ITALIANS RECEPTIVE TO MISSILE DEFENSE COOPERATION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ROME 004303 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/28/2012 TAGS: PREL MARR MNUC MARR MNUC IT CBW ITPREL CBW SUBJECT: ITALIANS RECEPTIVE TO MISSILE DEFENSE COOPERATION REF: STATE 128306 CLASSIFIED BY: A/DCM THOMAS COUNTRYMAN FOR REASONS 1.5 (B)(D) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. IN MEETINGS WITH ITALIAN OFFICIALS ON JULY 24, DOD DAS IAN BRZEZINSKI AND AN INTERAGENCY TEAM UPDATED CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 02 ROME 04303 01 OF 02 050734Z THE GOI ON THE US MISSILE DEFENSE (MD) PROGRAM, DISCUSSED THE NEW POST-SEPTEMBER 11 SECURITY ENVIRONMENT AND OUTQNED A FRAMEWORK FOR ENHANCED ALLIED PARTICIPATION AND MD ARCHITECTURE. THE TEAM STRESSED THE IMPORTANCE OF IDENTIFYING IN THE PRAGUE SUMMIT COMMUNIQUE A NATO MD FOCAL POINT THAT CAN HELP MEMBERS AGREE ON AN ALLIANCE POSITION ON MD. GIVEN THE GOI'S COOPERATION WITH THE US ON OTHER PROJECTS AND ITALY'S RECEPTIVENESS TO PREVIOUS MD BRIEFINGS, BRZEZINSKI SUGGESTED THE GOI MIGHT BE ABLE TO CONVEY TO OTHER EUROPEAN ALLIES THE URGENT NEED TO MOVE THE MD PROGRAM FORWARD. THE ITALIANS AGREED THAT NATO SHOULD EXTEND THE TMD STUDY NOW UNDERWAY TO CONSIDER BROADER MD OPTIONS, RECOMMENDED STRENGTHENING NONPROLIFERATION REGIMES AS PART OF THE MD CONCEPT AND PROPOSED THAT THE NATO-RUSSIA COUNCIL BE A FORUM FOR MD DISCUSSIONS WITH RUSSIA. ENGAGING WITH RUSSIA AND CHINA ON MD IS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT, ACCORDING TO THE ITALIANS, IN ORDER TO REASSURE THEM ABOUT THE DIRECTION AND OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAM. THEY NOTED THAT MD WAS NOT LISTED IN A JULY LETTER FROM LORD ROBERTSON AS A SEPARATE AGENDA ITEM FOR THE PRAGUE SUMMIT, AN OVERSIGHT THEY SAID SHOULD BE CORRECTED TO REFLECT MD AS A NATO PRIORITY. BRZEZINSKI ENCOURAGED THE ITALIANS TO CONTACT DEFENSE DEPARTMENT AND MISSILE DEFENSE AGENCY (MDA) REPRESENTATIVES FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO DISCUSS OPPORTUNITIES FOR COOPERATION. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) THE ITALIANS NOTED THE USG'S SHIFT FROM THE DETERRENCE CONCEPT OF MUTUALLY ASSURED DESTRUCTION (MAD) AND THE EXPANSION OF THEATRE MISSILE DEFENSE (TMD) TO A MORE COMPREHENSIVE MISSILE DEFENSE APPROACH TO DETERENCE. MD IS THE PREFERRED TERMINOLOGY NOW, THE TEAM EXPLAINED, BECAUSE OF CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 03 ROME 04303 01 OF 02 050734Z THE NEED TO INTEGRATE CAPABILITIES TO PRODUCE A LAYERED PROGRAM DEALING WITH ALL RANGES OF BALLISTIC MISSILES. MEDIUM AND INTERMEDIATE RANGE MISSILES ARE CREATING NEW RISKS AND CHALLENGES, MDA'S DAVID KIEFER SAID. THINK OF MD IN TERMS OF WHAT WE WANT TO PROTECT -- SUCH AS DEPLOYED FORCES -- RATHER THAN A PARTICULAR GEOGRAPHIC AREA, KIEFER SUGGESTED. KIEFER REVIEWED VARIOUS OPTIONS UNDER CONSIDERATION, AND NOTED THAT THE PROGRAM IS DESIGNED AROUND SHORT, DISCRETE STEPS THAT BUILD CAPABILITY IN TWO YEAR INCREMENTS UP TO 2014. THE USG IS PREPARED TO INVEST ABOUT $8 BILLION A YEAR IN THE PROGRAM, HE SAID. THE CHALLENGE IS TO MAKE FULL USE OF WHAT IS AVAILABLE AND INTEGRATE PROVEN