Viewing cable 10BRASILIA51, Ambassador Shannon's Meeting with MOD Jobim

Viewing cable 10BRASILIA51, Ambassador Shannon's Meeting

with MOD Jobim

If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable
as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs

Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:

• The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
• The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
• The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.

To understand the justification used for the classification of each cable, please use this WikiSource article as reference.

Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #10BRASILIA51.

Reference ID	Created	Released	Classification	Origin
10BRASILIA51	2010-02-18 13:01	2010-12-05 05:05	CONFIDENTIAL	Embassy Brasilia

VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBR #0051 0491308
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 181308Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0495
INFO RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO
RUEHSO/AMCONSUL SAO PAULO

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRASILIA 000051 

SIPDIS 
AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PASS TO AMCONSUL RECIFE 

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/02/18 
TAGS: PREL MOPS BR MASS
SUBJECT: Ambassador Shannon's Meeting with MOD Jobim 

CLASSIFIED BY: Thomas Shannon, Ambassador; REASON: 1.4(D) 1. (C) 

¶1. (C) During Ambassador Shannon's introductory call

February 5, Minister ofDefense Nelson Jobim described the

overall bilateral security relationship as

strong and transparent. He said he favored expanding it

this year, first hrough a Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA),

then through an information security agreement. He hopes to sign

the DCA during his proposed February 23 visit to Washington, if 

the Ministry for Foreign Affairs approves in time. 

¶2. (C) Jobim praised the U.S.-Brazil partnership in Haiti,

particularly the strong working relationship of Generals Keen and

Peixoto. He described his visit to Haiti two weeks earlier and

called the situation "extremely fragile." Jobim derided concerns

expressed by Venezuela of a "U.S. invasion" of Haiti, saying that

the proximity of the United States and its capacity to move large

amounts of material made it natural for the USG to play a leading

role in relief efforts. Given the extent of U.S. and Brazilian 

operations, Jobim hought there would be potential for exchanges

of lessons learned. He underlined the importance of the UN approaching

Haiti's future form the point of view of "constructing" the country

rather than simply providing security and said that MINUSTAH will

need an improved UNSC mandate to be effective in this role. According

to Jobim, Brazil will be making further investments in

Haiti's future, projects which Ambassador Shannon noted will

present additional opportunities for cooperation. 

¶3. (C) Ambassador Shannon said that he had seen President Lula's

and Jobim's)denial that there was a final decision in the FX2

competition. While the sale has been conducted as a commercial transaction,

its significance for the bilateral relationship should not be overlooked.

The unprecedented decisions regarding the transfer of U.S. technology

in support of the Super Hornet show the high level of confidence the

USG places in its partnership with Brazil. Brazil, as it makes a

decision, should try to consolidate and protect this important advance. 

¶4. (C) The MOD gave a summary of security issues in the South

America region, stressing the importance of building regional

institutions to reduce the risks of conflict. Jobim spoke of his

efforts to ameliorate tensions between Colombia and Ecuador following

the 2008 bombing of a FARC facility inside Ecuador by

Colombian forces. Contacts between Defense Ministers, through the

South American Defense Council (SADC), he said, had been key to

managing the after effects of the strike, providing a good test case

for the SADC. Jobim told Ambassador Shannon that Brazil has offered

to help monitor the Colombia-Ecuador border as a confidence building

measure. He was less optimistic about Brazil's ability

to manage Venezuela and expressed concern about Chavez's increasingly 

complicated domestic situation. He worried aloud about the impact in

Venezuela if Chavez resorted to violent repression of demonstrators.

SHANNON