Cablegate: Delivering On Nato's Promise to Afghanistan

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OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHWL #0911 3250302
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 210302Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3507
INFO RUEHXP/ALL NATO POST COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI IMMEDIATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L WELLINGTON 000911

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR D (FRITZ), EAP/FO, EUR/RPM, AND EAP/ANP
NSC FOR VICTOR CHA
SECDEF FOR OSD/ISD JESSICA POWERS
PACOM FOR J01E/J2/J233/J5/SJFHQ

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/20/2016
TAGS: PREL MARR MOPS PINS NZ
SUBJECT: DELIVERING ON NATO'S PROMISE TO AFGHANISTAN

REF: SECSTATE 186256

Classified By: DCM David Keegan,
for reasons 1.4(b) and (d)

1. (C) Pol-Econ Couns shared reftel points with Michael
Swain, Deputy Director of the Security Policy Division at the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT). Swain
expressed sympathy with our frustrations over caveats (NZDF
force personnel operate without caveats in Afghanistan) and
said NZ remains appreciative of US support of NZDF
operations.

2. (C) Swain also said that GNZ Ministers will over the
coming months be considering options for a future NZDF role
in Afghanistan, as the current deployment is only scheduled
through September 2007. GNZ takes its commitment seriously,
but Ministers have made it clear that NZDF must be able to
cover all contingencies in the region, where New Zealand and
Australia are the first and last resort. Troops are in
Solomons and Timor and now also Tonga, and events in Fiji
remain worrisome, said Swain.

3. (C) Comment: Post will continue to monitor closely GNZ's
review of its Afghanistan commitments and encourage a
continued, meaningful NZDF presence. Higher level
expressions of encouragement from senior USG officials
meeting with GNZ counterparts would also be useful here.

McCormick

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