S/CRS HERBST DISCUSSES CIVIL-MILITARY COOPERATION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 001011

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/28/2018
TAGS: MCAP PGOV PREL KCRS AF FR
SUBJECT: S/CRS HERBST DISCUSSES CIVIL-MILITARY COOPERATION
WITH GOF, OECD

Classified By: Acting Political Minister-Counselor Andrew Young for rea
sons 1.4 b and d.


1. (C) On May 16, S/CRS John Herbst met with French
Government and OECD officials to brief on S/CRS activities
and discuss potential areas for cooperation. At the MFA,
Jean-Hughes Simon-Michel, PDAS for Strategic
Affairs, discussed French activities to promote
civil-military cooperation within the EU and in Afghanistan.
At the MOD, Michel Miraillet, A/S for Strategic Affairs,
agreed on the importance of building civilian capabilities,
while emphasizing that budget restrictions preclude the
development of any new capabilities in France. Amb. Herbst
also briefed Marion Paradas, Head of International Relations
at the interagency General Secretariat of National Defense.
At the OECD, Amb. Herbst discussed possible synergies with
Development Cooperation Directorate Chief of Policy Alexandra
Trzeciak-Duval and Jerzy Pomianowski, Director of the
Advisory Unit for the Partnership for Democratic Governance.


2. (C) Amb. Herbst met with Jean-Hugues Simon-Michel, the
MFA's PDAS-equivalent for Strategic Affairs. Simon-Michel
provided some insights into France's forthcoming Defense
White Paper, which he said will cover the links between
internal and external security along the spectrum of civil
and military operations. For France's upcoming EU
Presidency, he said France will propose creation within the
EU of deployable expert teams, a proposal shaped in close
cooperation with the UK. Though France is keeping a close
hold on the proposals now, they will become public in late
June, following the Irish referendum on the Treaty of Lisbon
and shortly before the French Presidency begins.
Simon-Michel said the GOF has recently discussed the proposal
with German officials and obtained their agreement
in principle, though not in any level of detail. When asked
how the proposed teams would differ from the EU's
existing list of civil contacts, Simon-Michel acknowledged
the inherent difficulties of mobilizing civilians rapidly.
In principle, the EU civilian response teams would be
deployed on a rapid response basis for three-month periods.
Security sector reform (SSR) teams deployed under the EU flag
would be in principle available for immediate
deployment. Their members would be seconded, and thus paid,
by their home nations. Simon-Michel called the EU
mission in Chad a success for France in mobilizing European
partners, including some neutral states that are less
inclined towards operations abroad. He noted that West
Africa is of increasing concern to the GOF and that the
French EU Presidency will present some proposals directed
towards that region.


3. (C) Simon-Michel noted that France's civilian component
is a small part of its engagement in Afghanistan, but said
that France is considering increasing its participation in
the EUPOL mission in Afghanistan. The increased French
contribution, which would raise staff levels from 3-4 people
to 10-15, would benefit Franco-German relations due
to Germany's leadership of the mission. Any French increase
would be announced before the June Afghan Support
Conference. He said that a crucial element of success for
June's conference is reaching agreement on principles of a
comprehensive strategy - similar to that developed by NATO in
Bucharest, but with a civilian focus. Simon-Michel
noted that one priority for France is strengthening Kai
Eide's role. The GOF also has a particular interest in
counternarcotics and the possible UNSCR on chemical
precursors.


4. (C) Amb. Herbst also met with Michel Miraillet, the MOD's
A/S-equivalent for Strategic Affairs. Miraillet
expressed much interest in the S/CRS concept and activities,
while emphasizing that France will be unable to
develop any new capacities in the near future for budget
reasons. Miraillet said France does not have an existing
capability to mobilize civilian experts (for example, a Peace
Corps equivalent),and that is one of the reasons
France has not taken on a PRT in Afghanistan. While
acknowledging that French NGOs operate in many difficult
places, and work well with the French military as needed, he
noted that they do not wish to integrate their
operations. Acknowledging that France has capacities in
Africa, Miraillet said the people and their expertise are not
transferable to other parts of the world. He said that,
therefore, though there is no political opposition in
France to creating a civilian response capability, France
does not have the financial or human resources. (Miraillet
noted that the forthcoming Defense White Paper calls for
France's military reserve system to be strengthened, which
would require increased funding, a problem in and of itself.)
He expressed more optimism about the prospects

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for creating civilian response capabilities in the EU, but
noted that European mindsets may need to evolve to
accommodate more hardship. Miraillet's staff noted, however,
that the French gendarmes are a formidable
deployable asset, and that students and young people are an
underutilized resource. In closing, Miraillet's Department
Head for NATO and EU, Col. Philippe Steininger, expressed
interest in the capability planning process that S/CRS used
to determine its staffing goals.


5. (C) Amb. Herbst also briefed Marion Paradas, Director of
International Relations at the General Secretariat for
National Defense. Paradas expressed interest in S/CRS' work
with, and assessment of the success of, PRTs in
Afghanistan. Paradas and her staff also inquired about how
we ensure both security and civil-military coordination on
the ground. Finally, they noted similarities between the
concept for Africom and the philosophy of S/CRS.


6. (C) At the OECD, Amb. Herbst met with OECD Development
Cooperation Directorate (DCD) Chief of Policy Alexandra
Trzeciak-Duval. Trzeciak-Duval and Rory Keane of her staff
briefed on OECD activities in "state building" and
presented publications on security sector reform, fragile
states, and whole-of-government approaches. Trzeciak-Duval
offered to make OECD training materials and sessions
available to USG staff going into the field. Trzeciak-Duval
said that DOD and DOS participation would add to the work of
OECD's Development Assistance Committee. Keane asked if
S/CRS might contribute expertise to DCD's 2009-10 Program of
Work, which will include civil-military relations; Amb.
Herbst suggested Matt Cordova.


7. (C) Amb. Herbst also met with Jerzy Pomianowski, head of
the Partnership for Democratic Governance Advisory Unit.
Pomianowski will travel to Washington in early June to try to
build closer relationships with the World Bank, but will also
meet with DOS, AID, IFC, and MCC. PDG's steering group
recently reached a compromise decision to work with
countries only when invited to do so, rather than identifying
a list of candidates. Though no country has yet requested
PDG's support, Pomianowski said that Somalia has asked the
U.S. for assistance with service delivery,
a request which could eventually come back around to the PDG.
He noted PDG's goal of establishing international standards
for what constitutes a functional working environment, as
well as development of transfer strategies before personnel
is deployed or service delivery begins to target zones.


8. (U) This cable has been cleared by Amb. Herbst.

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