ITALIAN CARABINIERI TRAINING FOR AFGHANISTAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L STATE 024923 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/10/2018 TAGS: AF IT MOPS NATO PREL SUBJECT: ITALIAN CARABINIERI TRAINING FOR AFGHANISTAN Classified By: Acting EUR A/S Kurt Volker, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (U) This is an action request. Please see paragraph 10. ¶2. (C/Rel Italy) SUMMARY: A critical part of the counter-insurgency plan for Afghanistan is assisting the Afghans in standing up an effective police force. The U.S. is committing a number of U.S. Marine trainers, due to arrive in Afghanistan in April 2008, to work alongside Afghan police as mentors. The Afghans could benefit from the Italian Carabinieri,s talents, skills and long tradition of excellence in training and mentoring. The U.S. is looking for a minimum of 18 Carabinieri to mentor and assist training the Afghan National Police Force alongside the U.S. Marines. END SUMMARY. ¶3. (C/Rel Italy) The counter-insurgency plan for Afghanistan depends, in part, on standing up an effective Afghan police force. Nine platoons from the recently announced U.S. Marine Corps deployment will be utilized to train and mentor Afghan National Police. Italian Carabinieri have the mission-critical skills and long traditions of excellence in training and mentoring others in police training. The U.S. mentoring and training mission of the Afghan National Police would be greatly enhanced by the Carabinieri. Paragraphs 4-9 describe the mission in some detail. ¶4. (C/Rel Italy) Mission: The Carabinieri will be charged with evaluating, training and mentoring, including leader development, the full range of Afghan National Police at the district level, including the chief of police, headquarters staff, and patrolmen. They will do this based on published Afghan Ministry of Interior standards and processes and informed by their experience as police professionals. The U.S. Marine platoons will be responsible for providing force protection in the training area/police district and augmenting Carabinieri training efforts as required or providing training in military specific skills required for the police to be effective and survive. ¶5. (C/Rel Italy) Rules of Engagement: This mission will be executed under the direction of Combined Security Transition Command ) Afghanistan (CSTC-A) which is deployed under OEF and operates under OEF rules of engagement. The Carabinieri should be deployed on a bilateral agreement between the US and Italy. ¶6. (C/Rel Italy) Specific geographic areas of operation: The Marines and Carabinieri will be deployed in the eastern portion of Farah Province in the southern portion of Regional Command-West and the northern portion of Helmand Province Regional Command-South; eventually spanning the districts of Gulistan, Bala Beluk, Delaram, and Bagwa in Farah Province, and Kajaki, Gereshk, Sangin , Now Zad, and Washir, in Helmand Province. The CSTC-A Commander has visited the area recently and his staff has conducted a recon of most of these districts. Additionally, Italian infantry forces are in the Farah provincial capital and in Gulistan, British forces are in the vicinity of Kajaki, Gereshk, Sangin, Now Zad, and Washir, and Afghan Army forces also have a presence across the area. ¶7. (C/Rel Italy) Deployment timeline: The actual training and mentoring mission may not start until May 1. To ensure proper reception, preparation and integration with their host rifle platoons, 15 April is the desired arrival date, with 1 May the not-later-than date. ¶8. (C/Rel Italy) Pre-deployment details: CSTC-A will send a team to Italy to coordinate all aspects of the deployment. ¶9. (C/Rel Italy) The Carabinieri are already planning to do some ANCOP training in Herat and Washington understands that the Italians might want to find a way to piggy-back the effort with the Marines onto the ANCOP program. It should be noted that the Carabinieri deployed with the Marines in the operating area will have an opportunity to work with the ANCOP in several of the districts participating in the Focused District Development police reform program. ¶10. (C/Rel Italy) ACTION REQUEST: Embassy, drawing from the information contained in the cable, should approach highest levels of GOI to secure a quick agreement to this mission, which could be announced by the Italians at Bucharest. RICE