Corrected Copy -- NATO Tour for Young French

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 008128

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/PPD

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KIRC KPAO OIIP OTRA FR NATO EUN
SUBJECT: Corrected Copy -- NATO Tour for Young French
Political Leaders - October 13-14, 2005



1. INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY: The future shape of NATO as
well as its ability to ensure collective security and co-
exist with an independent European defense have been the
subject of discussions in French political and media circles
for some time. At an illustrative debate at the French
Senate last year, two members of the French Foreign Affairs,
Defense and Armed Forces Committee were particularly
critical of NATO. Former Senator and member of the
Commission, Jean-Yves Autexier, stated that "NATO is not a
security alliance, but a tool for global American strategy.
in this it is an obstacle for European Defense." Helene
Luc, Vice-president of the Committee said: "We should look
at things honestly. NATO represents the American dominance
of European defense." Their comments represent an example
of one French mindset.


2. Given these types of French apprehensions, the Mission
takes full advantage of NATO tours for select participants
to broaden their knowledge of defense issues. The Public
Affairs Section recently arranged for a NATO tour for
emerging political leaders, both left and right of center,
and their tour highlighted NATO and European defense as
compatible, not antithetical. The day at the Joint Force
Command headquarters brought home that NATO is first and
foremost a military alliance as opposed to a political
organization. The French participants, mostly staff aides
on Foreign Affairs and Defense Committees at the French
Senate and National Assembly selected by Embassy Paris,
praised the tour for deepening their understanding of NATO,
the role of the Joint Force Command, and the importance of
collective defense to meet the challenges of the 21st
century. End Introduction and Summary.

DAY ONE


3. NATO headquarters: USNATO's Deputy Chief of Mission, John
Koening, began the day of briefings with an overview of both
the U.S.'s role in NATO and France's contributions to the
Alliance. He noted that the U.S. and France share a common
understanding of the strategic threats and most priorities,
but differ over the role of NATO in addressing our common
challenges. Where Iraq is concerned, he noted that we
appreciated the France's contributions to stability and
reconstruction, but believed that France should reconsider
its refusal so far to contribute forces to the NATO Training
Mission and the ar-Rustamiyah center in Iraq." The DCM
detailed U.S. involvement in various peacekeeping missions,
including Afghanistan and the Sudan. He outlined how NATO
coordinates humanitarian efforts and gave the example of the
strategic air bridge to Pakistan that assisted the victims
of the devastating earthquake earlier that month.


4. The French Ambassador to NATO, Richard Duque, accompanied
by his deputy welcomed the group to the French Mission to
NATO. Ambassador Duque began the briefing with a history of
France's involvement in NATO and the withdrawal from NATO's
integrated military structure in 1966. He underscored that
the fact that France does not belong to the integrated
military structure is no longer an issue for France or for
its allies, and in no way hinders France's ability to fully
cooperate in NATO operations. The Ambassador described NATO
as an "instrument of stabilization" and touched on NATO
transformation, a term he said he finds "mysterious," but
recognizes that it is in the interest of France to promote
greater interoperability. Ambassador Duque touched on the
"ambiguous attitude" of the U.S. with regard to the EU,
saying that the U.S. wants a strong Europe, but only within
the Alliance. NATO, he added, allows the U.S. to have a
presence in Europe and an independent European defense would
undermine this. The newest members to NATO are, according to
Ambassador Duque, adverse to an independent European defense
because they are intent on maintaining their strategic
alliance with the U.S. and are generally wary of the EU.
Finally, he suggested that the U.S. is not as present as it
once was in NATO because today it is looking for more
flexibility with the various ad hoc coalitions it has
established in Afghanistan or Iraq for example.


