US embassy cable - 03ABUDHABI2234

Disclaimer: This site has been first put up 15 years ago. Since then I would probably do a couple things differently, but because I've noticed this site had been linked from news outlets, PhD theses and peer rewieved papers and because I really hate the concept of "digital dark age" I've decided to put it back up. There's no chance it can produce any harm now.

AS REGIONAL POWER CENTER SHIFTS, UAE NO LONGER TAKING TUTELAGE FROM RIYADH

Identifier: 03ABUDHABI2234
Wikileaks: View 03ABUDHABI2234 at Wikileaks.org
Origin: Embassy Abu Dhabi
Created: 2003-05-07 13:44:00
Classification: CONFIDENTIAL
Tags: PREL UNSC GCC SA TC
Redacted: This cable was not redacted by Wikileaks.
null
Diana T Fritz  05/24/2007 04:20:07 PM  From  DB/Inbox:  Search Results

Cable 
Text:                                                                      
                                                                           
      
CONFIDENTIAL

SIPDIS
TELEGRAM                                             May 07, 2003


To:       No Action Addressee                                    

Action:   Unknown                                                

From:     AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI (ABU DHABI 2234 - PRIORITY)        

TAGS:     PREL                                                   

Captions: None                                                   

Subject:  AS REGIONAL POWER CENTER SHIFTS, UAE NO LONGER TAKING  
          TUTELAGE FROM RIYADH                                   

Ref:      None                                                   
_________________________________________________________________
C O N F I D E N T I A L        ABU DHABI 02234

SIPDIS
CXABU:
    ACTION: POL 
    INFO:   RSO AMB DCM P/M ECON 

DISSEMINATION: POL
CHARGE: PROG

APPROVED: AMB:MMWAHBA
DRAFTED: POL:STWILLIAMS
CLEARED: DCM:RAALBRIGHT

VZCZCADI408
PP RUEHC RUEHEE RUEKJCS RHEHNSC RUEAIIA RHEFDIA
RUCJACC
DE RUEHAD #2234 1271344
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 071344Z MAY 03
FM AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9848
INFO RUCJACC/USCINCCENT MACDILL AFB FL//POLAD/CCJ2/CCJ5// PRIORITY
RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC//OSD/NESA//
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L ABU DHABI 002234 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARP AND NEA/NGA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/07/13 
TAGS: PREL, UNSC, GCC, SA, TC 
SUBJECT:  AS REGIONAL POWER CENTER SHIFTS, UAE 
NO LONGER TAKING TUTELAGE FROM RIYADH 
 
1. (U) Classified by Ambassador Marcelle M. Wahba 
for reasons 1.5 (B) and (D). 
 
2. (C) During a May 7 meeting with the Ambassador, 
MFA Minstate Hamdan bin Zayid Al-Nahyan shared the 
substance of a spat he had with Saudi Crown Prince 
Abdullah.  Apparently, Abdullah had told an Arab 
expat (well known in Gulf circles for his 
connections to GCC leaders) that he was extremely 
displeased that the Emiratis had decided to send a 
representative to the April 28 Baghdad "tent 
meeting."  Saudi Arabia had decided against such 
representation and believed that the smaller GCC 
states should have followed suit.  An incensed 
Hamdan had asked the conduit to send the following 
back to Abdullah:  "The UAE is a sovereign state 
which neither takes orders nor waits to see what 
direction others take before making decisions.  The 
regional situation has changed and the Saudi 
leadership should not behave as it did 10 years 
ago." 
 
3. (C) COMMENT:  Anticipating a potential shift in 
the center of power from Riyadh to points 
northward, it appears that Abu Dhabi is already 
chafing at the Saudi suggestion that the Emiratis 
should continue to take their cues on policy 
decisions from their Saudi brothers.  END COMMENT. 
 
WAHBA 

Latest source of this page is cablebrowser-2, released 2011-10-04