VZCZCXRO2332
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDE RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIHL
RUEHIK RUEHKUK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK
RUEHYG
DE RUEHPG #1543/01 3560827
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 220827Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY PRAGUE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8388
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD 0069
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PRAGUE 001543 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
EUR/NCE FOR ERIC FICHTE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL EAID MASS IZ EZ
SUBJECT: CZECH CONTRIBUTIONS TO IRAQ 
 
REF: A. PRAGUE 1487 
 
     ¶B. PRAGUE 1466 
     ¶C. PRAGUE 1401 
 
¶1. Summary. This is the first in a series of cables 
summarizing significant Czech contributions (military, 
security, democracy promotion, development assistance, and 
humanitarian aid) in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Balkans. The 
Czech Republic has maintained troops in Iraq since 2003 and 
provided training for over 12,000 Iraqi police and security 
personnel. The Czechs have provided civic training to Iraqi 
NGOs, journalists, and government officials. They have 
donated $9 million in reconstruction assistance, $5 million 
on humanitarian assistance, $2 million for cultural 
preservation projects. They have forgiven 80% of Iraqi 
sovereign external debt owed to the Czech Republic. The Czech 
Republic spent approximately $93 million to benefit the 
people of Iraq through 2005. Although final 2006 figures are 
not yet available, Embassy contacts estimate the Czechs spent 
an additional $13 million this year. End summary. 
 
---------- 
Background 
---------- 
 
¶2. The Czech Republic's support for democracy and human 
rights is a core principle of Czech foreign policy, and an 
enduring legacy of the Czech Republic's forty-year struggle 
against communism. Since the Velvet Revolution in 1989, the 
Czech Republic has proven itself a reliable U.S. ally in 
these areas, as well as an important partner in NATO and 
GWOT, a like-minded ally in the United Nations, and a strong 
promoter within the EU of the transatlantic relationship. 
 
------------------------------- 
Military/Security Contributions 
------------------------------- 
 
¶3. The Czech Republic is an original coalition member of 
Operation Iraqi Freedom, and was at one time the fourth 
largest contributor of troops to Iraq. Starting in September 
2002, the Czechs were the primary contributor to a 400 
member nuclear-biological-chemical (NBC) defense contingent. 
That mission was followed in 2003 by the six-month deployment 
of a 526-person Czech field hospital that treated more than 
10,000 coalition forces and Iraqi citizens in the Basra area. 
 
¶4. From December 2003 to December 2006, the Czech Army 
deployed approximately 100 military police in Basra to train 
Iraqi security forces. In December 2006, in coordination with 
the British, the Czech military police concluded this mission 
and relocated to a base near the Basra airport to assume new 
duties, which will largely involved force protection. The 
Czech Commander of the 10th MP Contingent estimates that 
Czech forces in Basra have trained 12,000 Iraqi police and 
security forces since 2003. 
 
¶5. In addition, the Czechs have participated in the 
Multinational Security Transition Command (MNSTC-I) and NATO 
Training Mission-Iraq (NTM-I) to help create security 
structures in Iraq. They sent six military police trainers to 
the NATO facility at Ar Rustamiyah in Baghdad and contributed 
$200,000 to the Trust Fund to support this mission. The 
Czechs also contributed nine police trainers to the Jordan 
International Police Training Center (JIPTC) in Jordan, which 
also provides training for Iraqi police; they will not 
participate in JIPTC in 2007. 
 
¶6. The Czech parliament recently extended the troop mandate 
for Iraq through 2007, maintaining the 100-man ceiling that 
has been in place for three years (refs A-B). 
 
------------------- 
Democracy Promotion 
------------------- 
 
¶7. The Czechs have taught the best practices of their 
successful transition experience to members of Iraqi civil 
society.  Examples include: 
 
-- In 2003, the Czech government sent nineteen experts to CPA 
Baghdad to consult on transition issues, such as banking, 
trade and investment, engineering, water and energy policy, 
and infrastructure planning. 
 
-- In 2004, the Czech government provided police equipment 
and training for diplomats, doctors, economists, and 
infrastructure specialists. 
 
PRAGUE 00001543  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
-- In 2005, the Czech government helped Iraqi citizens living 
in the Czech Republic vote in the Iraqi elections by 
transporting them to Berlin. 
 
-- In 2005-2006, with financial support from the Czech MFA, 
Czech NGO People in Need has provided training for Iraqi 
NGOs, journalists, and government officials at the Democracy 
and Transition Center in Jordan. 
 
-- In 2004-2006, in cooperation with Prague-based Central 
European and Eurasian Law Institute (CEELI), the Czechs 
provided legal training for 200 Iraqi judges. 
 
-- In 2006, the Czech government, in cooperation with the 
International Organization for Migration (IOM), provided 
training in Prague on immigration, border control, and 
airport security to 45 Iraqi interior ministry officials. 
 
-- The Czechs have provided financial support for ten Iraqi 
students pursuing a Ph.D program in economics in Prague at 
the Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education 
(CERGE-EI). 
 
---------------------------- 
Reconstruction & Development 
---------------------------- 
 
¶8. The Czechs also help reconstruction efforts in Iraq by 
donating funds, providing debt relief, and encouraging 
private foreign investment. Specifically, the Czechs have: 
 
-- Spent $9 million on Iraqi reconstruction. 
 
-- Forgiven 80% of Iraqi sovereign external debt owed to the 
Czech Republic. According to the MFA, the first 60% ($171 
million) has already been forgiven, and the remaining 20% 
($57 million) will be forgiven in 2008-2009 pursuant to the 
IMF program.  (Note:  the Czechs have resisted forgiving the 
remaining 20%, which was for military purchases, because they 
do not want to set a precedent.  Ref C.) 
 
-- Spent $20.8 million between 2003-2005 to encourage private 
Czech companies to do business in Iraq (e.g., by providing 
feasibility studies). One notable success: a Czech 
engineering firm won a $40 million tender in November 2006 to 
rebuild the Iraqi Midland Refineries. 
 
-------------------------- 
Humanitarian Assistance 
-------------------------- 
 
¶9. The Czechs are committed to long-term humanitarian aid in 
Iraq, having spent over $5 million on such efforts since 
¶2003. The Czechs have operated a medevac program since 2003 
that has brought 38 Iraqi children to Prague and provided 
life-saving cardiac surgery and convalescent care for them 
(and material support for their accompanying family members). 
In 2005, to supplement the efficacy of the medevac program, 
the Czechs founded a pediatric cardiac center at a hospital 
in Basra, and donated equipment and provided training to 
Iraqi doctors working there. 
 
--------------------- 
Cultural Preservation 
--------------------- 
 
¶10. The Czechs have spent more than $2 million on preserving 
Iraqi cultural heritage. In one notable example, the Czechs 
spent $330,000 on the restoration of manuscripts in the 
National Library of Baghdad. They also contributed $100,000 
to restore the Kurdish Citadel in Urdil. Finally, the Czechs 
donated arms and ammunition to Iraqi security forces to guard 
national heritage sites. 
GRABER