3RD US-SPAIN HIGH LEVEL DEFENSE COMMITTEE REVIEWS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 MADRID 000999

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/23/2017
TAGS: PREL MARR NATO SP AF RS YI LE IR PK IS
SUBJECT: 3RD US-SPAIN HIGH LEVEL DEFENSE COMMITTEE REVIEWS
AFGHANISTAN, KOSOVO, LEBANON, NATO

Classified By: Charge d,Affaires, a.i. Hugo Llorens for reasons 1.4 b &
d.


1. (C) SUMMARY. In the third bilateral High Level Defense
Committee (HLDC) meeting, held in Madrid on May 17-18, DASD
Dan Fata and MOD Secretary General for Policy Luis Cuesta
discussed shared strategic interests including the NATO-ISAF
operations in Afghanistan, multi-lateral missions in Kosovo
and Lebanon, missile defense, Africa and priorities for the
2008 NATO summit. Cuesta said that, having resolved three
long-standing bilateral issues in the past few years, he sees
no contentious bilateral issues on the horizon. Fata agreed
to more regular meetings of the High-Level Defense Committee
as useful means to review a wide range of US-Spain military
cooperative efforts. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) Spain hosted the third HLDC, in Madrid on May 17-18.
MOD Secretary General for Policy Luis Cuesta led the Spanish
delegation, which included his deputy and representatives
from the Deputy Defense Minister's office, the Spanish Joint
Staff, the Spanish DATT from Washington, the Permanent
Committee, and MFA. DASD Dan Fata, accompanied by Charge,
led the US delegation, which also included his Spain Country
Desk Officer, representatives from the Joint Staff, EUCOM
J-5, the Permanent Committee, and Embassy Madrid,s pol-mil
team, including the Defense Attache, Political Counselor, ODC
Chief and his Deputy, and Embassy,s pol-mil officer.

-- AFGHANISTAN --


3. (C) Fata thanked Spain for its contributions in
Afghanistan. He raised four key issues: the importance of
training Afghan security forces as quickly as possible;
coordination between ISAF and the OEF coalition; improved
strategic communications led by the Afghan government; and
the need for allies to replace US helicopters that will leave
RC-S. Cuesta detailed Spain's current deployment of 688
troops and the work of the Spanish Provincial Reconstruction
Team (PRT). He said that, based on his recent trip to Kabul
and Herat, he believes that progress is being made by NATO to
help Afghanistan become a stable, sustainable state. He
emphasized Spain's agreement with the need to "Afghanize" all
aspects of the NATO mission. Fata agreed, saying that even
helping ministers and governors to travel around their
territory would be a way to assist this effort. Cuesta said
that Spain would
have two military training teams (OMLTs) comprising around 50
people in Herat in June. These teams would each train a
battalion, while separately Spain would "sponsor" an Afghan
National Army (ANA) company in Badghis province, where
currently there is no ANA presence. He said that Spain is
politically unable, because of elections in early 2008, to
send more troops for operations, but that there would be no
problem sending the training teams.


4. (C) Regarding coordination between ISAF and OEF, Cuesta
said that every effort to reduce civilian casualties and
ensure proportionate use of force during security missions
makes the development mission less difficult. Fata
acknowledged discussions of this issue in NATO and said that
ISAF has a command position whose responsibility will be to
ensure the best possible coordination. Cuesta noted that
Pakistani President Musharref was recently in Spain. He said
that Pakistan is making an important contribution to the ISAF
mission by deploying on the border, and suggested that
Musharraf needs more incentives, including possibly movement
on the Kashmir issue, to be able to continue his support.
Cuesta suggested a regional conference in Islamabad to show
what Afghanistan's neighbors can do to assist. Fata agreed
that a military coordination between Afghanistan and Pakistan
is good, but that a mechanism for improved political
coordination is needed. Cuesta said that Spain found Iran to
be a positive presence in the western zone, although recently
Spain had become concerned about the effect of the return of
Afghan refugees from Iran.


