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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 JEDDAH 000285 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
RIYADH, PLEASE PASS TO DHAHRAN; DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP; 
PARIS FOR ZEYA; LONDON FOR TSOU 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/10/2015 
TAGS: BTIO ECON KISL PGOV PHUM PREL SA SOCI YM
SUBJECT: THE CG IN SOUTHERN SAUDI ARABIA, PART 1 - THE 
OFFICIAL GOVERNOR OF NEJRAN 
 
Classified By: Consul General Tatiana Gfoeller, for 
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
This is Part I in a two-part series on meetings between the 
Consul General and the Governor of the Nejran province. 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY. On a visit to the Nejran region, Consul 
General, Congenoff and A/RSO met with the provincial 
Governor, Prince Mishael bin Saud bin Abdulaziz, for a 
private formal meeting in his office on March 27. 
Interestingly, no other representatives from the Governor,s 
office, including security detail, attended the meeting.  In 
the company of the three official Americans, the Governor 
spoke candidly about a number of topics including 
modernization and reform, education, border security, and 
religious tolerance.  Throughout the 2 hours-long meeting the 
Governor reiterated two main points: 1) the Saudi-American 
relationship is very important to him; and 2) the betterment 
of Nejran and its people is his top priority, as well as 
discussing the uncontrolled Saudi-Yemeni border and the 
Ismaili sect in Nejran.  END SUMMARY. 
 
CONCERN FOR MODERNITY 
 
¶2. (C) On March 27 the Consul General, Congenoff and A/RSO 
met with the Governor of Nejran, Prince Mishael bin Saud bin 
Abdulaziz, for a private formal meeting in his office. 
Situated in the southwest of Saudi Arabia along the Yemeni 
border, the Nejran province is one of the least developed in 
the Kingdom.  Yemen,s cultural influence is stronger in 
Nejran than anywhere else in the country, owing in large part 
to strong cross-border tribal affiliations.  The provincial 
capital is one of the fastest growing cities in the Kingdom, 
and the region is one of the country,s most fertile. 
 
¶3. (C) After exchanging pleasantries, the meeting began when 
the Governor dismissed his staff and began speaking about his 
concern for the fast pace of Saudi modernization and how such 
rapid changes will affect his constituency.  "Change must 
come gradually," he said. "You cannot drive a Ferrari at 200 
miles per hour and then suddenly change course."  Prince 
Mishael implied that Nejranis will not adjust well to rapid 
change because they are a very traditional, historically 
tribal people.  With modernization comes the potential for 
them to develop even more conservative attitudes as a 
backlash against rapid social and commercial progress.  "They 
(Nejranis) get more and more information from television and 
the internet," said the Governor, "they have more access all 
the time to many sources of information.  It is easy for them 
to believe the wrong thing". 
 
EDUCATION IS KEY 
 
¶4. (C) The Governor is a huge proponent of education and 
spoke with pride about the people of Nejran and the 
educational opportunities afforded them.  He explained that 
investing in his people and their education is the key to 
long-term development.  He told the CG that Nejran boasts 
four technical colleges, two of which are for girls.  When 
asked whether or not he had plans to open a university in 
Nejran, the Governor said that the small population did not 
yet warrant one.  Congenoff asked Prince Mishael what he 
thought about the Ministry of Higher Education's scholarship 
program which has sent a number of Nejrani students to the US 
to pursue higher degrees.  As a former student in the US, the 
Governor expressed his support for the program, but added, 
"We must keep them on the right path. You can have a PhD and 
not be intelligent...even an intellectual man can go down the 
wrong path". 
 
¶5. (C) COMMENT. With this and similar statements, the 
Governor seemed to imply that, while education is important, 
it is not an end-all solution to the region's problems 
related to growth and development.  In other words, higher 
degrees do not guarantee that young Nejranis will grow up to 
be moderate, forward thinking adults.  This relates to his 
earlier comments about fast-paced change and his concern 
about how Nejranis will adapt to a more open, modern society. 
 END COMMENT. 
 
¶6. (C) The Governor then harkened back to his days as an 
 
JEDDAH 00000285  002 OF 003 
 
 
aviation student in rural Alabama and said that it was hard 
for him to fit in there.  He quipped, "I wasn't accepted by 
the whites.  I wasn't accepted by the blacks.  So I went with 
the Mexicans."  He expressed concern that Nejrani students 
will have similar problems integrating into university life 
and assimilating to American culture. 
 
BOLD INITIATIVES FOR NEJRAN 
 
¶7. (C) The Governor discussed several new initiatives for 
Nejran, all aimed to invest in what he terms the region,s 
most valuable resource - his people.  Most notably, the 
Governor announced the approval of a SR400 million project to 
pump water from underground sources in the Empty Quarter and 
pipe it to Nejran.  This project will help alleviate the 
chronic shortage of water in the region.  It is estimated 
that 50,000 gallons of water can be pumped per day for at 
least 40 years.  The Governor claims that he conceptualized 
the project, but that he first had to go to the Minister of 
Agriculture to ask permission to conduct exploratory drilling 
in the Empty Quarter.  Once the water was found, he had to 
seek approval from the Ministry of Interior to move forward 
with implementation.  In a similar endeavor, the Governor 
recently approved an underground dam project to trap water in 
the Nejran Valley. 
 
