AFGHANISTAN: ITALIANS COMMITTED ON PRT/FSB,

S E C R E T ROME 004580

SIPDIS


DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/RPM AND PM

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/30/2014
TAGS: MARR PREL MOPS AF IT NATO AFGHANISTAN
SUBJECT: AFGHANISTAN: ITALIANS COMMITTED ON PRT/FSB,
CONSIDERING SOF REQUEST

REF: A. A) STATE 251753

B. B) STATE 251327

C. C)ROME 3849

D. D) ROME 2913

E. E) ROME 2122

Classified By: POL M/C TOM COUNTRYMAN FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D)


1. (S) Polmilcouns conveyed Ref A and B points to MFA NATO
Office Director Brauzzi November 29, and, along with DATT,
discussed them with Deputy Chief of Defense Castagnetti on
November 30. Brauzzi said he would share them with Chief of
Defense DiPaola on Nov. 30. On the PRT and FSB, Brauzzi noted
that Italy planned to have its PRT forces in place in Herat
by mid-March 2005 and the FSB by late March or early April.
He noted that he thought the US should be making good-will
gestures by placing US forces under ISAF without caveats, and
was sorry to hear the Ref A point the US might pull back from
that position if Stage II ISAF commitments did not meet US
goals by January 20. He had no comment on the Ref B SOF
request.


2. (C) Castagnetti pointed out that once Defense Minister
Martino told the press that Italy would send 200 soldiers for
ISAF PRT/FSB work, Italy was committed to doing so. He said
that in his personal view, who ever occupied the leadership
should provide the helicopter assets. Italy was working hard
to meet the helicopter and role 2 medical requirements but
was facing serious problems doing so. Castagnetti is pushing
the Italian Navy to come up with helicopters (he said the
Navy helos were better protected and operate better at high
altitude) but they would require support on the ground that
Italy cannot provide. He wondered if the US could provide
ground support in this area. On medical requirements, Italy
does not have military surgeons or anesthesiologists. In
Iraq they are using Red Cross volunteers, and they are not
getting new volunteers to step forward so cannot use the same
model for ISAF. They can put a role 1 plus facility with a
C-130 for medevac, but, Castagnetti emphasized, to do it
right and provide the required flexibility/mobility,
helicopters are "a must."


3. (C) Italy, Castagnetti reported, is also looking at other
places it might be able to draw down military commitments
less urgently needed to free up assets for the PRT/FSB work.
He cited Albania, and said that if SHAPE decided a NATO HQ
was no longer needed in Albania, that would help free up some
Italian assets. (He conceded that Greece would oppose such a
decision.)


4. (C) Castagnetti told us that the Italian Ambassador in
Kabul had gone to Herat with a military advance team, but
Rome did not yet have the trip report. Another Italian
reconnaissance team will travel there in early December and
Rome hopes to have both reports by December 15, after which
they will have a more clear idea of what they need to do to
for both the PRT and the FSB.


5. (S) On SOF, Castagnetti said IDGS would study the US
request and see what Italy could do. It would be much easier
for Italy to take a decision on SOF for Afghanistan, he said,
if there was a clearly visible connection to an OEF/ISAF
toward a OEF one.

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2004ROME04580 - Classification: SECRET