Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06PRAGUE1106
2006-09-11 14:39:00
CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN
Embassy Prague
Cable title:  

DAS PEKALA IN PRAGUE: MISSILE DEFENSE THE MAIN

Tags:  PREL PGOV MARR PHUM EZ 
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VZCZCXRO7072
RR RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHPG #1106/01 2541439
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 111439Z SEP 06
FM AMEMBASSY PRAGUE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7944
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 1772
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PRAGUE 001106 

SIPDIS

NOFORN
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/08/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR PHUM EZ
SUBJECT: DAS PEKALA IN PRAGUE: MISSILE DEFENSE THE MAIN
TOPIC

REF: PRAGUE 1074

Classified By: DCM Cameron Munter for reasons 1.4 b+d

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PRAGUE 001106

SIPDIS

NOFORN
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/08/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR PHUM EZ
SUBJECT: DAS PEKALA IN PRAGUE: MISSILE DEFENSE THE MAIN
TOPIC

REF: PRAGUE 1074

Classified By: DCM Cameron Munter for reasons 1.4 b+d


1. (C/NF) Summary: Missile defense dominated discussions in
Prague during DAS Mark Pekala's meetings. Pekala explained
in public and private that a USG decision on MD site(s) in
Central Europe should come in the fall; that the MD assets
have no offensive capability; and that the USG welcomes a
vigorous Czech public debate on MD. Czech officials
expressed strong interest in seeing NATO MD move forward as
well, in part because this will help counter some of the
domestic opposition to a U.S. system. End summary.


2. (SBU) EUR Deputy Assistant Secretary Mark Pekala visited
Prague September 6-7 to participate in the EUR Entry Level
conference. He met with Deputy FM Tomas Pojar and with
several members of Parliament, and gave several press
interviews. By far the main topic of discussion in meetings
and with the press was the potential U.S. offer to base some
elements of our missile defense system in the Czech Republic.
Other themes included positive assessment of Czech-U.S.
relations, visas, and Czech support for democratic
transformation and the war on terrorism.


3. (C/NF) Missile defense (MD) dominated each of Pekala's
private meetings and his press interviews. In a meeting with
Deputy FM Tomas Pojar (accompanied by Czech Ambassador to
Washington Petr Kolar and Political Director Martin
Povejsil),Pekala explained that a USG decision on an offer
to the Czech Republic and/or Poland is expected in the fall
and sought Pojar's views on the impact that the domestic
political situation would have on MD. Pojar responded that
the Topolanek government is firmly in favor of MD, but that
the current government is only likely to last for around
three months. Looking ahead, he expects that the next
government "will be based on the current one." In terms of
timing, any delay in a U.S. offer is good for the Czechs,
given local and Senate elections that take place October

20-21 (with the second round of the Senate votes one week
later): the opposition Social Democrats (CSSD),who compete
for support with the staunchly anti-MD Communists, can not
afford to be publicly supportive on MD in advance of the
election (as demonstrated by former PM Paroubek's recent
statements against MD, reftel).


4. (C/NF) Pojar and Kolar both noted that Paroubek had said,
both privately (reftel) and publicly, that a radar-only
facility would be different from a "missile defense base" --
which is generally interpreted to mean something that
includes missile interceptors. But they added that it was
important for the USG to continue to work closely with
Paroubek, whose support would be important in the divided
Parliament. Kolar, referring to a meeting he recently had
with the former PM, said Paroubek wants a "briefing" on MD.
(Note: post will be meeting with several MD supporters in
the coming days to plan next steps, including our approach to
Paroubek and the CSSD.) Kolar also urged that in their
public statements U.S. and Czech officials not focus on the
possibility of splitting the two MD facilities between the
Czech Republic and Poland -- even if it is politically
expedient to focus only on the radar, Kolar sees long-term
benefits to a debate on missile defense per se. Pojar agreed
with the importance of the debate, but explained that he is
focused on the need to expand the U.S. presence in Central
Europe, which would best be achieved by having MD facilities
in both the Czech Republic and Poland. This would also
further another government priority, namely enhancing
Czech-Polish cooperation (in this regard Pojar mentioned that
energy security will be an increasingly important part of the
Czech-Polish dialogue in coming months, specifically GOCR
concern that nothing Poland does to improve its energy
security situation have a negative impact on the Czech
Republic).


5. (C/NF) Pojar and Kolar both focused on the importance of
NATO to this debate. Pojar explained that the GOCR
motivation is not/not to try to force U.S. MD plans together
with NATO's. Rather, the Czechs genuinely want to see a NATO
MD capability develop and advance as quickly as possible.
That is why they want to work towards an MD deliverable at
the NATO Riga Summit, and why they would like to see elements
of the NATO MD Feasibility Study declassified in order to
become part of the public debate. The Czechs readily admit
they see a linkages to the current debate over the U.S. MD
facility: a clearer NATO endorsement of the technology and
acknowledgment that NATO and U.S. systems will be
complementary will help win over Czech skeptics. Pojar also

PRAGUE 00001106 002 OF 002


shared his personal belief that if there is not a U.S. MD
site in Europe, the NATO system will never be built. Pekala
noted the difficulty involved in moving NATO, but agreed to
explore this further.


6. (SBU) Pekala discussed MD during meetings with three
members of Parliament: newly-elected Green deputy Odrej
Liska (likely future chair of the EU Affairs Committee),and
Civic Democratic (ODS) deputies David Seich (likely to
continue in his role as vice-chair of the Foreign Affairs
Committee) and Petr Bratsky. In a thoughtful discussion,
Liska never came out and expressed a firm opinion either for
or against MD, but explained that the Greens are focused on
making sure the debate has the right focus. This includes a
debate about the effectiveness of MD technology itself. As a
general principle, the Greens believe that a multilateral
system (through NATO) is a better option than a bilateral
arrangement with the United States. Liska wants to see the
debate focus on the real questions, which he termed security
and political relationships, rather than the economic
benefits. On a referendum, Liska said the Greens would not
oppose any referendum on MD, but nor would they push for one.


7. (SBU) The ODS deputies stressed that MD has the full
support of their party, but that this was not sufficient
since the ODS has only a minority government. The USG,
together with Czech MD supporters, would need to work on
public perceptions and winning support from CSSD,
particularly from Paroubek himself. They thought that a NATO
linkage would be important, especially since it was a
CSSD-led government that brought the country into NATO. In
response to a question from Pekala about how deeply and
broadly entrenched public opinion is on the issue, Seich
emphasized the importance of coming up with a good package
that highlights the benefits to be gained.


8. (U) In the course of an extensive interview with the daily
"Pravo" and separate interviews with several television and
radio journalists, Pekala focused on MD, stressing that:
-- the USG had not yet reached a decision on offering MD
facilities to Europe; both the Czech Republic and Poland
remain under consideration; a precise date for a USG decision
is not known but we hope it will be this fall.
-- the USG is encouraged that Czechs are debating and
discussing missile defense (most reporters opened by asking
if the USG was concerned by the "negative" tone of the public
debate lately, a reference to the announcement by former PM
Paroubek that his party is opposed to MD -- reftel)
-- the MD system has no offensive capabilities
-- the MD facility being contemplated for Central Europe
poses no threat to Russia; the USG is in dialogue with the
Russian government.


9. (SBU) Compared to MD, other topics were covered only
briefly. In his press interviews and with the MPs, Pekala
stressed repeatedly the strong bilateral relationship and the
USG appreciation for Czech efforts in the GWOT and support
for transformational diplomacy. Bratsky, who is personally
heavily involved in many NGO-led democratization efforts,
said he expects no change in the GOCR's previous strong
engagement. Pekala praised Czech support for and cooperation
on the EU China arms embargo and exports of the VERA radar;
he encouraged continued cooperation to prevent military
exports to Venezuela.


10. (SBU) Visas came up in several discussions. The MPs,
while careful not to suggest that the Czech government should
formally link MD and visa waiver, noted that this connection
already exists in the minds of many Czech citizens. Pekala
explained that the two are separate legal processes, but that
the USG wants to see both proceed, with our position on visa
waiver spelled out in the roadmap. He emphasized that over
90% of Czechs get visas and that we are regularly taking
steps to improve our delivery of visa services. The visa
issue was not raised at the MFA.


11. (U) DAS Pekala has cleared this cable.
CABANISS