SLOVAK GOVERNMENT APPROVES NEW MANDATE AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRATISLAVA 000276

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/17/2014
TAGS: PREL PGOV ISAF NL LO
SUBJECT: SLOVAK GOVERNMENT APPROVES NEW MANDATE AND
MISSIONS FOR SLOVAK TROOPS WITH ISAF

Classified By: Ambassador Vincent Obsitnik for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary. The GoS approved a proposal on June 11 to
increase Slovakia's contribution to ISAF up to a total of 246
soldiers, including 24 troops who will operate without
geographical caveats. Defense Minister Baska has said he
plans to increase the number of Slovak troops serving in ISAF
to 280 during the current election cycle, and to send combat
forces after the next elections in 2010.


2. (U) On June 11, Slovakia's government approved a proposal
from Baska to "change the mandate and number of members of
the Slovak Armed Forces, and to complete the operations of
the Health Team of the Slovak Armed Forces, in Operation ISAF
in Afghanistan." Pending Parliamentary approval, the proposal
calls for Slovakia's contribution to grow to a maximum of 246
soldiers, with deployments scheduled to take place in
2008-2009. Under the new mandate:
- Up to 57 engineers will remain at Kandahar Air Base
- Up to 6 soldiers will be assigned to Provincial
Reconstruction Teams (PRTs); these soldiers will be
authorized to operate in the entire operational zone of ISAF
- Up to 15 soldiers will be assigned to Operational Mentor
and Liaison Teams (OMLTs) in Uruzgan in cooperation with the
Dutch; these will be sent in three six-month rotations
- Up to 6 soldiers will serve at ISAF headquarters; these
soldiers will be authorized to operate in the entire
operational zone of ISAF
- Up to 12 soldiers will be assigned to a new National
Support Element (NSE) to provide direction, logistics, and
personnel and financial support to all Slovak soldiers in
Afghanistan; these soldiers will be authorized to operate in
the entire operational zone of ISAF
- Up to 50 soldiers for a guard unit to secure "Holland Base"
within the perimeter of Forward operating Base (FOB) Ripley
in Tarin Kowt; these soldiers will fall under Dutch command
- Up to 50 soldiers for a guard unit to operate within the
perimeter of Kandahar Air Base in close cooperation with the
Canadians
- Up to 50 soldiers to guard Camp Hadrian in Uruzgan
Province; these soldiers will fall under Dutch command

Under the current approved mandate, Slovaks will contribute
115 soldiers by the Fall 2008 to Afghanistan with the bulk
going to support the Dutch.


3. (SBU) In a press conference following the government
session, PM Robert Fico predicted easy Parliamentary approval
since the new mandate does not include combat troops, troops
will serve only in defined geographic areas and, unlike Iraq,
ISAF is a NATO mission with a UN resolution behind it. It is
not clear when the proposal will be approved by Parliament.
The preliminary agenda for the next Parliamentary session has
already been published. Although it could change, Post rather
predicts the proposal will be approved in Parliament's 25th
session from September 9-25.


4. (C) Baska told the Ambassador on June 9 that he would not
propose sending Slovakia's Special Forces to ISAF until after
the next general election, which should be held in 2010.
Baska said that insufficient training and equipment are the
reasons for not proposing to send Special Forces sooner, but
when pressed by the Ambassador, he acknowledged that the 2010
general election is the critical factor. In January Baska
spoke publicly about the possibility of sending combat troops
to Afghanistan in the future and was promptly and publicly
overruled by the PM. On June 10, during an inspection of the
MoD, the PM again said that he "disagrees with sending combat
troops that would carry out combat operations in which the
health and lives of our soldiers would be threatened."


5. (U) Fico and Baska both said on June 10 that Slovakia has
no plans to reach NATO's defense spending target of two
percent of GDP in the near future. Fico said that he
considers the current budget sufficient for the coming
period. Baska added that "we are not going to abide by the
two percent of GDP at all, we are not the only country not to
meet those two percent."
OBSITNIK