VZCZCXRO4661
OO RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK RUEHROV
DE RUEHMK #0319/01 0941534
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 041534Z APR 07
FM AMEMBASSY MANAMA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6683
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RHBVAKS/COMUSNAVCENT  PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 000319 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/04/2017 
TAGS: PREL KPAL BA IS IR IZ REGION OFFICIALS
SUBJECT: FOREIGN MINISTER DISCUSSES ARAB PEACE INITIATIVE, 
IRAQ, IRAN 
 
Classified By: Ambassador William T. Monroe for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
. 
 
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Summary 
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¶1.  (C) Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid told the Ambassador 
April 4 that he had praised the Arab peace initiative in a 
recent interview because it was an attempt to get outside 
"the bubble of historical conflict" over Israel.  There will 
be a meeting of the Arab League peace initiative action 
committee in Cairo in mid-April, and Bahrain would have "no 
reservations" about meeting face-to-face with Israel if it is 
a member of the working group charged with talking to Israel. 
 Noting he had met with former Iraqi interim Prime Minister 
Allawi the previous day, Shaikh Khalid said there should be 
support for people who favor a non-sectarian, non-ethnic 
approach to Iraqi politics.  He said that now is the time for 
the Arabs to engage with the Iraqi government so the Iraqis 
"feel we're with them."  He noted that Saudi Prince Bandar 
had delivered a stern message recently to Iran, saying 
everyone would lose in a broad Sunni-Shia conflict.  Shaikh 
Khalid dismissed the likelihood of a "grand rapprochement" 
between Saudi Arabia and Iran.  End Summary. 
 
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FM Addresses Peace Initiative in Interview 
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¶2.  (C) Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa 
told the Ambassador April 4 that his comments in support of 
the Arab peace initiative published in an interview with 
Arabic daily Al Ayam (and in English in the Bahrain Tribune) 
needed to be said.  The initiative was an attempt to get 
outside of "the bubble of historical conflict" over Israel 
and for the people of the region to accept each other.  Jews 
had lived with Arabs and Muslims throughout history.  People 
should recognize that while they may have differences, they 
are not enemies, and that the problems will be solved one 
day.  Israel has to do its part as well, the ForMin said.  He 
noted that Israeli envoy in the Gulf Kashdan had called him 
to say he liked the interview.  Shaikh Khalid had suggested 
that an Israeli newspaper should print it. 
 
¶3.  (C) In response to the Ambassador's comment about recent 
press coverage critical of a Bahraini official for having met 
with representatives of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) 
during an early March visit, and Shaikh Khalid's defense of 
the meeting in the Al-ayam interview, the Minister said that 
he could not accept this sort of criticism.  It is important 
to talk to the AJC and other American groups that Israel 
listens to.  They should know the Bahraini government's 
views, he asserted.  He said he had read and enjoyed the 
Washington Post's April 3 article about Bahraini Ambassador 
Al Baloushi participating in a Passover Seder dinner 
organized by the AJC.  "Let parliament react," he said, "I 
don't care."  Al Baloushi was doing the right thing by 
participating in this sort of festival.  What's the problem 
with that, he asked rhetorically. 
 
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Direct Contact with Israel under Arab Plan 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶4.  (C) The next step on the peace initiative, the Minister 
said, is for the members of the action committee to meet in 
mid-April in Cairo to form working groups.  (Note:  There are 
nine other members of the action committee, including Saudi 
Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, and Syria, among others.)  Each 
working group will be responsible for discussing the 
initiative with outside countries and organizations.  In 
response to the Ambassador's question, Shaikh Khalid said 
Bahrain would have "no reservations" about participating in 
the working group charged with talking to Israel.  "There is 
no barrier for us to get together with Israel face-to-face" 
in the context of the initiative and the working group.  It 
should not just be Egypt and Jordan talking to Israel.  The 
whole of the Arab world supports the initiative, including 
talks with Israel, and the working group members are the 
representatives.  Shaikh Khalid noted that Egyptian Foreign 
Minister Abul Gheit will visit Bahrain April 7-8, and they 
will discuss the composition of the working groups. 
 
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Allawi's Non-Sectarian Approach 
------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (C) The Ambassador stated that Saudi King Abdullah's 
 
MANAMA 00000319  002 OF 002 
 
 
comment at the Arab League Summit in Riyadh about the 
"illegal occupation" of Iraq had been jarring to Iraq and the 
United States.  Shaikh Khalid said he did not know why King 
Abdullah had said this, and he commented that the White House 
statement on the subject had been very responsible.  He hoped 
there would be no more public discussion about the issue so 
it would just go away.  Noting that he had met with former 
Iraqi interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi a day earlier, the 
ForMin said there should be support for Allawi and those who 
think like him, who favor a non-sectarian, non-ethnic 
approach to Iraqi politics.  People should be considered 
Iraqis first, not according to their sect or ethnicity. 
Sectarian distribution is not a part of the Iraqi 
constitution, but Shaikh Khalid said the political system was 
moving that way. 
 
¶6.  (C) Allawi had complained that Najaf and southern Iraq 
were now controlled by Iran through SCIRI, Shaikh Khalid 
reported.  A member of Allawi's delegation, Radwan Kalidar, 
had said that his family had been the caretakers of the Najaf 
mosque for generations.  Now supporters of Iran held the 
position.  The ForMin said the Arab countries had to help 
Iraq now.  There were indications, he claimed, that the 
United States would pull out of Iraq in a year.  "We have to 
move before that happens," he stated.  The Arab League (AL) 
mechanism for reconciliation had been accepted by all Iraqis, 
but the AL had not yet held a conference in Baghdad, as it 
had said it would.  Let's do it now, Shaikh Khalid said, and 
let the Iraqis feel we're with them, and are not leaving them 
to Iran. 
 
¶7.  (C) The Minister related that Allawi thought that his 
Iraq List slate of candidates was under-represented in the 
Iraqi parliament.  There had been reports of intimidation in 
the polling centers, and Iraq List voters had felt exposed 
because there were no private booths for voters to use while 
casting their ballots. 
 
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Dealing with Iran 
----------------- 
 
¶8.  (C) Shaikh Khalid said that Saudi Prince Bandar had 
recently visited Tehran and delivered a stern message.  The 
key point was that if there is a broad Sunni-Shia conflict, 
"we both lose."  The ForMin did not think there would be a 
"grand rapprochement" between Saudi Arabia and Iran.  They 
are trying to understand each other but have many 
differences.  The Ambassador said that UN Security Council 
Resolution 1747 tightens sanctions further on Iran.  Shaikh 
Khalid affirmed that Bahrain would implement the sanctions in 
full and indicated that he had been in touch with the Finance 
Minister and Central Bank Governor on this issue.  He noted 
that the Russians seemed to be growing increasingly skeptical 
of Iran.  National Security Advisor Ivanov had told him last 
November that Russia did not trust Iran and did not know what 
Iran was doing in its nuclear program.  Shaikh Khalid 
reported that the Iranian government was calling for a 
meeting of the Bahrain-Iran joint committee in Tehran, but he 
was stalling. 
 
 
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Visit Embassy Manama's Classified Website: 
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MONROE