ITALIAN MILITARY OFFICIALS GENERALLY ON BOARD WITH

S E C R E T ROME 003401

SIPDIS


E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/02/2014
TAGS: PARM PREL KPAO IT NATO FORCES IN ITALY
SUBJECT: ITALIAN MILITARY OFFICIALS GENERALLY ON BOARD WITH
POSSIBLE US MILITARY CHANGES IN ITALY

REF: A. STATE 174698

B. ROME 3138

C. ROME 2631

Classified By: Charge Emil Skodon for reasons 1.5 (a) and (b).


1. (S) Summary. In recent meetings with senior Italian
military officials, Charge discussed upcoming changes in the
US military footprint in Italy. Overall, the reaction was
positive -- the officials agreed that the proposed changes
make sense from an operational point of view. However, they
noted that some issues, especially regarding operating
conditions, are politically extremely sensitive and will be
tricky to resolve, especially if the US insists on the right
to unilateral deployment. End summary.


2. (C) Charge accompanied NAVEUR Commander Admiral Grog
Johnson to an August 31 meeting with Italian Chief of Defense
(CHOD) Admiral Paolo Di Paola to discuss the US Navy's
transformation in Europe and its implications for Italy.
Charge, accompanied by Pol M/C and Econ M/C, also discussed
proposed changes to the US military presence in Italy with PM
Berlusconi's new Military Advisor, Alberto Ficuciello, on
September 2.

Naples and Gaeta -- smooth sailing ahead


3. (C) Adm. Johnson's message to the Italian CHOD was that
the US Navy's transformation in the European theater is
already underway. Di Paola was well aware of and appeared at
east with the proposed changes in Naples (moving NAVEUR and
Commander Navy Europe (CNE) from London and consolidating
with Sixth Fleet headquarters). Likewise, the relocation of
the Sixth Fleet Command Staff to Naples -- leaving only the
flag ship in Gaeta -- did not appear to be of major concern.
Although in a briefing to the Embassy country team a few
week's earlier Johnson had expressed concern that the
downsizing at Gaeta had not been discussed officially with
local officials, Di Paola seemed relatively unconcerned about
the impact on the local economy, noting that there was plenty
of tourism and other activities to support economic growth.

Vicenza and Sigonella -- careful navigation needed


4. (S) Di Paola asked for an update on Vicenza and Sigonella.
He noted that with Vicenza, if the US Army's intent is
merely to increase the numbers of SETAF military personnel
under existing operating conditions (from the current ceiling
of 2,900 to approximately 4,000 troops),this was a simple
matter. If, on the other hand, the US was looking to change
the operating conditions, including the right to deploy, as
A/S Bloomfield had discussed during his June visit (Ref C),
then we needed to reach a "political understanding" before
any changes take place. (Note: US Army and Italian Defense
General Staff colonels will meet in Rome September 10 to
discuss possible expansion of the US presence in Vicenza to
the Italian airbase at Dal Molin. End note.)


5. (S) Consolidating Special Operations Forces (SOF) at
Sigonella, Di Paola continued, will certainly require some
sort of political agreement, especially regarding freedom to
deploy, since the existing Base Infrastructure Agreements
(BIAs) governing the presence of US forces in Italy foresee
their use only for NATO-related purposes. He repeated the
Italian government's view that trying to renegotiate the BIA
would spark a political controversy, even in the current
pro-Bush political climate, and probably leave the US worse
off. Di Paola reiterated his hope that Italy could find a
way under existing agreements to accommodate US
rapid-response type movements.


6. (S) In the meeting with Ficuciello, the PM's Military
Advisor commented that consolidation of SOF in Sigonella made
sense from on operational point view and would provide
increased opportunities for bilateral training.


7. (S) Charge stressed in both meetings that the US
government is still debating the issue, noting that SOCOM
Commander General Brown is visiting Sigonella this week. He
said that if a decision is made to go ahead, many details
will have to be worked out with the Italian host government.
The US also prefers to avoid renegotiating existing basing
agreements. He repeated our message that the US will


continue to consult closely with the Italian host government
as thinking on these issues progress. He noted that a
high-level US delegation probably will visit Rome this fall
to discuss these issues further.

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

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2004ROME03401 - Classification: SECRET