VZCZCXRO7833
PP RUEHGI RUEHRN RUEHTRO
DE RUEHNJ #0689/01 2350901
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 230901Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY NDJAMENA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5665
INFO RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA 1435
RUEHGI/AMEMBASSY BANGUI 1421
RUEHKH/AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM 0486
RUEHNM/AMEMBASSY NIAMEY 2991
RUEHTRO/AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI 0427
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS 0101
RUEHYD/AMEMBASSY YAOUNDE 1600
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0931
RUEHRN/USMISSION UN ROME 0057
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0992

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 NDJAMENA 000689 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF/C AND H - PLEASE PASS TO CODEL JACKSON LEE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OREP PREL PGOV PHUM PTER CD
SUBJECT: CHAD SCENESETTER FOR CODEL JACKSON LEE 
 
REF: SECSTATE 118298 
 
¶1. (U) U.S. Embassy N'Djamena warmly welcomes CODEL Jackson 
Lee to Chad August 26-27, 2007.  Chad is a landlocked, 
impoverished nation situated in the geographical "heart" of 
Africa.  Violent regime change has been the rule since 
independence in 1960.  Chad's estimated 9.4 million people 
are primarily farmers or herders; new oil revenues have yet 
to trickle down to the village level, and infant mortality 
and illiteracy rates are among the world's highest.  Chad has 
a longstanding tradition of practicing a moderate and 
tolerant Islam and Chadians tend to be pro-American. 
 
¶2. (U) United States interests in Chad have evolved 
considerably over the last seven years.  Highlights of the 
new relationship include large scale U.S. humanitarian 
support for the Darfur refugees in Chad, U.S./Chad 
cooperation on counter-terrorism effrts and the presence of 
a large U.S.-led oil conortium. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Chroni regime instability affects all of those 
interests.  So far, President Deby has successfully warded 
off challenges to his 16-year regime by arms and negotiation, 
but encouraging a peaceful political transition in Chad and 
supporting democratic institutions are significant challenges 
for our diplomatic efforts.  A more stable Chad would be a 
better partner in addressing regional instability, including 
the Darfur conflict, the chronically unstable Central Africa 
Republic and terrorist threats from extremist ideologies. 
 
The Political Setting 
--------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU)  Chad's human rights record remains poor and 
government institutions lack the capacity and the will to 
bring justice to average Chadians.  President Idriss Deby 
Itno oversaw a return to democracy after seizing power by 
force in 1990, but subsequent presidential and legislative 
elections were flawed and the Constitution was revised in 
2005 to abolish Presidential term limits.  The President was 
re-elected for a third five-year term in May 2006 in an 
election boycotted by the opposition.  In 2005 Chad tied with 
Bangladesh as the world's most corrupt country according to 
the corruption watchdog organization, "Transparency 
International."  Civil society remains fragmented and too 
weak to pose a counterbalance to government power. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Despite challenges to his 16-year regime from 
external attacks and internal political dissent, President 
Deby - assisted by a windfall in oil income -- has been on a 
winning streak.  He trounced rebels (with the help of French 
forces) who attacked N'Djamena in 2006.  On August 13, after 
eight months of negotiations, an agreement was reached 
between opposition political parties and the ruling party on 
electoral reform.  But even as Deby signs peace agreements 
with former rebel leaders and hopefully sets the stage for 
credible legislative and presidential elections, new 
challengers bent on toppling the regime may emerge, eager for 
a share of Chad's new-found oil bounty. Although President 
Deby has presided over Chad's most peaceful era since 
independence, his legacy will be undermined if he is unable 
to successfully open the political arena, and demonstrate 
that a peaceful transfer of political power is possible in 
Chad 
 
CHAD AND DARFUR 
---------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Chad is deeply implicated in the Darfur conflict, 
not only because Darfurians claim ethnic loyalties with 
groups in eastern Chad, but because Chad and Sudan's uneasy 
relationship has manifested itself in support for rebel 
groups bent on destabilizing the other. Chad's eastern region 
currently hosts 12 refugee camps containing over 200,000 
Sudanese victims of the Darfur conflict.  The same region 
hosts over 170,000 Chadian Internally Displaced Persons 
(IDPs). The United States is the major donor through the UN 
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and partner NGO's in 
efforts to assist the refugees and IDPs.  This 
environmentally fragile region has been gravely impacted by 
 
