SCENESETTER FOR DEPSEC ENGLAND DINNER WITH DEFMIN

C O N F I D E N T I A L ZAGREB 000419 SIPDIS SECDEF FOR DEPUTY SECRETARY ENGLAND FROM DATT DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SCE E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/04/2018 TAGS: PREL KPAO MOPS MARR NATO HR DEFENSE REFORM SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR DEPSEC ENGLAND DINNER WITH DEFMIN VUKELIC Classified By: COL Brendan McAloon, DATT, for reasons 1.4 (b) & (d) ¶1. (C) Sir, this is Minister Vukelic,s second trip to the U.S. since his appointment in January as Minister of Defense in the new Croatian government. Though his tenure as Minister of Economy in the previous government was unremarkable, in his short time as Minister of Defense he has brought a level of political savvy and public awareness to the MOD that had been lacking before. His knowledge of English is passive and he understands most of what is said to him but he is reluctant to speak. ¶2. (SBU) ISAF: Croatia is an active partner in the NATO ISAF mission in Afghanistan. Croatia currently has 204 soldiers on the ground and intends to expand its contingent to approximately 300 by the end of July. Croatia has the only non-NATO Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team (OMLT) in ISAF for which it bears all the costs except the U.S.-provided stratlift. Croatia and the Minnesota National Guard are examining deploying a joint, Combat Arms OMLT in the future. ¶3. (C) Peacekeeping: Croatia prides itself on its transition from a security consumer with UN Peacekeepers on its territory to a security provider with Croatian Armed Forces (CAF) elements involved in fifteen UN peacekeeping operations around the globe. Minister Vukelic just returned from Syria where he witnessed the deployment of 98 CAF personnel to the UN mission in the Golan Heights. Within the next few months Croatia will deploy 15 soldiers to the EU-led mission in Chad. In the medium-term, Minister Vukelic has ordered a study to determine what needs to be done to make their MI-8 and MI-171sh helicopters deployable to KFOR. With these deployments Croatia is in the process of implementing its plans to increase and sustain its PKO contributions from around 250 soldiers in 2007 to 600 soldiers by 2010. ¶4. (C) ASPA: The U.S. FMF and IMET programs were suspended in July 2003 due to ASPA sanctions. As a result, the CAF depended entirely upon national resources to accomplish their NATO partnership goals and to equip their forces for ISAF. Croatia is the only ISAF partner and new NATO invitee that accomplished its transformation and financed its ISAF commitments without FMF or Coalition Support Funding. The suspension of IMET during this time has had a telling impact throughout the CAF. Most notably is the lack of U.S.-educated staff officers at the senior and mid-grade officer level to fill critical billets on the MOD, CAF, and NATO Staffs. We can also see the effect at lower levels as the CAF has difficulty finding adequately trained, English-speaking junior officers and NCOs for deployment and lacks combat medics and forward air controllers. Croatia has been identified to receive one million dollars of Global Peace Operations Initiative funds, the bulk of which will be dedicated to improve the English language capability of the CAF. ¶5. (SBU) FMF/IMET levels: Croatia is not programmed to receive any FMF in FY08, and is projected to receive only 1.8 million dollars in FMF in 2009. IMET is similarly under funded for a NATO invitee with only 300K in FY08 and projected 500K in FY09. The proposed budget numbers trend better in FY10. You can expect Minister Vukelic to discuss FMF and IMET funding levels during your dinner. ¶6. (C) Procurement Priorities: U.S. FMF funding will be directed at obtaining the necessary NATO-compatible radio equipment, night vision equipment, weapon sights, combat medical equipment, and GPS required to sustain Croatia,s forces in ISAF. Croatia currently has no Type 1 radios or Selective Availability Anti-Spoof Module (SAASM) global positioning systems in its inventory. If possible we would like to direct FMF funds to the upgrades needed to deploy Croatian helicopters to KFOR. ¶7. (C) F-16s: The MoD,s Long Term Development Plan calls for Croatia to replace its 12 soon-to-be obsolete MiG-21 aircraft with a similar number of advanced fighters for domestic air policing. Croatia sent requests for information for Mirage, MiG-29, Eurofighter, Gripen, and F-16 (Block 15 used, Block 15 mid-life upgrade, and Block 50/52 new). Croatia now has all the answers it requested and is conducting further internal studies. We have received messages that there may be some reevaluation of the need for fighters after NATO membership, but the official policy to procure fighters has not changed yet. Bradtke