U.S. ANSWERS MFA CONCERNS ABOUT EXPORTS OF CZECH

C O N F I D E N T I A L PRAGUE 001145 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/21/2015 TAGS: KOMC PREL IZ PGOV EZ AF SUBJECT: U.S. ANSWERS MFA CONCERNS ABOUT EXPORTS OF CZECH AMMUNITION TO IRAQ REF: A. HORNER-GREANEY E-MAILS 6/20/05 - 8/2/05 ¶B. PRAGUE 889 NOTAL ¶C. PRAGUE 1104 NOTAL Classified By: Political-Military Officer Brian Greaney for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 1) This is an action request please see paragraph 5. 2) As reported Ref B, the licensing authorities at the Czech MFA are often cautious about authorizing transfers of ammunition to Iraq and Afghanistan. In Ref B, Embassy Prague requested points of contact at Embassy Baghdad and Embassy Kabul in order to develop answers to Czech MFA questions about transfers to each country. 3) Embassy Baghdad's designated point of contact August 1 provided information that ammunition requests from the Iraqi Ministries of Defense, Justice and Oil were: a) within the powers of the ministries to contract, b) met an established need for ammunition, and c) included provision for appropriate secure storage. 4) Pol-Mil Off August 2 delivered this information to Petr Kaiser, head of licensing at the Czech MFA. Kaiser indicated that this was precisely the information needed. We expect the MFA to issue a decision in favor of the ammunition transfers, leading to issuance of a license by the Ministry for Industry and Commerce. Post would like to thank Embassy Baghdad in assisting with this information request in spite of staffing shortages. 5) (C) Comment: We understand that when future Czech-Afghan arms shipments take place, information gathering may be difficult. The Czechs lack of an embassy in Kabul will limit their own ability to assess the appropriateness of each arms transfer. The Czech MFA's willingness to consult is driven by a desire to ensure U.S. personnel and interests are not endangered by a Czech arms deal. This consultative mechanism has in recent months been placed under strain by U.S. delays when dealing with other types of arms exports (Ref C). The Czech MFA, while waiting for a U.S. response, has been exposed to potential legal action from arms exporters for failing to render an advisory opinion in a timely manner. MFA contacts have warned that their ability to inject U.S. policy concerns into the GOCR's export licensing process will be limited if the U.S. is unable to render a timely opinion. Post suggests that Embassy Kabul nominate a point of contact to work with us to provide U.S. information on the appropriateness of future deals. By doing so we can maximize U.S. influence over future Czech decisions on arms exports to Afghanistan. End comment. CABANISS