GENERAL WALD URGES BOTSWANA PARTICIPATION IN PKOS

C O N F I D E N T I A L GABORONE 000520

SIPDIS


DEPT FOR AF/S DIFFILY

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/13/2015
TAGS: PREL MARR US BC POL MIL
SUBJECT: GENERAL WALD URGES BOTSWANA PARTICIPATION IN PKOS
DURING MEETING WITH PRESIDENT MOGAE

Classified By: AMBASSADOR JOSEPH HUGGINS FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D).


1. (C) Summary: General Charles Wald, Deputy Commander of
EUCOM, discussed EUCOM programs, Botswana,s training needs,
and peacekeeping (PKO) issues in a meeting at the Presidency
on April 13. General Wald said the African Union (AU),not
the United Nations or the European Union, should have the
lead in maintaining security in Africa. He urged Botswana to
show leadership by participating in the current PKOs in
Darfur by lending one or more of its C-130s on a reimbursable
basis. This was crucial due to insufficient logistical
support on the continent. President Mogae repeatedly cited
difficulties with assisting, but when asked by General Wald
if military planning support might be an option, said
Botswana could contribute one or two planners. General Wald
and Ambassador Huggins also highlighted the U.S. military,s
humanitarian programs within Botswana, especially on
HIV/AIDS, for which President Mogae thanked them. End
summary.


2. (C) General Wald called on President Mogae in the company
of the Ambassador, POLAD Terry Snell, DIA,s John Kiehm,
Brigadier General Thomas Verbeck, DCM (notetaker),and other
EUCOM staff. Asked by President Mogae what he had learned,
General Wald lauded Botswana,s leadership in Africa. Mogae
thanked him but noted that Botswana must &avoid missteps
with neighbors,8 i.e. Zimbabwe.


3. (C) Commending the Botswana Defence Force as being &as
good as any in Africa,8 General Wald said he had raised the
importance of the AU in African peacekeeping during his BDF
briefing. He stressed the urgent need for support in Darfur,
Sudan. With the AU planning to double its force to 7,200, a
capable airlift fleet was a necessity. General Wald said
those troops would later transfer to UN command. Would
Botswana offer its C-130s on a reimbursable basis, since they
were among the few in Africa that actually functioned? While
saying the U.S. would continue to give Botswana PKO training,
General Wald pressed this theme throughout the conversation,
appealing to Botswana,s leadership and generosity.


4. (C) President Mogae replied that, while Botswana accepted
this in principle as a &moral duty,8 its budget constraints
and the HIV/AIDS pandemic constrained Botswana,s
participation. Botswana was already diverting development
funds to fight HIV/AIDS. He added that Botswana had recently
been asked to send troops for a PKO in the Democratic
Republic of Congo. The two later discussed the complexity of
assisting in the DRC. President Mogae agreed that military
observer teams were preventing atrocities in Darfur and that
Southern African countries should increase their presence.
He added that the Sudanese think Botswana is hostile to them
because he constantly raised the issue of the Arab north,s
abuse of Sudan,s southern population at numerous OAU/AU
meetings. He continued to maintain, however, that Botswana
could not participate.


5. (C) General Wald then suggested that Botswana could
contribute by providing military planning staff for these
operations. If Botswana could provide three planners, this
would be a significant contribution to the 32 total needed.
President Mogae offered to send one or two planners.


6. (C) EUCOM also wanted Botswana, when it saw fit, to
provide leadership as the Southern African Development
Community (SADC) forms its Brigade Response Force, said
General Wald. He praised Botswana,s attention to addressing
HIV/AIDS in the military. He and Ambassador Huggins
discussed details of the U.S. military,s humanitarian
assistance for HIV/AIDS and orphans, which President Mogae
appreciated.


7. (C) Comment: President Mogae certainly had expected
General Wald to ask Botswana to participate in PKOs,
especially in Darfur, and he initially gave his standard
response. However, he also knows how important Botwana,s
participation is to the U.S., and his willingness to send
planners reflects that understanding. SADC SecGen Ramsamy
divulged in a later meeting (septel) that Botswana had
offered C-130 support to the SADC Brigade Response Force.
Ramsamy did not provide details of pledges to the new force,
however, since the report is still in draft, and it is not
clear that the C-130 might be available anytime soon for
PKOs. Mission will follow up with Botswana on the C-130
issue since the proposal for use of the aircraft is on a
reimbursable basis, and cost should no longer be a driving
factor.

HUGGINS


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