5. The Counselor for the Portuguese Delegation to NATO,
Andre Melo Bandeira, gave a briefing in French on the
Mediterranean Dialogue and the Istanbul Cooperative
Initiative that was very well received. Mr. Bandeira
discussed the Broader Middle East Initiative emphasizing the
difficulty in determining the boundaries of the Broader
Middle East. He also spoke about Turkey's membership bid to
the EU and again of the difficulty in defining the political
and geographical boundaries of Europe. This briefing was
followed by a discussion on NATO in Afghanistan and the
challenges facing NATO in that region. This discussion was
led by Colonel Andrew Budd of the Strategic Policy and
Concepts Branch of the NATO International Military
Committee. In a frank presentation of the situation in
Afghanistan, Colonel Budd regretted a lack of planning ahead
on the part of NATO and SHAPE in Afghanistan. He said that
this lack of vision is responsible for the problems that
ISAF has experienced since 2004 and added that the massive
sending of troops to the region was not the right solution.
The fact that NATO commits to operations such as the ISAF
mission in Afghanistan without sufficient attention to the
"end state" is NATO's principal weakness, said Colonel Budd.
He described the logistical problems that slow down both the
reconstruction of the country as well as its stabilization.
He explained the purpose of the Provincial Reconstruction
Teams (PRTs) that are made up of military and civilian
personnel and sent to remote regions to extend the authority
of the Afghan central government, promote and enhance
security, and facilitate humanitarian relief and
reconstruction operations. He warned, however, of the
dangers that the PRTs face, being isolated and at the mercy
of local warlords.


6. The working lunch was an occasion to discuss NATO-EU
relations. Overall, briefers and guests agreed that France
and the U.S. are more aligned than separate and that NATO
and the EU generally speak with one voice. The briefing
after lunch continued the discussion on NATO and the EU with
a debate on the adaptability of the Berlin Plus agreement
and whether or not Berlin Plus is the best way for the EU
and NATO to work together. The example of Darfur was put
forth as an instance where Berlin Plus does not work. The
discussion also focused on the efforts that remain to be
made toward greater interoperability between the NATO
Response Force and the EU Battle Groups. The final briefing
in French, by the Deputy Public Affairs Officer for USNATO,
provided the group with a chance to recap the information
that they had gathered over the course of the day and ask
some final policy-related questions.

DAY TWO


7. Brunssum - Joint Force Command Headquarters: The Press
and Information Officer gave an extremely well-presented and
informative presentation of JFC and its place within NATO's
military structure. The group came away from this briefing
with a broader view of JFC's organization, its mission range
and its operational priorities. The briefer gave an overview
of JFC's command of the NATO Response and ISAF operations in
Afghanistan. The preparations for the upcoming exercise in
Cape Verde, "Steadfast Jaguar," were outlined and the JFC
Press Officer highlighted the extent of the challenges that
face NATO because of the need to be operational quickly in
any part of the world. Part of the briefing was devoted to
NATO Transformation and what this means for the future of
the Alliance. The participants' questions focused, for the
most part, on Afghanistan and consequences on the ground of
combining the commands of the NATO-led International
Security Assistance Force (ISAF) peacekeeping operation
with the U.S-led Operation Enduring Freedom. France has been
outwardly opposed to combining these two operations and the
group reflected this position. The briefer stressed the
danger of confusing peacekeeping and the war on terror. At
the end of the day the group was unanimously enthusiastic
about the day in Brunssum noting, however, that this
briefing, which dealt with the operational and technical
details of NATO missions ideally should have come before the
day-long briefings at NATO headquarters that focused on
policy and the decision-making aspect of NATO.


8. CONCLUSION: The participants were extremely impressed by
the quality of the briefings as well as by the briefers.
Discussions in the train returning to Paris focused on the
tour's usefulness in dispelling a common notion in France
that NATO is an ageing institution that has become quasi-
obsolete since the end of the Cold War. Instead,
participants came away with a sense of NATO's adaptability,
both in its peace-keeping and peace enforcement operations,
and its new function in the war on terrorism. End Conclusion
STAPLETON