Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07USNATO362
2007-06-11 10:25:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Mission USNATO
Cable title:  

U.S. UPDATES NATO ALLIES ON MISSILE DEFENSE PLANS

Tags:  NATO PGOV PREL 
pdf how-to read a cable
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DE RUEHNO #0362/01 1621025
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O 111025Z JUN 07
FM USMISSION USNATO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0949
INFO RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW IMMEDIATE 5693
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/JCS WASHDC IMMEDIATE
C O N F I D E N T I A L USNATO 000362 

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/05/2017
TAGS: NATO PGOV PREL
SUBJECT: U.S. UPDATES NATO ALLIES ON MISSILE DEFENSE PLANS

Classified By: Ambassador Victoria Nuland, Reasons 1.5 (b & d)


C O N F I D E N T I A L USNATO 000362

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/05/2017
TAGS: NATO PGOV PREL
SUBJECT: U.S. UPDATES NATO ALLIES ON MISSILE DEFENSE PLANS

Classified By: Ambassador Victoria Nuland, Reasons 1.5 (b & d)



1. (C) SUMMARY: Under Secretary Eric Edelman and Missile
Defense Agency (MDA) Director LTG Obering met with Secretary
General de Hoop Scheffer on June 5, and then informally with
NATO PermReps, to update them on the status of U.S. Missile
Defense (MD) plans in Europe, negotiations with Poland and
the Czech Republic, and responses to Russian public
statements and misinformation about U.S. MD plans. As part
of this update, Edelman and Obering briefed Allies on recent
Congressional budgeting actions on MD and the test program
for the system. Edelman stressed U.S. sincerity in wanting
MD cooperation with Russia, and frustration that Moscow had
not responded to U.S. proposals or agreed to expert talks.
He also reassured Allies regarding U.S. readiness to address
legitimate Russian concerns about "break-out."


2. (C) PermReps noted that recent Russian statements about
U.S. and NATO MD plans appear to be politically motivated,
necessitating that Allies continue to engage Russia in a
transparent manner while urging that Russia work with NATO
and the U.S. on potential cooperative MD programs. LTG
Obering invited Allies to send MD experts to the U.S. for
consultations and a tour of MD sites, and said that MDA is
also willing to establish a "connection" between the MDA
Colorado Springs site and NATO's Command, Control and
Consultation Agency (NC3A). This connection would support an
interactive information exchange system, to better explore
how a future U.S.-NATO MD system might be linked together.
In closing, the SYG said that NATO should accelerate its work
to enable NATO MD efforts to keep pace with U.S. MD plans.
End Summary.

--------------
Bilat Meeting with NATO Secretary General
--------------


3. (C) U/S Edelman told the SYG that MD bilateral
negotiations with Poland and the Czech Republic were going
well and that the U.S. hopes to finalize them by the end of
this year in order to begin implementing decisions in 2008.
Despite recent publicity about Congressional budget cuts in
MDA funding, there remains considerable bipartisan support
for MD initiatives, and based on the current House and Senate

versions of the proposed legislation, which still need to be
conferenced, the Administration expects sufficient funding
and flexibility to keep current U.S. MD plans in Europe on
schedule. Noting recent statements by President Putin that
some Allied cities may now be targeted by Russian nuclear
forces, Edelman said that Poland had expressed interest in
having a separate, bilateral security guarantee from the U.S.
With NATO's Article 5 clause, the U.S. believes this is
unnecessary. Edelman said that the U.S. would continue to
deal transparently with Russia, citing the May 11 letter
("still unanswered") from Secretary Gates to Defense Minister
Serdyukov, proposing a meeting between U.S. and Russian MD
experts. Edelman said that Russia may be concerned about the
U.S. gaining possible first-strike advantages with MD assets
in Europe, or "break-out" - both of which could be easily
addressed in bilateral talks.


4. (C) In replying, the SYG said that it was clear that
recent Russian statements were really more about "Russian
politics" than MD, and that NATO will seek to finalize its
own MD studies by the end of 2007, if not sooner, with
recommendations for Heads of State to consider at the April
'08 Bucharest Summit. He hopes that the Executive Working
Group (EWG) will be able to finalize its report by October,
endorsing the need for an MD system. Supporting U.S. efforts
to remain transparent, the SYG said that Germany remains a
key ally to lobby, and he also plans to discuss this issue
with German FM Steinmeier. After noting that he would meet
Polish President Kaczynski on June 6, the SYG agreed
wholeheartedly that NATO's Article 5 clause was the only
security guarantee that Allies need, not an "Article 5 Plus"
for individual nations. Since the NAC will be in St.
Petersburg for the NRC Anniversary on June 25-26, he
suggested this might also provide a good opportunity for U.S.
simulators to demonstrate MD scenarios. LTG Obering said he
would see what could be done.

-------------- --------------
PermReps Discuss MD, Transparency, Russia, and NATO MD Plans;
U.S. Offers a "Tour For MD Experts" and an NC3A Link-Up
-------------- --------------


5. (C) At the PermReps informal meeting, U/S Edelman reviewed
bilateral negotiations with Poland and the Czech Republic,
recent Congressional legislation, U.S. efforts to remain
transparent with Russia while inviting them to work with us
collaboratively, and how to move this subject forward as an
Alliance. As an example of U.S. openness, Edelman mentioned
that Secretary Gates had specifically proposed U.S.-Russian
experts, talks in June to address Russian concerns, but had
yet to receive a reply. LTG Obering then briefed PermReps
about MDA activities, clarifying what the recent
Congressional appropriations' markups meant, and that the
U.S. would seek to finalize host-nation agreement for MD site
development before year's end. He stressed that of the $8.9
billion FY08 request for missile defense, the House had
funded $8.3 billion and the Senate $8.6 billion. He also
reviewed three recent U.S. missile tests while offering to:
(a) sponsor a visit by Allied MD experts to MDA sites in the
U.S., perhaps as early as this fall, and (b) establish a
communications link between MDA's Missile Defense Integration
and Operations Center (MDIOC) in Colorado Springs and NATO's
NC3A that would provide a secure, concrete, interoperable
environment to permit sharing of MD data.


6. (C) PermReps spoke appreciatively of the briefing, praised
the U.S. for its efforts to reassure the Russians while
remaining transparent, and raised several issues for further
review. After noting that Russian statements appeared to be
more politically motivated than anything else, Poland and the
Czech Republic confirmed that negotiations were proceeding
well while both governments continue to address skeptical
publics. Polish PermRep Nowak stressed that, above all,
maintaining Allied unity was critical. Czech PermRep Fule
echoed Ambassador Nowak, and added that they hope to see EWG
taskings finalized by the June 14-15 Defense Ministerial to
address NATO's MD tasking from the Riga Summit.


7. (C) Spanish PermRep Benavides asked if NATO should "do a
common analysis of the threat" with the Russians, a
suggestion supported by Germany and Belgium although other
PermReps followed the UK lead in noting that this would not
be easily achievable and could bog us down in a protracted
debate. Bulgaria and Turkey both expressed concern about the
gaps in MD coverage for their countries. Bulgaria asked if
the recent Russian test of a vehicle with multiple warheads
was a reaction to U.S. MD plans. UK Ambassador Eldon
stressed that a clear Allied response is needed on all MD and
CFE issues, and one that does not encourage the Russians to
think that they can "veto" Allied decisions. Praising the
U.S. for being transparent while warning that U.S. bilateral
plans may have consequences for European security, French
Ambassador Duque also said that it was important for NATO and
Allies to pursue a robust dialogue with the Russians, to
allay their concerns and eliminate misunderstandings. He was
echoed by Norway, who asked what other "reassurances" Allies
might be willing to give to Russia.

-------------- --------------
Alarming Russian Statements and Need to Maintain Allied Unity
-------------- --------------


8. (C) In his closing remarks, U/S Edelman said that
continued NATO-Russia threat consultations would be a good
idea, and noted that major differences exist that may not be
easily bridged. We should not allow a de facto Russian veto
over Alliance security by linking their agreement on the
threat to the Alliance's timeline for defending itself.
Edelman said that the U.S. was particularly disturbed by
alarming Russian comments about targeting European cities
with nuclear weapons, drawing Allies' attention to Secretary
Rice,s response that a threat against Europe is a threat
against the U.S. given our indivisible security. In response
to the question on Russia's recent test, Edelman said the
Russian development of this multiple warhead capability was
longstanding. The notion that the test was in reaction to
U.S. plans is only convenient fiction for the Russians.
Edelman also reassured Allies that the U.S. was willing to
address Russian concerns about "break-out" via consultation,
transparency and traditional verification measures. If and
when the Russians agree to the proposed bilateral talks,
these issues would be addressed. Edelman noted that
Secretary Gates will be meeting with Russian Minister of

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Defense Serdyukov next week and that President Bush has
invited Putin to Kennebunkport. The U.S. fully supports
development of a NATO short-to-medium range MD system to
ensure that our southern Allies are also protected by a
missile defense shield. In the long run, this may be best
provided by a NATO system that is connected (or as the SYG
has said, "bolted") to U.S. MD assets in Europe. Ambassador
Nuland also noted to PermReps that at the SYG's meetings with
the President in Crawford, Texas, the President supported the
idea of a complementary NATO-U.S. MD shield but was concerned
that the NATO portion "keeps pace" with the U.S. MD plans.


9. (C) After thanking the U.S. delegation for coming to NATO,
the SYG concluded by stressing that Allies agreed on four
major points: the need to maintain Allied unity, which is
the cornerstone of Alliance security; the need for continued
outreach to, and transparency in our dealings with, Russia;
that Allies will have an opportunity with NRC Defense
Ministers next week, as well as at the June NRC Anniversary
celebrations, to review how NATO and Russia can work together
on this and other issues; and that the EWG needs to speed up
the process to finalize its MD taskings, preferably before
October.
NULAND