US embassy cable - 05SANAA1836

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 SANAA 001836 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 7/03/15 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PTER, PARM, PREF, XW, SO, YM 
SUBJECT: ALIMI DISCUSSES SOMALIA, SAUDI ARABIA AND INTEL 
 
Classified By: CDA Nabeel Khoury for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1. (C) Summary.  In a July 3 meeting between visiting CENTCOM 
Deputy Commanding General, LTG Lance L. Smith, CDA and 
Interior Minister Rashad al-Alimi, the Minister discussed the 
ROYG's concern over Somalia, improving cooperation with Saudi 
Arabia and the state of USG-ROYG intelligence sharing. End 
Summary. 
 
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Somalia: ROYG Actively Mediating 
-------------------------------- 
 
2. (C) Alimi stated that President Saleh will push for an 
increased USG non-military role in Somalia when he visits 
President Bush in November.  He revealed that Saleh will 
specifically ask for USG support for the new Somali 
Government and the deployment of UN or Muslim country 
coalition peacekeeping forces in the country. 
 
3. (C) Alimi also disclosed that the ROYG has been actively 
mediating between newly elected Somali president, Abdullahi 
Yusuf, speaker of the 275-member transitional Parliament, 
Sharif Hassan Adan, and some Somali warlords in order to 
secure the return of the transitional government to Mogadishu 
from Nairobi. (Note: Yemen's attempts to mediate between 
Yusuf and Adan on June 20 in Sanaa did not end well. End 
Note).  He further warned that if the USG and other nations 
failed to follow Yemen's lead, Somalia could become "another 
Afghanistan"  with its chaos spreading throughout the Horn of 
Africa.  To stress his point, Alimi expressed ROYG concern 
with the proliferation of Islamic schools and Sharia courts 
throughout Somalia.  He added that Yemen is suffering from 
Somali instability, absorbing over 150,000 Somali refugees. 
 
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Saudi Arabia: Cooperation Best It Has Ever Been 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
4. (C) In a departure from previous complaints, Alimi 
declared that security cooperation with Saudi Arabia is 
currently, "in a good place."  He noted that cooperation with 
Saudi MOI, Prince Mohammed Naif, is now "personal" to the 
point where they often exchange information on the phone to 
avoid delays.  He disclosed that during Naif's last visit to 
Sanaa, they discussed common concerns over combatants 
returning from Iraq and agreed to "pursue common measures." 
Alimi stressed that the "significant improvement" with the 
Saudi government stemmed from the February Riyadh Counter 
Terrorism Conference. 
 
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Intelligence Sharing, Again 
--------------------------- 
 
5. (S) Addressing LTG Smith's queries on the scope of 
USG-ROYG intelligence sharing, Alimi quipped that although 
the embassy "surely has an opinion, I am satisfied."  (Note: 
Alimi was referring to repeated concerns post has raised to 
the MOI over the ROYG's reluctance to fully share passport 
information that is obtained through its USG donated "PISCES" 
Border Control system.  On February 23, Ambassador warned 
that the USG would be precluded from helping the ROYG update 
the system without such cooperation, which was a condition 
for providing the system.  There has been no development 
since.  End Note). 
 
6. (S) The Minster expressed hope that the USG would "speed 
up" its cooperation with the "PISCES" system as well as a 
proposed USG donated fingerprint system.  Alimi noted that 
this would "greatly help" his plans to form a nationwide 
identification databank.  Alimi estimated that to launch the 
databank his ministry needed USD 40 million, which the 
Ministry of Finance refuses to allocate. 
 
7. (C)  Alimi thanked the USG for its help with the Coast 
Guard (CG) noting that he looked forward to the next phase of 
cooperation.  He added that Saudi Arabia expressed its 
willingness to help him with a possible plan to combine the 
CG with the border control authorities.  He also echoed a 
call on the USG made earlier in the day by Minster of 
Defense, Ali Abdullah Alewa, to increase Yemen's aid and 
treat it "more like Jordan." (Septel). "We achieve more," he 
proclaimed, "so we should receive more." 
 
8. (C) Comment: Alimi's presentation on Somalia was the 
clearest post has heard from any ROYG official.  The ROYG's 
concern over the consequences of continued chaos in Somalia 
was persuasively and graphically laid out.  President Saleh's 
intention to play a major role in mediating the conflict 
seems sincere and persistent.  Alimi's positive references to 
Saudi Arabia represented a significant change in tone from 
past meetings and confirmed that there has been a real 
increase in cooperation between the two countries, at least 
on the ministerial level.  End Comment. 
 
Khoury