SPANISH DEFMIN ON AFGHANISTAN, DEFENSE SALES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MADRID 001487

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/30/2017
TAGS: PREL MASS MARR SP AF
SUBJECT: SPANISH DEFMIN ON AFGHANISTAN, DEFENSE SALES


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


1. (C) SUMMARY: Defense Minister Jose Antonio Alonso told the
Ambassador on July 25 that Spain's military training teams
(OMLTs) will go to Afghanistan in September. He said that
NATO's efforts to improve ISAF-OEF coordination are helping
but reaffirmed the need to continue to be mindful of the high
cost of civilian casualties to overall stability efforts in
Afghanistan. Alonso expressed good understanding of the
status of the various programs that comprise the US-Spain
defense industrial cooperation relationship, but said that
his priority at the moment is ensuring that his deployed
troops have the proper equipment. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) Alonso said that he is pleased that his work with the
Embassy over the past year had returned US-Spain defense
relations to their normal, cordial state. He told the
Ambassador that both sides had left behind a period in which
shrillness had sometimes won out over calm reason. Alonso
said that, within Spain, he is more concerned about al-Qaeda
than about ETA and is particularly focused on threats from
North Africa. He said that he would like the US to stay the
course in Iraq, but when the Ambassador suggested that it
would be useful for him to say so publicly, he demurred,
saying that it would be politically impossible. Regarding
the upcoming national elections, Alonso said that he expected
the Zapatero government to win reelection and noted that both
the governing Socialists and opposition Popular Party want to
address the disproportionate political power wielded by
regionalist and separatist minority parties.

-- AFGHANISTAN --


3. (C) When the Ambassador reminded Alonso of the importance
of Spain meeting its own commitment to deploy military
training teams to Afghanistan as soon as possible, Alonso
said that the teams would deploy in September. He said that
he would have liked to send the teams sooner, but said that
the deaths of six Spanish troops in Lebanon had forced him to
delay going to Parliament for approval of the mission.


4. (C) Despite two recent attacks against joint
Spanish-Afghan army patrols in Badghis province -- the first
such attacks -- Alonso said that the Regional Command-West
(RC-W) remains relatively peaceful compared to the rest of
the country and said that Spain intends to keep it that way.
He said that Spanish troops responded effectively to the
ambushes by Taliban forces, in which there were no known
casualties on either side. Regarding Spanish complaints
several months ago about communication between ISAF and OEF,
Alonso said that ISAF had addressed Spain's issues after much
useful discussion at NATO. He said that coordination is much
better, adding that everyone must continue to be mindful of
the disruptive effect of collateral damage. Spain would
continue to press for the best possible communication at all
levels - in the North Atlantic Council, in Kabul, and in the
field.

-- DEFENSE INDUSTRIAL COOPERATION --


5. (C) The Ambassador noted that despite his frequent
involvement in defense sales issues, he and Alonso had not
talked much at their level about the issues. He said that
given the importance of defense industrial cooperation to
both sides, they should review the key programs. Alonso
thanked the Embassy for helping to resolve a paperwork
dispute that was holding up a $1.2 billion program to build
frigates for the Norwegian navy. He said that Spain was
pleased to have just signed a deal to sell similar frigates
to Australia. Alonso said that he credits excellent
cooperation between Lockheed Martin and Spanish shipbuilder
Navantia as the factor that convinced Australia.


6. (C) Regarding the recent news that a Spain-US consortium
had lost out to an Italy-US consortium for the Joint Cargo
Aircraft contract, the Ambassador assured Alonso that the
decision was technical rather than political. Alonso said
that he understood the Spanish bid to be the better of the
two, and hoped that the Defense Department would give a fair
review to the contract award when it considered Raytheon's
appeal. The Ambassador reminded Alonso that the USG continues
to buy Spanish planes through the Coast Guard's Deepwater
program.


7. (C) The Ambassador told Alonso that USAF BG Davis had
recently come to Madrid to brief the Spanish Air Force and
Navy chiefs about the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program. He
said that the service chiefs were convinced that the JSF
offered technology far superior to the Eurofighter. Alonso

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said that he needs to take a close look at the budget to
ensure that MOD was spending its limited funds on the right
programs. He noted that ensuring sufficient support for
ongoing operations is his priority.

-- COMMENT --


8. (C) Alonso continues to lead by example, using a calm,
productive tone with the USG. He and his top deputies cannot
always give us what we want, but they show that they value a
positive relationship with the US. Alonso demonstrates a
genuine interest in global strategic issues, but spends much
of his time on shorter term domestic political realities
because of the intense politicization of military issues in
Spain. For example, his comment about ensuring adequate
support for his deployed troops is related to the bashing
that he took from the opposition Popular Party after Spanish
troops were killed in Lebanon while riding in vehicles that
lacked frequency inhibitors.
AGUIRRE