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OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHCL #0165/01 2261658
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 141658Z AUG 09
FM AMCONSUL CASABLANCA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8487
INFO RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA IMMEDIATE 0016
RUEHBP/AMEMBASSY BAMAKO IMMEDIATE 0293
RUEHDJ/AMEMBASSY DJIBOUTI IMMEDIATE 0001
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL IMMEDIATE 0009
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI IMMEDIATE 0074
RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT IMMEDIATE 8660

UNCLAS CASABLANCA 000165 
 
CODEL 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR H - L. SHANE AND C. AUSTIN AND NEA/MAG 
DEPT PLEASE PASS TO HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FOR LTC. F. SOBCHAK AND MAJ. C. JENKINS (DOD) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OREP PREL ECON PGOV SOCI MO
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR CODEL MARSHALL 
 
REF: STATE82145 
 
¶1.  1.  (SBU) Summary:  Representative Mashall, Consulate 
Casablanca warmly welcomes you nd your delegation to 
Morocco.  Politically and eonomically, Morocco is a 
country "on the move," eeply engaged in reform and 
development, albeit nevenly.  Morocco has averaged 
over 5 percent anual growth in recent years and 
products and servces are increasingly specialized 
to take advantag of international trade 
opportunities and boos local growth.  The country 
has made substantialadvances in political and 
social reforms in the reas of human rights, equal 
rights for women andpress freedom.  Nonetheless, 
King Mohammed VI retins extensive political power 
while Parliament rmains weak.  At the local level, 
however, we hav seen encouraging progress.  For 
example, 12 perent of the seats, i.e., over 3,000, 
were reserve for women in the nationwide communal 
elections o June 12, and women won additional 
contested seas even above the number reserved. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Morcco's top foreign policy priority is 
securing inernational support for its claim to 
Western Sahara.  Morocco faces a serious, but 
largely contained, terrorism threat mainly from 
small, disorganized cells adhering to Salafia 
Jihadia extremist ideology.  Morocco has controlled 
this threat through the vigilance of its internal 
security services, emphasis on prevention of 
radicalization (in the religious, social and 
economic spheres), and robust international 
cooperation.  Morocco's military is modernizing and 
shares a positive relationship with the U.S., as 
evidenced by increasing military sales, including 
the purchase of 24 F-16s among other equipment, and 
training.  End Summary. 
 
------------------------------- 
Economics, Trade and Assistance 
------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Morocco's economy is dynamic and 
diversifying, although marred by disparities in 
wealth and hampered by stiff export competition from 
other low-cost countries.  Over the past few years, 
the Government has replaced many slums with adequate 
housing, and unemployment has declined to below 10 
percent.  Despite the global economic slowdown, 
economic growth is expected to exceed five percent 
this year, thanks in large part to a record 
agricultural harvest.  Recent evaluations describe 
the Kingdom as resisting economic contraction thus 
far, but feeling increasing strain from declining 
exports, remittances and tourism.  The financial 
sector is sanguine about Moroccan banks' continued 
immunity to the financial turmoil that has affected 
other countries, and observers are optimistic about 
the country's economic prospects. 
 
¶4.  (U) Since implementation of the U.S.-Morocco 
Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on January 1, 2006, 
bilateral commerce has nearly tripled.  Seeing new 
markets develop as a result of the FTA, U.S. and 
other foreign firms have increased their investments 
in Morocco.  Recent studies by Moroccan business 
groups have concluded, however, that Moroccan firms 
are not taking advantage of opportunities that exist 
in the U.S., leading to some criticism of the value 
of the FTA to Morocco.  The Embassy sponsors 
outreach sessions to raise awareness of FTA benefits 
and reduce obstacles for Moroccan businesses to 
create commercial ties with American counterparts, 
and the USAID Mission has also supported economic 
growth in ways that take advantage of the FTA 
opportunities in targeted sectors such as 
agriculture. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) United States bilateral assistance to 
Morocco focuses on youth and women, targeting four 
priorities:  economic growth, counterterrorism and 
counter-extremism, democracy and governance and 
quality education.  Assistance includes projects 
under the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), 
USAID, Peace Corps, and the Middle East Partnership 
Initiative (MEPI).  Building on decades of USAID and 
Peace Corps efforts, the MCC signed a five-year, USD 
697.5 million Millennium Challenge Account Compact 
with Morocco in 2007 to reduce poverty and increase 
economic growth.  The MCC will support five major 
projects selected for their potential to increase 
productivity and improve employment in high 
potential sectors of Morocco's economy:  Fruit Tree 
Productivity, Small Scale Fisheries, Crafts, 
Financial Services and Enterprise Support. 
 
