D/EUCOM GEN WARD DISCUSSES ENGAGEMENT IN AFRICA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BERN 000923 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/AGS (MOON/TRICK/SAINT-ANDRE) AND EUR/INR (KEETON) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: MARR MASS PREL AF SZ SUBJECT: D/EUCOM GEN WARD DISCUSSES ENGAGEMENT IN AFRICA WITH TOP SWISS OFFICIALS -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU) During a September 7 office meeting with Swiss DefMin Schmid, and a subsequent joint MFA/MOD roundtable discussion, Deputy EUCOM Commander General Ward and senior Swiss MFA and MOD officials exchanged views on efforts to enhance African security and stability. DefMin Schmid characterized Swiss interests as "nearer" to Africa than Afghanistan, referring specifically to migration from North Africa. GEN Ward praised Switzerland's engagement in Afghanistan and Africa. He observed that the implications for international security of events in Afghanistan remain extremely important. He encouraged Schmid to retain the current Swiss contributions in Afghanistan. GEN Ward explained that EUCOM is working to strengthen interagency and international civil-military cooperation in Africa to ensure that military tasks performed by EUCOM most effectively support African stability. Swiss officials emphasized that civil-military cooperation is an important component of Swiss national security strategy. They suggested that Switzerland possibly could be a good interlocutor for EUCOM regarding Africa. Asked by the Swiss officials to elaborate on DoD plans to establish a new unified Command for Africa -- AFRICOM -- GEN Ward underlined that, pending Senate confirmation of his nomination to be the first AFRICOM Commander, he could only comment in general terms from his EUCOM perspective. He said that AFRICOM was intended to build on and enhance EUCOM's long-standing engagement in Africa, and that the emphasis was projected to be on partnering and capacity building with African nations and organizations. End summary. ¶2. (U) DefMin Office Meeting Participants: - USG: -- GEN Ward, Deputy EUCOM Commander; -- COL Cypher-Erickson, DATT, Embassy Bern -- COL Beene, Deputy POLAD, EUCOM -- COL Bender, Executive Officer to D/EUCOM - Swiss: -- DefMin Samuel Schmid -- AMB Raimond Kunz, Director for Security and Defense Policy, MOD ¶3. (U) Roundtable Participants: - USG: -- GEN Ward, Deputy EUCOM Commander; -- CDA Carter, Embassy Bern; -- COL Cypher-Erickson, DATT, Embassy Bern -- COL Beene, Deputy POLAD, EUCOM -- COL Bender, Executive Officer to D/EUCOM - Swiss: -- AMB Anton Thalmann, Deputy Political Director, MFA -- AMB Thomas Greminger, Head of Political Division IV - Human Security, MFA -- AMB Raimond Kunz, Director for Security and Defense Policy, MOD -- AMB Jacques Pitteloud, Head of the Center for Security Policy, MFA -- MG Urban Siegenthaler, Swiss Defense Attache, Washington, D.C. -- COL Urs Gerber, Deputy Chief of Staff for International Relations, MOD -------------- -------------- DefMin Schmid - Swiss "Nearer" to Africa than Afghanistan -------------- -------------- ¶4. (SBU) DefMin Schmid characterized Swiss interests as "nearer" to Africa than Afghanistan, referring specifically to migration from North Africa. He explained that Swiss contributions to stability usually take place under a multilateral umbrella, since the Swiss often need logistical assistance from others (Note: Swiss law also requires a UN mandate for the deployment of Swiss military personnel outside of Switzerland. End note). The focus is first and foremost on humanitarian assistance. Schmid also commented that French-speaking Swiss soldiers can be particularly helpful on such missions. AMB Kunz noted that Schmid is BERN 00000923 002 OF 003 planning a trip to Africa at the end of November to reinforce Swiss engagement in Africa. ¶5. (SBU) GEN Ward described EUCOM's objectives in Africa, emphasizing the USG's interest in supporting stability by strengthening civil-military cooperation there. He praised Switzerland's engagement in Afghanistan and Africa, and commended Schmid for being proactive in the realization that events far from Switzerland can have a significant impact on Swiss interests. In that context, GEN Ward observed that the implications for international security of events in Afghanistan remain extremely important. He noted that the Swiss bring with them their strong international reputation to their contributions. Therefore, even though their numbers may be small, as in Afghanistan, such Swiss contributions are still very