Cablegate: S/Crs Ambassador Herbst Engages Germany Ahead Of

R 141420Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6415
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0839
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 1681
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA 0941
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 1351

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BERLIN 003503

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT. FOR S/CRS, EUR/ERA, EUG/AGS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON EAID KPKO CM GM XA
SUBJECT: S/CRS AMBASSADOR HERBST ENGAGES GERMANY AHEAD OF
G-8/E.U. PRESIDENCIES

1. (SBU) SUMMARY. In a series of meetings December 6,
S/CRS Coordinator Ambassador John Herbst pushed German
officials to incorporate stability and reconstruction (S/R)
programming into their 2007 G-8 and EU presidencies. His
interlocutors from the Federal Chancellery and Foreign
Ministry suggested a willingness to move the G-8 S/R agenda
beyond steps made during the Russian G-8 presidency, most
likely in conjunction with the expected G-8 discussion on
Africa. Looking at the S/R issue broadly, Development
Ministry officials expressed concern about China's policies
undercutting other donors' efforts -- e.g., in Darfur or
Zimbabwe. All of Herbst's meetings highlighted that
Germany's efforts to formalize inter-agency S/R institutional
mechanisms remain in their nascent stages. The discussions
also showed a German concern about maintaining strong roles
for the UN and, to a certain extent the EU, in S/R. END
SUMMARY

FOREIGN MINISTRY: MIXED RESPONSE ON GERMAN G-8 S/R AGENDA

2. (SBU) The Secretary's Coordinator for Reconstruction and
Stabilization (S/CRS), Ambassador John Herbst, met with
Foreign Ministry Deputy Political Director Ambassador Ulrich
Brandenberg to explore German-U.S. stability and
reconstruction (S/R) cooperation during the 2007 German G-8
and European Union Presidencies. Brandenberg expressed
continued deference to the European Union on S/R issues and
hoped to formalize U.S.-EU collaboration on civilian crisis
operations in areas where NATO has not already done so. When
pressed to describe additional opportunities, Brandenberg
cited Afghanistan, with a particular focus on "Europeanizing"
German national efforts on S/R and then synchronizing those
of the United States. Brandenberg also referenced continued
discussions in the EU about assuming a larger role in
Israeli/Palestinian peace process. However, he remained
skeptical about broad German involvement globally in S/R
issues.

3. (SBU) Herbst noted that S/R first appeared on the G-8
agenda during Russia's 2006 presidency and suggested it would
be useful to push the agenda one step further in 2007.
Brandenburg reiterated Germany's G-8 ambitions to revive
African development and stabilization efforts, adding that
the G-8, while lacking the operational structure to deliver
technical capacity on these issues, still could generate
political momentum to push this agenda broadly. Responding
to Herbst's proposal of an S/R website for Germany's G-8
presidency or a modest S/R training exchange for G-8 members,
Brandenberg demurred and reiterated that Germany's Africa
goals represented a step forward for S/R within the G-8
context. He added that Germany is still setting out the
broad themes for its chairmanship and remained noncommittal
on a U.S. proposal for a G-8 S/R experts meeting.

4. (SBU) Ambassador Friedrich Daeuble, Commissioner for
Civilian Crisis Prevention, Conflict Resolution, and
Post-Conflict Peace-Building at the Foreign Ministry, cited
adopting German bureaucratic structures to the new S/R
operational environment as his major obstacle. Despite
lamenting his office's lack of staff and resources, Daeuble
anticipated a political push for S/R issues in the Bundestag
in the coming months and noted he would push for greater
steps on S/R within the G-8 framework during Germany's
chairmanship. He also hopes to raise the profile of the new
U.S. S/R framework for cooperation with Canada and the United
Kingdom within German government.

5. (SBU) Referencing the disappointing lack of substance in
the October 2006 Moscow G-8 S/R experts meeting, Daeuble
wondered whether the G-8 was optimal group to advance the S/R
agenda or if the Moscow meeting simply reflected the novelty
of using the G-8 forum for S/R issues. Herbst suggested
demonstrating a G-8 interest in S/R would move the S/R agenda
forward in all G-8 members, including those that have yet to
formalize S/R-dedicated institutions, and would ultimately
precipitate the needed transformations.

