VZCZCXRO8274
PP RUEHBC RUEHDBU RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK RUEHLH RUEHPW RUEHRN RUEHTRO
DE RUEHJI #0226/01 1651314
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 141314Z JUN 09
FM AMCONSUL JEDDAH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1385
INFO RUEHIC/OIC COLLECTIVE
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 8388
RUEHDH/AMCONSUL DHAHRAN 0062
RUCNDTA/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0088
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JEDDAH 000226 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/ARP, IO FOR ANDREW MORRISON, S FOR HUMA 
ABEDIN, ECA FOR ELISABETH GOMEZ 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/12/2014 
TAGS: PREL PHUM KISL KPAL WBG SA
SUBJECT: OIC SECRETARY GENERAL REQUESTS MEETING WITH 
SECRETARY CLINTON FOLLOWING POTUS CAIRO SPEECH, CALLING 
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE "A MASTERPIECE" 
 
REF: JEDDAH0175 
 
JEDDAH 00000226  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: CONSUL GENERAL MARTIN R. QUINN FOR REASONS 1.4(B) AND (D 
) 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Following the President's POTUS speech, the 
Organization of the Islamic Conference remains fixated on 
gaining a meeting with a high-ranking U.S. official and 
specifically are requesting a meeting with the Secretary 
between June 15-23.  While the OIC continues to press for 
lower level meetings, a meeting with the Secretary has been 
its highest priority.  In meetings following the President's 
Cairo speech, the OIC Secretary General and officials have 
confirmed wide support for the President's message with SYG 
calling it a "masterpiece" and others comparing it to the 
Gettysburg Address.  An OIC official has indicated that a 
special team has been organized to analyze the President's 
speech, the impact of which has seized the organization as it 
tries to find an appropriate role for itself.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (C) OIC SECRETARY GENERAL REQUESTS EARLY MEETING WITH 
SECRETARY: OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, is 
interested in meeting the Secretary at her earliest 
convenience, suggesting June 15-23 dates as the preferred 
period. According to Ihsanoglu, the Secretary, who was seated 
next to him in the front row at Cairo University, suggested a 
meeting the next time he is in Washington.  The agenda of the 
meeting, according to senior adviser Ufuk Gokcen would likely 
be focused on US-OIC relations, regional issues, and 
follow-up to the POTUS speech.  Gokcen mentioned the 
possibility that the ongoing issue of OIC diplomatic status 
in the United States could be raised. 
 
¶3. (SBU) OIC SECRETARY GENERAL AND OFFICIALS WOWED BY POTUS 
SPEECH: SYG Ihsanoglu was extremely positive about the 
speech: "We were very happy with the President's statement. 
Mrs. Clinton asked me my opinion, and I told her that I would 
endorse it.  We are very happy about the reference to the OIC 
and this new polio initiative. The speech is a masterpiece of 
drafting and crafting, but with the personal touch and spirit 
of the President." Gokcen also praised the speech and noted 
that it is the foremost agenda item at the OIC at this time 
and that a special team was being formed to study the 
implications of the President's message in detail.  Former 
Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Hemayet Uddin (OIC Director 
General for Cultural Affairs) told the CG and poloff on June 
8 that the President's remarks will rank "among the most 
pivotal speeches of U.S. history including the Gettysburg 
Address." 
 
¶4. (C) WHAT'S NEXT? SYG CALLS FOR RENEWED ISRAEL/PALESTINE 
ACTION, EXPRESSES OIC BACKING FOR ANY DEAL, REJECTS THE USE 
OF VIOLENCE: The discussion of the speech turned towards the 
future with the SYG stating that the speech is a strong 
beginning but that Muslims are waiting for next steps, 
especially with respect to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 
The SYG said that some Muslims feel more could have been done 
to pressure Israel and expressed his personal doubt that 
Israel can be moved towards concessions at this time:  "Is 
Israel ready for peace?  Is Israel ready to return back the 
rights that it's been withholding?  Are they ready to accept 
the Arab Initiative?"  Ihsanoglu promised the OIC will 
support any agreed-upon peace settlement:  "We in the OIC 
have endorsed the Arab Initiative.  There is potential for 
these 57 countries. Whatever Israel and Palestine both agree 
on, we'd be happy to support."  He rejected violence to 
achieve political ends on either side: "We agree that 
violence should not be used. We say to the extremists, what 
you are doing is not resistance, but rather fireworks that 
lead to nothing.  What they are doing is not logical. This is 
cheap politics and people are paying the price. They are 
willing to sacrifice the last Palestinian for their cause. 
They should be protecting people, not sacrificing them." 
 
¶5. (C) SYG-S MEETING PRIORITIZED BY OIC OVER HIGH-LEVEL 
DELEGATION: According to Gokcen, the OIC remains interested 
in having high-level officials below the rank of Secretary 
General visit the U.S. for meetings with USG officials 
(reftel).  However, Gokcen says the OIC's focus is now 
squarely on arranging a meeting between S and the SYG, with 
the possibility that a high-level delegation would come later. 
 
 
JEDDAH 00000226  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶6. (U) IVLP PROGRAM SET TO BEGIN JULY 20: OIC will be sending 
a group of eight mid-level professionals to the United States 
on July 20 for an International Visitor Leadership Program 
created especially for the OIC. The attendees on this program 
represent a diverse cross-section of professional roles and 
the OIC's member states. This is the second specialized IVLP 
for OIC professionals, the first one taking place in 2007 
with a focus on inter-faith dialogue. 
 
¶7. (SBU) SYMPOSIUM WITH GEORGETOWN/USIP: Gokcen reminded 
poloff that the OIC is keen to hold a symposium in 
Washington, DC, preferably with Georgetown University or the 
United States Institute of Peace (USIP). However, Gokcen also 
added the possibility that a hotel near the White House might 
be used, with the OIC insuring that several OIC member heads 
of states or high-ranking officials would be in attendance. 
The symposium presumably would focus on U.S.-Islamic 
relations as well as providing a context for the OIC to 
advance its role on the international stage. 
 
¶8. (C) COMMENT: OIC'S CLAMOR FOR INCLUSION: As has been 
apparent in recent months, the OIC leadership is clamoring 
for high-level meetings with U.S. officials and now perceives 
the President's message as providing the welcome mat to more 
robust U.S.-OIC relations.  Appearing quite concerned about 
missing the boat, OIC leadership recognizes the limits of its 
ability to mobilize its extremely diverse group of member 
states and sees close U.S.-OIC ties as perhaps the only way 
to legitimize and expand its influence and acceptance. The 
generally weak role of the OIC and the fact that the 
leadership is completely fixated on its relationship with the 
U.S. could mean that the organization would be amenable to 
adopting and publicly supporting a wide-range of U.S. 
positions as long as they feel themselves recognized and 
legitimized by senior U.S. leaders. The Turkish "inner 
council" that effectively runs the Organization may be ready 
to endorse a wide range of U.S. policies, but will be less 
likely to do so if they feel excluded from the U.S. dialogue 
with the Muslim world. END COMMENT. 
QUINN