VZCZCXRO2507
OO RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHDIR
DE RUEHAD #0565 1581355
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 071355Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2556
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE C O N F I D E N T I A L ABU DHABI 000565 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR S AND S/SRAP HOLBROOKE 
ALSO FOR NEA and NEA/ARP 
 
E.O. 12958: 06/06/2019 
TAGS:    
SUBJECT: MOHAMMED BIN ZAYED ON PRESIDENT'S SPEECH 
 
CLASSIFIED BY AMBASSADOR RICHARD G. OLSON FOR REASONS 1.4 B AND D. 
 
 1. (C) During a June 6 meeting with Special Representative for 
Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince 
Mohammed bin Zayed (MbZ) offered the following commentary on the 
President's 4 June speech in Cairo. 
 
-- He had expected an "excellent" speech, and the speech was better 
than expected.  It was an outstanding speech. 
-- His only concern was that the President had raised the bar of 
expectations, both for America and for the Middle East.  He was not 
so confident that the (Arab) Middle East would meet US expectations. 
He was not at all confident that the Netanyahu government would meet 
the expectations. 
-- With regard to the Arab/Islamic world:  ten percent of the 
population favored working with the US, ten percent would never be 
satisfied with the US; eighty percent were in the middle and "can be 
won" and mobilized against the ten percent who were "spreading 
poison." 
-- MbZ expressed disappointment at the reaction of Amr Moussa, which 
he characterized as "Good speech, but . . ."  And similarly, if not 
surprisingly, he was disappointed with the begrudging tone of 
prominent Muslim Brotherhood cleric and Al Jazeera commentator Yusuf 
Qaradawi. 
 
OLSON