US embassy cable - 05MADRID2967

C O N F I D E N T I A L MADRID 002967 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/17/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, MARR, SP, AF 
SUBJECT: SPAIN:  ZAPATERO'S CAREFUL HELO CRASH RESPONSE 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Eduardo Aguirre for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1. (SBU) Through the first 24 hours after two Spanish 
helicopters crashed in Afghanistan on August 16, killing 17 
Spanish soldiers and injuring five others, President Zapatero 
and Defense Minister Bono have responded quickly and 
efficiently, garnering positive press and few public 
complaints.  Clearly they are aiming to maintain Spanish 
public resolve to stay the course in Afghanistan and to avoid 
the political firestorm that the Aznar government endured 
after the loss of 62 Spanish soldiers in an aircraft crash in 
2003.  While the GOS has not ruled out any explanation for 
the crash, Bono's initial report is that so far investigators 
have found no signs that insurgents attacked the helicopter. 
 
2. (SBU) On August 16, Zapatero and Bono both rushed back to 
Madrid from their August vacations to take charge of the 
government's response.  In his televised remarks that 
evening, Zapatero noted that soldiers gave "their lives to 
defend, far from their homeland, liberty and peace."  He also 
emphasized that both the UN and the Spanish Parliament had 
explicitly approved the mission.  Popular, and generally 
pro-Zapatero government, Spanish daily El Pais picked up 
these themes in a positive editorial promoting the 
humanitarian aspect of the UN mandate and noting the 
"incontrovertible fact" that Spain faces threats to its 
security from international terrorist sanctuaries in far-off 
places. 
 
3. (SBU) Bono appeared on TV within a few hours of the crash, 
reading a list of the casualties, answering questions, and 
announcing that he would personally lead a team of forensic 
experts to Afghanistan.  He focused on measures that the 
government would take for the victims' families, particularly 
quick identification and repatriation of the victims' 
corpses.  After the 2003 crash in Turkey that killed 62 
Spanish soldiers, the government misidentified 30 of the 
bodies.  New rules adopted in the aftermath of that disaster 
require soldiers to give DNA and blood samples before 
participating in overseas missions and require the military 
to repatriate corpses within seven days.  Bono said on August 
17 that identification of the corpses should be complete in 
72 hours. 
 
4. (SBU) Opposition leader Mariano Rajoy (Popular Party) 
expressed complete support for the military, although a party 
spokesman said that his party would never blame the 
Government and President for such a tragedy, "like others 
have done," and questioned the true mission of the 17 
soldiers who were killed.  Two small radical parties have 
used the crash to renew their calls for withdrawal of Spanish 
troops from Afghanistan. 
 
5. (C) Comment.  The Zapatero government has so far responded 
effectively to the crash from both the domestic and 
international political perspectives, but it has not yet 
addressed tough questions on the cause.  There have been 
serious issues with the readiness of the Spanish military's 
helicopter fleet.  The helicopters that crashed were among 
the few Spanish helicopters currently certified as airworthy. 
 Any indication that problems with the aircraft themselves 
led to the crash could lead to an unraveling of the current 
public support for the government.  Senior Spanish government 
officials have been very appreciative of the expressions of 
sympathy by the Secretary, the Ambassador, and other senior 
US officials.  Our focus is to help the government find ways 
to convince the Spanish people to stay the course in 
A