VZCZCXRO1083
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHRL #0250/01 0601120
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 291120Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0546
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 0015
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 BERLIN 000250 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: GM MARR MOPS NATO PREL AF BK ET EUN GG KV
LE, SU 
SUBJECT: GERMAN OUT-OF-AREA DEPLOYMENT UPDATE 
 
REF: BERLIN 1822 
 
¶1. (SBU) As of February 17, Germany had 6,657 military 
personnel in out-of-area deployments (compared to 6,481 in 
late January), plus 5,700 on stand-by for the NATO Response 
Force (NRF).  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 3,445 military 
personnel (3,206 in January) operating under ISAF in 
Afghanistan based on a one-year combined mandate approved by 
the Bundestag October 12.  This combined mandate includes 
deployment of six Tornado reconnaissance aircraft, which were 
previously covered by a separate mandate.  The troop ceiling 
for the mandate is 3,500. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The integration of the Tornado mandate with the ISAF 
mandate created additional headroom of 300 military 
personnel, which the German government is using to take on 
additional tasks: 
 
-- Germany will take over the Regional Command-North Quick 
Reaction Force (QRF) in June 2008.  This will be the first 
time Germany will have a force that can be quickly deployed 
around the country on short notice and which can conduct 
combat missions.  This will constitute a significant change 
in the character of the Bundeswehr deployment in Afghanistan, 
whose forces up to now have been focused almost solely on 
stabilization and force protection missions.  German 
officials point out that the primary mission of the QRF is to 
respond to emergencies in RC-North, but they also have said 
that Germany will come to the aid of Allies (i.e., outside 
RC-North) when in need.  Such exceptions are explicitly 
allowed by the ISAF mandate (see para 6 below). 
 
-- Germany will triple the number of troops (from 100 to 300) 
devoted to training of the Afghan National Army.  Besides 
fielding additional Operational Mentoring and Liaison Teams 
(OMLTs), up to a total of seven, Germany also plans to expand 
a drivers and mechanics school in Kabul into a logisticians, 
training center, set up a combat engineer school in Kabul and 
establish an infantry training center in Mazar-e-Sharif. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Germany currently provides an OMLT for a maneuver 
battalion based in Kunduz.  It also contributes to two 
multinational OMLTs -- one for the HQ of the 209th Corps and 
the other for the HQ of the 1st Brigade of the 209th Corps. 
Both HQs are located in Mazar-E-Sharif.  In early January, 
Germany provided an additional OMLT temporarily for a second 
maneuver battalion based in Mazar-E-Sharif.  This German OMLT 
will remain in place until Latvia is ready to take 
responsibility for it in fall 2008.  A new ANA brigade -- 2nd 
Brigade, 209th Corps -- is scheduled to be stood up in Kunduz 
in the fall of 2008.  Germany plans to contribute four of the 
seven OMLTs required for this brigade.  Germany also plans to 
build garrisons for the new brigade in the north. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Germany has been active in ISAF since the 
operation,s creation in January 2002, and was the first 
country to volunteer to lead an ISAF Provincial 
Reconstruction Team (PRT) outside of Kabul.  Germany 
currently commands ISAF,s northern region (RC-North), where 
it leads two of the five PRTs (Kunduz and Feyzabad) as well 
as the Forward Support Base in Mazar-E-Sharif.  On February 
23, Germany inaugurated a Provincial Advisory Team (PAT), a 
mini-PRT in Takhar province with around 50 civilian and 
military personnel total. 
 
¶6. (SBU) The ISAF mandate defines the German area of 
operations as the northern region and Kabul.  However, an 
exception in the mandate allows for temporary, limited 
deployments to other parts of the country on a case-by-case 
basis upon approval of the Minister of Defense.  In May 2007, 
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. 
 
BERLIN 00000250  002 OF 004 
 
 
German radio operators have been deployed for several months 
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 ISAF mandate allows the Tornado 
reconnaissance aircraft to operate throughout Afghanistan, 
but restricts the distribution of the resulting information 
outside of ISAF channels.  The information can only be passed 
to OEF in instances where doing so directly supports ISAF 
operations.  Since the end of January 2008, Germany has 
provided an additional two C-160 Transall aircraft 
Afghanistan to ISAF, for a total of eight. 
 
--------------------------------- 
Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) The parliamentary mandate for OEF was extended for 
one year on November 15.  It allows for the deployment of up 
to 1,400 personnel.  Currently, there are 227 German sailors 
(246 in January) and one frigate under OEF, operating around 
the Horn of Africa.  The mandate authorizes the deployment of 
up to 100 German Special Forces (KSK) in Afghanistan. 
Reportedly, no KSK have been deployed to Afghanistan under 
OEF in almost three years, which led some politicians to 
question the utility of maintaining this part of the mandate 
during last fall's debate over its renewal. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Despite parliamentary approval, OEF remains 
unpopular in Germany due to misperceptions of the mission as 
a strictly combat operation and its association with civilian 
casualties.  OEF is an especially divisive issue within the 
Social Democratic Party (SDP), the junior party in the Grand 
Coalition government.  Some 42 SPD parliamentarians -- about 
20% of the caucus -- voted against extending the OEF mandate 
this past year.  While significantly higher than in 2006, 
when only 13 opposed OEF, the number of defections is 
significantly below what the SPD suffered in March 2007, when 
69 voted against the original deployment of Tornado 
reconnaissance aircraft to Afghanistan. 
 
