UAE, GERMANY, AND IRAQ SIGN MILITARY TRAINING

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABU DHABI 001049 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/06/2015 TAGS: MASS PREL IZ TC SUBJECT: UAE, GERMANY, AND IRAQ SIGN MILITARY TRAINING AGREEMENT REF: 04 ABU DHABI 1826 Classified By: Ambassador Michele J. Sison, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (U) During German Chancellor Schroeder,s visit to the UAE March 4-5, the UAE, Germany, and Iraq signed an agreement which provides for the training of Iraqi military personnel. The agreement, which expands the role of Germany and the UAE in training members of the Iraqi armed forces, clears the way for training and equipping an engineering unit. ¶2. (U) Germany will supply the instructors and provide the 250 Iraqi trainees with the necessary equipment, including graders, bulldozers, 20-ton cranes, and cement mixers. The UAE military will cover the expenses of the trainers, trainees, and interpreters, according to the German Embassy. The top Iraqi official at the signing ceremony was Bruska Noori Shaways, Secretary General of Iraq,s Ministry of Defense. UAE Armed Forces Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Hamad Mohammed Thani Al Rumaithy represented his government. ¶3. (U) UAE-German military cooperation on Iraq dates back to November 17 when 122 Iraqi personnel were trained to operate, repair, and maintain 100 Daimler-Mercedes 5-ton trucks sold by Germany to the UAE. The UAE paid to transport the trucks to Iraq, as well as the expenses of the German trainers, translators, and Iraqi trainees. ¶4. (C) German training for the Iraqi military was preceded by German training for Iraqi civil police (see reftel). According to the German Embassy, during 2004, about a dozen trainers from Germany,s equivalent of the FBI trained a total of 431 Iraqi police in the fundamentals of crime scene investigation. There were four, four-week courses. The courses took place at Al Ain Police College in Abu Dhabi emirate, and included anywhere from eight to 15 UAE police participants. In addition, the UAE provided food, accommodations, a small per diem, and transportation for the Iraqi police between Iraq and the UAE. ¶5. (C) The German Embassy has told us that 30 Iraqi police are currently undergoing personal protection training. The four-week course involves eight instructors from the German federal police, and is designed to train Iraqi police to protect Iraqi politicians. The course will be followed by a two-month course in hostage rescue techniques for the same group of Iraqi police officers. The UAE police will provide that training. Germany is providing radios, some weapons, ammunition, and other equipment. The UAE is providing training grounds at an armed forces location, as well as automobiles. In the future, Germany hopes to offer training in EOD tactics, which the Iraqis have requested. ¶6. (U) Baghdad minimize considered. SISON