ITALIAN REACTIONS TO PRESIDENT'S REMARKS ON GLOBAL

UNCLAS ROME 003166

SIPDIS


SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PARM PREL KPAO IT NATO GLOBAL DEFENSE FORCES IN ITALY
SUBJECT: ITALIAN REACTIONS TO PRESIDENT'S REMARKS ON GLOBAL
MILITARY TRANSFORMATION

REF: A. STATE 174698

B. ROME 3138


1. (U) Summary. President Bush's speech on military
transformation received limited initial government reaction
and media coverage in Italy. Most headlines focused on US
troop reductions in Europe, with several articles commenting
that the planned changes signify NATO's decreased importance
in the eyes of the US and payback to Germany for its lack of
support in Iraq. Curiously, many articles also highlighted
the planned transfer of the US Navy's European headquarters
from London to Naples -- despite the fact that the move was
not mentioned in the President's speech. End summary.


2. (U) In an interview with top-circulation Corriere della
Sera, FM Frattini emphasized that President Bush's
announcement to restructure the presence of US troops abroad
(Ref A) did not signal a reduction in the US commitment to
Europe or Asia. Commenting that the Cold War is behind us,
Frattini said the decision to move NAVEUR headquarters from
London to Naples is significant recognition of the importance
of the Mediterranean.


3. (U) Stefano Silvestri, head of one of Rome's leading
think tanks, comments in leading business daily Il Sole-24
Ore that the President's decision signals a transformation in
the relationship between NATO and its allies. He notes that
rather than a strategic partnership, NATO has become an
unstable alliance where US forces serve US interests, but
allies, who support and sustain those forces, don't also
share those interests. Lucia Annunziata, former Director of
the government-controlled RAI Uno television network known
for her outspoken and often controversial views, comes to a
similar conclusion in an editorial previewing the President's
speech in the August 15 edition of La Stampa. Even
pro-Berlusconi Il Foglio argues that the move, a response to
NATO's reluctance to commit itself in Iraq, reflects the
difference in approach to the war on terrorism that will lead
NATO allies down separate paths.


4. (SBU) Comment. Although the NAVEUR move was not mentioned
in the President's speech, many newspaper reports highlighted
this as one of the major consequences for Italy of the US'
Global Defense Posture Review. FM Frattini's comments,
coming at the end of a lengthy interview about UNSC reform in
which he claimed that President Bush specifically promised PM
Berlusconi that the US would do nothing to harm Italy's
interests, has even led to speculation that the NAVEUR
decision is part of a trade-off agreed between the two
leaders that would leave Italy without a UN Security Council
seat. We can expect the Italian press to come up with even
more inventive explanations of why global reposturing is not
simply a strategic decision, but one based also on political
considerations. End comment.

Visit Rome's Classified Website:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/rome/index.cf m

SKODON


NNNN
2004ROME03166 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED