German Out-Of-Area Deployment Update

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BERLIN 000123 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: MOPS PREL GM SUBJECT: German Out-Of-Area Deployment Update REF: Berlin 2634 ¶1. (SBU) As of January 14, Germany has 7,486 military personnel in out-of-area deployments. All military out-of-area (OOA) deployments, with the exception of observers such as in Georgia (where currently 11 military personnel are deployed under UNOMIG),require parliamentary approval. A law regulates the parliamentary process, allowing expedited procedures only for non-controversial deployments. What follows is a brief run-down on Germany's current OOA deployments. -------------- - International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) -------------- - ¶2. (SBU) The Bundeswehr has 2,903 military personnel operating in Afghanistan under the UNSC mandate for ISAF. The ceiling for the deployment is 3000 personnel. Germany commands ISAF's northern region (RC-North),where it operates two Provincial Reconstruction Teams (Konduz and Feyzabad) and the Forward Support Base in Mazar-E-Sharif. The mandate limits the Bundeswehr's operations to Kabul and RC-North, but Germany can provide assistance outside that sector provided it is of limited time and scope and essential for the mission. The current parliamentary mandate extends through October 13, 2007. Following a NATO request, the German government is currently considering deploying Tornado reconnaissance aircraft. Even though this could legally be possible under the current ISAF mandate, political considerations might result in the government requesting a revised mandate from the Bundestag. -------------- --- United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) -------------- --- ¶3. (SBU) Germany is the lead for UNIFIL's naval component and has 1,011 military personnel deployed. The parliamentary mandate, which has a ceiling of 2,400 personnel, expires with the UN mandate on August 31, 2007. -------------- Kosovo Force (KFOR) -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Germany has 2,324 military personnel under the KFOR mandate, which has a ceiling of 8,500 total personnel. The mandate extends automatically unless there is a change to the UNSC Resolution framework for the Kosovo Force. -------------- European Union Force (EUFOR) Bosnia -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Germany currently has 896 soldiers in Bosnia as part of the EU's Operation ALTHEA. The mandate, amended on December 1, 2006, allows up to 2,400 military personnel. This operation extends automatically unless there is a change to its underlying UNSC resolution. Security conditions permitting, the German government has announced it intends to reduce its military presence in coordination with its allies during 2007. -------------- EUFOR RD Congo -------------- ¶6. (SBU) The EUFOR operation in Congo (maximum ceiling 780 military personnel in Congo and Gabon) ended on November 30, 2007. All forces returned to Germany end of December 2006. -------------- Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) -------------- ¶7. (SBU) The German Navy has 258 military personnel operating on the Horn of Africa under OEF. The OEF mandate, which has a ceiling of 1,800 personnel, also covers the deployment of Special Forces for counterterrorism operations in Afghanistan. There are currently no acknowledged German OEF forces in Afghanistan. The OEF mandate also covers contributions to NATO's Operation Active Endeavor (OAE). The OEF mandate extends through November 15, 2007. -------------- United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Germany currently has 35 military observers in UNMIS, monitoring the implementation of the peace agreement. The parliament imposed a caveat, which bars military observers from going to Darfur without consultation of the Bundestag Foreign BERLIN 00000123 002 OF 002 Relations Committee's chairman and ranking members. The mandate allows the participation of up to 75 military observers. -------------- African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) -------------- ¶9. (SBU) The German Air Force provides logistical support for the AU mission in Darfur, Sudan - primarily airlift into and out-of theater for rotating AMIS forces. The mandate allows up to 200 military personnel. There currently are no German soldiers in-theater. The mandate will expire on June 2, 2007. -------------- -------------- New Deployment since December 2006 Update: -------------- -------------- ¶10. (SBU) The Bundeswehr, at the MFA's request, sent an unarmed team of 3 military personnel to Latin America (Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama) in order to assess the security situation in these countries. These Bundeswehr personnel support German a crisis intervention teams (Krisen Unterst|tzungs- Teams, KUT) that would be responsible for evacuating German and EU expatriates and improving Embassy security in country. The deployment does not require any parliamentary approval, as the team is unarmed. -------------- Other minor deployments: -------------- ¶11. (SBU) Two military observers serve in Ethiopia and Eritrea for the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE). One soldier is seconded to the EU's advisory and assistance mission for security reform in the Democratic Republic of Congo (EUSEC - R.D. CONGO). One German military observer is seconded to the United Nation Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). The Bundeswehr has seconded 41 military personnel to Strategic Medical Evacuation (STRATAIRMEDEVAC),for which no parliamentary mandate is required, as it is not defined as an armed deployment and the aircraft are on stand-by in Germany. TIMKEN, JR