TECHNOLOGY INTO NEW SYSTEMS AS ADVANCEMENTS ARE MADE. ALLIES THAT DECIDE TO PARTNER WITH THE US ON AN INTEGRATED MD SYSTEM ARE BEING ASKED TO IDENTIFY COOPERATIVE INITIATIVES OVER THE NEXT SIX TO EIGHT MONTHS. ¶3. (C) KIEFER NOTED THAT GROUND BASED, LONG RANGE DEFENSE IS THE MOST READILY AVAILABLE OPTION. THE USG IS NOW LOOKING FOR FIXED SITES FOR RADARS AND INTERCEPTORS THAT WILL PROTECT EUROPEAN ALLIES AND PARTS OF THE US AND CANADA. THIS COULD INCLUDE LARGE SEA PLATFORMS AS WELL AS LAND-BASED SITES THAT PROVIDE WIDE COVERAGE. OSD'S PEPPINO DEBAISO POINTED OUT THAT ADVANCED RADAR TECHNOLOGY MEANS THAT A SMALL NUMBER OF SITES, RADARS AND INTERCEPTORS CAN PROVIDE EXTENSIVE COVERAGE FOR THE TYPES OF MISSILES BEING DEVELOPED OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS. HOW COMMAND AND CONTROL WILL WORK WITHIN THE NATO STRUCTURE IS UNDER DISCUSSION AT NATO AT THE SAME TIME AS OPERATIONAL CONCEPTS FOR A TEST BED ARE BEING DEVELOPED. THE US WOULD LIKE AN EXISTING NATO WORKING GROUP TO TAKE ON THE SUBJECT SO THAT EVERYTHING IS READY SIMULTANEOUSLY BY 2004. CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 04 ROME 04303 01 OF 02 050734Z ¶4. (C) NOW THAT THE ABM TREATY CONSTRAINTS HAVE BEEN REMOVED, THE USG HAS MORE FREEDOM TO SHARE INFORMATION AND COOPERATE WITH ALLIES AND INDUSTRY TO DESIGN THE SYSTEM, KIEFER SAID. ALLIES CAN LEVERAGE THE $40 BILLION INVESTMENT THE USG MADE BEFORE THE ABM TREATY WAS TERMINATED AND JOIN IN AFTER MUCH HAS ALREADY BEEN ACCOMPLISHED. THE OBJECTIVE NOW IS TO ESTABLISH AN INTERNATIONAL DESIGN TEAM, WITH DIFFERENT LEVELS OF PARTICIPATION, HE EXPLAINED. COUNTRIES SUCH AS ITALY CAN COME IN AT LEVEL I, WHERE THEY CAN INFLUENCE THE DIRECTION OF THE PROGRAM, OR LEVEL II, WHERE THEY CAN WORK ON ONE OR MORE DISTINCT ELEMENTS OF THE PROGRAM BUT STILL BE INVOLVED IN DETERMINING HOW THAT PIECE FITS INTO THE BIG PICTURE. LEVEL III WILL INVOLVE WORK ON COMPONENTS ONLY AND LEVEL IV WILL REQUIRE MINIMAL INVOLVEMENT BEYOND STAYING INFORMED OF THE PROGRAM'S DEVELOPMENT. MINISTER FRANCESCO TRUPIANO, DIPLOMATIC ADVISOR TO DEFENSE MINISTER MARTINO, POINTED OUT THAT WORKING BILATERALLY -- GOVERNMENT TO GOVERNMENT AND ALSO INDUSTRY TO INDUSTRY -- WOULD REQUIRE MORE WILLINGNESS BY THE USG TO SHARE TECHNOLOGY. MFA COORDINATOR FOR SECURITY AFFAIRS CARLO TREZZA SAID THAT EXISTING INVOLVEMENT BY SOME ITALIAN COMPANIES IN MD DEVELOPMENT SHOULD BE EXPANDED, BUT ENCOURAGED THE USG TO EXPLAIN BETTER THE NEW "BEST VALUE" APPROACH TO INDUSTRIAL COOPERATION NOW BEING PURSUED. CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL PTQ7962 PAGE 01 ROME 04303 02 OF 02 050734Z ACTION EUR-00 INFO LOG-00 NP-00 AID-00 ACQ-00 CIAE-00 DOEE-00 SRPP-00 DS-00 EB-00 VC-00 H-01 TEDE-00 INR-00 IO-00 L-00 VCE-00 AC-01 NRC-01 NSAE-00 NSCE-00 OES-01 OIC-02 OMB-01 PA-00 PM-00 PRS-00 ACE-00 P-00 SCT-00 SP-00 IRM-00 SS-00 TRSE-00 T-00 USIE-00 EPAE-00 PMB-00 DSCC-00 PRM-00 DRL-02 G-00 NFAT-00 SAS-00 /009W -------------- E2AE70 050735Z /38 R 050713Z SEP 02 FM AMEMBASSY ROME TO SECSTATE WASHDC 5699 INFO NATO EU COLLECTIVE SECDEF WASHDC JOINT STAFF WASHDC C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 02 OF 02 ROME 004303 