US embassy cable - 04ROME4276

C O N F I D E N T I A L ROME 004276 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR RPM:WORTH ANDERSON 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/07/2014 
TAGS: MOPS, MARR, PREL, AF, IT, AFGHANISTAN 
SUBJECT: ITALIAN PRT/FSB BACK IN PLAY 
 
REF: A) ROME 3849 B) ROME 2913 C) ROME 2122 
 
Classified By:  POL M/C TOM COUNTRYMAN FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D) 
 
1. (C) Summary. In a November 4 discussion with PolMil 
Officers, MFA NATO Office Director said that Italy is going 
forward with plans to contribute to a Provincial 
Reconstruction Team (PRT) and/or Forward Support Base (FSB) 
in Afghanistan.  He stressed, however, that Italy cannot go 
it alone and that significant support will be needed from the 
US both to make Italian involvement feasible militarily and 
to send a political message of commitment to ISAF.  Brauzzi 
also was upbeat on proposals for the planned ISAF/OEF merger, 
noting that it might be more palatable to some allies to 
speak of the change as an ISAF expansion rather than a merger 
with OEF.  End summary. 
 
PRT/FSB Planning Underway 
------------------------- 
 
2. (C) PolMil Counselor and PolMil Officer met with Giovanni 
Brauzzi, head of the MFA's NATO Office, on November 4. 
Brauzzi said Italy had just decided to work on a contribution 
to a PRT and/or FSB in Herat.  More information, he said, 
would be available following a November 5 meeting at SHAPE 
and a VTC with SACEUR week of November 8.  Brauzzi 
acknowledged that this was very preliminary information, but 
stated that Italy was already planning to send out 
reconnaissance teams in late November/early December, an 
advance team in January, and to have its full complement on 
the ground in Afghanistan by March.  (Note: Brauzzi admitted 
that the Italian bureaucracy was surprised by Defense 
Minister Martino's statement in Romania and has since gotten 
its PRT/FSB planning underway.  End note.) 
 
3. (C) Brauzzi stressed that a "substantial goodwill gesture" 
from the US would be important to help Italy do this -- one, 
he suggested, that would, by placing US resources in a Herat 
PRT and/or FSB, help set the stage for an OEF/ISAF merger by 
showing US commitment to/involvement in ISAF.  The only 
potential partner (besides the US, from whom support was 
indispensable) Brauzzi was aware of at this stage was Canada, 
but he said he would know more after the meetings and VTC 
over the next week.  Renewed Canadian interest, he commented, 
has spurred the Italians into action, but the Canadians were 
looking at leading a PRT next August (2005), which, coming 
after the scheduled parliamentary elections, was very late. 
He did not see much hope for either Spanish or Turkish 
participation, but added that with US support, not much more 
would be needed. 
 
ISAF/OEF Merger 
--------------- 
 
4. (C) Brauzzi also said he had attended a meeting at the 
Italian General Defense Staff that morning that discussed a 
British paper on the proposed ISAF/OEF merger.  Italy, he 
said, would be responding soon in a "constructive" way, 
proposing only minor amendments to "to fix the language." 
Brauzzi commented that it would be an excellent idea to bring 
the Turks into the three-way discussion (US-UK-Italy).  He 
also said that there were hints that there could be an 
evolution in the Germans' thinking, especially if, instead of 
talking about a merger, the focus was on ISAF expansion, 
ultimately "subsuming" OEF.  (Brauzzi noted that there were 
hints of this approach in the UK paper).  He added that once 
this is discussed at the NAC, the relevant military 
authorities should be tasked to provide a basis for further 
discussion and movement on this issue.  The devil will be in 
the details, he added, trying to determine how many 
helicopters, hospitals, etc., are needed for the combined 
mission. 
 
Minimize Considered. 
 
 
SEMBLER 
 
 
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	2004ROME04276 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL