VZCZCXRO7594
PP RUEHFL RUEHNP
DE RUEHRO #1256/01 3171533
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 131533Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY ROME
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2888
INFO RUEHMIL/AMCONSUL MILAN PRIORITY 0317
RUEHFL/AMCONSUL FLORENCE PRIORITY 3882
RUEHNP/AMCONSUL NAPLES PRIORITY 4096
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO PRIORITY 3057
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ROME 001256 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
PM/RSAT FOR CHRISTOPHER PETRONE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR MOPS IT
SUBJECT: U.S.-ITALY SECURITY DIALOGUES 
 
REF: STATE 112900 
 
¶1. (U)  This cable answers reftel request for information on 
U.S.-Italian Security Dialogues: their nature, frequency and 
usefulness. 
 
¶2. (SBU) The principal U.S.-Italy security dialogue is the 
Joint Military Commission, which governs the presence of U.S. 
military forces on Italian bases.  It was first established 
in the context of the agreements which govern this presence: 
the 1951 NATO Status of Forces Agreement and the 1954 
Bilateral Infrastructure Agreement, later modified by the 
1995 Shell Agreement, which specifically mandated JMC 
meetings.  It meets approximately three times yearly in 
Italy, and the next scheduled meeting is November 30 - 
December 1 in Rome.  The U.S. side is co-chaired by one of 
the three senior U.S. Commanders in Italy on a rotating basis 
(Army, Navy, Air Force) and by the U.S. Embassy Political- 
Military Counselor.  The Italian side is chaired by the 
Italian Defense General Staff J3/J5 (Director of Plans and 
Policy), currently Major General Magro. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Assessment of the utility of the JMC dialogue: High. 
 The JMC is the indispensable forum for resolving any and all 
technical issues or disputes and developing future courses of 
joint military cooperation in the framework of U.S. basing in 
Italy.  It is a highly substantive and results-oriented 
dialogue with concrete outcomes, where detailed Technical 
Agreements on each individual base are drafted, modified and 
signed.  Although representatives from EUCOM regularly 
attend, there are no Washington-based participants and thus 
no Washington resources are expended. 
 
¶4. (SBU) In addition, there are a number of regular dialogues 
within a more general security/pol-mil framework, listed 
below.  Post regards these meetings as having high value 
because they deal with substantive issues and generally do 
not place unreasonable demands on the time of senior 
Washington officials. 
 
      a. U.S.-Italy Joint Staff Talks.  Take place annually, 
rotating between Washington and Rome, with participation 
normally at the level of the U.S. Deputy J5 for Europe and 
the Italian Deputy J3/J5 (Brigadier General level).  Last met 
October 2009 in Washington at the Major General Level. 
Focused on operational issues, plans and policy. 
 
      b. U.S.-Italy Navy Talks.  There are no regularly 
scheduled staff talks, but Italian Navy Staff occasionally 
meet locally with U.S. Commands based in Italy.  These are 
generally issue based-working groups with an operational 
focus.  The next meeting of this sort takes place in December 
2009 at the 05 level between Sixth Fleet HQ/Commander Navy 
Europe in Naples and Italian Navy counterparts. 
 
      c. U.S.-Italy Army Staff Talks.  Take place every 18 
months at the Brigadier General level and focused on 
operational issues such as interoperability and training.  In 
addition, the U.S. and Italian Armies meet annually in the 
framework of the Senior National Representative Italy-Army 
(SNR-A) talks which are focused on acquisition, science and 
technology.  These talks are led by an Italian Lieutenant 
General and a DOD Deputy Assistant Secretary for 
Acquisitions. 
 
      d. U.S.-Italy Air Force Staff Talks.  Take place 
biannually, rotating between Washington and Rome at the Major 
General level (HQ to HQ).  The focus is on training, 
organization and equipment. 
 
      e. Five-Power National Armaments Directors' Meeting: 
The U.S., Italy, France, UK and Germany meet at the National 
Armaments Director (NAD) level to discuss cooperative 
armaments programs (e.g., JSF, MEADS, AGS, etc).  The U.S. 
principal is currently Dr. Ashton Carter, the Undersecretary 
of Defense for Acquisitions, Technology and Logistics.  The 
forum convenes twice a year directly before plenary 
(26-nation) NATO NAD meetings.  The last Five-Power assembly 
took place in Brussels in October 2009. 
 
      f. ISAF RC-West Talks.  These are discussions between 
the countries that contribute troops to RC-West in 
 
ROME 00001256  002 OF 002 
 
 
Afghanistan (Italy, U.S., Spain, Lithuania, Slovenia, 
Albania, etc.).  The group has met twice in Rome in meetings 
hosted by the Italian MFA (March 2008 and February 2009), but 
there is no regular schedule of meetings nor a standard level 
of participation.  At the March 2008 meeting, OSD was 
represented by Madeleine Le Page and State was represented by 
then-SCA/A Director Tim Wilder.  At the February 2009 meeting 
the U.S. was represented by the Charge d'Affaires and 
representatives of the Defense Attache Office.  The forum 
provides a useful exchange of views on issues of shared 
relevance in RC-West, but it has not become institutionalized 
and has not yielded specific commitments from the group 
either in terms of troop levels or other cooperative 
ventures. 
 
      g. Declaration of Principles Meetings: These are 
bilateral working groups dealing with a range of cooperative 
security-related efforts in the technical, scientific and 
engineering fields.  They generally meet once a year at the 
working level (next meeting is in December 2009) and once a 
year at a higher level (June).  Coordination is managed by 
OSD(ATL). 
THORNE