DHS SECRETARY MOVES AIR MARSHAL ISSUE FORWARD

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 COPENHAGEN 000522 SENSITIVE SIPDIS PARIS FOR DHS/TSA PELLERIN THE HAGUE FOR ICE ATTACHE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PINS EAIR ASEC KHLS KTIP PTER KCRM DA SUBJECT: DHS SECRETARY MOVES AIR MARSHAL ISSUE FORWARD COPENHAGEN 00000522 001.2 OF 004 (U) SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED; PROTECT ACCORDINGLY. NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION. ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano visited Denmark November 2-3 for meetings with the Danish Ministers of Justice and Transportation and for a public event on trafficking in persons (TIP). Ambassador Fulton accompanied her throughout the visit. The Secretary met with Danish Justice Minister Brian Mikkelsen to discuss the Preventing and Combating Serious Crime (PCSC) and Federal Air Marshal (FAM) agreements, as well as TIP and the current gang crisis in Denmark. Mikkelsen pledged support on the issue of FAMs and stated that he expected the PCSC agreement to be ready for signature in early spring 2010. Secretary Napolitano offered DHS/Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) assistance to combating TIP and gangs, both of which the Minister accepted. Secretary Napolitano next gave public remarks to Danish law enforcement, NGOs, students, and professionals involved in anti-TIP and human rights activities, as well as local press, on the U.S. experience in combating TIP, and answered questions from the audience. Secretary Napolitano met with Danish Minister of Transport Lars Barfoed and key members of his Ministry on the FAMs issue. The Minister expressed a number of concerns over armed air marshals traveling to Denmark, questions which the Secretary was able to address. Minister Barfoed suggested that a one to two year pilot project on FAMs would likely be necessary before a permanent agreement could be put into place. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) Secretary of Homeland Security Napolitano, accompanied by Ambassador Fulton, met with Danish Minister of Justice Brian Mikkelsen and Minister of Transport Lars Barfoed during a visit to Copenhagen on November 3, 2009. DHS Chief of Staff Noah Kroloff, Under Secretary Rand Beers, Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Sean Smith, DAS for International Affair Mark Koumans, the regional TSA representative, and Embassy ICE attach also accompanied the Secretary throughout her visit. The Secretary's visit was preceded by meetings between the Ambassador and embassy staff with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Justice, and Transportation on the FAM and PCSC issues. DHS Assistant Secretary for Policy David Heyman traveled to Copenhagen in September and met with senior staff in the Foreign Affairs, Justice, and Transport Ministries on these issues. Ministry of Justice Support -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Justice Minister Mikkelsen welcomed Secretary Napolitano and said he regards the U.S. as Denmark's most important strategic partner. He thanked the Secretary for close cooperation in law enforcement and security matters, as evidenced by the U.S. arrests the week before of U.S. persons plotting a bombing in Denmark. Secretary Napolitano gave an overview of DHS, including how DHS was able to pinpoint the travel of one plotter. The highlights of their discussion follow: -- PCSC: The U.S. and Danish Governments are close to final agreement. The only remaining issue is Danish parliamentary approval -- a process which should begin in January 2010. Minister Mikkelsen expects no problems in ratification or with the minor changes to Danish law that are necessary. Minister Mikkelsen believes the process can be completed by early March 2010, followed by a signing in early spring 2010. -- FAMs: Secretary Napolitano stressed the importance of the deployment of U.S. Federal Air Marshals (FAMs) as part of the U.S. layered security system. The Secretary noted that FAMs are highly trained, full-time U.S. law enforcement officers who would be deployed only aboard U.S.-flagged carriers, and then not on every flight. Upon arrival in Denmark, the FAMs' weapons and other mission equipment would be turned over to the control of Danish Police; at no time would U.S. FAMs be armed outside of the aircraft, except in instances where the Danish police choose to escort the FAMs to the airport police station to lock up their weapons, if Danish officials chose to handle logistics in that way, rather than locking up the weapons onboard the aircraft. Minister Mikkelsen replied that FAMs "make sense" and that he supports the U.S. request for their deployment on U.S. flag carriers to Denmark. He has expressed his support of FAMs to the Danish Minister of Transport, who is the final arbiter of this issue for Denmark. Minister Mikkelsen noted that Minister of Transport Barfoed said he had checked with some of his neighboring country counterparts and none had confirmed that they have FAM agreements with the U.S., as the U.S. previously contended. Mikkelsen expected that there would be a hurdle facing the Secretary on this issue. Secretary Napolitano COPENHAGEN 00000522 002.2 OF 004 responded that Denmark was nearly alone in not allowing FAMs but DHS/TSA prefers not to comment on the nature, formal or informal, or the details of existing FAM agreements with foreign partners. -- Gang Violence: Secretary Napolitano noted that Denmark is currently experiencing significant violence between Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs (OMGs) and "immigrant" gangs. The Secretary offered DHS/ICE assistance in combating this problem. She noted that the United States unfortunately has a great deal of experience in this area and welcomed the Danes to learn from U.S. successes and failures. Mikkelsen thanked the Secretary and indicated interest in accepting the offer. He stated that recent gang-related violence in Denmark -- 110 shootings, 59 wounded, and seven killed in the past year -- is very significant for the country. The police are establishing a new task force to proactively combat gangs, with their highest priority being to stop recruitment, he continued. Secretary Napolitano responded that there are three keys to combating gang violence: (1) an aggressive intervention process targeting at-risk youth, (2) specialized law enforcement units focused only on gangs, including developing informants and cases, and (3) an anti-gang incarceration strategy in order to minimize inter-gang violence in facilities and stifle gang recruitment and training opportunities in a custodial setting. She indicated that DHS/ICE can assist in all of these areas. Mikkelsen seemed eager to take advantage of U.S. experience. -- TIP: According to Mikkelsen, the problem of trafficking in human beings has been an area of increased focus in Denmark for the last 5 to 10 years and it is a high priority for his Ministry. Mikkelsen said that TIP is an ongoing problem despite Denmark's National Strategy to Combat TIP. Most persons trafficked into Denmark for prostitution are young women and girls from Eastern Europe and West Africa; they come to Denmark mainly because of poverty at home. Mikkelsen views international cooperation and information sharing, including identifying facilitators, to be critical components in combating trafficking. The issue of deportation remains a dilemma; there is growing public sentiment that trafficking victims should be granted permanent residence. Denmark instead currently provides victims with education and money for their repatriation, as well as arranging medical treatment, if needed, upon the victim's return. Secretary Napolitano stated that the U.S. has a special (T) visa status allowing victims with a verifiable claim as a victim of trafficking to remain in the U.S. She said that DHS would like to continue working with Denmark to combat TIP. ¶3. (SBU) Secretary Napolitano thanked Mikkelsen for his support of both the FAMS and PCSC agreements. They agreed that, for the present, those topics should not be publicized. The meeting was followed by a short press interview by Danish press of the Secretary and the Minister, where the Secretary again pledged DHS/ICE assistance in dealing with gangs, should Denmark wish it. Mikkelsen stated he would follow up through the U.S. Embassy in Copenhagen on each of these topics. Addressing Trafficking in Persons -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Secretary Napolitano addressed approximately 85 people on combating TIP at an event co-sponsored by the NGO Humanity in Action (Denmark),the Danish Institute for International Studies, and the Danish Institute for Human Rights. The audience included Danish government officials, non-governmental organizations, students, police officers, and others involved in combating trafficking and human rights violations, as well as members of the Danish press. The Secretary discussed the plight of trafficking victims and the need for a coordinated international law enforcement response targeting global criminal trafficking organizations. In order to be successful, law enforcement must look at this crime from the victims' point of view, she said. ICE, as the principal U.S. law enforcement agency combating TIP, is targeting traffickers' assets and profits and working closely with NGOs to rescue and assist victims. While there is no indication of trafficking between the U.S. and Denmark, ICE is working with the Danes in a mutual sharing of enforcement techniques and programs for helping victims. DHS has created a new position, reporting directly to the Secretary, to coordinate DHS efforts to combat TIP. Secretary Napolitano fielded a broad range of questions from members of the press, NGOs and students, which included comments about combating the demand for prostitution, delineating between smuggling and trafficking, media treatment of persons arrested, and alternatives to deportation for victims of trafficking. The presentation was very well received and feedback from the organizers and participants has been resoundingly COPENHAGEN 00000522 003.2 OF 004 positive. Transport Ministry Receptive -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Secretary Napolitano and Ambassador Fulton next met with Minister of Transport Lars Barfoed at the Ministry of Transport. The sole topic of the meeting was a potential U.S.-Danish agreement to allow FAMs to deploy on U.S. carrier flights to and from Denmark. The Danish Government has placed responsibility for this issue with the Ministry of Transport, though the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Justice will have input in the decision. Barfoed indicated that -- should there be an agreement -- Transport will be required to present it to Parliament for approval. Concerning the deployment of FAMs, Barfoed stated that the Danish position is that aircraft must be secure before the aircraft departs the gate. The Danes are averse to having firearms aboard aircraft because of the threat of the weapons being taken by terrorists and because of their view that passenger aircraft are not built to withstand gunfire. ¶6. (SBU) Barfoed asked how the U.S. concluded that having armed officers on aircraft enhanced security. Secretary Napolitano responded that the U.S. decision to expand deployment of specially trained and armed federal law enforcement officers aboard aircraft was a result of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. U.S. studies concluded that static defenses cannot guarantee that weapons or explosives can be kept off aircraft and having trained armed officers on board enhances security. The Secretary said the U.S. believes that any risk presented by having armed officers aboard passenger aircraft is mitigated because: 1) FAMs are very highly trained federal law enforcement officers in an undercover capacity; 2) FAMs are assigned randomly and are not on all flights; 3) FAMs sit in random locations aboard aircraft; 4) FAMs will only break their cover in an emergency, and then not necessarily all of the air marshals aboard will respond. ¶7. (SBU) Minister Barfoed requested that DHS share risk assessments and whether any other data could be made available to the Danish Government for use in determining whether or not to allow a FAMs agreement. The Secretary agreed that relevant assessments and data could be made available, and added that the U.S. views FAMs as having both preventative and deterrent missions. Barfoed also asked about weapon security while the aircraft is in Denmark. The Secretary replied that weapons and mission equipment would either be taken by the Danish Police aboard the aircraft or the Danish Police would escort the FAMs to the airport police station at which point the weapons would be secured and stored. Currently deployed FAMs go through host countries' regular immigration and customs processing after weapons are secured by the local police. For outbound flights, they do not retrieve the weapons from the police until after they have gone through the regular check-in process. When asked about incidents that have occurred in-flight, Secretary Napolitano stated that FAMs fly nearly a thousand missions daily, including flights to and from Europe, but there have been very few incidents in which FAMs have had to break cover -- and those have been almost entirely incidents involving unruly and/or drunk passengers, some of whom threatened serious harm to the flight crew. The regional TSA representative elaborated that there have been no incidents requiring FAMs to fire their weapons aboard an operating international flight. ¶8. (SBU) Secretary Napolitano reiterated that Denmark and Russia are the only two European countries with direct flights by U.S. carriers that have no FAM agreement, either formal or informal. Barfoed responded that any FAM agreement with Denmark would require parliamentary knowledge. He does not foresee any legislative changes being required, but because this would involve a change in Denmark's previous position, parliamentary support is a must, and that is not a quick process. He suggested that the Embassy facilitate further discussions at a non-political level, to which Ambassador Fulton agreed. ¶9. (SBU) Danish Civil Aviation Administration Director Kurt Larsen commented that, until now, his agency has resisted any further discussion on this topic and/or a visit to the FAMs training facility in New Jersey because the Danish Parliament had been very clear in its decision to deny a FAM agreement, not just with the U.S., but with other countries, including Germany, Switzerland, Syria and Israel. Larsen stated that he now has a clearer understanding of the program and clarified that it involves arming only sworn law enforcement officers, not airline crew. Barfoed suggested that while he cannot promise a favorable outcome with COPENHAGEN 00000522 004.2 OF 004 Parliament, having more data and facts available, and perhaps a successful pilot program for a year or two, would certainly help the U.S. case. ¶10. (SBU) Secretary Napolitano reiterated that the U.S. would be happy to provide any relevant assessments and data the Danes request and asked that any requests be passed through the Embassy. She agreed that a pilot project would be useful and renewed an invitation for members of the Ministry of Transport to visit the Federal Air Marshal Service Headquarters and training facilities, which Barfoed noted as a positive suggestion. The Secretary asked if an informal memo of cooperation would help to move the process forward. Barfoed replied that any agreement may be confidential, but that Parliament must be aware of it. Minister Barfoed concluded by saying that he is looking forward to a continued working-level discussion on this subject and that he will ensure that any pilot project will not be undermined by Parliament. He said that publicizing discussions on FAMs would weaken an opportunity to garner parliamentary support. ¶11. (SBU) Comment: Ambassador Fulton notes that this meeting with the Transport Ministry indicated a dramatic turn from previous meetings and discussion on the FAM issue. The Ambassador urges rapid delivery to the U.S. Embassy in Copenhagen of the risk assessment and information for Minster Barfoed to keep the momentum. End Comment. ¶13. (U) The DHS delegation has cleared this message. FULTON