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FM AMEMBASSY MANAMA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5585
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
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RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC PRIORITY
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RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RHBVAKS/COMUSNAVCENT  PRIORITY

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 MANAMA 001634 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/05/2016 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER ASEC MARR MOPS BA REGION BILAT
OFFICIALS 
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR CROWN PRINCE'S SEPTEMBER 12 VISIT 
TO WASHINGTON 
 
REF: A. MANAMA 1599 
     ¶B. MANAMA 1596 
     ¶C. MANAMA 1574 
 
Classified By: Ambassador William T. Monroe for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
. 
 
-------------------------------------- 
Demonstrating Strength of Relationship 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶1.  (C) Crown Prince Shaikh Salman bin Isa Al Khalifa will 
visit Washington September 12, his first official trip to the 
U.S. since March 2006.  His visit comes six weeks after the 
implementation of the U.S.-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement, and 
soon after a concerted effort by the senior-most members of 
the government - King Hamad, Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa, 
and the CP - to affirm publicly the importance of the 
U.S.-Bahrain bilateral relationship (reftels).  We believe 
the reason for this public affirmation is to send a signal to 
Iran and some opposition elements of Bahrain's Shia 
community, who might draw the wrong conclusion from 
Hizballah's perceived "victory" in Lebanon, that Bahrain has 
made a strategic decision to ally with the United States, and 
that this alliance is strong and withstands ups and downs in 
the regional situation.  The CP views his Washington visit as 
another signal of the strength of the relationship and a 
chance to articulate his concerns about the difficulties and 
challenges confronting the Gulf and the broader Arab world 
these days. 
 
----------------------------- 
Issues of Interest to Bahrain 
----------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (C) The Crown Prince will want to inform his 
interlocutors of his offer for the Bahraini Navy to join a 
coalition task force coordinated in Bahrain by Navcent, 
possibly the anti-piracy task force outside the Straits of 
Hormuz, CTF-150 (Refs A and B).  As discussed in detail in 
Ref B, the CP has identified "politicized Islam" as the 
greatest threat in the region and will recommend that the 
United States devote more diplomacy and energy to a 
state-by-state approach to the Arab countries.  As we move 
forward in the war on terrorism, he believes there needs to 
be more focus on "offering a better idea" to derail the 
extremists' message.  He will also urge that the United 
States launch a new initiative for peace between Israel and 
the Palestinians.  The continuing hostilities between these 
two sides, he believes, is the "catalyst for conflict" in the 
region, and he links U.S. efforts on the Palestinian track to 
Arab receptivity to confronting Iran and its nuclear program. 
 
 
--------------- 
U.S. Objectives 
--------------- 
 
¶3.  (S) The visit represents an opportunity for USG 
interlocutors to emphasize and reaffirm the importance the 
United States places on Bahrain's commitment to continued 
political reform in the run-up to parliamentary and municipal 
elections, likely to be held in November.  We should push the 
CP for positive movement on reinstating the MEPI-funded NDI 
program in Bahrain, which is still suspended, and let him 
know the negative impact on perceptions about Bahrain with 
the USG, which has long hailed Bahrain as a leader in the 
region on democratic reform.  The CP met in May with the 
interagency delegation led by Principal Deputy Under 
Secretary of Defense Henry and Assistant Secretary of State 
 
SIPDIS 
Hillen to discuss the Gulf Security Dialogue, and he will 
want to hear about our thinking on next steps in dealing with 
Iran and its nuclear program.  We should encourage the CP to 
promote interagency coordination to address continuing 
counter-terrorism and security concerns related to Sunni 
extremists in Bahrain.  We can describe for him our approach 
on humanitarian and reconstruction assistance for Lebanon, 
and for helping the Lebanese government expand its authority 
in the face of Hizballah's challenge. 
 
------------------- 
Key Issues To Raise 
------------------- 
 
 
MANAMA 00001634  002 OF 003 
 
 
¶4.  (S) We suggest the following issues be raised: 
 
-- Recognize the long history of U.S.-Bahrain bilateral 
relations, which began over 100 years ago with the 
establishment of the American Mission Hospital in Bahrain. 
 
-- Express appreciation for the strength of mil-mil 
relations, most notably Bahrain's hosting Navcent 
headquarters. 
 
-- Congratulate the CP on Bahrain's successful conclusion of 
a free trade agreement, the first with a Gulf country, and 
express our hope that the agreement will lead to increased 
business between our two countries. 
 
-- Urge that Bahrain continue along the path of democratic 
reform by ensuring upcoming elections are free, fair, and 
transparent. 
 
-- Emphasize that we look forward to a favorable response 
from the GOB on NDI's proposals to resume programming in 
Bahrain, and that the failure to allow NDI to operate does 
impact negatively on Bahrain's reputation in Washington. 
 
-- Brief on next steps on Iran and request Bahrain's 
continued support for our policy. 
 
-- Stress our concerns on counter-terrorism and press for 
improved Bahraini interministerial coordination. 
 
-- Describe the U.S. approach on humanitarian and 
reconstruction assistance for Lebanon, noting our efforts to 
expand the authority of the Lebanese government. 
 
---------------- 
Political Reform 
---------------- 
 
¶5.  (C) Bahrain will hold legislative and municipal elections 
in the fall, likely November, the second round of elections 
since the King launched his political reform process in 2001. 
 Participation will be much more widespread and inclusive 
than in the 2002 elections due to the decision by several 
previously boycotting political societies, the largest being 
leading Shia society Al Wifaq, to contest the elections. 
Oppositionists complain about government decisions that they 
believe harm the integrity of the polls, including electoral 
constituencies that have resulted in overrepresentation of 
Sunnis and underrepresentation of Shias in the parliament, 
recent allegations of unfair "political" naturalization of 
Arab and non-Arab Sunnis and South Asians, and a proposed 
plan to use e-voting - without a parallel paper system - that 
could be subject to tampering.  The GOB expelled NDI's 
country director in May and the project remains suspended. 
The latest action was an August letter from NDI to the 
Foreign Minister on ways to resume programming, to which the 
Foreign Minister has yet to reply. 
 
------------------ 
Iran/War on Terror 
------------------ 
 
¶6.  (C) The CP believes that the United States has 
overemphasized the role of use of force in executing the war 
on terror.  He has stressed that the U.S. should "offer a 
better idea" to combat the inroads Islamic extremism is 
making in the Arab world, which he views as the greatest 
threat in the region.  He has described the beneficial impact 
of economic growth on the stability of societies and 
indicated that the U.S. should focus more energy on economic 
reform in the Arab world while easing some of the pressure 
for political reform.  He believes in the centrality of the 
Arab-Israeli conflict for Arabs and Muslims and has stated 
that a new U.S. initiative on the Israel-Palestinian track 
would have widespread benefits, including improving the 
chances for Arab support in confronting Iran and its nuclear 
program. 
 
----------------- 
Counter-Terrorism 
----------------- 
 
¶7.  (S) Although U.S.-Bahraini cooperation on 
counter-terrorism issues has improved tremendously since 
 
MANAMA 00001634  003 OF 003 
 
 
summer 2004, we remain concerned about the GOB's internal 
capacity for interministerial coordination to address 
potential terrorist threats.  Recent incidents that exposed 
the lack of internal coordination resulted in several Embassy 
and Navcent approaches to senior members of the government, 
including to the Crown Prince, urging improved performance. 
In August, a counter-terrorism law and separate anti-money 
laundering/combating terror financing law both entered into 
force.  Article 18 of the CT law criminalizes conspiracy to 
carry out a terrorist act, a new development.  However, 
Bahrain's constitutional court in June ruled that a 
conspiracy clause in the Penal Code of 1976 was 
unconstitutional, casting some doubt on whether the 
conspiracy article in the new CT law would withstand a legal 
challenge.  The CP has maintained to us that it will. 
 
 
********************************************* ******** 
Visit Embassy Manama's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/manama/ 
********************************************* ******** 
MONROE