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RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHRL #1822/01 2711534
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 281534Z SEP 07
FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9387
INFO RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO BRUSSELS BE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS BE
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BERLIN 001822 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: MOPS PREL MARR NATO EUN GM AF SU KV BK LE GG ET
SUBJECT: German Out-Of-Area Deployment Update 
 
REF:  A) Berlin 2634, B) Berlin 1428 
 
¶1. (SBU) As of early August, Germany had 7,149 military personnel 
(compared to 7,597 in early August) in out-of-area deployments.  All 
military out-of-area (OOA) deployments, with the exception of those 
in support of UN observer missions, require parliamentary approval. 
A law regulates the parliamentary process, allowing expedited 
procedures only for non-controversial deployments.  What follows is 
a brief run-down on Germany's current OOA deployments.  (Note: OOA 
deployments are defined as deployments outside the territory of the 
NATO member states. End Note.) 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶2. (SBU) The Bundeswehr currently has 3,075 military personnel 
operating under ISAF in Afghanistan, based on two separate 
parliamentary mandates.  One is the general mandate covering 
Germany's ISAF deployment, with a ceiling of 3,000 troops.  The 
other is a supplementary mandate that covers the deployment of six 
Tornado reconnaissance aircraft, with a ceiling of 500 troops. 
Germany has been active in ISAF since the operation's creation in 
January 2002.  The deployment of the Tornados is a relatively new 
German contribution to ISAF, approved by the parliament in March. 
The current ISAF and Tornado mandates both expire October 13. 
 
¶3. (SBU) For the coming year, the German government has decided to 
merge the two mandates into a single, combined mandate, with an 
overall ceiling of 3,500, but this will not involve any substantial 
changes to the nature of the Bundeswehr deployment.  The Bundestag 
is expected to approve this new, combined mandate by October 12. 
Because the Tornados require only about 200 troops, the merging of 
the two mandates will automatically create extra headroom for the 
Bundeswehr to take on additional tasks. 
 
¶4. (SBU) The German government has announced its intention to use 
this additional troop capacity to boost the Bundeswehr's involvement 
in the training of the Afghan National Army (ANA).  Some ideas under 
consideration include expanding the current drivers and mechanics 
school in Kabul into a logisticians' training center, cooperating 
with France in setting up an NCO academy in Kabul and creating other 
specialty military training schools in the northern region. 
Assuming the stand-up of a new ANA brigade in the north, Germany 
also plans to increase its contribution of embedded training teams 
(OMLTs) from the current two to six. 
 
¶5. (SBU) While the initial Tornado mandate in March was very 
controversial - with a third of the Social Democratic Party caucus 
voting against - support for the deployment has increased in the 
intervening months.  Many of the original fears that the Tornados 
would be directly involved in combat operations have not been 
realized.  Nonetheless, the Tornado deployment remains controversial 
in some circles, as demonstrated by the September 15 Greens Party 
conference on Afghanistan, where the delegates opposed any combined 
mandate that includes the reconnaissance aircraft.  Still, the 
expectation is that the new combined mandate will be approved by the 
Bundestag with a comfortable margin. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Germany currently commands ISAF's northern region 
(RC-North), where it leads two of the five Provincial Reconstruction 
Teams (Kunduz and Feyzabad) as well as the Forward Support Base in 
Mazar-E-Sharif.  The ISAF mandate limits normal Bundeswehr 
operations to Kabul and RC-North, but allows temporary deployments 
to other parts of the country on a case-by-case basis.  In early 
May, at the request of ISAF, Defense Minister Jung approved the 
temporary deployment (three to four weeks) of a three-man 
psychological operations team to southern Afghanistan.  German radio 
operators have also been deployed temporarily to provide 
communication support to Regional Command South in Kandahar. 
However, MOD has thus far not allowed German OMLTs to accompany 
their ANA units on deployments outside the north.  Meanwhile, the 
Tornado mandate allows the reconnaissance aircraft to operate 
throughout Afghanistan. 
 
--------------------------------- 
Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) The parliamentary mandate for OEF allows the deployment of 
up to 1,800 personnel.  Currently, there are 228 sailors (244 in 
August) operating in the Horn of Africa under OEF.  In Afghanistan, 
the mandate authorizes the deployment of up to 100 German Special 
Forces (KSK).  Reportedly, no KSK have been deployed to Afghanistan 
under OEF in more than two years, leading some politicians to 
question the utility of maintaining this part of the mandate. 
Because of wide-spread misperceptions of OEF as a strictly combat 
operation that is responsible for civilian casualties, the renewal 
 
BERLIN 00001822  002 OF 003 
 
 
of the Afghanistan portion of the OEF mandate could prove difficult. 
 The current one-year OEF mandate expires November 15, a month after 
the ISAF and Tornado mandates. 
 
