BOSNIA OFFERS TO HOST COMBINED ENDEAVOR 2008

UNCLAS SARAJEVO 000801 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS SECDEF FOR FATA AND BEIN, 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, USNATO FOR REID, UNDERWOOD, SHAFFER, NAPLES FOR ADMIRAL ULRICH E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR BK SUBJECT: BOSNIA OFFERS TO HOST COMBINED ENDEAVOR 2008 EXERCISE ¶1. (SBU) Post received a diplomatic note from Acting Minister of Defense Marina Pendes offering Bosnia as the host and organizer of the Combined Endeavor 2008 (CE 08) military exercise. The Ministry of Defense is offering the barracks in Banja Luka and the nearby training center in Manjaca as the sites for the exercise. Begin Text of Diplomatic Note. SUBJECT: Nomination for Organizing the Combined Endeavor Exercise The Ministry of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina presents its compliments to the Embassy of the United States and the Office of the Defense Attache in Bosnia and Herzegovina and would like to thank them for the information about the possibility of submitting an official offer for accepting the role of host country in organizing the COMBINED ENDEAVOR exercise. The Ministry of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina would like to inform you that in accordance with our commitment, and having in mind that the objective of the exercise is "to test the interoperability of communication systems and procedures of countries members of NATO and PfP and to practice certain scenarios for supporting the systems of command and control," it will gladly accept the role of host country for organizing the COMBINED ENDEAVOR exercise. We believe that Bosnia and Herzegovina has satisfactory infrastructure and can be a host country for the main destination for the said exercise starting in 2008. Allow us to ask you to focus on the fact that Bosnia and Herzegovina has not yet signed the Status of Forces Agreement (PfP SOFA). The BiH Ministry of Foreign Affairs has launched the legal procedure for the conclusion of this agreement and we hope that this process will be finalized in the coming months. The conclusion of this agreement will significantly facilitate the decision-making procedure, and it will regulate the status of participants and guests of the exercise. You are aware of our limitations when it comes to finances. Therefore, we will need significant assistance from the US and other allies and partners, and we take the liberty to count on your support in equipping the potentially acceptable main destination of the COMBINED ENDEAVOR exercise. For all further coordination, the following individuals will be persons of contact for the responsible organizers: - Mr. Ahmet H. Omerovic, acting assistant minister for policy and planning, tel. 033 285540; - Mr. Adem Mustafic, acting assistant minister for K-4, tel. 033 285560; - Brigadier Mihajlo Vujovic, head of administration for communications and information systems of the Joint Staff of BiH Armed Forces, tel. 033 285980. The Ministry of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina would like to use this opportunity to thank the Embassy of the United States in Bosnia and Herzegovina for supporting the defense reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina. With respect, Marina Pendes Acting Minister End Text of Diplomatic Note. ¶2. (SBU) Though Bosnia has not yet signed and ratified the NATO PfP Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) which would cover all participants in CE 08, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expects to have the agreement concluded this summer, well in advance of the exercise. NATO HQ Sarajevo tells us that this timetable is realistic, and does not expect any political roadblocks that would slow parliamentary ratification. After the agreement enters into force, Bosnia plans to stand up a NATO Legal Secretariat that will coordinate the implementation of the agreement across ministries. Officials at NATO HQ Sarajevo told us that CE 08 would prove an impetus to the Bosnian government to fully implement the SOFA in the near term. NATO HQ Sarajevo can also focus attention on the areas of implementation important for CE 08 in advance of the exercise. Regardless of the state of ministerial implementation, a ratified SOFA will cover all participants in the exercise. ¶3. (SBU) Comment. We believe that the benefits to USG policy interests of holding CE 08 in Bosnia are substantial. One of our newest NATO partners has pro-actively approached us about the possibility of hosting the exercise and doing so would certainly focus elite and public attention on the path towards continued NATO integration. CE 08 would also serve to drive the Bosnian defense reform agenda forward, and provide further rationale for Bosnia to speedily but efficiently meet its PfP requirements. Finally, Bosnia's hosting of CE 08, which would include the participation of other countries in the region, would be a substantive and important demonstration that the security sphere here has stabilized and that Bosnia and the region as a whole are moving past the legacy of the 1990s wars. We are confident that EUCOM will evaluate Bosnia's offer to host the exercise in light of the above. MCELHANEY