5. (C) Cuesta and his team also pointed to Spain,s support
for reconstruction in Bahgdis province where the Spanish PRT
is located. Cuesta described the on-the-ground commanders,
flexibility in Afghanistan to undertake &Quick Impact8
reconstruction projects, which aimed at rapid completion to
demonstrate to the population that progress is being made.
The projects can be simple, and not expensive. The idea had
quickly been adopted by the Spanish contingent in Lebanon as
well. Fata expressed interest in this subject, as well as
the fact that, as Cuesta had noted, General McNeill had
praised the military-civilian coordination at the Spanish PRT
as a model. Fata suggested that Spain propose a &best

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practices8 conference for PRTs and that this could be part
of the Spanish Defense Minister,s presentation at the June
NATO Defense Ministerial. Fata also suggested, in response
to Cuesta,s concern that Afghanistan required a better
comprehensive strategic approach that Spain also propose to
other allies the development of a &strategy for success8 in
Afghanistan for the next 3-5 years that would incorporate the
military, security, reconstruction and civilian elements. He
emphasized that this would not be an &exit strategy8, but
rather one that could chart the course for progress. Cuesta
agreed that Spain would begin the process of proposing both
ideas at the June Defense Ministerial.

-- KOSOVO --


6. (C) On Kosovo, Fata emphasized the US's strong support for
the Ahtisaari plan and the USG,s work in developing a new
UNSC resolution based on that plan. He noted that Russia did
not raise its objections to the Ahtisaari plan during Defense
Secretary Gates' recent trip to Moscow and said that

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possibly, faced with a united Europe and US, Russia would let
the plan move forward. Fata told Cuesta that the US would
maintain its current force level for the foreseeable future
and asked how Spain felt about the Turkey's efforts to block
increased NATO efforts in Kosovo because of linkage to
European Defense and Security Policy. Cuesta said that
Spain's troops, currently numbering 650, had been in Kosovo
for eight years and that Spain supported the EU position on
the future of Kosovo. He said Spanish troops would remain as
long as the circumstances under which UNSCR 1244 remain, but
a new UNSCR is critical to Spain,s continued participation
if the process leads to independence for Kosovo. He
explained that Spain,s National Defense Law prohibits
deployments that are not established under a UN or other
multilateral resolution. Fata asked whether Spain could
continue to operate under the umbrella of UNSCR 1244 if a new
UNSCR cannot be achieved but the Ahtissari plan elements go
forward. Cuesta doubted Spain could keep troops on the
ground if independence is not specifically authorized by a
new UNSCR. While underscoring Kosovo,s unique situation,
Cuesta noted Spain,s domestic political concern that those
pressing for regional autonomy or even independence in
Spain,s regions could be emboldened if Spain were to endorse
an independence process for Kosovo that was not under a UNSCR
resolution. Cuesta expressed his hope that Russia would
eventually relent, especially if all parties maintain a
dialogue and work methodically to finally reach a political
solution. He said that Spain favors "prudent" NATO military
planning that does not pre-judge the outcome of final status
talks. Cuesta said that Spain had not discussed the NATO
issue with Turkey, but believed that Turkey, alone against
the other 26 allies, would at some point back down.

-- LEBANON --


7. (C) After a presentation on Spain's command of a
multi-national brigade (including India, Nepal, Indonesia,
Poland, China, and Finland),Cuesta explained that the UNIFIL
mission maintains the ceasefire line so that the
international community can explore political resolutions to
the conflict. He noted that Spain has recently seen a
decrease in Hezballah activities in its sector. He said that
over the course of the mission, Spain had found and turned
over to the Lebanese army more than 1000 explosives. Cuesta
said that Spain's commitment of 1100 troops to UNIFIL took
Spain's total overseas deployments very close to the ceiling
of 3000 thus limiting options for additional deployments. He
said that Spain applies lessons learned at its Afghanistan
PRT to its operations in Lebanon, and has spent 60,000
euros/month on reconstruction projects in its zone. Cuesta
acknowledged US concern about continued movement of rockets
to Hezballah, but said that Spain reports all such activities
to the Lebanese army. He also said that Spain was equally
concerned about potentially provocative overflights by
Israeli planes and UAVs, and suggested that the US encourage
Israel to be cautious.

