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TO RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS IMMEDIATE 4796
INFO NATO EU COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS IMMEDIATE 4006
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON IMMEDIATE 4653
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO IMMEDIATE 8780
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UNCLAS STATE 058405 
 
SENSITIVE  SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: AF FR SO KCRM MARR NATO OPDC PBTS PGOV
PHSA, PHUM, PREL,PTER 
SUBJECT: SECRETARY CLINTON'S REPLY TO FRENCH FOREIGN 
MINISTER KOUCHNER'S LETTER ON COOPERATION ON PIRACY AND 
SOMALIA (S/ES: 200909198) 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Please deliver the Secretary's reply to Foreign 
Minister Kouchner by June 3.  There will not be a signed 
original. 
 
¶2.  Dear Bernard: 
 
Thank you for your letter of April 28.  The United States 
values its cooperation with France, NATO Allies, and the 
European Union on the shared goal of countering piracy 
off the Horn of Africa, achieving political and economic 
stability in Somalia, and responding to the humanitarian 
needs of the Somali people. 
 
We particularly appreciate France's leadership in 
encouraging allies and others to escort vessels bearing 
food assistance to Somalia.  Your efforts to assist the 
Seychelles in the fight against piracy are also deeply 
appreciated.  We are interested in discussing your 
strategies to recover pirate "mother ships," possibly 
through NATO operations. 
 
Our Presidents agreed at Strasbourg that we would work 
together in NATO to build African capacity in coastal and 
maritime security in addition to our bilateral, UN, and 
EU efforts to combat the threat of piracy.  We would also 
like to see the maritime industry take more 
responsibility for their ships' security.  Since naval 
forces cannot be everywhere, we should encourage ship 
owners, captains, and crews to adopt maritime best 
practices for self-protection against possible pirate 
attacks.  This should include onboard security teams for 
some vessels passing the Somali coast.  We must also 
continue to develop measures to ensure that pirates are 
brought to justice.  I strongly commend your government 
for prosecuting pirates who attack French ships.  I hope 
you will join me in persuading other Allies and partners 
to adopt laws that would enable them to prosecute 
captured pirates as well. 
 
Not least among our efforts to disrupt Somalia's pirates 
must be an examination of the financial levers that might 
be used against pirates and their enablers.  At the May 
29 plenary meeting of the international Contact Group for 
Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS) in New York, the 
United States proposed the establishment of a fifth 
working group on tracking and freezing financial assets. 
Working Group 5 would focus on understanding both the 
informal and formal financial systems that facilitate 
piracy.  The United States would be very pleased if 
France would offer to lead this working group, since 
France has already taken steps to identify and isolate 
individuals complicit in this criminal activity. 
 
We fully agree with France that piracy is only a symptom 
of the chronic instability in Somalia and that this must 
also be addressed.  The key to long-term peace and 
stability in Somalia lies in the establishment of 
effective governance based on inclusive political 
dialogue and reconciliation between the Transitional 
Federal Government and other moderates. 
 
Security must improve in order for political stability to 
take hold, for the humanitarian situation to improve, and 
for Somalia's recovery to begin.  To this end, the United 
States is supporting the African Union Mission in Somalia 
(AMISOM)and the development of the transitional 
government's security institutions. 
 
I very much welcome this opportunity to exchange ideas 
with you in our joint efforts to combat piracy and to 
support the Somali people. 
 
Sincerely yours, 
HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON 
 
End text. 
CLINTON