EMERGENCY ACTION COMMITTEE- REO BASRAH 07/23/06

C O N F I D E N T I A L BASRAH 000123

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 7/24/2016
TAGS: ASEC AMGT PTER IZ
SUBJECT: EMERGENCY ACTION COMMITTEE- REO BASRAH 07/23/06

REF: A) BASRAH 121, B) BASRAH 120

CLASSIFIED BY: Mark Marrano, DEPUTY REGIONAL COORDINATOR, REO
BASRAH, DEPARTMENT OF STATE.
REASON: 1.4 (g)


1. (C) The Deputy Regional Coordinator (DRC) chaired a session
of the Emergency Action Committee (EAC) on July 23 to discuss
the continued threat of sustained indirect fire (IDF) attacks
and the lack of adequate hardened protection for all of the 419
personnel on the Regional Embassy Office (REO) Basrah Palace
compound. Attending the meeting were representatives from U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers, Joint Contracting Command Iraq (JCCI),
Triple Canopy, Civilian Police Assistance Training Team (CPATT),
Department of Justice, Strategic Counter Intelligence
Directorate (SCID),Kellogg Brown and Root, the United Nations,
and the Danish Mission. The EAC decided to enact a temporary
limited redeployment of REO personnel to reduce existing
personnel on the REO compound to roughly 250.


2. (C) On July 22 at 0230, a single rocket launched at the
Basrah Palace compound hit the Office of Regional Affairs (ORA)
office/residential area located on the British compound. The
rocket traveled through five HESCO barriers and completely
through one trailer before embedding itself in the living area
of a second trailer. The occupant of the bed that the rocket
destroyed was on duty and not present at the time of the attack.
The occupant of the other bed in the trailer was shaken but
uninjured. The rocket did not detonate.


3. (C) On July 23 at 2315, six mortars were fired at the Basrah
Palace compound and all six landed within the compound. One
mortar landed near the REO fuel point, one outside the REO gym,
two in the pond behind the MWR theater, one at the MWR theater,
and one on the British side of the compound. The mortar that
landed at the MWR theater set the outdoor seating area on fire
and caused shrapnel damage to the building. Security personnel
put out the fire. No injuries were caused to REO personnel.
Reftel A outlines other attacks on the REO compound since July

16.


4. (C) As per reftel B, the EAC recognizes the limited
capability of the bunkers to house all 419 REO personnel
overnight. In response to the continuation of IDF, the EAC has
decided to bring the numbers of personnel on the REO compound
into line with the existing capacity of overnight hardened
accommodations. All agencies on the compound will relocate all
or some of their personnel to other locations temporarily until
conditions at the REO become permissible to allow a return of
personnel.


5. (C) All agencies agreed to bring their personnel numbers
into line in order to reduce the total number of personnel on
the REO compound from 419 to roughly 250. This would involve
the UN, CPATT, ACE, DOJ, and JCCI to relocate all of their
existing personnel to alternate locations. The UN requested to
allow two people, their military advisor and a security officer,
to remain on the compound, but would seek to arrange life
support for there people on the British side of the compound.
Triple Canopy will reduce the number of security contractors
assigned to movement teams. DOS, KBR, and SCID will temporarily
redeploy some of their personnel to alternate locations.


5. (C) SCID requested to allow all 19 of their personnel on the
REO compound, but admitted that four of the 19 could be
redeployed temporarily to another location. SCID justified
their position by stating that 12 of their staff were personal
security detail that were necessary to move their staff to
meeting locations outside of the REO compound. Without the PSD
team, SCID could reduce their numbers to seven but would be
unable to conduct meetings outside the REO compound.


6. (C) KBR staff agreed to a limited redeployment of 34 out of
107 personnel based on the overall reduced numbers of REO
personnel to support. Several construction projects slated to
be started, including the expanded laundry facility,
construction and the helicopter landing pad, would be
temporarily halted. However, overhead construction on the ORA
compound would continue.


7. (C) There is a coordinated effort in place between REO
Basrah, Embassy Baghdad, U.S. military, and the Iraq Support
Unit in Kuwait to move personnel designated for redeployment out
of REO Basrah.


8. (C) The EAC will monitor events and reconvene as necessary.

GROSS