Patriot, while it was en route to an anchorage in Egyptian waters near the entrance to the Suez Canal. In coordination with your Ministry of Defense, the United States conducted a full investigation of the incident, the results of which have been conveyed to your government. (The investigation that determined accountability) established that the MV Global Patriot arrived eight hours in advance of its scheduled transit time, contrary to the existing U.S.-Egyptian arrangement regarding the proper arrival procedures for U.S. ships transiting the canal. This created the conditions for the unfortunate incident. For this, the U.S. extends its sincere apology. The Commander of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet has taken measures to ensure that this does not happen again. The United States also believes that a renewed dialogue with your representatives to clarify all transit procedures would be of value. The Suez Canal remains a safe, secure, and desirable transit route for world shipping due to Egyptian management and the superb protection afforded by the Armed Forces of Egypt. The United States deeply appreciates the security afforded U.S. Navy ships by the government of Egypt. Excellency, I am fully aware that this incident has brought terrible suffering to Mr. Affifi's family. We send our condolences to them. The United States has authorized a payment to his heirs that reflects the seriousness of this incident. I appreciate the cooperation and patience of the government of Egypt. Sincerely, Margaret Scobey Ambassador End draft letter text. ¶13. (C) Embassy believes that engaging the services of an Egyptian attorney would facilitate the transfer of funds to the family and protect U.S. interests. The Embassy has no funding to cover an estimated $10,000-15,000 in local legal expenses. If funding cannot be provided by NAVCENT or DoD, the Embassy will proceed without the advice of local legal experts. ¶14. (U) PDASD Coulter cleared this message. SCOBEY