US embassy cable - 05MANAMA1812

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 001812 
 
SIPDIS 
 
WHITE HOUSE FOR APHSCT TOWNSEND 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/06/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PTER, ASEC, PARM, PGOV, ETRD, BA, POL, OFFICIALS, REFORM, CTR 
SUBJECT: ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT TOWNSEND'S DECEMBER 3 
MEETING WITH BAHRAINI CROWN PRINCE SALMAN 
 
 
Classified by Ambassador William T. Monroe for reasons 1.4 
(b) and (d). 
 
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Summary 
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1.  (C) Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and 
Counter-Terrorism (APHSCT) Frances Fragos Townsend met with 
Bahraini Crown Prince Salman December 3 on the margins of the 
IISS Gulf Security Dialogue conference in Manama.  APHSCT 
Townsend praised Bahrain's role in hosting the conference, 
saying it provided a platform for enhancing cooperation in 
fighting terror at both the strategic and tactical levels. 
CP Salman said Bahrain supports the Amman Declaration and is 
committed to combating the movement of extremists and their 
funding.  He suggested a multilateral effort based on the 
North Korea model to contain Iran.  The CP agreed to continue 
to engage with Iraq's Sunni community before and after the 
upcoming elections.  On domestic affairs, he said the Royal 
Court was working with stakeholders on the draft 
counter-terrorism law to create a text that would attract 
broad support.  Despite the clashes between protesters and 
security forces the preceding few days, Bahrain would not 
back away from its commitment to political reform.  End 
Summary. 
 
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Enhancing CT Cooperation 
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2.  (C) APHSCT Townsend opened the December 3 meeting with 
Bahraini Crown Prince Salman by emphasizing the beneficial 
impact of the Gulf Security Dialogue conference in enhancing 
cooperation in combating terror.  On a tactical level, 
conference participants had discussed standards on cash 
couriers, border security, and travel documents while on the 
strategic level, they had debated Iraq, Israel/Palestine, and 
the ideological basis for terror.  She said the upcoming 
Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) meeting in Mecca 
represents an important opportunity to achieve progress on 
the Amman Declaration.  Crown Prince Salman agreed, saying 
Bahrain supports the Declaration, and stressed that OIC 
countries must combat the movement of extremists and the 
funds that support them. 
 
3.  (C) The CP stated that Bahrain is supporting Palestinian 
President Mahmoud Abbas and hoped that Israel would not halt 
its redeployments with "Gaza only."  Bahrain is worried about 
Iran and, to send a signal, he said he would not meet with 
the Iranian delegation currently in town for the conference. 
(Note:  Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid told us the next day 
that, on the pretext of delivering a letter from the Iranian 
Foreign Minister, the CP finally agreed to a pull-aside at 
the IISS dinner the evening of December 3, and was irritated 
that the letter was simply an apology from the FM for not 
coming to the conference.)  APHSCT Townsend said it was 
important for all countries to state publicly and 
unequivocally that state-sponsored terrorism is unacceptable. 
 The CP replied that there was agreement among the GCC 
countries on this.  He continued that Iran also needed to 
know that all countries of the region reject proliferation 
and suggested a multilateral effort to contain Iran, like the 
process with North Korea.  The Omanis believe that Khamenei 
should be the address of any talks on the nuclear program. 
President Ahmadi-Nejad is just a proxy.  APHSCT Townsend 
commented that progress in the North Korea talks had been 
uneven. 
 
4.  (C) On Iraq, Shaikh Salman said he was very encouraged by 
the Cairo reconciliation meetings and pledged that Bahrain 
would continue to help.  Lack of engagement by the Arab world 
allows the Iranians to move in.  APHSCT Townsend said the 
Sunnis need Arab encouragement and support for the political 
process.  The focus should be less on the sectarian divide 
and more on the shared future of Iraq's communities.  The 
Sunnis particularly need encouragement in the run-up to and 
after the December 15 elections.  The CP agreed to continue 
to engage with the Sunni community. 
 
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Progress on Security, CT Law 
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5.  (S) Turning to domestic affairs, APHSCT Townsend praised 
the improvement in cooperation between the USG and Bahrain's 
security services.  The CP said the leadership knew there had 
been a problem and fixed it.  Now, the right people are in 
the right positions and they are able to create a foundation 
for future improvement and growth.  He noted, however, that 
Bahrain still needs more technology and training for officers 
involved in surveillance.  In response to APHSCT Townsend's 
question, the CP stated that Bahrain's original draft 
counter-terrorism law had been a non-starter and parliament 
had refused to engage with the government.  The Royal Court 
is now working with stakeholders on the law, having evaluated 
that it is better to engage before the law is submitted than 
to have it rejected.  By working through the issues, public 
opinion on the law will shift. 
 
6.  (C) CP Salman said that those involved in demonstrations 
and clashes with police in Bahrain the preceding few days 
were seeking to return to the tactics of the 1990s.  The 
leaders of the protests represent a radical group that broke 
away from leading Shia opposition society Al Wifaq. 
According to the Ministry of Interior, the allegation that 
touched off the violence, that security personnel beat a 
protester, is false.  The CP characterized the clashes as an 
effort to destabilize the country.  In recent demonstrations, 
protesters carried Hizballah flags and photographs of 
Khamenei and walked on an American flag.  Although there is 
no conclusive evidence of direct communication between Shia 
protesters and Iran, the events follow the Iranian model.  He 
affirmed that, regardless of the provocation, Bahrain would 
not back away from its political reform process, which is 
designed to achieve a better future for all citizens. 
 
7.  (C) APHSCT Townsend said that President Bush was grateful 
for Bahrain's decision not to allow a Palestinian 
rejectionist conference to take place in Bahrain earlier this 
year.  The CP said the government had informed the organizers 
they would not be allowed into the country.  There had been 
no negative reaction from the decision.  APHSCT Townsend 
noted that the U.S.-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement would come 
before the full House and Senate soon, and the administration 
was urging quick action.  The CP thanked the administration 
for its support and acknowledged that Bahrain still had to 
pass additional legislation on intellectual property rights 
protection before the agreement could enter into force. 
 
8.  (U) APHSCT Townsend cleared this message. 
 
MONROE