Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
03ROME5540
2003-12-11 11:09:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Rome
Cable title:  

ITALIAN OFFICIALS RECEPTIVE TO U/S FEITH BRIEFING

Tags:  MARR MOPS PREL IT NATO ESDP GLOBAL DEFENSE 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L ROME 005540 

SIPDIS


E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/08/2013
TAGS: MARR MOPS PREL IT NATO ESDP GLOBAL DEFENSE
SUBJECT: ITALIAN OFFICIALS RECEPTIVE TO U/S FEITH BRIEFING
ON GLOBAL FORCE POSTURE

Classified By: DEPUTY CHIEF OF MISSION EMIL SKODON FOR REASONS
1.5(B)(D)

C O N F I D E N T I A L ROME 005540

SIPDIS


E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/08/2013
TAGS: MARR MOPS PREL IT NATO ESDP GLOBAL DEFENSE
SUBJECT: ITALIAN OFFICIALS RECEPTIVE TO U/S FEITH BRIEFING
ON GLOBAL FORCE POSTURE

Classified By: DEPUTY CHIEF OF MISSION EMIL SKODON FOR REASONS
1.5(B)(D)


1. (C) Summary. Senior Italian officials responded
positively to U/S Feith's December 9 briefing on the USG
strategy for global force repositioning. Important details
will need to be worked out and existing legal arrangements
may need to be modified but Defense Minister Martino and
Prime Minister Berlusconi's Diplomatic Advisor, Giovanni
Castellaneta, agreed that capabilities, not numbers, must be
the measure of military effectiveness in today's threat
environment. U/S Feith also had productive discussions
during both meetings on Afghanistan, European security and
Galileo. End Summary.

GLOBAL FORCE REPOSITIONING
--------------

2. (C) In separate meetings with Martino and Castellaneta,
U/S Feith explained that the US is consulting with allies on
the concept and strategy of a long-term, global realignment
aimed at making US military forces more responsive to today's
threats. Having forward deployed forces is less about having
troops close to the fight these days than about harmonizing
strategic political and military thinking needed for a
stronger, more efficient alliance, he said. By transforming
the US military into the most affordable, sustainable,
capable and relevant forces possible, the US is demonstrating
the strength of its commitment to its allies and partners
worldwide. The US will need Italy and other allies to help
explain to their public and parliaments that the rebasing
concept is about building alliance capabilities, not about
reducing numbers.


3. (C) U/S Feith reviewed the ten key points underlying USG
rebasing considerations, and said that more detailed
discussions will follow this first round of big-picture
consultations. For Italy in particular, U/S Feith said the
US is proposing to add a battalion at Vicenza, add two
squadrons and remove an existing one at Aviano, consolidate
the Sixth Fleet headquarters with another headquarters
outside of Italy and relocate the flagship from Gaeta, and
consolidate US Special Operations Forces (SOF) at Sigonella.

With Italy's agreement, technical teams are prepared to
conduct site surveys that would be the basis for the next
round of policy level discussions, he said.


4. (C) Defense Minister Martino strongly agreed with the need
for military restructuring to face new threats and stressed
that all allies should be following the US lead in order to
make the alliance as a whole more efficient. Local political
reactions will likely prove the most difficult aspect to
manage, he noted. The key will be to work out the legal
arrangements needed for rapid decision-making and
flexibility. Some marketing will be needed to sell the
public and parliament on the proposed changes, such as
another plus-up at Vicenza and an additional squadron at
Aviano, Martino said. If done ahead of time, he added, there
should be no problem. He did not object to site surveys but
cautioned that they should be low key, with little or no
publicity, to avoid generating opposition and rumours.
Martino's Diplomatic Advisor, Francesco Trupiano, suggested
that existing bilateral arrangements for US military presence
in Italy may need to be modified. U/S Feith agreed that they
would need to be reviewed comprehensively to ensure they are
adequate for the type of rapid, flexible deployments called
for by today's threats. Freedom of action is essential and
in Italy and America's common interest. The US will work
with Italy as a sovereign nation on the modalities required
for rapid decision-making and force movements, U/S Feith
said.


