BULGARIAN ENGINEERS TO IRAQ DELAYED UNTIL NEW UNSCR

S E C R E T SOFIA 001340

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/11/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL MARR BU
SUBJECT: BULGARIAN ENGINEERS TO IRAQ DELAYED UNTIL NEW UNSCR


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


1. (S) SUMMARY. Deputy Defense Minister Yankulova informed
DCM Karagiannis that approval for the
deployment of 40 military engineers to Iraq is contingent on
passage of a new UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) on
Iraq. Yankulova cited this as the "formal" reason approval
of the deployment was stalled, hinting at behind-the-scenes
political or budgetary obstacles "at a level higher than the
Defense Minister". We pushed back that the Ministry should
tee up mechanics and political decision making within the
Council of Ministers for the speediest possible approval. On
Afghanistan, Yankulova said she had approved two proposals
for troop increases and forwarded them for the Defense
Minister's signature. The first is a 20 soldier increase to
Bulgaria's current mission guarding the perimeter at Kandahar
Airfield, and the second is a new 50 soldier deployment that
would allow Bulgaria to take over the Entry Control Point
(ECP) mission at the same location. She said she was almost
certain the Minister would sign the first of these, but
"could not be sure" whether he would sign the second (again
hinting at political and budget factors). We argued for
timely, positive action. The Ambassador is engaging directly
with DefMin Bliznakov to accelerate action. END SUMMARY.

IRAQ



2. (C) In response to Yankulova's brief on potential delays
to the engineering deployment, the DCM emphasized that this
issue must move forward quickly and requested the Ministry
take all possible steps to prepare the bureaucratic
procedures for the speediest possible approval. He explained
that waiting for a new UNSCR on Iraq would create significant
operational problems for the commanders in the field who were
working to accommodate the necessary transportation and
sustainment requirements of the Bulgarian contingent. Since
a new UNSCR was widely seen as inevitable, he argued it
should not be necessary to wait for its formal completion to
begin the often lengthy interministerial approval process.
Yankulova said that she understood, but at the moment, the
Bulgarian position is
that a new resolution is required before the Ministry of
Defense can even propose the deployment for consideration by
the Council of Ministers. Following the Council's approval,
she explained, it will also have to be approved by the
Parliament.


3. (C) Even with a new UNSCR, Yankulova stated that she could
not guarantee that a political decision will be made to
approve the engineers. The DCM probed whether it was an
issue of money and emphasized that the United States has
offered to cover secure transportation, logistics, training
and sustainment of the contingent. Yankulova did not answer
directly, but did say that despite U.S. assistance, finances
were still an issue, since personnel costs, particularly
combat bonuses, for deployed soldiers had to be budgeted in
advance and must come at the expense of other items in the
defense budget. She mentioned that the defense budget was
set to shrink from approximately 2.5 percent GDP to 2.1
percent and that certain domestic constituencies were opposed
to spending more money on overseas deployments. The DCM
encouraged the Deputy Minister to push the process along,
pre-position decision papers and complete logisitics and
other planning, since timeliness is critical.

AFGHANISTAN




4. (C) Yankulova stated that the Defense Minister was almost
certain to sign a proposal for an additional 20 soldiers to
reinforce an existing Bulgarian contingent manning the
perimeter of Kandahar Airfield. This increase, she said, was
proposed by the Ministry of Defense (following President
Parvanov's visit to the Bulgarian contingent earlier this
month) in order to relieve the current forces who are
overstretched. She said she had moved forward a second
proposal calling for an additional 50 soldiers to take over
the Entry Control Point mission at the same location, but she
was less certain whether Defense Minister Bliznakov would
sign. Both of these troop increases would require Council of
Ministers approval, but because they are part of a NATO
mission, they would not require parliamentary approval.


5. (S) COMMENT: Yankulova seemed worn down by contentious
budget battles that have reduced the defense budget to 2.1

percent of GDP. While we do not believe that Bulgaria,s
basic commitment to engagement in Iraq and Afghanistan has
changed, concerns over the declining defense budget and the
bureaucratic wrangling over military reform and procurements
has distracted the attention of senior officials and slowed
the decision-making process. While Yankulova is supportive
of U.S. policies and remains an ally within the Ministry, her
position is complicated by the uncertain political future of
Defense Minister Bliznakov, who is rumored to be among those
to be sacked in the event of an early cabinet reshuffle. We
are pushing the Bulgarians to move these issues forward
faster, engaging directly with the Defense Minister and the
offices of the President and Prime Minister to secure a
speedy, positive outcome. END COMMENT.
Beyrle