DEMARCHE: EGYPT INVITATION TO ERITREA FOR BRIGHT

C O N F I D E N T I A L STATE 086776 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/19/2019 TAGS: MOPS MASS PREL PTER ER EG SUBJECT: DEMARCHE: EGYPT INVITATION TO ERITREA FOR BRIGHT STAR Classified By: AF PDAS PHILLIP CARTER FOR REASONS 1.4 (b) & (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. This is an action request, please see paragraph 4. The Department requests Embassy Cairo assistance convincing the Government of Egypt NOT to invite the Government of the State of Eritrea (GSE) as an observer to the BRIGHT STAR military exercise. END SUMMARY. BACKGROUND -------------- ¶2. (C) Egypt's Ministry of Defense (MoD) has informed the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) of its plans to invite Eritrea as an observer to the USG/Egypt-funded BRIGHT STAR military exercise. Egypt is hosting the exercise October 10-26, 2009. The Egyptian MoD agreed to remove Eritrea from the list of invitees at the June Final Planning Conference (FPC) in Cairo, but now reports needing to justify this decision to its leadership. According to DOD, the Egyptians claim they "forgot" to remove Eritrea during the staffing process and are now pushing back to "save face." Egypt's Ministry of Defense has requested documentation on why the MoD should NOT invite Eritrea. The observer program component of BRIGHT STAR is run by the Egyptians, though the U.S. reviews and provides input on the invitation list. ¶3. (C) DOD has requested State Department (DoS) assistance responding to the MoD request for USG documentation that justifies excluding Eritrea from the exercise. DOD is heavily relying on DoS to engage Egypt at the highest political levels to clearly articulate USG policy concerns. ACTION -------------- ¶4. (C) Embassy Cairo is requested to communicate with Egypt's Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the highest appropriate level to urge Egypt to remove Eritrea from the list of invited observers to the BRIGHT STAR military exercise. Due to the time sensitive nature of DOD preparations for the exercise, immediate action is appreciated. Post may draw on the points in para 5 below in discussions with host government. TALKING POINTS -------------- ¶5. (U) The U.S. has strong objections to inviting Eritrea to participate in the BRIGHT STAR exercise as an observer and urges Egypt's MoD to honor our arrangement at the June FPC in Cairo at which time the MoD agreed to remove Eritrea from the invitation list. -- Eritrea's conduct is contrary to the goals and objectives of the BRIGHT STAR exercise, which seeks to expand counter-terrorism cooperation and promote regional stability through fostering combined interoperability and joint military transformation. -- The U.S. is deeply concerned by reports of Eritrea supplying military, financial, and political support to al-Shabaab, a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO),and other extremists leading attacks against Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) peacekeeping forces. -- As noted in the DoS "Country Report on Terrorism," some al-Shabaab leaders have links with al-Qaida operatives in East Africa. -- In May 2008, the Department of State certified Eritrea as a country that is "Not Cooperating Fully" with U.S. counter-terrorism efforts. That status remains in effect. The "Not Cooperating Fully" certification was made pursuant to section 40A of the Arms Export Control Act, as amended (22 U.S.C. 2781),and prohibits the sale or licensing for export of defense articles and defense services to countries certified as not cooperating fully with anti-terrorism efforts. -- The UN Security Council Somalia Sanctions Committee's Monitoring Group has reported on Eritrea's violations of the UN Somalia arms embargo and its financial, military, and political support for those threatening Somalia's TFG. -- Eritrea has been criticized by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development and the African Union (AU) for its destabilizing role on the Horn of Africa. IGAD and the AU have called for the UN Security Council to impose sanctions against Eritrea. -- Eritrea has also been criticized for allowing al-Shabaab elements and other extremists to transit Eritrea en route to Mogadishu, and allowing anti-TFG extremists use of Eritrean territory. -- Eritrea is also engaged in unresolved border disputes with Ethiopia and Djibouti. The GSE has failed to comply with UN Security Council Resolution 1862 (Jan 2009),which calls on Eritrea to acknowledge its border dispute with Djibouti, engage Djibouti to find a peaceful solution to the conflict, and withdraw its military to positions which predate the June 2008 clash. POINT OF CONTACT -------------- ¶6. (U) Please direct questions and response details to AF/E Marilyn Gayton Hamiel, 202-647-5922, email address GaytonMR@state.sgov.gov. CLINTON