UAE ASKED AGAIN TO CONSIDER HOSTING GUANTANAMO DETAINEES

S E C R E T ABU DHABI 000268


NOFORN

E.O. 12958 DECL:03/17/2019
TAGS: PREL PTER AE
SUBJECT: UAE ASKED AGAIN TO CONSIDER HOSTING GUANTANAMO DETAINEES

REFS: A) STATE 23824, B) ABU DHABI 75, C) ABU DHABI 12

Classified by Ambassador Richard Olson, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (S/NF) Summary: Delivering the Secretary's letter (ref A)
requesting that the UAEG consider accepting third-country detainees
from Guantanamo, Ambassador-at-large Williamson stressed the U.S.
Administration's sense of urgency in closing the facility. MinState
Gargash sought context in terms of detainee numbers and processes,
promising to raise the issue with senior UAEG leaders. He noted both
legal issues and enhanced scrutiny of UAEG treatment of the detainees
as complicating factors. End summary.


2. (S/NF) Ambassador-at-large for War Crimes Issues Clint Williamson
delivered the Secretary's letter (ref A) to UAE Minister of State for
Foreign Affairs Dr. Anwar Gargash on March 17, stressing that the new
U.S. Administration was reaching out to friends and allies for
support in closing Guantanamo. Acknowledging the complexities of the
issue of receiving detainees, Williamson emphasized that the USG
could not succeed without the help of our partners in the fight
against extremism.


3. (S/NF) Dr. Gargash, who had received an S/WCI delegation in
January (refs B and C),sought clarification on numbers of detainees
to ensure he understood the context of our dilemma. He asked how
many still in detention had clear ties to al-Qaeda and the Taliban --
or at least "substantial evidence against them" -- or were
particularly dangerous. Reviewing the numbers, Williamson noted that
we seek assistance in hosting some of the less dangerous cases who
are unable to return to their home countries. These are a small
minority of the overall Guantanamo population, he noted, with Yemen
presenting some particularly tricky issues.


4. (S/NF) Satisfied that he had sufficient context to appeal again
to senior UAEG leaders (through Foreign Minister Abdullah, to whom
the Secretary's letter is addressed),Dr. Gargash undertook to relay
our request forthrightly on what he called "a very thorny subject, to
be honest." He noted that beyond the legal issues involved, any
country accepting released detainees would come under added scrutiny
by international NGOs; "this is one of the complications." He also
noted that the UAE does not have a robust rehabilitation program like
Saudi Arabia because it does not face a similar problem (noting the
Kingdom's "several years" of "pitched battles" with extremists).
Nonetheless, the UAE "will definitely look into" the USG request and
reply accordingly.


5. (S/NF) Williamson said that if the UAEG would be prepared to
explore the issue further, the USG could provide detailed information
on specific individuals and facilitate interviews with detainees if
that might be helpful. Dr. Gargash sought clarification on whether
other Arab countries has taken third-country national detainees (not
yet),and thanked Ambassador Williamson for taking on this "tough
job."

OLSON