6. (SBU) Daeuble thought it would be useful for the G-8 to
support African peacekeeping, stabilization, and relief
capacities. He was interested in a proposal to engage an
African Union-esque election monitoring program or peace
consolidation exercise. He thought such a move would be in
line with the Rule of Law component to Germany's G-8 Africa
agenda. As a forum to advance these proposals, Daeuble
suggested that a G-8 S/R experts meeting might follow the
June 7-8 Heilengendamm summit and asked the United States for
specific language by mid-February 2007 to incorporate into
the G-8 agenda.

CHANCELLERY PUSHING FOR GREATER S/R INTERAGENCY COOPERATION

7. (SBU) Federal Chancellery Director for United Nations
and Global Affairs Edgar Gansen outlined efforts to
coordinate the German government's interagency response to
S/R. With the Chancellery particularly focused on
post-conflict S/R and the "strong feeling" of the government
to increase S/R efforts, he sees a need to focus
government-wide coordination in the Chancellery itself and
acknowledged the bureaucratic challenges facing Daeuble's
Foreign Ministry office.

8. (SBU) Discussing the need for greater attention to S/R
on the G-8 agenda, Gansen was skeptical about commitments for
additional money. He also deflected U.S. proposals to train
a handful of S/R staff from G-8 states at the State
Department or the German Center for International Peace
Operations (ZIF). Still, he proposed greater involvement
from China on S/R as a pathway for that country to assume a
larger international role.

CHINA, U.N. DOMINATE DEVELOPMENT MINISTRY S/R THEMES

9. (SBU) Dr. Doris Witteler-Stiepelmann, Office Director
for Peace building, Crisis Prevention, and Foreign and
Security Policy at the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and
Development, stressed the importance of the United Nations'
role in international S/R efforts. She expressed reluctance
to move beyond UN instruments in conflict settings.
Acknowledging the value the UN's experience adds to S/R work,
Herbst pointed out political realities among states in crisis
can prevent constructive engagement within formal UN channels
-- realities that Europe understood in the Balkans in the
1990's. This instance necessitated alternative mechanisms.
He asked Witteler to include S/R on Germany's EU presidency
development agenda, particularly in the realm of resource
allocation. Witteler said pushing S/R through the EU would
require bilateral and multilateral engagement from the U.S.
as much as Germany.

10. (SBU) Witteler also expressed particular concern about
the impact of China's political and economic rise on
Germany's development agenda, particularly in Africa, and
elicited U.S. opinions. Citing the November 2006
China-Africa summit in Beijing and ongoing Chinese support
for the Sudanese regime amid the Darfur crisis, Witteler
expressed unease with China's emergence as an "alternative"
donor. She feared Chinese offers of development aid to
regimes (e.g., Zimbabwe) whose human rights records or other
policies cause concerns to Western donors would weaken the
political efforts of Germany and its allies. Her deputy,
Bernd Gruschinski, noted that China's aspirations for greater
political influence and resource interests governed the
Chinese Africa agenda; China therefore had no objections to
supporting questionable regimes. In his view, China's
behavior undercuts Germany's focus on market-based
development mechanisms. (Note: In other fora, the German
government has begun questioning its ongoing annual
development aid to China following the 2005 closure of
certain U.N. development agencies Chinese operations and
China's aid donations to Africa. End Note.)

11. (SBU) Ambassador Herbst noted China could offer some
benefits on S/R issues if engaged properly and cited China's
existing role in Afghanistan as an example. Ambassador
Herbst also identified the need to work with Japan on issues
affecting Asia, particularly on the Korean peninsula, and
that developing Japan's S/R capabilities through the G-8 was
one option.

12. (U) This text has been cleared by S/CRS Ambassador
Herbst.
TIMKEN JR

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