-- MISSILE DEFENSE --


8. (C) Fata provided a briefing on the US's plans for a
missile defense system, including a detailed explanation of
the extensive past and present coordination with Russia. He
emphasized the growing threat from the Middle East and
explained that providing maximum protection to European
allies determined the placement of the proposed new
installations. Fata said that Secretary Gates offered
additional technical level coordination to the Russians
during his recent trip to Moscow in order to overcome

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continued Russian misunderstanding of the project, but noted
that Russia continues to be more accepting of the project in
private than it is in public. Fata noted the Dutch proposal
that the US have direct command and control of both its
long-range system (using US protocols) and also NATO's planed
short/medium range system (using NATO protocols) to ensure
maximum protection. Cuesta asked how much more Russia could
be involved in the program. Fata told him that the US would
continue to engage Russia at the political and expert level,
but that the US couldn't share certain sensitive technology
at this point. Cuesta said that Spain appreciates US
willingness to design the system to provide protection to
NATO allies given the indivisible nature of the alliance, and
would support the NATO feasibility study. He said that NATO
should focus more attention on short and medium range
threats. Cuesta noted that missile defense is likely to
remain a major political issue for Russia until after its
presidential elections in 2008 and said that Spain would like
to be kept informed of the progress of expert level talks.

-- NATO SUMMIT PRIORITIES --


9. (C) Fata explained the US's priorities for the 2008 NATO
Summit: a more operational NATO, strengthened capabilities,
and enlargement if the candidates are ready, most likely
focused on Albania, Croatia and Macedonia. He raised US
concern about recent denial of service attacks against
Estonia. Cuesta said that Spain supports enlargement based
on merits, generally treating the Balkans as a group but
possibly using a differentiated message if Croatia is clearly
ahead. He said that it is too early to know how Ukraine's
domestic politics will evolve, and said that given Georgia's
current issues, a Membership Action Plan (MAP) would be a
very large step at this point. Fata responded that MAP would
signal that NATO values Georgia's progress and provide
additional incentive to resolve current issues. Cuesta said
that it would be bad timing to move forward on missile
defense and begin MAP for Georgia at the same time. He said
that NATO needs to pay more attention to the threats from the
south, emphasizing the importance of the Mediterranean
Dialogue and the need to give it more resources. Cuesta
questioned the notion that NATO could apply Article 5 to an
unarmed threat such as denial of service, and said that
certainly a response by force would not be appropriate. He
acknowledged, however, that NATO,s Strategic Concept should
include some discussion of how NATO should respond to such
cyber threats.

-- NATO RESPONSE FORCE --


10. (C) MOD Deputy DG for policy Enrique Perez Ramirez
reviewed Spain's strong commitment to the NATO Response Force
(NRF),saying that NATO must maintain initial entry as the
NRF's key mission rather than allowing NRF to become an
operational reserve. He said that if NRF were to become a
reserve, allies might reduce their troop offers. Perez said
"if you don't use, you lose it" but also noted that "if you
abuse it, you might lose it." He proposed that NATO resolve
the issue by allowing countries to withdraw forces from NRF
in order to send them to ISAF or another mission. This, Perez
said, would be the functional equivalent of sending the NRF,
but would preserve the NRF's concept. Fata said that the US
continues to support initial entry as the key capability of
NRF. He said that NRF should focus on capabilities rather
than troop numbers, in order to reduce numbers and thus free
up some troops for other operations. Fata said that allies
need to focus on the crucial 20% of key capabilities that NRF
is often missing. He said that NRF and NATO reserves would be
a key issue at the Summit and said that the US would soon
provide its 3-5 year plan to form the basis for NRF planning.

