S/CT AMBASSADOR DAILEY'S MEETINGS WITH UK OFFICIALS

S E C R E T LONDON 000557


NOFORN

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/WE, S/CT, SCA, AF, S/WCI

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/26/2019
TAGS: PREL PTER MOPS MARR UK SO PK IN AF YM
SUBJECT: S/CT AMBASSADOR DAILEY'S MEETINGS WITH UK OFFICIALS

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires, a.i. Richard LeBaron, reasons 1.4 (b,
c, d).


1. (S/NF) Summary. Coordinator for Counterterrorism
Ambassador Dell Dailey met with UK officials from the Cabinet
Office and the FCO February 26 to review our CT operations
and policies in South Asia and East Africa. Dailey:

-- briefed HMG on the trilateral meetings in Washington with
Afghanistan and Pakistan;

-- underscored the importance of increased coordination
between the two countries;

-- solicited UK assistance in encouraging improved
coordination between India and Pakistan and preventing any
military operations between them;

-- and offered an overview of the successes of kinetic
activity in the region.


2. (S/NF) Summary continued. HMG officials agreed on the
need for better coordination, and said that the UK could use
India's 2010 hosting of the Commonwealth Games as an
opportunity to provide UK CT assistance. Dailey reiterated
U.S. support for the unity government in Somalia and noted
that we were focusing on disrupting the activities of
terrorist groups there. The UK Somali community is among the
most excluded and disaffected in British immigrant society,
and HMG fears potential threats from Somalia as well as the
links between UK terrorists and East Africa. Dailey noted
the 100 Yemeni detainees at Guantanamo and our unwillingness
to send them back to Yemen where there is limited capacity to
monitor or rehabilitate them. HMG officials explained that
the Iranian Mujahideen-e Khalq's (MEK) successful appeal to
be delisted as a terrorist organization in the UK and EU was
largely due to its political and legal acumen and the
cultivation of its reputation as a legitimate Iranian
opposition group among UK politicians. The retrial of
plotters behind the 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot was
underway, and HMG officials expressed surprise and
disappointment that the original jury trials had ended in
acquittals (on criminal vice terrorism charges); they
expressed hope that the retrial would end in convictions and
asked for U.S. assistance with obtaining needed evidence.
FCO officials reiterated HMG's request for the release and
return of former British resident Shaker Aamer, who is
detained in Guantanamo; they also confirmed that HMG's
"Contest 2" updated CT strategy is due to be released March

24. End summary.


UK's Prevent Strategy
--------------


3. (S/NF) Coordinator for Counterterrorism Ambassador at
Large Dell Dailey, accompanied by Poloff, met with Robert
Hannigan, Security Advisor to the Prime Minister, and Corin
Robertson and Robert Chatterton Dickson of the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office's Counterterrorism Department (CTD) in
separate meetings February 26 to exchange views on
coordinated counterterrorism efforts in South Asia and East
Africa. Praising the UK's sophisticated and comprehensive
"Prevent" strategy, Ambassador Dailey asked whether there
were any useful metrics on the strategy's success. Hannigan
noted the impressive series of counter-radicalization
projects underway throughout the UK, but admitted it was
difficult to measure success in a quantitative way. There
was ample anecdotal evidence, however, that pointed to some
success. (Note: HMG's "CONTEST" CT strategy is broken into
four pillars: Prevent, Prepare, Pursue, and Protect. The
majority of government CT activity -- from law enforcement
and protection of national infrastructure to
counter-radicalization and messaging -- falls under these
pillars. End note.) Chatterton Dickson confirmed to
Ambassador Dailey that HMG's review of its Contest CT
strategy was drawing to a close and that CONTEST 2 -- the
updated strategy -- should be released on or about March 24.
Dailey outlined changes in the Department's management
structure and encouraged his British interlocutors to come to
Washington as soon as practicable to meet their new U.S.
counterparts. Hannigan said he hoped we could coordinate
more on a global "Prevent" strategy.


South Asia
--------------


4. (S/NF) Ambassador Dailey reviewed the trilateral meetings
between high-level delegations from Afghanistan and Pakistan
then underway in Washington, and stressed that our message
would be to underpin Afghan and Pakistani readiness to
improve joint CT cooperation; that this level of coordination
had not existed before; and that we hoped to develop programs
on the Pakistan coast to match existing ones in the Federally
Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). Responding to Hannigan's
question on how we assessed Pakistani intentions, Dailey
noted that ISI Director General Pasha had been slow to make
good on his promise to disable the political division of the
ISI, and that post-Mumbai, the ISI knows that connections to
extremists from among its ranks must cease. Pakistan's
release of Mumbai-attack related information to India was a
dramatic step forward. Additionally, kinetic activity in the
FATA has been successful against Al-Qaida targets and
possibly GOP-designated targets, and in driving a wedge
between non-Pakistani tribes -- effectively causing internal
strife and disrupting their leadership -- and that this had
tamped down GOP criticism of the activity. Hannigan
expressed concern that the Indian and Pakistani leadership
were not coordinating effectively and welcomed the trilateral
meetings as a way for them to engage. Ambassador Dailey
solicited HMG's support for continued coordination between
India and Pakistan and for help in ensuring that neither
undertake any military or covert action against the other.


