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RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0795
RUEHCL/AMCONSUL CASABLANCA 4010

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RABAT 000321 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR H, NEA/MAG, NEA/MEPI AND DRL/NESCA 
DEPT PLS PASS AID/W 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/04/2018 
TAGS: OVIP BOEHNER JOHN PREL PGOV EAID SY MO
SUBJECT: MOROCCO: CODEL BOEHNER'S VISIT - PARLIAMENTARY 
DIALOGUE AND MIDDLE EAST ISSUES 
 
Classified By: Amb. Thomas T. Riley for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary:  Both parliamentarians and executive branch 
officials warmly welcomed CODEL Boehner during a March 27-30 
visit to Morocco.  Representative Boehner,s counterpart, 
Chamber of Deputies Second Vice President Baha from the 
Islamic-oriented Justice and Development Party (PJD), was 
very positive, and avoided his customary criticism of U.S. 
policies.  Congressman Miller suggested the House Democracy 
Assistance Program could be useful to Morocco.  The meeting 
helped support the mission objective of supporting the newly 
elected Parliament.  At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 
Director-General Amrani noted Morocco's good relations with 
Israel, but said that many countries in the Middle East Peace 
Process were taking a "wait-and-see" approach until the 
presidential election in the U.S.  End Summary. 
 
------------- 
CODEL Boehner 
------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) House Minority Leader Mr. John Boehner led a CODEL 
to Morocco March 27-30.  Members of the Delegation included: 
Peter Hoekstra, John Carter, Jeff Miller, and Peter Roskam. 
After a brief stop in Fes, the delegation held meetings with 
counterparts in Rabat and then proceeded to Marrakech, 
receiving a briefing on local political conditions and the 
"All Democrats Movement," before returning to Washington D.C. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
Meeting with Chamber of Deputies (House) Leaders 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) At the Parliament, CODEL Boehner, accompanied by 
Ambassador Riley, was warmly received by his counterpart, 
Chamber of Deputies (lower house) 2nd Vice President Abdullah 
Baha from the Islamic-oriented Justice and Development Party 
(PJD).  (Note: As the PJD is the largest minority party, Baha 
is, in effect, the minority leader.  In the Moroccan 
parliamentary structure, heads of all major factions, in or 
out of majority, are vice presidents.)  Also on the Moroccan 
side were Parliamentary Secretary Chafik Rachadi, from 
Speaker Mansouri's Assembly of National Independents party 
(RNI), Abdellah Larouji, from the (Socialist) National Union 
of Popular Forces party (USFP) and Mohammed Ahmed Lakhir, a 
staffer. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Baha identified himself as a former participant in 
the USG's International Visitor (IV) Program.  As an IV, he 
had visited the CODEL home states of Illinois and Texas.  He 
looked forward to a possible future visit to Capitol Hill. 
Baha gave a short exposition of the long history of close 
Moroccan-U.S. relations, and hoped that trade between the two 
countries would continue to grow.  He particularly 
appreciated USG and congressional support for Morocco's 
territorial integrity (i.e., its stance on Western Sahara), 
underscoring the importance of the U.S. role in keeping peace 
and preserving stability worldwide.  "Terrorism is a global 
danger and the struggle against it requires an integrated 
approach," he said.  (Comment: Rising to his new role, Baha 
avoided the criticism of U.S. policies in the region that 
Embassy has previously heard from him.) 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Rachadi noted that of the Chamber's 325 members, 34 
were women.  There are eight parliamentary groups (equivalent 
to party caucuses) of at least 20 members each.  The Chamber 
wanted to benefit from the long experience of the U.S. House 
of Representatives, particularly in the area of effective 
communications and public relations.  Rachadi expressed 
particular appreciation of Ambassador Riley's extensive 
travels even to "corners of Morocco where most members of 
this house never go." 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Boehner said he was here to help strengthen the 
relationship between Morocco and the U.S.  "We know the 
U.S.-Morocco Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is working, and we 
want to see it work better."   On Sahara, he said the United 
States supported Morocco's efforts to achieve an agreed 
solution and he believed their offer was generous.  He 
advised the GOM to stay the course in the negotiations 
 
RABAT 00000321  002 OF 002 
 
 
despite their slow progress.  Congressman Miller noted he was 
a member of the House Democracy Assistance Commission and 
looked forward to working on a cooperation program. 
Congressman Roskam said he represented over 30,000 Muslims in 
his own district, and noted the growing influence of Muslims 
as constituents in U.S. politics. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
Meeting with Director General for Bilateral Affairs 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶7.  (SBU) During the CODEL's meeting with Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs (MFA) Director General for Bilateral Affairs Youssef 
Amrani on March 28, Boehner echoed the message he had given 
to Moroccan parliamentarians by expressing admiration and 
urging patience for the Moroccan approach to a solution for 
the Western Sahara.  Boehner, again, described Morocco's 
autonomy plan as "generous in approach." 
 
¶8.  (C) In response to a question from Congressman Hoekstra 
regarding Morocco's view of the Middle East Peace Process 
(MEPP), Amrani explained Morocco's positive role in 
encouraging a Middle East peace.  Amrani said that Morocco 
welcomed President Bush's "unprecedented" support for an 
independent Palestinian State.  He praised the Annapolis 
meeting, but warned that more concrete progress was needed to 
prevent extremists from taking advantage of the situation and 
attracting new terrorist recruits.  Amrani said that many 
countries with interests in the MEPP process were taking a 
"wait-and-see" approach until the resolution of U.S. 
presidential election.  He underscored the GOM's good 
relations with Israel and the importance of Morocco's Jewish 
community as an integral part of Moroccan society but roundly 
condemned Israel's policy of cutting off supplies to Gaza. 
He described this denial of resources as a "war," and not 
good for Gaza, Israel, or the world.  Instead, he urged 
Israeli action to ease the economic burden on the Palestinian 
people and to stop settlement activity. 
 
¶9.  (C) In response to a question from Congressman Miller 
regarding Syria, Amrani described Syria as a country trapped 
in stagnation, resistant to modernization and 
democratization.  While the President had changed, Syria 
continues to be run by the same individuals around the 
President that have run the country for years--which, in 
part, explains Syria's unproductive role in influencing 
democratic progress on Lebanon. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) On the Western Sahara, Amrani thanked the United 
States for its continued support of Morocco's autonomy 
proposal.  He expressed doubt that the deadlock could be 
resolved any time soon, given continued Algerian and 
Polisario insistence on referendum and independence.  He 
called resolution to the conflict key to regional 
integration, stability, democratization, and by extension, to 
defeating terrorism in the Maghreb, underscoring the regional 
menace posed by al-Qa'ida in the Lands of the Islamic 
Maghreb. 
 
¶11.  (SBU) In response to a question from Congressman Roskam, 
Amrani said that Morocco had many differences with Wahhabist 
ideology, especially in regard to Wahhabi gender 
discrimination.  Amrani noted the progressive legislation 
that Morocco has passed to improve women's rights.  "While 
Morocco is an Islamic country, it is an open and tolerant 
country."  Amrani said that Morocco was concerned about the 
spread of Wahhabism and other conservative interpretations of 
the Koran.  He described the rapid growth in recent years of 
the number of conservative religious television programs, 
broadcast from other Arab states but nonetheless watched by 
many Moroccans, as a new and disturbing trend. 
 
 
***************************************** 
Visit Embassy Rabat's Classified Website; 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/rabat 
***************************************** 
 
Riley