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### Viewing cable 05MANAMA230, KING DISCUSSES REGIONAL ISSUES WITH AMBASSADOR

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
05MANAMA230 | 2005-02-16 15:08 | 2011-05-04 00:00 | SECRET | Embassy Manama

Appears in these articles:
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/9115
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/9116
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/9117
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/9118
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/9119
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/9120
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/9121
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/9122
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/9123
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/9124
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/9125
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/9126
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/9127
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/9128
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/9122
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/9129
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/9131
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/9562
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/9952
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/9950
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/9951
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/9954
http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/9953

`

    This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

` `

    S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 MANAMA 000230

    SIPDIS

    E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/16/2015
    TAGS: PREL ETRD PGOV PHUM BA
    SUBJECT: KING DISCUSSES REGIONAL ISSUES WITH AMBASSADOR

    REF: MANAMA 227

    Classified By: Ambassador William T. Monroe. Reason: 1.4 (B)(D)

    -------
    SUMMARY
    -------

    ¶1. (S) Bahrain's King Hamad, despite some continuing worries
    about Saudi Arabia, expressed optimism about Bahrain and the
    region in a wide-ranging discussion with the Ambassador
    February 15. He was delighted with the state of the
    bilateral relationship and the leadership role of President
    Bush. He felt that the positive news on the Israel-Palestine
    front and in Iraq will have a beneficial impact in the
    region, both politically and economically. On Iran, he
    preferred a diplomatic solution, but if Iran did get a
    nuclear weapons capability he wanted the U.S. to step in as a
    "nuclear guarantor." He put the blame for the Hariri
    assassination squarely on Syria. He was no longer worried
    about Saudi Arabia blocking the FTA, but lamented continuing
    bilateral irritants with the Saudis and Saudi obstruction of
    inter-GCC projects such as a Qatar-UAE causeway and a
    Qatar-Kuwait pipeline (both of which impact on Bahrain). He
    said that Bahrain had decided to let Al-Jazeera open an
    office in Bahrain. He indicated that Bahrain will allow
    candidates to participate in political parties in the 2006
    parliamentary elections.

    -----------------
    TEA WITH THE KING
    -----------------

    ¶2. (SBU) King Hamad invited the Ambassador and DCM to Safriya
    Palace on the afternoon of February 15 for tea and a relaxed
    conversation in front of the fireplace (it was an unusually
    cold and rainy day in Bahrain). The King was accompanied by
    Minister of the Royal Court Shaykh Khalid bin Ahmed Al
    Khalifa and Shaykh Hamad bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, a
    brother-in-law and close confidant of the King. The
    conversation, which covered a range of domestic and regional
    issues, lasted 90 minutes.

    --------------------------------
    BILATERAL RELATIONS GOING STRONG
    --------------------------------

    ¶3. (SBU) The Ambassador opened the discussion by expressing
    appreciation for the King's January 26 letter to the
    President. (In the letter, the King expressed full support
    for the shared goals in the pursuit of freedom and noted that
    "like you, Mr. President, we in Bahrain see the progress made
    in Afghanistan, along with the forthcoming elections in Iraq,
    and democratic developments in Ukraine as symbols of the
    universal desire for freedom, openness and representation.")
    The King said that he, in turn, appreciated the response he
    had just received from the President, and observed that there
    have been two countries -- Bahrain and Jordan -- that over
    the long term have consistently sided with and supported the
    United States. The U.S. could always count on Bahrain, he
    stated. Calling the President a "great leader," he said that
    he had always believed in the President from Day 1. What the
    U.S. has done in Iraq will change the future of the region.
    He was delighted with the successful elections in Iraq.

    --------------------------------------------- -----
    ISRAEL-PALESTINE: GOOD FOR STABILITY IN THE REGION
    --------------------------------------------- -----

    ¶4. (C) The King spoke at some length on Israeli-Palestinian
    developments, expressing satisfaction at the positive turn of
    events. This is a good moment, he said, that can be
    important for stability in the region. He said that he had
    instructed newly-appointed Minister of Information Dr.
    Mohammed Abdul-Ghaffar to make sure that official
    announcements or statements coming out of the Ministry of
    Information do not refer to Israel as the "enemy" or "Zionist
    entity." He revealed that Bahrain already has contacts with
    Israel at the intelligence/security level (i.e., with
    Mossad), and indicated that Bahrain will be willing to move
    forward in other areas, although it will be difficult for
    Bahrain to be the first. When asked if Bahrain might look
    into developing trade contacts at some point, he said that
    this would have to await the establishment of "side-by-side"
    states. He added that he planned to travel to Jordan on
    February 19 to meet with King Abdullah and show his support
    for moving forward.
    ¶5. (C) The King stated that Israeli-Palestinian peace, by
    helping stabilize the Middle East, will facilitate economic
    growth throughout the region. But he also suggested that,
    when the Palestinian question is removed from the equation
    and the Arab-Israeli dispute is settled, Iran's ability to
    cause mischief will be lessened. The Iranians will no longer
    be able to exploit the Palestinian issue for their own
    objectives.

    ------------------------
    IF IRAN GOES NUCLEAR....
    ------------------------

    ¶6. (S) The King stressed that it was critical that we not
    allow Iran to get a nuclear capability. He said that there
    are two ways to deal with Iran: through diplomacy or by
    force. Bahrain prefers diplomacy. If we get to a point
    where Iran has a nuclear weapons capability, he said, then
    the U.S. would have to step in and be the "nuclear guarantor"
    for the countries of the region.

