US embassy cable - 05ABUDHABI406

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 ABU DHABI 000406 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR PM, MEA, NEA/ARPI 
SECDEF FOR OSD, OUSD (P) 
ISLAMABAD FOR DEA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/15/2015 
TAGS: PREL, MASS, PTER, IZ, IR, AF, TC 
SUBJECT: INAUGURAL U.S.-UNITED ARAB EMIRATES JOINT MILITARY 
COMMISSION HELD 
 
REF: ABU DHABI 72 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Michele J. Sison, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1. (S) Summary: Assistant Secretary of Defense for 
International Security Affairs Peter W. Rodman and newly 
appointed and promoted UAE Armed Forces Chief of Staff Lt. 
General Hamad Mohammed Thani Al Rumaithy co-chaired the 
inaugural U.S.-UAE Joint Military Commission in Abu Dhabi 
January 11-12.  During the deliberations, each side 
reaffirmed the desire to enhance the military-to-military 
relationship and resolve any differences that could impede 
progress.  The U.S. and the UAE also agreed that Sunnis 
should participate in the upcoming Iraqi elections, and vowed 
to work toward stability in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Both 
expressed strong concerns about Iran,s meddling in Iraq and 
its threat to the Gulf region.  The UAE did not wish to 
discuss the Defense Cooperation Agreement at the JMC, 
preferring to raise it directly with the Embassy at a later 
date, according to Lt. General Hamad Thani.  ASD Rodman 
encouraged Lt. General Hamad Thani to follow up with a letter 
outlining how the UAE would like to proceed in dealing with 
the DCA.  Discussions in subcommittees touched on a wide 
array of subjects, including cooperation in military 
operations, exercises, training, equipment acquisition and 
releasibility, as well as counterterrorism, money laundering, 
and law enforcement cooperation.  End Summary. 
 
2. (S) U.S.-UAE military cooperation:  In the plenary 
session, ASD Rodman underscored the importance of the 
bilateral US-UAE military-to-military relationship, stating 
that the U.S. goal was to support its friends.  He praised 
the UAE for its stability and leadership, and called it a 
leader in modernization and moderation in the Middle East. 
He cited the UAE,s support for President Bush,s initiative 
for peace between Israelis and Palestinians, its commitment 
to the Global War on Terrorism, Operation ENDURING FREEDOM, 
and Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, and its willingness to provide 
access, basing and overflight rights.  The U.S. has a stake 
in the UAE,s success, and the military relationship plays an 
important role in ensuring that the UAE remains strong, he 
added.  ASD Rodman said he hoped the relationship would 
deepen and that there would be more engagement.  He told his 
hosts that the JMC was a forum to discuss the relationship,s 
positive aspects as well as mutual concerns.  He said he 
wanted to make sure the relationship was &secure against 
dangers.8 
 
3. (S) Iraq: ASD Rodman said the U.S. appreciated the UAE,s 
support for the Iraqi people, including its pledge to forgive 
most of Iraq,s debt.  He said the U.S. and the UAE have the 
same objectives in Iraq.  President Bush is fully committed 
to &finishing the job8 in Iraq, and not abandoning the 
Iraqi people, he continued.  The U.S. believes the 
overwhelming majority of Iraqis want the political process to 
unfold, even though extremists, who make up a &minority of a 
minority8 in Iraq, are determined to destroy this process, 
ASD Rodman said.  Sunnis need to accept that they will not 
dominate Iraq the way they did in the past, but they should 
participate in the upcoming election, particularly with 
Shi,a and Kurd assurances that the future political system 
will be open to Sunnis, he said.  The alternative, he warned, 
is a suicidal civil war.  ASD Rodman said the U.S. 
appreciates the role and influence of our Arab friends in 
Iraq. 
 
4. (S) Lt. General Hamad Mohammed Thani Al Rumaithy said that 
Iraq,s Sunnis would join the process eventually.  He also 
said that the UAE did not want to see a divided Iraq, and it 
was still afraid of a civil war. 
5. (S) Iran: ASD Rodman said that the U.S. regards Iran as a 
threat, citing its meddling in Afghanistan and Iraq, and its 
support of terrorism and radicalism in the region.  He stated 
that the internal situation in Iran is worsening with 
hardliners asserting greater control.  The U.S. remains 
skeptical about EU-3 efforts to win Iran,s cooperation with 
the international community on its nuclear program, he added. 
 The U.S. is convinced Iran will cheat and do whatever it can 
get away with.  ASD Rodman said he does not expect any 
warming of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Iran. 
He told UAE military officials that the U.S. stands with the 
UAE on a strong policy in dealing with Iran. 
 
6. (S) Lt. General Hamad Mohammed Thani Al Rumaithy replied 
that Iraq has become more dangerous because of Iran,s 
attempts to export its revolution.  He said the UAE and Iran 
are neighbors and should have an understanding between them, 
but instead Iran is not sending any positive signals to the 
UAE on how to resolve the dispute over the three UAE islands 
that Iran occupies militarily.  He agreed with ASD Rodman 
that the Iranians eventually would cheat when it comes to 
their nuclear program rather than cooperate with the 
international community.  Brigadier General Essa Al Mazrouie, 
head of the Directorate for Military Intelligence, said his 
agency shares U.S. concerns posed by Iran,s threat to the 
region, and concurred that Iran remains determined to develop 
nuclear weapons. 
 
7. (C) Global war on terror and cooperation:  ASD Rodman said 
that extremists wanted to destroy what everyone else values. 
He described the war on terror not as a war of civilizations, 
but as a war of extremists against the civilized world. 
 
8. (C) Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI):  ASD Rodman 
urged the UAEG to endorse the principles of President Bush,s 
PSI and to consider participation in future PSI activities. 
He said the UAE is a natural participant given its geography 
and strategic security concerns.  ASD Rodman emphasized that 
PSI activities are voluntary and do not infringe on a 
country,s sovereignty.  Recalling that the U.S. already has 
suggested to the UAE that the two countries conclude a PSI 
Shipboarding Agreement, ASD Rodman said that such an 
agreement would be a way to cooperate on WMD proliferation, 
&one of the growing dangers that affect us all.8 
 
9. (S) Defense Cooperation Agreement: In the Executive 
Session, ASD Rodman offered to discuss the DCA, but Lt. 
General Hamad Thani said the UAE would raise the issue 
directly with the Embassy at a later time.  ASD Rodman said 
that our bilateral cooperation, which has a great potential 
to grow, has a great vulnerability if this issue is not 
resolved, it is not sufficient to deal with incidents ad hoc 
at a political level. He noted that the U.S. has operational 
DCAs with Bahrain, Oman, and Qatar and issues are handled in 
a routine fashion.  ASD Rodman said there were DoD legal 
experts at the JMC prepared to address the issues.  ASD 
Rodman underscored that the U.S. has very limited flexibility 
to change its position given its legal and regulatory 
framework.  The present situation adds an element of risk we 
do not need to have as we work together on these important 
issues.  Lt. General Hamad Thani said he was very familiar 
with the DCA,s issues of jurisdiction.  He said that the two 
sides &could cooperate better.8 
 
Follow-up discussions 
--------------------- 
 
10. (S) In addition to the DCA, the two sides will follow up 
on several other military and political-military issues.  A 
more comprehensive analysis of many of these issues can be 
found in reftel. 
 
-- Afghanistan reconstruction:  The UAE has expressed 
interest in participating in the Provincial Reconstruction 
Teams (PRT). 
 
-- Base Operating Arrangement:  Although this issue was not 
discussed at the JMC, Post understands that the BOA is being 
worked in Washington, and it is the Embassy,s hope that a 
text will be forwarded to the UAE in the next couple of weeks. 
 
-- ATACMS: We continue to receive mixed signals on the future 
of this program.  MBZ and his staff have indicated it is too 
expensive and they are not currently considering a purchase. 
The UAE Land Forces Commander, Major General Saeed Al 
Rumaithy, also believes the price is too high but insists on 
discussing the issue with visiting senior U.S. personnel. 
Major General Saeed has also expressed strong distaste for 
the end-use monitoring provisions of the proposed Memorandum 
of Understanding, which remains dormant. 
 
-- Communication interoperability: UAE asked for additional 
discussions (following the Command and Control 
Interoperability Board in October 2004) on Link 11 and Link 
16 platform requirements related to U.S.-UAE tactical air 
data link interoperability. 
 
-- Aircraft clearances:  The UAE has had difficulties in 
obtaining clearances for its aircraft flying into Afghanistan 
and Iraq. 
 
-- Airspace violations:  The UAE is unhappy with periodic 
U.S. aircraft violations of its airspace. 
 
11. (U) ASD Rodman has reviewed and approved this cable. 
SISON