This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS THE HAGUE 003291 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPRNET DISTRO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL KDEM KPAO MARR MOPS IZ NL PROV
SUBJECT: NETHERLANDS/IRAQ:  DUTCH SUPPORT FOR IRAQI 
ELECTIONS 
 
REF: A. STATE 220728 
 
     ¶B. STATE 217743 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The Dutch are supporting the December 15 
Iraqi elections by providing voting facilities in the 
Netherlands and will send six election monitors to Iraq.  The 
Dutch MFA is actively engaged in the training of Iraqi 
jurists and diplomats, and will shortly revise its travel 
advisory to facilitate commercial exchanges with Iraq, 
especially the northern three provinces.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (SBU) POLCOUNS delivered ref a points soliciting support 
for the upcoming December 15 elections in Iraq to John 
Bischop (Head of the Gulf States Office in the Dutch MFA's 
bureau of North African and Near Eastern Affairs) and 
Willemijn Kallenberg (Iraq Desk Officer) on December 8. 
POLCOUNS also took advantage of the meeting to pass copies of 
the National Strategy for Victory in Iraq document to Bischop 
and Kallenberg.  (Note:  Per ref b, a copy of the document 
was previously shared with Rob Swartbol, Prime Minister 
Balkenende's senior foreign policy advisor.)  Bischop and 
Kallenberg expressed thanks for the information, which they 
said would be helpful in answering questions from the press 
and parliament. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Bischop and Kallenberg stressed that the Dutch were 
providing direct support to the  Iraqi election process.  The 
Dutch MFA, working with the Independent Electoral Commission 
of Iraq (IECI) and local authorities, is setting up a polling 
station for expatriate Iraqis at a secure facility in 
Utrecht.  Kallenberg noted that over 14,000 Iraqis voted in 
the Netherlands during the previous election; she expected 
turnout to be closer to 20,000 this time.  She added that a 
team of 190 IECI and Dutch personnel were committed to 
ensuring out-of-country voting in the Netherlands proceeds 
smoothly.  Voters, including Iraqis non-resident in the 
Netherlands, will be able to register and vote on December 
13, 14, and 15.  Kallenberg and Bischop also confirmed that 
the Dutch will send 6 election monitors to Iraq for the 
December 15 elections. 
 
¶4. (SBU) According to Bischop and Kallenberg, the Dutch will 
remain committed to supporting civil society in Iraq beyond 
the upcoming elections.  A group of 39 Iraqi judges, 
Kallenberg noted, is completing training in the Netherlands 
this week, and another class of 40 was expected to begin 
training in February.  The Dutch Clingendael institute has 
also received an MFA contract to train Iraqi diplomats; the 
second class of approximately 20 students will start in 
January.  Bischop added that the MFA was in the process of 
revising its "Travel Advisory" for Iraq to make it easier for 
Dutch businessmen to travel to the northern three provinces. 
This move, he stressed, was being taken on the advice of the 
Dutch Ambassador to Baghdad (who had just returned from a 
trip to the North), and was intended to facilitate planning 
for an upcoming Dutch trade delegation to the region.     . 
BLAKEMAN