Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09MUNICH19
2009-02-10 15:20:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Consulate Munich
Cable title:  

MUNICH SECURITY CONFERENCE OVERVIEW (FEBRUARY 6-8,

Tags:  PREL PGOV NATO GM 
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O 101520Z FEB 09
FM AMCONSUL MUNICH
TO WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4644
AMEMBASSY BERLIN 
INFO EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
NATO EU COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
NSC WASHDC IMMEDIATE
SECDEF WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
IRAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
AMEMBASSY KABUL PRIORITY 
AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PRIORITY 
HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY
CDRUSAREUR HEIDELBERG GE PRIORITY
COMUSNAVCENT PRIORITY
UNCLAS MUNICH 000019 


WHITE HOUSE FOR OVP
H FOR CODEL MCCAIN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV NATO GM
SUBJECT: MUNICH SECURITY CONFERENCE OVERVIEW (FEBRUARY 6-8,
2009)

SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND
----------------------

UNCLAS MUNICH 000019


WHITE HOUSE FOR OVP
H FOR CODEL MCCAIN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV NATO GM
SUBJECT: MUNICH SECURITY CONFERENCE OVERVIEW (FEBRUARY 6-8,
2009)

SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND
--------------


1. (U) SUMMARY: The mood at the end of the 45th Munich Security
Conference (MSC) was upbeat, welcoming that the U.S. is "back at the
table." Vice President Biden took the stage to extended, warm
applause. Reflecting the content and tone of President Obama's
inauguration speech, the Vice President told the prominent
international audience that the U.S. is resuming its leadership role
in consultation and dialogue with its partners, from whom we expect a
firmer consensus in return. The USG Delegation was uniquely high
level, including in addition to the Vice President: National
Security Advisor Jones; Special Representative Holbrooke; Deputy
Secretary Steinberg; Assistant Secretary Fried; and six Flag
Officers, including Generals Petraeus and Craddock. The CODEL
included Representatives Tauscher, Harman, and Sanchez (the Senators,
including Kerry, McCain, and Lieberman, had to cancel because work on
the stimulus package was not completed). In addition to the
extraordinary interest in the new U.S. administration, the
participants, including French President Sarkozy and German
Chancellor Merkel, bore down on the future of NATO and the
international community in Afghanistan and on the Iranian nuclear
issue. The discussions were sober in this regard, recognizing the
significant challenges ahead. The Vice President and USDEL's
engagement have started changing the dynamic with the Germans. At
the end, a local marketing expert summed up the Conference and its
mood and hopes by calling it "Munich Spring." Additional information
on many of these topics will be delivered SEPTEL. End Summary.


2. (U) BACKGROUND: The MSC has become a very high-profile event.
Vice President Biden, in his first overseas trip, led the
highest-ranking U.S. delegation to the conference in sixteen years.
The MSC's international participants, including more than 70 heads of
state or government, and foreign and defense ministers, was the most
illustrious line-up in the Conference's long history. With the April
3-4 NATO Summit in Strasbourg and Kehl (Germany) only two months
away, there was a keen interest in the U.S. vision for the
Transatlantic Alliance. End Background.

THE VICE PRESIDENT SETS "NEW TONE"
IN SPEECH AT CONFERENCE
--------------


3. (U) Vice President Biden's much-anticipated speech was widely seen
as setting a "new tone" with America's relations around the world.
Noting that the U.S. would be asking more of its partners, the Vice
President promised that the Obama Administration would "work
cooperatively with nations around the world" to counter common
extremist and terrorist threats. The Vice President also noted the
Administration's review of our Iran policy and how the U.S. and our
partners can work better together to solve problems in Afghanistan
and the Middle East. On Russia, the Vice President lamented the
"dangerous drift in relations" and noted that the time had come "to
press the reset button and to revisit the many areas where we can and
should work together." Attendees at the conference remarked that the
Vice President's speech demonstrated that the new U.S. government
seeks to renew its partnership with Europeans, and that this includes
"Europeans being called on to do more" to assist in global security
issues. The Vice President's speech can be found in its entirety at
http://germany.usembassy.gov/events/2009/
feb-biden-security/

ARMS CONTROL
--------------


4. (U) German Foreign Minister Steinmeier used the MSC as a platform
to reaffirm his demands not only to revive arms control as such, but
also to emphasize that a "zero solution" on nuclear weapons is
possible. The NPT, CFE, INF and ABM treaties were all discussed
during the Arms Control panel. While most conference participants and
panelists agreed that the Obama Administration represented an
opportunity to revive arms control and non-proliferation efforts,
there were only few concrete proposals of what might be undertaken.
IAEA Director General ElBaradei, Speaker of the Iranian Parliament
Ali Larijani, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Ivanov and Indian
National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan all participated in a panel
discussion. U.S. Representative Ellen Tauscher delivered the
concluding Statement, in which she called for dialogue between the
U.S. and Iran and a thoughtful approach to missile defense.


