Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09NOUAKCHOTT102
2009-02-03 16:31:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Nouakchott
Cable title:
"TIME TO TALK TO AL QAEDA?" ARTICLE
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UNCLAS NOUAKCHOTT 000102
SIPDIS
PASS TO: AF/W BOULWARE/HEFLIN; PARIS/KANEDA
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KPAO MR PGOV PREL
SUBJECT: "TIME TO TALK TO AL QAEDA?" ARTICLE
UNCLAS NOUAKCHOTT 000102
SIPDIS
PASS TO: AF/W BOULWARE/HEFLIN; PARIS/KANEDA
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KPAO MR PGOV PREL
SUBJECT: "TIME TO TALK TO AL QAEDA?" ARTICLE
1. (U) Summary: Local English language monthly, Peace, ran
an item on January 18 entitled "Time to Talk to Al Qaeda?" by
Junta Foreign Affairs Minister Dr. Mohammad-Mahmoud Ould
Mohamedou. The article posits that Al Qaeda grievances are
legitimate and invites the US to acknowledge them: "September
11 was not an unprovoked, gratuitous act... Al Qaeda believes
that the citizens of the states with whom it is at war bear a
responsibility for the policies of their government... Though
dismissed widely, the best strategy for the United States may
well be to acknowledge and address the collective reasons in
which Al Qaeda anchors its acts of force." "Time to Talk to
Al Qaeda?" is a reprint of a September 14, 2005 op-ed in the
Boston Globe authored by Mohamedou when he was Associate
Director for the Program on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict
Research at Harvard University. That column received
critical reviews in the US when published. This article's
publication following strong anti-Israel demonstrations
highlights to an extremely narrow readership local
dissatisfaction with US Middle Eastern policy. It may also
be a very tightly focused signal to us that the regime
believes it has alternatives in its search for legitimacy.
End summary.
2. (U) Mohamedou, an academic who spent almost 15 years in
the US, four of them at Harvard, is a foreign relations
specialist who served as Ambassador and Director of
Multilateral Cooperation for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
under the Abdallahi government. He was appointed Foreign
Affairs Minister following his support of the August 6 coup.
According to political section Locally Employed Staff,
Mohamedou, a member of Ouled Bisbaa (General Aziz's tribe) by
birth, grew up in Atar close to the Smasside tribe but has
recently "rediscovered" his Ouled Bisbaa origins.
Mohamedou's father, Mohamedou Ould Mohamed Mahmoud, is
president of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and
Agriculture. Mission has maintained open and cordial
relations with Mohamedou. A widely published author,
Mohamedou has focused on Al Qaeda and post September 11 US -
Middle East relations.
3. (SBU) Comment: Given the recent visit of the Iranian
Vice President and downward spiral of Mauritanian-Israeli
relations, there are some who believe Mohamedou is fashioning
a more collaborative policy with the "east", i.e., Iran,
Syria, and Libya. Some, including the Israeli Ambassador,
are disturbed by the Al Qaeda article. If the piece were
reprinted with Mohamedou's permission or at his direction, it
is a direct signal to the US that the Junta has other
options. Who else reads the English language press in
Nouakchott? It is doubtful that Mohamedou would have agreed
to its publication, if he were asked, without authorization
from so-called head of state Aziz. Then again, it may be an
attempt by the editors to curry favor with the Minister and
fill space with a product in keeping with the surge of
Palestinian support at Gaza's wake. Over the coming week we
shall endeavor to ask the editor and others without muddying
the waters. End Comment.
WALSH
SIPDIS
PASS TO: AF/W BOULWARE/HEFLIN; PARIS/KANEDA
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KPAO MR PGOV PREL
SUBJECT: "TIME TO TALK TO AL QAEDA?" ARTICLE
1. (U) Summary: Local English language monthly, Peace, ran
an item on January 18 entitled "Time to Talk to Al Qaeda?" by
Junta Foreign Affairs Minister Dr. Mohammad-Mahmoud Ould
Mohamedou. The article posits that Al Qaeda grievances are
legitimate and invites the US to acknowledge them: "September
11 was not an unprovoked, gratuitous act... Al Qaeda believes
that the citizens of the states with whom it is at war bear a
responsibility for the policies of their government... Though
dismissed widely, the best strategy for the United States may
well be to acknowledge and address the collective reasons in
which Al Qaeda anchors its acts of force." "Time to Talk to
Al Qaeda?" is a reprint of a September 14, 2005 op-ed in the
Boston Globe authored by Mohamedou when he was Associate
Director for the Program on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict
Research at Harvard University. That column received
critical reviews in the US when published. This article's
publication following strong anti-Israel demonstrations
highlights to an extremely narrow readership local
dissatisfaction with US Middle Eastern policy. It may also
be a very tightly focused signal to us that the regime
believes it has alternatives in its search for legitimacy.
End summary.
2. (U) Mohamedou, an academic who spent almost 15 years in
the US, four of them at Harvard, is a foreign relations
specialist who served as Ambassador and Director of
Multilateral Cooperation for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
under the Abdallahi government. He was appointed Foreign
Affairs Minister following his support of the August 6 coup.
According to political section Locally Employed Staff,
Mohamedou, a member of Ouled Bisbaa (General Aziz's tribe) by
birth, grew up in Atar close to the Smasside tribe but has
recently "rediscovered" his Ouled Bisbaa origins.
Mohamedou's father, Mohamedou Ould Mohamed Mahmoud, is
president of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and
Agriculture. Mission has maintained open and cordial
relations with Mohamedou. A widely published author,
Mohamedou has focused on Al Qaeda and post September 11 US -
Middle East relations.
3. (SBU) Comment: Given the recent visit of the Iranian
Vice President and downward spiral of Mauritanian-Israeli
relations, there are some who believe Mohamedou is fashioning
a more collaborative policy with the "east", i.e., Iran,
Syria, and Libya. Some, including the Israeli Ambassador,
are disturbed by the Al Qaeda article. If the piece were
reprinted with Mohamedou's permission or at his direction, it
is a direct signal to the US that the Junta has other
options. Who else reads the English language press in
Nouakchott? It is doubtful that Mohamedou would have agreed
to its publication, if he were asked, without authorization
from so-called head of state Aziz. Then again, it may be an
attempt by the editors to curry favor with the Minister and
fill space with a product in keeping with the surge of
Palestinian support at Gaza's wake. Over the coming week we
shall endeavor to ask the editor and others without muddying
the waters. End Comment.
WALSH