CODEL KING DISCUSSES OLYMPIC SECURITY,

UNCLAS ROME 000346 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PTER PREL IT SUBJECT: CODEL KING DISCUSSES OLYMPIC SECURITY, INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM AND BORDER SECURITY ¶1. (U) Transmission of this cable was delayed pending CODEL clearance. ¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY: CODEL King met January 12 with Under Secretary to the Council of Ministers Gianni Letta and SIPDIS Minister of Interior Giuseppe Pisanu. Both Letta and Pisanu described U.S.-Italian cooperation in the war on terrorism as excellent and expressed confidence that the GOI has an adequate security plan for the Olympics. When asked by Rep. King how to improve cooperation, Letta said the U.S. Congress could work more intensively with its Italian counterpart, and Pisanu said U.S. information sharing could be quicker and along a broader spectrum. The delegation also discussed illegal immigration, Muslim outreach, and Italian troop deployments to Iraq. END SUMMARY. ¶3. (U) Representative Pete King led a bipartisan delegation from the House Committee on Homeland Security to Rome, Italy and met January 12 with Under Secretary to the Council of Ministers Gianni Letta and Minister of Interior Giuseppe Pisanu. The CODEL included Representatives Donna Christensen, Michael McCaul, William Pascrell, Jr. and Mike Rogers. Ambassador Spogli accompanied the CODEL to the meetings. -------------- U/S LETTA PRAISES U.S.-ITALIAN COOPERATION -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Rep. King and all members of the CODEL thanked Letta for Italy's cooperation in the war on terror and for Italian troop commitments in difficult hotspots like Afghanistan and Iraq. Letta responded by saying the U.S. and Italy traditionally have enjoyed a strong relationship but that it has been strengthened further over the past few years because of the personal connection between our country's two leaders. Letta continued that the U.S. and Italy have closely cooperated in sensitive security areas since September 11, 2001 and that the GOI's commitment to Iraq remains solid despite strong criticism from some members of parliament and Italian losses in Iraq. In response to Rep. King's question as to how U.S-Italian cooperation could be enhanced, Letta responded that the U.S. Congress could try to work more closely with the Italian parliament in order to help convince opponents of Italian commitments to Iraq and other places of the need for Italy to participate strongly in such hot spots. ¶5. (SBU) Rep. Pascrell asked Letta what plans the GOI has for withdrawing Italian troops from Iraq and whether he thought the presence of foreign troops in Iraq has encouraged international terrorism. Letta responded that the GOI's policy in Iraq is in perfect harmony with the U.S. position. He said that, like everyone, Italy would like to withdraw its troops but that it must be gradual, closely coordinated with the U.S. and Iraq and based on the evolution of conditions in Iraq, including security and the level of preparedness of Iraqi security forces. Letta said he did not believe there was a link between international terrorism and foreign troops in Iraq and noted that the September 11, 2001 attack on the U.S. occurred before foreign troops entered Iraq. ¶6. (SBU) Rep. McCaul asked about the GOI's security priorities in the wake of the war on terrorism. Letta cited changes to Italy's legal framework designed to crackdown on terrorist activities and efforts to further coordinate security policy within the EU. Letta was particularly proud of the positive results of increased Italian vigilance against terrorist financing. He said the EU needs to agree on a coordinated immigration policy and noted that Italy's long coastline in the Mediterranean makes it the border for Europe. He said the EU needs to provide greater assistance to Italy in order to better protect its border. In response to Rep. Rogers, Letta noted that the Italian people are also concerned about the terrorist threat but that they are not willing to sacrifice their way of living and surrender to fear. ¶7. (SBU) Letta said the GOI feels confidant that it has an adequate security plan for the Turin Olympic Games, in response to a question from Rep. Christensen. He acknowledged that the Olympics provide terrorists with a tempting target, but said that Italian security forces, in close coordination with U.S. and other allies, have developed a massive security plan that will be difficult for terrorists to penetrate. -------------- -------------- PISANU DESCRIBES CT POLICIES/NEED FOR DATA SHARING -------------- -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Rep. King and the other members of the delegation warmly thanked Minister Pisanu for Italy's cooperation in the war on terror. Pisanu thanked the delegation for their visit to Italy and described the importance of U.S-Italian cooperation to include the war on terror and organized crime. Pisanu described U.S.-Italian cooperation as excellent but noted terrorists are always looking for innovative ways to penetrate their targets, making it imperative to always look for new ways to improve cooperatiin. In response to Rep. King's question as to how to improve bilateral cooperation, Pisanu repeated that cooperation is currently excellent, but offered that the exchange of information could be quicker and along a broader spectrum. Pisanu repeated this comment several times throughout the rest of the meeting. He said improved information exchange applies both to the movement of terrorist and their financial assets. ¶9. (SBU) Rep. Christensen asked about the threat to Italy stemming from potential terrorists living in Italy. Pisanu said that Italy,s immigrants arrived recently since Italy did not have a colonial legacy and said there are approximately one million Muslims living in Italy. Five percent of those Muslims regularly attend Mosque and might be susceptible to Islamic extremism. Pisanu said he is taking a page from the Italian battle against Marxist extremism and is trying to drive a wedge between this minority and the rest of the Muslim community that only wants to live and work in peace. Rep. Pascrell asked Pisanu if the GOI has been able to understand what motivates terrorists to act in Italy and why moderates move to extremism. Pisanu emphasized that Italy defeated the Red Brigade by separating the militants from its base of support in the working class. Since most Muslims living in Italy have simple concerns related to work status and living conditions, he has developed a Muslim Consultative Body to dialogue with the community and learn about their concerns. His approach is to offer a hand to those who are willing to show respect for Italian laws, society and religious beliefs and use a strong arm against those who will not. Pisanu highlighted recent legal changes which allow him to expel any foreigner he deems a threat to national security. ¶10. (SBU) Rep. Rogers asked whether Pisanu's approach of separating terrorists from their support community has produced any results. Pisanu responded that the GOI has begun to receive cooperation from Islamic moderates. He noted that his goal is not to assimilate Muslims into Italian culture since he believes that they are too different from the Italian-Christian tradition. He sees his effort as a permanent dialogue based on mutual respect. If Muslim immigrants are willing to respect Italian traditions, Pisanu expressed confidence that appropriate accommodations can be reached. Those immigrants not willing to respect Italian values will be sent home. As examples, Pisanu noted that he has expelled five imams for inciting violence and closed down a Muslim school operating outside the legal school system. ¶11. (SBU) Pisanu described his concern regarding illegal immigration in response to a question by Rep. McCaul. Pisanu said most illegal immigrants enter Italy clandestinely and present no documents when found by Italian authorities. He lamented that organized crime groups make large profits from transporting illegal aliens and suggested that terrorist groups were also financing their activities in the same way. Pisanu expressed a specific concern with illegals coming from the Horn of Africa due to the strong terrorist penetration there. ¶12. (SBU) Pisanu said the U.S. and Italy have cooperated closely on an Olympic security plan and expressed confidence in the GOI,s ability to thwart any attack. He noted that Italy has not yet received a credible threat against the games. SPOGLI