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INFO ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE
GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL 0013
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S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 MUSCAT 000099 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/02/22 
TAGS: PREL IZ IR IN PK AF YM IS KPAL MU
SUBJECT: OMAN - GOVERNMENT'S NUMBER TWO GIVES HIS VIEWS OF THE REGION 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Richard J Schmierer, Ambassador, State, Exec; REASON: 
1.4(B), (D) 
 
¶1. (S) Summary: In the Ambassador's introductory courtesy call, 
Oman's number two in government, Sayyid Fahd, gave a frank view of 
regional issues, interspaced with praise for the United States' 
efforts.  He opined that Iraq will eventually settle down and that 
the United States had done a great service by removing a bad 
system, not just a bad ruler.  Oman hopes for positive steps from 
Iran but has increasing concerns over its nuclear program.  Oman is 
looking to India to provide regional political counterbalance to 
Iran.  Pakistan and Afghanistan are two intractable problems that 
concern Oman, but the country's biggest worry now is Yemen.  Oman 
tries to give good advice to both Israel and the Palestinians but 
notes that Egypt is the country that can talk to all sides.  Sayyid 
Fahd hopes the UAE and Saudi Arabia can settle their border 
demarcation issues in the similar, positive fashion as Oman settled 
its own borders with both countries.  End Summary. 
 
 
 
¶2. (S) The Ambassador paid a February 6 introductory call on Oman's 
number two person in the government, H.H. Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmud Al 
Sa'id, who provided a tour of the Omani horizon.  [Note:  Sultan 
Qaboos formally holds the positions of Prime Minister, Foreign 
Minister, Defense Minister and Finance Minister.  Sayyid Fahd is 
the number two person in the government, holding the title of 
Deputy Prime Minister for the Council of Ministers, i.e., the 
cabinet.  In formal photographs, he is seen sitting to the right of 
the Sultan, and he fills in for the Sultan in receiving high-level 
visitors when the Sultan is unavailable.  End Note.]  The meeting 
was scheduled to last an hour but ran close to two. 
 
 
 
IRAQ 
 
 
 
¶3. (S) Sayyid Fahd ventured that Iraq and its unrest will settle 
down with time.  He said that a fundamental problem is the reality 
that the Iraqi people have long been deprived of their freedom but 
now have complete freedom of speech and that they are unaccustomed 
to this.  He noted that today there is neither political 
imprisonment nor torture.  He said the Omani Government knows that 
the U.S. task is not easy; that it was not just the issue of the 
removal of Saddam Hussein, but more basically the removal of a bad 
system, and this is very much a massive undertaking.  He noted the 
complicating factor of the Sunni/Shiite split, but that this 
development was not unexpected.  The Iraqis must settle the issue 
themselves. 
 
 
 
¶4. (S) Sayyid Fahd noted that the former situation of Saddam's rule 
had to change and the fact that this very situation has changed is 
a positive example that could influence more countries to emulate 
in their own internal efforts in a path towards change.  He 
continued that all people should appreciate the American action. 
"If there is any degree of doubt, I ask who was prepared to send 
their children to fight for the rights of others?"  He concluded 
this point by saying that your friends are those you can turn to at 
any time, good or bad. 
 
 
 
IRAN 
 
 
 
¶5. (S) Sayyid Fahd confirmed that Oman does remind Iran that there 
is no threat of an imminent U.S. invasion.  That said, he repeated 
the familiar Omani point that the U.S. must do more to understand 
Iran.  He said that the U.S. needs an interlocutor through which to 
contact Iran.  Oman hopes that there will be no war in the region, 
but has concerns over Iran's nuclear program.  The Government of 
Oman believes that there could be some positive steps from Tehran 
on the nuclear issue, but every time there could be progress 
"someone always holds back."  Sayyid Fahd noted that even the 
conservatives are not unified.  He concluded that the Iranians will 
find it difficult to bring things back to normal. 
 
MUSCAT 00000099  002 OF 003 
 
 
IRAN AND INDIA 
 
 
 
¶6. (S) Oman is encouraging India to engage in the region 
diplomatically and politically.  He said that as Iran wants to be 
seen as a regional power, Oman wants a balance of power and sees 
India possibly as that balance.  India does not need to present a 
military presence, according to Sayyid Fahd, a political presence 
will do.  He termed India as a reliable country and a reliable 
partner, and that India would contribute to regional stability and 
security. 
 
