REQUEST FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF A DEPARTMENT OF

S E C R E T OUAGADOUGOU 000298

NOFORN
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/17/2019
TAGS: MASS MARR MOPS UV
SUBJECT: REQUEST FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF A DEPARTMENT OF
DEFENSE POSITION IN OUAGADOUGOU, BURKINA FASO

REF: OUAGADOUGOU 114

Classified By: Charg d'Affaires Samuel C. Laeuchli for reasons
1.4(a) and (c)


1. (U) Summary: Reftel was submitted to inform the Department of
State (DOS) of the increased workload and expanded Military
Cooperation portfolio in Burkina Faso and to formally request the
rapid establishment of a permanent Department of Defense (DOD)
uniformed military position at the Embassy. This follow-up cable is
the result of discussions between the Country Team in Burkina Faso,
U.S. Africa Command, and the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). This
cable was initiated and fully supported by Ambassador Jeanine
Jackson.
End Summary.


2. (U) Over the past three years, the rapid and exponential increase
in Military Cooperation between Burkina Faso and the United States,
coupled with Burkina Faso's growing regional political and military
leadership, necessitates the establishment of a permanent military
position at Post. The dramatic increase in military-to-military
(M2M) engagement and DOD activity in-country has completely
overwhelmed the Embassy's resources and requires an experienced field
grade officer (O-4/O-5) to manage the large increase in M2M
activities supported by Post on behalf of DOD. Embassy Ouagadougou
requests a permanent DOD position be established as soon as possible
in support of engagement with this key regional partner. Without the
addition of this position, Post will reluctantly be forced to scale
back M2M activities with the Burkinabe military, losing a critical
opportunity to build a strong and lasting military partnership with
one of the United States' few stable allies in this troubled region.


3. (U) Over the past several years, the United States has
transitioned from a limited, almost non-existent M2M relationship
with Burkina Faso - consisting of a $100,000 International Military
Education and Training (IMET) budget and periodic Africa Center for
Strategic Studies (ACSS) events - to a maturing, resource-dependent
relationship requiring a dedicated uniformed military presence in
country. The following paragraphs summarize the current state of
Military Cooperation in Ouagadougou.


A. (U) Burkina Faso is a Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Program
(TSCTP) partner and is awaiting final approval from the Office of the
Secretary of Defense (OSD) for membership into Operation Enduring
Freedom - Trans Sahara (OEF-TS). In 2006, the President of Burkina
Faso, Blaise Compaore approved the basing of a Joint Special
Operations Air Detachment (JSOAD) in Ouagadougou to support U.S.
Special Operations Command Europe's (SOCEUR) medical evacuation and
logistics requirements. President Compaore also authorized
significant improvements to the JSOAD hangar and basing area at no
cost to the U.S. Government.


B. (U) Increased DOD engagement has brought a dramatic increase in
workload for the Embassy. Between February 2008 and March 2009, the
Embassy approved approximately 1000 country clearance requests, fully
one-third of which were DOD or DOD-related. Significant future
Military Cooperation is anticipated. In the next year, Burkina Faso
will host the Multinational Coordination Cell for exercise Flintlock
2010, along with several OEF-TS training events. These activities
require a dedicated uniformed presence at the Embassy to facilitate
engagement with the host nation and to provide situational awareness
of DOD activity to the Country Team. In FY09, Burkina Faso submitted
a Tranche 1 1206 proposal which was approved by AFRICOM but unfunded.
The proposal has been resubmitted for Tranche 2, and if funded, will
require significant resources in-country and engagement with the host
nation to implement.


C. (S/REL USA BFA CAN GBR) As of April 2009, there are 14 active duty
DOD personnel on the ground in Burkina Faso supporting AFRICOM, the
JSOAD, and the Aztec Archer Intelligence Fusion Cell. DOD
contractors providing ground logistics support, emergency medical
evacuation, and air logistics support for OEF-TS, increase the total
number of DOD personnel to 38. By the end of FY 09, DOD presence in
country is projected to reach 65, one of the highest DOD footprints
in Africa (behind Djibouti, Kenya and Uganda all of whom have
dedicated, permanent DOD positions to support their missions.)


D. (U) Even before becoming a TSCTP partner, Burkina Faso actively
sought and participated in SOCEUR-led training, military exercises,
DOD-funded humanitarian assistance, and public outreach programs.
Past and planned DOD activities include: Air Force Office of Special
Investigations force protection familiarization, humanitarian
assistance projects, medical assistance teams, avian flu seminars and
assistance, medical equipment donations, HIV/AIDS DHAPP funded
programs, small arms and light weapons assistance, Joint/Combined
Exchange Training (JCET),counterterrorism training, intelligence
familiarization and basic officer training, public diplomacy programs

to counter extremism, engineering projects, professionalization of
officers and noncommissioned officers, and counter narcotics
training.