------------------------- 
Governance and Parliament 
------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Current Government:  Prime Minister Abbas 
El Fassi's government, formed after the September 
2007 legislative elections, is built on a minority 
coalition.  The Government, filled with young 
technocrats from within and outside El Fassi's 
Istiqlal party, has performed better than many 
expected and looks capable of a full term despite 
its minority status.  Internal democracy is growing 
within political parties.  A political formation 
founded by Fouad Ali El Himma, an intimate of the 
King, has evolved into a new Party of Authenticity 
and Modernity (PAM) by grouping several smaller 
parties.  It now constitutes the largest political 
bloc in Parliament, won the most votes in the June 
12 municipal elections and could be prepared to lead 
should the current coalition falter. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Parliament:  The bicameral Parliament has 
little power and provides no effective check on the 
monarchy.  Constitutional change, which most major 
parties call for openly, may help improve the system 
some day, but weak regional government capacity, 
high rates of illiteracy among the population, and 
mutual distrust among parties that are used to 
monarchical paternalism may slow changes.  Although 
the September 2007 parliamentary elections were the 
most transparent in the country's history, the 
record low participation (37 percent of registered 
voters) reflects the lack of voter confidence in the 
institution. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Local Government:  Morocco's June 12 
municipal and local elections were notable for the 
Government's decision to reserve 12 percent of local 
council seats for women candidates.  In what has 
been called the "petite revolution," women won 3,400 
local seats, a 25-fold increase in elected women 
officials in the country.  Although most were 
elected from the reserved women's list, hundreds 
were elected from general lists in competition with 
male candidates.  Morocco now has more elected women 
officials than any other Arab country and has 
dramatically increased the visibility of women as 
leaders and policy makers, a critical step in 
shattering gender stereotypes and eliminating 
discrimination against women.  Of the recently 
elected officials, a dozen women won subsequent 
election by peers to chair local councils, i.e., to 
be mayors or the equivalent rural executives.  To 
support this historical advance of women's 
participation, the USG, through a collaborative 
project managed by the International Republican 
Institute (IRI) and the National Democratic 
Institute (NDI), sponsored training for over 3,500 
female candidates prior to the elections. 
 
----------------------- 
Human Rights and Reform 
----------------------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) King Mohammed VI has embarked on an 
ambitious and continuous program of human rights 
reforms that include the Arab world's first truth 
commission, a revised family code, and growing 
governmental transparency and accountability.  In 
addition, there has been a recent expansion of 
cultural rights and outlets for Berbers, one of the 
largest ethnic groups in Morocco.  Morocco has made 
substantial progress on issues of freedom of speech 
and press freedom, but "redlines" remain around 
media discussion of the monarchy, Islam, and the 
Western Sahara, which, if crossed, can lead to 
debilitating financial penalties and even jail.  The 
government's seizure at the beginning of August of 
newsmagazines that were preparing to publish the 
results of an opinion poll on the monarchy provided 
a vivid illustration of the limits of press freedom, 
as did recent high-profile libel judgments against 
newspapers.  Morocco is a leader in the region in 
press freedom and social reforms, but these positive 
changes are still not deeply rooted in law and could 
be rolled back.  Continued support and encouragement 
from partners like the United States and Europe are 
essential. 
 
