BULGARIA: RSI PROPOSALS FOR CT FUNDING

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SOFIA 000076

EUR/NCE FOR TOM YEAGER
S/CT MARC NORMAN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PTER BU
SUBJECT: BULGARIA: RSI PROPOSALS FOR CT FUNDING

REF: A) STATE 01148
B) 08 NICOSIA 00995



1. (SBU) Summary: The following cable is Embassy Sofia's response
to reftel regarding Regional Security Initiative
(RSI)counterterrorism (CT) proposals to be considered for funding.
Embassy Sofia is seeking projects under the NADR Anti-Terrorism
Assistance Funding (ATA) - DS/T/ATA training program and the
Ambassadors Fund for Counterterrorism.


2. (SBU) Embassy Sofia has set forth the following nine proposals
for funding under the NADR Anti-Terrorism Assistance Funding (ATA) -
DS/T/ATA training program. Embassy Sofia would like to coordinate
DS/T/ATA training programs with RSI Eastern Mediterranean partners,
Embassy Athens and Embassy Nicosia, where similar training programs
have been proposed. The three Embassies are willing to share costs
through combined trips and joint training sessions (See Reftel B and
Athens septel).

--A. AIRPORT SECURITY MANAGEMENT (ASM): Ministry of
Transportation, Civil Aviation Administrations. This nine-day
course is designed for airport managers and security personnel
responsible for airport police and security operations. Airport
Security Management provides in-depth exposure to International
Civil Air Organizations (ICAO) standards and recommended practices
for effective civil aviation security programs. The Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) upgraded Bulgaria's Civil Aviation for
Category 1 rating, allowing for future direct flights to the United
States. This course would provide needed training for compliance
with international aviation security standards. The embassy
coordinating office and POC: POLEC, Kimberly Hawk, POLEC Officer,
hawkkx@state.gov, +359 2 937-5218.

--B. BORDER CONTROL MANAGEMENT (BCM): Bulgarian Ministry of
Interior, Border Police; Description - A two-week course designed
for mid-level to senior level border control managers with
operational responsibility for land border ports-of-entry. Bulgaria
is a transit country for contraband, drugs, cigarettes, human
trafficking, forged documents and possibly terrorists bound for the
European Union. This training provides officers with skills to
understand, manage, and control border situations. The Embassy
coordinating office and POC: LEGAT/RSO +359 2 937-5152/ +359 2
937-5316.

--C. COMPUTER AWARENESS FOR PROSECUTORS: Bulgarian Prosecution
Service; Description - A four-day seminar designed for judicial
prosecutors who are responsible for coordination and prosecution of
computer crime. Participants will explore the process by which
digital evidence is seized and analyzed, and courtroom tactics
unique to cyber terrorism cases. The seminar is non-technical in
nature and no prior computer training is required. The class would
provide much needed training in preparing and prosecuting computer
related crimes in Bulgaria. The Embassy coordinating office is DOJ
and Embassy POC: Tom Peebles, +359 2 937-5679.

--D. CRISIS RESPONSE TEAM (CRT): Bulgarian Ministry of Interior,
National Police Force. Designed for supervisors and tactical
officers, the CRT provides hands-on outdoor firearms training, raid
and assault simulations, and other standard crisis response skills
for use in an urban environment. Participants develop the basic
skills required to resolve high-risk terrorist confrontations using
a variety of options and employing the minimum force necessary to
protect human life. The training would enhance the National
Police's crisis response to terrorist attacks. Embassy coordinating
office and POC: LEGAT/RSO +359 2 937-5152/ +359 2 937-5316.

--E. EXPLOSIVES INCIDENT COUNTERMEASURES (EIC): Bulgarian MOI and
Ministry of Defense (MOD). This seven-week course provides entry
level bomb disposal training for law enforcement and public safety
participants. It is designed to train participants to search,
identify, render safe, mitigate and dispose of Improvised Explosive
Devices (IED) and related materials. Digital X-ray technology,
targeting and disablement techniques, as well as chemical and
radiological detection, are also taught in this course through
lecture, demonstrations, and practical exercises. The training
would enhance Bulgarian bomb technicians' ability to detect,
identify, and mitigate IEDs. Embassy coordinating office and POC:
DAO/RSO/LEGAT +359 2 937-5451/ +359 2 937-5152/ +359 2 937-5316.

