GIA DIRECTOR INDICATES MONGOLIA WILL OK 10TH IRAQ

C O N F I D E N T I A L ULAANBAATAR 000311 STATE FOR EAP/CM, PM, NEA, INR/EAP AND INR/B E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/23/2018 TAGS: MARR MOPS PREL PGOV MASS KPKO ASEC MG IZ SUBJECT: GIA DIRECTOR INDICATES MONGOLIA WILL OK 10TH IRAQ ROTATION REF: ULAANBAATAR 0310 Classified By: Ambassador Mark C. Minton for Reasons 1.4 (a) and (b). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: The Director of Mongolia's General Intelligence Agency (GIA),former Ambassador to the U.S. R. Bold, told the Ambassador June 20 that he believes that the Government of Mongolia (GOM) will approve the dispatch of a 10th troop rotation to Iraq. The GOM has not made a formal announcement on whether it will send a 10th rotation. During the meeting at GIA HQ, the Ambassador emphasized considerable progress was being made in Iraq and underlined the need for further USG-GOM discussions in the coming months on a long-term GOM commitment to Iraq and the coalition. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) Mongolian GIA Director Bold, the recently returned former Ambassador to the U.S., hosted the Ambassador for lunch on June 20. Regarding the Mongolian peacekeeping force that provides security for Polish troops at Camp Echo in southern Iraq, Bold said the Polish troops are to withdraw on September 30, and that this timing complicates the GOM's decision on whether to send a 10th six-month rotation, because the Polish departure would come mid-rotation. Bold said that at a National Security Council (NSC) meeting, participants expressed differing opinions on the advisability of sending another deployment. Some, he indicated, think the anticipated replacement of Polish forces by U.S. forces would provoke attacks at Camp Echo, raising the threat to Mongolian forces to the point where they should withdraw. Others, Bold suggested, support approving a 10th rotation, to honor President Enkhbayar's commitment to POTUS at the October 2007 White House Summit, as well as to strengthen US-Mongolian relations. Bold told the Ambassador that it was his impression that a 10th rotation would be approved at least until the Polish withdrawal from Camp Echo in late September. (Note: Per reftel, informed sources have made clear to Post that in late May, the NSC decided to recommend sending a 10th rotation to Iraq to replace the forces scheduled to depart in July, at least through the end of September. We understand that the NSC's decision has yet to be endorsed by the Cabinet. End Note.) ¶3. (C) The Ambassador underscored that considerable progress achieved recently in Iraq, both in security and political terms, and urged consideration of a long-term commitment to Iraq. The Ambassador said he believed security would not be compromised at Camp Echo because of a U.S. troop presence. The Ambassador ended the meeting by emphasizing the necessity for further U.S.-GOM discussions, from July to October, on a long-term GOM commitment to Iraq and the coalition, through the full tenth rotation and beyond. He noted that the U.S. would initiate discussions soon with Mongolia concerning the conditions under which the Mongolian mission could be extended beyond the end of the year, when the UNSC resolution is set to expire. MINTON