US embassy cable - 04MANAMA1566

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 001566 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARPI 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/11/2014 
TAGS: MARR, PGOV, PREL, PTER, BA 
SUBJECT: CROWN PRINCE TO CNO: BAHRAIN SCHOOL IS ASSET FOR 
REGION 
 
REF: MANAMA 1553 
 
Classified By: Ambassador William T. Monroe, Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D) 
 
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Summary 
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1.  (C) Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Admiral Vernon Clark 
met with Crown Prince and Commander-in-Chief of the Bahrain 
Defense Force Sheikh Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa on October 
10 and discussed the status of the Bahrain School, a review 
of U.S. naval presence in the region, terrorism and the 
Arab-Israeli conflict.  The Crown Prince called the Bahrain 
School a tremendous asset and ambassador to the region. 
Clark acknowledged the school's importance and focused on the 
worldwide effort to restructure the Navy and review its 
"footprint" in the region.  The Crown Prince urged the Navy 
to remain in the region, and praised its role ensuring 
regional stability.  He confirmed Bahrain's commitment to 
combat terrorism but said a festering Arab-Israeli conflict 
would continue to draw new recruits.   The Crown Prince also 
reaffirmed Bahrain's support for U.S. efforts in Iraq. End 
Summary. 
 
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Bahrain School:  Your Best Ambassador 
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2.  (C) CNO Admiral Vernon Clark opened the meeting with the 
Crown Prince and Commander-in-Chief of the Bahrain Defense 
Force Sheikh Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa on October 10 by 
noting he was pleased to see that joint U.S.-Bahraini efforts 
to keep the Bahrain School open had been successful.  The 
Crown Prince called the Bahrain School your "best ambassador" 
and urged the Navy to ensure that this tremendous asset in 
the region remains open.  CNO Clark reaffirmed the importance 
of the school and said the Navy wanted to be a good neighbor. 
 
 
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Reviewing the Navy Footprint 
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3.  (C) Clark then explained that his trip was part of a 
worldwide review of the Navy's "footprint."  The Navy is 
looking to streamline operations in response to budgetary 
constraints, security concerns and new emerging threats.  He 
referred to an increased need for "near-shore" operations 
that would include new shallow-water vessels and closer 
cooperation between the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard at 
home and overseas.  The Crown Prince underscored the 
important role the U.S. Navy has played in bringing stability 
to the Gulf, ensuring other tools such as diplomacy and 
development programs to be more effective.  He stressed that 
technical capabilities, while important, should not be the 
only thing the Navy looks at when considering how to be more 
efficient and effective in the Gulf. 
 
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Navy Critical to Winning Hearts and Minds 
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4.  (C) Throughout the discussion, the Crown Prince focused 
on the need to build relationships with local communities and 
called upon the Navy to remain engaged in Bahrain.  These 
kinds of efforts are critical to "winning hearts and minds" 
in the region.  Partnerships such as the Bahrain School 
demonstrate how effective that kind of community involvement 
can be in creating a stable and secure future for all.  Clark 
noted that he appreciated the Crown Prince's perspective and 
that this trip was part of an effort to engage partners in 
the region to determine a footprint that was reasonable for 
all. 
 
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Terrorism: Arab-Israeli Conflict an Open Sore 
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5.  (C) Turning directly to terrorism the Crown Prince put 
Bahrain squarely on the front-line in a global war of ideas. 
He called for an effort to hit terrorists at their "center of 
gravity," the Arab-Israeli conflict.  He added that this 
continues to be a strong marketing tool, allowing the 
terrorists to attract new recruits.  He said that without a 
resolution, efforts to root out extremism would continue to 
fail.  The Crown Prince said reformers in the region must be 
able to demonstrate that the justice and democracy America 
calls for is not antithetical to an Arab definition of those 
same principles, but rather part of one set of common and 
universal principles. 
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Iraq 
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6.  (C) On Iraq, the Crown Prince noted the King's comment to 
Secretary Rumsfeld (Reftel) that the ultimate responsibility 
 
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for the security of Iraq rests with the Iraqis, not the U.S. 
He said that now was the time to remain focused and that 
Bahrain was willing to due its part to support U.S. efforts 
in Iraq. 
MONROE