VZCZCXRO2461
RR RUEHRG
DE RUEHBR #0987 2031102
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 211102Z JUL 08
FM AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2142
INFO RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE 8292
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO 6426
RUEHSO/AMCONSUL SAO PAULO 2465
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRASILIA 000987 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/BSC, L, PM 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/10/2018 
TAGS: MOPS PREL SNAR BR
SUBJECT: BRAZIL: MOVING FORWARD WITH BRAZILIAN AIR FORCE ON 
SHOOTDOWN 
 
REF: A. SECSTATE 54183 
     ¶B. 07 BRASILIA 1868 
     ¶C. STATE 57700 
     ¶D. 07 STATE 17940 
 
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Lisa Kubiske for reason 1.5 (d) 
 
¶1. (C) On July 8, 2008, Defense Attache, Air Force Attache, 
and Poloff had an initial high-level meeting with Brazilian 
Air Force generals, Tenente Brigadeiro Paulo Roberto Rohrig 
de Britto (the number two general in the Brazilian Air 
Force), Brigaderio Egito, and Colonel Roque to discuss 
Brazil's Air Bridge Denial (ABD or Shootdown) program and 
ways to move forward to ensure this year's Presidential 
Determination process goes smoothly.  The primary purpose of 
the meeting was to open a line of communication and build 
confidence with General Britto, who is new to the issue, and 
to attempt to elicit suggestions from the Brazilians on how 
we could reach an accommodation that was satisfactory for 
both parties, but met Ref A objectives. 
 
¶2. (C) After Air Force Attache discussed the need to comply 
with US legal requirements that compel us to certify that 
Brazil has in place adequate safety policies and procedures, 
Defense Attache noted that the best way to build confidence 
and ensure transparency was to have a frank exchange of 
ideas.   Defense Attache noted that these are legal 
obligations and that it is in the best interest of both 
parties to find a way to move forward.  He further noted that 
there are ways to do this without being intrusive, by for 
example having an exchange of air traffic control personnel 
from both countries who could share knowledge and best 
practices of safety procedures in executing the ABD. 
 
¶3. (C) General Britto cut right to the point and noted that 
"the law is the law and that the Air Force has to comply with 
it," in reference to the fact that the Brazilian Air Force 
has legal obligations with regards to having in place safety 
procedures.  Subsequently, Britto asked his staff to provide 
us with copies of all legislation and procedures relating 
Brazil's ABD program.  Regarding an exchange of personnel, he 
did not fully commit to the idea, but nodded in the 
affirmative.  He also suggested we should all meet in the 
next week or so to have a more substantive discussion on the 
issue. 
 
¶4. (C) Comment: It was a positive initial meeting with 
General Britto and his staff.   That he did not outright 
refuse to consider an exchange of personnel is a positive 
indication that we may be able to continue exploring that 
possibility, which would provide us with important insight 
into Brazil's ABD program at all levels of the 
decision-execution chain.  Furthermore, before we had a 
chance to ask for them, General Britto volunteered to pass on 
to us all legal and policy materials related to Brazil's ABD 
program.  Our expectation is that this will include safety 
procedures that are in place, something which, although we 
have knowledge of through numerous visits and conversations 
with personnel who participate at various levels in the ABD 
program, we currently lack in a formal written manner. 
Finally, the General invited us to continue the dialogue in a 
second meeting with him in the next few weeks.  This will be 
a good opportunity to outline our specific concerns while 
simultaneously eliciting ideas from Britto that dovetail 
neatly with our objectives.   Although we think this was a 
good start, we should have a better sense whether we have 
found a way to move forward in a more positive and productive 
fashion than in years past after we meet with them again 
soon.   End Comment. 
SOBEL