¶8. (SBU) The government originally planned to have a single 
parliamentary debate on Afghanistan and then to put all three 
mandates to a vote on the same day in mid-October.  However, the SPD 
- the junior partner in the Grand Coalition government - has since 
insisted on delaying the OEF mandate vote until after its October 
26-28 national party conference.  Contacts advise that the 
government intends to reduce OEF troop ceiling to 1,400 in the new 
mandate. 
 
------------------- 
Kosovo Force (KFOR) 
------------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) Germany currently has 2,438 military personnel (compared to 
2,282in August) in KFOR, far below that allowed under the 
parliamentary mandate (8,500).  The mandate is extended 
automatically unless there is a change to the UNSC Resolution 
framework for the Kosovo Force.  In the context of a debate of the 
Kosovo status, the parliament extended the KFOR mandate on June 21 
without any amendments. 
 
----------------------------------- 
European Union Force (EUFOR) Bosnia 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) Germany currently has 483 soldiers (compared to 526 in 
August) in Bosnia as part of the EU's Operation ALTHEA.  The 
mandate, last amended December 1, allows up to 2,400 military 
personnel.  This operation extends automatically unless there is a 
change to its underlying UNSC resolution.  Security conditions 
permitting, the German government has announced it intends to reduce 
its military presence in coordination with its allies. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶11. (SBU) Germany leads UNIFIL's naval component and has 830 
military personnel deployed (compared to 1,034 in August).  The 
Bundestag extended the mandate on September 12 for an additional 
year, with a reduced troop ceiling of 1,400 (down from 2,400).  The 
mandate authorizes the Bundeswehr to continue leading UNIFIL's naval 
component until February 2008. 
---------------------- 
Sudan (UNMIS and AMIS) 
---------------------- 
 
¶12. (SBU) Germany currently has 38 military observers (compared to 
41 in August) in the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), monitoring the 
implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.  The parliament 
imposed a caveat barring military observers from going to Darfur 
without prior consultation with the Bundestag Foreign Relations 
Committee's chairman and ranking members.  The mandate allows the 
participation of up to 75 military observers.  The current UNMIS 
mandate expires November 15. 
 
¶13. (SBU) While there is parliamentary mandate for the Bundeswehr to 
deploy transport aircraft and up to 200 troops in support of the 
African (Union) Mission in Sudan (AMIS), this mandate has gone 
practically unused in the last year, with the AU requesting only 
sporadic assistance from Germany. The current six-month AMIS mandate 
expires December 14. 
 
¶14. (SBU) While welcoming passage of UNSCR 1769, the government has 
ruled out additional troops or assets for the new hybrid UN/AU 
force, beyond the limits in the existing UNMIS and AMIS mandates. 
The government is likely to resist taking on any additional military 
commitments in Dafur or elsewhere until after the Afghanistan (ISAF, 
Tornado and OEF) mandates are safely renewed this fall.  This 
reluctance was demonstrated most recently in Germany's decision to 
forego participation in the new ESDP operation in Chad. 
 
---------------- 
Georgia (UNOMIG) 
---------------- 
 
¶15. (SBU) Germany has been part of the UN Observer Mission in 
Georgia (UNOMIG) since 1998 and currently has 16 personnel (compared 
to 11 in August) stationed there, most of whom are medical personnel 
and military observers.  To the meet a UN request for additional 
medical personnel, the German cabinet decided August 8 to raise the 
personnel ceiling for this mission from 13 to 20. 
 
----------------------- 
 
BERLIN 00001822  003 OF 003 
 
 
Other minor deployments 
----------------------- 
 
¶16. (SBU) Two military observers serve in Ethiopia and Eritrea for 
the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE).  One 
German military observer is seconded to the United Nation Assistance 
Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).  The Bundeswehr has seconded 41 
military personnel to Strategic Medical Evacuation 
(STRATAIRMEDEVAC), for which no parliamentary mandate is required, 
as it is not defined as an armed deployment and the aircraft are on 
stand-by in Germany. 
TIMKEN, JR