CI/KR RESPONSE FOR S/CT - EASTERN CARIBBEAN

S E C R E T BRIDGETOWN 000116 NOFORN SIPDIS DEPT FOR S/CT - SRCLARK E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/28/2039 TAGS: ASEC PTER PREL ETTC XL SUBJECT: CI/KR RESPONSE FOR S/CT - EASTERN CARIBBEAN REF: STATE 15113 Classified By: POL Chief Ian Campbell, reasons 1.4(b,d) ¶1. (s/nf) According to the definitional criteria in reftel, the countries of the eastern Caribbean (Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines) have little that qualify as CI/KR assets from a U.S. national security perspective. What they do have is an accident of geography - the island nations of the eastern Caribbean sit athwart many of the primary shipping lanes to the Gulf coast. If all these shipping lanes were disrupted or interdicted simultaneously, either by man or by natural disaster, there could be an impact on U.S. critical infrastructure. The countries of the eastern Caribbean are inadequately equipped to deal with such a scenario - they rely implicitly on USG naval assets as an assumed security umbrella for the region. We believe such a scenario to be, in any case, unlikely. HARDT