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C O N F I D E N T I A L CANBERRA 001738 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
NOFORN 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/10/2017 
TAGS: AF AS CH IR IZ NZ PREL
SUBJECT: MEETING THE PRIME MINISTER 
 
Classified By: DEPUTY CHIEF OF MISSION DANIEL CLUNE.  REASON: 1.4 (D) 
 
¶1.  (C/NF)  Summary:  At a December 8 meeting with Prime 
Minister Kevin Rudd, the Ambassador offered his 
congratulations and noted the positive tone set by the 
recent meetings of Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns 
with the Foreign and Defense Ministers and the Deputy Prime 
Minister.  The Ambassador said that these meetings were a 
good start to the consultations on the way forward on Iraq. 
The Ambassador said he hoped that Australia, while not 
selling  uranium to India, would be able to join other 
members of the  Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) in supporting 
the cooperative  arrangement with New Delhi.  Referring to 
the Prime  Minister's recent signing of the Kyoto Accord, the 
 Ambassador said that this should not diminish post-Kyoto 
cooperation on climate change. 
 
¶2.  (C/NF)  Rudd told the Ambassador that no relationship  is 
more important to Australia than its alliance with the 
United States.  He said that the withdrawal of combat 
elements from Iraq will not be the end of be Australia's 
commitment to Iraq.  He intends to visit  Iraq and 
Afghanistan soon to meet  with those countries' leaders.  His 
Defense Minister Joel Fitzgibbon will deliver a "robust" 
message at the Edinburgh Afghanistan conference  - 
underlining Australia's strong, long-term commitment in 
Afghanistan.   Rudd noted that a bilateral meeting  between 
Fitzgibbon and Secretary Gates on the margins of the 
conference would be very useful.  On the NSG  question, Rudd 
said he understood the Administration's goal  and promised to 
get back to us, "earlier rather than  later."  Rudd said that 
he believes India and China should  be "brought into the 
game" on climate change and stressed that it will not be his 
intention "to give the U.S. grief" over  the climate issue. 
Referring to his previous career as a diplomat  in Beijing, 
Rudd said that he will not be "starry-eyed" in  his dealings 
with China.  Turning to Iran, Rudd said he wants to work 
closely with the United States and  described Ahmedinejad as 
"loathesome."  End summary. 
 
U.S. RELATIONSHIP IS "CORE BUSINESS" 
 
¶3.  (C/NF)  In response to a request by the Ambassador for a 
meeting shortly after the recent election, Prime Minister 
Rudd invited him to his home in Brisbane on December 8.  A 
casually-dressed Rudd greeted the Ambassador (accompanied by 
DCM and Polcouns) and after introducing his two teenage 
sons, conducted the meeting in his family room.  His 
personal assistant took notes.  After accepting the 
Ambassador's congratulations on his victory, Rudd also 
expressed appreciation for the President's congratulatory 
telephone call after the election.  Noting that the 
Ambassador was the first foreign envoy he met with (adding 
that New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark was flying to 
Brisbane the next day to meet with him), Rudd emphasized that 
 there was no relationship more important to Australia than 
its alliance with the United States.  The U.S. relationship, 
he explained, was "core business" to him. 
 
RUDD TO VISIT IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN 
 
¶4.  (C)  Referring to the visit of Under Secretary Nicholas 
Burns earlier in the week, the Ambassador described his 
QBurns earlier in the week, the Ambassador described his 
Meetings with Rudd's Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign  Minister 
and Defense Minister as a good start to the  consultative 
process for Australia's withdrawal of combat troops in Iraq. 
Rudd assured that the withdrawal will not  mean the end of 
Australia's commitment to Iraq.  "We are  leaving other 
(security, training, air and naval) stuff  there," Rudd 
noted.  He wants the withdrawal to cause "minimum grief" to 
the U.S. and is flexible on the timing of the "mid-year" 
withdrawal.  He agreed that the optics of how the  transition 
is managed is important and that "we will not  pull a 
Zapatero on you."  In fact, Rudd said, he plans to  visit 
both Iraq and Afghanistan soon  to meet with the leaders of 
those countries.  His National Security Cabinet will conduct 
an extensive review on Iraq in the coming months and explore 
other ways of providing assistance to the country. 
 
STRONG RESOLVE ON AFGHANISTAN 
 
¶5.  (C)  The Prime Minister said that he is giving "robust" 
guidance to Defense Minister Fitzgibbon on the stance he 
 
should take in Edinburgh at the International Security 
Assistance Force (ISAF) Regional Command South Ministerial 
conference on Afghanistan on December 13.  According to the 
PM, Fitzgibbon will strongly state that "Australia is in 
Afghanistan for the long haul" and that "We,re mindful of 
how difficult it is but are rock solid."  He thought such 
comments  would be helpful in light of the reticence of 
certain European  countries to continue their commitments to 
Afghanistan. Rudd said that it would be useful for Fitzgibbon 
to meet bilaterally with Secretary Gates in Edinburgh. 
INDIA AND THE NUCLEAR SUPPLIERS GROUP 
 
¶6.  (C)  The Ambassador said he hoped that Australia, while 
not selling uranium to India, would be able to join other 
members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) in supporting 
the cooperative arrangement with New Delhi. Rudd said he 
"was very mindful of the complexities" and understood full 
well the importance that the Administration attached to the 
arrangement.  He promised to get back to us, "seeking to 
bring clarity earlier rather than later." 
BALI CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE 
 
¶7.  (C)  The Prime Minister's signing of the Kyoto Accord 
has not diminished the scope for U.S.-Australia cooperation 
in the post-Kyoto period, the Ambassador stated.  The 
Ambassador noted that Council on Environmental Quality 
Chairman James Connaughton and Under Secretary of State for 
Democracy and Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky, among  others, 
were attending the UN  Framework Convention on Climate Change 
in Bali.  He also  noted that he had been in touch earlier in 
the week with  Environment Minister Peter Garrett and 
Minister for Climate Change and  Water Penny Wong to discuss 
the  conference.  Rudd, who was scheduled to leave for 
Indonesia on December 11, said that he realized that the Bali 
 meeting was to elaborate a process and not to be 
prescriptive.  He emphasized that the Australian approach 
would be "rational and cautious" and he had "no intention  to 
give the U.S. public grief over the issue."  Rudd said  that 
India and China must be "brought into the game" on 
emissions.  Rudd had spoken with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao 
on the telephone recently and that Wen had seen "less 
defensive" on the issue when Rudd stressed the importance  of 
China's role.  Rudd said it was important to bridge the gap 
between developed and  undeveloped countries. 
 
CHINA 
 
¶8.  (C)  Rudd observed that, although a number of people have 
concluded that because he  speaks Chinese and served as a 
diplomat in China he will  be a soft touch with Beijing, he 
is "not starry-eyed towards China."   Describing himself as a 
realist, Rudd recognized the need  to make China a 
responsible international stakeholder.   Rudd said that he 
does not underestimate the complexity of the Chinese 
situation and wants to "get inside the heads of their senior 
leadership on their long-term plans".  He will devote a 
considerable amount of time  thinking through the 
government,s strategy for dealing with China over the next 
quarter century, Rudd said.  He added that he wanted a side 
dialogue with the United States on "what would be useful in 
the future". 
 
IRAN 
 
¶9.  (C)  Rudd inquired about the recent NIE estimate.   The 
Q9.  (C)  Rudd inquired about the recent NIE estimate.   The 
Ambassador explained that the cessation of Iran,s nuclear 
weapons program doesn,t mean that its continuing enrichment 
and ballistic missile programs do not pose a threat.  The 
Prime Minister said that the U.S. and Australia must keep  in 
close contact and share the best intelligence possible on 
Iranian capailities and intentions.  Rudd described 
Ahmedinejad as a "loathsome individual on every level" and 
said that the Iranian  President's anti-semitism "turns my 
stomach."  He noted that he knew enough about the 
complexities of Iranian politics to understand that it was 
critical to ensure that any action we take must serve to 
weaken Ahmedinejad, rather than entrench him. 
 
 AUSMIN 
 
¶10.  After the Ambassador briefed him on the possible dates, 
Rudd said that he wanted to attend the meetings himself and 
that the sooner they were held the better.  Canberra would be 
 
a more convenient venue than Perth, he said, and suggested 
that the meetings be held during a Parliamentary sitting 
week. 
 
ANNAPOLIS AND PARIS DONORS CONFERENCE 
 
¶11.   Discussion reported septel. 
 
COMMENT 
 
¶12.  (C)  The Prime Minister took pains to emphasize the 
importance of Australia's alliance with the U.S. and his 
desire to carefully manage the relationship, especially in 
areas where to two governments' policies  diverge.  His 
hesitancy to provide immediate replies on the the Paris 
Conference and the India/NSG case is likely the result of 
DFAT working to come  up to speed on briefing the PM as his 
new government settles in.  The welcoming and informal nature 
of the  meeting suggests that the new Prime Minister wants to 
maintain an umimpeded and open dialogue with Washington.