VZCZCXRO7459
OO RUEHDE RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHNR #1686/01 2191256
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 071256Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY NAIROBI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0616
INFO RUCNSOM/SOMALIA COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHDC
RHMFIUU/CJTF HOA
RUZEFAA/CDR USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RUZEFAA/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RHMCSUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NAIROBI 001686 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR AF/E AND A/S CARSON 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM KPAO PINR SOCI SO
SUBJECT: SOMALIA - The Great Handshake Debate 
 
------- 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) Much ado has been made about the handshake between 
Secretary Clinton and Transitional Federal Government (TFG) 
President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed during their August 6 meeting 
in Nairobi.  Prior to the meeting, Somalis of all walks of life 
speculated on whether or not Sharif would indeed shake the 
Secretary's hand.  After the handshake was captured on video and 
photograph, Somalis' reactions ranged from entirely positive to 
speculation that extremists would attempt to amputate Sharif's hand 
upon his return to Mogadishu.  Sharif's staff told us the handshake 
was never a concern for Sharif, who resolved to make the gesture and 
then focused on the content of the meeting.  End Summary. 
 
---------------- 
The Anticipation 
---------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Prior to the August 6 meeting in Nairobi between Secretary 
Clinton and Transitional Federal Government (TFG) President Sheikh 
Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, the first meeting between a TFG President and 
U.S. Secretary of State (septel), speculation about whether or not 
Sharif would shake hands with the Secretary threatened to overshadow 
the significance of the meeting.  During several meetings with U.S. 
officials, notably including former AF Assistant Secretary Frazer 
before Sharif became President, he had avoided shaking hands. 
Contacts told us that while Islam does not specifically forbid this 
gesture, the controversy reflected concern about Sharif acting 
against more conservative customs that have been introduced by Gulf 
Arabs into Somalia over the past 20 years, mostly through 
educational centers run mainly by Wahhabi organizations. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The Washington Post published an online article just hours 
before the meeting focusing not on the historic encounter, but on 
speculation about a possible handshake.  Another Somali contact 
speculated that U.S. and international support for Sheikh Sharif and 
the TFG had subconsciously dampened extremists' morale while lifting 
the spirits of ordinary Somalis, who are longing for Somalia's 
troubles to end so they can reconstruct their lives.  The same 
contact said that among the vast majority of Somalis, there was no 
controversy, stating that "It's an issue which fascinates only 
simpletons and people engulfed with ignorance, who have no idea how 
the world works."  He said that in his judgment, Somalis' prime 
preoccupation was physical and psychological security, food and 
shelter, and the most basic of necessities.  A handshake, he said, 
came nowhere near top of a list of priorities.  Before the start of 
the joint press conference that followed the bilateral meeting, some 
Somali journalists told us they were eager for pictures of Sharif 
shaking hands with the Secretary, saying they could make a good 
story out of it. 
 
¶4. (SBU) The Somali Ambassador to Kenya, who facilitated the meeting 
and who had discussed with President Sharif the question of whether 
or not to shake hands, seemed somewhat amused at the attention given 
to the issue.  He claimed that President Sharif had said that "he 
would shake with both hands" if that would emphasize the inane 
nature of this debate, especially against the backdrop of this 
historic meeting. 
 
---------------- 
Three Handshakes 
---------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Sharif did not hesitate to shake the Secretary's hand when 
they first greeted each other.  During the camera spray immediately 
preceding the bilateral meeting, the photographers specifically 
asked the two to shake hands once more.  At the end of their press 
conference, Sharif once again greeted Secretary Clinton with both 
hands. 
 
------------- 
The Reactions 
------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Though we are still collecting media reactions, initial 
responses to the handshakes have ranged from positive to entirely 
hostile.  International and Somali media broadcast images of the 
handshakes.  A journalist with Somali National Post newspaper said 
"Sheikh Sharif did the right thing to shake hands with Secretary 
Clinton."  A BBC Somali Service journalist said "this was totally 
 
NAIROBI 00001686  002 OF 002 
 
 
unexpected and will further enrage the Islamists because, as the 
former leader of Islamic courts, it shows how much [Sharif] has 
transformed."  Talk of the handshake dominated an Internet cafe in 
Eastleigh, Nairobi's Somali enclave, on the evening of the meeting. 
One young man said, "This is what people have been waiting for." 
Another man said, "[al-Shabaab] will cut his hand off when he 
returns to Mogadishu."  Another man said "at least Sharif has done 
what others before him have not done," referring to the historic 
nature of the TFG President meeting the U.S. Secretary of State. 
The same man said that Sharif "seems genuine that he wants to save 
Somalia."  An extremist website showed pictures of president Sharif 
and the Secretary shaking hands, with the caption "Sharif extends 
firm hand to Clinton." 
 
RANNEBERGER