SPAIN/UNIFIL: POLITICAL AFTERMATH OF CAR BOMB

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MADRID 001276

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/28/2017
TAGS: PREL MOPS SP LE AF
SUBJECT: SPAIN/UNIFIL: POLITICAL AFTERMATH OF CAR BOMB
ATTACK

REF: MADRID 1265

MADRID 00001276 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: DCM Hugo Llorens for reasons 1.4 b & d.


1. (C) SUMMARY. After allowing 48 hours of respectful calm in
which to bury the victims, President Zapatero and opposition
Popular Party (PP) leader Mariano Rajoy pummeled each other
in Parliament over responsibility for the car bomb deaths of
six Spanish soldiers serving under UNIFIL in Lebanon
(reftel). The Ambassador and DCM are engaging GOS and PP
contacts to encourage unity on the Afghanistan and Lebanon
missions, given USG interest in the strategic success of
those missions. Defense Minister Alonso has decided to focus
his July 2 appearance before the Parliamentary Defense
Committee on the Lebanon deaths and thus will not ask at that
time for permission to send 52 military trainers to
Afghanistan, as planned. DCM called MOD Policy Director Luis
Cuesta on June 28 to emphasize the importance of deploying
the trainers as soon as possible. Cuesta said that the delay
does not indicate a change in Spanish Government policy, but
rather reflects Alonso's desire to avoid mixing the Lebanon
and Afghanistan issues in Parliament. He told DCM that
Alonso intends to get Parliamentary approval for the
deployment in July. END SUMMARY.


2. (U) The Spanish military command has ordered the army to
immediately deliver to its forces in Lebanon four armored
personnel carriers (APCs) of the type destroyed by the car
bomb on June 24 but equipped with frequency inhibitors.
Three additional APCs, as well as 30 frequency inhibitors for
installation in other vehicles, will follow as soon as they
are available. According to press reports, this equipment
had been destined for Spanish forces in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, Spanish troops in Lebanon have been ordered to
avoid unnecessary movements.

-- PARLIAMENTARY CONFRONTATION OVER LEBANON DEATHS --


3. (U) During the June 27 Parliamentary question-and-answer
session in which President Zapatero addressed the attack in
Lebanon, Zapatero and PP leader Rajoy harshly criticized each
other. Rajoy blamed Zapatero for deaths in both Lebanon and
Afghanistan that he said were caused by Zapatero's lack of a
serious commitment to the safety of the troops evidenced by
the absence of frequency inhibitors on Spanish military
vehicles. He pressed Zapatero to acknowledge that Spanish
troops are serving in a combat role rather than a
humanitarian role, attempting to draw a parallel between
former president Aznar's deployment of forces to Iraq and
Zapatero's deployment of forces to Afghanistan and Lebanon.


4. (U) Zapatero said that Spanish troops are better equipped
now than they were under Aznar, and claimed that whereas
Spain began implementing a frequency inhibitor installation
program in November 2005, no other country's troops in
Lebanon have such equipment. Zapatero said that "the
Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will
provide comprehensive information about the circumstances,
the political situation, and the consequences of the Spanish
military presence in Lebanon in the immediate future."
Lebanese PM Fuad Siniora paid a surprise visit to Madrid June
28 to meet with President Zapatero, with the focus of the
meeting expected to be the investigation into the attack
against the Spanish soldiers.

-- LEBANON DEATHS DELAY AFGHANISTAN OMLT APPROVAL --


5. (C) Defense Minister Alonso was scheduled to address the
Parliamentary Defense Committee on June 26 to get approval to
deploy two Spanish training teams (OMLTs) to Afghanistan, but
the session was postponed because of the official funeral for
the soldiers killed in Lebanon. Alonso's session was
rescheduled for July 2, and the press initially reported that
Alonso would discuss both Lebanon and the OMLTs during the
session. Alonso, however, has decided to focus the July 2
session exclusively on Lebanon. MOD Policy Director Cuesta
told DCM that the Minister had decided that, because the
deaths in Lebanon were such a serious issue, it would show
bad taste and bad political strategy to try to address the
OMLTs during the same session. Cuesta emphasized that Alonso
was not under pressure from Zapatero and that the decision
does not reflect a change in GOS policy towards the OMLTs.
He said that Alonso intends to go to the Defense Committee in
July to get the necessary approval. (NOTE. Parliament begins
its summer recess at the end of this week, but it would be a
relatively easy, common step to reconvene the Defense

MADRID 00001276 002.2 OF 002


Committee in order to hold the needed vote. END NOTE.)

-- COMMENT --


6. (C) Ambassador and DCM are talking with senior GOS
officials and top PP leaders - including Aznar, with whom
Ambassador has a previously scheduled dinner - to encourage a
united front on key strategic issues such as Lebanon and
Afghanistan.
AGUIRRE