significant. GEN Ward encouraged Schmid to retain the current Swiss contributions in Afghanistan. He also suggested that Switzerland participate in the Africa Clearinghouse, given Swiss engagement in Africa. -------------- EUCOM in Africa: Looking for Partners -------------- ¶6. (SBU) GEN Ward explained that EUCOM is working to strengthen interagency and international civil-military cooperation in Africa to ensure that military tasks performed by EUCOM most effectively support African stability. He emphasized that EUCOM is not looking to take on development tasks, but to provide the best possible support to such efforts. Against that backdrop, he said that EUCOM is very interested in working with international partners, seeking to benefit from their experiences in the region while de-conflicting activities and sharing the ample workload. GEN Ward also underlined that EUCOM seeks to "look at Africa as Africans look at Africa," and views the African Union and its five Regional Economic Communities (and their planned standby brigades) as providing a useful framework for cooperation, over and beyond continued bilateral initiatives. He observed that EUCOM is widely engaged in Africa, focusing on capacity building aimed at mitigating dangers to Africans and to the wider international community. -------------- Swiss Engagement in Africa: Crisis Tools -------------- ¶7. (SBU) AMB Thalmann welcomed GEN Ward's message, saying that Europe is very sensitive to attempts to "solve every problem (purely) militarily." He remarked that civil-military cooperation is an important component of Swiss national security strategy, and that Switzerland's militia tradition (i.e., reliance on part-time soldiers) reinforces the Swiss military's ability for civ-mil engagement. In that respect, he said that Switzerland possibly could be a good interlocutor for EUCOM regarding Africa. AMB Greminger reported that Switzerland's engagement in Africa is focused on Burundi and Sudan/Darfur, and to a lesser degree Somalia and Chad. He observed that Switzerland had developed a number of tools for its international security engagement under the rubric of "civilian peace promotion," a concept he noted that the EU would refer to as "crisis management." He listed those five "tools" as: -- using "good offices" to facilitate conflict resolution (e.g., Columbia, Nepal, Burundi, Uganda); -- "conflict transformation" through the promotion of dialogue, small arms reduction, and transitional justice; -- providing "civilian specialists," particularly police and legal experts, in support of multilateral peacekeeping efforts; -- "diplomatic initiatives," normally launched within multilateral frameworks (e.g., an initiative to mark/trace small arms); -- and "strategic partnerships" with institutions to mobilize expertise (e.g., the Geneva Center for Democratic Control of Armed Forces). ¶8. (SBU) AMB Pitteloud commented that, following the end of the Cold War, Africa largely was neglected. He argued that the international community is only now starting to realize that Sub-Saharan poses emerging major security challenges (i.e., "not just humanitarian and migration issues"). He said that one important goal should be to provide increased BERN 00000923 003 OF 003 training to Sub-Saharan militaries. Pitteloud also expressed concern that some African countries could descend into chaos, and that there may be an increased need to review arrangements for evacuations of third country nationals. In that connection, he noted that Switzerland often partners with France, but that there may be some areas where France or other European partners do not have the wherewithal and where Switzerland might possibly look to the USG. -------------- AFRICOM -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Asked by the Swiss participants to elaborate on DoD plans to establish a new unified Command for Africa -- AFRICOM -- GEN Ward underlined that, pending confirmation by the U.S. Senate of his nomination to be the first AFRICOM Commander, he could only comment in general terms from his EUCOM perspective. He said that AFRICOM was intended to build on and enhance EUCOM's long-standing engagement in Africa, and that the emphasis was projected to be on partnering and capacity building with African nations and organizations. No large U.S. military garrisons were envisioned, and the location of the headquarters and any other associated elements was still to be determined. He stressed that more consultation and analysis was necessary before such key decisions could be made. CONEWAY