BRAZIL: MOVING FORWARD WITH BRAZILIAN AIR FORCE ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRASILIA 000987

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/BSC, L, PM

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/10/2018
TAGS: MOPS PREL SNAR BR
SUBJECT: BRAZIL: MOVING FORWARD WITH BRAZILIAN AIR FORCE ON
SHOOTDOWN

REF: A. SECSTATE 54183

B. 07 BRASILIA 1868

C. STATE 57700

D. 07 STATE 17940

Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Lisa Kubiske for reason 1.5 (d)


1. (C) On July 8, 2008, Defense Attache, Air Force Attache,
and Poloff had an initial high-level meeting with Brazilian
Air Force generals, Tenente Brigadeiro Paulo Roberto Rohrig
de Britto (the number two general in the Brazilian Air
Force),Brigaderio Egito, and Colonel Roque to discuss
Brazil's Air Bridge Denial (ABD or Shootdown) program and
ways to move forward to ensure this year's Presidential
Determination process goes smoothly. The primary purpose of
the meeting was to open a line of communication and build
confidence with General Britto, who is new to the issue, and
to attempt to elicit suggestions from the Brazilians on how
we could reach an accommodation that was satisfactory for
both parties, but met Ref A objectives.


2. (C) After Air Force Attache discussed the need to comply
with US legal requirements that compel us to certify that
Brazil has in place adequate safety policies and procedures,
Defense Attache noted that the best way to build confidence
and ensure transparency was to have a frank exchange of
ideas. Defense Attache noted that these are legal
obligations and that it is in the best interest of both
parties to find a way to move forward. He further noted that
there are ways to do this without being intrusive, by for
example having an exchange of air traffic control personnel
from both countries who could share knowledge and best
practices of safety procedures in executing the ABD.


3. (C) General Britto cut right to the point and noted that
"the law is the law and that the Air Force has to comply with
it," in reference to the fact that the Brazilian Air Force
has legal obligations with regards to having in place safety
procedures. Subsequently, Britto asked his staff to provide
us with copies of all legislation and procedures relating
Brazil's ABD program. Regarding an exchange of personnel, he
did not fully commit to the idea, but nodded in the
affirmative. He also suggested we should all meet in the
next week or so to have a more substantive discussion on the
issue.


4. (C) Comment: It was a positive initial meeting with
General Britto and his staff. That he did not outright
refuse to consider an exchange of personnel is a positive
indication that we may be able to continue exploring that
possibility, which would provide us with important insight
into Brazil's ABD program at all levels of the
decision-execution chain. Furthermore, before we had a
chance to ask for them, General Britto volunteered to pass on
to us all legal and policy materials related to Brazil's ABD
program. Our expectation is that this will include safety
procedures that are in place, something which, although we
have knowledge of through numerous visits and conversations
with personnel who participate at various levels in the ABD
program, we currently lack in a formal written manner.
Finally, the General invited us to continue the dialogue in a
second meeting with him in the next few weeks. This will be
a good opportunity to outline our specific concerns while
simultaneously eliciting ideas from Britto that dovetail
neatly with our objectives. Although we think this was a
good start, we should have a better sense whether we have
found a way to move forward in a more positive and productive
fashion than in years past after we meet with them again
soon. End Comment.
SOBEL