S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 04 ALGIERS 001806 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/17/2027 TAGS: PINS PGOV AG SUBJECT: AN AILING AND FRAGILE ALGERIAN REGIME DRIFTS INTO 2008 REF: A. ALGIERS 1704 ¶B. ALGIERS 1618 ¶C. ALGIERS 1237 ¶D. ALGIERS 1658 Classified By: Ambassador Robert Ford; reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Recent discussions with former government officials, long-term opposition leaders and journalists paint a picture of an Algerian regime that is fragile in ways it has not been before, plagued by a lack of vision, unprecedented levels of corruption and rumblings of division within the military rank and file. Our Algerian contacts are often a grumpy lot, but we now hear more than the ordinary amount of concern about the GOA's inability or unwillingness to address political, economic and security problems. The December 11 suicide bombings in Algiers, carried out by two men amnestied under the Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation, have ignited heated debate about the ability of President Bouteflika's reconciliation program to protect the country. The debate pits proponents of an urgent and aggressive approach to the terrorist threat against those aligned with Bouteflika who still believe that amnesty has a role to play. The picture of an isolated president, a stagnant reform process and an uncertain approach towards terror comes at a time when efforts within the government to engineer a third term for Bouteflika are gathering steam. We do not sense an explosion coming right away. Instead, we see a government drifting and groping for a way forward. END SUMMARY. SHIP OF STATE ADRIFT --------------------