VZCZCXRO0982
RR RUEHLA
DE RUEHMD #1261/01 1391446
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 191446Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY MADRID
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9752
INFO RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL 0041
RUEHLA/AMCONSUL BARCELONA 1888
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 1416

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MADRID 001261 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV AF SP
SUBJECT: SPANISH GOVERNMENT DRUMS UP SUPPORT FOR 
AFGHANISTAN MISSION 
 
REF: KABUL 2214 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY.  Citing barely 50 percent public approval for 
Spanish participation in ISAF, the GOS took the offensive on 
May 18, holding a high visibility public discussion of its 
efforts in Afghanistan.  GOS speakers, including the Defense 
and Foreign Ministers, hammered on several key 
justifications: the UN and NATO mandates for ISAF, the 
support of the Afghan people for an international presence, 
the humanitarian needs of the Afghan people, and the threats 
that Afghan narcotics and/or a failed Afghan state pose to 
the international community.  They also spoke frequently 
about the co-dependent relationship between security and 
reconstruction, and the need to include both troops and 
civilians in the reconstruction.  The Afghan Defense Minister 
emphasized that his country wants to maintain long-term 
international participation in security and reconstruction 
efforts until his government and security forces are strong 
enough to stand alone. He also noted the need to eliminate 
caveats and to allow field commanders to move troops quickly. 
 END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (U) On May 18, the GOS sponsored a made-for-TV seminar 
titled Spain in Afghanistan.  Participants included Spanish 
and Afghan Defense Ministers, the Spanish Foreign Minister, 
the Afghan Deputy FM, Afghan Minister of Education, Afghan 
and Spanish parliamentarians, representatives of 
international organizations, and academics.  A VIP dinner the 
night before featured NATO Supreme Commander General Jones. 
Foreign Minister Moratinos and Defense Minister Alonso 
published an opinion piece titled "The Challenge of Security 
and Development" explaining Spain's presence in Afghanistan 
in the conservative daily ABC on May 18.  In the article, 
they said that Spain is working in Afghanistan because of 
both moral obligation and its own security concerns. 
 
¶3. (U) In his opening remarks, Alonso emphasized that 
development and reconstruction projects are impossible at 
this point without troops to provide security.  He reviewed 
Spain's participation in Afghanistan, beginning with Spain's 
troop contribution to Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001 
(under the previous government) and continuing through the 
shift to the UN-mandated, NATO-operated ISAF.  He discussed 
Spanish support for Afghanistan's elections, leadership of a 
Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) and Forward Support base 
(FSB), and financial contributions, most recently its London 
Conference pledge of 150 million euros over five years. 
Alonso said that the GOS has been publicly open and honest 
about why and how Spain is involved in Afghanistan, noting 
that the Parliament has voted on the mission seven times, 
most recently last week when it approved a 25 percent 
increase in force size. 
 
¶4. (U) Foreign Minister Moratinos stressed the wide 
international and Afghan support for the ISAF mission.  He 
talked about the reasons for deploying linked civilian and 
military teams that reinforce each other's work.  He said 
that while Spain's PRT has been functioning for less than a 
year, the contractors, soldiers, and Spanish Agency for 
International Cooperation (AECI) specialists are already 
making progress on their health, water, and road projects. 
Moratinos noted that Afghani President Karzai applauded 
Spain's efforts when he recently visited the PRT.  He also 
said that Karzai told him that the Afghani people support and 
appreciate international efforts like Spain's. 
 
¶5. (U) Afghani Defense Minister Raheem Wardak reiterated many 
of Alonso and Moratinos' points about the international and 
domestic Afghani legitimacy of the ISAF and OEF missions.  He 
thanked Spain for its military and financial contributions, 
and honored the Spanish troops who died in two 
Afghanistan-related aircraft crashes.  Wardak also talked 
about the success story that the Afghan National Army (ANA) 
has become as an able fighting force under elected civilian 
control. He said that the Afghan National Police (ANP) is 
beginning to reform based on the model of the ANA.  Wardak 
said that the ANA and ANP are already developing local 
intelligence that they share with ISAF, and noted the 
importance of putting international "mentors" with ANA units. 
 He also mentioned caveats and national restrictions, asking 
explicitly that countries like Spain give their field 
commanders the ability to move troops where they are most 
needed.  Later in the seminar, he made the strong point that 
the Afghan people are very experienced with occupying forces, 
from Alexander the Great to the Soviet Union, and they do 
not/not consider ISAF to be an occupying force. 
 
¶6. (U) The final headliner, Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister 
Zalmay Aziz, called ISAF's work in Afghanistan a long-term 
 
MADRID 00001261  002 OF 002 
 
 
project.  He pointed out that there are already some 
successes, like a parliament that has a higher percentage of 
women members (28%) than the British House of Commons or the 
US Congress. He compared this to the situation just a few 
years ago when Afghan women were under virtual house arrest. 
Aziz said that Afghanistan has signed strategic partnerships 
with countries like the US, and called on Spain to support 
its bid for a special partnership with NATO. 
 
¶7. (U) Other GOS participants expanded on the previously 
presented themes.  MFA Political Director Rafael Dezcallar 
pointed out that Spain has felt the effects of both illegal 
drugs and radical terrorism. He said that in the absence of 
international support, Afghanistan is a source of both.  He 
reported that President Karzai had explicitly asked FM 
Moratinos to keep Spain focused on western Afghanistan, even 
as other ISAF efforts move towards the south and east. 
Dezcallar also set Spain's contributions to Afghanistan in 
the wider context of Spain's efforts to reach out to the 
middle east via the Alliance of Civilizations as well the 
GOS's recent focus on Asia, which traditionally has not been 
a major Spanish interest. 
 
¶8. (U) MOD Policy Director Francisco Torrente emphasized that 
Spain's presence in Afghanistan started under the previous 
administration.  Chief of Defense General Felix Sanz said 
that ISAF is the most important NATO mission and can't be 
allowed to fail, but he also mentioned the extent to which 
the Afghanistan mission has shown weaknesses in NATO's force 
generation process.  Sanz said that Spain's troops have been 
tested and have responded well.  He acknowledged that Spain 
still has a caveat (preventing the use of lethal force 
against escaping prisoners) and said that General Jones had 
addressed the need to get rid of caveats in his keynote the 
night before. 
 
¶9. (U) AECI Secretary General (U/S equivalent) Juan Pablo de 
Laiglesia told conference participants that his agency would 
disburse 50 million euros of Spain's 150 million euro London 
Conference pledge.  AECI will spend 10 million euros during 
each of the next five years, starting with 2006.  He said 
that AECI's priority sectors for 2006 moneys were: (1) clean 
drinking water; (2) health-related projects; and (3) road 
building.  Among these projects, the road projects would 
include constructing the 57 kilometer portion of the Afghan 
Ring Road that rests inside Bagdhis Province and a major 
bridge at kilometer 0 of that Ring Road.  Turning to spending 
priorities for the 40 million euros AECI will disburse in 
annual allotments of 10 million euros in 2007 - 2010, de 
Laiglesia said Spain planned to focus on:  (1) gender 
programs; (2) institutional Development; and (3) rural 
development.  De Laiglesia closed by noting that all these 
programs are designed to fulfill the commitments Spain 
undertook in London in late January.  He said that it was 
agreed to in London that foreign assistance should be 
predictable, should provide institutional support, and should 
increase local human capacity.  AECI's 2006-10 programs would 
address all three of these areas. 
 
¶10. (U) Spanish NATO PermRep Pablo Benavides complained that 
no Spanish general has served in the ISAF headquarters staff 
even though Spain is one of the top troop contributor.  He 
called on the US to remain a strong participant in both NATO 
and Afghanistan, and said that Spain took responsibility for 
its PRT in part because the US has a PRT in the same zone. 
Benavides discouraged comparisons of OEF and ISAF, saying 
that they complement and support each other.  Benavides made 
a point of stressing the importance of the US role/presence 
in Afghanistan. 
 
--  COMMENT -- 
 
¶11. (SBU) The GOS clearly decided to put on a strong public 
performance to reiterate the reasons for Spaniards to accept 
the country's involvement in Afghanistan.  At least among the 
chattering classes, this should focus attention and thus make 
the conference worthwhile.  With both major parties 
supporting the troop presence (though the opposition Popular 
Party has questioned deployment decisions in an effort to 
make political points against the government)  and a 150 
million euro, five-year financial commitment, Spain seeking 
to make clear it wants to remain a player in Afghanistan for 
the foreseeable future.  Embassy is following up with the 
Spanish MOD on the caveat issue.  On reconstruction,  we have 
invited Spanish Ambassador to Afghanistan Turpin, also 
present at the conference, for a meeting with our Charge next 
week to discuss Ring Road funding, per Ambassador Neumann,s 
request in ref A. 
MANZANARES