VZCZCXRO6462
RR RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHDIR
DE RUEHMK #0166/01 0811159
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
R 221159Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY MANAMA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8557
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS 1237
RUEHKH/AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM 0006
RUEHYN/AMEMBASSY SANAA 0730
RUEHTRO/AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI 0017
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS 0294
RHBVAKS/COMUSNAVCENT
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 000166 
 
SIPDIS 
 
BAGHDAD FOR AMBASSADOR ERELI 
DEPARTMENT FOR S/WCI AND NEA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/22/2019 
TAGS: PREL PHUM PTER KDRG SA YE TU LY SY SU BA
SUBJECT: S/WCI AMBASSADOR WILLIAMSON'S VISIT TO MANAMA 
 
REF: MANAMA 39 
 
MANAMA 00000166  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: CDA Christopher Henzel for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (S) Summary: A Bahraini MFA official said that the GOB 
would consider the USG's request to accept non-Bahraini 
Guantanamo detainees as a gesture of respect to the Obama 
administration's commitment to close the facility.  He added 
that Bahrain would try to convince Yemen to find a compromise 
that would allow for the transfer of high-risk Yemeni 
detainees to Saudi Arabia to take advantage of the Saudis' 
rehabilitation program.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (S) S/WCI Ambassador-at-Large Clint Williamson, 
accompanied by A/DCM and S/WCI officer Shaun Coughlin, met 
with MFA Undersecretary Abdulaziz bin Mubarak Al Khalifa on 
January 19 to present a letter from the Secretary to Foreign 
Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa encouraging Bahrain's 
cooperation in closing Guantanamo. 
 
¶3. (S) Ambassador Williamson thanked Abdulaziz for the GOB's 
consideration of a January request to accept detainees 
(reftel), but explained that President Obama had undertaken a 
new, concerted effort to close the Guantanamo detention 
facility - a message reinforced by his Executive Order issued 
shortly after taking office.  The President and the Secretary 
recognize the damage Guantanamo has done to our relations in 
the region and feel strongly that until this issue is 
resolved, it will continue to be an impediment to our foreign 
policy.  For the USG to be successful in this effort, 
however, we would need the help of friends and allies. 
Accordingly, the Secretary had asked Williamson to come to 
Manama to discuss this with the GOB. Abdulaziz said that the 
GOB would consider the request, adding that with several 
months to examine the issue, it was more likely that there 
might be a positive response.  He cautioned, however, that 
the political decision would be taken at the highest levels 
and in consultation with the security apparatus (the Bahrain 
National Security Agency and the Ministry of Interior). 
Abdulaziz said that as the GOB considered the request, it 
might avail itself of Williamson's offer of detailed 
information on individual detainees, and facilitation of 
interviews at Guantanamo. 
 
¶4. (S) Abdulaziz was particularly interested in the 
anticipated number of detainees who might be transferred and 
about U.S. concerns on transferring some detainees to their 
home countries.  Ambassador Williamson explained that, 
following an interagency review being led by the Justice 
Department, we anticipate prosecuting a certain number and 
transferring the bulk of the 240 detainees back to their home 
countries.  He added that there would likely be a group of 
50-60 Tunisians, Syrians, Libyans, Egyptians, Uzbeks, and 
Uighurs that we would want to transfer to third countries due 
to humane treatment concerns.  He explained that we had 
experienced problems with Tunisia and Libya in their 
treatment of returnees and that we had grave concerns with 
respect to Syria.  Williamson was hopeful that we would be 
able to resettle the Uzbeks and Uighurs in Europe.  Abdulaziz 
promised to pass the letter to Sheikh Khalid and said he 
would recommend that the GOB look closely at our request.  He 
added that Bahrain has great respect for President Obama and 
his efforts to "open America's fist." 
 
¶5. (S) The two discussed the success of Saudi Arabia's 
rehabilitation program, particularly in countering the 
potential for returnees to exert ideological influence on 
their peers.  Williamson noted that the U.S. and Saudi Arabia 
had tried unsuccessfully to convince Yemeni President Ali 
Abdullah Saleh to permit the transfer of 99 Yemeni detainees 
to Saudi Arabia.  The Saudis, he said, had a facility near 
the Yemeni border and were prepared to fund the 
rehabilitation program and bring the detainees' families to 
Saudi Arabia for the duration of the program.  He asked 
Bahrain to encourage the Yemenis to work toward a compromise 
with the U.S. and Saudis.  Abdulaziz immediately saw the 
concern with transferring high-risk detainees to Yemen, 
noting that the ROYG simply did not have the resources to 
deal with them properly and that the risk of escape was too 
high.  He said Bahrain would do all it could to convince the 
Yemenis on the point. 
 
 
MANAMA 00000166  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶6. (C) As an aside, Abdulaziz asked how the USG viewed the 
ICC arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Bashir. 
Williamson said that the United States was supportive of the 
ICC investigation into crimes in Darfur and felt strongly 
that responsible persons should be held accountable. 
Abdulaziz said that Bahrain agreed that accountability was 
important but he wondered if this was the right way to 
achieve it.  He suggested that other individuals who might be 
even more deserving, such as President Mugabe, were not 
subject to ICC investigations while Bashir was singled out. 
Williamson responded that while international justice efforts 
were neither perfect nor all-encompassing, there had been 
widespread agreement that the situation in Darfur, and the 
scale of crimes committed there, justified the UNSC referral 
of the case to the ICC.  He added that while some 
governments, particularly in the Middle East and Africa, had 
urged the UNSC to grant an Article 16 deferral of the 
prosecution, the USG could not support such an approach. 
 
¶7. (U) Ambassador Williamson has cleared this message. 
 
********************************************* ******** 
Visit Embassy Manama's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/manama/ 
********************************************* ******** 
HENZEL