Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09PRISTINA417
2009-09-29 06:04:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Pristina
Cable title:
KOSOVO: NEW COMKFOR CALLS ON AMBASSADOR
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PRISTINA 000417
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR DRL, INL, EUR/SCE
NSC FOR HOVENIER
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/27/2019
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL MARR KV
SUBJECT: KOSOVO: NEW COMKFOR CALLS ON AMBASSADOR
Classified By: Ambassador Christopher W. Dell for Reasons 1.4 (b),(d).
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PRISTINA 000417
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR DRL, INL, EUR/SCE
NSC FOR HOVENIER
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/27/2019
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL MARR KV
SUBJECT: KOSOVO: NEW COMKFOR CALLS ON AMBASSADOR
Classified By: Ambassador Christopher W. Dell for Reasons 1.4 (b),(d).
1. (C) SUMMARY: On September 24, the new COMKFOR, Lieutenant
General Markus Bentler paid a courtesy call on the
Ambassador. The two discussed KFOR's planned drawdown and
the importance of creating a mechanism to ensure close
coordination between military and civilian organizations as
KFOR's presence diminishes. Bentler said that he recognizes
the challenges inherent in the KFOR drawdown and told the
Ambassador that he wants to take an active approach that
creates the proper conditions for drawing down rather than
waiting for events to develop. END SUMMARY
KFOR PLANS TO DRAWDOWN:
--------------
2. (C) During Lieutenant General Markus Bentler's (COMKFOR)
September 24 courtesy call on the Ambassador, KFOR's
drawdown--with an initial reduction of force from 15,000 to
10,000 expected to occur in the coming months--was the
central topic of conversation. The Ambassador expressed
three major points of concern that needed to be addressed to
ensure KFOR's successful drawdown. First, he noted that
KFOR's intelligence was undersourced. As KFOR minimizes its
maneuver unit presence, good intelligence becomes critical to
ensure KFOR can respond effectively to any flare-ups.
Second, there are problems, like Gates 1 and 31 in northern
Kosovo, that need to be solved while KFOR remains at full
strength. Third, once drawdown commences, KFOR will reach a
point where it can no longer perform all its current
missions. KFOR must coordinate this process to ensure that
critical mission areas, like border patrols, particularly
along the border with Serbia, continue.
3. (C) COMKFOR agreed with the Ambassador that accurate,
well-sourced intelligence will play a critical role in KFOR's
future success, acting as a force multiplier for a reduced
KFOR. When discussing KFOR's drawdown and tasks that KFOR
might complete prior to reducing its force presence--for
example, ensuring that border crossing operations at Gates 1
and 31 in northern Kosovo operate under Kosovo institutional
control--COMKFOR expressed doubt that he could maintain
sufficient international support to wade into thorny, local
political issues, and he noted KFOR's "prudent" political
posture to this point.
CLOSE COORDINATION:
--------------
4. (C) As planning for KFOR's drawdown continues, COMKFOR
said that he is under constant pressure from participating
nations eager to withdraw their forces, and he wants to make
sure that he can coordinate with other actors to assume some
of the responsibilities that KFOR will no longer be able to
perform with its reduced personnel. As an example, COMKFOR
wondered whether EULEX might take over KFOR's border patrol
responsibilities. The mechanism for coordinating transition
of responsibility to civilian agencies, however, is still not
in place. COMKFOR told the Ambassador that he needs more
time to think about how to coordinate with civilian
institutions and is pondering a working group that can take a
comprehensive approach and explain the drawdown process to
the public in order to allay continued local anxiety.
