HUNGARIAN SUPPORT FOR AFGHANISTAN MISSION AFTER

C O N F I D E N T I A L BUDAPEST 000764 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/CE JAMIE LAMORE PLEASE PASS TO NSC FOR ADAM STERLING E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/30/2018 TAGS: PREL PGOV HU SUBJECT: HUNGARIAN SUPPORT FOR AFGHANISTAN MISSION AFTER TWO RECENT DEATHS Classified By: P/E Counselor Eric V. Gaudiosi, reasons 1.4(b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Following the second death of a Hungarian soldier in Afghanistan in just over a month, reaction from the media, opposition parties and high-ranking politicians has been largely measured, with criticism aimed at the soldiers' funding and training rather than questioning Hungarian participation in the mission altogether. Publicly, the GoH has shown rare multipartisan solidarity in expressing condolences to the fallen's families and praise for the all-volunteer force comprising Hungary's contribution to the NATO mission. Privately, Defense Minister Imre Szekeres told PolOffs that the Hungarian contingent was "not going anywhere," indicating strong support for the mission behind closed doors at the highest level. ¶2. (U) Public debate about the deaths thus far has been limited to how well the soldiers were prepared for the mission, whether they were properly outfitted, and whether or not they had the language skills to learn from NATO soldiers in Afghanistan about the proper operation of sophisticated demining devices, to include remote controlled robots. Following his appearance before the Parliamentary Defense and Law Enforcement Committee July 23, Szekeres remarked that the question of withdrawing troops was not addressed and noted that the Afghanistan mission enjoys five-party consensus. He proposed to earmark 500 million HUF (circa 3.4 million USD) of the 2008 budget for emergency purposes if required, and we are working through mil-mil channels to respond to his request for additional training support. Opposition party FIDESZ would even approve budget amendments to provide additional finances for the mission said Defense Committee Chairman and FIDESZ MP Janos Lazar. ¶3. (SBU) During a meeting on July 24, Hungarian PolAd in Afghanistan Istvan Tolli told PolOffs that he was concerned about political solidarity and consensus regarding the mission given the fallout potential from the two recent deaths. Back in Budapest on leave, he remarked that he was relieved to see that support for the mission was reasonably solid, but indicated to us that he had told senior civilian and defense officials that they would need to continue their efforts to build public support given the short-term risks on the ground and the long-term nature of the mission. In a May 2008 Szonda Ipsos poll published in the Vilaggazdasag daily newspaper, 51 percent of the respondents agreed with the "Hungarian military mission in Afghanistan." ¶4. (C) Comment: Magyar Nemzet has been the most dissonant voice by far to date. Rapidly becoming more right than center-right, Magyar Nemzet has been overt in its criticism of the government's management and the PRT's mission. Although this has not impacted political consensus or the public's support, this stridently isolationist message is disturbing to us and even to opposition officials. Foley