DEMARCHE DELIVERED ON ASSISTING AFGHANISTAN BEYOND

C O N F I D E N T I A L ZAGREB 000455 SIPDIS DEPT FOR S/SRAP - KAREN HANRAHAN, SCA/A - ARIELLA VIEHE, AND EUR/RPM - AARON COPE E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/23/2019 TAGS: NATO PREL MOPS MARR HR AF SUBJECT: DEMARCHE DELIVERED ON ASSISTING AFGHANISTAN BEYOND THE AUGUST ELECTION REF: STATE 74362 Classified By: Peter D'Amico, Pol, Reasons 1.4 B/D ¶1. (C) In a meeting on July 21 Andrej Dogan, Head of the Department for International Security at the MFA, in response to points in reftel expressed appreciation for the update. He stressed that Croatia remained committed to its role in Afghanistan. He noted that in addition to its current contributions, Croatia was considering becoming more involved with police training in Afghanistan. This new contribution would entail that Croatia increase the number of its troops beyond the 300 troop limit set by the Sabor (Parliament). He also stated that Croatia was considering consolidating some of its forces that were currently spread out in a large geographic area in Afghanistan. ¶2. (C) In a separate meeting on July 23 with poloff and a rep from the DAO's office, Colonel Damir Terzic, Ministry of Defense Cabinet Military Advisor expressed thanks for information in reftel. He said that despite the current economic situation continued support for Croatia's participation in international peace support operations, such as ISAF, remained the top priority for the MOD. The MOD was currently looking at more possibilities for training the Afghan National Security Forces beyond what it was already doing with its contributions to OMLTs. (Note: Croatia currently fully mans a Combat Arms OMLT and a Garrison OMLT, shares the staffing of a Combat Support OMLT with the Minnesota National Guard, and also contributes two soldiers to a multi-national Command Support OMLT. End Note.) As part of the Croatian effort to train Afghan Security Forces, the MOD was considering expanding its troop contribution by approximately 10 percent by possibly sending Police Mentoring Teams. Terzic noted that the MOD would likely present a clearer picture of the future direction of its Afghanistan policy in the early fall. WALKER