VZCZCXYZ0002
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHLJ #0432/01 1831238
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 021238Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY LJUBLJANA
TO RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO PRIORITY 1146
RUFGSHD/USNMR SHAPE BE PRIORITY
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5941
INFO RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD 0021
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L LJUBLJANA 000432 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
USNATO (BDEWALT AND JOPPENHEIM), SHAPE (JSHIVNEN AND 
CHARTFORD), EUR/RPM (RCARLAND), EUR/NCE (AHENDERSON); 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/28/2017 
TAGS: MOPS PGOV PINR IZ SI
SUBJECT: KEEPING SLOVENIA IN IRAQ: HELP NEEDED 
 
REF: A. LJUBLJANA 418 
 
     ¶B. LJUBLJANA 285 
 
¶1. (U) This is an action request.  Please see paragraph 9. 
 
¶2. (C) Summary.  Slovenia's active support for coalition 
efforts in Iraq could terminate after only eighteen months. 
With its commitment of four troops halved to two by the 
reduction of billets at NTM-I earlier this year and the two 
remaining trainers scheduled to return home in August, it is 
critical that the GOS be pushed from all sides to continue to 
participate at NTM-I.  While information on current open 
billets at NTM-I is available to Slovenian officials, there 
is little movement within the Slovenian government to pursue 
further contributions.  Without strong encouragement from 
U.S. and NATO officials and a renewed effort to help Slovenia 
find a way to match up its potential contributions with 
SHAPE/NTM-I's current needs, it is likely Slovenian 
involvement in NTM-I will conclude in August.  End Summary. 
 
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WORKING LEVEL PARTNERS FIGHTING BUREAUCRATIC APATHY 
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¶3. (U) In February, Slovenia's contribution to NTM-I was 
halved by normal force reductions, leaving just two trainers 
in Iraq.  The two Slovenes currently at NTM-I are scheduled 
to return to Slovenia in August.  Though senior GOS officials 
continue to say they support efforts in Iraq, media reports 
quoted Slovenian Armed Forces spokesman Simon Korez in mid 
May saying the two soldiers currently in Iraq will not be 
replaced when they depart. 
 
¶4. (C) With information from USNATO's helpful response to 
reftel B and subsequent emails, COM, DCM, DATT, and PolMilOff 
reached out to leadership and working level staffers at the 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and Ministry of Defense 
(MOD) over the past two months to encourage the Government of 
Slovenia (GOS) to maintain its current presence in Iraq and 
continue to look for substantive ways to contribute to 
coalition efforts. At lunch with Prime Minister Janez Jansa 
June 14 (reftel A), COM again brought up the topic of 
Slovenia's commitment to Iraq, and the Prime Minister again 
stated Slovenia's willingness to stay in the fight so long as 
the training profile remained the same and would not require 
renewed parliamentary approval.  MFA Security Policy 
Department Head Stanislav Vidovic, however, told DCM June 18 
that while the GOS interagency generally supported Slovenian 
involvement in NTM-I, there was no real champion within the 
government pushing this policy forward to ensure continued 
participation. 
 
¶5. (C) In a June 27 call to Bozo Cerar, Slovenia's PermRep at 
NATO and the former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cerar 
confirmed to COM that there was a "misunderstanding" a few 
weeks ago regarding talk within the GOS of not participating 
in NTM-I after the two currently deployed trainers return in 
August.  Cerar told COM that over the past few weeks he has 
spoken with Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, Defense Minister 
Karl Erjavec, and Chief of Defense Albin Gutman on the topic 
and that now there is "general agreement that the mission (in 
Iraq) should not come to an end." 
 
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SQUARING SLOVENIAN ABILITIES AND NTM-I NEEDS 
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¶6. (C) Cerar told COM that the deadline for determining how 
Slovenia can participate in NTM-I beyond August is July 15 
and thus, time is short.  Saying that "where there's a will 
there's a way," Cerar asserted that he wants to see continued 
participation, and echoing Prime Minister Jansa's comments a 
week earlier, outlined two key restrictions on Slovenian 
involvement: (1) the profile of the troops needs to be as 
trainers at NTM-I's Al Rustamiya Base outside of Baghdad, and 
(2) NTM-I should request trainers in competencies the 
Slovenes have.  Any other profile or location for training 
would likely require new approval by Parliament, a 
politically undesirable and potentially unfeasible process 
 
¶7. (C) To energize the Slovenian interagency debate, DATT has 
emphasized to the MOD's Defense Policy Director that the U.S. 
hopes to see Slovenia's continued participation.  DATT has 
also encouraged the MOD to prod Slovenian representatives at 
SHAPE and NATO to take the initiative and look for a way to 
extend Slovenia's presence.  COM will continue to engage the 
GOS at senior levels, including CHOD Gutman and MOD Erjavec, 
over the next few weeks to reinforce this message. 
 
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STRATEGIC AND SYMBOLIC IMPORTANCE 
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¶8. (C) Slovenia's involvement thus far in Iraq is the 
textbook example of the "quality over quantity" contributions 
that many of the smaller members of NATO can offer to 
missions like NTM-I.  Its soldiers are generally well 
trained, highly competent, and speak excellent English. 
Their successful contributions to NTM-I thus far have been 
featured on local television and are to helping educate the 
local population about the responsibilities of NATO 
membership.  As other countries were pulling out of the 
coalition in early 2006, Slovenia's leadership made the 
politically brave decision to send Slovenes in.  Perhaps most 
importantly, keeping Slovenia involved in the mission in Iraq 
will be of symbolic importance as Slovenia becomes the first 
EU newcomer to take over the EU Presidency from January to 
June 2008.  GOS preparations for the EU Presidency are just 
one part of Slovenia's rapidly expanding international role. 
Earlier this year Slovenia sent over 600 soldiers to KFOR in 
Kosovo -- its largest international deployment since 
independence -- and Slovenes are also represented in 
peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Iraq, 
Lebanon, and elsewhere.  If the coalition hopes to continue 
Slovenia's support for NTM-I, NATO and SHAPE may need to give 
the GOS some attention in Brussels (particularly on technical 
details) to supplement our efforts here.  We (NATO and SHAPE) 
will have to offer a proposal for its continued participation 
that will require Slovenia to react positively or negatively. 
 
¶9. (C) Action Request.  To bolster our efforts, we request 
that USNATO and US representatives at SHAPE reach out again 
to their Slovenian colleagues to ensure they are considering 
all possible options for continued involvement in the NTM-I 
mission.  We will do the same here.  While the Slovenes have 
seen the open billets and know what NTM-I's basic needs are, 
it is clear they need to hear specifically and directly from 
SHAPE which jobs they could fill.  If asked to fill specific 
jobs that meet the parameters outlined above, we believe the 
GOS will be more inclined to renew its support of the 
mission.  As NTM-I continues to evolve, new opportunities for 
the Slovenes may also be possible.  In particular, Slovenia's 
experience in military police actions could be of some use to 
the planned Italian-led Gendarmerie force training programs. 
 
¶10. (C) Comment. There is political value in keeping Slovenia 
in Iraq and we will push hard for the Slovenes to continue to 
contribute.  As MFA officials have said, and others have now 
confirmed, there is support for continued engagement in Iraq 
but not a champion within the Slovenian government to assure 
that continued deployments to NTM-I happen.  The Slovenian 
Ambassador to NATO is close to the Prime Minister and should 
ultimately understand the importance of Slovenia's continuing 
involvement at NTM-I.  Without USG pressure and support on 
how it can find a way to contribute that meets NTM-I's needs 
and the GOS's expertise, there remains the real possibility 
Slovenian involvement in NTM-I will conclude in August.  End 
Comment. 
ROBERTSON