SECTION 1206 PROPOSAL FINAL COORDINATION

S E C R E T ADDIS ABABA 000852 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS DEPT. FOR PM DAS K.O'KEEFE, PM/PPA:A.COLETTA, AF, AND AF/E E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/19/2017 TAGS: MASS PREL PTER EAID KPKO ET SO SUBJECT: SECTION 1206 PROPOSAL FINAL COORDINATION REF: STATE 30853 Classified By: ERIC WONG, ACTING POL-ECON COUNSELOR. REASON: 1.4 (A) A ND (D). ¶1. (S) Per reftel, Post has reviewed the proposal to provide USD 15 million in Section 1206 funds for Ethiopia, Djibouti, Yemen, Kenya, and Tanzania, as part of the East Africa Regional Security Initiative (EARSI). Post supports funding the proposal in FY07, with the following observations (see paragraphs 2-3 below). ¶2. (C) In the section of the EARSI proposal detailing USD 10 million in special operations equipment and training to be provided regionally for border security, please amend Ethiopia portion from "Support advanced border security training of the Ethiopia unit at Hurso; training currently being conducted by CJTF-HOA" to "Support advanced border security training of Ethiopian forces; training currently being conducted by CJTF-HOA." Justification: future training may occur at other locations besides Hurso. ¶3. (C) In same section, under "Recommend supporting Ethiopian Air Force C-130 aircraft maintenance and spare parts to facilitate movement of and logistical support to border security forces," please add language noting the following: a. (SBU) Support for Ethiopian Air Force C-130 aircraft will enhance regional stability, by strengthening Ethiopia's strategic lift capability and thus its ability to participate in regional peacekeeping operations led by either the African Union or the United Nations. According to UN DPKO, Ethiopia is currently the world's 12th-largest contributor to UN peacekeeping operations, and the 4th-largest in Africa (behind Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal, but ahead of South Africa and Kenya). Ethiopian peacekeeping forces play a key role in the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL). b. (C) Ethiopia is supporting regional and international efforts to promote stability in Somalia, by providing critical force protection to both Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). Ethiopian training and equipping of the TFG was a significant factor in the successful military campaign against Salafist extremists in Somalia, and will continue to help guarantee regional stability, as well as preempt a resurgent radical Islamic movement. c. (S/NF) Providing C-130 aircraft maintenance and spare parts to Ethiopia will help support two C-130 aircraft provided by the USG to Ethiopia in 1996-1997, and is critical to continuing a viable mil-mil relationship with a proven partner in the global war on terrorism. Ethiopia has demonstrated its partnership with the USG in sharing sensitive classified information that contributed to the joint destruction of foreign terrorist fighter cells, and has shared full information from the interrogation of captured terrorists in Somalia. ¶4. (C) Post will forward detailed information on proposed 1206 assistance for Ethiopian C-130s septel. YAMAMOTO