VZCZCXRO6116
RR RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHVI #2325/01 2431521
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 311521Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY VIENNA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8488
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 VIENNA 002325 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/30/2022 
TAGS: PARM PREL KNNP AU
SUBJECT: AUSTRIA MISSILE DEFENSE: FURTHER EMBASSY ACTION 
 
REF: VIENNA 2209 
 
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Scott Kilner. Reason: 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (C) Embassy discussions with MOD, MFA, and diplomatic 
contacts suggest some governmental disagreement on handling 
the missile defense (MD) issue as well as a degree of 
disarray within the Defense Ministry.  For domestic political 
reasons, the MD issue could continue to rumble in Austria. 
An Embassy press backgrounder revealed a striking lack of 
knowledge of the facts of the proposed deployment in at least 
the print media, but also an openness to further dialogue. 
The influential daily "Die Presse" has opined that Defense 
Minister Darabos' and similar comments are unhelpful to 
Austria in the EU.  On August 30, "Die Presse" published Amb. 
McCaw's op-ed article on U.S. MD policy (English translation 
sent to EUR/AGS).  End Summary. 
 
Defense Ministry: Disarray and Discomfort 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (C) DCM, accompanied by Econ/Pol Couns, met on the morning 
of August 30 with the Diplomatic Advisor to the Defense 
Minister, Juergen Meindl.  At Meindl's request, the meeting 
was re-located from the Defense Ministry to the Chancery. 
Meindl's apparent purpose in the meeting was to convey 
something of the Ministerial environment.  On substance, he 
stuck closely to the points he had made in his Aug. 24 phone 
conversation with the DCM.  In the office call, however, he 
repeatedly asked the U.S. to bear in mind that Darabos was a 
politician and the extremely tense situation within the Grand 
Coalition (he reported personally finding the situation 
extremely difficult).  Meindl also revealed that the CHOD 
staff had not provided a report to the Minister on their 
April consultations with DASD Fata.  Meindl, noting that the 
proposed European MD deployment would have a real impact on 
Austrian security and was an issue of public concern, 
intimated that further comments from the Minister were 
possible. 
 
¶3. (C) DCM acknowledged the legitimacy of the debate, but 
expressed concern about the tenor of the Minister's and 
others' comments and asked that future statements be more 
reasonable.  In response to Meindl's comments that neither he 
nor the Minister was a technical expert, Econ/Pol Couns 
pointed out that a basic understanding of the system and the 
technical framework in which it was deployed were essential 
to a reasonable debate about the issue. 
 
Czechs Pissed; See Domestic Agenda 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (C) Over lunch later Aug. 30, Czech DCM Cistecky confirmed 
to Econ/Pol Couns Prague's unhappiness with Darabos.  Foreign 
Minister Schwarzenberg, whose criticisms of Darabos have been 
widely covered in Austria, is personally following the issue 
through SMS messages, according to Cistecky.  Schwarzenberg 
is particularly upset that Darabos' comments imply a Russian 
"droit de regarde" over Czech/eastern European security 
policy.  Cistecky maintained that the reasons for Darabos' 
comments were exclusively domestic -- the need to score 
points for the SPOe and a desire to put Foreign Minister 
Plassnik in difficulty.  An anti-MD stance also would benefit 
Darabos (a former party General Secretary) within the party 
and in the European Social Democratic movement which, 
Cistecky said, was coordinating a  campaign against MD. 
 
Media Openings 
-------------- 
 
¶5. (C) At a backgrounder for press led by the DCM, with 
support from the DATT and Econ/Pol Couns, media 
representatives acknowledged deep suspicion about U.S motives 
for the deployment, but were also open to further dialogue 
and appeared to be receptive to both the technical 
information and strategic arguments offered for the 
deployment.  Some claims, for example that the deployment 
could not defend against attacks in Europe, revealed deep 
ignorance about the planned deployment.  Others, focused on 
deterrence, suggested an ongoing Cold War frame of reference 
among the journalists.  There were no stories drawing from 
the backgrounder in the Aug. 31 press.  However, a commentary 
in the centrist "Die Presse" wrote that Darabos' statements 
served Moscow's interests and damaged Austrian interests, 
especially in the EU. 
 
Cabinet Disarray 
---------------- 
 
VIENNA 00002325  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶6. (C) In her initial public comments, FonMin Plassnik also 
referred to Darabos' remarks as eliciting enthusiastic 
comment from Moscow.  MFA PolDir Mayr-Harting told DCM Aug. 
31 that Plassnik had made a similar point during a cabinet 
discussion of the issue earlier in the week.  Mayr-Harting 
quoted the FM as stating that "Austria cannot be a 
branch-office for Russia."  Chancellor Gusenbauer has 
defended, albeit in softer language, Darabos' critique of the 
deployment and rejected outside criticism.  Though Plassnik 
can hardly be considered a supporter of the deployment, the 
fact that she and Darabos are unable even to agree on how to 
handle the matter is unsurprising given the cabinet's 
internal stresses.  Unless Gusenbauer intervenes to stop the 
squabble, it could well continue. 
Kilner