AFGHANISTAN: ITALY SUPPORTS ANA TROOP INCREASE BUT

C O N F I D E N T I A L ROME 001251 SIPDIS EUR/RPM FOR RAPHAEL CARLAND, SCA/A FOR TOM REOTT E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/11/2018 TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR MOPS NATO IT AF SUBJECT: AFGHANISTAN: ITALY SUPPORTS ANA TROOP INCREASE BUT BALKS AT EXPECTED DONOR CONTRIBUTION REF: A. STATE 97991 ¶B. ROME 835 ¶C. STATE 93225 ¶D. STATE 71479 Classified By: Political Minister-Counselor Barbara A. Leaf for Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D) ¶1. (C) Poloff delivered reftel demarche to MFA Afghanistan Envoy Sergio Mercuri and Deputy Director for Political Military Affairs Carlo Batori on September 17 and followed up with them on October 9. Batori said that the MFA had circulated our request within the GOI interagency and the initial response had not been positive. Italy was not likely to be able to contribute USD 100 million per year over the 2010-2014 period, and he suggested that requests for large contributions should be made to those countries that do not have a large troop presence in Afghanistan or are in the process of scaling back their troop presence. ¶2. (C) Batori reiterated GOI support for the JCMB decision to endorse the Afghan government's goal of increasing the ANA troop level to 134,000 (Ref B),but noted that PM Berlusconi is making deep budget cuts in defense and foreign assistance over the next three years and the GOI will be hard pressed to maintain both its current aid pledge to Afghanistan (Euro 150 million from 2009-2011) and funding for its 2,350-troop ISAF commitment and Carabinieri ANCOP police training commitment in Afghanistan. Batori did not rule out a smaller contribution to the ANA Trust Fund, but noted that the GOI was already under budgetary pressure to cut its contribution to the NATO Kosovo Trust Fund. ¶3. (C) Separately, MFA Director General for Asian Affairs Massimo Iannucci told DCM on October 10 that the MFA had been able to secure, for the first time, a 3-year multi-year GOI commitment on Afghan aid levels but was non-committal on the USD 100 million for the ANA. SPOGLI