German Out-Of-Area Deployment Update

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BERLIN 001822 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: MOPS PREL MARR NATO EUN GM AF SU KV BK LE GG ET SUBJECT: German Out-Of-Area Deployment Update REF: A) Berlin 2634, B) Berlin 1428 ¶1. (SBU) As of early August, Germany had 7,149 military personnel (compared to 7,597 in early August) in out-of-area deployments. All military out-of-area (OOA) deployments, with the exception of those in support of UN observer missions, 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. (Note: OOA deployments are defined as deployments outside the territory of the NATO member states. End Note.) -------------- - International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) -------------- - ¶2. (SBU) The Bundeswehr currently has 3,075 military personnel operating under ISAF in Afghanistan, based on two separate parliamentary mandates. One is the general mandate covering Germany's ISAF deployment, with a ceiling of 3,000 troops. The other is a supplementary mandate that covers the deployment of six Tornado reconnaissance aircraft, with a ceiling of 500 troops. Germany has been active in ISAF since the operation's creation in January 2002. The deployment of the Tornados is a relatively new German contribution to ISAF, approved by the parliament in March. The current ISAF and Tornado mandates both expire October 13. ¶3. (SBU) For the coming year, the German government has decided to merge the two mandates into a single, combined mandate, with an overall ceiling of 3,500, but this will not involve any substantial changes to the nature of the Bundeswehr deployment. The Bundestag is expected to approve this new, combined mandate by October 12. Because the Tornados require only about 200 troops, the merging of the two mandates will automatically create extra headroom for the Bundeswehr to take on additional tasks. ¶4. (SBU) The German government has announced its intention to use this additional troop capacity to boost the Bundeswehr's involvement in the training of the Afghan National Army (ANA). Some ideas under consideration include expanding the current drivers and mechanics school in Kabul into a logisticians' training center, cooperating with France in setting up an NCO academy in Kabul and creating other specialty military training schools in the northern region. Assuming the stand-up of a new ANA brigade in the north, Germany �A;also plans to increase its contribution of embedded training teams (OMLTs) from the current two to six. ¶5. (SBU) While the initial Tornado mandate in March was very controversial - with a third of the Social Democratic Party caucus voting against - support for the deployment has increased in the intervening months. Many of the original fears that the Tornados would be directly involved in combat operations have not been realized. Nonetheless, the Tornado deployment remains controversial in some circles, as demonstrated by the September 15 Greens Party conference on Afghanistan, where the delegates opposed any combined mandate that includes the reconnaissance aircraft. Still, the expectation is that the new combined mandate will be approved by the Bundestag with a comfortable margin. ¶6. (SBU) Germany currently commands ISAF's northern region (RC-North),where it leads two of the five Provincial Reconstruction Teams (Kunduz and Feyzabad) as well as the Forward Support Base in Mazar-E-Sharif. The ISAF mandate limits normal Bundeswehr operations to Kabul and RC-North, but allows temporary deployments to other parts of the country on a case-by-case basis. In early May, at the request of ISAF, Defense Minister Jung approved the temporary deployment (three to four weeks) of a three-man psychological operations team to southern Afghanistan. German radio operators have also been deployed temporarily to provide communication support to Regional Command South in Kandahar. However, MOD has thus far not allowed German OMLTs to accompany their ANA units on deployments outside the north. Meanwhile, the Tornado mandate allows the reconnaissance aircraft to operate throughout Afghanistan. -------------- Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) -------------- ¶7. (SBU) The parliamentary mandate for OEF allows the deployment of up to 1,800 personnel. Currently, there are 228 sailors (244 in August) operating in the Horn of Africa under OEF. In Afghanistan, the mandate authorizes the deployment of up to 100 German Special Forces (KSK). Reportedly, no KSK have been deployed to Afghanistan under OEF in more than two years, leading some politicians to question the utility of maintaining this part of the mandate. Because of wide-spread misperceptions of OEF as a strictly combat operation that is responsible for civilian casualties, the renewal BERLIN 00001822 002 OF 003 of the Afghanistan portion of the OEF mandate could prove difficult. The current one-year OEF mandate expires November 15, a month after the ISAF and Tornado mandates. ¶8. (SBU) The government originally planned to have a single parliamentary debate on Afghanistan and then to put all three mandates to a vote on the same day in mid-October. However, the SPD - the junior partner in the Grand Coalition government - has since insisted on delaying the OEF mandate vote until after its October 26-28 national party conference. Contacts advise that the government intends to reduce OEF troop ceiling to 1,400 in the new mandate. -------------- Kosovo Force (KFOR) -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Germany currently has 2,438 military personnel (compared to 2,282in August) in KFOR, far below that allowed under the parliamentary mandate (8,500). The mandate is extended automatically unless there is a change to the UNSC Resolution framework for the Kosovo Force. In the context of a debate of the Kosovo status, the parliament extended the KFOR mandate on June 21 without any amendments. -------------- European Union Force (EUFOR) Bosnia -------------- ¶10. (SBU) Germany currently has 483 soldiers (compared to 526 in August) in Bosnia as part of the EU's Operation ALTHEA. The mandate, last amended December 1, 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. -------------- --- United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) -------------- --- ¶11. (SBU) Germany leads UNIFIL's naval component and has 830 military personnel deployed (compared to 1,034 in August). The Bundestag extended the mandate on September 12 for an additional year, with a reduced troop ceiling of 1,400 (down from 2,400). The mandate authorizes the Bundeswehr to continue leading UNIFIL's naval component until February 2008. -------------- Sudan (UNMIS and AMIS) -------------- ¶12. (SBU) Germany currently has 38 military observers (compared to 41 in August) in the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS),monitoring the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. The parliament imposed a caveat barring military observers from going to Darfur without prior consultation with the Bundestag Foreign Relations Committee's chairman and ranking members. The mandate allows the participation of up to 75 military observers. The current UNMIS mandate expires November 15. ¶13. (SBU) While there is parliamentary mandate for the Bundeswehr to deploy transport aircraft and up to 200 troops in support of the African (Union) Mission in Sudan (AMIS),this mandate has gone practically unused in the last year, with the AU requesting only sporadic assistance from Germany. The current six-month AMIS mandate expires December 14. ¶14. (SBU) While welcoming passage of UNSCR 1769, the government has ruled out additional troops or assets for the new hybrid UN/AU force, beyond the limits in the existing UNMIS and AMIS mandates. The government is likely to resist taking on any additional military commitments in Dafur or elsewhere until after the Afghanistan (ISAF, Tornado and OEF) mandates are safely renewed this fall. This reluctance was demonstrated most recently in Germany's decision to forego participation in the new ESDP operation in Chad. -------------- Georgia (UNOMIG) -------------- ¶15. (SBU) Germany has been part of the UN Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) since 1998 and currently has 16 personnel (compared to 11 in August) stationed there, most of whom are medical personnel and military observers. To the meet a UN request for additional medical personnel, the German cabinet decided August 8 to raise the personnel ceiling for this mission from 13 to 20. -------------- BERLIN 00001822 003 OF 003 Other minor deployments -------------- ¶16. (SBU) Two military observers serve in Ethiopia and Eritrea for the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE). 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