POSSIBLE U.S. MISSILE DEFENSE OUTREACH ACTIVITIES

C O N F I D E N T I A L PRAGUE 000165 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS EUR/NCE FOR FICHTE E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/12/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV MASS MARR EZ SUBJECT: POSSIBLE U.S. MISSILE DEFENSE OUTREACH ACTIVITIES WITH THE CZECH REPUBLIC REF: A. PRAGUE 102 ¶B. PRAGUE 106 ¶C. PRAGUE 144 Classified By: DCM Cameron Munter for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C/NF) Summary: The following is a suggested list of options for missile defense outreach in support of the establishment of a missile defense radar facility in the Czech Republic. End summary. ¶2. (C/NF) This outline is submitted in response to the February 15 sub-PCC on missile defense public diplomacy. It is the result of discussions between members of the Country Team and Czech leaders working on missile defense, as well as consultations with personnel in Washington. The proposed activities would run from April to October 2007, roughly paralleling the predicted duration of negotiations with the Czech Republic. This plan directly addresses outreach activities, but in a manner designed to complement the separate issues of negotiations, technical aspects, and press work. ¶3. (C/NF) This is not intended as a comprehensive document. Rather, we hope that the Department will use this input to provide us with a "menu" of outreach possibilities that Washington can provide the Czechs in coming months. The Czechs themselves must create the strategic plan that chooses from this menu and addresses the public outreach priorities of their domestic constituencies. -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- --- Tempo for outreach activities -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- --- ¶4. (C/NF) The sprint is over and the marathon has begun. An ongoing outreach process with regularly-spaced activities would provide continuous evidence to the press and public of ongoing U.S.-Czech cooperation. It would additionally educate key people, and provide regular fora for the kind of discussions that dispel myths and build mutual confidence. It could also help build a sense of political momentum, continuously building as we work toward the goal of parliamentary approval. -------------- -------------- -- Targeted Groups -------------- -------------- -- ¶5. (C/NF) In priority order, outreach should focus on: ¶I. Members of Parliament. This group will determine the final outcome. Any U.S.-Czech agreement on fielding missile defense in the Czech Republic will require a simple majority. The key parliamentary committees are Defense, Security, Foreign Affairs, and Constitutional/Legal affairs. II. Journalists The media will continue to exert considerable influence on public opinion, and indirectly on the politicians themselves. Parliamentary politicians will find it harder to vote "yes" if media have convinced their constituents that missile defense is a bad idea. III. Government Ministers A group of key supporters, they will have more success if involved in outreach activities that both educate them and publicly demonstrate that the U.S. works with Czech leaders as equals. IV. Ministry of Defense, military, and other Czech government specialists. This group includes influential figures in the environmental and health fields, ensuring that the Czech population can hear from their own experts that the system in question does not have hidden dangers. This group will then be able to play their own key role in local outreach. ¶6. (C/NF) Most of the requests to Washington focus on the need to convince parliamentarians to vote for the proposed deployments. But our outreach needs to address the questions of "validators" - those to whom the parliamentarians will look for justification of their votes. Thus, post will continue to work the local press hard. For the purposes of this cable - providing the Washington "menu" to the Czechs - we concentrate somewhat less on the press angle and more on parliamentarians, ministers, and the experts who advise them. -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- Types of Outreach Visits -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- ¶7. (C/NF) Travel to sites for Czech politicians would foster a realization that missile defense is something bigger than just a domestic political issue, but rather, a global security issue in which the Czechs have an opportunity to show that they are leaders. We recommend visits to: -- Radar sites (such as Fylingdales): Objective would be to show what it is like for the host community to have an installation, and how that installation works. -- Missile Fields (such as Vandenberg): Objective would be to show an actual deployed MD system, as well as reinforce what it is like for the surrounding community. -- EUCOM in Stuttgart for briefings, perhaps also CENTCOM. Authoritative experts, especially those in uniform, would have significant ability to dispel the myth that this is somehow a political ploy or an irresponsible project. -- A U.S. military base in Europe. Objective would be to show how U.S. bases function and cooperate with local municipalities and local officials. -- MD conferences and other meeting opportunities. Objective would be to publicly bring Czech decisionmakers to a context outside the Czech Republic for discussion and information sharing between allies. -- Brussels Because of the importance the Czech politicians are placing on NATO, it would be useful to have several briefings in Brussels. But such activities in Washington (and Prague) would also have significant value. -------------- -------------- -------------- Concrete Proposals -------------- -------------- -------------- ¶8. (C/NF) The following suggestions should not to be considered comprehensive. Flexibility