US embassy cable - 04THEHAGUE1513

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 THE HAGUE 001513 
 
SIPDIS 
 
USDOCOSOUTH NAPLES IT 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/17/2014 
TAGS: PREL, MARR, NL, NATO 
SUBJECT: NETHERLANDS: NATO AND IRAQ DISCUSSIONS ABOARD USS 
ENTERPRISE 
 
REF: THE HAGUE 1454 (NOTAL) 
 
Classified By: Daniel R. Russel, Deputy Chief of Mission.  Reasons: 1.4 
(b) and (d). 
 
1. (SBU) Summary:  The June 14-15 overnight visit of Dutch 
Defense Minister Kamp and parliamentarians/officials to the 
USS Enterprise carrier battle group provided a useful forum 
for discussions on NATO and Iraq-related issues.  Informally, 
Dutch participants provided candid background regarding the 
Cabinet's June 11 decision to extend the Dutch troop 
deployment in Iraq, and assessed that the opposition PvdA 
party would support the decision in parliament, albeit with 
some defections.  The positive results highlighted the value 
of ship visits in promoting USG objectives with key host 
country audiences.  End Summary. 
 
2. (U) Dutch Minister of Defense Henk Kamp, incoming CHOD Lt. 
Gen. Dick Berlijn, RNLAF, and Amb. Sobel led a delegation of 
Dutch Members of Parliament on an overnight embark aboard USS 
Enterprise in the Atlantic from June 14-15.  All three of the 
ruling coalition parties, the Christian Democrats, Liberals 
and Liberal Democrats, as well as the main opposition Labor 
Party (PvdA) were represented by their floor leaders and/or 
foreign and defense spokespersons. 
 
3. (U) While onboard USS Enterprise, the Dutch delegation 
received a briefing from ADM Johnson, Commander, U.S. Naval 
Forces Europe and Allied Forces, Southern Europe on current 
NATO issues to include, the threat profile facing the 
alliance, NATO-EU relations and the NATO Response Force.  The 
Dutch participants tell us they greatly valued the 
opportunity to review these issues with a senior NATO 
commander as well as to witness the operations of the 
Enterprise Carrier Strike Group and to interact with members 
of the crew.  Dutch participants actively engaged ADM Johnson 
and each other on questions related to Alliance policy and 
strategy in Afghanistan and elsewhere, and particularly on 
the appropriate role for smaller nations like the Netherlands 
in setting objectives and participating in alliance 
operations. 
 
4. (C) In addition to the formal briefings and discussions, 
the overnight visit provided ample opportunity for informal 
discussions between the Dutch parliamentarians, GONL 
representatives, and Embassy personnel, some of which 
provided useful background on the recent cabinet decision to 
extend the deployment of Dutch troops in Iraq for an 
additional eight months (reftel).  Defense Minister Kamp, for 
example, confided to Ambassador Sobel that he believed the 
cabinet had left open the possibility of an additional 
extension after the end of the eight month period, but that 
subsequent public statements by PM Balkenende in response to 
questions from parliament seemed to rule this out.  He 
allowed that the question would be revisited after the 
January 2005 elections in Iraq. 
 
5. (C) With regard to the upcoming parliamentary debate on 
the extension decision, Labor Party (PvdA) Defense Affairs 
Spokesman indicated that he expected the PvdA to support the 
cabinet's decision, but only after significant internal 
debate.  He suggested that a vote in Parliament would almost 
certainly come about as the result of a challenge from the 
smaller Green Left opposition party, in which case some 
members of the PvdA would probably defect from the party 
line.  The PvdA leadership's objective under these 
circumstances would be to keep the number of defectors to a 
minimum -- no more than 10 if possible.  He expected that the 
Parliament's defense committee would discuss the issue on 
Tuesday, June 22, with a discussion and vote on the floor the 
next day.  (Note:  We are beginning to hear from several 
sources that a vote in parliament is expected to endorse the 
extension decision resoundingly with the sort of large 
majority the Dutch prefer to have on national security 
issues.  End Note.) 
 
6. (SBU) Comment:  This visit, with its eclectic mix of Dutch 
parliamentary and government representatives, provided an 
excellent opportunity to promote U.S./NATO objectives to a 
diverse audience in a highly favorable environment; it also 
provided a good opportunity for Dutch parliamentarians from 
different parties to interact in a non-politicized 
environment.  Dutch participants report they were as 
gratified by the chance to engage substantively with ADM 
Johnson as they were impressed by the capabilities of the USS 
Enterprise.  Defense Minister Kamp repeatedly thanked 
Ambassador Sobel personally for organizing the visit.  By 
coordinating themes for discussion and objectives prior to 
the visit, Embassy the Hague and ADM Johnson's staff were 
able to ensure that discussions on board ship were 
meaningful.  Post believes that such visits are a very useful 
tool for our objectives among key host country audiences. 
End comment. 
SOBEL