This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ROME 004303 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/28/2012 
TAGS: PREL MARR MNUC MARR MNUC IT CBW ITPREL CBW
SUBJECT: ITALIANS RECEPTIVE TO MISSILE DEFENSE COOPERATION 
 
REF: STATE 128306 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: A/DCM THOMAS COUNTRYMAN FOR REASONS 1.5 (B)(D) 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY. IN MEETINGS WITH ITALIAN OFFICIALS ON JULY 
24, DOD DAS IAN BRZEZINSKI AND AN INTERAGENCY TEAM UPDATED 
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THE GOI ON THE US MISSILE DEFENSE (MD) PROGRAM, DISCUSSED THE 
NEW POST-SEPTEMBER 11 SECURITY ENVIRONMENT AND OUTQNED A 
FRAMEWORK FOR ENHANCED ALLIED PARTICIPATION AND MD 
ARCHITECTURE.  THE TEAM STRESSED THE IMPORTANCE OF 
IDENTIFYING IN THE PRAGUE SUMMIT COMMUNIQUE A NATO MD FOCAL 
POINT THAT CAN HELP MEMBERS AGREE ON AN ALLIANCE POSITION ON 
MD. GIVEN THE GOI'S COOPERATION WITH THE US ON OTHER PROJECTS 
AND ITALY'S RECEPTIVENESS TO PREVIOUS MD BRIEFINGS, 
BRZEZINSKI SUGGESTED THE GOI MIGHT BE ABLE TO CONVEY TO OTHER 
EUROPEAN ALLIES THE URGENT NEED TO MOVE THE MD PROGRAM 
FORWARD.  THE ITALIANS AGREED THAT NATO SHOULD EXTEND THE TMD 
STUDY NOW UNDERWAY TO CONSIDER BROADER MD OPTIONS, 
RECOMMENDED STRENGTHENING NONPROLIFERATION REGIMES AS PART OF 
THE MD CONCEPT AND PROPOSED THAT THE NATO-RUSSIA COUNCIL BE A 
FORUM FOR MD DISCUSSIONS WITH RUSSIA. ENGAGING WITH RUSSIA 
AND CHINA ON MD IS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT, ACCORDING TO THE 
ITALIANS, IN ORDER TO REASSURE THEM ABOUT THE DIRECTION AND 
OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAM.  THEY NOTED THAT MD WAS NOT LISTED 
IN A JULY LETTER FROM LORD ROBERTSON AS A SEPARATE AGENDA 
ITEM FOR THE PRAGUE SUMMIT, AN OVERSIGHT THEY SAID SHOULD BE 
CORRECTED TO REFLECT MD AS A NATO PRIORITY.  BRZEZINSKI 
ENCOURAGED THE ITALIANS TO CONTACT DEFENSE DEPARTMENT AND 
MISSILE DEFENSE AGENCY (MDA) REPRESENTATIVES FOR MORE 
INFORMATION OR TO DISCUSS OPPORTUNITIES FOR COOPERATION.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (C) THE ITALIANS NOTED THE USG'S SHIFT FROM THE DETERRENCE 
CONCEPT OF MUTUALLY ASSURED DESTRUCTION (MAD) AND THE 
EXPANSION OF THEATRE MISSILE DEFENSE (TMD) TO A MORE 
COMPREHENSIVE MISSILE DEFENSE APPROACH TO DETERENCE.  MD IS 
THE PREFERRED TERMINOLOGY NOW, THE TEAM EXPLAINED, BECAUSE OF 
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PAGE 03        ROME  04303  01 OF 02  050734Z 
THE NEED TO INTEGRATE CAPABILITIES TO PRODUCE A LAYERED 
PROGRAM DEALING WITH ALL RANGES OF BALLISTIC MISSILES. 
MEDIUM AND INTERMEDIATE RANGE MISSILES ARE CREATING NEW RISKS 
AND CHALLENGES, MDA'S DAVID KIEFER SAID.  THINK OF MD IN 
TERMS OF WHAT WE WANT TO PROTECT -- SUCH AS DEPLOYED FORCES 
-- RATHER THAN A PARTICULAR GEOGRAPHIC AREA, KIEFER 
SUGGESTED.  KIEFER REVIEWED VARIOUS OPTIONS UNDER 
CONSIDERATION, AND NOTED THAT THE PROGRAM IS DESIGNED AROUND 
SHORT, DISCRETE STEPS THAT BUILD CAPABILITY IN TWO YEAR 
INCREMENTS UP TO 2014.  THE USG IS PREPARED TO INVEST ABOUT 
$8 BILLION A YEAR IN THE PROGRAM, HE SAID. THE CHALLENGE IS 
TO MAKE FULL USE OF WHAT IS AVAILABLE AND INTEGRATE PROVEN 
TECHNOLOGY INTO NEW SYSTEMS AS ADVANCEMENTS ARE MADE.  ALLIES 
THAT DECIDE TO PARTNER WITH THE US ON AN INTEGRATED MD SYSTEM 
ARE BEING ASKED TO IDENTIFY COOPERATIVE INITIATIVES OVER THE 
NEXT SIX TO EIGHT MONTHS. 
 
¶3. (C) KIEFER NOTED THAT GROUND BASED, LONG RANGE DEFENSE IS 
THE MOST READILY AVAILABLE OPTION.  THE USG IS NOW LOOKING 
FOR FIXED SITES FOR RADARS AND INTERCEPTORS THAT WILL PROTECT 
EUROPEAN ALLIES AND PARTS OF THE US AND CANADA.  THIS COULD 
INCLUDE LARGE SEA PLATFORMS AS WELL AS LAND-BASED SITES THAT 
PROVIDE WIDE COVERAGE. OSD'S PEPPINO DEBAISO POINTED OUT THAT 
ADVANCED RADAR TECHNOLOGY MEANS THAT A SMALL NUMBER OF SITES, 
RADARS AND INTERCEPTORS CAN PROVIDE EXTENSIVE COVERAGE FOR 
THE TYPES OF MISSILES BEING DEVELOPED OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS. 
HOW COMMAND AND CONTROL WILL WORK WITHIN THE NATO STRUCTURE 
IS UNDER DISCUSSION AT NATO AT THE SAME TIME AS OPERATIONAL 
CONCEPTS FOR A TEST BED ARE BEING DEVELOPED. THE US WOULD 
LIKE AN EXISTING NATO WORKING GROUP TO TAKE ON THE SUBJECT SO 
THAT EVERYTHING IS READY SIMULTANEOUSLY BY 2004. 
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PAGE 04        ROME  04303  01 OF 02  050734Z 
 
¶4. (C) NOW THAT THE ABM TREATY CONSTRAINTS HAVE BEEN REMOVED, 
THE USG HAS MORE FREEDOM TO SHARE INFORMATION AND COOPERATE 
WITH ALLIES AND INDUSTRY TO DESIGN THE SYSTEM, KIEFER SAID. 
ALLIES CAN LEVERAGE THE $40 BILLION INVESTMENT THE USG MADE 
BEFORE THE ABM TREATY WAS TERMINATED AND JOIN IN AFTER MUCH 
HAS ALREADY BEEN ACCOMPLISHED.  THE OBJECTIVE NOW IS TO 
ESTABLISH AN INTERNATIONAL DESIGN TEAM, WITH DIFFERENT LEVELS 
OF PARTICIPATION, HE EXPLAINED.  COUNTRIES SUCH AS ITALY CAN 
COME IN AT LEVEL I, WHERE THEY CAN INFLUENCE THE DIRECTION OF 
THE PROGRAM, OR LEVEL II, WHERE THEY CAN WORK ON ONE OR MORE 
DISTINCT ELEMENTS OF THE PROGRAM BUT STILL BE INVOLVED IN 
DETERMINING HOW THAT PIECE FITS INTO THE BIG PICTURE.  LEVEL 
III WILL INVOLVE WORK ON COMPONENTS ONLY AND LEVEL IV WILL 
REQUIRE MINIMAL INVOLVEMENT BEYOND STAYING INFORMED OF THE 
PROGRAM'S DEVELOPMENT.  MINISTER FRANCESCO TRUPIANO, 
DIPLOMATIC ADVISOR TO DEFENSE MINISTER MARTINO, POINTED OUT 
THAT WORKING BILATERALLY -- GOVERNMENT TO GOVERNMENT AND ALSO 
INDUSTRY TO INDUSTRY -- WOULD REQUIRE MORE WILLINGNESS BY THE 
USG TO SHARE TECHNOLOGY.  MFA COORDINATOR FOR SECURITY 
AFFAIRS CARLO TREZZA SAID THAT EXISTING INVOLVEMENT BY SOME 
ITALIAN COMPANIES IN MD DEVELOPMENT SHOULD BE EXPANDED, BUT 
ENCOURAGED THE USG TO EXPLAIN BETTER THE NEW "BEST VALUE" 
APPROACH TO INDUSTRIAL COOPERATION NOW BEING PURSUED. 
 
                       CONFIDENTIAL 
 
                           CONFIDENTIAL     PTQ7962 
 
PAGE 01        ROME  04303  02 OF 02  050734Z 
ACTION EUR-00 
 
INFO  LOG-00   NP-00    AID-00   ACQ-00   CIAE-00  DOEE-00  SRPP-00 
      DS-00    EB-00    VC-00    H-01     TEDE-00  INR-00   IO-00 
      L-00     VCE-00   AC-01    NRC-01   NSAE-00  NSCE-00  OES-01 
      OIC-02   OMB-01   PA-00    PM-00    PRS-00   ACE-00   P-00 
      SCT-00   SP-00    IRM-00   SS-00    TRSE-00  T-00     USIE-00 
      EPAE-00  PMB-00   DSCC-00  PRM-00   DRL-02   G-00     NFAT-00 
      SAS-00     /009W 
                  ------------------E2AE70  050735Z /38 
R 050713Z SEP 02 
FM AMEMBASSY ROME 
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 5699 
INFO NATO EU COLLECTIVE 
SECDEF WASHDC 
JOINT STAFF WASHDC 
 
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 02 OF 02 ROME 004303 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/28/2012 
TAGS: PREL MARR MNUC MARR MNUC IT CBW ITPREL CBW
SUBJECT: ITALIANS RECEPTIVE TO MISSILE DEFENSE COOPERATION 
 
¶5. (C) DEBIASO STRESSED THAT MD SHOULD BE INTEGRATED INTO 
ALLIED DEFENSE PLANNING AS A CORE CAPABILITY.  THE ITALIANS 
AGREED THAT MD FALLS UNDER NATO CAPABILITIES BUT ADMITTED 
THAT FINDING RESOURCES IN AN ALREADY TIGHT BUDGET ENVIRONMENT 
WOULD BE DIFFICULT.  FOCUSING TOO MUCH ON MD PROJECTS MIGHT 
DISTRACT ALLIES FROM ACCOMPLISHING MORE IMMEDIATE 
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PAGE 02        ROME  04303  02 OF 02  050734Z 
CAPABILITIES GOALS, MFA DIRECTOR GENERAL GIANCARLO ARAGONA 
WARNED.  NEVERTHELESS, THE ITALIAN MINISTRY OF DEFENSE IS 
ASKING FOR FUNDING FOR MD AS WELL AS OTHER DCI PRIORITIES, 
BALKANS OPERATIONS AND SUPPORT FOR OPERATION ENDURING 
FREEDOM, ACCORDING TO TRUPIANO. 
 
¶6. (C) IDENTIFYING IN THE PRAGUE SUMMIT COMMUNIQUE A FOCAL 
POINT WITHIN NATO FOR MD ISSUES WOULD TAKE SOME GROUNDWORK 
OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, ACCORDING TO TREZZA.  NATO DEFENSE 
MINISTERS HAVE ADDRESSED MD, TREZZA SAID, BUT THE ISSUE HAS 
BOTH A MILITARY AND A POLITICAL FOCUS, INCLUDING DISCUSSION 
OF TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER, DUAL USE AND EXPORT CONTROLS.  TREZZA 
NOTED THAT NATO NEEDS TO CONDUCT NEW THREAT ASSESSMENTS, AND 
ADDED THAT ITALY'S PRIMARY CONCERN IS THREATS FROM THE MED 
REGION SUCH AS LIBYA.  THE GOI SHARES THE USG'S THREAT 
ASSESSMENT OF LIBYA, HE SAID, AND IS CONCERNED ABOUT LIBYA'S 
POTENTIAL COOPERATION WITH OTHER PROLIFERATORS SUCH AS IRAN 
AND NORTH KOREA.  NOTING THE POSITIVE EFFECT OF SHARING 
THREAT ASSESSMENT INFORMATION, ARAGONA OFFERED TO ARRANGE A 
BRIEFING FOR US AND NATO OFFICIALS ON ITALY'S THREAT 
ASSESSMENTS OF COUNTRIES OF CONCERN. 
 
¶7. (C) BRZEZINSKI AGREED THAT THE NAC-D'S RECOGNITION OF THE 
THREAT POSED BY WMD TO POPULATIONS IS AN IMPORTANT STARTING 
POINT.  THE NEXT STEPS ARE TO IDENTIFY A GROUP AT NATO TO 
DRIVE THE MD DISCUSSION FORWARD, EXTEND THE TMD STUDY TO 
INCLUDE POPULATION AREAS, AND INCLUDE MD AS A NATO CAPABILITY 
INITIATIVE, HE SAID.  ARAGONA NOTED THAT A CLEAR NATO 
STATEMENT RECOGNIZING THE NEED FOR MD WOULD BE USEFUL, AND 
SUGGESTED WORKING TOWARD SUCH A STATEMENT AT THE WARSAW 
INFORMAL DEFENSE MINISTER'S MEETING.   TRUPIANO URGED THE USG 
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PAGE 03        ROME  04303  02 OF 02  050734Z 
TO ENGAGE RUSSIA, CHINA AND, WHERE POSSIBLE, NORTH KOREA IN 
MD AND NON-PROLIFERATION DISCUSSIONS SO THAT PROGRESS ON MD 
WILL NOT HAVE A DESTABILIZING EFFECT, PARTICULARLY ON 
NONPROLIFERATION EFFORTS. IF THE US WANTS A SOLID NATO 
POSITION AND WIDE SUPPORT FOR MD, IT IS VITAL TO KEEP RUSSIAN 
CONCERNS IN MIND, ACCORDING TO ARAGONA.  BRZEZINSKI 
ACKNOWLEDGED THAT RELATIONS WITH CHINA HAVE BEEN IMPROVING 
BUT NOTED CONTINUING CONCERNS ABOUT CHINA'S RELATIONSHIPS 
WITH PROLIFERATORS. ENGAGEMENT WITH RUSSIA IS PROGRESSING IN 
MODEST STEPS, HE SAID.  BRZEZINSKI CAUTIONED, HOWEVER, THAT 
IT WAS NOT YET TIME TO BRING RUSSIA IN TO ALL ASPECTS OF NATO 
MD CONSIDERATIONS. 
 
¶8. (U) DAS BRZEZINSKI HAS CLEARED THIS CABLE. 
SKODON 
 
                       CONFIDENTIAL 
 
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 2002ROME04303 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL