FMF IS KEY TO TUNISIA'S COUNTERTERRORISM SUCCESS

UNCLAS TUNIS 000619

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR DEPUTY SECRETARY NEGROPONTE AND ACTING DIRECTOR
OF FOREIGN ASSISTANCE FORE FROM THE AMBASSADOR
STATE ALSO FOR NEA/FO (WELCH AND GRAY),NEA/MAG (HARRIS AND
HOPKINS),NEA/RA AND PM

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: MASS PTER MARR PGOV PREL TS
SUBJECT: FMF IS KEY TO TUNISIA'S COUNTERTERRORISM SUCCESS


1. (SBU) I noted with disappointment that the State
Department,s Fiscal Year 2008 budget proposal to Congress
included only $2.064 million in Foreign Military Financing
(FMF) for Tunisia. This figure is significantly lower than
the Embassy Tunis Country Team request of $30 million in FMF
for FY-08 or the $8.075 million in FMF that Tunisia will
receive in FY-07. Such a decrease will have a major impact
on Tunisia, a historical partner in the Global War on Terror,
as it faces a growing domestic and regional terrorist threat.
In January 2007, the GOT announced it had disrupted a
Salafist plot to attack US and UK diplomatic interests in
Tunisia. Regionally, Tunisia and the Maghreb are
experiencing an increase in extremist activity, particularly
the new threat of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. More
broadly, anecdotal evidence suggests that Tunisians are
disproportionately represented among foreign fighters
entering Iraq and a significant percentage of suicide bombers
in Iraq are said to be Tunisian.


2. (SBU) The Tunisian military is responsible for monitoring
and supervising Tunisia,s borders and shares a strong
apolitical military culture with the United States. The
military is Tunisia's most professional and progressive
institution, in a country that has disappointed in other
areas. A large percentage of military officers have received
US training, and the majority of Tunisia,s Army and Air
Force equipment is American. However, this equipment is
rapidly deteriorating and cannot be maintained without
significant foreign assistance. The proposed reduction in
FY-08 FMF represents a potentially crippling blow to Tunisian
military capability. The Minister of National Defense has
repeatedly and specifically asked for US FMF assistance to
strengthen the military,s ability to control its borders, in
cooperation with neighbors Algeria and Libya. This is the
type of regional integration that the USG is encouraging
through initiatives such as the Trans-Sahara Counter
Terrorism Partnership. Severe cuts in US security assistance
send the wrong message to a critical North African ally in
the war on terror and hobble Tunisia,s ability to
effectively combat terrorism.


3. (SBU) The $2.064 million in FMF proposed for FY-08 is not
sufficient to encourage Tunisian partnership in the Global
War on Terror, further our bilateral military relations, or
ensure Tunisia can combat terrorism. I very much hope that
the FY-09 Foreign Assistance process, which is now underway
in the Department, will result in significantly higher FMF
for Tunisia. If this is not the case, Tunisia will be forced
to look elsewhere (e.g., France, China) for military
assistance. While Embassy Tunis will seek out every
opportunity for alternative US funding for the Tunisian
military, I urge the Department to reverse this crippling
decrease in FMF and fund significantly more assistance to
Tunisia in FY-09.
GODEC