ARGENTINA: CODEL SANCHEZ MEETING WITH MINISTER OF DEFENSE

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 002303 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR MASS AR SUBJECT: ARGENTINA: CODEL SANCHEZ MEETING WITH MINISTER OF DEFENSE ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Representatives Loretta Sanchez and Roscoe Bartlett, accompanied by Ambassador, met November 21 with Argentine Minister of Defense Nilda Garre to discuss bilateral relations, peacekeeping and regional security. Garre reviewed the military organizational restructuring she had undertaken, focused on "jointness," education, and the role of women in the military. She described the positive security situation in the region, the progress and challenges in standing up the combined Argentine-Chilean peacekeeping battalion, and asked for continued U.S. political and material assistance. She also explained the political sensitivity for the Kirchner administration of sending military personnel to training courses at WHINSEC. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) Representatives Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) and Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD),members of the House Armed Services Committee, accompanied by Ambassador, Professional Staff Member Debra Wada and EmbOffs, met November 21, with Minister of Defense Nilda Garre, her Chief of Staff Raul Garre, Secretary for Military Matters Alfredo Forti, Secretary for Planning and Budget Oscar Cuattromo, and Sub-Secretary SIPDIS for Military Technical Matters Esteban Montenegro. REFORM OF ARGENTINA'S MILITARY -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Garre reviewed for the CODEL the Argentine military's historical role in Argentine politics. The military dictatorship and human rights abuses (1976-1983) and the disastrous invasion of the Malvinas (Falkland) Islands (1982) are still fresh in the memory of Argentines, she said. Garre explained that her priority was to create a more professional military. She noted that the Kirchner administration was the first to begin implementing the 1988 military reorganization law, had passed a 2007 military intelligence law, and drafted a new military justice code that is currently under consideration in the legislature. EDUCATION AND JOINTNESS AND WOMEN IN THE MILITARY -------------- -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Garre said she placed a premium on reforming military education. Military personnel, she stated, should first be good citizens, secondly public servants, and finally professional soldiers. The MOD was therefore reviewing and reforming the entire educational system with a focus on human rights, respect for civilian control and management. ¶5. (SBU) Changes in the education system reflect the MOD's emphasis on "jointness," as stipulated in the 1988 military reform law. This emphasis has placed the Joint Staff in operational command and control over the separate services, and is pushing the process of combining areas of commonality between the services in education, training and budget determination and allocation. ¶6. (SBU) These are themes Garre emphasized with the Ambassador in their meeting on November 13, when they reviewed bilateral cooperation and the MOD's priorities focused on: strategic planning; defense resource management; reform of the military educational system; science and technology; and training and development of civilian defense personnel. Garre noted in that meeting that her staff was carefully reviewing the existing 10-year bilateral agreement on the exchange of military education students, due to expire at the end of the year. Secretary Forti, who also attended the meeting, explained that they wanted the agreement to reflect the new priorities of the MOD and to take into account the new educational institutions, such as CAECOPAZ (peacekeeping training center) and the Argentine military's Joint Staff College. ¶7. (SBU) Garre also mentioned the unique challenges of incorporating women into the Argentine military. Sub-Secretary Oscar Cuattromo noted that for the past eight months women had been working along side men aboard some of the navy's vessels. Garre noted that they had encountered fewer problems than initially expected, but also noted that some of the deeper problems lay in the areas of arrangements for married military couples, pregnancy, and other family-related issues. Rep. Sanchez and Rep. Bartlett shared their perspectives on the issue, recounted the ongoing U.S. experience, and Rep. Sanchez offered to share some of the HASC's reports/studies on the issue with the MOD. Garre said she would be very happy to receive those reports. ¶8. (SBU) Finally, Garre stated that the future of the Argentine military was looking brighter. She acknowledged that the military had been largely ignored by previous administrations but that she was expecting more budget support that should allow for some salary increases and opportunities to provide some better equipment and logistics. PEACEKEEPING AND "SOUTHERN CROSS" -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Garre also said the future was bright for Argentina's continued support for peacekeeping, another priority for the MOD. She noted that CAECOPAZ has just graduated its first international class (students from nine Latin American countries) from its "train the trainer" course. Garre said that in mid-December representatives from Latin American and Caribbean countries with peacekeeping training institutes would meet here to discuss an alliance of those institutes in order to share experiences, best practices and improve peacekeeping capabilities. ¶10. (SBU) Garre noted that the formation of the combined Argentine-Chilean peacekeeping force "Southern Cross" (Cruz del Sur) was going well. In earlier comments to the Ambassador, Garre had explained that, in December 2005 when the two countries had signed the agreement, the joint force had seemed very ambitious and that it was an agreeable surprise how quickly the joint force and command has advanced. With Representatives Sanchez and Bartlett, and in her earlier meeting with the Ambassador, Garre asked for continued U.S. support for "Southern Cross" - both logistically with training and equipment, and politically with the UN when the two countries submit the concept to the UN to include the combined force into the UN Standby Arrangement System at the Rapid Deployment Level. She noted that the joint force should be operational by mid-2008. REGIONAL ISSUES -------------- ¶11. (SBU) In response to a question, Garre noted that relations with Argentina's neighbors were extremely good and that Argentina and Chile have discussed with other countries the possibility of joining Southern Cross. The two countries, however, have decided to get the force fully operational and incorporated into the UN system before formally asking others to join. She noted that Brazil and Peru have expressed interest in Southern Cross. WHINSEC IS STILL A POLITICAL ISSUE -------------- ¶12. (SBU) Rep. Sanchez is a member of the WHINSEC Board of Visitors, and asked the Minister if Argentina was sending students to courses at WHINSEC. Garre said the MOD and services were not sending students there and that it would be politically difficult for the Kirchner administration to do so, given the local sensitivities surrounding the institution and Argentina's own history with military human rights abuses. Rep. Sanchez noted that this is unfortunate given the excellent education and training WHINSEC provides in many of the Minister's priority areas. Rep. Sanchez invited Garre to visit WHINSEC with her as a guide. ¶13. (U) Representative Sanchez has cleared this cable. KELLY