VZCZCXYZ1264
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBP #0217/01 0630935
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
R 030935Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY BAMAKO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8824
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS 0378
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE

S E C R E T BAMAKO 000217 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/03/2018 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER PINR MASS MARR
SUBJECT: GENERAL WARD'S MEETING WITH PRESIDENT TOURE 
 
Classified By: Political Officer Aaron Sampson, Embassy Bamako, for 
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
1.(S)  Summary:  General Ward and the Ambassador met with 
President Amadou Toumani Toure on February 26 to discuss 
security in northern Mali.  The meeting with the President 
followed a separate meeting with Minister of Defense Natie 
Pleah and senior Malian military leadership (septel). 
President Toure welcomed the creation of AFRICOM and 
expressed his deep appreciation for General Ward's visit. 
The President said U.S. military training has yielded 
qualitative improvements in the Malian Army and asked for 
increased training opportunities.  A Powerpoint presentation 
by the Malian Military Chief of the General Staff, General 
Seydou Traore, and the Malian Chief of Staff of the Army, 
Colonel Gabriel Poudiougou, requested more training, 
intelligence sharing, and materiel so Mali may strengthen 
garrisons based in northern Mali, create a new garrison in 
Taoudenni, and stand-up several smaller outposts in towns 
like Tinzawaten and In-Khalil.  Following this presentation, 
President Toure met privately with General Ward and the 
Ambassador to reiterate, on a personal level, his support for 
AFRICOM and General Ward.  During this meeting the President 
made it clear that Algeria must be on board for any general 
or specific actions targeting Islamic extremists in northern 
Mali to succeed.  End Summary. 
 
----------------------------------- 
Toure Requests Increased Assistance 
----------------------------------- 
 
2.(C)  President Toure warmly welcomed General Ward and the 
creation of AFRICOM during a meeting at the Presidency in 
Bamako.  President Toure opened the meeting by noting that he 
had just returned from Washington where he met with President 
Bush and officials at the Pentagon.  He described these 
meetings as highly successful as they provided him with a 
rare opportunity to present Mali's concerns about security in 
the Sahel-Sahara region.  General Ward said officials in 
Washington were extremely impressed by President Toure. 
 
3.(S)  The meeting between President Toure, General Ward, the 
Ambassador and Mali's senior military leadership was animated 
by a Powerpoint presentation led by Colonel Gabriel 
Poudiougou and Chief of the General Staff Brigadier General 
Seydou Traore.  General Traore's brief identified porous 
borders, traffickers looking to turn quick profits by 
whatever means available, and the Malian military's lack of 
resources as the key factors behind the continued instability 
in northern Mali.  To combat the GSPC/AQIM, said Traore, Mali 
must cut off the routes used by drugs, arms and human 
traffickers, equip Mali's National Terrorism Center and 
conduct more multi-national exercises like the Pan-Sahel 
Initiative (PSI), TSCTP and Flintlock.  He requested more 
US-trained companies, in addition to the three companies 
equipped in 2004, so Mali may implement a broad plan to 
reinforce existing garrisons in Tessalit, Kidal, Menaka, and 
Anefis, create one new garrison in Taoudenni and erect 
several smaller outposts in key towns like Tinzawaten and 
In-Khalil. 
 
4.(S)  In addition to the current narco-trafficking, 
banditry, and terrorist threats, the General cited the 
increased level of oil prospecting activity as another reason 
why the government wants to boost its security presence in 
northern Mali.  He said each of these units would need to be 
equipped with 4x4s and lightly armored vehicles.  He said 
US-supplied vehicles and equipment were critical in the 
Malian Army's response to the 23 May 06 attacks by Tuareg 
Alliance for Democracy and Change.  The presentation 
described how PSI-supplied vehicles and SOCEUR-trained 
soldiers were actively engaged in current operations against 
Tuareg dissident Ibrahim ag Bahanga in the Kidal area.  This 
included photos of military vehicles destroyed over the last 
six months by mines placed by Bahanga. General Traore 
concluded with a pitch for intelligence sharing and air 
support in the form of reconnaissance and combat helicopters 
in order to ensure the effectiveness of patrols launched from 
forward bases in northern Mali. 
 