5. (C) COMMENT: COMKFOR, in his first meeting with the
Ambassador, showed that he has given thought to the
challenges that await him in the coming months. It is also
clear that COMKFOR in not inclined to let any domestic
political challenge inhibit KFOR's drawdown plans. He
expressed a sensitivity to local political concerns that
might complicate his plans, but he tempered this with an
insistence that KFOR can help create the conditions that will
facilitate the troop reduction. At this point we are
skeptical that existing civilian institutions can assume all
of KFOR's duties--for example, we do not know if EULEX is
willing or capable of performing border patrols--but it is a
positive sign that COMKFOR is ready to coordinate KFOR's
drawdown with other vital actors in Kosovo in an effort to
PRISTINA 00000417 002 OF 002
ensure a peaceful transition. END COMMENT
DELL
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR DRL, INL, EUR/SCE
NSC FOR HOVENIER
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/27/2019
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL MARR KV
SUBJECT: KOSOVO: NEW COMKFOR CALLS ON AMBASSADOR
Classified By: Ambassador Christopher W. Dell for Reasons 1.4 (b),(d).
1. (C) SUMMARY: On September 24, the new COMKFOR, Lieutenant
General Markus Bentler paid a courtesy call on the
Ambassador. The two discussed KFOR's planned drawdown and
the importance of creating a mechanism to ensure close
coordination between military and civilian organizations as
KFOR's presence diminishes. Bentler said that he recognizes
the challenges inherent in the KFOR drawdown and told the
Ambassador that he wants to take an active approach that
creates the proper conditions for drawing down rather than
waiting for events to develop. END SUMMARY
KFOR PLANS TO DRAWDOWN:
--------------
2. (C) During Lieutenant General Markus Bentler's (COMKFOR)
September 24 courtesy call on the Ambassador, KFOR's
drawdown--with an initial reduction of force from 15,000 to
10,000 expected to occur in the coming months--was the
central topic of conversation. The Ambassador expressed
three major points of concern that needed to be addressed to
ensure KFOR's successful drawdown. First, he noted that
KFOR's intelligence was undersourced. As KFOR minimizes its
maneuver unit presence, good intelligence becomes critical to
ensure KFOR can respond effectively to any flare-ups.
Second, there are problems, like Gates 1 and 31 in northern
Kosovo, that need to be solved while KFOR remains at full
strength. Third, once drawdown commences, KFOR will reach a
point where it can no longer perform all its current
missions. KFOR must coordinate this process to ensure that
critical mission areas, like border patrols, particularly
along the border with Serbia, continue.
3. (C) COMKFOR agreed with the Ambassador that accurate,
well-sourced intelligence will play a critical role in KFOR's
future success, acting as a force multiplier for a reduced
KFOR. When discussing KFOR's drawdown and tasks that KFOR
might complete prior to reducing its force presence--for
example, ensuring that border crossing operations at Gates 1
and 31 in northern Kosovo operate under Kosovo institutional
control--COMKFOR expressed doubt that he could maintain
sufficient international support to wade into thorny, local
political issues, and he noted KFOR's "prudent" political
posture to this point.
CLOSE COORDINATION:
--------------
4. (C) As planning for KFOR's drawdown continues, COMKFOR
said that he is under constant pressure from participating
nations eager to withdraw their forces, and he wants to make
sure that he can coordinate with other actors to assume some
of the responsibilities that KFOR will no longer be able to
perform with its reduced personnel. As an example, COMKFOR
wondered whether EULEX might take over KFOR's border patrol
responsibilities. The mechanism for coordinating transition
of responsibility to civilian agencies, however, is still not
in place. COMKFOR told the Ambassador that he needs more
time to think about how to coordinate with civilian
institutions and is pondering a working group that can take a
comprehensive approach and explain the drawdown process to
the public in order to allay continued local anxiety.
5. (C) COMMENT: COMKFOR, in his first meeting with the
Ambassador, showed that he has given thought to the
challenges that await him in the coming months. It is also
clear that COMKFOR in not inclined to let any domestic
political challenge inhibit KFOR's drawdown plans. He
expressed a sensitivity to local political concerns that
might complicate his plans, but he tempered this with an
insistence that KFOR can help create the conditions that will
facilitate the troop reduction. At this point we are
skeptical that existing civilian institutions can assume all
of KFOR's duties--for example, we do not know if EULEX is
willing or capable of performing border patrols--but it is a
positive sign that COMKFOR is ready to coordinate KFOR's
drawdown with other vital actors in Kosovo in an effort to
PRISTINA 00000417 002 OF 002
ensure a peaceful transition. END COMMENT
DELL