5. (S/NF) Corin Robertson and Robert Chatterton Dickson
indicated that the FCO/CTD was eager to see how CT
responsibilities would be taken up under the Obama
Administration. They welcomed the news of the trilateral
meetings as a way to help push the global Prevent strategy
forward. Ambassador Dailey noted that in our private
meetings with the Pakistani government we were also stressing
the need for it to address the Quetta Shura; that we were
pleased to see the GOP's efforts against LeT, but that more
needed to be done; and that we hoped HMG would raise these
issues in their discussions with the GOP. Chatterton Dickson
took the point on UK support for coordination momentum
between India and Pakistan and noted that India was hosting
the Commonwealth Games in 2010, with London hosting the
Olympic Games in 2012. HMG could use these events as a
lever, he said, to increase UK support for India's CT efforts
and encourage cooperation with Pakistan. The Indians usually
expressed initial interest in such offers, but were slow to
follow up at the working level to ensure their success.

East Africa
--------------


6. (S/NF) Turning to Somalia, Ambassador Dailey underscored
our commitment to capacity building there in order to achieve
long-term CT objectives in the region. He indicated our
support for the unity government and that we would be
focusing attention on al-Shabaab to disrupt its activity. He
noted U.S. plans to fund the deployment of additional AMISOM
battalions and our commitment to provide USD 5 million to
support the establishment of a government security force.
Chatterton Dickson noted that the Somali diaspora in the UK
was a difficult community to engage. They were the most
socially excluded community among Britain's immigrants, less
integrated and with close ties back to Somalia, and traveled
in significant numbers between the UK and Somalia. He
reiterated the UK concern of potential threats from Somalia
and the links between UK terrorists and East Africa. Dailey
noted the sizable U.S.-Somali community and said that we were
investigating reports that Somali-Americans had traveled to
fight for al-Shabaab.

Yemen
--------------


7. (S/NF) Ambassador Dailey noted that there were about 100
Yemeni detainees at Guantanamo, whom we were not inclined to
return to Yemen, as the country's capacity to monitor or
rehabilitate them was limited. Saudi Arabia had originally
expressed willingness to take them into the KSA's
deradicalization program, but as recidivism rates had reached
20 percent for that program, the Saudis had reconsidered.
The KSA had indicated that if Yemeni President Saleh asked,
it would admit them, but Salah has made no request.

MEK
---


8. (S/NF) On the MEK's (the Iranian Mujahideen-e Khalq)
successful appeal to be delisted as a terrorist organization
in the UK, Chatterton Dickson noted the group was astute and
active in its use of the UK and EU legal systems. MEK had
developed a strong political constituency in the UK -- with
support from 35 members of the House of Lords -- as it cast
itself as the legitimate Iranian opposition and not a
terrorist organization.

Transatlantic Aircraft Plot
--------------


9. (S/NF) Dailey inquired about the status of the retrial of
the UK's 2006 transatlantic terrorist aircraft plot in which
some of the defendants were convicted on criminal (vice
terrorism) charges. Robert Hannigan expressed exasperation,
saying that the court had not been convinced that the group
of eight men charged were targeting airlines despite the
evidence. The defense had convinced the jury, he said, that
airlines were among several potential targets, and that the
martyrdom videos which were entered into evidence were little
more than bravado. Hannigan and Chatterton Dickson, both
described their surprise at the original acquittals and
confirmed that the retrial was underway. They hoped for
convictions, and that given the evidence they thought it had
been an open-and-shut case. Hannigan informed us that
British police had requested evidence relative to the case
from U.S. law enforcement, evidence that Legat confirmed was
provided to New Scotland Yard.


Shaker Aamer
--------------


10. (S/NF) Chatterton Dickson raised the Guantanamo detainee
case of Shaker Aamer a Saudi national and former British
resident whose wife and children are resident in the UK. He
reiterated the British request for Aamer's release and return
to the UK and did not believe Aamer would be subject to
British or Saudi criminal proceedings on his return. Dailey
and Poloff undertook to take this request back to the
Department.


11. (U) S/CT Ambassador Dailey has cleared this cable.

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LEBARON