US embassy cable - 04NASSAU1904

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NASSAU 001904 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/12/2014 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, BF, Narcotics - OPBAT 
SUBJECT: DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER EXTOLS OPBAT, U.S. 
RELATIONSHIP 
 
 
Classified By: DCM Robert M. Witajewski for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
Summary 
 ------- 
 
1. (C) In his courtesy call on Deputy Prime Minister Cynthia 
Pratt, Ambassador stressed the importance of Bahamian 
officials acknowledging OPBAT's importance to Bahamian 
national security.  The Deputy Prime Minister extolled the 
bilateral relationship and acknowledged that OPBAT was 
critical to Bahamian national security since the country's 
could not assure the security of its own borders with only 
its own resources.  She also admitted that Bahamian failure 
to address the issue illegal Haitian migrants in the country 
was a long-term time bomb. 
End Summary. 
 
 
The High Cost of Government in The Bahamas 
------------------------------------------ 
 
2. (C)   Ambassador's October 8, twice-delayed, courtesy call 
on the Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) and Minister for National 
Security, Cynthia Pratt, turned into a lengthy substantive 
discussion of OPBAT's past, present, and future.  Ambassador, 
accompanied by Deputy Chief of Mission, began the meeting by 
reviewing events since his presentation of credentials, 
including the arrival of two devastating hurricanes in The 
Bahamas.  The DPM, who was assisted by the Ministry's Under 
Secretary for Security Matters, Peter Deveaux-Isaacs, 
 
SIPDIS 
expressed appreciation for the DCM's efforts as Charge over 
the last 14 months and then immediately launched into a 
spirited review of the bilateral relationship and OPBAT's 
importance to The Bahamas. 
 
3. (C)  Minister Pratt noted the historical closeness of 
U.S.- Bahamian ties and observed that even as friends we can 
disagree on issues, but that The Bahamas knew that it could 
not protect its borders and maintain its national security 
without USG material and financial assistance.  She also 
reiterated the appreciation of the people of The Bahamas for 
all of the assistance that the United States had rendered in 
the aftermath of the recent hurricanes, as well as in 
rescuing survivors and victims of the mailboat collision in 
2002. 
4. (C)  The Deputy Prime Minister called OPBAT "vital" and 
declared that The Bahamas would clearly suffer if the assets 
committed to it were to be diminished.  She noted that the 
archipeleagic nature of the country required that many 
essential services (including police, schools, health 
clinics, airports, and roads) be duplicated or triplicated. 
This, combined with its small (350,000 inhabitants) 
population, made it extremely costly for the government to 
provide the necessary infrastructure, let alone adequate 
patrolling of its 100,000 square miles of ocean.  Even the 
country's efforts to expand its economy was costly, the 
Minister observed, commenting that the opening of a new Four 
Seasons international resort on idyllic, remote, 
previously-underpopulated Great Exuma island required that a 
500 percent increase in the local police force from 16 
officers to 86. 
 
 
Ambassador: OPBAT Needs Your Support 
------------------------------------ 
 
5. (C)  Ambassador responded to what was clearly a prepared 
presentation by the DPM by saying that he welcomed the 
Government's expression of support for OPBAT.  He noted that 
his in consultations in Washington prior to arriving at Post 
that he had detected "red flags" about the ability and 
willingness of some USG agencies to maintain current levels 
of support in the face of competing demands.  As examples, 
the Ambassador cited a review by INL that could result in 
substantial cuts to the NAS budget in Nassau, the demands for 
helicopters and their crews used by OPBAT in Iraq and other 
crisis locations, and the rapidly deteriorating situation in 
Haiti that could require a large new commitment of U.S. 
assets. 
 
6. (C)  Ambassador invited the Deputy Prime Minister or 
Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell to accompany him on a trip to 
Washington to explain OPBAT's mission and importance to The 
Bahamas and to the United States to members of Congress 
interested in the Caribbean, key committee members, and 
Executive Branch officials.  Ambassador reiterated that it 
was important that key officials know that the resources that 
they were committing to OPBAT were being properly utilized 
and having the maximum return in the face of many competing 
demands.  He noted that he had begun a program of sending 
Embassy press releases to members of Florida's congressional 
delegation to help keep them abreast of events here. 
 
7. (C)  Minister Pratt responded that it was Florida that 
would suffer the most if OPBAT's operations and effectiveness 
were to be reduced.  She noted that while The Bahamas was the 
first line of defense for the southeastern United States, 
there was no way that her country could properly secure its 
borders with its own resources.  The Ministry's national 
security deputy, Mr. Deveaux-Isaacs, added that any reduction 
in the resources committed to OPBAT would send the wrong 
message to drug traffickers and migrant smugglers.  He 
recalled that when the U.S. decided to close down its 
aerostat sites several years ago that there was an upsurge in 
drug trafficking as drug dealers immediately moved to exploit 
what was perceived to be a diversion of interdiction assets 
from the region.  He said that he hoped that history would 
not repeat itself. 
 
 
Impact of Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne 
--------------------------------------- 
 
8. (SBU)  Turning to the impact of recent hurricanes on The 
Bahamas, Ambassador observed that it was particularly 
important to provide relief assistance to the poor Haitian 
community, particularly those living in settlements in Marsh 
Harbor, Abaco, called "The Mud" and "Pidgeon Pea."  Minister 
Pratt responded by acknowledging that the issue of illegal 
Haitians in The Bahamas was a problem that had been 
"postponed twenty years too long."  She claimed that the U.S. 
needed to recognize that the goal of Haitian migrants was not 
to live in The Bahamas, but rather to eventually enter the 
United States.  Characterizing the Haitian problem in The 
Bahamas as "a cancer," she recalled that during her election 
campaign that she was shocked to discover that some 
neighborhoods in her own parliamentary district were almost 
"85 percent Haitian."  Unless The Bahamas came to terms with 
this issue, the Deputy Prime Minister continued, the country 
faced the prospect that someday Haitians could "outnumber 
Bahamians" in their own country. 
 
9. (SBU) Discussing relief and reconstruction efforts, 
Ambassador explained to the DPM that the Embassy was working 
closely with the local representative of the Inter-American 
Development Bank, as well as with the British embassy (as the 
local presence of the EU) to avoid any duplication of effort. 
 Ambassador also noted that he was lobbying hard in 
Washington to assure that The Bahamas received its fair share 
of funds from the Administration's supplemental appropriation. 
 
10.(U)  Ambassador also briefly reviewed other areas of U.S. 
assistance to The Bahamas, including working on revitalizing 
the sister city program, expanding training opportunities for 
Bahamian law enforcement officers with the FBI.  The Deputy 
Prime Minister then reiterated her long-standing concern 
about the importation of guns from the United States into The 
Bahamas and the impact that this had on the level of violence 
associated with criminal acts in the country. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
11. (C)  The Deputy Prime Minister's presentation of OPBAT's 
importance to Bahamian national security -- and contribution 
to U.S. national security -- was clearly rehearsed. 
Ambassador has stressed to Bahamian officials the importance 
of them making clear their appreciation for what OPBAT does 
for them and their country and the danger that taking it for 
granted could present in an era of zero-sum budgets and the 
demands for OPBAT resources in other crisis spots around the 
world. 
ROOD