Excerpt from document summary
(S/NF) During a December 10 meeting, Defense Minister
Tantawi provided Director of National Intelligence (DNI)
Blair with an overview of Egyptian security concerns,
including potential instability in Sudan and Iranian
interference in the region.

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Content
S E C R E T CAIRO 002331

NOFORN
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/15/2019
TAGS: PREL, MASS, PTER, IR, PK, AF, EG
SUBJECT: DNI MEETS WITH DEFENSE MINISTER TANTAWI

Classified By: Ambassador Margaret Scobey per 1.4 (b) and (d).

1. Key Points:

-- (S/NF) During a December 10 meeting, Defense Minister
Tantawi provided Director of National Intelligence (DNI)
Blair with an overview of Egyptian security concerns,
including potential instability in Sudan and Iranian
interference in the region.

-- (S/NF) DNI Blair stressed the importance of international
intelligence cooperation in combating terrorism and looked
forward to expanding the U.S.- Egyptian military intelligence
relationship.

-- (S/NF) Tantawi shared concerns over cyber security threats
and agreed to cooperation between the Egyptian military and
the U.S. to combat the threat.

-- (S/NF) DNI Blair briefed Tantawi on U.S. efforts in
Afghanistan and Pakistan. Tantawi stressed the importance of
convincing the Afghani people that the U.S. would not remain
in Afghanistan indefinitely. He noted that Pakistan was a
difficult and suspicious partner who "does not trust the
Egyptians either."

--------------------------
Regional Security Concerns
--------------------------

2. (S/NF) Tantawi began by providing a brief overview of
regional security concerns. Tantawi said that Egypt was
"keeping an eye" on the situation in Sudan because of the
Nile's crucial role in Egyptian security and stability. He
also expressed concerns over Iran. He noted Egypt maintained
a good relationship with Israel and was cooperating on a
number of different issues, including border security.

3. (S/NF) Tantawi said the Egyptian military relied on a
wide variety of intelligence methods to combat threats. DNI
Blair noted that the U.S. had significantly improved
interagency intelligence coordination following the 9/11
attacks. He added that cooperation with other countries was
crucial to increasing our understanding of Al-Qaeda and other
terrorist organizations. DNI Blair looked forward to
enhanced cooperation with the Egyptian military beyond merely
passing intelligence.

4. (S/NF) DNI Blair expressed U.S. concern over cyber
security threats from hackers and other countries. Tantawi
shared these concerns and hoped the U.S. and Egypt could
cooperate to combat this threat.

-----------
Iran, AfPak
-----------

5. (S/NF) Tantawi solicited DNI Blair's views on the status
of Russian-Iranian cooperation. DNI Blair noted that the
Russians had sold a S300 surface-to-air missile system to
Iran, but anticipated that Russia would not send the entire
system at once, but would instead withhold pieces. Their
overall relationship, he continued, was influenced by the
fact that Iran was a major competitor for Russia's oil and
gas industry.

6. (S/NF) Tantawi agreed with his assessment, noting that
the "real problem" was China and its good relationship with
Iran. DNI Blair emphasized the importance of convincing the
Chinese to support sanctions against Iran, noting that an
Iranian nuclear weapons program could potentially set off a
nuclear arms race that would destabilize the entire Middle
East and jeopardize Chinese supplies of oil and gas. Tantawi
said that Egypt had good relations with China, which mostly
focused on economic issues. Although Egypt had "some"
military relations with China, they did not discuss terrorism
or security issues within the Gulf.

7. (S/NF) DNI Blair briefed Tantawi on U.S. efforts in
Afghanistan and Pakistan, noting that the biggest challenge
was to develop the Afghan military and police. He asked for
Egyptian support in convincing the Pakistanis of the benefits
of a long-term relationship with the U.S. Tantawi noted that
Egypt encountered the same suspicions and said that the
Pakistanis "don't trust Egyptians either." While the
Pakistanis were "difficult," Tantawi said that Egypt was
still trying to "work with them." (Note: Tantawi previously
served as the Egyptian Defense Attach to Pakistan and was
also responsible for Afghanistan. End Note). Tantawi added
that any country where the military became engaged in
"internal affairs" was "doomed to have lots of problems." He
stressed that countries must clearly stipulate the military's
duties in their constitution and militaries should not
deviate from those defined responsibilities.

--------------------------------------------
Peace Keeping, Africa, and Counter Smuggling
--------------------------------------------

8. (S/NF) Tantawi encouraged more international support for
Somalia, including more assistance for the TFG. He noted
that Egypt participated alongside the U.S. during the 1992 UN
mission in Somalia, but no longer had any troops there.
Tantawi said that by the end of 2009, Egypt would have 5100
peace keepers deployed abroad, which would make Egypt the
fifth largest contributing country in the world. The
majority of Egypt's peace keepers were in Sudan, but Tantawi
said that Egypt was preparing to send a large contingent to
the Democratic Republic of the Congo next year.

9. (S/NF) Tantawi said that Egypt continued to cooperate
with the U.S. on combating arms smuggling to Gaza, including
on a tunnel activity detection system along the Egypt-Gaza
border. He expressed concern of a repeat of the 2008 Gaza
border breach, which sent hundreds of thousands of Gazans
streaming into the northern Sinai city of el-Arish. Tantawi
called on the U.S. to convince Israel to "not let the
situation get to this point again." He added that most
smuggling activity was controlled by criminal networks.

Scobey