NDJAMENA 00000689  002 OF 003 
 
 
the presence of refugees competing for water and firewood 
with the local inhabitants.  In 2006 and 2007, as Chadian 
rebels made bolder inroads into Chad, and violent clashes 
with the Chadian army become more frequent, eastern Chad 
became a zone of peril for the UN and its partner NGOs.  The 
security vacuum led to opportunistic attacks on border towns 
by armed militias (Chadian or Sudanese janjaweed) and Chadian 
displacement surged as villagers fled their homes. 
 
¶7. (U)  The United States has welcomed President Deby's 
recent consent to the stationing of UN gendarmes and 
EU/French military forces in eastern Chad to protect 
humanitarian workers, Darfur refugees and Chadian displaced 
persons.  Discussions are currently underway in Brussels and 
New York to determine the modalities of such a force; 
deployment is anticipated as early as mid-October 2007. 
 
OIL AND DEVELOPMENT 
------------------- 
 
¶8.  (U) Chad's oil boom -- expected to last less than a 
decade -- will severely test its absorptive capacity and 
ability to manage and spend the resources so as to promote 
sustainable economic growth and improve the Chadian standard 
of living (currently ranked among the lowest in the world.) 
Chad's first oil began pumping in 2003 and flowing down the 
1070-kilometer pipeline to the Cameroonian coast.  The 
largest single U.S. private investment in Africa, the $6 
billion project is managed by a consortium led by ExxonMobil. 
 In 2007 alone, Chad will earn over USD 1 billion in combined 
profit taxes and royalties from the consortium. 
 
¶9.  (U)  As part of the financing package arranged by the 
World Bank and other lenders, Chad agreed to an innovative 
arrangement for managing its oil revenues whereby the bulk of 
royalties would be earmarked for social sectors such as 
health and education.  However, this pathbreaking experiment 
in transparency foundered in 2005 when the President, 
strapped for cash for security spending, changed the law 
governing use of oil revenues (provoking a rupture with the 
World Bank which took over five months to resolve.)  A new 
agreement recommits the Government to funding social sectors, 
but allows greater spending on security. 
 
FIGHTING TERRORISM 
------------------- 
 
¶10.  (U)  In March 2004, the Chadian army engaged in an 
intense battle with members of the Algerian terrorist group 
GSPC, demonstrating the extent to which Chad's vast and 
porous borders leave it open to infiltration by terrorist 
elements.  The cooperation of Chad,s security services and 
army on counterterrorism issues has been excellent, and 
President Deby welcomes additional U.S. counterterrorism 
assistance provided under the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism 
Partnership (TSCTP). Over the last three years, U.S. forces 
have trained and equipped two Chadian units and these troops 
have learned to respond to internal threats from terrorism 
and banditry.  Chad participates in U.S. military training 
programs, including the Flintlock exercise. 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Post also works to counter terrorist threats by 
implementing a program of Muslim outreach and providing 
development assistance to counter the conditions which can 
foster extremism.  For the most part, Chadian Muslims are 
moderate and Muslim leadership in Chad is supportive of U.S. 
programs throughout the country.  Muslim leaders also work 
closely with the government to rein in radical Islamic 
elements. 
 
THE U.S. PRESENCE IN CHAD 
---------------------------- 
 
¶12. (SBU) The United States Embassy in Chad has approximately 
30 direct hire-Americans.  The American community in Chad - 
never large - was reduced significantly following the 
drawdown of personnel from the UN, international NGO's and 
the oil consortium after the April 2006 attacks on N'djamena 
by Chadian rebels.  The United States closed its USAID 
Mission in Chad over ten years ago.  A modest amount of U.S. 
 
NDJAMENA 00000689  003 OF 003 
 
 
assistance is managed directly by the Embassy and supports 
grass-roots efforts to improve education, provide access to 
water, and promote human rights.  As a result of unrest, the 
Peace Corps program has been closed and suspended 
indefinitely.  Americans are not targets in the struggle 
between President Deby and rebel contenders, but the danger 
of widespread civil disorder is very real. 
 
¶13. Minimized Considered. 
TAMLYN