OFFICIAL-INFORMAL FOR JEFF LUNSTEAD, SENIOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 VATICAN 005546

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SA/PAB (GEETA PASI)

FROM EMBASSY VATICAN/MESSAGE NO. 185/01

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/23/11
TAGS: PREL AF AF VT VTPREL
SUBJECT: OFFICIAL-INFORMAL FOR JEFF LUNSTEAD, SENIOR

POLICY COORDINATOR FOR AFGHANISTAN.

CLASSIFIED BY AMBASSADOR, REASON 1.5(B,D).


1. SUBJECT: SENIOR ADVISOR FOR AFGHANISTAN BRIEFS
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VATICAN.

REF. STATE 184178


2. (C) SUMMARY: SENIOR ADVISOR AND AFGHANISTAN COORDINATOR
JOINED AMBASSADOR TO BRIEF VATICAN DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER
10/20 ON U.S. EFFORTS IN AFGHANISTAN. DFM NOTED THE
VATICAN WAS ARRANGING A 10/28-10/29 INTERFAITH MEETING IN
CAIRO OF RELIGIOUS LEADERS THAT WOULD ALSO ADDRESS 9/11 AND
ITS AFTERMATH. DFM SKETCHED VARIOUS VATICAN CONTRIBUTIONS
OF EMERGENCY HUMANITARIAN AID TO AFGHAN REFUGEES. DFM
INDICATED THERE ARE TWO OR THREE NUNS CURRENTLY WORKING IN
A KABUL HOSPITAL. DFM EXPRESSED CONCERN THAT THE KASHMIR
SITUATION AND AFGHAN MILITARY CAMPAIGN COULD DESTABILIZE
THE GOP, WITH REPERCUSSIONS FOR PAKISTAN'S SIZEABLE
CATHOLIC MINORITY. END SUMMARY.


3. (C) SENIOR ADVISOR AND AFGHANISTAN COORDINATOR JEFFREY

J. LUNSTEAD AND AMBASSADOR BRIEFED VATICAN FOREIGN MINISTRY
OFFICIALS 10/20 ON U.S. EFFORTS IN AFGHANISTAN. THE
AMBASSADOR AND LUNSTEAD SAW MONSIGNOR CELESTINO MIGLIORE,
DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER-EQUIVALENT, AND EAST ASIA AND
AFGHANISTAN DESK OFFICER MONSIGNOR LUIS MARRANO DE
MONTEMAYOR; AFGHAN DESK OFFICER GEETA PASI AND EMBOFF ALSO
ATTENDED.


4. (C) DFM MIGLIORE SPOKE POSITIVELY OF THE CIRCUMSPECTION
EVIDENT IN THE U.S. RESPONSE, THOUGH HE NOTED THAT THE HOLY
SEE COULD NEVER APPLAUD WARFARE. WITHIN INTERNATIONAL
BODIES, SUCH AS THE U.N., THE HOLY SEE WOULD SUPPORT
FURTHER POLITICAL AND FINANCIAL INITIATIVES. WHERE THE
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HOLY SEE COULD PLAY A DIRECT LEADERSHIP ROLE WAS IN
CULTURAL AFFAIRS, SPECIFICALLY THROUGH INTER-RELIGIOUS
DIALOGUE, MIGLIORE SAID. HE INDICATED THAT THE
CONGREGATION FOR RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE, AN INSTITUTIONAL ARM
OF THE VATICAN, WAS ORGANIZING A MEETING OF ISLAMIC AND
CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS LEADERS AT EL HAZARA UNIVERSITY IN
CAIRO.


5. (C) MIGLIORE SHARED CONCERNS THAT THE MILITARY CAMPAIGN
WAS OUTSTRIPPING POLITICAL STRATEGIES. HE OBSERVED THAT
NEIGHBORING NATIONS IN FACT SHARED FEW COMMON INTERESTS, AN
IMPEDIMENT TO ANY TRUE REGIONAL COALITION. ADDRESSING THE
HUMANITARIAN EMERGENCY, MIGLIORE VOLUNTEERED THAT IT
PREDATED THE PRESENT MILITARY CAMPAIGN. WINTERTIME, HE
ADDED, WOULD SEE A DRAMATIC WORSENING. THE VATICAN IS
CONTRIBUTING AND COORDINATING SOME RELIEF ASSISTANCE,
THROUGH CARITAS AND COR UNUM (LOOSELY, VATICAN EQUIVALENTS
TO USAID). CARITAS, HE SAID, HAS AN INFORMAL PRESENCE IN
TEHERAN. ALSO, THE SOVEREIGN MILITARY ORDER OF THE KNIGHTS
OF MALTA (SMOM) IS SET TO INITIATE HUMANITARIAN WORK IN
IRAN. SUCH EFFORTS CONSTITUTE EMERGENCY AID ONLY, MIGLIORE
SAID; A FINAL POLITICAL SOLUTION IS IMPERATIVE. MOREOVER,
HE DREADED GLOBAL ECONOMIC COLLAPSE SHOULD THE MILITARY
CAMPAIGN EXTEND TO IRAQ.


6. (C) LUNSTEAD SOUGHT INFORMATION ON VATICAN
PERSONNEL/ECCLESIASTICS STILL IN AFGHANISTAN. MONTEMAYOR
STATED THERE WERE THREE NUNS BEFORE MIGLIORE CORRECTED HIM
THAT ONLY TWO REMAIN, THE THIRD HAVING LEFT FOR FRANCE ON
MEDICAL GROUNDS. THE VATICAN HAS NO EASY MEANS TO CONTACT
THE NUNS, MONTEMAYOR CLAIMED. THEY WERE FOREIGN NATIONALS,
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LONG RESIDENT IN AFGHANISTAN, AND CURRENTLY WORKING IN THE
INDIRA GANDHI HOSPITAL IN KABUL. (COMMENT: MONTEMAYOR
LATER PHONED EMBOFF TO RELATE THERE ARE INDEED THREE NUNS
IN KABUL, AFFILIATED WITH INDIRA GANDHI AND A CLINIC BY THE
NAME OF ALI ABAD. THE NUNS ARE MEMBERS OF THE LITTLE
SISTERS OF JESUS. THE VATICAN REQUESTED WE NOT PUBLICIZE
THEIR PRESENCE IN KABUL.)


7. (C) MIGLIORE ASKED LUNSTEAD'S THINKING ON KASHMIR.
LUNSTEAD CONCEDED THE PROBLEM WAS GRAVE; CERTAIN TERRORISTS
IN KASHMIR HAD RECEIVED TRAINING IN PAKISTAN AND IN EL
QAEDA CAMPS. THE SECRETARY, HE NOTED, HAD CONDEMNED ALL
TERRORISM, INCLUDING ACTS AGAINST INDIA. GENERAL
MUSHARRAFF, HE SUGGESTED, NOW HAD A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO
BRING STABILITY TO THE SITUATION.


8. (C) MIGLIORE REQUESTED AN ASSESSMENT OF THE
EFFECTIVENESS OF THE HUMANITARIAN CAMPAIGN. LUNDSTEAD
CONCEDED THERE WERE SEVERE PROBLEMS. THE SEPTEMBER
DEPARTURE OF NON-AFGHAN AID WORKERS CAPABLE OF MANAGING
SUPPLIES AND DISTRIBUTION WAS A COMPLICATING FACTOR.
MOREOVER, RECENT TALIBAN ACTIONS -- SEIZING WAREHOUSES AND
BEATING AFGHAN AID WORKERS -- WAS DEEPLY DISTURBING. THE
TALIBAN'S LONGSTANDING LACK OF CONCERN FOR THE AFGHAN
POPULATION WAS SIGNIFICANT, HE ADDED, WITH THE OUTSIDE

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INFO LOG-00 NP-00 ACQ-00 CIAE-00 INL-00 DODE-00 DS-00
EUR-00 VC-00 TEDE-00 INR-00 LAB-01 VCE-00 NEA-00
DCP-01 NSAE-00 SSO-00 SS-00 EPAE-00 SNIS-00 NISC-00
DSCC-00 PRM-00 DRL-02 SAS-00 /004W
-------------- 352492 251053Z /38
O 251050Z OCT 01
FM AMEMBASSY VATICAN
TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0000

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 02 OF 02 VATICAN 005546

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SA/PAB (GEETA PASI)

FROM EMBASSY VATICAN/MESSAGE NO. 185/01

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/23/11
TAGS: PREL AF AF VT VTPREL

SUBJECT: OFFICIAL-INFORMAL FOR JEFF LUNSTEAD, SENIOR

POLICY COORDINATOR FOR AFGHANISTAN.

WORLD STEPPING INTO THE GAP. HE ADMITTED THAT AIRDROPS TO
REMOTE SPOTS WERE NOT AN EFFECTIVE SOLUTION, YET ADDED
THESE CONSTITUTED A VALUABLE DEMONSTRATION. CONCERN RUNS
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HIGH IN IRAN AND PAKISTAN AT A SURGE IN REFUGEES, YET
MEASURES WERE BEING TAKEN, INCLUDING UNHCR CONSTRUCTION OF
NEW REFUGEE SITES, IF NEEDED, LUNDSTEAD SAID. THUS FAR,
THE FLOW OF NEW REFUGEES HAS REMAINED LOW.


