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S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 BAMAKO 000754 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/22/2019 
TAGS: ASEC PINR PREL PTER
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH MALIAN PRESIDENT AMADOU 
TOUMANI TOURE 
 
REF: BAMAKO 619 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Gillian A. Milovanovic, Embassy Bamako, for r 
easons 1.4 (b) (d) 
 
SUMMARY 
 
¶1.    (S) On November 21 the Ambassador met with Malian 
President Amadou Toumani Toure (ATT) to discuss security in 
Northern Mali in the context of U.S. Africa Command General 
William E. ("Kip") Ward's planned November 27 visit, 
follow-up to the November 19 hard landing 65 miles from 
Bamako of a plane carrying U.S. military personnel, and 
preparations for the visit of the parents of ex-Peace Corps 
volunteer Christine Nardone, who was killed in a freak 
accident in Mali in 2008.  ATT was accompanied by his 
Secretary General, Diango Cissoko. End Summary 
 
SECURITY IN NORTHERN MALI 
 
¶2.    (S) On November 21 the Ambassador met with Malian 
President Amadou Toumani Toure (ATT). The Ambassador noted 
that while ATT was in Rome for the World Summit on Food 
Security earlier in the week she and RAO passed to the 
Director General for External Security (DGSE), Mamy 
Coulibaly, information that there was an imminent threat of 
taking Western hostages in Gao.  As a result of the U.S. 
request, the Malian DGSE and Army visibly reinforced security 
and the plot in Gao appears to have been thwarted.  The USG 
does not know where or when he will try again, but there is 
every indication the individual masterminding the kidnapping 
plot has not given up.   Al Q,Aida in the Lands of the 
Maghreb (AQIM) has clearly crossed the line, and will 
continue to seek to take hostages for ransom in Mali, not 
just outside of the country.  The Ambassador said she hopes 
she will be able to count on the President,s support, if and 
when we again seek Malian help. 
 
¶3.    (S) ATT said he was in complete agreement with 
Coulibaly,s decision.  He noted that he was late for his 
meeting with the Ambassador because of an earlier meeting 
with the leaders of Northern Mali to discuss security 
preparations for upcoming music festivals and said the 
Northern leaders had explained to him the various additional 
security measures that had been taken in the region of Kidal, 
in northwest Mali.  He pointed out that, frequently, 
hostage-takers are intermediaries who do not work directly 
for or with AQIM.  He said Mali and Niger have no choice but 
to work together on security issues straddling the border 
between the two nations. 
 
PREPARATION FOR GENERAL WARD,S VISIT 
 
¶4.    (S) The Ambassador said that the USG has made a good 
start with the training and equipping of the Echelons 
Tactiques Inter-Armes (ETIAs), Malian Army units designed 
specifically to combat AQIM.  She noted that as a result of 
the hostage taking threat, U.S. Army and Navy forces had been 
forced to freeze training of an ETIA and of the 33rd 
paratroop brigade, respectively, but said training has 
resumed and she expected them to try to make up for the 
delay.  She said that during his scheduled November 27 visit, 
General William E. ("Kip") Ward will be asking about ATT's 
plans to use the Malian Army units trained and equipped by 
the United States in the fight against AQIM.  Finally, the 
Ambassador mentioned that consumable items purchased by the 
USG to support the ETIAs, including beans and rice and fuel, 
have been held up by customs and the Finance Ministry when 
they should be allowed duty free entry. 
 
¶5.    (S) ATT instructed his Secretary General, who 
accompanied him in the meeting, to contact the Minister of 
Finance and order the immediate release of the items.  He 
said he is very much looking forward to the visit of General 
Ward.  As for Malian plans, ATT said he is preparing the 
population of the north for the increased security posture 
anticipated.  Sensitization of the public would be a key 
aspect of success.  A combined joint staff of the Algerian, 
Malian, Mauritanian, and Nigerian armies had been 
established, in principle, in the southern Algerian city of 
Tamanrasset.  ATT expressed frustration of the lack of 
Algerian follow up and follow through.  He was pleased with 
Mauritanian activism but concerned that Mauritania was acting 
 
BAMAKO 00000754  002 OF 003 
 
 
on its own without coordination.  He expressed a strong 
desire for the development and implementation of a joint 
Mali, Algeria, and Mauritania operations plan to jointly go 
after AQIM.  ATT said that since the Malian Army essentially 
withdrew from the Kidal region in 1991, it has left a vacuum 
in an area of 700,000 square kilometers which is exploited by 
traffickers, bandits, and criminals.  ATT said he has decided 
to reestablish a permanent military presence in Tessalit and 
at three other sites, one along the border with Mauritania, 
one along the border with Algeria, and one near Kidal. 
 
