ITALY PRESSES RC-WEST PARTNERS TO CONTRIBUTE MORE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ROME 000160 NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/11/2018 TAGS: PREL MARR MOPS NATO IT AF SUBJECT: ITALY PRESSES RC-WEST PARTNERS TO CONTRIBUTE MORE TROOPS, TRAINERS TO ISAF REF: ROME 126 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires a.i. Elizabeth Dibble for Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D) ¶1. (C/NF) Summary: At a February 9 meeting of countries with forces serving under Italian leadership in Western Afghanistan, the GOI announced its intent to provide part of the maneuver battalion needed for Election Security Forces (ESF) in the region. The GOI urged other countries at the conference to help fill the shortfalls identified in the January 14 ESF Force Generation Conference and to provide more troops and trainers for the long term, but was disappointed by the lack of firm commitments. Greece announced it would send an engineering unit from Kabul to Herat later this year, and Lithuania said it would send a platoon (20-25 troops) to reinforce its contingent in Ghor Province. The GOI also confirmed its intent (political will and resources permitting) to provide additional troops needed to fully staff two maneuver battalions and an aviation battalion in RC-West, which, if provided, would largely fill the remaining RC-West shortfalls identified in the CJSOR and bring Italy back up to its previous troop level of 2,800 in RC-West and RC-Capital. Current GOI funding levels, however, are not sufficient to maintain this increase for more than six months, after which time Italian troop totals will likely return to the 2,300-2,400 level mandated by Parliament. The USG should engage Italy over the coming months to raise these troop levels and make them permanent. End Summary. ¶2. (C/REL ISAF) Charge and A/DATT attended the February 9 Rome meeting of Embassies of countries with forces serving under Italian leadership in Western Afghanistan as part of NATO's ISAF mission. The GOI invited the other PRT leads in RC-West (U.S., Spain, and Lithuania) as well as those with forces in the area (Slovenia, Albania, Croatia, Bulgaria, Denmark, Hungary, Georgia, and Ukraine). Greece was also invited because of its close collaboration with Italian forces in Kabul. Italian MFA Director General for Multilateral Political Affairs Luca Giansanti called the meeting to encourage cohesion and push for greater resources in Regional Command-West in preparation for the Afghan Presidential Elections on August 20. Noting the requirements identified for RC-West at the January 14 ESF Force Generation conference (one infantry bn, a transport company, two EOD teams, an aviation company, two forward air control teams, and four information operations teams),the Italians said that the NAC's recent decision to allow countries to use forces earmarked for the NATO Response Force (NRF) for ESF duty meant that Italy would be able to provide the HQ element and one company of the infantry battalion, while Slovenia had already committed to providing one of the information operations teams. All of the remaining requirements have yet to be filled. ¶3. (C/REL ISAF) The Deputy Director of the Italian Joint Operations Command, MG Ferro, also announced that in response to long-term ISAF requirements identified in the CJSOR (Combined Joint Statement of Requirements),the Italian Military intends to provide additional troops and aviation assets needed to fill one maneuver battalion in Herat (jointly with Spanish forces),one maneuver battalion in Farah province, and one aviation element (battalion). (Note: the MFA NATO Office told us the Spanish have not yet committed to filling the remainder of the Herat battalion). ¶4. (C/NF) When asked what factors would determine Italy's ability to follow through on this proposal, an aide to MG Ferro told PolOff that it depended on securing political approval and funding for the additional deployment, as well as whether the roughly 500 Italian troops currently assigned to RC-Capital (Kabul) could be freed up to re-deploy to RC-West (a decision that presumably rests with COMISAF). (Note: In December 2008 the GOI issued a decree providing funding to increase the Italian troop level in Afghanistan from 2,300 to 2,800 for the first six months of 2009 only. ROME 00000160 002.2 OF 002 GOI officials have told us that maintaining that level beyond that six month period depends on the GOI's ability to come up with additional funds in an austere budgetary environment. Thus far Italy's political leadership has shown little willingness to consider additional NATO expenditures absent sustained diplomatic pressure from the U.S. and other allies). ¶5. (C/REL ISAF) Charge thanked Italy for convening the conference and urged all present to make a significant troop contribution. She noted that Afghanistan is a key priority for the new Administration, that the U.S. was developing a plan to send new military and civilian resources there, and that Ambassador Holbrooke is traveling to the region to assess needs on the ground. All ISAF partners could expect a renewed push from Washington and from NATO for more troops in this crucial period. ¶6. (C/REL ISAF) Greece, which holds the OSCE Chairmanship in Office, noted the importance of OSCE activities in Afghanistan and announced that it would be sending an engineering unit from Kabul to Herat in the coming months. Lithuania announced that it would deploy an additional platoon (20-25 troops) to augment its PRT in Ghor Province. Spain said that its government is still developing a proposal for the ESF contingent, but noted that its contribution to the UNDP Election Support Fund for 2009 will total Euro 1.5 million. (In response, the Italians said they planned to contribute Euro 2 million to the UNDP for election support in 2009, up from Euro 1 million last year). The Albanian representative said his government had not yet determined how many troops it would send, but noted that PM Berisha had told Secretary Clinton last week that Albania would strengthen its commitment to ISAF. Other participants were not yet in a position to make commitments. ¶7. (C/NF) A diplomat from the MFA NATO Office told PolOff after the conference that the Italians were disappointed that Spain and Albania had not made concrete commitments at the conference and that Greece, a close partner with Italy in RC-Capital, had not committed more robust forces for RC-West. ¶8. (C/REL ISAF) On the question of OMLTs (Operational Mentor Liaison Teams),Italy said RC-West still has a shortfall of 8 OMLTs needed to bring it up to the required level of 16. Of the 8 OMLTs currently on the ground, 5 are Italian, 2 are Spanish, and one is a mixed Italo-Slovenian unit. Italy plans to deploy an additional OMLT over the next few months, fulfilling its Bucharest pledge to bring its OMLT total to 7, but asked other RC-West partners to consider contributing officers to it. Italy urged all other RC-West partners to contribute OMLT components to help the Afghan National Army reach full operating capacity in the west. ¶9. (C/NF) Comment: We are pleased that Italy is taking responsibility for making sure their Region is fully resourced and pressing other RC-West partners to pull their weight. Italy has good reason to be concerned: RC-West is facing a worsening security situation with the lowest troop levels of any of the five Regional Commands (3,000 troops, of which 1,900 are Italian). But without any other top-tier NATO contributors in their region besides the U.S., there is little likelihood that their efforts will generate more than a few hundred additional troops. The conference seemed designed in part to send a message that Italy has done enough and that it is up to others (primarily the U.S.) to bring RC-West up to full strength. In addition, the optimistic troop level projections offered by the Italians, while welcome, are only funded for a six-month period. The USG should take every opportunity weigh in at the political level to encourage the GOI to make this increase to 2,800 or more troops across RC-West and RC-Capital permanent. DIBBLE