US embassy cable - 04MANAMA1762

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAMA 001762 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/24/2014 
TAGS: PREL, IZ, BA 
SUBJECT: BAHRAIN OFFERS TO HOST IRAQ FACTIONS MEETING 
 
Classified By: Ambassador William T. Monroe.  Reason: 1.4 (b)(d) 
 
 1. (U) Bahrain Foreign Minister Shaikh Mohammed Al Khalifa, 
speaking at the November 22-23 Sharm El Sheikh conference on 
Iraq, reported Bahrain's readiness to host a meeting of all 
factions in Iraq prior to the scheduled January 30 elections 
in order to encourage broad participation in the vote.  He 
noted that the King had first raised this idea in July 2003, 
when he expressed "Bahrain's readiness to host a national 
conference for all Iraqi factions and political tendencies to 
contribute to the success of the elections in Iraq." 
 
2. (C) One day before Shaikh Mohammed's remarks, King Hamad 
told visiting Secretary of the Navy Gordon England that he 
had been thinking of inviting all political parties in Iraq 
to a conference in Bahrain.  Bahrain, he said, is neutral and 
has no interests in Iraq, so it could offer a useful venue 
for such a conference.  The idea behind the conference would 
be to help identify moderates from the Sunnis, Shia, and 
Kurds.  If the moderates get support, he said, they can 
maneuver into the government.  "We want to embrace and 
support and embrace the moderates." 
 
3. (C) Attempts to develop more information or background on 
the proposal from the MFA yielded little.  The senior MFA 
official in town, Undersecretary Yousif Mohammed Mahmoud, 
simply reiterated to the Ambassador what Shaikh Mohammed said 
-- that this was an idea that had first been proposed in July 
2003.  The Iraqi Ambassador told the Ambassador that the 
proposal was a surprise to him, and to his Foreign Ministry. 
In checking with Baghdad, he was told that, as an initial 
reaction, his government supported the idea in principle, but 
believed that the meeting should be held in Iraq, not outside 
the country. 
 
4. (C) Comment. The King (and Shaikh Mohammed) will be in 
Washington on November 29 for meetings with the President and 
other senior USG officials.  To the extent that Washington 
finds the proposal potentially useful or wishes to explore it 
further, the visit offers an excellent opportunity to do so. 
 
5. (U) Baghdad minimize considered. 
MONROE