SAUDI LEADERS STUNG BY NEW TSA SCREENING RULES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 RIYADH 000066

C O R R E C T E D COPY (PARA ROUTING FAA)

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR NEA/ARP, NEA/PPD, R, EEB/TRA, S/CT, CA/FO

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/11/2020
TAGS: EAIR PREL ASEC ECON SA
SUBJECT: SAUDI LEADERS STUNG BY NEW TSA SCREENING RULES
DESPITE KINGDOM'S SECURITY RECORD

REF: A. SECSTATE 1187

B. RIYADH 62

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Classified By: Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Lisa M. Carle
reasons 1.4 (b) & (d)

SUMMARY
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1. (SBU) Following news of TSA's January 3 designation of
Saudi Arabia as a "country of interest," Saudi leaders from
the General Civil Aviation Authority (GACA),Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of Culture and Information we
talked to all have expressed surprise and dismay that their
country was among the few to be "singled out." While all
agree on the U.S. need to take robust measures to protect its
citizens, they feel strongly that the new U.S. rules do not
reflect the Saudi government's aviation security record and
strong cooperation with U.S. aviation and counter-terrorism
authorities. GACA's chief of aviation security specifically
noted his country's ambitious airport security upgrade and
integration plans underway, including the 1.7 billion SAR
program to acquire new security equipment. The Deputy
Foreign Minister, noting that angry Saudi reaction would
likely deter Saudis from traveling to the US and undermine
bilateral cooperation in many spheres, pointedly asked that
we urgently relay the Saudi government's concerns on this
matter to Washington, which we believe are shared at the
highest levels of the SAG. Other officials have already
suggested suspending travel and canceling major purchases of
US military systems. Details on the public reaction to the
new rules will be reported septel. End summary.

HEAD OF CIVIL AVIATION SECURITY CONVEYS
SAUDI "SURPRISE" AT NEW REGULATIONS
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2. (SBU) The Director of Aviation Security at Saudi Arabia's
General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA),Abdulhameed
Abalary, told Econcouns January 9 that he and senior Saudi
leaders including King Abdullah were greatly "surprised" that
the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
included the Kingdom in the list of 14 countries subject to
new air passenger screening regulations. While he accepted
that the U.S. has the sovereign right to establish procedures
to protect its citizens, Abalary said the aviation security
standards in Saudi Arabia were "very different" from other
countries of interest, such as Afghanistan and Somalia. He
emphasized that his country's aviation security record was
unblemished since 9/11 and that Saudi Arabia has one of the
two highest aviation security standards in the region.
Abalary said both Saudi Arabia and the United States have
made the protection of all air passengers their highest
priority, and Saudi Arabia also places great value on
facilitating legitimate travel between our countries,
especially the 30,000 Saudi students studying in the United
States, who will become the next generation of the Kingdom's
technocratic and business elite.


3. (SBU) The aviation security director emphasized that Saudi

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Arabia was caught off guard by the designation, particularly
in light of the long history of cooperation with the U.S.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and TSA on civil
aviation security. He described his "constructive,
wonderful" visit in early December to TSA headquarters and
technical facilities, and he conveyed GACA's excitement about
its forthcoming MOU with TSA. Despite Saudi leaders'
surprise at the new regulations, Abalary said GACA already
was implementing full-body pat-downs of 100 percent of all
passengers and physical examinations of all accessible
property. He invited Econoffs to tour Saudi airports to
confirm they are in compliance. Abalary repeatedly
emphasized that Saudi Arabia's designation as a country of
interest does not reflect the country's security record and
historic cooperation with the United States, and he asked
Econcouns to share GACA's views with Washington. He said he
hoped Washington would lift the measure related to Saudi
travelers as soon as they had a clearer picture of our
bilateral aviation security cooperation.

GACA'S AMBITIOUS AIRPORT SECURITY UPGRADE
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4. (SBU) Abalary described GACA's 1.7 billion Saudi riyal
($453 million) National Integration Project for Civil Air
Security to upgrade and integrate its airport security
network, including all 27 Saudi airports. The new equipment
will likely include body imaging equipment once they resolve
the religiously sensitive issue of screening women. GACA
will also install additional airport perimeter security
equipment (including radar, thermal, infrared, biometrics,
and perimeter security equipment). He said 35 million riyals
($9.3 million) had been appropriated for an Advanced
Passenger Information System (APIS),which should be
implemented by the end of 2010. GACA also plans to stand up
a command and control center at Jeddah's international
airport to improve their ability to respond to hijackings and
other incidents.

DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER WARNS
DESIGNATION COULD UNDERMINE COOPERATION
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5. (SBU) Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister for Multilateral
Relations Dr. Prince Torki bin Mohammed raised the new TSA
regulations in a January 10 meeting with A/DCM (for other
topic discussed, ref B). He told A/DCM he was very
disappointed by the designation of Saudi Arabia as a country
of interest, which makes Saudi Arabia feel and look like a
"black sheep." The Prince said he understood that America's
first priority is to save lives, but the U.S. approach should
be to screen all passengers and not single out countries
publicly. He agreed with A/DCM's assertion that it was
reasonable given finite resources to concentrate security
screening on travelers linked to routes of travel (e.g.,
originating in Yemen),but he said the U.S. should have found
a way to keep such routes and countries confidential. A/DCM
emphasized that the list of countries was not intended to be
made public and that leaks were regrettable. Beyond this,
the list would evolve to reflect the nature of the threat.

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The Prince opined that the attempted bombing was a failure of
U.S. intelligence and therefore the U.S. should focus on
fixing its internal procedures, rather than "blaming Saudi
Arabia" or adding new layers of passenger screening that
terrorists will easily circumvent. The Prince reported that
during a large dinner party the previous evening, he had been
asked repeatedly (and "only") about the new TSA regulations.
Torki noted that we have one of the "closest bilateral
relationships of any two countries," which included thousands
of Saudi students in the United States. He hoped to avoid
pressure for reciprocal measures, and closed by asking the
A/DCM to urgently convey the SAG's concerns to Washington.

MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND INFORMATION
DELAYS MEETING BECAUSE OF REGULATIONS
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6. (SBU) Embassy and Consulate officers are hearing a
constant stream of negative comments and references in the
course of conducting other business. As an example, contacts
at the Ministry of Culture and Information's Eastern Province
Directorate delayed a meeting with Consulate Dhahran in light
of the new TSA regulations and the resulting "difficult time"
in our bilateral
relationship.


7. (C) Military contacts have voiced extreme displeasure in
meetings with Embassy officials, with some going so far as to
suggest that the new TSA procedures might negatively affect
Saudi deliberations on the purchase of ships and systems in
conjunction with the Eastern Fleet Modernization Program.


COMMENT
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8. (C) The Saudi government keenly appreciates U.S. security
concerns, particularly in view of the August 27 failed attack
on Assistant Interior Minister Mohammed bin Naif with a
device apparently similar to the bomb used by Abdulmutallab.
Saudi officials are nevertheless perplexed and frustrated
that the Kingdom has been, as they see it, publicly branded
as a member of "the group of shame" of state sponsors of
terrorism and failed states, despite our increasingly strong
partnership in counter-terrorism and aviation security. We
urge prompt engagement to explain the U.S. action and
identify what specific concerns led to Saudi Arabia's
inclusion in the list of Countries of Concern and what steps
the Kingdom can take to mitigate these concerns. We believe
Saudi authorities would be very willing to cooperate on
specific initiatives, such as installing more advanced
screening technology in airports, to address specific
security deficiencies.
SMITH