MISSION PROPOSES SECOND HALF OF MARCH FOR ACSA

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 000583 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/19/2017 TAGS: MOPS MARR PINS PNAT PINR PREL IZ SUBJECT: MISSION PROPOSES SECOND HALF OF MARCH FOR ACSA VISIT REF: BAGHDAD 7948 Classified By: A/Pol-Mil Counselor Apar Sidhu or reasons 1.4 (a/b/d) ¶1. (C) We agree with Department,s reftel way forward on negotiating an Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement (ACSA) with the Government of Iraq. However, we request the USCENTCOM-led training and education session in Baghdad begin no earlier than the third week of March. CENTCOM and MNF-I support this timeline. We believe that a visit sooner than this would be disruptive to Embassy, MNF-I, and GOI efforts to begin the revised Baghdad Security Plan on a solid footing. ¶2. (SBU) The embassy point of contact for the visit will be the Political-Military Section,s Office Management Specialist, Ms. Kellee Farmer. She can be reached at farmerka@state.sgov.gov or farmerk@state.gov. The MNF-I coordinating office will be Colonel David E. Hill, Jr. He can be reached at david.hill@iraq.centcom.mil. His phone numbers are: (DSN) 318-239-9462 or (MCI) 703-343-9462. ¶3. (SBU) We look forward to working with you to make this trip a success. KHALILZAD