VZCZCXRO9724
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHEG #0466/01 0691542
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
O 091542Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8470
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 CAIRO 000466 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR NEA/ELA AND NEA/ARP 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/09/2018 
TAGS: PREL KPAL PTER EG IS XF OM
SUBJECT: A/S WELCH MARCH 6 MEETING WITH OMANI FM YUSUF BIN 
ALAWI 
 
Classified By: ECPO Minister-Counselor William R. Stewart 
for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
------- 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (S) Omani Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs Yusuf 
bin Alawi told A/S Welch during their March 6 meeting that 
the Israelis and Palestinians must "solve their own 
problems."  The U.S. is not to blame ) "you have tried your 
hardest" ) but Israel has been given chance after chance and 
squandered them all.  Oman has worked hard and paid a price 
over many years of trying to find peace in the Middle East ) 
all to no avail.  The parties themselves must work out their 
own solutions.  "I've been doing this a lot longer than you 
have ) and nothing in all these years has changed."  End 
summary. 
 
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Halting Hamas 
------------- 
 
¶2. (S) Assistant Secretary Welch briefed FM Yusuf bin Alawi 
on the Secretary's recent meetings with the Israelis and 
Palestinians.  He outlined that the Israelis have two goals 
for Gaza:  stopping rocket attacks on Israel, and preventing 
Hamas from rebuilding itself.  The Egyptians are active in 
restoring calm.  While we do not want to legitimize Hamas, 
someone must make clear that their actions harm the 
Palestinian people.  A/S Welch noted that there are some in 
Israel who prefer a more dramatic solution in Gaza.  This 
view is not shared by Israeli PM Olmert, who  made it clear 
that if the rocket attacks on Israel stop, there will be no 
invasion of Gaza.  LTG Fraser will soon convene the first 
trilateral security meeting as part of implementing the Road 
Map; people must see a difference. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
YBA:  "Don't Blame The United States; Blame Israel" 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶3. (S) Bin Alawi began his remarks by noting that, "We have 
been busy at the Arab League these days, but as always, it 
was of no value."  Commenting on Israel-Palestine, Bin Alawi 
said that no one should blame the U.S. for what is happening 
) "you have tried your hardest."  Rather, they should blame 
Israel, which has been given chance after chance and 
squandered them all.  No one should underestimate the Arabs, 
Bin Alawi said.  "We may be very friendly but we are also 
very tough."  Israel makes excuses for the actions it takes, 
but the Arab street sees through this.  Israeli PM Olmert is 
"worried about his position, but not about peace."  Simply 
saying no rockets, no attack, "completely misses the point," 
which is:  when will Israel end its occupation of Palestine? 
 
 
¶4. (S) Oman has made a "big investment" in peace over the 
years, Bin Alawi continued.  We have pushed for peace, but so 
far "there has been no response.  There is no peace, only 
war."  There are limits to what we as a government can do. 
Eventually we will lose control of the street.  Israel needs 
a "shock" to wake up.  For the first time, the Arab League 
has debated taking back the Arab Peace Initiative.  In 
response to A/S Welch's query as to what exactly that meant, 
Bin Alawi said, "It means that we must tell our people there 
is no peace with Israel."  The final decision on whether or 
not to do so, he said, has been reserved for the upcoming 
Arab League summit in Damascus. 
 
----------------------------------------- 
Israeli Withdrawal:  The Only Way Forward 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (S) The only way forward, Bin Alawi said, is for Israel to 
set a timetable for withdrawal from the occupied territories. 
 "That would change the entire situation." But until now, Bin 
Alawi noted, there is no withdrawal and no stopping the 
Israeli settlements.  President Bush did not just promise 
Arab governments there would be two-states by the end of his 
term, he promised the Arab people.  "Israel has said no (to 
President Bush) publicly.  Olmert himself said there won't be 
two states."  A/S Welch corrected Bin Alawi -- Olmert 
actually said it would be difficult, but not impossible.  Bin 
Alawi replied:  "If Olmert were really Bush's friend, he 
would not say such things in public." 
 
