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S E C R E T RIYADH 000447 
 
 
NSC FOR JBRENNAN AND JDUNCAN; STATE FOR S/WCI 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/16/2019 
TAGS: PREL PTER KWBG SA AF IN PK IR IZ
SUBJECT: COUNTERTERRORISM ADVISER BRENNAN'S MEETING WITH 
SAUDI KING ABDULLAH 
 
REF: RIYADH 427 
 
 
Classified By: Pol Counselor Lisa Carle, 1.4(b),(d) 
 
¶1.  KEY POINTS 
 
-- (S) Saudi King Abdullah welcomed White House 
counterterrorism adviser John Brennan, S/WCI Ambassador 
Williamson, and Ambassador Fraker to his private palace March 
15 for a 90-minute discussion focused on U.S. 
Saudi-relations, 
counterterrorism cooperation, the Yemeni Guantanamo Bay 
detainees, Iran, and Iraq. 
 
-- (S) Brennan presented the King with a letter from 
President Obama expressing a personal message of 
friendship, appreciation for our close and collaborative 
relationship and concern over the disposition of Yemeni 
detainees at Guantanamo. 
 
-- (S) The King said he had told Iranian Foreign Minister 
Mottaki only minutes before that Iran should stop 
interfering in Arab affairs, and had given Iran a one-year 
deadline to improve its relations with Saudi Arabia. 
 
-- (S) The King expressed a complete lack of trust in Iraqi 
PM al-Maliki and held out little hope for improved 
Saudi/Iraqi relations as long as al-Maliki remains in office. 
 
-- (S) When asked what advice he had for President Obama, the 
King said he had "one request":  that it was 
"critically important to restore America's credibility" in 
the world. 
 
U.S. SAUDI RELATIONS 
 
¶2.  (S) PLEDGES OF FRIENDSHIP:  Brennan asserted that the 
U.S./Saudi alliance must remain strong, and assured the King 
of President Obama's wishes for a long and healthy U.S./Saudi 
relationship, and the President's personal commitment that 
Saudi Arabia had a friend in the White House.  The King 
replied that he appreciated the sentiments and that he had 
great respect for President Obama.  "We (the U.S. and Saudi 
Arabia) spilled blood together" in Kuwait and Iraq, the King 
continued, and Saudi Arabia valued this tremendously. 
Friendship can be a difficult issue that requires work, 
Abdullah said, but the U.S. and Saudi Arabia have done it for 
70 years over three generations.  "Our disagreements don,t 
cut to the bone," he stated. 
 
¶3.  (S) U.S. CREDIBILITY IS CRITICAL:  The Bush 
Administration is now in the past, the King said.  Both 
President Bushes were his friends, but the recent President 
Bush didn,t take his advice on dealing with issues in the 
region, and they found their problems "compounded."  The King 
said, "we are ready to consult, provide guidance and to do 
whatever is necessary.  We are people of the region and we 
know it well."  Brennan responded that President Obama wants 
to listen, and asked what advice the King would offer to 
President Obama.  Abdullah said his one piece of advice was 
that restoring U.S. credibility in the world was critically 
important. Brennan responded that this was an important issue 
for President Obama as well.  Brennan said that under 
President Obama we will restore our credibility.  He said the 
U.S. is a great country and we know what we have to do. 
 
¶4.  (S) THE WORLD NEEDS OBAMA:  Brennan said President Obama 
looked forward to seeing the King at the G-20 summit in 
London.  "Thank God for bringing Obama to the presidency," 
the King answered, which has created "great hope" in the 
Muslim world.  "May God grant him strength and patience, 
Abdullah continued, "May God protect him.  I'm concerned 
about his personal safety.  America and the world need such a 
president." 
 
¶5.  (C) THAT WITHOUT WHICH NO SAUDI MEETING IS COMPLETE: 
Abdullah said "as a friend" that "it was a mistake" to limit 
access of Saudi citizens to the U.S., since "this damages 
bilateral relations and the image of the U.S. in Saudi 
Arabia."  The King noted there were 60,000 Saudi students 
abroad, about one third of whom were in the U.S., and "others 
would have gone" but for the difficulties in gaining access 
to the U.S. The King noted that for many years very senior 
Saudi officials, including Prince Saud al-Faisal, had studied 
in the U.S.  He then noted that Saudi Ambassador to the U.S., 
Adel al Jubeir (who was interpreting for the King) had 
studied in the U.S. and was "half American" as a result.  He 
also said he was aware of, and appreciated, Ambassador 
Fraker's efforts to improve the visa situation "even though 
there were people in Washington who fought him."  Finally, he 
observed that anyone from Saudi Arabia who studies in the 
U.S. inevitably becomes a friend and advocate of the United 
States and that we only hurt ourselves by cutting off this 
flow of students. 
 
