US embassy cable - 05MANAMA1836

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 001836 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/11/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, ETRD, BTIO, BA, ECTRD, OFFICIALS, REGION 
SUBJECT: DAS GRAY DISCUSSES REGIONAL ISSUES WITH FOREIGN 
MINISTER SHAIKH KHALID 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador William T. Monroe, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1. (C) NEA DAS Gordon Gray met December 4 with Bahrain 
Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid Al-Khalifa for a discussion of 
regional issues.  On Iraq, Shaikh Khalid said he was urging 
Arab Foreign Ministers discussing Iraq reconciliation to meet 
in Baghdad.  Not doing so sends the wrong message.  He talked 
at length on Iran, saying that the GOB has pushed Iran to be 
open and transparent on the nuclear issue.  He reiterated 
concern about Iranian interference in Iraq, urging that we 
not let Iran "destroy Iraq."  He also expressed concern about 
Iranian meddling in Bahrain, but acknowledged that overt 
interference was considerably less than in the 1990s.  He 
said he recently traveled to Damascus to deliver a message 
from the King on the need to "make the right decision" 
regarding the Mehlis Commission.  On the FTA, he said Bahrain 
was committed to trying to do what it could to ensure entry 
in to force by January 1, and stressed that there was no 
going back on the decision to close the boycott office.  End 
Summary. 
 
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IRAQ AND IRAN 
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2. (C) NEA DAS Gordon Gray opened his December 4 meeting with 
Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa by 
expressing appreciation for Bahrain's support on Iraq and 
soliciting Bahrain's help in encouraging all Iraqis to 
participate in the December 15 elections, in particular 
Iraq's Sunni community.  Shaikh Khalid said that he had met 
the day before with Iraqi Vice President Ghazi Al Yawer (in 
Manama for the IISS Gulf Security Conference), who said he 
was working hard to get Sunnis to participate.  Shaikh Khalid 
said that he had been trying to convince Arab Foreign 
Ministers who have been involved in reconciliation meetings 
with Iraqis to hold a meeting in Baghdad.  "If we can meet in 
Cairo or Jeddah," he said, "but aren't willing to go to 
Baghdad, it sends the wrong message." 
 
3. (C) Shaikh Khalid said that he had met the previous day 
with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mohamed Reza Bageri 
(also in Bahrain for the IISS Conference), telling him that 
Iran must be open and transparent on the nuclear question. 
"If the world has concerns about Iran," he told Bageri, "then 
Bahrain has concerns.  If the world is afraid, then Iran must 
open up and not hide anything.  Otherwise, if anything goes 
wrong it only has itself to blame."  He said that the 
Iranian's response was that under Sharia law it was forbidden 
to build a nuclear weapon.  He said that Iran has already 
sent him three invitations (one written, two oral) to visit 
Tehran.  He didn't know when he might accept that invitation. 
 
4. (C) Shaikh Khalid reiterated Bahrain's concern about 
Iranian intervention in Iraq.  "Keep your eyes on them," he 
said. "Don't let them destroy Iraq."  He lamented that Iraq, 
which before Saddam had been so liberal with freedoms and a 
modern constitution, and even during Iran had remained 
secular, was now being destroyed by secularism.  "Iran is 
playing a nasty game," he stated, alleging that Iranian hit 
squads in Iraq were carrying out a vendetta against Iraqi 
military officers who had served in the Iran-Iraq War.  He 
urged that the U.S. do what it can to diminish the Iranian 
presence in Iraq. 
 
4. (C) As in Iraq, he said, Iran is also meddling in Bahrain, 
although not to the extent it did in the 1990s.  He said that 
Bahrain is monitoring communications between the two 
countries and had uncovered minor evidence of Iranian 
meddling, but nothing major at this point.  "But we know they 
will keep up their old behavior."  He said that the Crown 
Prince, after resisting a requested meeting the day before 
with DFM Begari, finally agreed to a quick pull-aside after 
the IISS dinner that night.  In the brief discussion, the 
Crown Prince had chided the Iranian delegation for sponsoring 
terrorism and told him this was unworthy of a country with 
such a distinguished past. 
 
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SYRIA 
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6. (C) The Ambassador asked Shaikh Khalid about his recent 
stop in Syria, where he met with Syrian President Assad. 
Shaikh Khalid said that he went with a message from the King 
urging Assad to make the right decision to protect Syria.  He 
said his visit followed right on the heels of a visit by 
Prince Bandar, which he took as a positive sign as Prince 
Bandar knows how to get things done.  He said that Assad 
wanted a protocol for dealing with the Mehlis Commission, but 
this was obviously a non-starter.  He found Assad 
uncharacteristically willing to listen.  "Assad usually talks 
for an hour and listens for two minutes, but this time he was 
different." 
 
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FTA IMPLEMENTATION PROSPECTS 
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7. (C) The Ambassador noted that as the FTA approached U.S. 
congressional ratification, it would be critical for the GoB 
to confirm that promised labor and intellectual property 
rights (IPR) legislation had been introduced into the 
parliament.  Achieving this over the next few days was 
critical to ensure entry into force on January 1, 2006. 
Shaikh Khalid said the GoB was committed to doing everything 
it could to meet the requirements. 
 
8. (C) Shaikh Khalid lamented that, in the Bahraini public's 
mind, the closure of the boycott office had been confused 
with normalization with Israel.  He had tried to clarify the 
issue and frame the closure of the boycott office as placing 
the responsibility to purchase or not purchase Israeli goods 
in the hands of the citizens.  He assured DAS Gray and the 
Ambassador that the GOB remained committed to lifting the 
boycott.  "This is something we believe in."  He noted that 
Crown Prince Salman planned to travel to the U.S. in April 
2006, and he could take the opportunity at that time to 
promote enhanced bilateral commercial relations coming as a 
result of the FTA. 
 
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EGYPT 
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9. (C) Shaikh Khalid noted that Arab leaders are watching the 
Egyptian election process with great interest.  He said the 
absence of anti-western sentiments during the recent 
elections was particularly promising. 
 
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GREATER US-GCC ENGAGEMENT URGED 
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10. (C) Shaikh Khalid said that he did not expect any 
surprises at the GCC Summit in Abu Dhabi later this month. 
He encouraged USG engagement on GCC issues, and welcomed any 
USG input before the Summit. 
MONROE