-- NATO BASES --


11. (C) Cuesta said that Spain is carefully following
discussions of possible revisions to the NATO command
structure, given the potential implications for NATO's
CC-Land base outside Madrid. He said that land operations are
increasingly important so it wouldn't make sense to close a
land base, especially one in southern Europe where NATO
should be more focused than ever. He asked for US support to
keep the base open, or at least to maintain it as a
Deployable Joint Staff Element. Similarly, Cuesta argued
that the Spanish base at Zaragoza would be an ideal host for
the Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) system because it
currently offers all the facilities needed. He said that
Spain is a major contributor to the AGS program. Fata said
that the US currently has no position on the location of AGS.
He said that he would prefer that the command structure

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issue be resolved below the minister level, but expected that
the UK Defense Minister would raise it.

-- BILATERAL ISSUES --


12. (C) Both sides agreed that signing the NCIS/OSI
regulations was an important step that allowed the
relationship to focus on bigger issues, and said that the
Permanent Committee (PC) should review and adjust
implementation procedures. DG for Policy MG Benito Raggio
said that the regulations were important because they would
allow disputes to be resolved at the PC level rather than
rising to the political level. Spanish PC President Francisco
Hernandez noted that US staffing at Rota and Moron has
declined over the past six years. He asked about US
intentions for the bases, noting the importance of close
coordination on changes that would effect local employment.
COL Alex Portelli, from EUCOM J-5, acknowledged the
sensitivity of local employment issues, said that US presence
at Moron and Rota should stay stable, and noted EUCOM's
commitment to early coordination regarding future changes.
US PC President COL Ulysses Rhodes noted that despite the
recent removal of a P-3 squadron from Rota, no local
employees had been fired. Portelli suggested establishing a
US-Spain working group to enhance coordination between EUCOM
and Spanish MOD. Raggio said that Spain favors the concept
of better communication with EUCOM, but noted that that Spain
sees the recently revitalized PC as the key organization for
resolving bilateral issues. He said that including EUCOM in
PC discussions could be the most appropriate mechanism and
that Spain would study the proposal.

-- AFRICA and Latin America --


13. (C) When Cuesta expressed interest in discussing Africa
issues (previously not on the agenda),Fata and Portellio
took the opportunity to brief him on the development of
AFRICOM, noting that it is a new kind of response to the
threats and challenges posed in Africa, one
which incorporates military, security, humanitarian
assistance and counter-terrorism elements. Cuesta and his
team were interested in receiving a more extensive briefing
on AFRICOM (one is currently being scheduled after having
been postpoined) and of staying in contact on the issue.
Cuesta noted Spain,s on-going national security interests in
North Africa, and its deepening concerns in West Africa,
whose citizens now seek to enter Spain in dramatic boat trips
to the Canary Islands and then to the rest of the EU. On
Latin America, Cuesta said that Spain maintains an extensive
network of military-to-military contacts in the region and
that many Latin American military officers receive staff
college-style training in Spain. He noted that Spain also
now is representated at the Inter-American Defense College,
which is a useful tool for regional cooperation, including
with the US.

-- ACTION ITEMS --


14. (U) The group agreed on the following action items:

-- Spain will check by June with other Allies the possibility
of developing a strategy for success as opposed to an exit
strategy in Afghanistan.
-- Spain will propose a seminar on lesson learned from PRTs
in Afghanistan, covering pre-deployment training,
post-deployment analysis, civil military coordination,
coordination among High Representatives of international
organizations, etc. Spain will announce it at the
Ministerial Meeting in June.
-- Enhance Bilateral High Level Defense Committee meetings by
making them more flexible and regular.
-- Both parties will continue developing mechanisms for the
implementation of the NCIS/OSI agreement and keep them under
review.
-- Both parties will keep each other informed of any change
affecting local labor personnel at Rota and Moron bases.
-- Both parties will analyze the way to increase coordination
between EUCOM and appropriate Spanish counterparts.


15. (U) The Embassy will closely monitor and follow-up
implementation of agreed action items in the High Level
Defense Committee.


16. (U) DASD Dan Fata cleared this cable.
LLORENS