SPANISH DEFENSE POLDIR ON LEBANON, AFGHANISTAN,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MADRID 001494 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/31/2017 TAGS: PREL MARR SP LE AF SUBJECT: SPANISH DEFENSE POLDIR ON LEBANON, AFGHANISTAN, KOSOVO REF: A. MADRID 1202 ¶B. STATE 102187 Classified By: DCM Hugo Llorens for reasons 1.4 b & d. ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: MOD Secretary General for Defense Policy Luis Cuesta told DCM on July 26 that Spain believes that the UNIFIL mission in Lebanon is helping. He rejected press reports that Spanish troops in Lebanon had been working with Hizballah. Cuesta said that MOD would be working throughout August to prepare for the deployment of its two military training teams, which would be in Afghanistan in September. He said that Spain had talked to Kyrgyzstan about the importance of the continuing use of Manas air base. Cuesta said that politically and legally it would be very hard for Spanish troops to remain in Kosovo after a declaration of independence in the absence of a UNSCR, but accepted DCM's request to examine the details of the existing UNSCR. Finally, Cuesta said that Spain is considering nominating CHOD GEN Felix Sanz for chairman of the NATO Military Committee. END SUMMARY. -- LEBANON: UNIFIL IS WORKING -- ¶2. (C) Cuesta said that Spain believes that UNIFIL is achieving its mandate by helping the Lebanese army; reducing movement of weapons; and preventing attacks from Lebanon into Israel and vice versa. He said that Spain currently sees no signs of an impending return to violence, noting that (1) Hizballah generally prefers calm at the moment as it tries to build electoral support; (2) UNIFIL is taking care of security, allowing political efforts to move forward; and (3) international attention to the Israel/Palestine problem often lowers the temperature in Lebanon. Cuesta said that as long as the political and security conditions remain as they are now, Spain will keep its troops in UNIFIL. ¶3. (C) Cuesta denied press reports that Spanish troops had been operating with Hizballah in Lebanon, saying that Spain had no/no contact with the armed parts of Hizballah. He said that there was some coordination at the political level by their embassy in Beirut, but not in the field. Cuesta said that Hizballah sees the Spanish presence as competition for the hearts and minds of the local people. Furthermore, he said that while he didn't directly blame Hizballah for the car bombing that killed six Spanish soldiers, which he said was the work of foreigners on behalf of the international �00A;jihad, he found it unlikely that such an attack could have happened in a Hizballah-controlled zone without at least the acquiescence of the group. -- AFGHANISTAN: SPANISH OMLTs ALMOST ON THEIR WAY -- ¶4. (C) DCM told Cuesta that Spain should be pleased by the high marks that it gets for the civ-mil cooperation at its Spanish Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Afghanistan. He said that the US recognizes that countries bring different assets and attributes to a mission like ISAF, and does not seek to force countries to do things that they cannot do. That said, it is time for Spain to fulfill its own commitment by deploying its military training teams (OMLT) as soon as possible. The DCM noted that we were disappointed that the Spanish OMLTs had not been deployed as scheduled in early June. DCM said that the sort of institution-strengthening represented by the Afghan national security force training mission is exactly the role that Spain sees for itself. ¶5. (C) Cuesta said that the OMLTs would go in September. He said that Defense Minister Alonso had planned to get Parliamentary approval for the mission in late June, but had to change his plans after a car bomb killed six Spanish soldiers in Lebanon. Cuesta said that while Alonso would have to wait till early September to go to Parliament, MOD was already laying the groundwork to ensure quick deployment once Parliament approved. He said that MOD teams had met with the Afghan MOD in Kabul, were examining a few key updates that would be needed in the NATO OPLAN, and would be at Camp Stone advancing the OMLTs arrival by mid-August. ¶6. (C) Regarding signs of Taliban activity (including two recent attacks against Spanish patrols) in the area of the Spanish PRT in Badghis province, Cuesta said that Spain is not overly concerned. He said that their numbers are small and they are mostly "part-time Taliban" who