SPAIN: AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH DEFENSE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MADRID 001074

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/30/2014
TAGS: PREL PGOV MOPS PTER SP
SUBJECT: SPAIN: AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH DEFENSE
MINISTER-DESIGNATE JOSE BONO

REF: MADRID 1052

Classified By: Political Counselor Kathleen M. Fitzpatrick,
reasons 1.4 (B) and (D).


1. (C) Summary: Ambassador met March 30 with Socialist
defense minister-designate Jose Bono. The meeting was very
pleasant and friendly, and Bono pledged to do his part to
continue the fine relations the U.S. and Spain have developed
over the years. He characterized himself as a "moderate
socialist" and said he was a friend of the United States.
Bono will be in the U.S. April 2-6 and requested a meeting
with Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld to discuss Iraq. End
summary.

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Friend of the United States
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2. (C) Ambassador met with Bono in Toledo, the capital of
the Castilla-La Mancha region, where Bono has been the very
popular president for over 20 years. (See reftel for bio on
Bono). Defense Attache and Pol-miloff joined Ambassador --
Bono was not joined by any staff in the meeting. Bono
started off by saying he was a "moderate socialist" who
considers Spain to be a close friend and ally of the U.S. He
was anxious to reinforce the great relationship the two
countries have, and predicted he along with the rest of the
Zapatero administration would be in office by April 19. Bono
commented that he was a friend of the U.S. and added,
chuckling, that he is one of the few Spanish politicians who
can say he has never taken a position counter to the U.S. He
recalled that he has twice traveled to the U.S. at USG
invitation on visitor programs and had excellent experiences
both times. Ambassador assured Bono the U.S. was also
looking forward to continuing the fine relations the U.S. and
Spain have developed.

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Relationship Based on Trust and Friendship
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3. (C) Bono said as far as he is concerned, Spain's
relations with the U.S. are based on two firm pillars --
confidence and friendship. That's how he views the
relationship and he plans to continue the relationship that
way. He noted that in the early 80s when Spain and the U.S.
were reviewing the status of the bases in Spain, many on the
U.S. side were worried the Socialists would be very hard to
work with. On the contrary, both sides worked together very
well and reached an excellent agreement for both parties. He
said he was sure the U.S. and Spain would continue to work
well together on all issues.


4. (C) On the other hand, Bono said it was not good for
Spain to feel as though it is in a position of submission to
anyone, as that hurts national pride. "A very proud country
like the U.S. could certainly understand that," he added.
But he was confident the U.S. and Spain would continue the
excellent relationship they have had for years, and Bono
looked forward to working with us to that end.

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Requests Meeting with Sec. Rumsfeld on Iraq
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5. (C) On Iraq, Bono said he would very much like to speak
directly to Secretary Rumsfeld. Bono will be in New York
City April 2-6 and wondered if it might be possible to
arrange a meeting in that time frame -- Bono would be willing
to travel to D.C. to meet with Secretary Rumsfeld. If a
personal meeting is not possible, Bono is very interested in
talking Rumsfeld by phone as soon as possible. He would like
to do so before he meets with the Polish defense minister
April 8 and the British defense minister April 12.
Pol-miloff asked Bono if he might give us a preview of what
he planned to tell Rumsfeld about Iraq. Bono replied that
unfortunately he was limited in what he could say at this
point and Zapatero had specifically asked him only to speak
to Rumsfeld about the issue, so he wasn't able to elaborate
at this time, though he wished he could.

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Comment
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6. (C) Jose Bono is one of the stars of Jose Luis Rodriguez
Zapatero's emerging cabinet. Long a very popular luminary of
the Socialist Party, Bono is very polished and, as he said,
has rarely criticized the United States openly. Bono will
likely do what he can to keep Spain/U.S. military relations
on track, but it remains to be seen how much latitude
Zapatero will give him. Given that Bono is a Socialist Party
heavyweight, Zapatero may give him more leeway than he gives
other members of his administration. We recommend that if
Bono comes to Washington to meet with Secretary Rumsfeld, the
Department also seek to arrange a meeting between Bono and
Deputy Secretary Armitage.

ARGYROS