IRAN
--------------


5. (U) Iran: Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Ali Larijani sought to
raise the bar for direct talks with the United States by repeatedly
emphasizing that the West -- and the U.S. in particular -- has been
applying a double standard towards Iran since the Iranian revolution.
He argued that it is up to the Obama Administration to build new
bridges but then he antagonized his audience by questioning the
Holocaust.


6. (U) Observers of the MSC were disappointed by Larijani's
appearance. Even though some participants noted an understanding
that Larijani does not want to undermine his possible presidential
candidacy -- which still needs to be approved by the Iranian Council
of Guardians -- the general impression was that Larijani's
confrontational speech at the MSC represented a missed opportunity on
the Iranian side. However, at the tail end of his comments, Larijani
did note openness to regional discussions, which some participants
felt may be a signal indicating future dialogue.

AFGHANISTAN
--------------


7. (U) President Karzai attempted to paint a positive picture of the
development in Afghanistan, an assessment which notably fell flat
among conference participants. Karzai asked for patience on the
issues of police training, reconstruction, corruption, and drug
production. He noted that many of these issues have been addressed
and one now needed to wait for the results to materialize. Karzai
also emphasized that the reconstruction of Afghanistan was a joint
effort by the international community and the Afghan people, while
highlighting the need for additional coordination. The dominant
opinion was that a more regional approach needs to be taken with a
focus on Afghanistan.

RUSSIA
--------------


8. (U) Russia's First Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Ivanov repeated
Russia's opposition to unilateral decisions on Missile Defense.
Senior politicians from the EU rejected the Russian notion that the
gas dispute was just a business dispute. French President Sarkozy
noted that Ukraine and Georgia must meet European standards and
follow European rules if they want to join NATO and the EU. Most
conference participants referred to Medvedev's European security
proposal as "too vague" and requiring additional details. Chancellor
Merkel stated clearly that any proposal for a new European security
architecture that undermined NATO was unacceptable and would fail.
Panelist, including US General Petraeus, Canadian DefMin MacKay,
British DefMin Hutton, and Special Representative Holbrooke, spoke
soberly and in detail about the challenges NATO faces there.

NATO REFORM / STRATEGIC CONCEPT
--------------


9. (U) German FM Steinmeier called for a "new Harmel Report" to be
crafted by a "group of eminent persons" to make recommendations for
NATO reforms. Many speakers (among them Chancellor Merkel) agreed
that NATO needs a new strategic concept that reflects the changes of
the post 9/11 world, such as asymmetric threats, terrorism and the
new nature of missions such as ISAF. According to Merkel, the new
strategic concept should include the notion that international
conflicts cannot be resolved by one single country alone. There was
broad support for the "comprehensive approach" as an element of a new
strategic concept.


10. (U) German DefMin Jung provided a detailed outline of German
recommendations. This included a new strategic culture for coming
to consensus among all 28 NATO allies (including Croatia and
Albania) about the role and functioning of the Alliance; a renewal
of what has proven useful to the Alliance (security, consensus,
deterrence, defense, crisis management); a balance between
collective defense and crisis management; an open door policy to
allow new members in if they make the Alliance more effective; the
extension of a strategic partnership with Russia; making the
"comprehensive approach" a core competency; improved capabilities;
and enhanced cooperation between NATO and the EU.

NATO-EU
--------------


11. (U) Merkel criticized Turkey and Cyprus for obstructing
improvements to the NATO-EU relationship. President Sarkozy
emphasized his friendship with the United States and emphasized that
ESDP is a way to strengthen rather than weaken NATO. He also urged
Europeans to step up their defense efforts. He rhetorically asked
whether Europe wants to "live in peace" or whether it wants "to be
left in peace." He explained that the latter strategy only works for
a few years and leaves no option in the time of crisis.

MISCELLANEOUS
--------------


12. (U) Kissinger: Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was
awarded the newly established Ewald von Kleist Award for his
"significant contribution to global peace and conflict resolution."


13. (U) Merkel-Sarkozy: Despite an agreement to announce changes to
the Franco-German brigade at a separate press conference on the
sidelines of the MSC, President Sarkozy, speaking after Chancellor
Merkel, snubbed Merkel by announcing from the podium that Germany
will station a battalion in France. This will be the first time
since the end of the World War II that Germany will have troops
stationed in France.


14. (U) Guantanamo: Nearly all conference participants welcomed the
Obama Administration's decision to shut down Guantanamo. Vice
President Biden's announcement that America will ask for help during
the closure of Guantanamo remained unanswered in the open discussion.

NELSON