CHARGE'S SEPTEMBER 2ND MEETING WITH SAUDI PRINCE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JEDDAH 000333

SIPDIS

CORRECTED COPY: ADDING COMMENT AND REVISED SUMMARY
CENTCOM FOR GENERAL PETRAEUS FROM AMBASSADOR ERDMAN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/05/2029
TAGS: ASEC PGOV PREL PTER SA
SUBJECT: CHARGE'S SEPTEMBER 2ND MEETING WITH SAUDI PRINCE
MOHAMMED BIN NAIF

REF: A. RIYADH 1151

B. RIYADH 1126

C. RIYADH 1121

D. RIYADH 1110

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Classified By: Classified by CDA Ambassador Richard Erdman for reasons
1.4(b) and (d)

CORRECTED COPY: ADDING COMMENT AND REVISED SUMMARY


SUMMARY
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1. (C) Charge (Ambassador Erdman) met with Saudi Assistant
Interior Minister Mohammed bin Naif (MbN) for nearly an hour
September 2 at the prince's sprawling, palatial estate in the
northern outskirts of Jeddah to convey U.S. best wishes in
the wake of the unsuccessful August 28 attempt on his life.
The meeting featured discussion on the implications of the
attack, recent developments in Yemen (septel),and the
finalization of the amendment correcting the translation of
the OPM-MOI agreement, which MbN and Charge signed. At a
September 3 Iftar hosted by Charge, leading think-tankers,
Shura Council members, and a prominent editor all agreed that
the attack, contrasting MbN's humanity with the inhumanity of
the attacker, would put extremists further on the defensive
and enable people to criticize extremist sentiment more
openly. End summary.

APPRECIATION FOR U.S. CONCERN
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2. (C) Charge, accompanied by BPM chief, said he wanted to
convey in person U.S.G. condemnation of the August 28 attack
as well as best wishes and relief that the prince had been
miraculously spared serious injury. While MbN may already
have heard of or seen the September 1 White House statement
expressing the President's concern, Charge said he wanted to
share the official text as well as personal messages from DHS
Secretary Napolitano and Counterterrorism Director Benjamin.
MbN was quite a popular guy and had many friends in the U.S.
government, Charge noted, since these messages were in
addition to those received from Under Secretary Burns,
General Petraeus, Treasury Secretary Geithner, and others.
MbN said he deeply appreciated the concern and friendship
shown to him, noting he had just finished speaking by phone
to Treasury Secretary Geithner but unfortunately kept missing
calls made by General Petraeus -- "my favorite general."

"GOD WAS PROTECTING ME."
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3. (C) MbN then described the attack along lines reported
elsewhere and showed a number of photographs taken shortly
after the attack, many of them quite gruesome. "It was a
miracle I survived," he said reflectively, as he looked at
the blood- and flesh-splattered walls, as if reliving the
moment. Pointing to the one clean area of the wall -- a halo
of white surrounded by blood stains -- he said, "God was
clearly protecting me." It was a sign that he had been doing
the right thing and was more than ever resolved to continue
his efforts against terrorism and violent extremism,
combining tough measures against dangerous, unrepentant
terrorists ("we shoot to kill") along with understanding and
compassion for those who have been misguided, recognize the
error of their ways and want to surrender. The decision to
publicize the attack -- including the grim pictures, his
condolence call to the family of the attacker, his cell phone
conversation with the attacker's cohorts in Yemen just
moments before the explosion, in which he was expressing
concern about their bringing women and children safely back
to the Kingdom -- would make clear to the public who was
being true to the tenets of Islam and who was the real enemy
of Islam.

ATTACK HAS INCREASED SUPPORT AND CREDIBILITY
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4. (C) Charge said MbN had shown great courage and generosity
of spirit in reaching out to the family of the attacker and
expressing concern for the safe return of their families,
even as the explosive device was about to be detonated.
Perhaps some good would come from this cowardly attack, and
many religious-minded Saudis would see his miraculous escape
from serious injury as a sign of God's protection and

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blessing for their efforts to eliminate violent extremism and
terrorism. Yes, MbN said, we have to "dry up" extremism.
The attack, he added, will help the public understanding that
it had not just been against the government but against all
Saudis and their culture.


5. (C) Asked whether he had some residual trauma or had
difficulty sleeping after this close and grisly brush with
death, he said he was sleeping well, feeling energized
because the attack had shown he was on the right path, and
convinced that he now had more credibility than ever with his
men. Having been at risk himself, he could more easily ask
them to undertake difficult and dangerous assignments where
they could be at risk. In parting -- a few minutes before 2
a.m. -- Charge pledged continued cooperation against
terrorism and extremism and once more conveyed best wishes to
MbN from his many friends in the U.S. The prince again
expressed deep gratitude and determination to continue the
Kingdom's efforts undeterred.


COMMENT
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6. (C) At an intimate September 3 Iftar hosted by Charge in
Jeddah for prominent think-tankers, Shura Council members,
and the editor of the influential daily al-Watan (Jamal
Kashoggi),there was the unanimous, cautiously hopeful
sentiment that the failed attack has weakened violent
extremists and strengthened the government's hand in dealing
with them. The fact that the attack occurred during Ramadan,
in effect desecrating the holy month, was in interlocutors'
view particularly offensive for Saudis. They also felt the
publicizing of the attack brought home the grim reality of
terrorism. This unusual frankness in presenting the grisly
photographic evidence, plus the contrast between the humanity
shown by Prince Mohammed and the inhumanity demonstrated by
the attacker and his cohorts, would also weaken the
attraction of extremism. Worried that the attempt on the
Prince's life might mark the start of a new Al Qaeda
"strategy of assassination," even against persons like
himself, Kashoggi echoed MbN's own point about the incident
being an attack on Saudi society, not just against the Saudi
government or a member of the royal family. It was also a
strike against what the Prince stood for culturally -- as a
modern, U.S.-educated Saudi who saw the need for change,
valued knowledge-based education, and was working to address
the root cause of extremism. One Shura Council member
observed that one good thing that had come out of the
terrible tragedy of 9/11 was that it had been a wake-up call
for Saudi Arabia about the need to act against radical
Islamic extremists before it was too late. Before 9/11, it
had been very difficult to criticize radical, fundamentalist
Islamic beliefs. That attitude began to change after 9/11
but now, in the wake of the August 28 attack, criticism of
extremist thinking would become easier. End comment.


7. (U) Ambassador Erdman has cleared this message.
QUINN