CZECH REPUBLIC: FINAL APPROVAL ON AFGHANISTAN PRT

C O N F I D E N T I A L PRAGUE 000863

SIPDIS

NOFORN
SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/NCE, PM/RSAT, SCA/A

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/19/2017
TAGS: EXIM NATO PARM PREL PTER AF EZ
SUBJECT: CZECH REPUBLIC: FINAL APPROVAL ON AFGHANISTAN PRT
EXPECTED IN AUGUST

REF: A. IIR 6 824 0245 07

B. PRAGUE 683

C. PRAGUE 648

D. PRAGUE 067

E. 06PRAGUE 225

Classified By: CDA Michael Dodman for reasons 1.4 (b) & (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Czech government approval to deploy a
Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) to a U.S. base in Logar
Province, Afghanistan is expected by mid-August 2007. The
Czech-led PRT of approximately 130-150 personnel will begin
arriving in Logar in January 2008 with a goal of being fully
operational in March. The Ministry of Defense (MoD) is
already identifying units to be deployed and issuing orders
in advance of formal government approval. The Czechs are
requesting to be integrated into the U.S. logistical support
structure, and will not place any national caveats on the
mission. A senior MoD contact said the Czechs would commit
to the mission for several years. End summary.


2. (C) Senior Czech military officials told DAO
representatives that deployment of a PRT to Logar Province is
being taken "very seriously" by members of government (Ref
A),and that this is considered a major foreign policy
undertaking in 2008 which will increase the level of
recognition for the Czech ISAF contribution. MFA reports
that the government is planning to take up an MoD-MFA
proposal establishing the PRT on August 22, its first session
after the summer break. Parliamentary approval is also
necessary, but no opposition has been heard.


3. (C) As further evidence of the likely PRT approval, the
Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Development
Assistance Department confirmed that they are in the process
of reassigning foreign assistance funding to prioritize
Afghanistan, although this process has not been completed.
The government is considering allocating 150 million Czech
crowns (approximately $7.5 million) for the development
portion of the PRT.


4. (C) Although the Czech PRT will be co-located on a U.S.
forward operating base, composition of the PRT is expected to
be exclusively Czech. The proposed PRT composition will be
considerably larger than U.S. teams, and will include a
ten-person civilian expert section, including representatives
from Czech Ministries of Agriculture, Interior, Defense and
Foreign Affairs and possibly a Czech NGO. The PRT would also
contain an integrated medical team, civil affairs section and
mine-resistant armored vehicles, a first for the province.


5. (C) COMMENT: Despite last year's reluctance to lead their
own PRT (Ref D),MoD appears to have turned the corner. The
members of the inter-ministerial working group formed in
December 2006 to develop the PRT proposal are considered to
be the best minds in MoD and MFA and they have put together a
solid, long term plan. Czechs government officials are now
apparently competing to get assigned to the PRT; the military
is aware that NATO ISAF has critical requirements in
Afghanistan and they are eager to consolidate their ISAF
operations and take charge of (and get credit for) their own
mission. The Czechs and U.S. Department of Defense have been
in direct contact and planning for the PRT is well-advanced.
End Comment.
DODMAN