PRESIDENCY EXTENDS MANDATE OF IRAQ DEPLOYMENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SARAJEVO 000310 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR (DICARLO),D (SMITH),P (BAME),EUR/SCE (HOH, SAINZ, FOOKS),AND EUR/RPM (BROTZEN),NSC FOR BRAUN, USNIC FOR WIGHTMAN AND MCLANE, OSD FOR JONES, USNATO FOR SHAFFER 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