US embassy cable - 05MANAMA193

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 000193 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECLASSIFY 02/09/2005 
TAGS: PREL, MARR, MOPS, PGOV, ASEC, PTER, KDEM, BA, IZ 
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR COMBATANT COMMANDER CENTRAL COMMAND, 
VISIT TO BAHRAIN 15-16 February 2005 
 
REF: HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL MSG DTG 271630Z JAN 05 
 
Classified By: (U) Ambassador William T. Monroe for reasons 
1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1. (S) General Abizaid, we look forward to your visit to 
Bahrain.   We have asked for a call on the Crown Prince and 
Commander in Chief of Bahrain Defence Force, Shaikh Salman bin 
Hamad Al Khalifa and Minister of Defense, General Shaikh Khalifa 
bin Ahmed Al Khalifa.  We also expect you will have the 
opportunity to meet the newly appointed BDF Chief of Staff Major 
General Sheikh Duaij bin Salman bin Ahmed Al Khalifa. 
 
Counter-terrorism 
----------------- 
 
2.  (S) The GOB and Bahrainis in general are casting a wary eye 
northward and our concerned about the recent terrorist attacks 
in Kuwait.  The death of a Bahraini student visiting Kuwait 
allegedly caught in the crossfire has brought the deadly reality 
of potential terrorism closer to home.  Minister of Interior 
Shaikh Rashid Al-Khalifa was dispatched to Kuwait following the 
latest round of attacks for consultations with the Kuwaiti 
authorities.  An FBI team will arrive next week to begin work 
with the Ministry of Interior to establish a Counterterrorism 
Operations Center (CTOC).  In your meeting, the Crown Prince 
will want to hear your latest thinking on regional efforts to 
combat counterterrorism and will be interested to hear your take 
on developments in Kuwait. 
 
Bahrain School 
-------------- 
 
3.  (S) As always, the status and continuity of the Bahrain 
School will be on the Crown Prince's mind.  We are awaiting a 
letter from the Secretary Rumsfeld to the Crown Prince in which 
we will signal our continued support for the school and the need 
for financial assistance from the GOB.  We hope to be able to 
transmit that letter before your meeting.  Your visit will offer 
an opportunity to follow up with the Crown Prince on that 
request and reinforce the USG commitment to the Bahrain School. 
 
Cabinet Shuffle 
--------------- 
 
4.  (S)  Since your last visit in December 2004, there was a 
minor reshuffling of government portfolios.  Although not of 
direct importance to the Ministry of Defense, the personnel 
changes reflect a continuing evolution with some of the Prime 
Minister's supporters eased out of key ministries (notably 
Finance and Cabinet Affirs), and individuals more in line with 
the King's and Crown Prince's reform agendas assuming the 
portfolios. One other personnel change of note is that Bahrain's 
former ambassador to the U.S. Ambassador Khalifah Al-Khalifa has 
recently assumed the position of Deputy at the BNSA. 
 
Iraq/Iran 
--------- 
 
5.  (S) Bahrain supports our goals and role in Iraq.  King Hamad 
and the Council of Ministers hailed the Iraqi elections as a 
success.  They recognize the critical nature of stabilizing the 
security situation, and hope the Iraqis establish a government 
that represents all of the country's communities.  The 
empowerment of Iraq's Shia community has reverberated strongly 
in Bahrain, and Bahrain's Shia community, the majority of which 
boycotted municipal and Parliamentary elections in 2002, are 
taking a closer look at upcoming elections in 2006 as a result. 
On Iran, the GOB continues to be worried about Iranian influence 
and instability in Iraq that could impact Bahrain's own Shia 
majority, and ultimately affect Bahrain's reforms in the 
political and economic spheres.  Bahrain has 
historically kept an eye on potential Iranian threats to 
Bahrain and the region, and their interest in containing Iran 
dovetails with ours.  Bahraini leaders, at the same time, stress 
their hope that the Iran WMD problem will be resolved 
diplomatically. 
 
Bilateral Military Ties 
----------------------- 
 
6.  (S) Our bilateral military relationship with Bahrain remains 
very strong.  With the appointment of the new permanent Chief of 
Staff, Major General Sheikh Duaij bin Salman bin Ahmed Al 
Khalifa (as of 5 February, former commander of Special Forces), 
marking the 37th anniversary of the BDF, we are confident that 
our military relationship will continue to flourish. This 
appointment is welcome after the sudden departure of General 
Rashid (Chief of Staff to Minister of Interior) and General Al 
Zayani (Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations to Director of 
Public Security) to the Ministry of Interior (MOI) some eight 
months ago, which impacted the leadership in the BDF due to no 
ready successors. 
 
7.  (S) With ever increasing scrutiny of the defense budget by 
parliament, recently reduced oil revenue grants from Saudi 
Arabia, and an increased emphasis on commercial development, we 
have noticed a significant reduction of new FMS purchases and 
BDF difficulty in modernization and sustainment of existing 
programs over the past 12 months. We continue to have strong 
support for our bilateral exercise program to include leveraging 
the presence of NAVCENT, and the BDF continues to lead by 
hosting events such as the regional CENTCOM Disaster 
Preparedness Conference.  The annual Special Forces exercise 
INHERENT FURY is in progress and exercise NEON FALCON, supported 
by NAVCENT, will start in one week.  Bahrain has committed two 
Special Forces platoons to deploy to Afghanistan in support of 
the GWOT. The first platoon is currently training in the UAE and 
is expected to deploy with an Emirate element in April 2005. 
Finally, the Military Consultative Committee (MCC) meeting will 
occur in Washington from 22-24 February with the theme being 
counter-terrorism. The BDF plays a supporting role in this 
effort with the MOI as the lead agency. 
 
MONROE