UPDATE REQUEST ON JORDAN INTL POLICE TRAINING

UNCLAS ZAGREB 000729 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPT FOR EUR/SCE - HOH, SAINZ, BALIAN, INL - PHILLIPS, NEA/I - JENSEN, NEA/ELA, T/PM E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: MOPS PINR SNAR KCRM JO HR DEFENSE REFORM SUBJECT: UPDATE REQUEST ON JORDAN INTL POLICE TRAINING CENTER (JIPTC) REF: SELINGER/BALIAN/JENSEN/PHILLIPS EMAILS OF JULY 24 ¶1. (U) THIS IS AN ACTION REQUEST. Please see para 6. ¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY AND COMMENT: Assistant Interior Minister Filip Dragovic requested information from PolOffs July 26 regarding the future of the Jordan International Police Training Center (JIPTC). The Ministry of Interior (MUP) currently provides two training officers scheduled to depart at end of August and would like to plan assignments and budgets for future, potentially expanded contributions. According to Dragovic, Croatia would be well positioned to provide trainers in the areas of VIP protection, special measures and criminal investigations -- all rumored among current JIPTC staff to be topics in unconfirmed future training courses. Dragovic requested the earliest possible confirmation of upcoming JIPTC needs so the MUP can select and prepare the right trainers. The JIPTC provides a unique avenue for the GoC to contribute to coalition efforts in Iraq without bearing the local political cost of actually placing personnel on Iraqi soil. END SUMMARY AND COMMENT. READY TO CONTRIBUTE BUT COURSES UNCONFIRMED -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Dragovic reiterated Croatia's political commitment to the JIPTC, noting President Mesic's May 2007 visit to the facility. He stressed, though, that MUP officials need to know as far in advance as possible about course topics and JIPTC needs so they can identify appropriate trainers and prepare them for assignment to Jordan. ¶4. (SBU) According to the two Croatian police officers currently serving as trainers in Jordan, a six-week corrections officer basic course has been confirmed past the current JIPTC September 1 end date. Five other courses are reportedly still under consideration: - corrections officer medic course, - facility protection course, - field training officer course, - senior training officer course, and - judicial investigator course. CROATIAN POLICE: UNIQUE WARTIME EXPERIENCE -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Dragovic implied that his trainers would make a much more valuable contribution to some of these unconfirmed courses than they can make to basic corrections officer courses. He pointed in particular to the number of Croatian police who have the unique experience of performing law enforcement functions such as VIP/facility protection, special police measures, and criminal investigations in a wartime environment. ¶6. (U) ACTION REQUEST: Post requests earliest possible notification of future JIPTC needs in order to advise GoC and MUP to ensure their continued contribution of police trainers. POLICE ACTIVE IN OTHER INTERNATIONAL MISSIONS -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Dragovic also informed Post of the September session of Croatia's Police Peacekeeping School at the training center in Valbandon, near the port of Pula. This session will be the first to incorporate newly developed UN peacekeeping guidelines. Trainees will include 10 Croatian police officers as well as five from neighboring countries and five UN-sponsored slots to be filled this year by police from Israel. More than 30 Croatian police officers have graduated from this course and have either served or are prepared to serve in international missions. ¶8. (SBU) This year, the GoC will also increase its police contingent assigned to UNMIK in Kosovo, according to Dragovic, from nine to 14. Similarly, Croatia's contribution in East Timor will go from two to five. Croatia also has police assigned to the EUPOL mission in Afghanistan and the UN mission in Cyprus. BRADTKE