¶6. (S) A/S Welch asked Bin Alawi what option he proposed. 
"Let the situation correct itself," Bin Alawi said.  If 
Israel wants to stay there, let it stay there.  If they want 
 
CAIRO 00000466  002 OF 003 
 
 
to build settlements, let them -- they have power; they can 
do what they want.  The time for liberation -- or withdrawal 
-- will come when it comes.  Fighting Hamas, Bin Alawi 
opined, only gives it legitimacy and strengthens the 
fundamentalists.  Israel is defending itself at the cost of 
peace.  But why not give the Palestinians the same right of 
self-defense?  A/S Welch stressed that many Palestinians do 
not agree that shooting rockets at Israel is the best form of 
self-defense.  How else shall they protect themselves, Bin 
Alawi asked.  The Palestinians sought protection from 
the international community and got nothing.  A/S Welch 
pushed back that Gaza is not under attack; Israel is.  But 
Gaza is under siege, Bin Alawi responded. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
Nothing Ever Changes In The Middle East 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (S) The objective for everyone, according to Bin Alawi, 
should be peace.  But the only chance for peace is for Israel 
to commit "tomorrow" to a timetable for withdrawal, and then 
implement it.  "If they do this, not only Israel will be 
against Hamas, but all the Arabs, too."  But since such a 
promise is highly unlikely, Bin Alawi mused, "what will 
happen?"  Bin Alawi apologized for being so blunt, "but we 
are friends, and we must tell our friends what we see as 
facts."  A/S Welch said that it appeared we did not agree on 
what those facts were:  "You seem to be putting all the blame 
on one party."  That is because only one party is an 
occupier, Bin Alawi retorted, "over people with no power." 
A/S Welch stressed that the United States believes that 
Israel is committed to changing that; Bin Alawi said, "We'll 
see."  The trouble is, he suggested, that "nothing ever 
changes in the Middle East."  When decade after decade passes 
with no improvement, it gives rise to extremism.  "That's 
what brought Hamas." 
 
---------------------------- 
Palestine and Lebanon Linked 
---------------------------- 
 
¶8. (S) Turning to Lebanon, A/S Welch complained that the 
Arabs have given a free hand to Syria and Iran.  He asked if 
there were an Arab League consensus on the way forward. 
There is no consensus, Bin Alawi asserted, and there will not 
be a consensus until the Palestinian problem is solved.  A/S 
Welch questioned the linkage of the two issues.  The 
non-consensus you see on Lebanon, Bin Alawi explained, will 
spread and increase because Arab governments have handed the 
issue to the people.  "You want democracy?  This is 
democracy."  People express their views.  When you insisted 
the Palestinians hold elections, they voted for Hamas, which 
you did not like. 
 
¶9. (S) As for Lebanon, Bin Alawi went on, there are 300,000 
to 400,000 Palestinians refugees living there.  "You don't 
think they have an impact on what happens in Lebanon?"  The 
fact is that Syria now controls much of what happens in 
Lebanon, not the Lebanese people, A/S Welch said.  Bin Alawi 
disagreed; "the problem is the Lebanese are divided among 
themselves."  That is why there has not been a presidential 
election yet.  The president in Lebanon is elected by the 
parliament, not the people, and the members of parliament 
disagree.  But the Lebanese need a president "in the chair." 
He is the custodian of the constitution, and without a 
president, Bin Alawi averred, "every Lebanese becomes a 
president."  No one wants this to continue.  Our job and your 
job, Bin Alawi stressed, is to encourage the Lebanese people 
and political leaders to elect a president. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
Syria, Lebanon's "Neighbor and Brother" 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶10. (S) A/S Welch said  that Syria stands in the way of 
electing a president.  Leave Syria alone, Bin Alawi advised; 
the AL has decided to send SYG Amre Moussa to go again to 
Beirut and try to "make a deal."  As for the Syrians, "they 
are Lebanon's brothers and neighbors; let them work out their 
differences together."  A/S Welch pushed back:  the Syrians 
are the reason Lebanon has not been able to elect a 
president.  They see the consensus candidate as a threat to 
them, which is nonsense.  However, A/S Welch continued, it is 
not nonsense to say Syria is a very real threat to Lebanon. 
"Why should we worry if they go to war -- or peace?"  Bin 
Alawi responded.  "Let them." 
 
------ 
Kosovo 
------ 
 
CAIRO 00000466  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶11. (C) A/S Welch asked what Oman's position on Kosovo was. 
"That's a European issue," Bin Alawi answered.  "Leave it 
there." 
 
¶12. (U) A/S Welch did not have an opportunity to clear this 
message. 
RICCIARDONE