US embassy cable - 03SANAA672

C O N F I D E N T I A L SANAA 000672 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/06/2008 
TAGS: PREL, SOCI, YM, IZ 
SUBJECT: YEMEN: CURBING VOLUNTEERS FOR IRAQ 
 
REF: SANAA 661 
 
Classified By: CHARGE D'AFFAIRES: AGMISENHEIMER FOR REASONS 1.5 B AND D 
. 
 
1.  (C) BEGIN SUMMARY:  Yemeni volunteers are being 
discouraged by the ROYG from joining the Iraqis in fighting 
against the coalition, although some volunteers will probably 
continue to make their way to Baghdad from intermiediate 
stops in Damascus and Amman.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2.  (C) The Yemeni government in recent days has taken steps 
to dissuade its citizens who wish to become "volunteer" 
fighters in Iraq.  President Salih told Charge (reftel) April 
5 that the flow of volunteers from Yemen -- as many as thirty 
thousand, Salih claimed -- has been stopped.  Wire stories 
also are reporting that Yemeni authorities are preventing 
local volunteers from going to Baghdad to join the fight 
against coalition forces. 
 
3.  (C) TDY Pol/Econ Counselor April 5 called on one of 
Foreign Minister Al-Qirbi,s aides, Abdel Hakim Al-Iryani, to 
underline USG views about Yemeni "volunteers" who may seek to 
join Iraqi forces in fighting against the coalition. 
Pol/Econ counselor noted we are expressing our view in 
various Arab capitals that the safety of such volunteers is a 
responsibility of their respective governments, and in the 
event that volunteers join the fighting, they will be 
considered as hostile elements.  He added that the whole 
world had seen, on an Arab TV network that last week still 
had correspondents in Iraq,  a large group of young men in 
Baghdad, identified as Yemeni volunteers, waving rifles and 
shouting pro-Saddam slogans. 
 
4.  (C) Smiling at the reference to Al-Jazeera, Al-Iryani 
said its correspondents have resumed working in Iraq.  He 
added a "personal view" that the Yemenis in Baghdad who were 
shown on Al-Jazeera had not in fact made the trip to Iraq for 
the purpose of volunteering, but were drawn by the Iraqis 
from a rather substantial number of pro-Baathi Yemenis 
already in the country.  He suggested that the sympathies of 
such Yemenis were already clear. 
 
5. (C) Marking further ROYG distance from sponsorship for 
volunteers, Al-Iryani said  that Yemeni authorities had in 
recent days stopped more than forty would-be volunteers from 
leaving Yemen, once it was confirmed that their purpose was 
to volunteer.  Opposition parties are sniping at the 
government over this, he added.  The difficulty for the 
Yemeni government, he said, was in determining the motives of 
travelers.  There is a large number of Yemeni travelers going 
to Damascus and Amman all the time, and the ROYG cannot 
effectively sort out who is really going to volunteer -- but 
if it finds out that is their purpose, they will be stopped. 
 
6. (C) Pol/ECON Counselor said that US-Yemeni cooperation in 
fighting terrorism in continuing despite differing 
perspectives of our governments about the war in Iraq.  It 
would be unfortunate if some Yemeni volunteers were killed as 
a result of engagement in hostilities in Iraq, and more 
unfortunate if this led to unhappy families or vengeful 
tribes who might take actions in Yemen contrary to our mutual 
interests.  Referring to the volunteers, Al-Iryani replied 
simply: They made their own choice. 
 
7.  (C) COMMENT: We are unable to estimate the number of 
would-be Yemeni volunteers, but Salih's thirty thousand 
figure (reftel) no doubt is hyperbole.  It is noteworthy that 
the ROYG is actually stopping some volunteers, and to some 
extent exposing its Arab flanks to opposition critics in 
doing so.  As Al-Iryani pointed out, however, some Yemeni 
travelers may still be finding their way to Baghdad, via 
Damascus and Amman, without the ROYG's blessing or 
protection. 
MISENHEIMER