EMERGENCY ACTION COMMITTEE - REO BASRAH 07/27/06

C O N F I D E N T I A L BASRAH 000126 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR P, M AND NEA, ALSO FOR DS/IP/NEA E.O. 12958: DECL: 7/28/2016 TAGS: ASEC AMGT PTER IZ SUBJECT: EMERGENCY ACTION COMMITTEE - REO BASRAH 07/27/06 REF: (A) BASRAH 124 (B) BAGHDAD 2657 (C) BASRAH 123 (D) BASRAH 121 CLASSIFIED BY: Mark F. Marrano, Deputy Regional Coordinator, Basrah Regional Embassy Office, Department of State. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (C) The Deputy Regional Coordinator (DRC) chaired a session of the Emergency Action Committee (EAC) on July 27 to discuss plans to manage the continued threat of sustained indirect fire (IDF) attacks with the reduced number of personnel on the Regional Embassy Compound. Attending the meeting were representatives from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Triple Canopy, Strategic Counter Intelligence Directorate (SCID), Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR) and the Office of Regional Affairs (ORA). The EAC decided to assign personnel to existing hardened structures on the REO and British compounds in the event of the need to pre-position personnel all night because of an imminent IDF attack. Pre-Positioning -------------- ¶2. (C) As a result of the partial redeployment of 137 personnel, the REO currently has 298 personnel on the compound (see ref A). This number allows the REO to pre-position personnel using existing hardened structures. The British military have offered the use of their hardened gym facility for 35 personnel to sleep. Utilizing this structure as well as the REO Embassy Office Building (EOB),the Danish Office building, a small hardened KBR office building and two bunkers with recently installed air conditioning units, the REO would be able to provide sustained overhead protection for all personnel. In the event the RSO receives threat warnings from different sources of a possible IDF attack, personnel would be instructed to move to their assigned hardened structure for the duration of the night. Indirect Fire -------------- ¶3. (C) The REO has seen a lull in the IDF activity. The British military, SCID and ORA have attributed this lull to the success of the British military in seizing large weapons caches in the city. According to these organizations, the rocket and mortar teams have simply run out of weapons to use and until they re-arm, the lull can be expected to continue. The REO is using this opportunity to expedite HESCO barrier and bunker projects that have already been planned. ¶4. (C) The EAC will monitor events and reconvene as necessary. MARRANO