must remain to leverage any targets of opportunity that arise. Washington may be aware of additional events that might benefit Czech decision-makers. An average of two outreach activities per month involving travel would provide the right tempo. One should ideally take place outside the Czech Republic and one inside. ¶9. (C/NF) Uniforms matter in the Czech psyche. When briefings are necessary the best briefers would usually be: MDA experts, radar specialists, and other Pentagon representatives. Civilian engineers, scientists and doctors are also respected, and could make a contribution if so tasked. ¶10. (C/NF) The order of suggested events in the following proposal is largely variable. It could be tailored to best integrate with the travel of MDA personnel on other business. ¶11. (C/NF) BEGIN TIMELINE ONGOING DURING SPRING AND SUMMER: -- Whenever there is a defense-oriented conference or ministerial, consideration of an extra day or session to deal with this issue with key Czechs sent for that purpose. APRIL -- Visit of Gen Obering and a small briefing team of experts to Prague, last week of March/first week of April 2007. Presentation of as much simulation material as possible, both to a joint session of the Czech parliamentary committees, and then to the State Security Council (including President, cabinet, and key security leaders). Briefing would ideally include trajectories, radar coverage, interaction with other radars, missile defense coverage of European space, the "threat" to Russia, the Iran threat, linkages with other layers of missile defense, environmental impact policy, and debris. The visit should also include a site visit, and a meeting with local governors and mayors at the site (the Soviet and Czech authorities never allowed locals into the area). -- Visit of Foreign Minister Schwarzenberg to the United States, March/April 2007. Schwarzenberg should offer to bring parliamentarians and/or press with him for briefings in Washington. -- In conjunction with the planned visit of Ambassador Loftis to begin bilateral talks on basing and status of forces, briefing for Parliamentary Constitutional and Legal Committee members on legal aspects. MAY -- Meeting between the visiting MDA site survey team and Czech Ministry of Defense, military, and other Czech government specialists to share technical information useful to answering public concerns. This meeting could also help develop U.S.-Czech links at the technical level that would facilitate quick information sharing as future concerns arise. -- Visit for three key opinion-makers to Kwajalein to see the radar that would be used in the Czech Republic. -- Visit for 20 local mayors to an appropriately sized U.S. military base in Germany, with a meeting with local German officials to discuss positive impacts in the local community. -- Visit to the Czech Republic by an MDA environmental expert. Detailed briefing and Q&A for local Mayors on the environmental impact of the facility. JUNE -- In the spring, another visit, perhaps not with General Obering, of experts from MDA to Prague to conduct further briefings to other constituencies. -- Visit by a senior Czech military officer to EUCOM for general consultations on the U.S.-Czech military relationship. -- In conjunction with a later round of bilateral talks on basing and status of forces in Prague, briefing for Parliamentary Defense Committee members on 1) the plans for interaction between the base commander and the Czech MOD. 2) Interaction with local municipalities. 3) Access of cleared Czech representatives to the facility. 4) Any planned combined (U.S.-Czech) operations at the facility, such as external layer of force protection. JULY -- Visit for three key opinion-makers to Vandenberg or Ft Greely. -- Briefing in Prague by Raytheon, MDA, and U.S. Army Europe on the likely scale of local contracting for construction and maintenance of the facility. AUGUST -- Radar site visit to Fylingdales or Thule for three key opinion-makers that did not travel to Kwajalein. -- Visit of Czech PM Mirek Topolanek to the United States. SEPTEMBER -- Briefing in Prague by MDA's Deputy Director for Acquisitions - indicating the process by which Czech companies can submit technologies for consideration in future generations of MD. (The Czechs are world leaders in some remote sensing technologies, prompting a recent local takeover by a U.S. company. The briefing should emphasize that this is a merit-based process which is not linked to the presence of a facility in the Czech Republic.) OCTOBER -- Visit by pro-MD member of Congress to Prague. (If a Democrat, this would facilitate consultation with the CSSD opposition party, which tends to self-identify with the U.S. Democratic Party) END TIMELINE -------------- Funding -------------- ¶12. (C/NF) We can expect the Czech Government to appropriate travel funds for its senior leadership to travel to the necessary site visits and meetings. However provision of funding for swing-vote politicians that might not otherwise travel could pay dividends when the time comes for a Parliamentary vote. Post requests that Washington identify funding to support outreach activities. -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- The Special Role of NATO -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- ¶13. (C/NF) NATO is a key element in the minds of many Czechs. We have a long tightrope to walk to ensure that the NATO angle is handled appropriately, reflecting the U.S. position without unnecessarily inflaming those Czech politicians who believe NATO must have a greater role in this missile defense project. The U.S. Mission to NATO, with its own public diplomacy assets and political timetable, could play a special role in any outreach plan. Post will continue to coordinate with USNATO on further outreach opportunities. MUNTER