Cable Viewer

Currently released so far... 3371 / 251,287

### Articles

Brazil Sri Lanka United Kingdom Sweden Editorial United States Latin America Egypt

### Browse latest releases

2010/11 2010/12 2011/01 2011/02
2010/11/28 2010/11/29 2010/11/30
2010/12/01 2010/12/02 2010/12/03 2010/12/04 2010/12/05 2010/12/06 2010/12/07 2010/12/08 2010/12/09 2010/12/10 2010/12/11 2010/12/12 2010/12/13 2010/12/14 2010/12/15 2010/12/16 2010/12/17 2010/12/18 2010/12/19 2010/12/20 2010/12/21 2010/12/22 2010/12/23 2010/12/24 2010/12/25 2010/12/26 2010/12/27 2010/12/28 2010/12/29 2010/12/30
2011/01/01 2011/01/02 2011/01/04 2011/01/05 2011/01/07 2011/01/09 2011/01/10 2011/01/11 2011/01/12 2011/01/13 2011/01/14 2011/01/15 2011/01/16 2011/01/17 2011/01/18 2011/01/19 2011/01/20 2011/01/21 2011/01/22 2011/01/23 2011/01/24 2011/01/25 2011/01/26 2011/01/27 2011/01/28 2011/01/29 2011/01/30 2011/01/31
2011/02/01

### Browse by creation date

66 72 73 75 79 86 88 89 90 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10
1966/12
1972/02 1972/08
1973/04
1975/03
1979/08
1986/05
1988/01
1989/12
1990/01 1990/07 1990/08
2000/09 2000/11
2001/02 2001/03 2001/07 2001/10
2002/02 2002/03 2002/11
2003/03 2003/04 2003/05 2003/06 2003/07 2003/08 2003/09 2003/10 2003/11 2003/12
2004/01 2004/02 2004/03 2004/04 2004/05 2004/06 2004/07 2004/08 2004/09 2004/10 2004/11 2004/12
2005/01 2005/02 2005/03 2005/04 2005/05 2005/06 2005/07 2005/08 2005/09 2005/10 2005/11 2005/12
2006/01 2006/02 2006/03 2006/04 2006/05 2006/06 2006/07 2006/08 2006/09 2006/10 2006/11 2006/12
2007/01 2007/02 2007/03 2007/04 2007/05 2007/06 2007/07 2007/08 2007/09 2007/10 2007/11 2007/12
2008/01 2008/02 2008/03 2008/04 2008/05 2008/06 2008/07 2008/08 2008/09 2008/10 2008/11 2008/12
2009/01 2009/02 2009/03 2009/04 2009/05 2009/06 2009/07 2009/08 2009/09 2009/10 2009/11 2009/12
2010/01 2010/02