¶9. (SBU) During the parliamentary debate on OEF, FM 
Steinmeier called for evaluating whether OEF could be 
mandated in the future through a UNSCR, rather than 
continuing to rely on the self-defense provisions of Article 
51 of the UN Charter.  He also called for examining the 
possibility of transferring the ANA training mission from OEF 
to ISAF, thereby continuing the trend toward an ever larger 
ISAF and smaller OEF.  Finally, he proposed holding an 
international conference in the coming months to take stock 
of progress in achieving the goals of the Afghanistan 
Compact.  While there has been no concrete follow-up on the 
first two proposals, Germany is supporting France in hosting 
an international conference on Afghanistan in June. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Renewal of the OEF mandate is expected to be 
difficult this coming fall, in the run-up to the 2009 
national parliamentary election, given that popular support 
for the mission remains low. 
 
------------------- 
Kosovo Force (KFOR) 
------------------- 
 
¶11. (SBU) Germany currently has 2,182 military personnel 
(compared to 2,226 in January) in KFOR, far below that 
allowed under the parliamentary mandate (8,500).  The 
Operational Reserve Force (ORF) battalion, temporary deployed 
to Kosovo from mid-November to mid-December, returned as 
scheduled.  The mandate is extended automatically each year 
unless there is a change to the UNSC Resolution framework for 
the Kosovo Force.  Germany formally recognized Kosovo's 
independence on February 20 in a letter from President 
Koehler.  The government made clear that it still considers 
UNSCR 1244 as the legal basis for KFOR.  Despite earlier 
indications, it appears that the Bundestag will not insist on 
a new parliamentary KFOR mandate to reflect the changed 
circumstances in Kosovo. 
 
----------------------------------- 
European Union Force (EUFOR) Bosnia 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶12. (SBU) Germany currently has 127 soldiers (compared to 130 
in January) in Bosnia as part of the EU,s Operation ALTHEA. 
Most of the German soldiers are deployed as liaison and 
 
BERLIN 00000250  003 OF 004 
 
 
observer teams.  The mandate, amended December 1, allows the 
deployment of up to 2,400 military personnel.  This operation 
extends automatically unless there is a change to its 
underlying UNSC resolution.  In 2007, Germany reduced its 
military presence in Bosnia by more than 700 military 
personnel in coordination with other allies.  Germany is 
relying more on home-based reserve forces and less on 
deployed troops to provide the necessary security support for 
the implementation of reform measures mandated by the Dayton 
Peace agreement. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶13. (SBU) Germany leads UNIFIL's naval component and has 619 
military personnel deployed (compared to 614 in January). 
The current mandate, authorizing up to 1,400 military 
personnel, expires on September 12.  On February 29, Germany 
handed over the command of UNIFIL's naval component to 
EUROMARFOR, a joint non-permanent fleet including Portugal, 
Spain, France and Italy.  An Italian general assumed command. 
 
------------------------ 
Sudan (UNAMID and UNMIS) 
------------------------ 
 
¶14. (SBU) Germany currently has 39 military observers (42 in 
January) 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, which was extended for an additional year on 
November 15, allows for the participation of up to 75 German 
military observers. 
 
¶15. (SBU) The Bundestag approved a new mandate in support of 
the UN/AU hybrid mission in Darfur (UN Assistance Mission in 
Darfur, UNAMID) on November 15.  The new UNAMID mandate 
replaces the previous AMIS mandate.  It authorizes the 
Bundeswehr to deploy transport aircraft and up to 200 troops 
in support of the UN/AU hybrid mission. 
 
---------------- 
Georgia (UNOMIG) 
---------------- 
 
¶16. (SBU) Germany has been part of the UN Observer Mission in 
the Abkhazian region of Georgia (UNOMIG) since 1998 and 
currently has 12 personnel stationed there, most of whom are 
medical personnel and military observers.  To meet a UN 
request for additional medical personnel, the German cabinet 
decided last August to raise the personnel ceiling for this 
mission from 13 to 20. 
 
----------------------- 
Other minor deployments 
----------------------- 
 
¶17. (SBU) Two military observers serve in 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, since it is not an armed deployment and the 
stand-by aircraft are stationed in Germany. 
 
----------------------- 
Other force commitments 
----------------------- 
 
¶18. (SBU) The Bundeswehr currently has 5,700 soldiers 
committed for the tenth rotation of the NATO Response Force 
(NRF).  There will be no Bundeswehr soldiers assigned to EU 
Battle Groups in the first half of 2008. 
 
------------------------- 
Bundeswehr transformation 
------------------------- 
 
¶19. (SBU) The Bundeswehr is currently undergoing a 
transformation process, the goal of which is to be able to 
send up to 14,000 soldiers to as many as five different 
theaters for stabilization missions by 2010.  The Bundeswehr 
 
BERLIN 00000250  004 OF 004 
 
 
will be reduced from its pre-transformation level of 270,000 
to a final strength of 250,000 (162,300 Army, 62,700 Air 
Force and 25,000 Navy).  The new Bundeswehr will be composed 
of three different groups: 35,000 for intervention forces, 
70,000 for stabilization forces and 147,000 for support 
forces.  Part of the Bundeswehr's transformation is a 
comprehensive rebasing program, which is also intended to be 
completed by 2010.  Moreover, transformation includes the 
procurement of new equipment to fill capability gaps, mainly 
in the fields of strategic air lift, network centric warfare 
and armored vehicles.  Due to limited funding (Germany spends 
just 1.3 percent of its GDP on defense, with few prospects of 
significant increases in the future), the equipping side of 
transformation is behind schedule. 
POLLARD