US embassy cable - 05TUNIS1204

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TUNIS 001204 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/MAG (LAWRENCE) 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/03/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, MOPS, TS, EU 
SUBJECT: GENERAL JONES MEETING WITH TUNISIAN DEPUTY FM 
CHTIOUI 
 
Classified By: CDA David Ballard for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
Meeting Participants: 
 
U.S.: 
 
General Jones 
Charge Ballard 
General Gration, EUCOM 
Ambassador Staples, POLAD 
CSM McMichael 
Pol/Econ Counselor (notetaker) 
 
Tunisia: 
 
Secretary of State for American and Asian Affairs Chtioui 
 
SIPDIS 
Ambassador Atallah, America and Asia Division 
Mr. Faycal Gouia, Americas Division 
Mr. Abdulaziz Ghodbene, Americas Division 
Mr. Yassine Oued, Americas Division 
 
1.  (C) SUMMARY:  In a meeting with MFA Deputy Foreign 
Minister for American and Asian Affairs Chtioui June 3, 
General Jones urged continued Tunisian cooperation with EUCOM 
and NATO as both entities expanded their scope to include 
Africa.  Chtioui said Tunisia was ready to work together in a 
number of ways, but urged increased military assistance to 
update Tunisia's aging/non-operational equipment.  General 
Jones said he would do everything he could to understand 
Tunisia's needs and address them.   He offered an overview of 
NATO's efforts to become a more flexible, proactive, global 
organization with a role in Africa--a role opposed by some in 
Europe.  He encouraged Tunisia's continued involvement in the 
Mediterranean Dialogue and Operation Active Endeavor. 
Chtioui told General Jones that Tunisia supported a 
cooperative network--civil and military--to address 
immigration and counter-terrorism concerns; Tunisia 
coordinated with other "5 plus 5" countries on tactics. In 
response to a request from Chtioui and Atallah, General Jones 
summarized the status of the new TSCTI and other possible 
changes to EUCOM's basing structure during transformation. 
Chtioui urged the U.S. to involve Libya in regional efforts 
as soon as possible, so it could normalize relations across 
the board.  END SUMMARY. 
 
 
2.  (C) Supreme Allied Commander, Europe and Commander, U.S. 
European Command, General Jones met with Deputy Foreign 
Minister for American and Asian Affairs Chtioui June 3 to 
urge continued Tunisian cooperation with EUCOM and NATO as 
both entities expanded their scope to include Africa. 
Chtioui said Tunisia was ready; it had always taken regional 
threats seriously and was intent on keeping Tunisia's borders 
secure.  But she urged U.S. help in renewing Tunisia's aging 
aircraft and equipment.  She said, for example, that Italy 
had provided them with assistance to help stem illegal 
immigration from Africa, and as a result Tunisia had stopped 
"thousands" of illegal migrants.  General Jones said he was 
aware of some of Tunisia's equipment problems and would do 
everything he could to understand the needs and address them. 
 
NATO and EUCOM Shifts to the South 
---------------------------------- 
3. (C) General Jones said that since the end of the Cold War, 
NATO's orientation and mission since the end of the Cold War 
had changed; there was a re-focus southward in the 
Mediterranean and Africa.  The Alliance was moving from a 
static, defensive, reactive body to one that was extended, 
flexible, more global.  The shift was not easy, as there was 
a view in Europe that NATO has no role in Africa. 
Nonetheless, they had re-vitalized the mil-mil context of the 
Mediterranean Dialogue and looked forward to Tunisia's 
continued involvement in that process.  The centerpiece of 
the effort would be Operation Active Endeavor, aimed at 
helping participating countries and ensuring the security and 
stability of the Mediterranean--extending perhaps even to the 
Black Sea.   General Jones said Cap Verde had agreed to his 
proposal to host an exercise with the new NATO Response 
Force.  He had also arranged a NATO-led assistance mission to 
Darfur at the recent AU meeting in Addis Ababa. At the same 
time, General Jones said he was looking to expand EUCOM's 
scope in Africa as well. 
 
