VZCZCXRO5529
OO RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHMK #0027 0111257
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 111257Z JAN 07
FM AMEMBASSY MANAMA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6283
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHBVAKS/COMUSNAVCENT  PRIORITY
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAMA 000027 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/11/2017 
TAGS: PREL MARR MOPS BA IZ REGION OFFICIALS
SUBJECT: BAHRAIN REACTS TO PRESIDENT'S POLICY ADDRESS ON 
IRAQ 
 
REF: STATE 3592 
 
Classified By: Ambassador William T. Monroe for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
. 
 
¶1.  (C) In the Foreign Minister's absence, the Ambassador 
January 11 met with MFA Assistant Under Secretary for 
Coordination and Follow Up Shaikh Abdul Aziz bin Mubarak Al 
Khalifa to discuss the President's policy address on Iraq. 
Drawing from reftel background information, the Ambassador 
stated that the surge of military forces in Iraq had been 
widely covered in the press, but this was just one aspect of 
the new way ahead.  The U.S. would also devote energy and 
resources toward improving the political and economic 
situation in Iraq.  The Ambassador described the plan to 
expand the presence of Provincial Reconstruction Teams in the 
country, increase funding for community-based projects and 
microcredit programs, and engage closely with partner 
countries through the International Compact with Iraq and the 
GCC Plus Two mechanism. 
 
¶2.  (C) Shaikh Abdul Aziz's immediate reaction was, "This is 
what I've been saying all along!"  He said it was a good plan 
and that, while the troop surge had attracted the most press 
attention, "there is a lot more here."  He welcomed any new 
ideas to find a solution to the Iraq situation.  A change of 
policy to improve the lives of the Iraq people will have the 
"full, full" support of Bahrain as a country and the rest of 
the Arab world.  The idea of regime change was to offer a 
better life for the Iraqi people.  Due to an unforeseen 
deterioration in the security situation, the U.S. had not 
been able to offer that to Iraqis in the past.  Now, for the 
first time, we have come to a point where the U.S. has 
crossed the first hurdle to stabilize the situation enough to 
offer a better life for Iraqis. 
 
¶3.  (C) Shaikh Abdul Aziz continued that the issue of 
sectarianism was an important element that could jeopardize 
the good intentions of the U.S. and the region.  To preserve 
peace, we must (1) demonstrate for Iraqis that they have 
something to lose, and (2) witness a show of force by Iraqi 
security forces.  In conclusion, he said it is time to give 
the Iraqi government the responsibility for providing 
security while supporting and giving opportunities to the 
Iraqi people. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Although the speech was delivered too late locally 
to allow for editorial reaction in the country's newspapers, 
one columnist, in anticipation of the policy address, 
presented a view different from that of Shaikh Abdul Aziz. 
Walid Noueihed, a columnist at Arabic daily Al Wasat, January 
11 described the new strategy as a way to renew the 
occupation of Iraq by increasing the number of American 
forces there.  He added, "Let's face it!  How could this 
one-year strategy heal all the wounds and resolve all the 
sectarian divisions created by the old strategy just by 
increasing the number of forces?  Correcting the situation in 
Iraq requires the end of the occupation and liberating Iraq 
and not a new strategy based on re-occupying the country." 
 
¶5.  (C) Comment:  While Shaikh Abdul Aziz's comments are 
positive and encouraging, we note that just two days earlier, 
Crown Prince Shaikh Salman, in a meeting with representatives 
of the CNO Executive Panel, reiterated a theme he has stated 
often -- that the U.S. should draw down its troops to a 
50,000-member rapid-reaction force that is based outside of 
Iraq's population centers. 
 
 
********************************************* ******** 
Visit Embassy Manama's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/manama/ 
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MONROE