9. (C) LUNSTEAD, AT THE AMBASSADOR'S ENCOURAGEMENT,
REMARKED BRIEFLY ON HIS 10/19 ENCOUNTER WITH THE KING. HE
DESCRIBED THE KING AS PHYSICALLY FRAIL YET NOT IMMOBILE,
AND AS MENTALLY ACUTE, WITH NO DESIRE TO RETURN TO RULE IN
AFGHANISTAN, JUST AN EXILE'S HOPE FOR BURIAL IN HIS
HOMELAND. HIS ENTOURAGE WAS HAMPERED BY INTRIGUE, LUNSTEAD
ADDED. ASKED BY MIGLIORE IF THE KING WERE WILLING TO ASSUME
LEADERSHIP, LUNDSTEAD ANSWERED THAT THE KING KNEW HE WOULD
NEVER RULE AGAIN. HE WAS AN OLD MAN, WHO COMPLAINED ABOUT
SECURITY THREATS THAT KEPT HIM FROM HIS DAILY GARDEN
STROLL. THE U.S. HARBORED NO ILLUSIONS, LUNSTEAD SAID,
ADDING THE KING'S ENTOURAGE HAD BEEN IRRESOLUTE IN THE
PAST.


10. (C) ASKED TO EXPAND ON THE AFOREMENTIONED CAIRO
ENCOUNTER, MIGLIORE STIPULATED THE 10/28-10/29 AL HEZAR
MEETING WOULD BE AN EXTRAORDINARY SESSION AND WOULD RESPOND
TO SEPTEMBER 11 AND ITS AFTERMATH. MIGLIORE EMPHASIZED
THAT THE HOLY SEE IS A SPIRITUAL, ETHICAL AND MORAL ENTITY,
WHOSE MISSION IS NOT POLITICAL BUT RELIGIOUS. THE MASSES
IN ISLAMIC SOCIETIES, HE OBSERVED, DEPEND ON RELIGIOUS
LEADERSHIP; IF RELIGIOUS LEADERS WILL NOT DISTANCE
THEMSELVES FROM VIOLENCE, THEN NEITHER WILL THE POPULATION
AT LARGE. MIGLIORE SUGGESTED THE HOLY SEE CAN PLAY A ROLE
TO CONVINCE RELIGIOUS COUNTERPARTS TO REPUDIATE VIOLENCE.
MIGLIORE LEVIED FAINT PRAISE AT A SIMILAR EFFORT HELD BY
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SANT'EGIDIO 10/3-10/4 IN ROME. (COMMENT: SANT'EGIDIO IS A
PROMINENT ROME-BASED CATHOLIC NGO FAMED FOR CONFLICT
RESOLUTION, NOTABLY THE PEACEFUL END TO THE MOZAMBIQUE
CIVIL WAR BROKERED IN 1993.) MIGLIORE LAUDED SANT'EGIDIO'S
ABILITY TO GATHER ISLAMIC LEADERS QUICKLY, YET HE
QUESTIONED THE VALUE OF A GET-TOGETHER THAT DID NOT PRODUCE
A PUBLIC CONDEMNATION OF VIOLENCE, NOT JUST A DOCUMENT
SIGNED IN ENGLISH THAT WOULD NEVER SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY IN
PARTICIPANT'S HOME COUNTRIES. MAYBE FUTURE SANT'EGIDIO
MEETINGS WOULD BE MORE CONSTRUCTIVE, MIGLIORE MUSED.


11. (C) LUNSTEAD DECRIED RHETORIC OF A CLASH OF
CIVILIZATIONS. IF THE WEST IS SEEN AS ISLAM'S ENEMY, THE
CONSEQUENCES WILL BE CATASTROPHIC. THIS IS A FURTHER
REASON FOR SWIFT CONCLUSION TO THE MILITARY CAMPAIGN, AS
GENERAL MUSHARRAFF HAS PLEADED, VOICING HIS POPULATION'S
ANGER AT THE MILITARY CAMPAIGN. MONTEMAYOR REMARKED
CATHOLIC LEADERSHIP LIKEWISE ABHORS THE BOMBING; IMAGES OF
CONTINUAL BOMBARDMENT AND CIVILIAN INJURIES DETRACT FROM
THE UNIFIED EFFORT TO COMBAT TERRORISM. MIGLIORE WORRIED
FURTHER AT THE RISK TO PAKISTAN'S STABILITY AND TO ITS ONE
MILLION-STRONG CATHOLIC POPULATION. LUNDSTEAD HOWEVER
VOICED CONFIDENCE IN GENERAL MUSHARRAFF, PRAISING HIS SWIFT
REPUDIATION OF THE TALIBAN, A TURNAROUND THAT RAISES HOPES
MUSHARRAFF WILL NOW ALSO FACE DOWN RADICAL ISLAM WITHIN
PAKISTAN, THEREBY ALSO BETTERING CONDITIONS FOR PAKISTAN'S
RELIGIOUS MINORITIES.
NICHOLSON

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2001VATICA05546 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL