A/S SHANNON'S MEETING WITH ARGENTINE DEFENSE

C O N F I D E N T I A L BUENOS AIRES 000120

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/13/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL MARR MOPS AR
SUBJECT: A/S SHANNON'S MEETING WITH ARGENTINE DEFENSE
MINISTER

REF: A. 05 BUENOS AIRES 1385

B. 05 BUENOS AIRES 3091

C. 05 BUENOS AIRES 3145

Classified By: Ambassador Lino Gutierrez, Reasons 1.4(b) and (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: A/S Shannon, accompanied by Ambassador, met
with Minister of Defense Nilda Garre January 12. They
discussed the current situation in Haiti and Garre's vision
for the Argentine armed forces. Garre will reconfigure the
armed forces for a defensive doctrine, but also continue
Argentine participation in international peacekeeping
operations. Garre said the MOD is looking at ways to step up
military cooperation with Chile and Brazil. A/S Shannon met
separately with President Kirchner and other GOA cabinet
officials (reported septel). END SUMMARY.


2. (C) Assistant Secretary Tom Shannon, accompanied by
Ambassador and POLOFF (notetaker),met with Minister of
Defense Nilda Garre during his visit to Buenos Aires January

12. (See ref. A and B for background information on Garre.)
Garre was accompanied by Secretary for Military Affairs Jose
Vazquez Ocampo, Secretary for Planning Oscar Cuattromo, and
Under Secretary for Technical Military Affairs Esteban
Montenegro.

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Haiti
--------------


3. (C) Garre began by praising Secretary Rice for her
intervention in setting a firm date for the Haitian
elections. She also noted that OAS Secretary General Jose
Insulza was due to visit Haiti the week of January 16. She
said, however, that the level of political violence in Haiti
was untenable.


4. (C) A/S Shannon said that economic development was linked
to security and that the international community needed to
create the context in which the Haitian people could recreate
their economy. He said that Argentina has played an
important role in a historic peacekeeping operation, namely
that MINUSTAH was essentially a South American force.
Shannon reiterated the importance of the Core Group meeting
in Haiti the week of January 16.

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Military Reform
--------------


5. (C) A/S Shannon asked for Garre,s views on the future of
the Argentine armed forces. Garre said it had been a long
and painful process reintegrating the Armed Forces into
society after the 1976-1983 military dictatorship. She
sketched out several key principles and priorities for
change:

-- a) the Argentine military would be reconfigured for a
defensive mission only. This would affect decisions on where
units are stationed within the country, as well as the types
of armaments and missions;

-- b) the armed forces would contribute to international
peacekeeping operations, such as the current (major)
deployments to Haiti, Cyprus, and Kosovo;

-- c) the MOD would continue to pursue military exchanges and
joint cooperation with neighbors such as Chile and Brazil.
(Vazquez Ocampo acknowledged that integration would be
difficult, but that the political will existed to pursue
existing initiatives. He said that the dialogue with Chile
and Brazil had been fluid, but what was needed were concrete
mechanisms for integration. Vazquez Ocampo believed that
scenarios of conflict in the sub-region had been replaced by
scenarios of cooperation.)

-- d) the MOD would move forward on S&T research and

cooperation, and examine the development of a defense
industrial policy. (During the Ambassador's December 22
meeting with Garre, ref. C, Cuattromo said the GOA is
considering ways to promote the AT-63 Pampa, produced by
Lockheed in Cordoba.)

Comment
--------------


6. (C) Garre gave an interview January 8 in which she laid
out very similar themes for a transformation of the armed
forces, whose mission she termed "anachronistic." Her
apparent enthusiasm for peacekeeping operations - shared by
Vice-MOD Vazquez Ocampo - should work to our benefit.


7. (U) Reftels available at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/buenosaires.< /a>

GUTIERREZ