READOUT: AMR MOUSSA'S 6 NOVEMBER DISCUSSION WITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L USNATO 000419

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/10/2018
TAGS: NATO PARM PREL AL XI XF
SUBJECT: READOUT: AMR MOUSSA'S 6 NOVEMBER DISCUSSION WITH
NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL

Classified By: Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Walter Reid for r
easons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: On November 6, Mr. Amr Moussa, Secretary
General of the League of Arab States, held a broad exchange
of views with the North Atlantic Council at NATO HQ.
Striking a conciliatory tone early on as he read from his
prepared text, Moussa lauded the election of President-elect
Obama, stated that NATO and the Arab League must forge a
collaborative relationship, and exclaimed that peace in the
Middle East is achievable. His positive assessment of these
varied issues took many in the Council by surprise. However,
Moussa reverted to form when responding to PermRep's
questions by blasting U.S. policies in the region, and
calling for the complete rejection of the Roadmap for peace,
which he said needs to be "relaunched and not continued by
the next administration." END SUMMARY.

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NATO and the Arab League
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2. (C) An initially upbeat Moussa proclaimed the Arab League
ready to cooperate with NATO - "This is a new NATO," he said
- to launch an "era of understanding and cooperation in order
to bring stability and peace to the Middle East." NATO and
the Arab League are reintroducing themselves and need to
chart a plan for their collaborative Middle East agenda. The
relationship between the two bodies will require continued
dialogue and exchange of ideas, stated Moussa, and no one
knows exactly what form the new relationship will take,
though he cited the recently signed cooperation agreement
between NATO and the UN. COMMENT: USNATO contacts at both
the Kuwaiti Embassy and Italian Mission hypothesized that
Moussa was encouraged by Egypt to engage with NATO and that
he wasn't necessarily speaking on behalf of Arab League
members. If true, this would be a significant step by Egypt
to further its relationship with the Alliance, and could
explain the sharp contrast between the positive content of
Moussa's prepared text and the caustic tone of the question
and answer session. When the Egyptian Ambassador later heard
about Ambassador Volker's displeasure at Moussa's remarks in
the Q&A, he called Ambassador Volker to stress that in those
comments, Moussa was not speaking for Egypt. END COMMENT.


3. (C) Many PermReps highlighted the growing influence and
maturity of NATO's Mediterranean Dialogue Partnership, as
well as the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative Partnership,
noting that 10 of these Partners are members of the Arab
League, (Israel being the sole exception). These fora
represent the "new NATO," said the Spanish PermRep, who
encouraged Moussa to look at the partnerships as constructive
allies for the Arab League. The Spaniard also speculated
that the Union for the Mediterranean is another potential
ally for both the Arab League and NATO, and that Europe and
the Muslim world are both beneficiaries of a greater
cooperation between these organizations.


4. (C) The NATO SYG, as well as many PermReps, invited Moussa
to comment on the image of NATO in the Arab world, and what
can be done to dispel the negative perceptions of the
Alliance. Moussa began by saying that NATO and the U.S. are
perceived as promoting the same foreign policies in the
region. Although the U.S. is considered a source of
inspiration by many Arabs, U.S. policies are viewed in a
negative light, he said. These negative perceptions and
feelings are also cast on NATO since it is seen as an
extension of the U.S. military. To help dispel these
aspersions, Moussa suggested that NATO collaborate with
governments and organizations in the region, like the Arab
League, to achieve tangible results such as increased
security and enhanced stability in the region. These efforts
must be widely publicized and closely coordinated with Arab
academics and think tanks, he stated.

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U.S. Elections - Start of the 21st Century
--------------

5. (C) The campaign of President-elect Obama was filled with
hope and new ideas that inspired Arabs throughout the region,
Moussa observed. He rhetorically asked: "Can we work together
to bring out about political change? Yes, we can." He left
no doubt that he views the U.S. election as a watershed event
for the Middle East, and perhaps the world, as he referred to
the elections in the U.S. and stated, "The 21st Century
started yesterday."

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Middle East Peace Process
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6. (C) As Moussa reverted to form, he declared U.S. policies
in the region to be one-sided and based upon a "clash of
civilizations" that pitted the Western world against the
Muslim world, the net result being chaos. He repeatedly
claimed that these policies place a priority on form over
substance and making promises that are not kept, sowing deep
frustration and hatred in the region. Moussa stated that
extremists from both sides, conservatives in the U.S. and
terrorists in the Middle East, have led the peace process
down a dead-end road, which is why the process needs to be
relaunched and not continued by the new administration.


