US embassy cable - 03ABUDHABI2178

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABU DHABI 002178 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/FO, NEA/ARP, NEA/NGA AND PM 
 
SECDEF FOR USEC FEITH, ALSO PRINCIPAL D/USEC RYAN 
HENRY 
 
KUWAIT PLEASE PASS HOC AND ORHA 
 
NSC FOR P/E KHALILZAD 
 
CENTCOM FOR LTG ABIZAID AND POLAD AMBASSADOR LITT 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL 05/05/08 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PHUM, MARR, MOPS, EAID, IZ, TC 
SUBJECT:  STRANDED IRAQIS IN THE UAE: NEED FOR POLICY 
GUIDANCE 
 
REF:  DUBAI 1658 
 
1.  (U) Classified by Ambassador Marcelle M. Wahba for 
reasons 1.5 (B) and (D). 
 
2.  (U)  This is an action message -- please see 
paragraph five. 
 
3.  (C) MFA Minstate Shaykh Hamdan bin Zayid has now 
engaged on the issue of the approximately 1,000 Iraqis 
stranded in the northern Emirates, principally Dubai 
(see reftel), asking May 5 that we do everything 
possible to resolve this situation as soon as 
possible.  His call may well have been motivated by 
the broad coverage today in the local media of the 
plight of these Iraqis, focusing on the fact that many 
of them (having cancelled their sponsorships here and 
quit their jobs in anticipation of being able to 
return home) have now run short of money; some 
families including women and small children are said 
to be sleeping/living in their automobiles.  The Red 
Crescent Authority (RCA) is also very concerned about 
this situation; a camp for 100 destitute Iraqis has 
been set up in Dubai, but senior RCA officials have 
contacted us to strongly urge that some means be found 
to repatriate these Iraqis before the hot summer 
months set in, and before the issue becomes more of a 
public relations flash-point. 
 
4.  (C)  We have assured our Emirati interlocutors 
that the USG is seized with this issue, but that in 
the absence of a functioning Iraqi immigration and 
customs authority, and with Umm Qasr port currently 
closed to non-humanitarian traffic, there is no 
definitive guidance we can provide them on how to 
resolve this matter.  As an interim response this is 
fine, but we will be pressed for a more positive, 
result-oriented answer soon, particularly as pressure 
on the UAEG to resolve this issue mounts (as it will). 
 
5.  (C)  Comment and Action Request:  If Umm Qasr 
cannot in-process these stranded Iraqis, we believe 
the UAEG would be willing to consider alternatives -- 
such as facilitating their repatriation overland via 
Kuwait, or Jordan.  However, to leave this situation 
unresolved much longer can only result in more 
negative publicity here and in the region (as noted 
reftel, the stranded Iraqis are already in touch with 
Al-Jazeera television) and concomitant embarrassment 
to the UAEG.  We would appreciate guidance from 
Washington agencies on possible modalities to resolve 
this issue; creative and even temporary fixes would be 
welcome. 
 
6.  (U)  This message coordinated with Amconsul Dubai. 
 
Wahba