MINISTER OF DEFENSE ON DEPLOYMENTS, ACQUISITIONS,

C O N F I D E N T I A L LJUBLJANA 000256

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/11/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV MOPS MASS MARR MCAP SI
SUBJECT: MINISTER OF DEFENSE ON DEPLOYMENTS, ACQUISITIONS,
AND SPENDING

REF: LJUBLJANA 238

Classified By: Ambassador Yousif B. Ghafari for reasons 1.4 (b,d)

Summary:
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1. (C) In a June 11 introductory call on Minister of Defense
Karl Erjavec, Ambassador Ghafari expressed appreciation for
Slovenian Armed Forces support of the June 9 - 10 POTUS visit
and for the contributions Slovenia has made to NATO missions
in the Balkans, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Erjavec thanked the
Ambassador for U.S. military assistance and training and
stressed the importance of U.S.-Slovene military relations.
The Ambassador urged Erjavec to restructure the Slovenian
deployment to the International Security Assistance Force
(ISAF) in Afghanistan to provide an Operational Mentoring and
Liaison Team (OMLT) and to seriously consider U.S. products
in any future military acquisitions. The Minister
acknowledged the shortfalls in ISAF troop deployments, but
indicated that Slovenia is not prepared to change its
deployment at this time. Erjavec also noted that he expects
Slovenia to meet its NATO defense spending goal of two
percent of GDP by 2011 and that the Ministry of Defense will
certainly consider U.S. products for future acquisitions.
End summary.

Strong U.S.-Slovenian Military Relations
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2. (U) In his first meeting with Minister of Defense Erjavec,
Ambassador Ghafari recognized the importance of contributions
the Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) made to the June 10 U.S.-EU
Summit and thanked Erjavec for the strong role that Slovenia
plays in international missions around the globe. The
Minister noted that Slovenia and the U.S. have always had an
open and friendly relationship and that our military ties are
of particular strategic importance to Slovenia. Erjavec
stressed that U.S. military training and financial assistance
have been critical to Slovenian military reform.

Change in ISAF Deployment Unlikely
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3. (C) The Ambassador repeated calls previously made during a
May 29 meeting with PM Janez Jansa (reftel) and in a letter
from Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to Minister Erjavec
urging Slovenia to consider restructuring its deployment to
ISAF to provide an OMLT. The Ambassador suggested that
Slovenia could form a joint OMLT with the Colorado National
Guard through the ongoing State Partnership Program.
Although Erjavec acknowledged that the ISAF mission currently
lacks sufficient troops, he stated that Slovenia's deployment
had increased from 20 to 71 troops during his tenure and that
it is unlikely that the number will increase in the
foreseeable future. (Note: Our sources put the current
number of Slovenian troops in Afghanistan at 66, not 71. End
note.) Erjavec stressed that Slovenia is more focused on the
NATO mission to Kosovo where the SAF currently deploys 363
troops. He suggested that should the situation in Kosovo
change and the need for NATO troops decrease, Slovenia might
consider contributing more to ISAF.


4. (C) Erjavec mentioned that he will attend the NATO Defense
Ministerial in Brussels on June 12 and expects to discuss the
ISAF mission at length. He stressed the importance of
Slovenia serving as a credible NATO partner. Note: MoD U.S.
desk officer Stanka Lavrih subsequently told us that Erjavec
intends to announce at the ministerial that in January
Slovenia will increase from 7 to 10 the number of troops
currently participating in an Italian-led OMLT in Herat and
will deploy two civilian-military cooperation personnel to
the same region in August. End note.

Slovenia Still Intends to Purchase Transport Aircraft
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5. (U) The Ambassador requested that the MoD consider
U.S.-produced aircraft in any future Slovenian purchases of
military transport planes. The Minister explained that the
MoD had canceled its contract for a Spanish Casa 295
transport aircraft following the crash of a Casa 295 in
Poland in January, but intends to reopen the tendering
process in the near future. He assured the Ambassador that
American planes would be included in the process. Although
the Minister could not say when the process would begin, he
stated that it would definitely happen as "a military without
a transport plane is like a family without a car."

Slovenia to Reach 2% Defense Spending Goal by 2011
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6. (C) Erjavec provided an unsolicited projection on
Slovenia's ability to meet NATO defense spending goals. He
stated that a high level of growth in Slovenian GDP had
outpaced defense spending and resulted in the current rate of
1.7 percent of GDP on defense. The Minister outlined current
defense spending projections, stating that the MoD hopes to
spend 1.8 percent of GDP in 2009, 1.9 percent in 2010, and
expects to reach 2 percent in 2011.

Comment
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7. (C) The prospects for Slovenia to provide an OMLT appear
dim. We have repeatedly stressed that Slovenia could provide
an OMLT without increasing its troop levels by simply
restructuring its deployment. Erjavec and others in the GOS
seem, however, to be either missing or deliberately ignoring
this message and consistently reply that Slovenia cannot
increase its troop levels at this time. Slovenia is planning
Parliamentary elections for early fall and those results are
likely to affect the government's calculus about its
activities in Afghanistan. Should there be a change in
political will on this issue, there are indications that a
joint operation between the SAF and the Colorado National
Guard would be feasible. At the June 2 - 5 National Guard
State Partnership Program Regional Workshop in Sofia, Slovene
and Colorado National Guard representatives agreed that they
could carry out a joint operation, provided the decision is
made by the political leadership. We have informed the MoD
that Slovenian troops could receive OMLT training at the
Joint Multinational Training Center in Hohenfels, Germany.
End comment.
GHAFARI