4. (C)  On terrorism, General Jones said Tunisia seemed to 
understand the broad, international nature of the threat, but 
he wondered if the Europeans shared the understanding that it 
could not be handled as a domestic issue.  Chtioui said 
Tunisia had long appreciated the nature of the threat, and in 
1995 Tunisian President Ben Ali had warned that Europe was 
being used as a staging ground for exiled extremists.  Now, 
most people were aware of the problem, but still differed 
over the methods of fighting terrorism.  Tunisia liked the 
network/information sharing approach, both on the civilian 
and military sides, and was working very closely with 
European "5 plus 5" neighbors (France, Italy, Spain, 
Portugal, Malta) to coordinate tactics.  Chtioui again urged 
more material assistance to African nations to ensure they 
could work as an effective part of the network. 
5. (C)  General Jones and Chtioui agreed that security would 
come from proactive, preventive policies--a shift from NATO's 
traditional approach--and sustained partnerships. The 
envelope of security requires a solid fusion of military, 
economic, and social support, General Jones said, and Chtioui 
agreed that had been Tunisia's experience since the 80s. 
 
Trans-Sahara Counter-Terrorism Initiative (TSCTI) 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
6. (C)  Chtioui asked for a brief on TSCTI.  General Jones 
summarized that it was a new concept, a EUCOM idea that now 
involved nine countries, including Tunisia.  It was designed 
to be proactive and promote cooperation and intelligence 
sharing; hopefully it would help friends in the region get 
the help they needed to combat terrorism.  But it was just 
getting off the ground, and while there seemed to be good 
support for the Initiative in Washington, good sources of 
funding had not yet been established. 
 
7. (C) Ambassador Atallah (who was until recently Tunisia's 
Ambassador to the U.S) asked General Jones to elaborate on 
structural changes to EUCOM that seemed to be on the horizon. 
 General Jones explained there would be a reduction in the 
number of forces in Europe, but the force left behind (which 
would include rotational forces) would be more strategically 
oriented.  Part of the change would involve a menu of basing 
options, all existing with the agreement of the host 
government:  There would be permanent, strategic bases such 
as Ramstein, forward-operating sites such as Camp Bondsteel 
in Kosovo, which were large but not designed to be permanent; 
"cooperative security locations" where basic services (water, 
electricity, a runway) existed and could be used for short, 
30-60 day missions including humanitarian or medical 
missions.  Finally, there would be bilateral agreements to 
conduct training; these would normally involve a Status of 
Forces Agreement with the U.S..  General Jones said all these 
options could help the speed and proactiveness of EUCOM 
forces, while at the same time being less costly and less 
visible to host nation populations. 
 
Algeria/Libya: 
-------------- 
 
8. (C) Chtioui asked about engagement with Libya, commenting 
that Libya had often been critical of Tunisia's involvement 
with the U.S., but Libya's inclusion in this regional effort 
would help it normalize relations on all fronts.  General 
Jones said there were some political issues still on the 
table with Libya, such as the detention of the Bulgarian 
medical workers, but all signs were that once these were 
resolved there would be room for engagement.  On Algeria, 
General Jones said that in the last few years, cooperation 
with Algeria had "improved dramatically." 
 
9. (C) Comment:  The Tunisian message to General Jones is 
clearly "we want to participate, cooperate to the extent we 
can, but we need help."  The exchange may have suggested to 
the Tunisian side that if they increase their participation 
in Active Endeavor and in the planning for TSCTI, there may 
be a material pay off down the road.  While the GOT has 
always preferred to be discreet about its military 
relationship with the U.S. in terms of its public, we did not 
sense any fence sitting on their part regarding future 
involvement with EUCOM or NATO on that score.  That said, 
various media regional reports have exaggerated plans for 
future basing, including in Tunisia, and the Tunisian side 
was probably tasked with trying to clarify that issue. 
 
BALLARD