BULGARIA EXTENDS IRAQ MISSION; 20 MORE TROOPS FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SOFIA 001371 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/11/2017 TAGS: PGOV PREL MARR BU SUBJECT: BULGARIA EXTENDS IRAQ MISSION; 20 MORE TROOPS FOR AFGHANISTAN AND 2 OBSERVERS TO CHAD Classified By: AMB Beyrle for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary. The Bulgarian Council of Ministers voted December 12 to extend the Bulgarian mission in Iraq until April 1, 2009 and to send an additional 20 soldiers to Afghanistan to strengthen its contingent currently guarding the perimeter at Kandahar Airfield. The deployment of two military observers to the EU mission in Chad was also approved as part of a raft of defense-related decisions. The additional troops for Afghanistan had been expected for many weeks now, but this increase does not include an estimated 50 additional troops required to take over responsibility for the Entry Control Point at Kandahar Airfield. FM Kalfin's visit to Washington in January will help define and accelerate a Bulgarian decision on this issue and a U.S. request for additional Bulgarian military engineers for Iraq. End Summary. ¶2. (C) Bulgaria currently has 154 soldiers serving in Iraq at Camp Ashraf. Since March 2006, these forces have been responsible for overseeing Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) defectors within the camp's Temporary Interview and Protection Facility. The Council of Minister's decision to extend this mission still requires Parliamentary approval, but this will be a formality once a new UNSCR on Iraq has been approved. The Bulgarian decision on Ashraf does not address a U.S. request for Bulgaria to provide an additional 40 or so military engineers to aid in construction projects on U.S. bases in Iraq. The Ministry of Defense has insisted that this proposal cannot move forward until a new UNSCR is completed and will not guarantee that it will be approved even once a new UNSCR is in place. The sticking point is not Parliament per se, but opposition within the Bulgarian Socialist Party and how that plays out within the Council of Ministers. ¶3. (C) In Afghanistan, approximately 200 Bulgarian soldiers currently guard the perimeter of Kandahar Airfield. The Council of Minister's decision to send an additional 20 soldiers to beef up its contingent stems from President Parvanov's visit to Kandahar in October 2007, when the troops personally requested reinforcements to ease staffing constraints. This increase does not address a U.S. request for Bulgaria to take over responsibility for the Entry Control Point (ECP) to Kandahar Airfield, a mission which the MOD determined would require an additional 50 soldiers (over and above the 20 recently approved.) Ambassador Beyrle discussed this request in separate discussions December 7 with the Foreign Minister and the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister said he had not been adequately briefed by the Ministry of Defense on the ECP mission and that he had requested the matter be presented for the Council of Minister's decision in January. ¶4. (C) The December 12 Council of Ministers also approved the deployment of two military observers to join the EU mission in Chad. Bulgaria currently has seven military observers posted in Kosovo, Liberia and Ethiopia. ¶5. (C) Comment: The Council of Ministers decisions on Ashraf and Kandahar are welcome news and demonstrate Bulgaria's continued commitment to overseas operations and its desire to be seen as a reliable partner in international security. The ruling coalition continues, overall, to support engagement in these theaters despite strong public opinion against them and increasing pressure to divert scarce government resources to domestic issues. However, the Bulgarians have yet to reach internal consensus on our requests for engineers for Iraq and 50 additional troops for Afghanistan. In addition to political calculations, a major overhaul of Bulgaria's force structure and military modernization plan is also unresolved. We are engaging the government at all levels to ensure it does not lose its nerve on these tougher issues. FM Kalfin's January meetings in Washington will help define and accelerate a Bulgarian decision. End Comment. Beyrle