¶8. (C) Prince Mishael has also just inaugurated the 
first-ever agricultural exhibition in Nejran.  The purpose is 
to introduce Nejrani farmers to new farming technologies and 
educate them about new techniques.  It is a hands-on fair 
through which farmers can gain experience with new machinery 
and equipment.  On a similar note, the Governor agreed to 
support a week of American commerce and cultural activities 
in conjunction with AmConGen Jeddah,s Public Diplomacy and 
FCS sections.  COMMENT.  These recent initiatives are the 
most aggressive in Prince Mishael,s tenure as Governor. 
There is the clear sense that he wants to leave behind a 
legacy with these big-ticket ventures.  END COMMENT. 
 
THE UNCONTROLLED BORDER 
 
¶9. (C) Later in the meeting the CG broached the Saudi-Yemeni 
border issue, particularly with respect to weapons, alcohol, 
and drug trafficking and prostitution.  The Governor,s first 
reaction was to exclaim, "I don,t mind them smuggling 
alcohol, though I could never say that in public, of course!" 
 He then went on to compare the Saudi-Yemeni border to the 
US-Mexico border, admitting that both are very long, porous, 
and difficult to control.  The added complication, he 
explained, is that Yemenis are his Arab brothers.  "One day a 
man who is coming to sell his fruits and vegetables will show 
up in a truck on the border with one identity card and the 
next day he shows up with completely different papers.  If we 
stop him we,re told, 'Be good to your Arab brother.'  It is 
a very difficult situation." 
 
¶10. (C) The Governor lamented the fact that he has no 
authority to deal directly with the Yemeni government on 
border issues and, instead, must go through the Ministry of 
Interior.  Prince Mishael agreed that the biggest problem was 
the trafficking of weapons, citing that almost all guns and 
artillery confiscated by Saudi border police are brand new 
and clearly not manufactured in Yemen.  He implied that the 
Yemeni government knows about and even facilitates such 
trafficking.  When the CG asked the Governor if he thought 
the US could or should help the SAG deal with this issue, he 
said that the Saudis must do it for themselves.  He did add, 
however, that the USG could help put political pressure on 
the Yemeni government to step-up efforts to prevent new 
weapons from entering Yemen from third-country sources. 
COMMENT.  The Governor clearly understands the limits of his 
official authority and alluded to the fact that bribery is an 
acceptable means to inciting action in his Governorate. 
"Sometimes the only way to deal with things is under the 
table."  This is in contrast to an earlier statement he made 
about the importance of honesty and how his Governorate is 
"not the Mafia."  END COMMENT. 
 
I,LL GIVE YOU HIS GPS AND YOU CAN KILL HIM FOR ME 
 
¶11. (C) The CG then asked about the Yemeni jail break of 
 
JEDDAH 00000285  003 OF 003 
 
 
February 2006 to which the Governor replied, "Yes, but I will 
tell you about something much worse!"  He went on to tell the 
story of a man who was murdered in broad daylight in front of 
his family in Nejran.  After a lengthy trial (he claims six 
years) the courts convicted his assailant, but he had already 
escaped from a Nejrani jail and was living in Yemen.  "I have 
my own  information center, here in my Governate," he said, 
"I have sources in and out of Saudi Arabia.  I have people 
who know exactly what camp he is hiding-in in Yemen.  I can 
give you the GPS of where he is right now and you can take 
one of your missiles and kill him for me.  That,s how you 
can help." 
 
¶12. (C) COMMENT. This line of discussion was consistent with 
others throughout the meeting.  The Governor is markedly 
frustrated by the constraints on his authority and the SAG,s 
inability to expeditiously deal with significant problems. 
END COMMENT. 
 
THE ISMAILI FACTOR 
 
¶13. (C) The Governor explained to the CG the role that the 
Ismaili religious sect plays in Nejrani society.  According 
to Prince Mishael, Ismailis make up to 90% of the population 
living in Nejran city, but only constitute 40% of the 
population in the entire Nejran province.  While they are 
typically classified as Shi'ia, the Governor said that their 
religious practices make them unique enough that the Aga 
Khan,s Shi,ia do not recognize them as Shi,ia.  For 
example, the Governor described how Ismailis remove their 
underwear, gutra and iqal before praying in their 
architecturally distinct mosques.  According to Prince 
Mishael, Ismailis are also much more conservative when it 
comes to the treatment and protection of women, preferring 
for them to remain at home and away from the general public 
at all times.  While the Governor has sought to learn more 
about such practices from his Ismaili staff members, he 
claims that theirs is a "secret religion" and that, as a 
general rule, they don't like to talk about it.  When asked 
directly by the CG how he feels about the Ismaili, Prince 
Mishael replied, "I don,t care what your religion is.  If 
you,re a good man, you,re a good man.  If you,re a bad 
man, you,re a bad man, even if you are my brother." 
 
¶14. (C) Prince Mishael added that, like all religious groups, 
there are some extremist Ismailis with whom the SAG has been 
waging battle.  "Just like extreme Sunna, they are willing to 
die for their religion."  When the CG asked what the Ismailis 
want from the SAG, the Governor initially said "nothing."  He 
later added, "They are a minority in this country so, of 
course, they are not happy. This is the psychology of 
minorities; they always want more."  While the Governor 
repeated several times that he is "open" and accepting of 
different religions and minority groups in his province, he 
spoke of the Ismailis and Shi,ia with a less than tolerant 
tone, interjecting such phrases as "those people."  At one 
point he said of the Ismailis, "So long as they don,t take 
their garbage (ideas) on the street, I have no problem with 
them."  He lamented that most Ismailis have a stronger 
affinity towards their cross-border tribes in Yemen than to 
the Saudi state.  Further, he opined that with the recent 
demarcation of the Saudi-Yemeni border, the Ismailis 
remaining in Saudi territory had a better deal than their 
poor ignorant cousins to the south. 
Gfoeller 
Gfoeller