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### Viewing cable 05MADRID1879, U.S.-SPAIN COUNCIL: MOD BONO EXPRESSES "PERSONAL

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
05MADRID1879 | 2005-05-17 15:03 | 2010-12-07 12:12 | CONFIDENTIAL | Embassy Madrid

`

    This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

` `

    C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MADRID 001879

    SIPDIS

    E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/16/2015
    TAGS: PREL SP
    SUBJECT: U.S.-SPAIN COUNCIL: MOD BONO EXPRESSES "PERSONAL
    OPPOSITION" TO LIFTING EU CHINA ARMS EMBARGO

    Classified By: Political Counselor Kathy Fitzpatrick; reason 1.4 (B)

    ¶1. (C) Summary. The U.S.-Spain Council, a private
    bi-national NGO dedicated to strengthening U.S.-Spain
    relations, held its tenth annual meeting May 13-16 in
    Seville. Participants included U.S. Council Chairman Senator
    Chris Dodd, EUR DAS Glyn Davies, Charge Manzanares, Spanish
    Minister of Defense Jose Bono, Foreign Minister Miguel Angel
    Moratinos, Spain Council Chairman Antonio Garrigues, regional
    political officials, and business leaders from both
    countries. Prince Felipe hosted a dinner for meeting
    participants on the second evening of the event. The most
    newsworthy development during the Council meetings was
    Minister of Defense Bono's strong, but personal, public
    support for maintaining the EU China arms embargo (while
    making clear that FM Moratinos had the final word on Spain's
    position on the arms embargo) and his acknowledgement that he
    may have committed "errors" during his tenure as MOD, a
    reference to his statements/measures that have upset
    U.S.-Spain bilateral relations. Bono informed Charge that he
    had made both comments at the request of Secretary of Defense
    Rumsfeld. Separately, Moratinos urged the creation of a
    U.S.-Spain bilateral commission to meet at the ministerial
    level on an annual basis to discuss regional issues of mutual
    concern, as well as recommending other measures to enhance
    bilateral relations. While the comments of both ministers
    were largely positive, veiled swipes at opposition support
    for U.S. policy in Iraq reflected a continuing temptation to
    drag the USG into domestic political debates. End Summary.

    //DEFENSE MINISTER ON CHINA ARMS EMBARGO//

    ¶2. (C) Bono used a speech to participants in the tenth annual
    meeting of the U.S.-Spain Council to announce his personal
    opposition to the lifting of the EU arms embargo on China.
    He said that it did not make sense to lift the arms embargo
    now simply because "a particular EU country wants to sell
    weapons to China." Bono told Charge privately that he had
    made this statement to honor a request made by Secretary
    Rumsfeld during their May 3 meeting in Washington that Bono
    make public his views on the China arms embargo.

    ¶3. (C) While Bono was careful to note in his speech that FM
    Moratinos had the ultimate word on the China arms issue
    within the Spanish government, his comments nonetheless
    created a stir during an otherwise routine meeting of the
    Council. Charge learned that FM Moratinos and Socialist
    Party Director for International Relations Trinidad Jimenez
    called Bono after his speech to criticize the way he had
    framed the issue. Bono's comments came just hours after
    Moratinos' elaboration of a more nuanced position that tracks
    with that of its EU allies (see para 9.) Bono's statement
    apparently came as a surprise to members of his staff as
    well; an MOD contact called Embassy's Spanish-national
    political assistant (who was present for the speech) to
    verify Bono's declaration.

    ¶4. (C) Separately, Bono said during his speech that he may
    have committed "errors" during his tenure as Defense Minister
    and attributed these mistakes to his lack of experience in
    the MOD role. Bono told Charge that this admission, like his
    comments opposing the lifting of the EU China arms embargo,
    came at the urging of Secretary Rumsfeld. Bono made clear
    that he wanted Secretary Rumsfeld to be informed that he had
    complied with both requests.

    ¶5. (C) Bono's comments were not uniformly positive. He said
    international peace could not be achieved "without the U.S.
    or without the legitimacy (conferred by) the United Nations,"
    an implicit defense of the Zapatero government's withdrawal
    of troops from Iraq on the grounds that the intervention
    lacked a UN mandate. Also, Bono made a general comment to
    the effect that his Jesuit education had taught him that "the
    ends do not always justify the means." (NOTE: Emboffs in
    attendance interpreted this as a veiled criticism of the Iraq
    conflict and of the opposition Popular Party's decision to
    join the U.S.-led coalition. END NOTE.)

