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 PARIS 00001011 002 OF 002 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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