MOROCCO SIGNALS DESIRE FOR CLOSER SECURITY TIES TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L RABAT 000390

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR PM - DAS MCDONALD, NEA/MAG, NEA/RA AND EUR/RPM
EUCOM PLEASE PASS TO AFRICOM

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/25/2028
TAGS: MARR PREL PINS MCAP MO
SUBJECT: MOROCCO SIGNALS DESIRE FOR CLOSER SECURITY TIES TO
THE U.S. AND NATO

REF: A. STATE 20339

B. RABAT 01730

Classified By: DCM Robert P. Jackson for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: Senior Moroccan military and diplomatic
officials indicate that they would give serious consideration
to the Status of Forces Agreement, but needed to review the
U.S. draft. Morocco,s Inspector General of the Armed Forces
(CHOD) General Bennani recently pledged to sign the
Acquisition and Cross Service Agreement (ACSA) with the
United States on or before the Defense Consultative Committee
meeting in mid-June in Rabat. Moroccan Ministry of Foreign
Affairs (MFA) International Security Office Director Karim
Halim recently told Pol/MilOff that the Government of Morocco
(GOM) is moving to enhance security ties with the United
States. He said the GOM is also seeking to improve relations
with NATO but opined that NATO outreach efforts toward
Morocco were "too little and too slow." Following its
recently signed military hardware acquisitions from the U.S.,
France, Spain, Belgium and The Netherlands, Halim said that
Morocco is willing to participate in Operation Active
Endeavor--though substantial engagement in the operation may
take years--and pursue a NATO Individual Cooperation Program.
End Summary.

Morocco Reviewing Separate SOFA and ACSA Proposals
-------------- --------------


2. (C) In a meeting with Ambassador Riley on April 18, 2008,
Moroccan Armed Forces Inspector General (CHOD) General
Bennani pledged that the GOM would sign the Acquisition and
Cross Service Agreement (ACSA) before the Defense
Consultative Committee meeting, scheduled for June 10-12,
2008 in Rabat.


3. (C) On April 3, 2008, PolOff met with International
Security Office Director Karim Halim to discuss bilateral
security issues. Reporting directly to MFA Director General
Yousef Amrani, Halim is our principal interlocutor on
political/military and counterterrorism affairs. In addition
to reporting progress on the ACSA, Halim said that the GOM
was favorably reviewing the U.S.-proposed Status of Forces
Agreement (SOFA) but that additional study of the proposed
document will be necessary. The proposed SOFA text (Ref A),
which had been forwarded to MFA by the Embassy on March 11
via diplomatic note, was currently under review by MFA's
Office of Treaties and Judicial Affairs and the Ministry of
Defense. Halim ventured that it will take approximately one
to two months for the GOM to deliver an amended text for USG
consideration.

Keen on NATO But Unsatisfied with Status Quo
--------------


4. (C) Halim said that the GOM had favorably reached
consensus on Morocco working toward participation in
Operation Active Endeavor (OAE)--an ongoing maritime
interdiction operation--and that the GOM intended to make a
formal announcement of this intent within the next two
months. However, in a recent meeting with U.S. embassy
military officers, Moroccan Chief of Naval Operations Rear
Admiral Mohammed Berrada Gouzi said that it would take three
to five years for the Moroccan navy to acquire the equipment
and expertise for practical participation in OAE.


5. (C) Halim also said that the GOM, after consultations
with the Embassy and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO),had reached consensus on moving forward with signing
a NATO Individual Cooperation Program (ICP). While moving
forward on the ICP, Halim said that the GOM, at the same
time, was growing increasingly frustrated with NATO because
of a growing perception within the Moroccan Ministry of
Defense and MFA that Morocco's relationship with NATO was

becoming imbalanced, i.e., that Morocco was getting less out
of NATO than NATO was getting out of Morocco, a criticism
previously voiced by the MFA (Ref B).


6. (C) When asked how this perceived imbalance might be
rectified, Halim tabled that NATO should reward Morocco's
forward-leaning posture with NATO with more political
dialogue and material support. Halim questioned the utility
of having Morocco train with NATO equipment, only to have
that equipment returned to NATO after the exercise. He added
that Morocco had purchased a secure communications system at
NATO behest, capable of NATO compatibility, only to find out
later that NATO had not yet acquired the compatible system.
Halim considered NATO's engagement with Morocco as "too
little and too slow."


7. (C) Recently, the Moroccan military began inviting our
military attaches to tour military installations--a limited
move, but a step forward from the Moroccan military's
traditional isolation.


8. (C) Comment: The Embassy has been receiving positive
signals from MFA about Morocco's pursuit of closer military
relations with the United States and NATO, reflecting some of
what we have heard from mid-level military officials. In
addition to the recent purchase of 24 F-16s from the United
States, Morocco has also recently purchased equipment from
France, Spain, Holland, and Belgium--all indicative of
modernization efforts and fostering improved relations with
NATO. It cannot be excluded that Morocco's more upbeat views
on NATO may reflect, in part, the changed French perspective
on the alliance. End Comment.


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Riley