--------------------- 
Foreign Policy Issues 
--------------------- 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Western Sahara:  Moroccan foreign policy 
is dominated by defending and seeking international 
recognition of its claims to sovereignty over 
Western Sahara.  The issue is a source of long- 
standing tension with neighboring Algeria, which has 
historically supported the POLISARIO Front's quest 
for independence for Western Sahara by way of a UN- 
sponsored referendum.  In April 2007, Morocco 
proposed a new autonomy plan for the region, and a 
series of UN-sponsored negotiations with the 
POLISARIO have taken place in Manhasset, New York. 
The Moroccan proposal would provide Sahrawis, the 
indigenous people of Western Sahara, autonomy in 
administering local affairs, while the territory 
would remain under Moroccan sovereignty.  There have 
been four rounds of talks, and new informals began 
in Vienna, Austria on August 10.  The U.S. 
Government supports a UN-brokered peaceful 
resolution to the dispute and has recently called 
for support for the UN Secretary General's Personal 
Envoy on this issue, former U.S. Ambassador 
Christopher Ross, to advance the process. 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Middle East Peace Process:  The late King 
Hassan II helped promote Middle East peace by 
welcoming then-Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres 
for an official visit in 1986, and King Mohammed VI 
could play a similar supportive role in the future. 
King Mohammed VI chairs the Organization of the 
Islamic Conference's (OIC's) Jerusalem Committee and 
has lobbied hard against any efforts to change the 
historically Islamic and Arab characteristics of the 
city, including residence demolitions. 
 
------------------------------ 
Morocco's Terrorism Challenges 
------------------------------ 
 
¶12.  (SBU) A relative lull following the 2003 
Casablanca bombings, which targeted Jewish and 
Western interests and killed 45 people, was shaken 
in the spring of 2007 by a series of suicide 
bombings centered in Casablanca, and by another 
bombing in Meknes in August of that year. 
Throughout 2007, 2008 and 2009, the Government of 
Morocco (GOM) continued to dismantle, in a 
preemptive fashion, terrorist and foreign-fighter 
cells within the Kingdom.  Characteristics of 
attacks and disrupted cells in recent years support 
previous analysis that Morocco continues to be 
threatened by numerous small "grassroots" Salafi 
Jihadia groups willing to commit violent acts 
against the state, foreigners and innocent 
civilians.  Morocco's primary external terrorism 
threat is the Algeria- and Mali-based al-Qa'ida in 
the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) terrorist 
group, which is known to be training Moroccans. 
Morocco is also combating the recruitment and 
movement of extremists willing to attack coalition 
forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. 
 
----------------------------------- 
Morocco's Counterterrorism Approach 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶13.  (SBU) The GOM's implementation of a 
comprehensive counterterrorism (CT) strategy 
emphasizing security measures, counter- 
radicalization policies, and international 
cooperation has been largely successful in 
containing the threat.  As "Commander of the 
Faithful," King Mohammed VI has moved to standardize 
religious doctrine and consolidate control over 
religious schools.  The GOM also continues to 
implement internal reforms aimed at ameliorating 
socio-economic factors that contribute indirectly to 
extremism.  The National Initiative for Human 
Development, launched by the King in 2005, is a USD 
1.2 billion program designed to generate employment, 
combat poverty, and improve infrastructure.  The GOM 
also emphasized adherence to human rights, improved 
investigative standards, and increased judicial 
transparency as part of its strategy.  The vast 
majority of the population rejects the radicals, 
which has made the government's vigilant security 
efforts more effective. 
 
--------------- 
Military Reform 
--------------- 
 
¶14.  (SBU) The Royal Armed Forces of Morocco (FAR) 
are modernizing but remain burdened by corruption, 
inefficient bureaucracy, and political 
marginalization.  The U.S. enjoys a positive and 
robust military relationship with Morocco, as 
evidenced by increased U.S.-Moroccan military 
training exercises and Morocco's recent USD 2.5 
billion purchase of sophisticated weapons from the 
U.S., to include 24 F-16s -- an apparent counter to 
an earlier Algerian purchase of advanced aircraft 
from Russia in 2007.  These decisions suggest the 
potential for military reform and increasing 
prospects for closer U.S. engagement. 
 
¶15.  This message has been cleared with Embassy Rabat. 
MILLARD