US embassy cable - 03ABUDHABI5062

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 005062 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
 
STATE FOR S/CT-REAP 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/22/13 
TAGS: PTER, PREL, PGOV, TC 
SUBJECT:  CLASSIFIED ANNEX TO UAE 2003 ANNUAL 
  TERRORISM REPORT 
 
REF: A) State 301352; B) Unclassified 
 
Submission 
 
1. (U) Classified by Richard A. Albright, Charg d'Affaires, a.i., Reasons 
1.5 (B) and (D). 
 
2. (SBU) Post provides additional responses to 
complement the unclassified portion of the 2003 
annual terrorism report.  The information 
included in this classified annex is considered 
highly sensitive and its revelation could 
negatively impact on future U.S.-UAE bilateral 
relations. 
 
3. (S/NF) This paragraph supplements the 
unclassified contribution to section 2 (a) of ref 
 
SIPDIS 
B: 
 
The UAE provided exceptional military cooperation 
for the Global War on Terrorism, including 
continued support for the deployment of sensitive 
U.S. reconnaissance assets (five U-2s and two 
Global Hawk UAVs) at Al Dhafra Air Base.  The UAE 
directly supported Operation Enduring Freedom 
with an August 2003 deployment of a 130-man 
Special Operations Task Force currently operating 
out of Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan. 
Additionally, UAE and US forces are currently 
planning for the spring 2004 deployment of a UAE 
squadron of Seeker II UAVs to Bagram Air Base. 
The UAE provided logistical support to Operation 
Iraqi Freedom with UAE assets transporting an 
entire Bulgarian infantry battalion to Kuwait as 
part of the Polish multi-national division 
deployment.  Additionally, the UAE provided 
timely humanitarian relief with the deployment of 
an entire hospital in Baghdad during Phase III of 
Operation of Iraqi Freedom.  The UAE also 
continued to be a key refueling center for 
Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi 
Freedom.  The northern emirate of Fujairah 
maintained its status as a logistics hub for 
USNAVCENT command operations in the Gulf of Oman 
and Arabian Sea.  Jebel Ali Port continued its 
superb logistics support for U.S. naval 
operations in the Gulf and Dubai continued to 
serve as a primary port of call for U.S. sailors 
in the Gulf.  The UAE provided extensive 
humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan and 
Pakistan and provided $50 million in assistance- 
in-kind to the Afghan National Army. 
 
4. (S/NF) This paragraph supplements the 
unclassified contribution to section 2 (e) of ref 
 
SIPDIS 
B: 
 
The FBI has occasional operations activity in the 
UAE, either when there is a nexus to the UAE, or 
an operational necessity.  The FBI also tracks 
funds between individuals and groups which are 
believed to be connected to, or support, terror. 
The FBI will be executing search and seizure 
warrants in the UAE during the fall for 
bank/business records and computers. 
 
The UAE government provided thousands of pages of 
bank records, including the unusual provision of 
original documents for forensics and evidentiary 
purposes and agreed to institutionalize a process 
for the securing of certified true copies of 
records that would assist in more easily 
admitting them into a U.S. court. 
 
The UAE continued to provide intelligence sharing 
in Abu Dhabi and Dubai regarding the links 
between the September 11, 2001 attacks and the 
UAE.  State Security, the UAE's FBI-CIA amalgam, 
coordinated with ORCA on intelligence leads and 
with the FBI in criminal investigations. 
Following the attacks, the UAE government rounded 
up approximately 160 individuals; the majority 
has since been released.  Post has learned that 
the UAEG, at the highest levels, engaged in an 
unprecedented internal review regarding the 
extent of the conservative influence on the 
young.  A by-product of this review was the 
sidelining or early retirement of a number of 
officials at the Ministries of Education and 
Justice, Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, as well as at 
UAE University.  The Security Services continue 
to monitor the local mosques and scrutinize the 
work of Islamic charities.  De facto Dubai ruler 
and UAE Defense Minister Shaykh Muhammad Bin 
Rashid Al-Maktoum continues to provide the USG 
intelligence on the whereabouts of Al-Qaida and 
Taliban leaders gleaned from his sources on the 
ground in Afghanistan. 
 
ALBRIGHT