SOUTH AFRICAN ARMORED VEHICLES FOR IRAQI SECURITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 001146

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/06/2016
TAGS: MASS MARR MOPS PREL PGOV IZ SF
SUBJECT: SOUTH AFRICAN ARMORED VEHICLES FOR IRAQI SECURITY
FORCES

Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission David M. Satterfield for reasons
1.4 (a),(b),and (d).


1. (U) THIS IS AN ACTION REQUEST; PLEASE SEE PARA 6.

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BACKGROUND
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2. (C) A South African company -- Integrated Convoy
Protection, Ltd. (ICP) -- entered into a contract on
September 16, 2005, with Joint Contracting Command - Iraq
(JCC-I) to supply 85 REVA armored personnel vehicles.
(Contract number W914NS-05-D-9037.) ICP subsequently
subcontracted the assembly of the REVA vehicles to DCD-Dorbyl
Heavy Engineering, Ltd. (VENCO works) of South Africa. To
date, DCD-Dorbyl Heavy Engineering has assembled 23 vehicles,
12 of which are in storage and awaiting shipment at the
Johannesburg Airport; 11 are still awaiting shipment to the
airport. Production of the remaining 62 is ongoing, with 15
of these vehicles in the advanced stages of assembly.
However, so far none of the vehicles have been released for
export to Iraq.


3. (C) The final permit that is yet to be issued by the
Government of South Africa is the export license delivery
notice, which is issued by the National Conventional Arms
Control Committee (NCACC). This license authorizes specific
vehicles by chassis number to be exported. ICP has been
unable to obtain this license from the NCACC.


4. (C) In December 2005, Charge d'Affaires Teitelbaum in
Pretoria sent a letter to the NCACC asking that the vehicles
be released for delivery to Baghdad. In early March 2006, an
Iraqi delegation (including National Security Advisor Dr.
Mowwafak al-Rubaie, Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz, and Iraqi
Ambassador to South Africa Qasim al-Rammah) requested that
the vehicles be released for export. Deputy Foreign Minister
Aziz went so far as to raise the issue with South African
President Mbeki.


5. (C) We understand the shipping documents may contain
administrative errors that can be corrected by pen and ink.
However, it appears that the larger issue is that the South
African Government, through the NCACC, must be reassured that
these vehicles will be used for their intended purpose.
South Africa is concerned about its image given the recent
history of South African former army officers and past
shipments of military equipment that may have gone astray.

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ACTION REQUEST
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6. (C) ACTION REQUEST: Embassy requests Department to direct
Embassy Pretoria to call upon the Government of South Africa,
at the highest levels, to renew our request that it approve
the required export licenses and release the vehicles for
immediate shipment to Iraq. In addition, Embassy requests
Department to call upon South African Embassy at the
Undersecretary for Political Affairs level to request
assistance in seeing that the vehicles are shipped promptly.
END ACTION REQUEST.


7. (C) Embassy Pretoria and Department are invited to draw
from the below talking points:

BEGIN TALKING POINTS:

-- The Government of Iraq has entered into a contract with
Integrated Convoy Protection, Ltd. to purchase 85 REVA
armored personnel vehicles for use by the Iraqi National
Police forces. (Contract number W914NS-05-D-9037.)

-- These vehicles are being assembled by DCD-Dorbyl Heavy
Engineering, Ltd., and 23 are ready for shipment. Assembly
of the remaining 62 is ongoing, and 15 others will be ready
for shipment soon.

-- The vehicles in question are awaiting shipment both at the
airport and at the factory but cannot be shipped because the
NCACC has yet to issue the required export license delivery
notice.

-- The vehicles will be used by the Iraqi Police forces and
are vital to Iraqi efforts to prevent sectarian strife, to
protect Iraqi civilians and security forces, and to fight
international terrorists.


-- These vehicles will not be transferred to a third country.

-- The Iraqi Government expected delivery of these vehicles
to begin in early December 2005, and combat operations that
have taken place since that date would have been greatly
enhanced had these vehicles been shipped on time and not been
held up by the NCACC.

-- REVA vehicles similar to the ones purchased by the Iraqis
have already been shipped to Iraq and are currently being
used by other entities in Iraq - including the United Nations
Assistance Mission to Iraq (UNAMI).

-- Iraqi Security Forces urgently require these vehicles to
protect their lives and the lives of the civilians they
protect. It would be unfortunate if the Government of South
Africa were to be perceived as an impediment to enhancing
security in Iraq by withholding the shipment of these badly
needed vehicles.

-- We strongly urge your government to take immediate action
to facilitate the issuance of the required licenses and to
permit the shipment of these vehicles to Iraq.

END TALKING POINTS.
KHALILZAD