 
 
PAKISTAN 
 
 
 
¶7. (S) Sayyid Fahd said that Pakistan is quite a different issue. 
It is a large country "with so many fanatics."  The social fabric 
and the cultural fabric are under real threat and Pakistan needs 
help, both material and psychological support from its friends.  He 
continued, noting that the situation spreads beyond Pakistan's 
borders, citing the problem in Great Britain, with its substantial 
Pakistani population.  Sorting out who is a fanatic, and who is 
not, "is a big problem."  It doesn't stop there, he noted, it 
spreads throughout Europe, as these Pakistanis are British, with 
freedom of travel. 
 
 
 
AFGHANISTAN 
 
 
 
¶8. (S) Sayyid Fahd termed the problems in Afghanistan as "huge." 
The country has no resources and has an "open door" to Pakistan. 
He noted that tribal power is the predominant power in the country, 
and added that the tribal leaders not only have no fear of the 
central government, but no fear of the outside world. 
 
 
 
YEMEN 
 
 
 
¶9. (S) According to Sayyid Fahd, Yemen is the pressing problem of 
the moment.  It poses a real risk to Oman and the region - the 
country is not the risk, but individuals are.  He said that for 
Oman, the border is very important, as the Yemeni people have no 
way out.  Were Oman to face a refugee influx, the dilemma would be 
to determine "who is good and who is not," and "the Saudis have 
learned [this] the hard way." 
 
 
 
¶10. (S) He said that Oman's assistance to Yemen has the sole 
purpose of doing good for that country.  Oman does not want to 
intervene, just to help.  He noted that even in the 1994 war Oman 
did not intervene in Yemen's affairs, and that the Government of 
Yemen is still grateful for that.  He repeated a familiar Omani 
(and other) point that the Government of Yemen's real problem is in 
not taking care of the South.  He noted that there was a great 
opportunity after the 1994 war that was squandered.  He concluded 
that Yemen could be a strong country if it were well cared for and 
united.  He concluded by saying that the problems are internal, and 
that blaming Iran for them "is not right." 
 
 
 
MIDDLE EAST PEACE 
 
 
 
¶11. (S) Sayyid Fahd said that he hopes that the United States will 
"do anything possible to resolve the Palestine/Israel problem."  He 
offered the practical words that it will all boil down to 
compromise, and that nothing is easy.  He said that Israel cannot 
live forever with the tension it is under.  Sayyid Fahd confirmed 
 
MUSCAT 00000099  003 OF 003 
 
 
that Oman speaks to both the Israeli and Palestinian sides, and 
tells both that they know each other better than any one in the 
world know either of them, and that they will have to create the 
stability needed for peace.  He stressed that the overall problem 
is clearly a territorial problem, not a religious one. 
 
 
 
¶12. (S) He also said that Hamas is not so big a problem that it 
cannot be dealt with.  The Omanis' advice to Hamas has been that 
the movement must focus on internal issues, and not on an 
independent foreign policy.  Sayyid Fahd concluded that Egypt is 
the only country that can work with every party, and that all other 
countries should encourage Egypt to continue in this role. 
 
 
 
BORDERS IN THE GULF REGION 
 
 
 
¶13. (S) Sayyid Fahd said that finalizing border issues should be a 
priority.  He said that the problems between Saudi Arabia and the 
Emirates are something that Oman does not understand - and added 
that the Emirati line is an embarrassment.  He noted in comparison 
that when Oman and Saudi Arabia demarcated their border, both 
governments ordered that it be done amicably.  King Fahd and Sultan 
Qaboos each nominated one negotiator and directed them to put 
historical issues aside and come up with a solution in which there 
was no winner and no loser.  The two monarchs cleared every issue, 
according to Sayyid Fahd.  [Note: In the mid 1950s, Saudi Arabia 
pushed into Omani territory, helping ignite a rebellion that was 
eventually put down with British assistance.  This clearly is the 
sort of history that both sides wanted to forget.  End Note.] 
Sayyid Fahd noted that the British had made "a mixed salad" of the 
Omani-Emirati border, but in a similar spirit, the two sides 
compromised to reach a final demarcation. 
Schmierer