US embassy cable - 04MANAMA1759

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 001759 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR D, NEA/ARPI 
SECNAV FOR SECRETARY ENGLAND 
NSC FOR T POUNDS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/24/2014 
TAGS: PREL, MARR, PTER, ASEC, BA 
SUBJECT: SECRETARY OF THE NAVY ENGLAND MEETING WITH 
MINISTER OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS ABDUL GHAFFAR 
 
 
Classified By: Amb. William T. Monroe.   Reason: 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
1. (C) Summary: MFA Minister of State Abdul Ghaffar told 
Secretary of the Navy England November 22 that the King will 
 
SIPDIS 
use his upcoming visit to Washington to stress to the 
President that Bahrain is proudly aligned with the U.S., and 
to remind the people of Bahrain that the people of the Gulf 
owe a great debt to the U.S. for liberating Kuwait and 
overthrowing Saddam.  Secretary England stressed the 
continued importance of fighting terrorism, noting in 
particular our concern about the four terrorist suspects 
released on November 1.  Abdul Ghaffar said Bahrain is 
committed to fighting terrorism, but wants to do it in 
accordance with the Kingdom's legal system.  On Iraq, Abdul 
Ghaffar said that the upcoming elections were extremely 
important in giving more legitimacy to the Iraqi government, 
but advocated postponement if security and foreign influence 
could not be rolled back.  End Summary. 
 
2. (C) Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Mohammed Abdul 
Ghaffar opened the November 22 meeting with Secretary of the 
Navy Gordon England by expressing Bahrain's gratitude for the 
King's November 29 visit to Washington and meetings with 
President Bush and other senior officials.  Bahrain 
recognized that it was a great privilege to visit so soon 
after the election.  The King will tell the President that he 
is coming as an ally and to discuss what can be done to 
develop closer cooperation. 
 
3.  (C) Abdul Ghaffar stated that the King will seek to 
reinforce with President Bush that Bahrain is proudly and 
unabashedly aligned with the United States.  At the same 
time, he wants to remind the Bahraini people that the nations 
of the Gulf owe a great debt to the U.S., which liberated 
Kuwait and removed Saddam Hussein.  While there may have been 
some mistakes in Iraq, the United States is a close friend 
and ally of Bahrain and the region. "Very few people in the 
region are saying this these days," Abdul Ghaffar said.  "We 
will say this in Washington."  When asked by the Ambassador 
if the King would say this publicly in Washington, Abdul 
Ghaffar said he did not want to get into details at this 
time, but reiterated that the King was determined to put 
forward this message during the visit. 
 
4.  (C) The SecNav expressed appreciation for this statement 
of support.  He stressed, at the same time, that fighting 
terrorism remained an important U.S. priority, and in that 
connection the terrorist suspects who were released by the 
court November 1 are of great concern to Washington 
officials.  This could be expected to be a topic in the 
King's meetings there.  Abdul Ghaffar said the GOB is 
committed to keeping all the country's residents safe from 
terrorism, especially Americans on the island.  He added that 
he hoped the terror suspects would be convicted in their 
trial, which begins December 6.  He assured the SecNav that 
the government would do everything possible to obtain the 
suspects' conviction, but he emphasized that the separation 
of powers placed limits on what the government could do to 
influence the courts.  "We want to fight terrorism," he said, 
"but want to do it in a legal way."  He likened the situation 
to the disagreements between American courts and USG 
officials on Guantanamo.  He hoped the case of the six 
suspects would not negatively impact bilateral relations, as 
this would only benefit terrorists and those who seek to 
diminish the American role in Bahrain. 
 
5.  (C) Abdul Ghaffar stressed that the GOB is committed to 
fighting terrorism and is eager to improve its ability to do 
so.  He thanked the SecNav for the USG's ongoing assistance 
in this regard.  He noted that Minister of Interior Shaikh 
Rashed Al Khalifa wants to open more channels with U.S. 
agencies working on counter-terrorism.  He said that the GOB 
is interested in U.S. assistance to build a counter-terrorism 
operations center and to improve its technological means of 
fighting terrorism. 
 
6.  (C) Asked by the SecNav about Iraq, Abdul Ghaffar said 
that the upcoming elections were extremely important as a 
step forward in giving more legitimacy to the Iraqi 
government.  But there has to be some order in order to have 
successful elections.  Fallujah may need some time to heal. 
If violence and foreign influence cannot be rolled back in 
time, the elections should be delayed.  He said that he had 
met many Iraqis who told him about American-led 
reconstruction projects, and he was disappointed that the 
media only highlights the negatives.  He added that security 
in Iraq is vital to the security of the entire Gulf.  He said 
the King would present more ideas on Iraq during its visit to 
Washington.  Abdul Ghaffar noted that Iran would also be on 
the agenda. 
 
7.  (C) Abdul Ghaffar emphasized that the (DOD) Bahrain 
School is a fixture in American-Bahraini relations and urged 
the SecNav to keep it open.  England assured him that the USG 
would find a way to keep the school in operation. 
 
MONROE