Excerpt from document
(S) Summary: General Ward of Africa Command visited
Rabat on December 30 to sign the Communications
Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement
(CISMOA) and continued military cooperation. During meetings
with Inspector General Bennani and other Moroccan general
officers, General Ward and the Ambassador requested
overflight clearance for the P-3 (Reftel);

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PP RUEHTRO
DE RUEHRB #0005/01 0041658
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P 041658Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY RABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1017
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RUEHBP/AMEMBASSY BAMAKO PRIORITY 0136
RUEHRY/AMEMBASSY CONAKRY PRIORITY 0015
RUEHNK/AMEMBASSY NOUAKCHOTT PRIORITY 3857
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Content
S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 RABAT 000005

SIPDIS
NOFORN

STATE FOR S/CT, PM, AF/W AND NEA/MAG

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/04/2030
TAGS: MARR, PTER, MOPS, PREL, SNAR, GV, MO
SUBJECT: GEN. WARD SIGNS CISMOA; DISCUSSES AQIM, ACSA,
GUINEA, NARCOTICS AND FUTURE COOPERATION

REF: STATE 130969 (NOTAL)

RABAT 00000005 001.2 OF 003

1. (S) Summary: General Ward of Africa Command visited
Rabat on December 30 to sign the Communications
Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement
(CISMOA) and continued military cooperation. During meetings
with Inspector General Bennani and other Moroccan general
officers, General Ward and the Ambassador requested
overflight clearance for the P-3 (Reftel); asked for an
assessment of the threat posed by AQIM; urged Morocco to keep
Guinean junta leader Dadis Camara in Morocco a long time; and
said he looked forward to returning to sign the ACSA.
General Bennani and his senior staff reacted positively to
the overflight request and said they would examine it in more
detail. They thought Guinean Defense Minister Konate was
weak, and, unlike other senior Moroccan officials, they
downplayed the importance of narcotics transiting Morocco.
End Summary.

2. (C/NF) Commander, U.S. Africa Command, General William E.
Ward visited Rabat on December 30, 2009 to meet with
Inspector General of the Moroccan Royal Armed Forces (CHOD)
General de Corps d,Armee Abdelaziz Bennani for the purpose
of signing the Communications Interoperability and Security
Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA) between the U.S. and
Moroccan militaries. Accompanied by Africa Command Foreign
Policy Advisor Dr. Raymond Brown, General Ward and his party
met with the Ambassador and other members of the country
team. General Ward reinforced the strong relationship
between the U.S. and Moroccan militaries and predicted the
agreement would lead to continued and expanded cooperation
between the two nations in the future.

--------------------------------------------- ---
Communications Interoperability and Security MOA
--------------------------------------------- ---

3. (SBU) General Ward expressed satisfaction with his visit
to Morocco, following recent visits to Algeria, Libya and
Mali and serving to show equality in dealing with the
militaries of a region that does not tend toward regional
cooperation. He further expressed admiration and
satisfaction with the mission,s work supporting U.S. Africa
Command,s goals and objectives, particularly in the areas of
security cooperation, international development and economic
stimulation. He again explained the purpose of his command
as orchestrating security activity on the continent in
support of national policy and objectives, and declared his
support for all other agencies, work in Africa.

4. (C/NF) At the signing ceremony, General Bennani warmly
welcomed General Ward,s visit both professionally and
personally, expressing his esteem for the vision and progress
with U.S. Africa Command. He emphasized that King Mohammed
VI had designated him to sign the CISMOA on behalf of
Morocco, with the understanding that the agreement was
integral to the full utilization of the F-16 by the Moroccan
Royal Air Force, but also with a vision to future cooperation
for integration of technologies and weapons systems for the
navy and army. He further reiterated previous statements
that the King wished the Moroccan Royal Armed Forces to be on
par with American forces in order to permit full integration
and interoperability should the commanders-in-chief of both
countries decide to employ their forces in a coalition or
combined operation.

5. (C/NF) General Ward returned the warm greetings and
stated that the agreement was both a symbol of the
relationship between the two countries and signal of their
commitment to mutual security. He affirmed that the
agreement would have broad application across the entirety of
the Moroccan military, and would open doors to future
technologies and cooperation not yet envisioned in mutually
beneficial ways to guarantee stability and peace.

6. (C/NF) General Ward explained that teams would visit
Morocco in January and February to discuss implementation of
the CISMOA and implementation meetings would take place three
times per year thereafter. General Ward said that he looked
forward to returning to Morocco to sign the Acquisition and
Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) as soon as it has received
the necessary clearances from the Department of Defense, and

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General Bennani responded that he looked forward to General
Ward,s next visit and to his participation in the next
signing ceremony.

----
AQIM
----

7. (S) Turning to regional issues, General Ward asked
General Bennani how he saw the regional threat from Al
Qu,aida in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and
narcotics traffickers. Bennani responded that narcotics were
not making their way into Morocco. However, AQIM posed a
serious threat to countries like Mauritania and Mali that
could not counter the terrorists. General Bennani explained
that he was intimately familiar with Mauritania,s geography
and topography and that the country was not capable of
controlling its territory. Brigadier General Abdellah
Hamdoun, the Director of Military Intelligence, offered that
Mali lacked the means to counter AQIM. General Ward then
briefed General Bennani, Air Force Commander Major General
Ahmed Boutaleb and other general officers on the U.S. plan to
gather intelligence about AQIM in Mali and Mauritania and
requested overflight clearance for a U.S. EP-3 aircraft.
General Bennani responded positively, saying it was important
to box in AQIM. General Boutaleb added that the Air Force
and the General Staff would study the overflight request and
respond quickly.

------
Guinea
------

8. (S) General Ward next noted that Morocco was hosting some
important guests. General Bennani asked if he was referring
to President Sarkozy or former President Chirac. General
Ward replied he was referring to Guinean junta leader Dadis
Camara and Guinean Minister of National Defense Sekouba
Konate, asking about their conditions. Surprisingly, Bennani
had no information about either and did not even know that
General Konate was in Morocco )- although he had attended
the Moroccan military academy and had strong ties to Moroccan
leaders. General Ward strongly urged that Morocco keep Dadis
Camara as long as possible. General Bennani noted that
Camara was in Morocco on humanitarian terms, and responded
only that many African leaders come to the Mohammed V
Military Hospital in Rabat for free medical care. General
Hamdoun suggested that Konate was weak and might not be fit
to serve as head of state for an extended period.

-------
Comment
-------

9. (C) General Bennani, who can be very prickly, appeared
upbeat throughout the ceremony and related discussions. The
CISMOA brings a level of U.S. scrutiny and procedure to the
control and dissemination of the cryptographic and keying
material associated with U.S. weapons systems that can appear
intrusive to a sovereign nation. However, the General seemed
thoughtful as he digested the discussion of the upcoming
implementation and programmatic activities that would take
place in the coming months and years. He and the rest of the
senior military leadership seemed totally uninformed about
patients at the military hospital. Moreover, General
Bennani,s comments about narcotics transiting Morocco were
at odds with comments from key civilian leaders who express
significant concern about this matter.

10. (C) In sum, General Ward,s visit accomplished the
necessary act of signing the document integral to full and
timely implementation of the F-16 program in Morocco, and
reinforced the already strong relationship between the U.S.
and Moroccan militaries. The upcoming year will see a full
slate of security cooperation activities between the two
militaries, building to the delivery of the first F-16 in
July 2011. End Comment.

11. (U) General Ward has cleared this message.

12. (U) Tripoli minimize considered.

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