DETAINEES 
 
¶6.  (S) GUANTANAMO WILL BE CLOSED:  Brennan explained that 
President Obama had made a commitment to close Guantanamo to 
eliminate the potential propaganda benefits its existence 
provided to Al-Qaeda, but also because it was the right thing 
to do.  Brennan reassured the King, however, that President 
Obama would remain strong on counterterrorism.  Brennan 
presented the King with a letter from President Obama 
addressing the issue of Yemeni detainees at Guantanamo. 
Brennan noted that he had met with Prince Mohammed bin Nayef 
(MbN) the day before to discuss at length The issue of the 
Yemeni detainees.  Brennan further stated that he would be 
traveling to Sanaa the next day to meet with President Saleh, 
as the issue of the remaining 99 Yemeni detainees still needed 
to be resolved.  Brennan praised MbN as an outstanding 
counterterrorism partner, and that the MOI was doing a 
wonderful, courageous job in countering the terrorist threat 
to the Kingdom.  Returning to the subject later in the 
conversation, Brennan warned that the U.S. feared Yemen could 
become another Waziristan, and urged that the U.S. and Saudi 
Arabia needed to work together to keep Al-Qaeda in Yemen from 
growing even more dangerous.  The King replied that having 
Somalia next door to Yemen only adds to the danger.  Brennan 
said that the capabilities of the Ministry of the Interior 
security forces had grown impressively over the past 10 
years.  Brennan added that counterterrorism and intelligence 
sharing cooperation between our countries had never been 
better and that MbN deserved the credit.  In an unusual 
concession, made at the conclusion of their conversation, the 
King said, "be assured I am fully briefed on the work you are 
doing with Prince Mohammed bin Nayef." 
 
¶7.  (S) HOW TO TRACK DETAINEES:  "I've just thought of 
something," the King added, and proposed implanting 
detainees with an electronic chip containing information 
about them and allowing their movements to be tracked with 
Bluetooth.  This was done with horses and falcons, the King 
said.  Brennan replied, "horses don,t have good lawyers," 
and that such a proposal would face legal hurdles in the 
U.S., but agreed that keeping track of detainees was an 
extremely important issue that he would review with 
appropriate officials when he returned 
to the United States. 
 
IRAN 
 
¶8.  (S) A "HEATED EXCHANGE":  The King noted that Iranian FM 
Mottaki had been "sitting in that same seat 
(as Brennan) a few moments ago."   The King described his 
conversation with FM Mottaki as "a heated exchange, frankly 
discussing Iran's interference in Arab affairs."  When 
challenged by the King on Iranian meddling in Hamas affairs, 
Mottaki apparently protested that "these are Muslims."  "No, 
Arabs" countered the King, "You as Persians have no business 
meddling in Arab matters."  The King said the Iranians wanted 
to improve relations and that he responded by giving Mottaki 
an ultimatum.  "I will give you one year" (to improve ties), 
"after that, it will be the end." 
 
¶9.  (S) "SPARE US YOUR EVIL":  The King expressed hope the 
U.S. would review its Iran policy and "come to the right 
conclusion."  Brennan responded that President Obama was 
personally reviewing U.S. Iran policy and wanted to hear the 
King's thoughts.  Abdullah asserted that Iran is trying to 
set up Hizballah-like organizations in African countries, 
observing that the Iranians don't think they are doing 
anything wrong and don't recognize their mistakes.  "I said 
(to Mottaki) that's your problem," recounted the King. 
Abdullah said he would favor Rafsanjani in an Iranian 
election, were he to run.  He described Iran not as "a 
neighbor one wants to see," but as "a neighbor one wants to 
avoid."   He said the Iranians "launch missiles with the hope 
of putting fear in people and the world."  A solution to the 
Arab/Israeli conflict would be a great achievement, the King 
said, but Iran would find other ways to cause trouble. 
"Iran's goal is to cause problems," he continued, "There is 
no doubt something unstable about them."  He described Iran 
as "adventurous in the negative sense," and declared "May God 
prevent us from falling victim to their evil."  Mottaki had 
tendered an invitation to visit Iran, 
but Abdullah said he replied "All I want is for you to spare 
us your evil."  Summarizing his history with Iran, 
Abdullah concluded: "We have had correct relations over the 
years, but the bottom line is that they cannot be trusted." 
 
¶10.  (S) AN EMPTY CHANNEL:  The King said "three years ago" 
Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei had sent his adviser Ali 
Akbar Velayati with a letter asking for Abdullah's agreement 
to establish a formal back channel for 
communication between the two leaders.  Abdullah said he had 
agreed, and the channel was established with Velayati and 
Saudi FM Saud al-Faisal as the points of contact.  In the 
years since, the King noted, the channel had never been used. 
 
