VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHWL #0911 3250302
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 210302Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3507
INFO RUEHXP/ALL NATO POST COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI IMMEDIATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L WELLINGTON 000911 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR D (FRITZ), EAP/FO, EUR/RPM, AND EAP/ANP 
NSC FOR VICTOR CHA 
SECDEF FOR OSD/ISD JESSICA POWERS 
PACOM FOR J01E/J2/J233/J5/SJFHQ 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/20/2016 
TAGS: PREL MARR MOPS PINS NZ
SUBJECT: DELIVERING ON NATO'S PROMISE TO AFGHANISTAN 
 
REF: SECSTATE 186256 
 
Classified By: DCM David Keegan, 
for reasons 1.4(b) and (d) 
 
¶1.  (C) Pol-Econ Couns shared reftel points with Michael 
Swain, Deputy Director of the Security Policy Division at the 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT).  Swain 
expressed sympathy with our frustrations over caveats (NZDF 
force personnel operate without caveats in Afghanistan) and 
said NZ remains appreciative of US support of NZDF 
operations. 
 
¶2.  (C) Swain also said that GNZ Ministers will over the 
coming months be considering options for a future NZDF role 
in Afghanistan, as the current deployment is only scheduled 
through September 2007.  GNZ takes its commitment seriously, 
but Ministers have made it clear that NZDF must be able to 
cover all contingencies in the region, where New Zealand and 
Australia are the first and last resort.  Troops are in 
Solomons and Timor and now also Tonga, and events in Fiji 
remain worrisome, said Swain. 
 
¶3.  (C) Comment:  Post will continue to monitor closely GNZ's 
review of its Afghanistan commitments and encourage a 
continued, meaningful NZDF presence.  Higher level 
expressions of encouragement from senior USG officials 
meeting with GNZ counterparts would also be useful here. 
 
McCormick