--F. FRAUDULENT TRAVEL DOCUMENTS (FTD): Bulgarian Ministry of
Interior, Border Police, and Ministry of Finance's Customs Service.
This four-day course is designed for police officers, customs and
immigration officers, forensic specialists, and training officers.
Fraudulent Travel Documents uses lecture, discussion, and hands-on
exercises to ensure that the Partner Nation has the training and
resources to properly examine travel documents and detect fraudulent
specimens. Participants will be able to quickly examine a
wide-range of documents and prepare them for use in a criminal
investigation. A pre-course Needs Assessment conducted prior to the
presentation of this course will be used to propose an equipment
grant for the Partner Nation. Bulgaria occupies a strategic
position on the European Union's border as an entry point to Europe
and lies along traditional smuggling routes. FTD training would
enhance the Border and Police and Customs officials' ability to
detect fraudulent documents, helping to prepare Bulgaria for
eventual Schengen and Visa Waiver programs. Embassy coordinating
office and POC: LEGAT/RSO +359 2 937-5152/ +359 2 937-5316.

--G. MAJOR CASE MANAGEMENT (MCM): Bulgarian Ministry of Interior
(MOI),National Police. This two-week course is designed for senior
police supervisors, chiefs of investigations, and police
investigators with oversight responsibilities for the investigation
of major terrorist crimes. The training will enhance Bulgaria's
National Police's ability to investigate arrest, prosecute, and
convict terrorists in complex cases, especially focusing on
inter-and intra-agency investigative procedures and task force
formation. Embassy coordinating office and POC: LEGAT/RSO +359 2
937-5152/ +359 2 937-5316.

--H. SENIOR CRISIS MANAGEMENT (SCM): Bulgarian MOI, National
Police. This one-week course is designed for sub-cabinet level
officers with the skills and authority required to implement and
administer a national crisis management policy. Senior Crisis
Management utilizes lectures and discussions led by current experts
and leaders in the field of crisis management in a seminar-style
approach. Group exercises, including a final crisis management
exercise, give participants the opportunity to apply information
gained in the seminar. Embassy coordinating office and POC:
LEGAT/RSO +359 2 937-5152/ +359 2 937-5316.

--I. SURVEILLANCE DETECTION (SD): Bulgarian MOI, National Police.
This two-week course is designed for police command officers, police
trainers, and operational personnel responsible for conducting
antiterrorism surveillance detection operations. Bulgarian
participants will develop the ability to detect hostile surveillance
operations of high-risk personnel and facilities using non-technical
techniques and skills. They will also learn to analyze data,
develop a database, share information, and conduct route analysis
and site surveys. Embassy coordinating office and POC: LEGAT/RSO
+359 2 937-5152/ +359 2 937-5316.


3. (SBU) Embassy Sofia has set forth the following project proposal
for funding under the Ambassadors Fund for Counterterrorism.

--A. THE NEW MUSLIM PUBLIC IN BULGARIA: ENHANCING COMMUNICATION
WITH CIVIL SOCIETY June 2009 - November 2010. Implementing Agency:
Center for Intercultural Studies and Partnership (CISP). Embassy
coordinating office and POC, POLEC and POC: Joslyn Mack-Wilson,
Mack-WilsonJG@state.gov, +359 2 937-5276. Project Director: Dr.
Simeon Evstatiev, Associate Professor of Middle Eastern and Islamic
Studies, Sofia University. Estimated total project cost: $50,000.
This projects aims to enhance the ability of Bulgarian law
enforcement to diminish the risk of terrorist activities by bridging
social/cultural/political communication gaps between Muslims and
Bulgarian society at large. Bulgarian Muslims are, for the most
part, ethnically Turkish or Roma. But Arab funded mosques are being
built, and "non-traditional" or "foreign" Islamic influences, such
as Al-Jazeera, are growing. Some Bulgarian Muslims are influenced
by foreign centers of Islamic propaganda, while others are
questioning traditional religious authority and what have to date
been their traditional representation in politics, culture and
society. These "new" Bulgarian Muslims are perceived as at threat
to social and political peace, which has lead to their
marginalization and reluctance to be involved in the mainstream
public space. Project activities are:
--Identify the main credible voices and new faces in the emerging
Muslim public sphere and empower them to develop socially positive
discourses;
--Enhance their communication skills and foster critical thinking
among Muslim youth;
--Provide Muslim youth with opportunities, especially through the
internet (in particular the Project's blog network),to debate in an
open way key pressing issues related to the role of Islam in a
predominately secular society;
--Change the general public's perceptions of Muslim social
participation in the direction of more transparency and positive
discourse.

MCELDOWNEY