¶11.  (S) A DANGEROUS NEIGHBORHOOD:  Brennan responded that 
the Saudis lived in a dangerous neighborhood with Iran across 
the Gulf, with Saudi Arabia sharing a long border with Yemen, 
and with a number of other troublesome countries nearby. 
Brennan noted that we have a lot of work to do in the Middle 
East together.  The King responded that the world,s 
attention was focused on the region.  He further stated that 
he believed that the U.S. could help in this sensitive 
region, but that we should not take matters lightly.  Brennan 
noted that President Obama is fully aware of the dangers in 
the region, that the U.S. knew that it had to remain involved 
in constructing a solution, and that we would seek the 
King,s counsel in dealing with the many issues in the Middle 
East.  The King asked if that included Iran.  Brennan 
responded that it did.  Brennan said that we had our eyes 
wide open to Iranian ambitions, that we were not nave to the 
dangers Iran posed to Saudi Arabia, and that Iran could not 
be allowed to succeed in its destabilizing activites. 
Brennan observed that the President had ordered a complete 
review of U.S. Iran policy and made reference to a passage in 
the President,s letter that we needed to test Iran,s 
intentions to cease its destabilizing behavior and live up to 
its international obligations.  Brennan further observed that 
the U.S.-Saudi partnership had to remain strong and that 
together, and with others, we needed to thwart Iran,s 
nuclear ambitions.  "That is important," responded the King. 
Finally, Brennan said the President wanted the King to know 
he had a good friend in the White House who would be willing 
to assist in any way that he could.  The King thanked Mr. 
Brennan, said he appreciated the sentiments, said that he had 
great respect for President Obama, and reflected that we had 
been great friends for many years and would remain friends as 
our disagreements were minor. 
 
¶12.  (U) SEE REFTEL:  Ref A provided a separate readout on 
the Iran discussion and the King's meeting with Mottaki. 
 
IRAQ 
 
¶13.  (S) IN THE HANDS OF GOD AND IRAN:  Brennan expressed the 
importance the U.S. attaches to achieving peace and stability 
in Iraq.  The King replied that this was "in the hands of 
God," though he agreed that Iraq was vitally important to 
both the U.S. and Saudi Arabia.  The King also pointed out 
that "some say the U.S. invasion handed Iraq to Iran on a 
silver platter; this after we fought Saddam Hussein." 
 
¶14.  (S) NO HOPE FOR MALIKI:  The King said he had "no 
confidence whatsoever in (Iraqi PM) Maliki, and the 
Ambassador (Fraker) is well aware of my views."  The King 
affirmed that he had refused former President Bush's 
entreaties that he meet with Maliki.  The King said he had 
met Maliki early in Maliki's term of office, and the Iraqi 
had given him a written list of commitments for 
reconciliation in Iraq, but had failed to follow through on 
any of them.  For this reason, the King said, Maliki had no 
credibility.  "I don,t trust this man," the King stated, 
"He's an Iranian agent."  The King said he had told both Bush 
and former Vice president Cheney "how can I meet with someone 
I don,t trust?"  Maliki has "opened the door for Iranian 
influence in Iraq" since taking power, the King said, and he 
was "not hopeful at all" for Maliki, "or I would have met 
with him." 
 
AN ALERT AND ENGAGING HOST 
 
¶15.  (S) I MISS MY HORSES:  The King appeared alert and at 
times animated, entertaining his guests with anecdotes about 
his encounters with Iranian leaders (septel), and throwing up 
his hands in complaint when asked if he spent time with his 
horses: "I see them on television when they race," he said. 
"I love horses," he exclaimed, "every couple of weeks I get 
to see them, and then I have a very calm and restful sleep." 
 
¶16.  (S) DIALOGUE AND REFORM AS DUTY:  In response to 
Brennan,s praise for the King,s interfaith dialogue 
initiative, his commitment to advancing rights as reflected 
by his recent appointment of the first female (deputy 
education) minister, the King said "Thanks for the sentiment 
but I did nothing special, only what I thought was my duty. 
I believe we do our duty as determined by God." 
 
¶17.  (S) PARTICIPANTS: 
 
Saudi Arabia 
-- Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin 
Abdulaziz al-Saud 
-- HRH Prince Mohammed bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, 
Assistant Minister of the Interior 
-- Ambassador to the U.S. Adel al-Jubeir (interpreter) 
 
U.S. 
-- John Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland 
Security and Counterterrorism 
-- Ambassador Ford Fraker 
-- Ambassador-at-large for War Crimes Issues Clint Williamson 
-- John Duncan, NSC Director for Counterterrorism 
-- Shaun Coughlin, Special Assistant, S/WCI 
-- Embassy control officer/notetaker 
 
¶18.  (U) Assistant to the President Brennan cleared this 
cable. 
 
 
FRAKER