5. (C) Amb. Castellaneta also agreed that improved
capabilities and greater flexibility will lead to a stronger,
more relevant alliance. He told U/S Feith that it will help
countries like Italy that are battling to keep NATO
positioned at the core of European security if the basing
realignment is seen by the public as an effort to increase,
rather than diminish, US commitment to a strong NATO
alliance. Castellaneta noted that existing legal
arrangements should be reviewed and may need to be modified
to ensure that US forces in Italy can operate, train and
deploy as needed under the new plan. The logistical details
will need to be worked at the military level but Italy agrees


in general with the concept at the political level, he said.
PM Berlusconi's Military Advisor, General Leonardo Tricarico,
who was at the meeting with Castellaneta, added that there
would be local sensitivities to moving Sixth Fleet Command
from Gaeta. U/S Feith and his delegation assured the
Italians that the US plans to coordinate closely with
national and local officials, including Italian base
commanders, to make sure the proposed changes are well
received.

AFGHANISTAN
--------------

6. (C) U/S Feith also raised three points on Afghanistan in
both his meeting with Martino and with Castellaneta:
Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs),EU funding and
judicial reform. He said Amb. Zal Khalilzad had urged him in
a phone call that morning to encourage the Italians to
contribute a PRT as soon as possible. PRTs are proving to be
very valuable mechanisms for improving security and
bolstering reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan, he said.
The US is encouraging NATO to expand its role in Afghanistan
and has no objection to an Italian PRT under the NATO ISAF
chain of command if that is Italy's preference, he said.
Martino noted that the MOD's commitment depends on the size
of the civilian component and the location of the PRT. A
joint MFA-MOD team is scheduled to depart on December 10 to
look at two locations under consideration. U/S Feith
emphasized that PRTs are needed in new locations, not where
capabilities already exist.


7. (C) In his meeting with Castellaneta, U/S Feith stressed
that time is of the essence; Afghans need to see real
improvements on the ground before the June elections. More
EU funding is urgently needed for voter registration and
other elections-related programs. Castellaneta said Italy,
as EU President, has been pushing for more funds but admitted
that some EU members are lagging behind. More resources and
more momentum are also needed to energize Italy's efforts to
reform Afghanistan's judiciary, U/S Feith said. Castellaneta
responded that Italy had agreed to tackle the most difficult
sector, and important progress is being made. Claudio
Bisogniero, acting Political Director and the MFA's
representative at the meeting, added that single-judge mobile
courts are now operating in different locations around the
country for one to three month periods. The judges are
Italian trained and use a simplified criminal code condensed
by a joint Italian-Afghan team from the unwieldy existing
code to be more functional.

EUROPEAN SECURITY
--------------

8. (C) U/S Feith discussed European security with both
Martino and Castellaneta. He told them both that the US is
extremely concerned about the creation of a separate EU
planning cell, a development the US sees as unnecessary and
duplicative. Martino said an EU planning capability for
autonomous operations made sense but only as a last resort,
to be used after a NATO, Berlin Plus or EU/Framework Nation
mission had been excluded. Even France had agreed to this
understanding, Martino said, though French officials didn't
want that known. Castellaneta also reassured U/S Feith that
Italy was working with the UK and others within the EU to
craft a solution that would be aimed at keeping NATO first
and NATO strong. He said that he would be meeting later on
Dec. 9 with his French, German and British colleagues to
discuss the EU planning cell and the mutual defense clause in
the IGC draft treaty.

GALILEO
--------------

9. (C) U/S Feith raised Galileo with Castellaneta and said
the proposed system is a self-inflicted wound on the NATO
alliance. Disagreements over frequency use must be resolved
without damaging NATO or the US's warfighting capabilities,
he emphasized. Castellaneta assured him that negotiations
underway in Brussels would lead to an acceptable solution.


10. (U) U/S Feith has cleared this message.


11. (U) Kabul Minimize considered.
SEMBLER


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2003ROME05540 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL