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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PARTO 091701 
 
(Note: the unique message record number (MRN) has been modified. The original MRN was 08 PARTO000001, which duplicates a previous PARTO telegram number.) 
 
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E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/08/2018 
TAGS: OVIP RICE CONDOLEEZZA PREL PGOV ECON EI KV RU
EUN, GG, PO 
SUBJECT: SECRETARY RICE'S SEPTEMBER 5, 2008 BREAKFAST WITH 
PORTUGUESE FM AMADO 
 
¶1.  (U) Classified by Paul Wohlers, Deputy Executive 
Secretary, S/ES, Department of State.  Reason 1.4 (d) 
 
¶2.  (U)  September 5, 2008, 0900, Lisbon, Portugal. 
 
¶3.  (U) Participants: 
 
U.S. 
The Secretary 
Ambassador Thomas Stephenson 
Assistant Secretary Dan Fried 
Legal Advisor John Bellinger 
Lt Gen William Fraser 
Gary Applegarth, notetaker 
 
Portugal 
Foreign Minister Luis Amado 
MFA Political Director Nuno Brito 
MFA Chief of Cabinet Francisco Menezes 
MFA Political Advisor Paulo Lourenco 
MFA Press Advisor Paula Mascarenhas 
 
¶4.  (C/NF) SUMMARY:  In a 70-minute breakfast meeting 
Friday, September 5, the Secretary and Foreign Minister 
Amado continued discussion of a number of topics from the 
Secretary's meeting with the Prime Minister the previous 
night (septel) and from an informal dinner at the Residence 
that evening that included the Secretary, the Foreign 
Minister, Assistant Secretary Fried, and the Ambassador. 
The Secretary and Minister agreed that the U.S. and EU must 
remain unified to deal effectively with Russia, and FM 
Amado suggested EU membership for Ukraine could be 
an effective step, easier than NATO membership, to 
forestall any future Russian designs on that country. 
FM Amado confirmed that Portugal would recognize 
Kosovo soon, and the Secretary thanked him for 
Portugal's support in Afghanistan.  Regarding the 
Secretary's impending visit to Libya, FM Amado 
stressed Qadhafi's role in countering terror in the 
Maghreb.  The Secretary said modest progress is being made 
in Middle East talks, and Amado pointed to Turkey as a test 
case for dealing with the nuances of the Islamic world. 
The Secretary conceded the U.S. needed help with Guantanamo, 
but FM Amado said that accepting detainees would be 
difficult.  FM Amado said he was confident Ireland would not 
forever stand in the way of EU adoption of the Lisbon 
Treaty.  The Secretary said the United States may not be doing a 
good job publicizing AFRICOM's development mission. 
Finally, the Secretary and Ambassador Stephenson 
complimented FM Amado's strategic insights into the 
workings of the EU but cautioned him not to 
anticipate significant changes in U.S. foreign policy based 
on upcoming U.S. elections.  End Summary. 
 
Russia: Unity is Key 
-------------------- 
¶5.  (C/NF) Following a partly social dinner the evening 
before, the Secretary held a 70-minute breakfast meeting 
Friday, September 5, with Foreign Minister Luis Amado.  The 
Secretary began the meeting with comments on Russia and 
Georgia, emphasizing that the United States and EU had significant 
leverage and that the key was to stay together, be firm, and show 
no gaps in the relationship that Russia could exploit.  The 
Secretary and Minister Amado agreed there was no need to 
push for sanctions at this time, but rather the United States 
and EU should stand firm and allow Russia to continue its course 
of self-destruction - Russia's recognition of South Ossetia 
and Abkhazia had done much to diminish its position as the 
provoked party.  Amado commented that Russia's recognition 
had "blown out of the water" any continued argument by 
Russia against the recognition of Kosovo. 
 
¶6.  (C/NF) Discussion also touched on prudent next steps to 
counter any similar Russian designs on Ukraine, and 
Minister Amado said he thought EU membership would be an 
effective move, and would be quicker, easier, and less 
provocative to Russia than moving to admit Ukraine into 
NATO. 
 
Guantanamo - U.S. Needs Help 
---------------------------- 
¶7.  (C/NF) The Secretary reiterated U.S. interest in securing 
EU help in closing Guantanamo, noting FM Amado?s past interest 
in this issue.  Legal Advisor Bellinger observed that Europeans 
now seemed to understand that the existing criminal and 
international humanitarian law frameworks were not well-suited 
to deal with the threat of international terrorism.  Bellinger 
emphasized the particular difficulties the United States has 
faced in resettling Uighur detainees and the challenge of 
dealing with a large number of Yemenis; he asked for EU 
assistance in resettlements, either in Europe or in other 
countries.  Ambassador Stephenson added 
that Europe has focused only on the symbolism of Guantanamo 
as representative of all that is wrong about our conduct of 
the War on Terror and has ignored the necessity of a facility 
somewhere to hold dangerous terrorists.  FM Amado responded 
that Portugal wanted to help but that the issues had to be 
dealt with on a multilateral basis because of bilateral 
sensitivities in so many EU countries.  He noted that the 
ongoing dialogue on the applicable framework had been helpful 
to narrow differences.  He said he had written to the Slovenian 
EU Presidency to urge them to deal with the Guantanamo issue, 
and that he would also raise the issue of Guantanamo and the 
legal framework with the French Presidency.  He suggested that 
we ought to be able to move faster on these issues in transatlantic 
discussions.  The Secretary welcomed these ideas. 
 
Kosovo Recognition Appreciated - Whenever It Happens 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
¶8.  (C/NF) Ambassador Stephenson alluded to the previous 
night's discussion of Kosovo recognition and asked why, if 
the decision had been made to recognize, the recognition 
could not be made prior to the UN General Assembly 
meeting.  FM Amado replied that, while the decision to 
recognize had been made, the Prime Minister was 
uncomfortable taking the step until he had spoken again 
with President Cavaco Silva.  The Secretary expressed 
gratitude that Portugal would be recognizing Kosovo and, 
although recognition prior to the upcoming UN General 
Assembly would be helpful, she said she understood if internal 
considerations precluded that timing. 
 
Afghanistan - Help Appreciated 
------------------------------ 
¶9.  (C/NF) The Secretary reiterated U.S. appreciation for 
Portugal's help with operations in Afghanistan.  General 
Fraser echoed that appreciation, citing Portugal's current 
contingent of a C-130 aircraft and an Operational Mentoring 
and Liaison Team (OMLT), and urging that the promised 
second OMLT be deployed as soon as possible.  Minister 
Amado did not respond. 
 
Libya - Helpful Counter to Terror 
--------------------------------- 
¶10.  (C/NF) Regarding the Secretary's visit to Libya, 
FM Amado stressed the important role Libya and the 
Maghreb are playing in counterterrorism, and that Col. 
Qadhafi helped raise recognition of the seriousness of 
the terrorist threat to the region.  Amado pointed out the 
importance of Sunni support for the war on terror, given 
the Shi'a leadership in Iraq.  FM Amado and the 
Secretary concurred in their concern over reported 
strengthening of Al Qaeda in the Maghreb, and agreed that 
the United States and EU needed the support of Qadhafi to 
counter this 
threat. 
 
The Middle East - Progress and the Turkish Model 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
¶11.  (C/NF) The discussion turned to the Middle East, and 
FM Amado asked for the Secretary's opinion on the 
progress of ongoing talks.  The Secretary replied that 
progress had been made both in terms of process and 
substance, and expressed pleasure that both sides continued 
to communicate directly with each other rather than 
attempting to negotiate through the press.  The Secretary 
added that politics could never be separated from this process, 
and that the politics of Israel were particularly complicated 
now, given the uncertainty regarding the survivability of 
the current government.  The Foreign Minister suggested the 
Secretary sounded optimistic and she responded that, while one was 
never optimistic about the Middle East, she was not 
pessimistic.  Modest progress was being made upon which the 
next U.S. administration could build. 
 
¶12.  (C/NF) Minister Amado suggested the United States and 
EU should look at Turkey as an important model for dealing 
with the complicated nature of the Islamic world, and how events 
there serve as an educational test case for Sunni-Shi'a 
relations and other nuances. 
 
U.S.-EU Relationship 
-------------------- 
¶13.  (C/NF) The Secretary asked Minister Amado about the 
status of the Treaty of Lisbon since Ireland's rejection. 
Amado replied that it would take time, but that he expected 
Ireland to come around and adopt the treaty, possibly 
after some minor adjustments were made to satisfy Irish concerns. 
He added that no one believed Ireland alone 
will stand in the way of eventual EU adoption of the Treaty 
of Lisbon. 
 
¶14.  (C/NF) FM Amado asked about the status of 
AFRICOM, and the Secretary replied that there continued to be 
some misperception in Africa about the nature of the new 
command.  She admitted that the USG had not done an adequate 
job of explaining to Africa that AFRICOM was about furthering 
democracy, and was not a structure for military deployment. 
 
¶15.  (C/NF) The Secretary and Ambassador both complimented 
FM Amado for his strategic insights into the workings 
of the EU, but cautioned the Minister not to anticipate 
major changes in U.S.-EU relations based on the upcoming 
U.S. elections.  While some U.S. positions--such as trade 
policy--could substantially change with a new U.S. 
administration and have a near-term impact on the 
relationship, U.S. foreign policy was like an aircraft 
carrier, and required significant time and effort to "come 
about" to a new heading.  The Ambassador and the Secretary 
did suggest Europe should worry about possible isolationist 
trade policies under an administration and congress 
controlled by the Democratic Party. 
 
RICE