PRESIDENCY EXTENDS MANDATE OF IRAQ DEPLOYMENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SARAJEVO 000310

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/09/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL MARR BK IZ
SUBJECT: PRESIDENCY EXTENDS MANDATE OF IRAQ DEPLOYMENT

REF: A) STATE 11249 B) SARAJEVO 136

Classified By: DCM Judith Cefkin for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary. The Presidency extended the mandate of the
Bosnian Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) unit in Iraq
through the end of the year. If confirmed by the parliament,
the decision will permit a fifth rotation of the unit to
deploy to Iraq in May as we requested. The provision
requiring parliamentary approval is new, and previously
unknown to many in the GoBiH. President Silajdzic, the
apparent author of the new provision, supported the
extension, which makes it unlikely it will encounter serious
parliamentary opposition. Nonetheless, we will take nothing
for granted. The maneuvering over the deployment sheds
interesting light on the dynamics within the new Presidency.
End Summary.


2. (C) We presented to advisors to Presidents Radmanovic and
Silajdzic the formal USG request that Bosnia's EOD unit
deploy to Iraq for a fifth rotation (reftel A). Radmanovic's
Foreign and Security Advisors suggested that the Presidency
take a new decision to approve the deployment through the end
of 2007, which would include the fifth EOD unit rotation.
The advisors noted that parliament had not undertaken an
Article 6 confirmation (see paragraph 4 below) of the
December Presidency decision to approve the fourth EOD
rotation, as it had yet to meet in the absence of a new
Council of Ministers, so a re-approval of that rotation was
necessary regardless. In a separate meeting with Ambassador,
Radmanovic confirmed that he would push a decision to extend
the deployment through the end of 2007.


3. (SBU) On February 7, the Presidency approved Radmanovic's
proposal to extend the deployment mandate of the Bosnian EOD
unit in Iraq through the end of 2007. The decision
effectively approves the deployment of a fifth rotation of
the EOD unit, which would depart for Iraq in May. Parliament
must now confirm the Presidency decision.


4. (C) Parliamentary confirmation of the Iraq deployment is a
new procedure of which many parliamentarians, senior defense
officials, the Presidency staff, and we had been unaware.
Under precedent established in 2004, extensions of the EOD
mission only required Presidency approval. On December 13,
the Presidency voted to approve the fourth rotation of the
EOD unit to Iraq. On the same day the Presidency issued an
addendum to the decision stating that Bosnia's contribution
to the mission in Iraq must be in harmony with Article 6 of
the 2005 Law on Engagement of BiH Armed Forces in Peace
Support Operations. Article 6 of the law requires
parliamentary "confirmation" of a deployment within 60 days
of a Presidency decision. The addendum was not listed on the
Presidency's public agenda prior to the December 13 meeting,
nor was it referenced in public documents announcing the
Presidency decision approving the fourth rotation. (Comment:
We suspect based on conversations with Radmanovic's and
Komsic's staff that President Silajdzic attached this new
provision to the December deployment decision without fully
explaining its significance to his two colleagues. In our
earlier exchanges with Presidents Komsic and Radmanovic and
their staffs, they assured us that any parliamentary action
would be unnecessary if the deployment were extended
unaltered. End Comment.)

Comment
--------------


5. (C) We are pleased that the Presidency acted quickly to
extend the EOD deployment quicker than expected. It is our
understanding that parliament could confirm the decision as
early as February 28. Considering the fact that Silajdzic
supported the decision, we do not anticipate any problems in
parliament, but we will not take anything for granted. After
the decision was announced, parliamentarians and MOD
officials told us that it was wise to push only for an
extension of the EOD deployment without additional security
personnel. They cautioned that any force augmentation would
meet stiff resistance within parliament and from Silajdzic,
something that he himself signaled to the Ambassador in
January (see reftel B). We will continue to discreetly probe
the issue of the security personnel and gauge any changes in
political and public attitudes towards its deployment.


6. (C) If our suspicions are correct regarding the insertion
of Article 6, Silajdzic, for reasons that are unclear, threw
a potential roadblock in our bilateral agenda. Conversely,
President Radmanovic's assistance in meeting our request and
finding a workable solution to the deployment is another
example of his continued, and somewhat unexpected, support on
our bilateral security and foreign policy agenda. Through
the first three months of his chairmanship, Radmanovic has
proven to be a willing and capable partner who can move items
of mutual advantage forward.
MCELHANEY