¶6.    (S) The Ambassador said that when Deputy Assistant 
Secretary for Defense Vickie Huddleston was recently in 
Algeria, she stressed the importance of regional cooperation 
among the states of the Sahel and the Maghreb.  ATT said Mali 
enjoys a good cooperative relationship with Mauritania and 
agreed about the importance of regional cooperation.  He said 
Algeria often complains that Mali does nothing to aid in the 
fight against AQIM, but in reality, the Algerians do not do 
much.  AQIM is not going to confront the Malian Army 
directly, and will simply fade away across the border when 
attacked.  AQIM gets many key supplies from sources in 
Algeria.  This is why cooperation is so important. 
 
¶7.    (S)  When the Ambassador asked ATT about plans to hold 
a heads of state meeting in Bamako, he said that it is 
extraordinarily difficult to get Sahel and Maghreb  states to 
agree on anything:  when one wants to move forward, the other 
is busy, or gets insulted.  The heads of state meeting is 
political, and does not stand in the way of greater 
cooperation at the tactical level, which could use the 
combined joint staff in Tamanrasset as a starting point.  ATT 
said Mali most needed Algerian support for its fight against 
AQIM, but said that support, foreseen in an operations plan 
Mali proposed to the Algerians, has not been forthcoming. 
 
AFTERMATH OF PLANE CRASH 
 
¶8.    (S)  The Ambassador next thanked ATT for Malian Army 
help in the aftermath of  the November 19 hard landing of a 
plane carrying U.S. military personnel approximately 65 miles 
from Bamako.  She said the Malian Army used one of its 
ultra-light aircraft to land near the site, helped locate the 
plane, guided rescue workers, including Malian military 
ambulances, and aided in securing the wreckage.  Malian Army 
units from a nearby base have helped the U.S. Army secure the 
remote site.  ATT said it is natural that the Malian Army 
help -- &after all, you have come for us, we are just doing 
our duty.8  The Ambassador next noted that the U.S. Air 
Force plane sent to evacuate the injured had been prevented 
from taking off from Bamako,s Senou Airport for three hours 
on the night of November 20, on the pretext that the crew had 
not paid landing fees.  Chief of Defense General Podgigou had 
to be called and intervened directly to get the plane 
released.  The Ambassador said this was not the first 
instance such an anomaly had happened, but that this time, 
lives were at stake.  She said there should be a system 
whereby U.S. military planes can be permitted to take off and 
land, and discussions about landing fees can be settled later. 
 
¶9.    (S) ATT expressed surprise, muttering, &Mon Dieu!8 
He turned again to his Secretary General, commanding him to 
have the Director of Civil Aviation and Minister of Transport 
speak with him on his return next week from Qatar.  Turning 
back to the Ambassador, he vowed to fix the problem and to 
keep her informed. 
 
¶10.   (SBU) The Ambassador noted that the parents of ex-Peace 
Corps volunteer Christine Nardone, who was killed in a freak 
accident in Mali when a faultily constructed water tower 
collapsed on her, are planning to travel to Mali in early 
December for a commemorative ceremony.  The Ambassador 
reminded the President of his earlier commitment to award Ms. 
Nardone posthumously the rank of Knight of the Malian Legion 
of Honor.  She asked if the President would be making the 
award himself or would be delegating the task to someone else 
in the government.  The President said everything was already 
set:  He planned to present the award himself and would like 
to make some brief remarks and meet her parents.  The 
Ambassador thanked ATT, who in turn instructed the Secretary 
General to set a date with the Embassy. 
 
BROAD U.S. COMMITMENT TO MALI,S DEVELOPMENT 
 
BAMAKO 00000754  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶11.   (SBU) In conclusion, the Ambassador noted that the U.S. 
Government,s engagement with the Government of Mali was not 
only focused on military security.  In point of fact, the 
United States is preparing to hand over 29 trucks and 90 
motorcycles to the Ministries of Agriculture and Livestock 
and Fisheries so that agricultural extension agents can more 
easily travel around the country.  ATT expressed gratitude, 
and instructed the Secretary General to contact the 
Ministries to ensure that the hand-over is a success. 
 
 
MILOVANOVIC