POLAND LIKELY TO INCREASE ISAF DEPLOYMENT IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 WARSAW 000309

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/24/2019
TAGS: PREL NATO AF PK PL
SUBJECT: POLAND LIKELY TO INCREASE ISAF DEPLOYMENT IN
AFGHANISTAN

Classified By: Political Counselor Daniel Sainz for Reasons 1.4 (b) and
(d)

(C) SUMMARY: SCA DAS Patrick Moon briefed top GoP officials
March 18-19 on the status of the U.S. policy review regarding
Afghanistan and Pakistan and expressed appreciation for
Poland's contributions in Ghazni Province. Polish officials
generally concurred with the U.S. situation assessment and
prescriptions for the way ahead, especially the focus on
dealing with Afghanistan within a broader regional context
and cultivating prospects for a thriving civil society. Of
particular interest:

-- Deputy Defense Minister Stanislaw Komorowski confirmed
Poland's intention to increase its 1600-strong contingent in
ISAF by 400-600 troops, as well as to enhance force mobility
and protection. (In this respect, Poles have requested the
U.S. to extend the lease for armored protective vehicles.)

-- Deputy Foreign Minister Jacek Najder reported that FM
Radoslaw Sikorski met March 16 in Brussels with EU foreign
ministers from leading "ISAF stakeholders" in a bid for
European Commission support for a "civilian surge" in
Afghanistan.

-- In addition to the planned troop increase, Warsaw will
also deploy two police training teams from its gendarmarie
and step up civilian reconstruction projects in Ghazni
Province.

-- Poles will counter local media reports that the U.S. is
"forcing" the Polish troop increase by chasing Taliban
elements out of provinces surrounding Ghazni.

-- Krzysztof Lisek, Chairman of the Sejm's Foreign Affairs
Committee, said political support for the mission in Ghazni
Province remained strong despite public opinion polls
indicating that almost 80% of Poles opposed the deployment.
END SUMMARY.


2. (C) All Polish interlocutors were pleased with the
opportunity to exchange views with a senior U.S. official on
Afghanistan. They generally concurred with Moon's assessment
of the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan and welcomed the
U.S. policy review's emphasis on a comprehensive regional
approach over the next 3-5 years. Komorowski hoped that in
3-5 years, the coalition would improve the SECURITY situation
to the point where we can start to discuss an exit strategy.
He and Najder agreed with Moon's observation that rebuilding
local governance in Afghanistan and offering more military
aid for Pakistan and development assistance for residents of
the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) were key
elements of the strategy to promote long-term political
stability throughout the region. Najder stressed the
importance of Afghanistan and the ISAF mission to Poland,
highlighting Foreign Minister Sikorski's personal engagement.

--------------
DECISION EXPECTED NEXT WEEK ON ISAF INCREASE
--------------


3. (C) Both Najder and Komorowski told Moon that Poland
would likely increase its troop level in ISAF despite the
GoP's serious financial problems. Komorowski explained in
more detail that the government's COUNCIL of Ministers would
consider the decision sometime during the week of March 24,
then forward it onward to President Lech Kaczynski for final
approval. The President's agreement appeared to be a
certainty, since the President's Chief of the NATIONAL
Security Bureau, Aleksander Szczyglo, had written the
government to propose a troop increase; the government would
frame its decision as a response to that request. Komorowski
said the only remaining question was whether the increase
would amount to 400 or 600 troops, bringing deployment
strength up to 2000-2200. Regardless of the final count,
Komorowski maintained, it would represent almost a doubling
of Poland's military contribution to ISAF since last year.


4. (C) In addition to increased manpower, Komorowski said
the Polish contingent in ISAF will increase its ratio of
combat/support personnel from 3:7 to 4:6. Commanders also
hope to improve mobility, intelligence, and force protection.
Komorowski reminded Moon that at last month's NATO Defense
Ministerial meeting in Krakow, Defense Minister Bogdan Klich
had asked Secretary Gates for an extension of the lease on
U.S.-supplied mine-resistant, ambush-protected (MRAP) armored
vehicles and asked that we follow up on the request.
Komorowski also pointedly reminded DAS Moon of the standing
request for a White House visit by Prime Minister Tusk.

--------------
POLAND SEEKING MORE EU ENGAGEMENT

WARSAW 00000309 002 OF 002


--------------


5. (C) Najder reported on Sikorski's March 16 breakfast
meeting in Brussels with EU foreign ministers from "major
ISAF stakeholder" nations like the UK, France, the
Netherlands and the Czechs (EU Presidency). The main purpose
was to spark European Commission support for a "civilian
surge" in Afghanistan to complement NATO's military efforts.
Najder lamented the paltry EU budget allocated for
development assistance in Afghanistan. Najder said the
foreign ministers had agreed that no additional
infrastructure would be needed to channel EU aid to the
region, but the Union had to improve coordination with NATO,
as well as with the U.S.

--------------
MORE POLISH DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE
--------------


6. (C) The Defense Ministry will soon deploy two military
police training teams, according to Najder, which will be
staffed by gendarmarie personnel. Najder emphasized Poland's
view that law enforcement training was crucial to long-term
success in Afghanistan.


7. (C) A Ministry development assistance specialist briefed
Moon on Poland's evolving aid program in Afghanistan.
Reconstruction efforts began modestly in 2002 with
small-scale projects implemented by Polish non-governmental
organizations (NGOs). Last year the number of projects in
Ghazni Province amounted to 20, but this year there will be
approximately 30, mainly bilateral in nature and centered on
education, public health, and improvement of potable water
resources. Overall, there has been a fivefold increase in
the GoP's budget for such projects and, for the first time
this year, the MFA persuaded other GoP ministries, such as
Health and Infrastructure, to participate in Afghan
development assistance. The Poles are now able to consider
more ambitious projects like road-building. In addition to
bilateral aid, the GoP funnels money through international
organizations, such as the World Food Program and the Afghan
Government's Afghan Reconstruction Trust Fund.


8. (C) Najder suggested that a frank discussion of the
effectiveness of Poland's civilian assistance programs would
be useful. He acknowledged a steep learning curve for Polish
NGOs, which would welcome better coordination with the U.S.,
as well as advice on improving assistance delivery. Since
Poland and the U.S. had different experiences in this field,
Najder thought the two sides might be able "to learn from
each other." Ambassador Adam Kobieracki, Director of the
MFA's Department of SECURITY Affairs, told DAS Moon that
Poland has had to get around legal obstacles to deploying
civilians in PRTs by appointing Afghanistan volunteers to the
army reserve.

--------------
COUNTERING LOCAL MEDIA REPORTS
--------------


9. (C) Komorowski agreed with the DCM's suggestion to
coordinate our respective media messages to counter adverse
media reporting. Several media have claimed that a U.S.
offensive against Taliban elements in provinces surrounding
Ghazni had "forced" the government to increase the number of
Polish troops there. Komorowski said he had already begun to
correct such misperceptions in the media. But he took on
board the message that the proposed Polish increase should be
characterized as part of a closely-coordinated, common effort
of U.S. and Polish forces in Afghanistan.

--------------
POLITICAL SUPPORT STRONG
--------------


10. (C) Sejm Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Lisek told
Moon that none of the political parties currently represented
in Parliament opposed the Afghan mission, despite public
opinion polls showing that almost 80% of the population did
not support the deployment. Lisek said politicians were
aware that the ISAF mission might become even more difficult
in the near future, but the only serious complaints among
parliamentarians to date concerned the quality of the troops'
equipment.


11. (U) DAS Moon has cleared this message.
QUANRUD