USG PROPOSES ENHANCED SECURITY PARTNERSHIP WITH

S E C R E T GABORONE 000875 STATE FOR AF, AF/RSA, AF/S, AND PM; DOD FOR OSD/ISA/AF ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/04/2018 TAGS: PREL MARR MASS MCAP BC SUBJECT: USG PROPOSES ENHANCED SECURITY PARTNERSHIP WITH BOTSWANA REF: A. STATE 94292 (NOTAL) ¶B. GABORONE 577 (NOTAL) ¶C. GABORONE 566 AND PREVIOUS Classified By: DCM Philip R. Drouin; Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (S) DCM Philip Drouin called on Ambassador Mustaq Moorad, Deputy Permanent Secretary (DPS) in the GOB Office of the President (OP) on October 2 to follow-up and deliver the points and the USG proposal for a strengthened and deepened U.S.-Botswana security partnership, as outlined in Ref A. AF Assistant Secretary Jendayi Frazer had previewed this intent to enhance the bilateral security relationship during her meetings held with Botswana's President Khama and Vice President Merafhe on September 6 in Swaziland and on September 7 in Botswana, repectively. AF/RSA Deputy Director Michael Bittrick had also discussed some of the proposed modalities in meetings with senior GOB and Botswana Defence Force (BDF) officials in Gaborone on September 4. Following these important consultations, the Embassy continued to work closely with the OP, where Minister of Defence, Justice and Security D. Ndelu Seretse's office is situated, to arrange an appropriate appointment to brief the Minister on the detailed USG reply to his and the BDF's earlier requests (Refs B and C). ¶2. (S) Unfortunately, Minister Seretse (also his key aide DPS Moorad) has been traveling extensively throughout September both within Botswana (meeting with widespread local communities and constituencies on GOB efforts to combat crime, also part of his mandate and portfolio),and also on foreign official business. With the September 19 arrival in Botswana of U.S. Ambassador Stephen Nolan, we also explored an early window whereby the Ambassador and the Minister could discuss at length these important issues to broaden our bilateral security partnership and military-to-military relationship. However, as the Ambassador will present his credentials to President Khama on October 6, we will only be able to schedule an initial courtesy call between the Ambassador and Minister Seretse later in October or in early November, following the AF Chiefs of Mission Conference and consultations in Washington. ¶3. (S) Comment: Therefore, the DCM saw fit to meet with DPS Moorad (given the Minister's continued absence from Gaborone) to pass the points. DPS Moorad thanked the DCM and was most appreciative of the reply and its content and direction. He will brief the Minister, and our detailed reply will no doubt make its way to President Khama's office as well, as Moorad told us earlier that the President is the architect and driver of this initiative to reach out to the USG for a deepened security partnership. Ambassador Moorad also promised to brief MFA and other GOB officials and departments with a need-to-know, but he asked that we continue to treat this sensitive matter in confidence and with the strictest discretion. When Ambassador Nolan is ultimately able to call on Minister of Defence, Justice and Security Seretse and his senior OP and BDF staff, the Ambassador will be accompanied as well by Embassy Gaborone's newly-arrived Office of Security Cooperation Chief and the Political/Economic Section Chief. We expect that this initial get-acquainted session will also present a good opportunity to map out next steps vis-a-vis the specific points spelled out in our proposal to the GOB, as outlined in paragraph 4, below. End Comment. ¶4. (S) Begin Text of the USG Non-Paper, pursuant to paragraph 6 in Ref A, presented by DCM Drouin to DPS Moorad of the GOB Office of the President on October 2, 2008: The United States-Botswana Security Partnership The United States values highly its relationship with Botswana and commends the government for its courageous stance in response to the political crisis in Zimbabwe. We recognize that the Zimbabwe crisis has placed tremendous pressure on the whole Southern African region and that the impact on neighboring states is particularly acute. The United States and Botswana enjoy a long history of strong military-to-military relations. We would like to strengthen and deepen that relationship, and therefore propose initiating the development of a defense policy white paper to identify areas for future cooperation and assistance. With regard to the specific equipment items currently requested by the BDF, we will explore various avenues to procure the non-lethal equipment. We encourage the BDF to remain in close contact on this important matter with the Office of Security Cooperation, or OSC (formerly the Office of Defense Cooperation, or ODC),in concert with the Political Section and under the direction of the Executive Office at the U.S. Embassy in Gaborone. We will consider authorized Foreign Military Sales of some of the lethal equipment requested, and again urge the BDF to work directly with the OSC of the Embassy of the United States of America to Botswana. On September 4, 2008, a representative from the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of African Affairs visited Gaborone to conduct initial discussions on engagement and programming. Ambassador Jendayi E. Frazer, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, also held useful consultations with President Khama and Vice President Merafhe on September 6 and 7, respectively. We appreciate Botswana's continued partnership under the Africa Contingency Operations Training and Assistance (ACOTA) program. While the primary focus of the ACOTA program is to support countries preparing to deploy to peacekeeping missions, we recognize that Botswana currently chooses not to deploy its troops. We are interested in initiating a dialogue on how to maintain and deepen our relationship under the ACOTA program, both to strengthen our military-to-military relationship and to facilitate rapid deployment should Botswana choose to deploy troops in support of peacekeeping operations in the future. In addition to the assistance that has already been identified, the Department of State will continue to work with the Department of Defense to identify new avenues through which to strengthen ties with the BDF. The Bureau of African Affairs will seek to ensure that Botswana is amongst the first countries to benefit from new military-to-military engagement initiatives and programs in Africa. Botswana's courage and leadership in response to the crisis in Zimbabwe is yet another reason why we view Botswana as a model for the region. We look forward to working together to strengthen and deepen our already robust partnership. September 2008 End Text of USG Non-Paper. NOLAN