E. (U) Burkina Faso is a partner in the State Department-led/DOD
supported Africa Contingency Operations Training Assistance (ACOTA)
program. ACOTA has trained three 750-man Burkinabe battalions for
peace support operations. It has also provided specialized equipment
to a battalion deploying to the UN Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) in

2009. President Blaise Compaore has expressed the desire to
participate in the UN mission in Somalia, and peacekeeping operations
worldwide, which makes additional ACOTA training missions in-country
likely. As an example, Burkina Faso recently agreed to participate
in joint training conducted by the United States, Italy, Canada, and
the Netherlands with several of its police units.


F. (U) Because of Burkina Faso's increased regional role, the rapid
expansion of M2M engagement, the growth of OEF-TS presence, and
receptiveness to the United States, Burkina Faso is rapidly becoming
a popular destination for Congressional and Congressional Staff
delegations. These visits have naturally focused on the Embassy's
increased DOD engagement portfolio. During a recent two-week period
in April, Post hosted two staff delegations and one Congressional
delegation (led by a sub-committee chairman). All visits have
specifically included requests for discussions of M2M activities.


4. (S/NF) Burkina Faso is playing a more prominent role in West
African regional affairs. President Compaore has mediated conflicts
in neighboring Cote d'Ivoire and Togo. Reflecting this regional
focus, the former Burkinabe Foreign Minister is the UN/AU joint chief
mediator for Darfur. Burkina Faso is also an important contributor
to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) standby
force, and will host their logistics exercise this year. The
Burkinabe military is regarded as competent and professional.
Geographically, Burkina Faso occupies a key strategic location in
West Africa. It borders states with known AQIM activity and may
serve as a safe haven or transit point. At present, intelligence on
this critical terrorist and security-related threat is absent. The
Defense Attach Office (DAO) in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire provides
regional coverage of Burkina Faso. Of DAO Abidjan's 30 collection
requirements (including 22 priority 2 collection requirements) 15 are
West African Sahel requirements (including 14 of the 22 priority 2
requirements) and are not applicable to Cote d'Ivoire. These
requirements go largely unreported due to the absence of a resident
U.S. Defense Attach (DATT) in Ouagadougou.


5. (U) Access to Government of Burkina Faso officials is excellent.
The United States is currently the largest provider of military
assistance in-country, and the Burkinabe have been exceedingly
accommodating of all requests from the Embassy. Consequently, Senior
Ministry of Defense officials continue to ask why the U.S. does not
have a dedicated DATT in Ouagadougou. The Government of Burkina Faso
signed a Global Status of Forces Agreement in 2007 (one of the least
complicated negotiations in recent memory, and one of only two Global
Status of Forces Agreements in Africa),an Access Only Agreement for
the JSOAD aircraft in 2007, and an Acquisition and Cross Servicing
Agreement (ACSA) with DOD in 2008. Together, these documents
represent an extraordinary commitment and willingness by the
Government of Burkina Faso to strengthen and cement ties with the
United States and its Armed Forces.


6. (U) For the past several years, the Embassy's Security Cooperation
Programs have been managed by two Foreign Service Nationals and one
junior State Department Political/Military officer, with assistance
from the Regional DATT to Cote d'Ivoire. Present Embassy manning is
insufficient to support an increasingly expanding and challenging
Security Cooperation portfolio. The Political/Military officer has
significant Embassy responsibilities, including reporting mandated by
Congress and DOS. The Regional DATT is limited by his primary duties
in Cote d'Ivoire, and by not residing in Burkina Faso cannot conduct
the necessary direct face-to-face contact required to support an
increasing M2M relationship. This situation is no longer manageable
by Post.


7. (U) Post strongly recommends that DOD establish a permanent
uniformed DOD position in Ouagadougou. A dedicated in-country
representative is required to advise the Chief of Mission on M2M
Engagement and Security Cooperation issues, to report significant
military, political, and terrorist activity, to represent AFRICOM and
DOD to the Government of Burkina Faso and foreign militaries, to
manage engagement with the Burkinabe military (including Flintlock
2010 and JCETs),to supervise peacekeeping activities, to supervise
training and equipping),and to oversee the IMET and ACSS programs.


8. (U) The State Department's Office of the Inspector General
recently concluded an inspection of Post. In the report, the
inspectors addressed Post's difficulty at managing M2M engagement,

stating that "Post cannot long support this burden," and made the
recommendation that "the Bureau of African Affairs request the
establishment of a permanently staffed military presence at Embassy
Ouagadougou."


9. (U) AFRICOM is currently providing limited, temporary support
until a permanent position can be established. Based on its current
needs, Post urgently requests a permanent position, along with
appropriate support positions, be established as soon as possible.
Without a permanent, uniformed DOD presence at the Embassy to manage
emerging M2M issues, Post will be forced to prioritize and consider
reducing DOD activities in Burkina Faso. A reduction in activity
would represent a lost opportunity to foster a strong and lasting
military partnership with a willing ally in a troubled and unstable
region.

LAEUCHLI