FRENCH DIPLOMATIC ADVISOR LEVITTE HOSTS AMBASSADOR HOLBROOKE FOR AFPAK POLICY DISCUSSION

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S E C R E T PARIS 001203

NOFORN

SIPDIS

FOR NSC, EUR/WE, EUR/RPM

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/03/2019

TAGS: PREL, MOPS, AF, FR, PK, CH

SUBJECT: FRENCH DIPLOMATIC ADVISOR LEVITTE HOSTS AMBASSADOR

HOLBROOKE FOR AFPAK POLICY DISCUSSION

Classified By: Political Officer Kimberly Krhounek for reasons 1.4(b) a

nd (d).

1. (S/NF) SUMMARY: On August 31, Special Representative to

Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke and U.S.

Ambassador to France Charles Rivkin met Jean-David Levitte,

Diplomatic Advisor to President Sarkozy, to discuss

Afghanistan and Pakistan. Levitte asserted that the

Government of France (GOF) was reversing its policy of

"benign neglect" towards Pakistan but raised concerns about

the security of Pakistan,s nuclear deterrent. Levitte and

Holbrooke also agreed to approach the Chinese government

separately to seek greater coordination on AfPak policy. END

SUMMARY.

2. (S/NF) Diplomatic Advisor Levitte hosted Ambassador

Holbrooke on August 31 for a discussion about GOF and USG

policy towards Afghanistan and Pakistan. Embassy Paris

considers Levitte, a National Security Advisor equivalent and

Holbrooke,s former counterpart at the UN, to be one of the

most important and influential voices within the GOF on

national security policy.

3. (S/NF) Levitte said that President Sarkozy recognized anew

the importance of Pakistan and sought to reverse French

policy of "benign neglect," but that Pakistan remains "an

army in search of a country." He asserted that the Pakistani

army is well regarded by the Pakistani people when not in

power, but that it fails when in power. He further stated

that PM Gilani is currently the "civilian in charge" but does

not now seek the Presidency, nor does Nawaz Sharif, who views

the current turbulent situation as an inopportune time to be

President. As a result, Levitte said that the consensus GOF

view is that the Pakistani government will "remain as-is" in

the near future.

3. (S/NF) Levitte said that he was "more pessimistic" than

the U.S. about Pakistan. He stated that Pakistan has "chosen

Islamicization for generation after generation," and that it

is now a "transformed society"with an educational system

focused on the Koran. Levitte cited A.Q. Khan,s recent

/>release from house arrest as an issue of concern to the GOF.

Furthermore, he said that the GOF was "not sure that the

Pakistani nuclear deterrent is secure," especially with the

frequent movement of nuclear weapons by the Pakistani

military. He said that the GOF would provide technical

assistance to Pakistan on issues of nuclear safety, but he

firmly stated that the GOF would not supply nuclear energy

technology. Furthermore, Levitte said that Sarkozy,s Chief

of Staff had recently visited Pakistan and informed the

Pakistani government that the GOF would not sell submarines

to Pakistan, but it would provide counter-insurgency training

to boost Pakistani capacities in a niche area of traditional

strength for France.

4. (S/NF) Levitte concurred with Ambassador Holbrooke,s

assessment that China shares the same strategic view of

Pakistan as the U.S. and France, including concerns about

training of terrorists (including Uighurs) in Afghanistan and

Pakistan. Holbrooke and Levitte agreed that they

consequently believed that China should engage more with

international partners on Pakistan, despite its

disinclination to do so, as stated at the recent Friends of

Democratic Pakistan meeting in Turkey. At Holbrooke,s

request, Levitte agreed to raise this issue in his meeting on

September 1 with Chinese Councilor Dai Bingguo; Holbrooke

said that he would re-enforce this message in his meeting

with Councilor Dai in Beijing on September 7-8.

5. (S/NF) On Afghanistan, Levitte said that the GOF would

"take its share of the risks" on security. He asserted that

the French public accepts its military,s mission to bring

stability within two years to the areas where French troops

serve, and that "the public response to the elections has

been good." Levitte also said that, as security

responsibilities around Kabul are transferred to the Afghan

army, the GOF planned to reassign approximately 500 maritime

military positions to RC-East because of "the need for two

strong battalions there." The GOF plans no public

announcement of the shift because "President Sarkozy does not

want a national debate on the number of French troops" in

Afghanistan.

6. (S/NF) Levitte said that the GOF plans to provide 40

million Euros of civilian assistance funding tied to specific

projects in Kapisa and Surobi districts, and that it was

"difficult to get out of its tradition" on assistance. He

added that the GOF remains skeptical of the U.S. approach on

Provincial Reconstruction Teams, but that the GOF is

integrating military-civilian assistance in the provinces "in

its own way," which he did not explain. Levitte said that

France would provide gendarmerie advisors for the European

Gendarmerie Force, and that France and Italy had agreed to

move beyond their recent disagreements in this area, although

they have not integrated (and probably will not integrate)

their respective training programs. Finally, Levitte said

that President Sarkozy planned to visit Afghanistan in the

spring of 2010. (Comment: This is yet another deferral of

Sarkozy,s planned trip to the region, which was originally

planned for the spring of 2009, and which the GOF recently

told Embassy Paris would occur before the end of the year.)

7. (U) Ambassador Holbrooke reviewed and cleared this

message.

RIVKIN

FRENCH DIPLOMATIC ADVISOR LEVITTE HOSTS AMBASSADOR HOLBROOKE FOR AFPAK POLICY DISCUSSION

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