SPAIN: MOD POLICY DG ON NCIS/OSI, AFGHANISTAN,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MADRID 000667

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/10/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV SP RU YI
SUBJECT: SPAIN: MOD POLICY DG ON NCIS/OSI, AFGHANISTAN,
LEBANON, MISSILE DEFENSE, AFRICOM, KOSOVO

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


1. (C) SUMMARY: MOD Director General for Policy Major General
Benito Raggio told PolCouns on March 26 that he is glad to
see a positive conclusion to negotiations over regulations
for the activities in Spain of the Naval Criminal
Investigative Service (NCIS) and USAF Office of Special
Investigations (OSI). He complained that defense matters
have become overly politicized domestically, saying that the
political debate interfered with military decisions and with
the Spanish people's understanding of what Spain and NATO are
doing in places like Afghanistan. Raggio said that Spain is
satisfied with its role in Lebanon, but that while both the
US and the Lebanese Army want Spain to do more, it is limited
by the UN mandate. On missile defense, Raggio said that
Spain has questions about the cost and coverage of the US
initiative and that, for Spain, missile defense is always a
NATO issue. He noted that despite a recent "protocol" trip
to Russia by the Spanish CHOD, the Spanish military is not a
fan of the Russian military, which it finds very difficult to
work with. Raggio said that Spain is anxious for more
information on Africa and the new AFRICOM as it develops.
PolCouns pushed Raggio on the need to implement the Ahtisaari
plan in Kosovo, but Raggio warned against radicalizing the
Serbs. END SUMMARY.

-- NCIS/OSI --


2. (C) Raggio said that Defense Minister Alonso is aware that
MOD and OSD teams have completed work on the NCIS/OSI
regulations that are required by the bilateral defense
treaty. He said that Spain is pleased by the final agreement
and that once the agreement is signed in the US, he will be
delegated authority to sign on behalf of MOD. (NOTE: As of
April 9, MOD had received the signed agreement from OSD and
was working through the mechanics of the signature process.
END NOTE.) Raggio said that he expected the MOD to make
public the signed agreement almost immediately after the
Spanish side signs it. PolCouns said that we were not
surprised that the agreement would become public, but
reminded Raggio of the need to keep the US out of Spain's
domestic politics and suggested that MOD coordinate with the
Embassy to ensure that the public presentation of the
document was positive for both sides.

-- AFGHANISTAN --


3. (C) Noting that the MOD and MFA political directors were
at that moment traveling for a week in Afghanistan, Raggio
complained that press coverage and political debate over
Spain's participation in the NATO-ISAF mission in Afghanistan
focuses on deaths and troop numbers when it should focus on
improvements that ISAF is making in people's lives. He said
that in Afghanistan, Spain and NATO are doing innovative
political and reconstruction work, but coverage focuses on
the traditional military aspects. When PolCouns pressed
Raggio on whether Spain would send more troops to beef up its
presence in the Regional Command-West and/or to staff the
NATO-ISAF headquarters, Raggio said that Spanish CHOD GEN
Sanz had already been talking to the NATO military staff
about staffing the headquarters at some point. Regarding
Spain's pledge last fall to send a UAV to Afghanistan, Raggio
said that MOD was in the process of buying a UAV, probably
this year, and would deploy it as soon as possible after the
purchase.

-- LEBANON --


4. (C) Raggio said that Spain's 1100 troops deployed with
UNIFIL were doing a good job in a zone that is more dangerous
than it looks. He said that the presence of UN troops in
Lebanon allows time for political rebuilding, noting that
Fuad Sionara deserves more time. Raggio said that he knows
that the US wants Spain and UNIFIL to be more proactive, but
the UNIFIL mandate is clear and limited. He also said that
the Lebanese army had recently requested fuel and explosives
from the Spanish brigade, but that Spain was unable to
fulfill such requests. He said, we will train their EOD
teams, but we can't give them the things that they want.

-- MISSILE DEFENSE --


5. (C) PolCouns reviewed with Raggio the case for a missile
defense system that could protect Europe and the US from new
threats, reminding him that the US had explained its plan
repeatedly to NATO and to the Russians. Raggio said that
Spain had appreciated getting information on the plan at
NATO, but said that Spain had some concerns about cost and
coverage and looked forward to the upcoming visit of the

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Missile Defense Agency deputy director to get more
information on these issues. He also said that MOD is
frustrated with Russia, with which it has been difficult even
to negotiate overflight clearances. Raggio said that Defense
Minister Alonso's meeting with his Russian counterpart in
Sevilla and the recent trip of the Spanish CHOD to Moscow
have been pro forma. Raggio said he was looking forward to
the briefing by Missile Defense Agency Deputy Director
General O'Reilly (which took place the next day; reported
septel) and appreciated the USG's effort to keep Spain
informed on the issue.

-- AFRICOM --


6. (C) Raggio said that Spain would appreciate being kept up
to date on US plans for the new AFRICOM. Raggio, who was
deployed with a UN mission in Angola earlier in his career,
said that Spain is always looking for information about
Africa, especially given its deployment to Congo last year in
support of elections, the recent problems with illegal
immigration from west Africa, and ongoing conflict in Somalia
and Darfur. PolCouns undertook to work with our military
colleagues to keep Spain informed of AFRICOM planning.

-- KOSOVO --


7. (C) Raggio raised Kosovo; PolCouns took the opportunity to
underscore the importance of quickly moving forward with the
Ahtisaari plan. She emphasized the need for US and European
unity in pressing for the kind of solution offered in the
Ahtisaari plan, noting that KFOR needs to stay in place.
Raggio said that we need to think of the Balkans as a
strategic block, best dealt with by bringing it into NATO and
the EU as soon as possible. He warned against demonizing
Serbia or giving Serbs any excuse further radicalize. Raggio
also noted that this would be the first time that the UN had
given independence to a piece of a sovereign country.
Polcouns emphasized that the history and circumstances
surrounding Kosovo's current status make the situation
unique, not a not a precedent for other European nationalist
issues (including Spain's Basque issue).
Aguirre