7. (C) Peace, he said, requires reconciliation and to achieve
it, there will be a price to pay for both sides, "but pay we
must." "We need a viable Palestinian State and Israel needs
one too," he said. Moussa called for an "alliance of
civilizations" that can bring about peace in the region and
guarantee a better future for all of us, "Arab, European,
American, Muslim, Christian, and Jew." Presenting an
alternative to the Roadmap, he pointed to the Arab Peace
Initiative, (Beirut in 2002 and Riyadh in 2007),saying that
the basic issue in the Palestinian/Israeli dispute is the
return of occupied territories to the Palestinians. Israel
must stop building settlements, he demanded, and creating
conditions on the ground that prevent the establishment of a
viable Palestinian state; a state that "must have more than
just a flag and a passport office."


8. (C) Ambassador Volker stressed that a key legacy of the
Bush Administration was solidified support within the U.S.
for a two state solution, based on a democratic Palestinian
state. He stressed that the Administration efforts were not
finished as evidenced by Secretary Rice's meetings in the
region this week, to include the Quad in Egypt on Sunday.
Volker led a group of Allies, (Spanish, Italian, and
Portuguese),that not only strongly stated their support for
the Roadmap, but also welcomed direct discussion among Middle
East Foreign Ministers during the upcoming December
Ministerial at NATO HQ. Ambassador Volker emphasized the
two-state solution as the only way to make progress on the
Palestinian/Israeli conflict, and stressed that the next
administration would work just as hard as the current one to
resolve the conflict.

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Iraq
--------------

9. (C) Ambassador Volker pressed Moussa for his ideas on, and
support for expanding the diplomatic presence of Arab League
members in Iraq. Moussa replied that he does not oppose the
opening of Arab Embassies in Iraq, and the Arab League itself
was considering such a proposal, but it will take time. He
countered that what was truly needed in Iraq was
reconciliation between the Shia, Sunni, and Kurds. "Iraq is
an Arab country with a Kurdish population," he said, and the
Arab League was the only organization that had brought all of
the groups together to further the reconciliation process.
He noted that in November 2005, the Arab League sponsored a
meeting where all religious groups and political parties
signed a reconciliation agreement, and if the international
community had only rallied behind the agreement, it would
have prevented years of fighting and saved thousands of lives.

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Kosovo
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10. (C) In response to a query from Ambassador Volker, Moussa
saluted NATO's role in the Balkans but said that recognition
of Kosovo independence was a decision that each Arab country
had to make on its own, and that such a decision was " of
course, affected by other events." Currently, Arab countries
have decided to "go slow" and have not decided if they should
take collective action.

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Somalia and Piracy
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11. (C) A number of PermReps brought up the issue of Somalia
and SYG de Hoop Scheffer highlighted the request from the UN
for NATO assistance in protecting World Food Program ships.
Moussa, after saying the Somalis themselves bear some of the
responsibility, claimed that the failed policies of regional
and international players were mostly to blame for the
crisis. Somalia is not a home for terrorists, but rather an
African/Arab/Muslim country, "a reality that cannot be
changed by force." The Arab League is continuing to work
with the Africa Union and the UN to find a resolution to the
anarchy in Somalia, Moussa noted.

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Engaging Russia and a Nuclear Free Middle East
-------------- -

12. (C) In response to the Lithuanian PermRep, Moussa stated
that the Arab League welcomes a dialogue with Russia. The
country has many interests in the region, he said, and as a
member of the UN Security Council and well as the Quad,
Russia can play a positive role in the Middle East. Moussa
also called for a nuclear free zone that applies to all
countries in the Middle East. The security aspects of the
"nuclear situation" in the region are very problematic and
the international community's approach to nuclear weapons in
the Middle East was "wrong from the start."

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Economic Development and Reform
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13. (C) Setting politics aside, Ambassador Volker stressed
the need for immediate and sustained economic development as
the best way to improve the lives of all the people in the
Middle East. Moussa agreed with his assessment and said that
reform is needed in the Middle East and that Arab countries
need to invest in their people, whether through economic
development, better education, or human rights. At the 2004
Tunis Summit, the Arab League governments agreed to implement
reform and Moussa is now demanding that each country submit
an annual progress report on its efforts. He said that there
will be an upcoming Arab League Summit to address the issues
of economic development and social reform, which will examine
the roles and responsibilities of both the private sector and
civil society in raising the standard of living for all Arabs.

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Mauritania
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14. (C) Ambassador Volker commended the Arab League for its
efforts to find a resolution to the coup in Mauritania, and
asked that it do more, in line with the Africa Union. Volker
reminded Moussa that President Abdallahi and Prime Minister
Waqef are still being detained and must be released
immediately and unconditionally.

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Summary
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15. (C) COMMENT: Moussa's presence at NATO should be seen
as a gesture- by the Arab League, and Egypt in particular- to
broaden contacts with NATO. That said, when left to answer
questions on his own, Moussa reverted to type, blaming the
U.S. (and just about anyone else) for problems in the region,
while accepting little responsibility and offering little
support of his own. When the Egyptian Ambassador in Brussels
later heard of Ambassador Volker's irritation with Moussa's
comments on U.S. policy, he called Ambassador Volker to make
clear that Moussa was not reflecting Egypt's views on those
comments. End Comment.


REID