### Browse by origin

A B C D F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z
Embassy Athens Embassy Asuncion Embassy Astana Embassy Asmara Embassy Ashgabat Embassy Ankara Embassy Amman Embassy Algiers Embassy Addis Ababa Embassy Accra Embassy Abuja Embassy Abu Dhabi Embassy Abidjan Consulate Amsterdam American Institute Taiwan, Taipei
Embassy Bujumbura Embassy Buenos Aires Embassy Budapest Embassy Bucharest Embassy Brussels Embassy Bridgetown Embassy Bratislava Embassy Brasilia Embassy Bogota Embassy Bishkek Embassy Bern Embassy Berlin Embassy Belgrade Embassy Beirut Embassy Beijing Embassy Bangkok Embassy Bandar Seri Begawan Embassy Bamako Embassy Baku Embassy Baghdad Consulate Barcelona
Embassy Copenhagen Embassy Conakry Embassy Colombo Embassy Chisinau Embassy Caracas Embassy Canberra Embassy Cairo Consulate Curacao Consulate Casablanca Consulate Cape Town
Embassy Dushanbe Embassy Dublin Embassy Doha Embassy Djibouti Embassy Dhaka Embassy Dar Es Salaam Embassy Damascus Embassy Dakar Consulate Dubai
Embassy Freetown
Embassy Guatemala Embassy Gaborone
Embassy Harare Embassy Hanoi Consulate Hamburg
Iran RPO Dubai Embassy Islamabad Consulate Istanbul
Embassy Jakarta Consulate Jerusalem Consulate Jeddah
Embassy Kyiv Embassy Kuwait Embassy Kuala Lumpur Embassy Kinshasa Embassy Kigali Embassy Khartoum Embassy Kampala Embassy Kabul
Embassy Luxembourg Embassy Luanda Embassy London Embassy Lisbon Embassy Lima Embassy La Paz Consulate Lagos
Mission USNATO Embassy Muscat Embassy Moscow Embassy Montevideo Embassy Monrovia Embassy Minsk Embassy Mexico Embassy Maputo Embassy Manama Embassy Managua Embassy Madrid Consulate Munich Consulate Montreal Consulate Monterrey
Embassy New Delhi Embassy Nassau Embassy Nairobi Consulate Naples
Embassy Ouagadougou Embassy Ottawa Embassy Oslo
Embassy Pristina Embassy Pretoria Embassy Prague Embassy Port Au Prince Embassy Phnom Penh Embassy Paris Embassy Paramaribo Embassy Panama Consulate Peshawar
Embassy Quito
REO Basrah Embassy Rome Embassy Riyadh Embassy Riga Embassy Reykjavik Embassy Rangoon Embassy Rabat Consulate Rio De Janeiro Consulate Recife
Secretary of State Embassy Stockholm Embassy Sofia Embassy Skopje Embassy Singapore Embassy Seoul Embassy Sarajevo Embassy Santo Domingo Embassy Santiago Embassy Sanaa Embassy San Salvador Embassy San Jose Consulate Strasbourg Consulate Shenyang Consulate Shanghai Consulate Sao Paulo
Embassy Tunis Embassy Tripoli Embassy Tokyo Embassy The Hague Embassy Tel Aviv Embassy Tehran Embassy Tegucigalpa Embassy Tbilisi Embassy Tashkent Embassy Tallinn
USUN New York USEU Brussels US Mission Geneva US Interests Section Havana US Delegation, Secretary UNVIE Embassy Ulaanbaatar
Embassy Vilnius Embassy Vienna Embassy Vatican Consulate Vladivostok
Embassy Windhoek Embassy Wellington Embassy Warsaw
Embassy Yerevan Embassy Yaounde
Embassy Zagreb

### Browse by tag

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
AO AF AL AE ASEC AORC AJ AM AR AEMR AMGT APER AG AS AU AGMT AFIN ABUD ATRN ACOA AEC AX AMED ADCO AODE AFFAIRS AC ASIG ABLD AA AFU ASUP
BM BIDEN BO BR BU BEXP BRUSSELS BL BK BA BILAT BTIO BH BE BX BY BG BF BB BC BBSR
CU CH CO CI COUNTERTERRORISM CA CY CVIS CMGT CASC CJAN CE COUNTER CBW CG CLINTON CDG CIA CACM CDB CS CD CV CF CN CAN CIS CM CONDOLEEZZA COE CR CTM COUNTRY CLEARANCE CPAS CWC CT CKGR CB CACS
DOD DJ DA DEAX DR DHS DOE DEA DK DISENGAGEMENT
ETRD EFIN EAID ES ECON EWWT EINVEFIN ELAB EU ETTC ENRG EUN EC EG EINV EXTERNAL ER ECIN EPET EAGR EIND ECPS EMIN ECIP EINDETRD EN EZ ET EUC EI EAIR ELTN EREL EFIS EINT ENVR ECA EINVETC ENIV EINN ENGR EUR ELECTIONS ECUN
FR FMLN FARC FJ FINR FAO FTAA FREEDOM FI FBI
GG GM GOI GZ GTMO GV GH GA GE GT GR GTIP GCC GAZA
HO HURI HILLARY HA HU HR HUMAN HYMPSK
IR IZ IN IS IMO INTERPOL IT INRB IAEA ID IV ICTY IQ ICAO IPR IRAJ INRA INRO IC IIP ITPHUM IWC IO ISRAELI IRAQI ICRC IF ILC IEFIN INTELSAT ITALY ITALIAN
JO JA JOSEPH JAMES JUS
KDEM KIRF KNNP KN KISL KJUS KTFN KWBG KPAL KPKO KSCA KCRM KR KWMN KU KV KE KCOR KPAO KG KTIP KICC KBCT KSPR KHLS KTIA KMDR KGHG KUNR KS KFRD KIPR KAWC KPWR KCIP KSUM KWAC KMIG KOLY KZ KAWK KSEC KIFR KDRG KDEMAF KFIN KGCC KPIN KBIO KHIV KNUC KPLS KIRC KACT KGIC KRAD KCOM KMCA KHDP KVPR KDEV KPRP KCFE KOCI KTDB KMRS KLIG KGIT KSTC KPAK KNEI KSEP KPOA KFLU KNUP KNNPMNUC KOMC KO KTER KHUM KRFD KBTR KDDG KWWMN KFLO KSAF KBTS KPRV KMPI KNPP
LY LG LE LH LU LI LO LOG
MTCRE MOPS MARR MO MASS MNUC MY MX MCAP MPOS MAR MD MZ MEPP MA MR ML MIL MOPPS MTCR MAPP MU MG MASC MCC MK MTRE MP MDC MEPI MRCRE MI MT MQADHAFI
NATO NL NI NZ NG NU NO NIPP NE NS NAR NPT NPG NK NSG NA NT NASA NATIONAL
OVIP OTRA OPRC OSCI OTR OVP OREP ODIP OPDC OIIP OFFICIALS OSAC OAS OEXC OFDP OSCE OPIC OECD OPCW
PREL PHUM PGOV PINR PARM PBTS PHSA PTER PK PINS PSI PA PE PO PINT PL PSOE PU POL POLITICAL PARTIES PROP PBIO PECON PM PREF PAK POGOV PINL PKFK PGOF PMIL PTERE PF PALESTINIAN PY PGGV PNR POV PAO PFOR PHALANAGE PARTY POLITICS PEPR
QA
RS RU RW RO REGION RP RIGHTS RICE ROBERT RF RFE
SP SCUL SA SNAR SOCI SMIG SY SU SR SENV STEINBERG SN SO SF SG SW SL SHUM SZ SYR ST SANC SC SAN SIPRS SI
TW TU TSPA TRGY TI TX TS TC TERRORISM TPHY TIP TBIO TH TR TT TO TFIN TD TSPL TZ TK TNGD
UK UNGA UN UP UNO UZ UNMIK US UG UNSC USEU UV UY USUN UE UNESCO UAE UNEP USTR UNHCR UNDP UNHRC USAID UNCHS
VE VZ VT VTPREL VN VM
WI WTRO WTO WA WMO WTRQ WHO WWARD
XY XW XF XA XG XT XM XR XS XL XK XH XC XZ
YM YI YE
ZP ZR ZI ZU ZB ZK ZF ZANU ZOELLICK

### Browse by classification

CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN SECRET SECRET//NOFORN UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

### Community resources

Follow us on Twitter Check our Reddit Twitter this Digg this page

courage is contagious

### Viewing cable 06BERN141, SWISS COUNTERTERRORISM OVERVIEW - SCENESETTER FOR FBI DIRECTOR MUELLER REF: A. BERN 100 B. BERN 10 C. 2005 BERN 1865

If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs
Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:

- The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
- The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
- The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.

To understand the justification used for the classification of each cable, please use this WikiSource article as reference.
Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #06BERN141.

Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
06BERN141 | 2006-01-20 16:04 | 2011-01-11 18:06 | CONFIDENTIAL | Embassy Bern

`

    VZCZCXRO7442
    PP RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
    DE RUEHSW #0141/01 0201653
    ZNY CCCCC ZZH
    P 201653Z JAN 06
    FM AMEMBASSY BERN
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1431
    INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
    RUCNFB/FBI WASHDC PRIORITY
    RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
    RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC PRIORITY
    RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 2436
    RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC PRIORITY

` `

    C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 BERN 000141

    SIPDIS

    SIPDIS

    STATE FOR S/CT, EB, EUR/AGS

    FBI FOR OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS
    TREASURY FOR OFAC

    E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/20/2016
    TAGS: PTER PARM ETTC SZ
    SUBJECT: SWISS COUNTERTERRORISM OVERVIEW - SCENESETTER FOR  FBI DIRECTOR MUELLER  REF: A. BERN 100  B. BERN 10  C. 2005 BERN 1865

    Classified By: Pol/Econ Counselor Eric Sandberg, Reasons 1.4 b/d

    1.(C) Summary: Switzerland and Liechtenstein are considered low-threat target for terrorist attacks, but Bern acknowledges that Islamist groups could use the country as a transit point, logistics center, or haven for terrorist finances. While violent crime in both countries is relatively low, officials remain concerned about international organized criminal groups and extreme right-wing and left-wing political elements who occasionally mobilize for demonstrations surrounding major events, such as the annual World Economic Forum in Davos. Swiss officials maintain that there are few Islamic extremists in the country, but a small number of arrests in the past two years suggests there may be more under the surface. Bilateral law enforcement and intelligence cooperation is improving, but at a gradual pace; Swiss leaders insist that they can address the threat with little outside assistance. The Swiss media and individual members of Parliament have placed a greater focus on alleged USG wrongdoings in the War on Terror than on the terrorist threat itself. As for Liechtenstein, officials work very cooperatively with USG counterparts, as they seek to ameliorate their reputation as a money-laundering center. End Summary.

    Anti-Terror Measures
    --------------------

    2.(U) Switzerland implemented UN sanctions even prior to becoming a full member in 2002. Along with UN lists, the Swiss Economic and Finance ministries have drawn up their own list of around 44 individuals and entities connected with international terrorism (Al-Qaeda) or its financing. Swiss authorities have thus far blocked about 82 accounts totaling $28 million (SFr 34 million) from individuals or companies linked to Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda under UN resolutions. The Swiss Federal Prosecutor also froze separately 41 accounts representing about $28 million (SFr 34 millions) on the ground they were related to terrorist financing. Swiss officials estimate significant overlap between the US and UN lists. Switzerland signed and ratified all of the 12 UN anti-terrorism conventions as of September 2003.

    3.(U) For its part, Liechtenstein has frozen about $145 thousand in Taliban/Al-Qaeda assets under UNSC Resolution 1267. The principality has taken notable strides to combat money laundering and other illegal activity since 1999; it joined the Egmont Group in 2001, signed a mutual legal assistance treaty with the United States in 2003, and was FATF certified that same year. Liechtenstein has also ratified all of the relevant UN conventions.

    Bilateral Cooperation
    ---------------------

    4.(C) Following 9/11, the Swiss agreed to sign an operative working agreement (OWA) with the USG permitting intensified information sharing on Al-Qaeda and allowing an FBI agent to sit in the Federal Criminal Police Counterterrorism Unit. We are in the final stages of negotiating a broadened OWA to allow joint investigations on counterterrorism matters. As forthcoming as some contacts are, the Swiss law enforcement community in general remain reluctant to open up to the United States. The sentiment was expressed best by Justice Minister Blocher to the Ambassador. Blocher said that Switzerland shared America’s counterterrorism goals; Switzerland will worry about Switzerland, and the U.S. can worry about the rest of the world. The least cooperative Swiss agency (with us and with other Swiss agencies) is the Federal Service for Analysis and Prevention (DAP) -- the internal intelligence service. The external service, under the Swiss Department of Defense, is more cooperative.

    5.(C) In many ways, Liechtenstein officials are a model of what we wish the Swiss would become. Shocked by the international notoriety it earned in the 1990s, officials in the tiny principality decided to join FATF and cooperate with partners. The MLAT it signed with the United States in 2003  BERN 00000141 002 OF 004   was the first of its kind for Liechtenstein. They make as much use of it as do our law enforcement agencies.

    Significant counterterrorism investigations

    -------------------------------------------
    6.(C) Swiss prosecutors have launched several investigations of suspected Al-Qaeda operatives in Switzerland. XXXXXXXXXXXX

    Muslims in Switzerland ----------------------

    7.(U) The Muslim population in Switzerland has grown rapidly  BERN 00000141 003.2 OF 004   in the last two decades, now reaching around 310,000, or 4.3 percenQ the Swiss population. The majority of these, roughly 200,000, come from former Yugoslavia and tend to be moderate or secular in their views. Another 70,000 are of Turkish background, have long been in Switzerland, and are also moderate. Only the North African population, largely from Morocco, are seen as a possible source of Islamic extremism. There are no Islamic political parties in Switzerland; the Muslim population is divided along ethnic lines. There are only two mosque buildings in SwitzerlandQn Zurich aQeneva), but over a hundred makeshift Islamic centers operate.