    //FOREIGN MINISTER CALLS FOR FORMATION OF U.S.-SPAIN
    BILATERAL COMMISSION//

    ¶6. (U) Moratinos made a wide-ranging speech on U.S.-EU
    relations and praised President Bush's expression of support
    for a strong Europe during his February visit to Brussels.
    He said NATO remained Europe's primary security organization
    and argued that there was no contradiction between a strong
    NATO and the elaboration of a common EU security and defense
    policy. Moratinos recommended increased personnel exchanges
    between the U.S. and the EU and the formation of an "EU
    caucus" in the U.S. Senate as mechanisms for further
    strengthening U.S.-EU ties. Moratinos lauded the USG role in
    the international community, particularly its part in
    resolving the Israeli-Palestinian dispute.

    ¶7. (U) The most notable element of Moratinos' speech was his
    call for the establishment of a permanent U.S.-Spain
    bilateral commission to meet at least once a year at the
    ministerial level for discussions on regional issues,
    particularly on Latin America, the Middle East, and the
    Mediterranean basin. Moratinos suggested other measures for
    strengthening U.S.-Spanish relations, including:

    -- joint initiatives to promote shared democratic values in
    North Africa and the Middle East;

    -- the reinforcement of institutional contacts, for example
    through events such as the June 6-10 visit to Washington by
    members of the Spanish Parliamentary Commission on
    International Relations;

    -- increased education exchanges to promote mutual
    understanding;

    -- the establishment of a joint scientific/industrial
    research and development institution; and,

    -- the formation of a joint business organization by private
    sector members of the U.S.-Spain Council.

    ¶8. (U) Moratinos described current U.S.-Spain relations in
    positive terms. He noted Spain's participation in
    peacekeeping efforts in Bosnia, Kosovo, Haiti, and
    Afghanistan and said Spain could be an important partner for
    the USG in other areas as well. Moratinos said Spain's
    advantages included its place as the world's eight largest
    economy ("bigger than that of G-8 member Canada"), its
    influence in Latin America, North Africa, and the Middle
    East, and Spain's role in the fight against terrorism.

    ¶9. (U) While focused on positive aspects of the bilateral
    relationship, Moratinos' speech also touched briefly on
    points of friction. He said Spain had "recovered the
    capacity to engage" the Cuban and Venezuelan governments,
    overcoming the tensions those relationships suffered during
    the Aznar administration. He insisted that Spain was not
    pursuing dialogue as an end in itself, but seeking increased
    influence in order to advocate for improved human rights
    practices on the part of the Cuban government and to preserve
    the rights that still exist in Venezuela. On the EU China
    arms embargo, Moratinos noted that any arms sales would be
    governed by strict EU controls, but said Beijing had to take
    steps to improve human rights conditions before this issue
    could move forward.

    //PP PARTICIPANT TAKES SHOTS AT ZAPATERO//

    ¶10. (U) Popular Party leader Mariano Rajoy declined an
    invitation to participate in the Council meetings, but PP
    Parliamentary spokesman on international relations Gustavo
    Aristegui did attend and mounted a withering attack on
    Zapatero's handling of U.S.-Spain relations. Aristegui said
    the GOS was now taking steps to correct its early mistakes,
    but without publicly acknowledging that it had committed
    grave errors. His Socialist counterpart Rafael Estrella
    (considered among the more pro-U.S. Socialist
    parliamentarians) fired back, asking how the USG would view
    it if a former president visited Europe to militate
    unceasingly against the policies of an incumbent
    administration. (NOTE: Both Aristegui and Estrella will be
    part of the Parliamentary delegation that will visit
    Washington June 6-10. They have invited Charge to meet with
    them prior to their departure to review their agenda for the
    visit.)

    //COMMENT//

    ¶11. (C) MOD Bono is among the most popular Spanish
    politicians and his speech before the U.S.-Spain Council
    demonstrated his rhetorical skills. He used the presence of
    the media and USG officials to comply with assurances he had
    reportedly made to Secretary Rumsfeld, while leaving to FM
    Moratinos the unpleasant duty of clarifying Spain's official
    position on the EU China arms embargo. For now, the GOS has
    evidently opted not to clarify the matter publicly in order
    to avoid the appearance of internal discord. More broadly,
    we note that both Bono and Moratinos continue to fight a
    two-front political battle with the opposition PP, on the one
    hand claiming that relations with the USG are as strong as
    ever, and on the other casting PP support for USG policies in
    Iraq as somehow illegitimate and contrary to international
    law. GOS officials have clearly tempered their public
    statements on Iraq in the last five months, but our efforts
    to keep them from dragging the USG into their domestic
    political battles remain a work in progress.
    NEALON

`