are not MADRID 00001494 002 OF 003 well-trained. Cuesta said that Spain appreciates being able to patrol with the Afghan National Army (ANA) troops that recently came to Badghis, and that as other ANA troops are trained and available, they will be able both to push back the Taliban and to expand development and reconstruction efforts outside the province's capital. ¶7. (C) Cuesta also mentioned Spain's appreciation of the recent dialogue at NATO regarding coordination between ISAF and OEF. He said that Spain believed that such discussions should be held away from the public eye, but are important in making the mission successful and ensuring adequate political supervision over military operations. DCM agreed that no one wants to see civilians killed and that coordination can always be improved, but noted that ISAF and OEF must continue to carry out tough missions that ultimately reduce the Taliban threat. -- SPAIN PUSHES CONTINUED USE OF MANAS -- ¶8. (C) Following up on a previous conversation (ref A), Cuesta told DCM that Spain had talked to Kyrgyzstan about maintaining use of Manas air base and keeping the topic off the agenda for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting. He said that Spain had approached Kyrgyzstan both in the capital and in Brussels. In both places, the GOK had promised that Manas would not be on the agenda for the SCO meeting and had said that GOK would continue to permit use of the base consonant with its international counterterrorism commitments. Cuesta said that Spain feels strongly about the importance of continued use of the base. -- KOSOVO: TOUGH TO STAY WITHOUT UNSCR -- ¶9. (C) Drawing on ref B points, DCM made the case that a decision on Kosovo independence cannot be avoided forever; that further delay endangers KFOR; that the US and allies have bent over backwards to propose creative solutions; and that Spain needs to stay committed to the EU position rather than taking action that could break the international consensus. He asked Cuesta to take a close look at UNSCR 1244, which we believe authorizes a continuing presence in Kosovo even if Kosovo were to declare independence after the 120 day negotiating period. ¶10. (C) Cuesta replied that while he does not expect security problems during a transition period, it would be important from the MOD perspective to keep a robust international presence. However, he said that both legally and politically, Spain needs a UNSCR to keep troops deployed in Kosovo. Promising to take another look at 1244, Cuesta said that Spanish participation could depend on whether Kosovo's neighbors might recognize it, but that the political lead would belong to MFA policy director Dezcallar, not to him. -- GOOD DEFENSE INDUSTRIAL COOPERATION -- ¶11. (C) DCM said that while procurement issues don't belong to Cuesta, they are an important aspect of the bilateral defense relationship. Cuesta thanked the Embassy for recently helping Spain to resolve a licensing paperwork issue that was threatening to hold up the delivery of Spanish built frigates to Norway. DCM noted that Raytheon (which had teamed with Spanish company EADS-CASA) is appealing the Pentagon's decision to award the Joint Cargo Aircraft contract to an Italian consortium, underlining that the process was being carried out with complete transparency. He said that, while Spanish companies don't win every contract on which they bid, they are successful in the US market, increasingly teaming with US firms and winning subcontracts. DCM also mentioned the recent briefing that Spanish air force and navy chiefs had received on the Joint Strike Fighter program. He said that in the future, many allies will take advantage of the JSF's fifth generation technology. -- SANZ FOR NATO MILITARY COMMITTEE CHAIR?? -- ¶12. (C) Cuesta said that one of the US's best friends in Spain, Chief of Defense GEN Felix Sanz, was likely to be Spain's nominee for chairman of the NATO military committee. Emphasizing that Defense Minister Alonso had not yet cleared the nomination with President Zapatero, Cuesta said that MOD is convinced that Sanz would be a superb candidate because of his significant international experience and skills as a MADRID 00001494 003 OF 003 conciliator. He argued that as one of only three "core" countries not to have held the post, it is Spain's turn, and said that naming a chairman from a southern European country would be a good sign to the Med Dialogue countries that NATO is attentive to its southern flank. AGUIRRE