POLAND STEADFAST ON NATO'S PROMISE TO AFGHANISTAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L WARSAW 002425 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/19/2011 TAGS: PREL MARR MOPS NATO PL AF SUBJECT: POLAND STEADFAST ON NATO'S PROMISE TO AFGHANISTAN REF: STATE 186256 Classified By: DCM Kenneth M. Hillas, reasons 1.4(b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Charge and Pol External Chief delivered reftel points November 17 to Robert Kupiecki, Director of MFA Security Policy Department. Charge stressed U.S. appreciation for Poland's exemplary commitment to ISAF and OEF, both through its planned deployment of 1200 troops in early 2007 and for its lack of caveats. ¶2. (C) Kupiecki indicated that Poland was taking a very active approach on Afghanistan in the NATO context. The draft of President Lech Kaczynski's speech at the Riga Summit was entirely consistent with the U.S. approach, stressing the importance to NATO of success in Afghanistan. Poland was also lobbying actively within the EU for increased troop contributions and an end to caveats. The GOP had pushed the Czechs, Slovaks and Hungarians in V-4 consultations, but none of the three planned any troop increases. ¶3. (C) Similarly, the German government was not planning either increases to its ISAF contingent nor a change to its current caveats on its use, Kupiecki said. However, the Germans were planning to push for increased EU engagement in Afghanistan during the January-June 2007 German EU Presidency. The Germans planned to focus on police and judicial training, drawing on successful EU experience in the Balkans. According to Kupiecki, the Germans also hoped for significant EU-U.S. cooperation in this area, again based on the Balkan model. ¶4. (C) Kupiecki said that the GOP was making interagency preparations for an EU request for police trainers. Poland had significant expertise and experience, but the GOP was somewhat concerned that EU police missions in Kosovo and elsewhere in the Balkans was putting a strain not only on Polish capabilities but also on those of other EU member states. The German presidency and the EU would have to work to resolve the conflicting priorities of the existing Kosovo mission and the prospective Afghanistan deployment. ¶5. (C) COMMENT. Poland remains strongly committed to the success of Afghanistan mission at the highest levels. Both President Lech Kaczynski and PM Jarek Kaczynski have given the mission their full support, and DefMin Radek Sikorski has a personal stake based on his experience as a British journalist in Afghanistan in the 1980s. The Poles can be counted on not only to set an example but also to lobby other NATO members. END COMMENT. ASHE