US embassy cable - 04FRANKFURT1495

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 FRANKFURT 001495 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, MASS, PREL, GM 
SUBJECT: Rheinland-Pfalz Lobbies for U.S. Troops to Stay 
 
REF: A) 03 STATE 327580, B) Frankfurt-EUR/AGS email 19Feb04 
 
SUMMARY 
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1. (SBU) Concerned over the USG Global Posture Review (ref 
A), the state of Rheinland-Pfalz (R-P) is fighting hard to 
hang on to the approximately 24,000 active-duty U.S. 
soldiers stationed within the state. Home to US Air Force 
Europe (USAFE) headquarters at Ramstein Airbase as well as 
the airbase at Spangdahlem and Army bases at Baumholder and 
Pirmasens, the U.S. military is one of Rheinland-Pfalz's 
largest employers.  Despite assurances that the upcoming 
decision will be based on strategic considerations, R-P 
leaders are looking for "carrots" to convince the USG to 
retain a sizable presence in SW Germany.  Press coverage 
and speculation on possible outcomes continue to raise 
anxiety levels.  END SUMMARY. 
 
R-P Takes Advantage of Congressional Staff Visit 
to Make Case For Basing 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
2. (SBU) In reaction to the President's November 
announcement that the USG will review stationing of forces 
worldwide (ref A), Rheinland-Pfalz has initiated a lobbying 
campaign with the goal of maintaining current troop 
strength.  The state sent a delegation to Washington in 
late 2003, held extensive meetings with USAFE and USAREUR 
(US Army Europe, in Heidelberg) and recently sponsored the 
visit of a group of congressional staffers to discuss the 
future of the U.S. military in Germany (organized by a 
German-American NGO, the Hanseatic Institute).  During the 
three-day program, staffers met with state and local 
officials and toured U.S. bases and the city of 
Kaiserslautern (home to the largest overseas American 
military community in the world) before traveling to 
Bamberg and Berlin, where they met with representatives of 
the MFA, MOD and Chancellery. 
 
3. (SBU) In their briefing to Congressional staffers 
(attended by Pol/Econ rep), R-P Interior Ministry officials 
previewed an "incentives package" they will soon submit to 
the USG.  The package highlights the state's receptive 
attitude towards the U.S. military presence and proposes 
economic inducements designed to make basing more 
affordable.  Rheinland-Pfalz officials also announced that 
a high-level delegation will visit Washington on March 23- 
24 to engage decision-makers on the issue.  The German 
Embassy in Washington will coordinate the program. 
 
4. (SBU) The incentives package's focus is a public-private 
initiative to build new military housing, with public land 
to be donated by the state and federal governments 
providing land (either free or at reduced cost), and 
construction supplied by a private developer (as yet 
unnamed).  Under the proposed arrangement (along the lines 
of the Residential Communities Initiative within the U.S.), 
the developer would lease the new developments to the U.S. 
military, providing new housing and related facilities 
(community center, pre-schools) without requiring the U.S. 
military to pay for construction up front.  NOTE:  Staffers 
pointed out that the RCI program in the U.S. involves long- 
term leases (up to 50 years), and questioned whether 
Rheinland-Pfalz would be able to secure private financing 
given the shorter time horizon of overseas bases.  END 
NOTE. 
 
COMMENT 
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5. (SBU) R-P officials continue to press their case despite 
USG assurances that the basing review is neither connected 
to recent disagreements over Iraq nor subject to influence 
through lobbying.  R-P officials fear the state's rural 
economy will not be able to recover from massive troop 
reductions in the same way that Bavaria, a state with a 
larger and more diverse infrastructure, could, especially 
given Germany's long-term economic stagnation.  In the 
absence of a final decision, R-P officials have targeted 
their lobbying efforts to respond to recent "insider 
reports" (in Stars and Stripes, Wall Street Journal, and 
Handelsblatt) on timetables and numbers of troop reductions 
in Germany, despite the absence of any confirmation of 
these reports through official channels. 
 
6. (SBU) R-P officials claim to be confident that Ramstein 
will remain largely intact in the upcoming review but worry 
about other bases in the area, particularly Baumholder 
(13,000 troops) and Spangdahlem (5,000).  CG and EUCOM 
Deputy Commander General Charles Wald are scheduled to meet 
with Rheinland-Pfalz Minister-President Kurt Beck (SPD 
Social Democrat) in April to follow up on U/S Grossman's 
consultations in Berlin.  In the interim, we expect 
lobbying efforts to remain intense  Rheinland-Pfalz feels 
that it has nothing to gain and everything to lose by 
sitting on the sidelines as the process unfolds.  END 
COMMENT. 
 
PASI