US embassy cable - 05ABUDHABI2816

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 002816 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/RPM (SHINAGEL) 
ALSO FOR NEA/RA AND NEA/ARPI 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/20/2015 
TAGS: MARR, PREL, PTER, SA, IR, AF, IZ, NATO, TC 
SUBJECT: UAE REQUESTS PARTICIPATION IN NATO'S ICI 
 
REF: ABU DHABI 1376 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR MICHELE J. SISON, REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). 
 
1. (C) The UAEG on June 14 formally notified the NATO SecGen 
of its interest in participating in NATO's Istanbul 
Cooperation Initiative (ICI).  NATO's approval of the request 
would mean the UAE would join Gulf neighbors Kuwait, Bahrain, 
and Qatar as ICI partners.  Assuming NATO brings the UAE into 
the ICI fold, NATO military headquarters would send a team to 
the UAE in the fall to explain its program of cooperative 
activities, and ask the UAE to choose which ones it would 
like to pursue.  The NATO SecGen would follow up with a visit 
to the UAE, according to the German Embassy, the Contact 
Point Embassy on ICI in the UAE.  UAE officials have told us 
that they were receptive to the ICI's focus on training 
(reftel). 
 
2. (C) The UAEG used the occasion of a June 18-20 security 
fact-finding mission by the Political Committee of the NATO 
Parliamentary Assembly (Subcommittee on NATO Partnerships) to 
inform the diplomatic community of its request to participate 
in ICI.  (Note: The NATO delegation, consisting of 25 members 
from nine NATO member states and three associated states, was 
not in the UAE on ICI business; it was here to learn more 
about the security situation in the Gulf.) 
 
3. (C) During the NATO delegation's visit, Abu Dhabi Crown 
Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed (MbZ), State Security 
Director Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed, Information Minister Sheikh 
Abdullah bin Zayed, Interior Minister Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, 
and other UAEG officials provided briefings on UAE and 
regional security concerns, including an assessment of the 
UAE's efforts to combat terrorism and its experience as an 
international peacekeeper.  The following summary is based on 
a June 19 meeting between the delegation and NATO 
Ambassadors, a June 21 briefing by the German Ambassador, and 
conversations with the individual parliamentarians and UAEG 
briefers. 
 
-- Saudi Arabia: MbZ expressed concern about the potential 
repercussions in the Gulf should the Saudi regime collapse. 
If Saudi Arabia were to "implode," what would come after 
would be worse, including the potential for a radical Islamic 
ideology being exported to neighboring states, such as the 
UAE.  Saudi Arabia was important to the region and to the 
Muslim world, and it was important for the international 
community to help maintain its stability.  It was important 
to dialogue with the Saudi leadership and not to destabilize 
them by publicly pressuring them to reform, he added.  MbZ 
blamed the Saudi educational system for indoctrinating the 
mainstream population with extremist ideas, and he was 
critical of the Saudi government for failing to oversee 
charities. 
 
-- Iran: MbZ noted that Iran appears to want to relive its 
glorious past as a "Persian superpower."  He said he believes 
the Iranians have a "hidden, long-range agenda" and a 
different way of thinking than their Gulf neighbors.  MbZ 
said the UAE does not believe Iran's argument for developing 
a nuclear program for peaceful purposes.  Iran has abundant 
oil and gas resources, and it is flaring gas, he said.  He 
said the EU-3 initiative was "very good," but added that he 
was skeptical that the EU could persuade Iran to abandon its 
nuclear program.  He expressed concern that no one was 
telling Iran what the "red lines" were. 
 
-- Afghanistan: MbZ noted that the deployment of UAE Special 
Forces to Afghanistan represented the first such deployment 
by an Arab country in Operation Enduring Freedom.  He 
justified sending troops to Afghanistan as part of a mission 
to defend the UAE against extremism. 
 
-- Iraq: MbZ said that it was time people call the Iraq war 
what it really is, "a civil war."  He also expressed concern 
about what would become of the "young mujahideen" after peace 
and stability return to Iraq.  He recalled how the 
Afghanistan mujahideen dispersed around the world and 
continue to pose a threat.  MbZ also said that the UAE was 
convinced Iran was interfering in Iraq's internal affairs, 
including financial support and political influence on the 
Iraqi Transitional Government. 
 
-- Counterterrorism: MbZ underscored the role of education in 
combating terrorism, saying investment in education is a top 
priority in the UAE.  He said that extremists, whom he 
referred to generically as the "Muslim Brotherhood," had 
penetrated the educational system in the UAE and other Gulf 
countries.  MbZ said the UAEG rejected rigid Islamic 
education, advocating more freedom for the young generation 
instead.  Reform would be achieved by "privatizing" the 
entire educational system in the coming years, with the UAEG 
paying for the private education of its nationals. 
 
-- Hezbollah: Both MbZ and his brother Sheikh Abdullah 
expressed concerns about Hezbollah's threat to the region. 
They said they regard Hezbollah as a potentially greater 
threat than Al Qaida.  The UAE is "very focused" on 
Hezbollah. MbZ stated that Hezbollah was supported by three 
countries, but did not name them.  He also referred to ties 
between Hezbollah and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.  MbZ and 
Abdullah also said that HAMAS had become more radical, and 
they had noticed "radical tendencies" in Fatah. 
 
-- Peacekeeping role: The UAE briefed on its past and present 
peacekeeping missions in Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Somalia, 
and its demining operation in Lebanon.  The Emiratis' message 
was, "If there is a conflict somewhere in the world and you 
need us, we will be there." 
SISON