    ------------------------------------------
    HARIRI ASSASSINATION: BLAME FALLS ON SYRIA
    ------------------------------------------

    ¶7. (S) King Hamad left no doubt that he put the blame for the
    Hariri assassination squarely on Syria. He said that he had
    had dinner with Hariri just 10 days earlier when Hariri was
    in Bahrain for the opening of the 10th Islamic Trade Fair.
    Hariri had told him that he planned to move to openly oppose
    the Syrians in Lebanon in May (after the parliamentary
    elections), but did not want to tip his hand before the
    elections. The discounted any other theories about who might
    have been behind the attack.

    --------------------------------------------- --------------
    CONTINUING CONCERNS ABOUT SAUDI ARABIA'S RELATIONS WITH GCC
    --------------------------------------------- --------------

    ¶8. (C) The King said Bahrain is no longer worried about Saudi
    Arabia trying to block its FTA with the United States (and he
    expects no difficulty in ratification from the Bahrain
    parliament because of the dust-up with the Saudis over the
    FTA). He nonetheless clearly remains disturbed by the way it
    played out, by continuing irritants in the bilateral
    relationship with Saudi Arabia, and by Saudi attempts to
    block cooperative projects between other GCC countries. He
    repeated a now familiar litany of Bahraini complaints about
    Saudi ill-will towards Bahrain, including the suspension of
    the 50,000 b/d oil grant and the cut-off in sales of sand.
    (Note: The Crown Prince, in a meeting with Gen. Abizaid the
    next day, added a new complaint: the Saudis this year had
    restricted the plot of land allocated to Bahraini Hajj
    travelers in Mecca.)

    ¶9. (C) The King said that the Saudis are blocking a proposed
    causeway project between Qatar and the UAE and a proposed gas
    pipeline project between Qatar and Kuwait, both of which have
    an impact on Bahrain. The Qatar-UAE causeway, when combined
    with the planned Bahrain-Qatar causeway, would greatly
    facilitate travel between the three countries (and, of
    course, eliminate the need to transit through Saudi Arabia --
    with its implications for women drivers). The gas pipeline
    from Qatar to Kuwait would pass through Saudi territorial
    waters, and would also include a link to Bahrain. Because of
    Saudi objections, the King said, the Kuwaitis are now turning
    to the Iranians for gas. (Note: On the gas link to Bahrain,
    it is our understanding that the major sticking point is
    price to be paid for the Qatari gas.) The King asked if the
    U.S. could play a helpful role in getting the Saudis to let
    the gas project proceed.

    --------------------------------
    AL-JAZEERA RETURNING TO BAHRAIN?
    --------------------------------

    ¶10. (C) Although neither the gas pipeline nor the causeway to
    Qatar have entered the implementation stage, the King
    maintained that relations with Qatar are now excellent. He
    joked that with the completion of the causeway, Bahrain would
    receive Qatar's money and Qatar would get Bahrain's ideas (on
    political reform). As an indication of the improving
    relations, he said that Bahrain had now agreed to let
    Al-Jazeera open an office in Bahrain. (Note: lthough true,
    this is not quite a done deal. The previous Minister of
    Information, Nabeel al-Hamer, had strongly opposed an
    Al-Jazeera office, and his departure offered an opportunity
    to make a gesture to the Qataris. We are told, however, that
    the Bahrainis turned down the Qataris' first choice for a
    correspondent (the foreign editor and wife of the editor of
    the independent Bahrain daily Al-Wasat), and have instead
    offered an employee (reportedly not dynamic) at the Ministry
    of Information. Al-Jazeera may counter with a proposal to
    accept the Bahraini offer if they can have a second reporter.)

    --------------------------------------------- ---
    HELP ON DEVELOPING BAHRAIN'S TV/RADIO CAPABILITY
    --------------------------------------------- ---

    ¶11. (SBU) King Hamad said that he instructed new Minister of
    Information Abdul-Ghaffar to seek help from the U.S. to help
    Bahrain turn its television broadcasting into a world class
    operation. He said that previous Minister Al-Hamer, a former
    reporter, was a "day-to-day" person who had no strategic
    vision. He had told Addul-Ghafar that he needed a strategic
    vision to develop Bahrain's broadcasting industry. (Note:
    Abdul-Ghaffar had met with the Ambassador and raised this
    issue on February 10 -- reported reftel). It is now clear
    that he was acting on instruction from the palace, and not on
    his own initiative.)

    -----------------------------------
    DEMOCRACY IN BAHRAIN AND THE REGION
    -----------------------------------

    ¶12. (C) The King reviewed the history of democracy in the
    Middle East, lamenting that the initial stirrings of
    democratic movements in the region had been stifled by the
    rise of socialist/Baathist governments in the 1950s and 60s.
    With the emphasis in the region on socialist slogans, there
    was a move to create single political units and eliminate
    political diversity. People no longer understood the concepts
    of participatory democracy or diversity of thinking, Now
    these outdated political vestiges are being cast away, most
    recently in Iraq. We now have an opportunity to encourage
    participation in the political process throughout the region.

    ¶13. (C) This is exactly what is happening in Bahrain now, the
    King stated. There still are elements of the old thinking,
    such as Baathists connected to the Uruba Club. And there is
    the challenge of getting the Shia oppositionists to
    participate in the next election. They did not participate
    in the 2002 election because they did not like what was in
    the Constitution. The government, he said, is telling them
    to come out and participate in the 2006 elections. If they
    have the numbers and participate, they can get seats in the
    parliament and change the Constitution (as the Constitution
    permits). He added that, while the last election was based
    on participation by individuals, the 2006 election will be
    based on political parties. Accordingly, the government is
    now drafting a political parties law.
    MONROE

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