5.(S)  General Ward thanked General Traore and President 
Toure for the presentation and said it highlighted the 
importance of knowing what is occurring in northern Mali and 
the need to develop the capacity to control Mali's northern 
zones.  General Ward said Mali's partnership with the U.S. 
has enhanced both of these elements.  He also praised Mali 
for its willingness to work closely with neighboring 
countries to address security threats.  General Ward 
expressed hope that the U.S. could help facilitate even 
greater cross-border cooperation.  He said the U.S. would 
continue to try to secure the assistance requested by Mali 
and that he would advocate for increased assets on Mali's 
behalf.  General Ward underlined, however, that the case for 
increased assistance to Mali would be strengthened by the 
engagement of Malian forces, using equipment and training 
already provided, against terrorist elements and other 
threats to security in the north. 
 
6.(S)  President Toure said he shared General Ward's point of 
view and hoped a future meeting of Sahel/Sahara Heads of 
State in Bamako would help to hash out specific shared policy 
positions which would enable Mali to better control what 
amounts to roughly 650,000 sq. km of terrain in northern 
Mali.  Toure said he was counting on U.S. support for this 
venture.  "I would like to assure you," said President Toure, 
"that it is Mali who needs to fight the Islamists."  Toure 
noted that Mali had recently arrested several Mauritanian and 
Algerian Islamists.  He described cross-border coordination 
between Mali, Mauritania and Niger as good. Coordination with 
Algeria, Toure added, was less so.  If Algeria could control 
its borders, said Toure, there would be no Islamists in Mali. 
 
 
------------------ 
Algeria is the Key 
------------------ 
 
7.(S)  Following a general discussion involving General 
Traore and others, President Toure invited General Ward and 
the Ambassador to a private meeting.  Although this meeting 
was intended to focus on specific counter-terrorism issues, 
Toure used the meeting to provide more personal views of what 
was already discussed.  He said Mali wants to help the U.S. 
counter Islamic extremism but that Mali must deal with its 
security issues on its own.  He said that because most Malian 
officers were trained in the former USSR, new training 
opportunities were crucial because the Malian army is 
relatively young and previous training programs like PSI have 
revitalized the military and produced qualitative 
improvements in the commitment and morale of those involved. 
President Toure said that most of the Malian military's 
equipment is also from the former Soviet Union.  Mali 
recently purchased 20 trucks and several helicopters from 
Bulgaria.  Because the Malian military is more familiar with 
former Soviet equipment, Mali has turned toward suppliers 
from the former Soviet bloc (although he made clear he hopes 
for help from the US as well).  Toure said Mali does not 
require complex military hardware, just durable, easy to 
maintain equipment familiar to Malian soldiers. 
 
8.(S)  For Toure, Algeria remains the key to resolving the 
security situation in the north.  He stressed that Algeria 
must be involved in any solution regarding the Islamic threat 
in northern Mali.  He said he hoped General Ward and AFRICOM 
could help work toward this end.  The President said he had 
good personal relations with Algerian President Bouteflika 
but reiterated his belief that members of the Algerian 
security services in southern Algeria are complicit in 
illegal trafficking and are acting outside the control of 
Bouteflika in Algiers.  Toure made it clear that Algeria must 
be on board as part of the team before any general or 
specific action can be taken against AQIM. 
 
-------- 
Comment: 
-------- 
 
¶9. (C) President Toure and the Malian military leadership 
have a clear understanding and appreciation for the added 
value of AFRICOM in unifying US military engagement on the 
continent, and General Ward's visit was an excellent 
opportunity to demonstrate the value we attach to the US-Mali 
relationship.  We are encouraged that President Toure is 
serious about a regional summit to discuss security in the 
Trans-Sahara region, and Mali's plan to reinforce the north 
offers opportunities to advance our TSCTP objectives.  Recent 
arrests in Mali of AQIM operatives, and comments by President 
Toure and other senior Malian leaders about the growing 
threat in the sub-region suggest that Mali is moving slowly 
away from the passivity that has characterized the 
government's approach to security in the north in recent 
years.  At the same time, Mali clearly needs to move from 
planning to deployment. 
 
¶10. (U) General Ward has cleared this message. 
MCCULLEY