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/28/2012 TAGS: PREL MARR MNUC MARR MNUC IT CBW ITPREL CBW SUBJECT: ITALIANS RECEPTIVE TO MISSILE DEFENSE COOPERATION ¶5. (C) DEBIASO STRESSED THAT MD SHOULD BE INTEGRATED INTO ALLIED DEFENSE PLANNING AS A CORE CAPABILITY. THE ITALIANS AGREED THAT MD FALLS UNDER NATO CAPABILITIES BUT ADMITTED THAT FINDING RESOURCES IN AN ALREADY TIGHT BUDGET ENVIRONMENT WOULD BE DIFFICULT. FOCUSING TOO MUCH ON MD PROJECTS MIGHT DISTRACT ALLIES FROM ACCOMPLISHING MORE IMMEDIATE CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 02 ROME 04303 02 OF 02 050734Z CAPABILITIES GOALS, MFA DIRECTOR GENERAL GIANCARLO ARAGONA WARNED. NEVERTHELESS, THE ITALIAN MINISTRY OF DEFENSE IS ASKING FOR FUNDING FOR MD AS WELL AS OTHER DCI PRIORITIES, BALKANS OPERATIONS AND SUPPORT FOR OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM, ACCORDING TO TRUPIANO. ¶6. (C) IDENTIFYING IN THE PRAGUE SUMMIT COMMUNIQUE A FOCAL POINT WITHIN NATO FOR MD ISSUES WOULD TAKE SOME GROUNDWORK OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, ACCORDING TO TREZZA. NATO DEFENSE MINISTERS HAVE ADDRESSED MD, TREZZA SAID, BUT THE ISSUE HAS BOTH A MILITARY AND A POLITICAL FOCUS, INCLUDING DISCUSSION OF TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER, DUAL USE AND EXPORT CONTROLS. TREZZA NOTED THAT NATO NEEDS TO CONDUCT NEW THREAT ASSESSMENTS, AND ADDED THAT ITALY'S PRIMARY CONCERN IS THREATS FROM THE MED REGION SUCH AS LIBYA. THE GOI SHARES THE USG'S THREAT ASSESSMENT OF LIBYA, HE SAID, AND IS CONCERNED ABOUT LIBYA'S POTENTIAL COOPERATION WITH OTHER PROLIFERATORS SUCH AS IRAN AND NORTH KOREA. NOTING THE POSITIVE EFFECT OF SHARING THREAT ASSESSMENT INFORMATION, ARAGONA OFFERED TO ARRANGE A BRIEFING FOR US AND NATO OFFICIALS ON ITALY'S THREAT ASSESSMENTS OF COUNTRIES OF CONCERN. ¶7. (C) BRZEZINSKI AGREED THAT THE NAC-D'S RECOGNITION OF THE THREAT POSED BY WMD TO POPULATIONS IS AN IMPORTANT STARTING POINT. THE NEXT STEPS ARE TO IDENTIFY A GROUP AT NATO TO DRIVE THE MD DISCUSSION FORWARD, EXTEND THE TMD STUDY TO INCLUDE POPULATION AREAS, AND INCLUDE MD AS A NATO CAPABILITY INITIATIVE, HE SAID. ARAGONA NOTED THAT A CLEAR NATO STATEMENT RECOGNIZING THE NEED FOR MD WOULD BE USEFUL, AND SUGGESTED WORKING TOWARD SUCH A STATEMENT AT THE WARSAW INFORMAL DEFENSE MINISTER'S MEETING. TRUPIANO URGED THE USG CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 03 ROME 04303 02 OF 02 050734Z TO ENGAGE RUSSIA, CHINA AND, WHERE POSSIBLE, NORTH KOREA IN MD AND NON-PROLIFERATION DISCUSSIONS SO THAT PROGRESS ON MD WILL NOT HAVE A DESTABILIZING EFFECT, PARTICULARLY ON NONPROLIFERATION EFFORTS. IF THE US WANTS A SOLID NATO POSITION AND WIDE SUPPORT FOR MD, IT IS VITAL TO KEEP RUSSIAN CONCERNS IN MIND, ACCORDING TO ARAGONA. BRZEZINSKI ACKNOWLEDGED THAT RELATIONS WITH CHINA HAVE BEEN IMPROVING BUT NOTED CONTINUING CONCERNS ABOUT CHINA'S RELATIONSHIPS WITH PROLIFERATORS. ENGAGEMENT WITH RUSSIA IS PROGRESSING IN MODEST STEPS, HE SAID. BRZEZINSKI CAUTIONED, HOWEVER, THAT IT WAS NOT YET TIME TO BRING RUSSIA IN TO ALL ASPECTS OF NATO MD CONSIDERATIONS. ¶8. (U) DAS BRZEZINSKI HAS CLEARED THIS CABLE. SKODON CONFIDENTIAL > 2002ROME04303 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL