US embassy cable - 05DUBLIN123

C O N F I D E N T I A L DUBLIN 000123 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR NP/MNA 
GENEVA FOR CD 
USUN FOR POL 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/31/2015 
TAGS: PARM, KNNP 
SUBJECT: NPT REVIEW CONFERENCE NON-PAPER DELIVERED TO 
IRELAND 
 
REF: STATE 18228 AND PREVIOUS 
 
Classified By: Political-Economic Counselor Mary Daly; Reasons 1.4 (B) 
and (D). 
 
1.  (C) On January 31, Post delivered reftel non-paper on the 
NPT Review Conference to Therese Healy, Third Secretary in 
the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Disarmament and 
Non-proliferation Section.  As a preliminary response, Healy 
noted that the New Agenda Coalition (NAC) resolution that 
passed last autumn reflected Ireland's position on the NPT. 
She added that that the resolution had focused on maintaining 
a balance among the NPT's objectives (disarmament, peaceful 
use, etc.) and that reftel non-paper seemed to echo that 
balance.  Healy said that Ireland looked forward to exchanges 
with the USG in the run-up to the May Review Conference. 
 
2.  (C) Regarding reftel's queries on NPT-related public 
diplomacy, nuclear non-proliferation is not a major issue in 
Ireland, except as it relates to the perceived possibility of 
U.S. unilateral military action.  Post believes that op-eds 
by the Ambassador and senior USG officials, as well as media 
interviews with the Ambassador that reiterate the op-eds' 
themes, would be the best public diplomacy tools in 
communicating the U.S. message on non-proliferation.  DVCs 
would not be effective to that end.  Op-eds placed in late 
April in the Irish Times, Ireland's paper of record, would 
maximize readership of USG messages on the NPT.  The op-eds 
should emphasize U.S. support for EU efforts regarding Iran 
and other non-compliance cases.  Public outreach efforts by 
visiting USG officials would probably not prove useful in 
influencing Ireland's views on NPT issues. 
KENNY