US embassy cable - 04MANAMA265

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 000265 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/24/2013 
TAGS: PREL, PHUM, ETRD, BA 
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR UNDERSECRETARY GROSSMAN'S VISIT TO 
BAHRAIN 
 
 
Classified By: Charge Robert S. Ford.  Reason 1.4(D). 
 
1.  (C)   Mr. Grossman, the American Embassy in Bahrain looks 
forward to your visit next week, and we know the Bahrainis 
will be anxious to talk to you about the Greater Middle East 
Initiative.  Bahrain, a Major Non-NATO Ally, and the United 
States are long-time friends, and King Hamad is a 
particularly strong supporter of the President.  We will seek 
a meeting for you with him. The King telephoned Ambassador 
Neumann in Baghdad on February 22 to ask about the Greater 
Middle East Initiative, and he said he might issue a public 
statement in support of it.  The King perceives that he and 
his country are among the leading reform success stories in 
the Arab World. 
 
2.  (C)  On other foreign policy issues, King Hamad and his 
government are anxious that we stabilize Iraq.  They are 
nervous about a newly assertive Shia majority in Iraq because 
the Sunni Al-Khalifas rule a Shia majority in Bahrain. 
Meanwhile, King Hamad and his team also hope that the United 
States will be able to spur faster progress on the Middle 
East peace process to rebuild U.S. credibility.  They view 
greater U.S. credibility as very important to our engaging 
more deeply with the public in Bahrain on issues like 
democracy. 
 
3.  (C)  King Hamad has liberalized some aspects of the 
Bahraini political system.  He released three years ago all 
political prisoners, and some who used to be in political 
exile came home to work in the press or even in government. 
However, many Shia want more so they boycotted the 2002 
parliamentary elections.  The King for his part has no 
intention of handing full power to the Shia. 
 
4.  (C) The reestablished national Parliament, with its 
elected lower house, is slowly growing more assertive. 
Notably, earlier this year it investigated financial scandals 
at the government-managed social security fund and compelled 
the government to implement transparency reforms.  The 
parliamentary investigation may cost a minister or two their 
jobs.  The King perceives the Parliament's work to be a net 
positive, although at times its members are too bombastic for 
his taste.  In any case, he is determined that the 
parliamentary experience move forward and always at a 
controlled speed. 
 
5.  (C)  We are working with the Parliament and nascent 
Bahrain political parties through a MEPI-funded NDI program. 
This popular NDI program encompasses training of 
parliamentary deputies and politicians from all sides of the 
Bahraini political spectrum, including those who boycotted 
the 2002 elections.  Notably, NDI works with Islamic 
conservatives who are among America's most vocal critics in 
Bahrain.  The British, meanwhile, also are starting a program 
of institution-building at the Bahraini Parliament. 
 
6.  (C)  The U.S. is also working with the Bahrainis in the 
area of judicial reform through a MEPI-funded program with 
the American Bar Association (ABA). This new program is a 
follow-up to the September 2003 judicial reform conference 
held in Bahrain with Supreme Court Justice O'Connor.  An ABA 
staffer in Bahrain is setting up a training program for 
judges and investigators.  The Justice Minister is committed 
to moving ahead, but he cautions that American involvement in 
judicial reform in Bahrain is highly sensitive.  In 
particular, strong Islamist elements in the Ministry and 
Parliament suspect we will overthrow the Islamic principles 
imbedded in the Bahraini judicial system in favor of western 
principles.  The Minister wants the ABA program to stay low 
profile, therefore. 
 
7.  (C)  We are also engaged deeply with Bahrain on economic 
issues.  Bahrain's economy is perhaps the most open in the 
Arab world, according to the latest assessment from the 
Heritage Foundation.  However, the economy is not generating 
enough jobs, and unemployment is a big political issue. We 
are now negotiating a Free Trade Agreement with Bahrain.  The 
government here hopes the FTA will lead to greater foreign 
direct investment and jobs.  We in turn are using the FTA 
negotiations to leverage additional economic reforms.  The 
Bahraini economic policy team is small and at times 
overwhelmed by the amount of work generated by the FTA.  We 
have a small MEPI-funded technical assistance program, but so 
far its impact has been relatively limited. 
 
8.  (SBU) We are also deeply engaged with Bahrain on the 
educational and cultural side through the Middle East 
Partnership Initiative and ECA's Partnership for Learning 
(P4L) programs.  We are currently implementing six new MEPI 
and P4L programs: 
 
-- Journalism training via Internews; 
-- Two MEPI university linkages with the University of 
Bahrain; 
-- Partnership For Learning Undergraduate Studies; 
-- Introducing civics education in K-12 public schools via 
Civitas; 
-- Arabic Language Book Program for elementary students; 
-- Junior Achievement in high schools. 
 
Our contacts at the Ministry of Education and the University 
of Bahrain welcome our scholarships, linkages, and 
leadership/exchange programs for high school and collage 
students.  Bahrainis welcome U.S. education and training 
because they believe this will help them to solve their 
unemployment problem and compete economically with their 
neighbors.  Education officials are undergoing their own 
educational reform process.  They want our programs to fit in 
with these ongoing changes in curriculum and training that 
are already underway.  The pace of education reform can be 
slow; the Ministry's absorptive capacity is limited in part 
by the shortage of trained managers and administrators.  We 
are also getting some push back from mid-level officials, 
principals, teachers, and even parents who either worry that 
we are trying to introduce too much democracy too quickly, or 
that American culture may overwhelm traditional Bahraini 
Muslim culture. 
 
9.  (U)  Our team looks forward to meeting you in Bahrain. 
FORD