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UNCLAS MUNICH 000019 
 
 
WHITE HOUSE FOR OVP 
H FOR CODEL MCCAIN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV NATO GM
SUBJECT: MUNICH SECURITY CONFERENCE OVERVIEW (FEBRUARY 6-8, 
2009) 
 
SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND 
---------------------- 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY:  The mood at the end of the 45th Munich Security 
Conference (MSC) was upbeat, welcoming that the U.S. is "back at the 
table."  Vice President Biden took the stage to extended, warm 
applause.  Reflecting the content and tone of President Obama's 
inauguration speech, the Vice President told the prominent 
international audience that the U.S. is resuming its leadership role 
in consultation and dialogue with its partners, from whom we expect a 
firmer consensus in return.  The USG Delegation was uniquely high 
level, including in addition to the Vice President:  National 
Security Advisor Jones; Special Representative Holbrooke; Deputy 
Secretary Steinberg; Assistant Secretary Fried; and six Flag 
Officers, including Generals Petraeus and Craddock.  The CODEL 
included Representatives Tauscher, Harman, and Sanchez (the Senators, 
including Kerry, McCain, and Lieberman, had to cancel because work on 
the stimulus package was not completed).  In addition to the 
extraordinary interest in the new U.S. administration, the 
participants, including French President Sarkozy and German 
Chancellor Merkel, bore down on the future of NATO and the 
international community in Afghanistan and on the Iranian nuclear 
issue.  The discussions were sober in this regard, recognizing the 
significant challenges ahead.  The Vice President and USDEL's 
engagement have started changing the dynamic with the Germans.  At 
the end, a local marketing expert summed up the Conference and its 
mood and hopes by calling it "Munich Spring."  Additional information 
on many of these topics will be delivered SEPTEL.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) BACKGROUND: The MSC has become a very high-profile event. 
Vice President Biden, in his first overseas trip, led the 
highest-ranking U.S. delegation to the conference in sixteen years. 
The MSC's international participants, including more than 70 heads of 
state or government, and foreign and defense ministers, was the most 
illustrious line-up in the Conference's long history.  With the April 
 3-4 NATO Summit in Strasbourg and Kehl (Germany) only two  months 
away, there was a keen interest in the U.S. vision  for the 
Transatlantic Alliance.  End Background. 
 
THE VICE PRESIDENT SETS "NEW TONE" 
IN SPEECH AT CONFERENCE 
---------------------------------- 
¶3. (U) Vice President Biden's much-anticipated speech was widely seen 
as setting a "new tone" with America's relations around the world. 
Noting that the U.S. would be asking more of its partners, the Vice 
President promised that the Obama Administration would "work 
cooperatively with nations around the world" to counter common 
extremist and terrorist threats.  The Vice President also noted the 
Administration's review of our Iran policy and how the U.S. and our 
partners can work better together to solve problems in Afghanistan 
and the Middle East.  On Russia, the Vice President lamented the 
"dangerous drift in relations" and noted that the time had come "to 
press the reset button and to revisit the many areas where we can and 
should work together."  Attendees at the conference remarked that the 
Vice President's speech demonstrated that the new U.S. government 
seeks to renew its partnership with Europeans, and that this includes 
"Europeans being called on to do more" to assist in global security 
issues.  The Vice President's speech can be found in its entirety at 
http://germany.usembassy.gov/events/2009/ 
feb-biden-security/ 
 
ARMS CONTROL 
------------ 
 
¶4. (U) German Foreign Minister Steinmeier used the MSC as a platform 
to reaffirm his demands not only to revive arms control as such, but 
also to emphasize that a "zero solution" on nuclear weapons is 
possible.  The NPT, CFE, INF and ABM treaties were all discussed 
during the Arms Control panel. While most conference participants and 
panelists agreed that the Obama Administration represented an 
opportunity to revive arms control and non-proliferation efforts, 
there were only few concrete proposals of what might be undertaken. 
IAEA Director General ElBaradei, Speaker of the Iranian Parliament 
Ali Larijani, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Ivanov and Indian 
National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan all participated in a panel 
discussion.   U.S. Representative Ellen Tauscher delivered the 
concluding Statement, in which she called for dialogue between the 
U.S. and Iran and a thoughtful approach to missile defense. 
 
 
IRAN 
---- 
 
¶5. (U) Iran: Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Ali Larijani sought to 
raise the bar for direct talks with the United States by repeatedly 
emphasizing that the West -- and the U.S. in particular -- has been 
applying a double standard towards Iran since the Iranian revolution. 
 He argued that it is up to the Obama Administration to build new 
bridges but then he antagonized his audience by questioning the 
Holocaust. 
 
¶6. (U) Observers of the MSC were disappointed by Larijani's 
appearance.  Even though some participants noted an understanding 
that Larijani does not want to undermine his possible presidential 
candidacy -- which still needs to be approved by the Iranian Council 
of Guardians -- the general impression was that Larijani's 
confrontational speech at the MSC represented a missed opportunity on 
the Iranian side.  However, at the tail end of his comments, Larijani 
did note openness to regional discussions, which some participants 
felt may be a signal indicating future dialogue. 
 
AFGHANISTAN 
----------- 
 
¶7. (U) President Karzai attempted to paint a positive picture of the 
development in Afghanistan, an assessment which notably fell flat 
among conference participants.   Karzai asked for patience on the 
issues of police training, reconstruction, corruption, and drug 
production.  He noted that many of these issues have been addressed 
and one now needed to wait for the results to materialize.  Karzai 
also emphasized that the reconstruction of Afghanistan was a joint 
effort by the international community and the Afghan people, while 
highlighting the need for additional coordination.  The dominant 
opinion was that a more regional approach needs to be taken with a 
focus on Afghanistan. 
 
RUSSIA 
------ 
 
¶8. (U) Russia's First Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Ivanov repeated 
Russia's opposition to unilateral decisions on Missile Defense. 
Senior politicians from the EU rejected the Russian notion that the 
gas dispute was just a business dispute.  French President Sarkozy 
noted that Ukraine and Georgia must meet European standards and 
follow European rules if they want to join NATO and the EU.  Most 
conference participants referred to Medvedev's European security 
proposal as "too vague" and requiring additional details.  Chancellor 
Merkel stated clearly that any proposal for a new European security 
architecture that undermined NATO was unacceptable and would fail. 
Panelist, including US General Petraeus, Canadian DefMin MacKay, 
British DefMin Hutton, and Special Representative Holbrooke, spoke 
soberly and in detail about the challenges NATO faces there. 
 
NATO REFORM / STRATEGIC CONCEPT 
------------------------------- 
 
¶9. (U) German FM Steinmeier called for a "new Harmel Report" to be 
crafted by a "group of eminent persons" to make recommendations for 
NATO reforms.  Many speakers (among them Chancellor Merkel) agreed 
that NATO needs a new strategic concept that reflects the changes of 
the post 9/11 world, such as asymmetric threats, terrorism and the 
new nature of missions such as ISAF.  According to Merkel, the new 
strategic concept should include the notion that international 
conflicts cannot be resolved by one single country alone.  There was 
broad support for the "comprehensive approach" as an element of a new 
strategic concept. 
 
¶10. (U) German DefMin Jung provided a detailed outline of German 
recommendations.  This  included a new strategic culture for coming 
to consensus  among all 28 NATO allies (including Croatia and 
Albania) about the role and functioning of the Alliance; a renewal 
of what has proven useful to the Alliance (security,  consensus, 
deterrence, defense, crisis management); a  balance between 
collective defense and crisis management;  an open door policy to 
allow new members in if they make  the Alliance more effective; the 
extension of a strategic  partnership with Russia; making the 
"comprehensive  approach" a core competency; improved capabilities; 
and  enhanced cooperation between NATO and the EU. 
 
NATO-EU 
------- 
 
¶11. (U) Merkel criticized Turkey and Cyprus for obstructing 
improvements to the NATO-EU relationship.  President Sarkozy 
emphasized his friendship with the United States and emphasized that 
ESDP is a way to strengthen rather than weaken NATO.  He also urged 
Europeans to step up their defense efforts.  He rhetorically asked 
whether Europe wants to "live in peace" or whether it wants "to be 
left in peace."  He explained that the latter strategy only works for 
a few years and leaves no option in the time of crisis. 
 
MISCELLANEOUS 
------------- 
 
¶12. (U) Kissinger:  Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was 
awarded the newly established Ewald von Kleist Award for his 
"significant contribution to global peace and conflict resolution." 
 
¶13. (U) Merkel-Sarkozy:  Despite an agreement to announce changes to 
the Franco-German brigade at a separate press conference on the 
sidelines of the MSC, President Sarkozy, speaking after Chancellor 
Merkel, snubbed Merkel by announcing from the podium that Germany 
will station a battalion in France.   This will be the first time 
since the end of the World War II that Germany will have troops 
stationed in France. 
 
¶14. (U) Guantanamo:  Nearly all conference participants welcomed the 
Obama Administration's decision to shut down Guantanamo.  Vice 
President Biden's announcement that America will ask for help during 
the closure of Guantanamo remained unanswered in the open discussion. 
 
NELSON