TFHA01: LUXEMBOURG OFFER OF WATER PURIFICATION UNIT AND TEAM

C O N F I D E N T I A L LUXEMBOURG 000013 SIPDIS DEPT FOR HAITI EARTHQUAKE TASK FORCE USAID/W FOR DCHA/OFDA DEPT FOR EUR/WE BRUSSELS FOR DATT E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/01/21 TAGS: EAID PGOV PREL MARR LU HA SUBJECT: TFHA01: LUXEMBOURG OFFER OF WATER PURIFICATION UNIT AND TEAM - NEED USG ASSISTANCE REF: LUXEMBOURG 11; 09 LUXEMBOURG 363; STATE 4208; STATE 5808 VIA-BELON E-MAIL, 01/21/2010 CLASSIFIED BY: Adam Center, Consul; REASON: 1.4(A),(B),(D) ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY MFA Defense Directorate contacted Post today (January 21) with an offer of assistance to be put forward to our Defense AttachC) Office (resident in Brussels) in the immediate future. The GoL is offering to deploy to Haiti an eight-man team from the Luxembourg Army with truck-mounted water purification equipment. The offer of assistance comes with one request of the USG: fuel to operate the water purification unit. END SUMMARY ¶2. (SBU) In a call to Pol/Econ Chief, MFA Defense Directorate Officer Florence Ensch said Luxembourg is offering to deploy to Haiti an eight man team from the Luxembourg Army with truck mounted water purification equipment. The team could depart Luxembourg as early as Tuesday, January 26 (arriving in Haiti as early as midday January 27),and stay for up to two months. Ensch said the team would fly to Haiti aboard a Cargolux partner aircraft (an Antonov type),which would allow the team to offload all trucks and equipment without any special assistance in Haiti. The Luxembourg team is prepared to offer operational training during its stay and leave the equipment behind in Haiti once training is complete. The GoL expects its team to be part of the "water cluster" working under UN command and control. ¶3. (SBU) The MFA indicated three specific issues it needs to address prior to any GoL deployment. Only the first is a direct request to the USG. Our good offices, however, could play a role in overcoming the second two obstacles. a. Fuel: Luxembourg believes the military logistics MOU it has with us might be used to facilitate a fuel availability "guarantee" for the GoL vehicles and equipment (NOTE: The water purification unit will need a ready supply of fuel for operation. END NOTE). Luxembourg is not/not asking for financial assistance or a fuel donation; GoL only seeks assurances that fuel will be available (for purchase, presumably) once the troops are on the ground. Post defers to DAO on the question of MOU applicability. b. Location: Before deployment, GoL will want to determine where the team will be used. MFA indicated the question of venue has already been addressed to the UN. c. Security: Force protection is a major concern. Without assurance of force protection - presumably from the UN (no ask - nor offer - was made of the USG for such protection) - Luxembourg will have a tough time green-lighting the mission. Some elements of Luxembourg society criticized the Luxembourg Search and Rescue team's quick return to Luxembourg from Haiti, but some team members reportedly claimed poor security was a factor (ref a). ¶4. (C) COMMENT: Luxembourg continues to outpace many of its neighbors and fellow EU members on answering the call for assistance to Haiti. We note that water purification is one of the two niche capabilities - along with explosive ordnance disposal - on which Luxembourg's ongoing military reform has focused. Such a deployment to Haiti could presage a similar commitment to Afghanistan, which Post has discussed with the GoL (ref b). Apart from the outstanding humanitarian interest this action would serve, it is in USG interests to be as accommodating as possible to the GoL on this front. ¶5. Minimize considered. Stroum