URGING BELGIUM TO STEP UP EFFORTS IN AFGHANISTAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BRUSSELS 001739

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/WE, EUR/RPM AND SCA/A

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/30/2019
TAGS: PREL MARR EAID AF BE
SUBJECT: URGING BELGIUM TO STEP UP EFFORTS IN AFGHANISTAN

REF: A. STATE 120807

B. STATE 122234

C. STATE 123222

D. BRUSSELS 1622

E. BRUSSELS 1629

F. BRUSSELS 1666

G. BRUSSELS 1703

H. BRUSSELS 1737

Classified By: Ambassador Howard Gutman, reason 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. Summary: (C) Embassy Brussels has been conducting an
intense campaign to encourage Belgium to step up its efforts
to extend and increase its military commitment to
Afghanistan, and to increase the level of its civilian
assistance, including police trainers. This has been carried
out through personal contacts with high-ranking Belgian
officials and through public diplomacy that capitalizes on
the Ambassador's increasingly favorable profile in the
Belgian media and with the public. End Summary.


2. (C) The Ambassador has met frequently with Minister of
Defense Pieter De Crem, former foreign minister and current
prime minister Yves Leterme, and with former Prime Minister
and now President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy.
At each meeting, the Ambassador has emphasized that
Afghanistan offers an opportunity for Belgium to take a
leadership role in Europe. Prior to the President's December
1 speech, the Ambassador urged De Crem and Leterme to speak
up in support of a more robust presence in Afghanistan even
before the President laid out his strategy and before other
countries, such as the UK, took the lead (ref D). Such a
speech would help to hold other NATO members, such as the
Netherlands, to the tasks at hand in Afghanistan. Then-PM
Van Rompuy was considering possible scenarios for a speech,
but has left office to take up his EU responsibilities.
Defense Minister De Crem was considering the idea actively
before Gordon Brown gave his speech, saying essentially the
same things. De Crem said that he still agreed with the
concept of expressing strong and public support for the
President's strategy.


3. (C) Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan
Richard Holbrooke met on December 2 with FM Vanackere. He
explained the implications of the new Afghanistan strategy
and the importance of a long-term commitment to stability
there. He also emphasized the need for development
assistance, especially for Afghanistan's agricultural sector.
Ref E.


4. (C) Recognizing that few Belgians would have a chance to
see the President's December 1 Afghanistan speech live, the
Ambassador invited print and television journalists to his
residence to view the speech as it was delivered at 2:00 a.m.
Brussels time. Six journalists and a photographer attended
despite the lateness of the hour. Belgian news outlets
covered the speech in early editions. Commentary followed
soon after. Most was supportive of the speech and the
strategy, although some commentators searched for a reason to
criticize it. Another good result of the nighttime viewing of
the speech was a four-page spread in the major Dutch-language
daily De Standaard, in which the Ambassador was able to
re-emphasize the President's themes.


5. (C) Following the speech, the Ambassador visited with both
De Crem and Vanackere, emphasizing the importance of Belgian
troops remaining in Afghanistan through 2010 and preferably
longer, as needed. He also pushed for Belgium to send police
trainers to Afghanistan and increase its civilian development
aid to Afghanistan and Pakistan. De Crem indicated that
francophone socialist politicians in the government,
including Andre Flahaut, were resisting new action by the
Belgian government on the basis that the United States and
NATO had not formally requested more troops. The Secretary's
December 3-4 visit to Brussels was an opportunity to clarify
what is needed. The Belgian government confirmed on December
4 its intention to deploy a second Operational Mentoring and
Liaison Team, bringing the Belgian presence in Afghanistan up
to 600 troops, from about 250 in 2008. It also promised to
send two or three police and one magistrate to EUPOL
Afghanistan, to appoint a special representative for
Afghanistan-Pakistan and to increase development assistance,
if the Afghan government provides guarantees of improved
governance and a vigorous fight against corruption. In her
meeting with FM Vanackere, the Secretary asked Vanackere to
provide 150 more troops, and to extend the troops' presence
through 2011, and to provide more police trainers.


6. (C) The Ambassador set up a series of meetings for Defense

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Minister De Crem in Washington on December 15-16, including
Secretary of Defense Gates, National Security Advisor Jones,
Senator Carl Levin, Chair of the Senate Armed Services
Committee and Rep. Ike Skelton, Chair of the House Armed
Services Committee. U.S. and NATO expectations for Belgium
were discussed during those meetings, focusing mainly on
extending Belgian participation through 2011 without
stressing the need for additonal troops as mentioned by the
Secretary in Brussels. Ref F.


7. (C) Subsequently, the Ambassador met with Flemish
Socialist Dirk Van Der Maelen and francophone socialist Andre
Flahaut, who are most often identified as opposing Belgium's
involvement in Afghanistan. He also hosted two separate
luncheons for the Foreign Affairs Committees of the Belgian
Senate and House of Representatives. The Ambassador
repeatedly stressed the strategic importance of the
Afghanistan effort and also the implications of lowered
expectations for Belgium on its international reputation and
prestige in Europe. Ref G.


8. (C) On December 16, the Ambassador met with Minister of
Interior Annemie Turtelboom and strongly urged her to support
sending more police trainers than the two or three already
promised. The Ambassador and Turtelboom also explored ways
to influence public opinion and counter opposition that may
exist to building up Belgium's role in Afghanistan. Ref H.


9. (C) In the new year, the Ambassador and the Embassy intend
to continue to press Belgian leaders and opinion makers to
increase the Belgian presence in Afghanistan, both militarily
and in terms of assistance for development and good
governance. The President's Nobel Prize speech in Oslo on
December 10 resonates well in Belgium, displaying how we
share the same values as Belgium in terms of support for
peace, but also how Afghanistan fits into that set of
beliefs. The Embassy now has two sponsors in the Belgian
House of Representatives to show it directly to Belgian
lawmakers in the near future. We are also exploring ways to
show the speech to the general public in the Park of
Brussels, a central and open venue for such an event.


10. (C) Comment: In the political landscape of Belgium, the
USG has a supportive presence for the President's Afghanistan
strategy in the person of Defense Minister De Crem. We view
the new foreign minister, Steven Vanackere, as still finding
his footing in the MFA and reticent about new contributions.
Minister of Interior Turtelboom personally favors an
increased role for Belgian police advisors, but is worried
about perceived adverse public opinion and is sensitive to
criticism by opposition politicians such as Van Der Maelen.
However, based on his conversation with the Ambassador, even
Van Der Maelen understands that economic and social
development in Afghanistan is key to its stability and that a
greater effort is needed to provide the security that will
permit that development to occur. The Ambassador and Embassy
Brussels will continue and expand our efforts to build
official and public understanding of the importance of
Afghanistan to security in its region, in Europe and in the
United States, as well as to seek an increase in Belgium's
contributions. There is likely more room for expansion of
its role in development and police training efforts than in
new military contributions in 2010.

GUTMAN


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