US embassy cable - 04SANAA448

S E C R E T SANAA 000448 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
 
DS/DSS, DS/IP/NEA, DS/DSS/ITA, DS/ICI/PII, S/CT, NEA, 
NEA/ARP, NEA/EX, NEA/P, CA, CENTCOM FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/28/2014 
TAGS: ASEC, AMGT, PREL, PTER, YM, EAC, TERFIN 
SUBJECT: SANAA EAC MEETING - 28 FEBRUARY 2004 
 
REF: A. SANAA 415 
     B. HULL-WAYNE 2/25 E-MAIL 
     C. IIR 262238Z FEB 04 
     D. SANAA 409 
     E. 03 SANAA 2036 
 
Classified By: DCM Alan G. Misenheimer, for reasons 1.5 (B) and (D) 
 
1.  (S/NF)  Summary: The Ambassador convened an EAC meeting 
on February 28, 2004 to review security conditions for 
Embassy personnel and the general American community in light 
of muted public reaction to the terrorist financing 
designation of Sheikh Zindani (refs A and B) and recent 
threat reporting (ref C).  EAC agreed that neither issue 
warranted immediate changes to Post's already stringent 
security posture.  Note:  No change to EAC's 2/25 decision to 
not issue a Warden Message was made.  End Note.  The EAC's 
pending request to the Department to authorize the return of 
minor dependents to Post was also discussed.  Key offices and 
personnel represented included: AID, AMB, CONS, DAO, DCM, 
FPD, MSG, OMC, ORCA, PD, POL/ECON, SOCE-Yemen, and RSO.  End 
Summary. 
 
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Quiet Reaction to Designation of Zindani 
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2.  (S/NF)  EAC noted that ROYG, political party, general 
public and media reaction to the 2/24 designation of Zindani 
(refs A and B) remained low-key (details reported septel). 
Ambassador said muted ROYG reaction reflects President 
Saleh's stated desire to work with the U.S. and avoid turning 
this designation into a contentious issue similar to 
al-Moayed (ref E).  RSO and PD noted that Friday mosque 
sermons were quiet.  The official statement of Islah 
(Zindani's political party) placed the onus on the ROYG to 
refute any charges, and uncorroborated reports stated that 
Zindani canceled a press conference at Islah's request.  EAC 
agreed that no changes in security posture were needed at 
this time but continued monitoring of the situation was 
warranted. 
 
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Recent Threat Reporting 
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3.  (S/NF)  EAC agreed that threat reporting in Ref C also 
did not warrant change to Post's security posture because it 
did not indicate an imminent threat, did not contain planning 
specifics and, in ORCA's view, was not from a reliable 
source. 
 
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Return of Minor Dependents 
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4.  (S/NF)  DCM said the Embassy's request to the Department 
for the return of minor dependents to Post (ref D) was under 
review in the Department.  RSO noted that he had confirmed to 
DS that EAC had concurred on the request.  The EAC remains 
unanimous in support of the request. 
HULL