US embassy cable - 05MADRID1604

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MADRID 001604 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/WE, EUR/RPM, WHA/AND AND WHA/CCA 
DEFENSE FOR OSD/ISP (P. GRAFF) 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/26/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PTER, MOPS, SP 
SUBJECT: SPANISH DEFENSE MINISTER: VENEZUELA DEAL DESIGNED 
TO SAVE SHIPYARD 
 
Classified By: Charge d,Affaires J. Robert Manzanares, 
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
 
1.    (C) Summary:  In a meeting with Charge April 22, 
Minister of Defense Jose Bono said the only reason Spain was 
selling military ships to Venezuela was to help troubled Izar 
shipyard.  Protesting Izar workers had put a lot of pressure 
on the Zapatero government, said Bono.  He assured Charge 
that none of the ships would have offensive capabilities. He 
said Spain "is with the U.S." on international security 
issues, such as Afghanistan, but it seems the U.S. only 
focuses on the problems in the Spain-U.S. relationship.  Bono 
hopes his May 3 meeting with SecDef Rumsfeld is very positive 
and shows Spanish voters the countries' defense relations are 
excellent.  End summary. 
 
2.  (C) On the sale to Venezuela, Bono asked Charge not to 
pay attention to press accounts of the sale because "every 
time the press talks about it we're selling something 
different."  The opposition Popular Party is interested in 
ruining relations between the Zapatero and Bush 
administrations and so fuels inaccurate media accounts of the 
sale.  Spain, said Bono, is selling a total of eight patrol 
ships to the Chavez government and 12 transport planes.  The 
planes will have no armaments and the patrol ships will have 
only machine guns.  Neither the planes nor the ships will be 
used offensively.  Charge countered the notion that the USG's 
concern about the sale was related to U.S. commercial 
interests.  The U.S. believed the sale would contribute to 
Chavez' military might and political credibility and would 
make him more able to destabilize the region and continue his 
anti-democratic maneuvers in his own country. 
 
3.  (C) Bono said that if he spoke English he would have 
called Rumsfeld himself to explain why Spain was making this 
sale.  He said it boiled down to saving the ailing 
state-owned shipyard Izar.  Izar's workers have been 
protesting against Zapatero government, clamoring for a fix 
for the company's financial woes.  Bono said the Venezuela 
sale was one way the Zapatero government could significantly 
help Izar.  The sale would be Izar's biggest in the last 10 
years.  Bono added that he had informed Colombian president 
Uribe of the sale, and he raised no objections. 
 
4.  (C) In addition, said Bono, other European countries with 
good relations with the U.S. sell military equipment to 
Venezuela, such as Sweden.  Also, the U.S. does not limit 
military sales only to democratic countries -- the U.S. sells 
military equipment to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Morocco and 
Pakistan. 
 
5.  (C) Bono said Spain is "with the United States," and has 
demonstrated this by deciding to lead a provincial 
reconstruction team and forward support base in western 
Afghanistan.  He noted that even though the Aznar government 
wanted to take Spanish troops out of Kosovo, the Zapatero 
government has decided to leave them there.  He also cited 
Spain's troop presence in Haiti as another example of Spain's 
willingness to cooperate with the U.S. on international 
security matters.  When considering how loyal Spain has been 
as an ally, the U.S. should also look at the access Spain has 
continued to give U.S. troops at Rota and Moron military 
bases.  "It seems," Bono said, "that we are doing everything 
the U.S. wants, but the U.S. still doesn't like what we're 
doing." 
 
6.  (C) Bono said he hopes his visit to Washington will show 
the Spanish public that relations with the U.S. are 
excellent.  "I have to show my clients the trip was worth it, 
was very productive" commented Bono.  Bono reminded Charge 
that he was the only minister to attend the Embassy's 
election night party in November.  "We would like to be 
rewarded for our cooperation with the U.S., not required to 
pay a toll," said the minister. 
 
7.  (C) Turning to the S-80 submarine weapons system 
contract, Bono said the Spanish government is nearing a 
decision on the deal.  He said the two American companies 
vying for the deal are well positioned, but French president 
Chirac has asked Zapatero to give the contract to a French 
company.  Bono intimated that the S-80 contract had the 
potential to improve U.S.-Spain relations and is "not just a 
project to build four submarines," said Bono, "but will 
involve future contracts for 35-40 years."  If awarded to an 
American company, the contract would also increase 
interoperability between the Spanish and U.S. navies. 
 
8.  (C) Bono also said he hoped he could get closure from 
Secretary Rumsfeld on the releasability to Spain of the 
 
SIPDIS 
Tomahawk missile.  Charge mentioned that Embassy had the 
impression based on meetings with high-ranking members of the 
Spanish military that Spain was undecided about purchasing 
the missile if it were made available.  "We want the 
Tomahawk," said Bono, "I want to be clear on that." 
 
9.  (C) Comment: Bono is a Socialist Party "baron" whom 
Zapatero narrowly beat out in 2000 to lead the party.  He is 
one of the Socialists' main Catholic conservatives and 
remains one of the most popular political figures in Spain. 
He thus has considerable influence and popularity if not 
lengthy experience with substantive defense issues.  And 
while the chief of defense is well respected, he defers to 
Bono, as do the services. 
 
10.  (C) Comment continued:  Bono took pains to convince us 
the only reason Spain was selling military equipment to the 
Chavez government was to help ailing Izar.  Although saving 
Izar is likely the principal reason for the sale, Zapatero's 
interest in engaging Chavez is no doubt another goal. 
Zapatero believes that by engaging Chavez, he can gain some 
influence over him.  Bono's remarks also show he believes 
Spain has not gotten enough credit from the U.S. for its 
cooperation in Afghanistan and other areas, and that the U.S. 
government is focusing only on the problem areas in our 
relations with Spain, not on the positives. 
 
MANZANARES