    8.(SBU) While Swiss authorities recognize that the Muslim population could contain extremists, they rate the threat from right-wing Neo-nazis and left-wing Swiss political extremists as being much higher. Swiss authorities believe that those Islamists present consider the country a “refuge” rather than a “place to carry out operations.” A Special Report on Extremism issued late last year maintains that almost all radical groups represented in Switzerland are Sunni organizations whose primary goals are the establishment of Islamic governments in their homelands. The principal groups in this category are En Nahdha, the Tunisian Islamic Front, the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), the Armed Islamic Group (GIA), the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), Hamas, Hizbollah and Al-Takfir wal-Hijra.

    9.(C) The best known Islamists in Switzerland are the Ramadans, Tariq and Hani, of the Islamic Center in Geneva. Tariq Ramadan, formerly a professor of philosophy and grandson of Muslim Brotherhood found Hassan al-Bana, is well-known throughout Europe. He is sometimes hailed as a moderate, at other times attacked as a wolf in sheep’s clothing, putting a palatable front to fundamentalist activities. Offered a teaching position at Notre Dame University in 2004, his visa was revoked by DHS, and he withdrew a subsequent application. The UK Government has included Ramadan in an advisory body to assist in their outreach efforts with its Muslim minority.

    10.(U) Hani Ramadan was suspended from his duties as a public school teacher in the fall of 2002, following the publication of an article in the French newspaper “Le Monde,” in which he spoke out in favor of the stoning of adulterers. He was dismissed in 2003, following an administrative investigation, but he successfully appealed the decision. However, following a second investigation, the Geneva Cantonal Government confirmed Ramadan’s dismissal and removed him from the cantonal payroll in December 2004. In October 2005, the Swiss Justice Ministry denied a work permit to a Turkish Imam invited to work at the Islamic Center in Geneva, due to the Imam’s extremist views.

    Swiss Media Push-back on the War on Terrorism
    --------------------------------------------- -

    11.(C) Since the Washington Post claimed in early November 2005 that the United States was operating hidden prisons in Europe, the Swiss media has gone full bore in identifying USG sins, real and imagined. Any news on Guantanamo or Abu Ghraib is guaranteed front-page treatment, whereas Al-Qaeda attacks are relegated to the back pages. Of particular concern is the issue of overflights by alleged CIA charter planes. Italian prosecutors allege that a U.S. military jet traversed Swiss airspace on the day Milan cleric Abu Omar was kidnapped. The Swiss government has repeatedly asked the USG to explain the flight and four charter plane landings at Geneva Airport. Washington has yet to respond.

    12.(C) Recently, a Swiss tabloid published a leaked Swiss intelligence report of an intercept of an Egyptian government fax. The Swiss Federal Council has condemned the leak and its subsequent publication, and the government has launched administrative and criminal investigations into the matter. The intercepted Egyptian fax claimed that the Egyptian government knew of 23 Iraqi and Afghani prisoners transferred by the USG to prisons in Romania and other Eastern European countries. Swiss officials apologized to Ambassador Willeford for the leak and for the press’s overreaction to it. The Ambassador cautioned officials that Switzerland’s

    BERN 00000141 004 OF 004

    obsession with the prisons/overflight matter -- driven in significant measure by Swiss Senator Dick Marty -- risked overwhelming Washington’s perceptions of Switzerland. Marty, acting in his capacity as head of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly’s Justice Commission and not in any official Swiss government capacity, greeted the information cautiously, but criticized the Swiss and other European governments for not disclosing information on the prisoner issue.

    Comment -------

    13.(C) Comment: Despite being somewhat shaken by attacks in London and Madrid, the Swiss internal security service continues to assess that Switzerland is relatively safe and that there is no evidence yet of any activity beyond logistical support for Islamic extremists. Swiss opinion leaders among the Parliament and media exhibit little evident concern about the terrorist threat to Switzerland, perhaps contributing to their tendency to focus their criticism on the USG reaction, rather than the initial threat itself. Embassy engagement with Swiss counterparts, reinforced by senior-level visits by USG officials, are helping to move the Swiss to be more forthcoming on information sharing and joint investigations. Absent a direct attack on Swiss interests, however, the process is liable to move very gradually. End comment. Willeford

`