USAU PARTICIPATES IN UNDPKO AND AU PLANNING FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ADDIS ABABA 000409 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/FO TO JAMES SWAN, AF/RSA E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/08/2012 TAGS: PREL MOPS KPKO AU SUBJECT: USAU PARTICIPATES IN UNDPKO AND AU PLANNING FOR AMISOM DEPLOYMENT REF: A. STATE 15178 ¶B. STATE 13183 ¶C. ADDIS 63 ¶D. AFRICAN UNION: DEPLOYMENT PLAN FOR AN AFRICAN UNION MISSION IN SOMALIA Classified By: AMBASSADOR CINDY L. COURVILLE, REASONS 1.4(b) and (d) ¶1. (SBU) During the period 5-8 February 2007, COL Tim Rainey, Sr. Military Liaison Officer and CAPT (Ret.) Bob Cunningham, Logistics Advisor to the Africa Union (AU), Members of the US Mission to the African Union (USAU), participated in the AU planning for the deployment of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) with members of the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations. The planning session focused on the development of: (1) a &Strategic Directive for the AU Mission in Somalia8 (AMISOM); (2) an updated Concept of Operations for AMISOM; (3) AU Planning Cell manning requirement;(4) AMISOM Command and Control Structure ) Manning Requirements; and (5) a logistical support annex to the Strategic Directive (still being worked by remaining Team members). ¶2. (C) Background: The AU Planning Cell, which is a part of the Peace Support Operations Department (PSOD),headed by Mr. Bereng Mtimkulu of South Africa, is extremely understaffed with only two (2) personnel assigned. Therefore, they lack the capacity to sufficiently plan large-scale peace support operations. The senior AU leadership (Chairman Konare and Commissioner Djinnit),being acutely aware of this weakness, issued a note verbale requesting donor/partner support. Additionally, the AU requested that the UNDPKO send a team of experts to assist in assessing and planning for the immediate deployment of AU forces to Somalia. The UNDPKO planning/assessment was conducted from 5-8 February 2007. ¶3. (C) Mr. Bereng Mtimkulu initially briefed the Team on the AU,s concept of operations (CoP). His initial brief was met with strong criticism from UNDPKO for its lack of clarity, structure, and detail. The AU CoP was developed at the strategic level for approval by the President and Commissioner, Peace and Security Commission. UNDPKO believed that the CoP lacked the operational and tactical details for a successful plan. Eventually, all agreed that it was best to work cooperatively to improve and enhance the AU deployment plan. �00A;¶4. (C) USAU urged the Head, PSOD and AU planning cell participants to enhance their ability to adequately plan for the deployment of AMISOM by requesting planners from all troop contributing countries (TCCs) and international donors/partners (US, NATO, EU, etc). The team produced a &Planning Requirement8 which identifies the specific skills required to successfully plan for the AMISOM deployment. The Head, PSOD was advised (and appeared to agree) to draft another ¬e verbale8 requesting TCCs and international donors/partners immediately send planners to Addis. USAU offered to help Head, PSOD to draft the ¬e verbale.8 Ambassador Courville reiterated these points in her discussions with Commissioner Djinnit and Mr. Mtimkulu in discussions yesterday (7 FEB). ¶5. (C) The Planning team had received the AMISOM Deployment Plan in advance and it appeared that all were in agreement that it was inadequate for the successful deployment of AU forces into Somalia. The Planning Team went through the AMISOM Deployment Plan line-by line providing the AU planning cell detailed assistance in restructuring, clarifying, and enhancing the Plan. While there was significant discussion on the AMISOM mandate, the Planning Team realized that this cell did not have any authority to change it and proceeded to provide expertise in the areas of military operations, logistics, staging areas, and civil police operations. The resulting document, &Strategic Directive for the AU Mission in Somalia8, was briefed to the Team today. Numerous changes (editing, numbering, etc.) were made to the document, but USAU will email the most up-to-date version that we have. There will be a final version which will probably be completed tomorrow (9 FEB). ¶6. (C) During the course of the planning session, the Team was briefed by the designated Ugandan Force Commander (FC), Major General Levy (sp?),and his Assessment Team, which had recently (5 FEB) returned from a 1 1/2 day mission to Mogadishu. The FC stated that the situation in Mogadishu appeared calm and that there were very few incidents of shooting. He mentioned that there were pockets of resistance ADDIS ABAB 00000409 002 OF 002 but they were no threat to deploying forces. The FC and team traveled arrived by air but traveled by road. His observations (e.g. roads not in good condition; some potholes; airport running; services limited) were not very illuminating. The FC was overheard to have said that the Ugandan Force would need another four (4) weeks to be ready to deploy. The Head, PSOD and members of the UNDPKO in private conversations expressed their extreme dissatisfaction with the debriefing which they felt lacked the most rudimentary information requirements for planning a deployment to Somalia. The comment was made that while he may be an outstanding operational commander, he lacked the political savvy for an international Force Commander and would not instill confidence in the AU mission. ¶7. (SBU) The UNDPKO Planning/Assessment Team visit to the AU was a tremendous success. The AU PSOD, despite it sensitivities and initial resistance, was extremely receptive to the recommendations and suggestions made by the Team. Over the course of the past three days, AU and UNDPKO worked as a cohesive team to improve the deployment plan, enhance planning, and increase capacity. The request from the Head, PSOD for members of the USAU to participate in the planning sessions demonstrates that the AU is more receptive to US assistance and that USAU is rapidly gaining the confidence of the AU and is increasingly being viewed as a partner that can be relied upon to offer and deliver support and assistance without forcing its will upon them. While the work done to date is by no means complete, it has helped the AU to properly plan for the deployment of AMISOM and prepare for the eventual relief by the United Nations. ¶8. (U) USAU will send by email to AF/FO and AF/RSA electronic copies of all Planning Team documents we were able to secure. Please refer any questions/comments to COL Tim Rainey, 251-11-517-4055. COURVILLE YAMAMOTO