Cablegate: Somalia - Pd Activities Update, February 2

VZCZCXRO4142
RR RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHNR #0115 0331316
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 021316Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY NAIROBI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0636
INFO SOMALIA COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/CDR USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEILB/NCTC WASHINGTON DC
RUEPADJ/CJTF-HOA J2X CAMP LEMONIER DJ

UNCLAS NAIROBI 000115

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR AF/RSA, AF/PD, AND AF/E
ALSO FOR S/CT ZROTHSCHILD
ALSO FOR IIP/CTCC MAUSTEIN AND JVANDEVELDE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV SO KPAO PTER MOPS
SUBJECT: Somalia - PD Activities Update, February 2

REF: 07 STATE 116686

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Summary

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1. (SBU) Per ref B, Post submits the following update for the first
week of February 2010. End Summary.

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PD Activities

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2. (SBU) The Somalia Unit, including the Military Information
Support Team (MIST) dedicated to Somalia, performed para. 3-5
activities since the last report::

3. (SBU) Somalia Unit met with the Minister of Information to
review progress on the Transitional Federal Government's (TFG)
outreach efforts. We emphasized the need to react quickly and
strongly to events like the recent hospital shelling, even using
low-budget tools like emailed press releases.

4. (SBU) PAO met for an off-the-record discussion with a freelance
journalist who writes for TIME Magazine to discuss an extremely
negative blog article the journalist wrote on one of the PD
section's small grants in Mogadishu. The writer appeared to
appreciate the outreach, and was very interested in the PD work
being done by the Somalia Unit as part of the overall policy
engagement on Somalia.

5. (SBU) MIST activity: Continued audience analysis for a planned
Islamic lecture series, possibly on Radio Mogadishu. Also began
developing a robust set of themes around which to base future
programming. The team also added a staff member, to be dedicated
to Somalia, on January 26.
RANNEBERGER

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