VZCZCXRO6878
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHBW #0152 0501437
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 191437Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY BELGRADE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0995
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RHEHNS/NSC WASHDC
RUZEJAA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0054

UNCLAS BELGRADE 000152 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/SCE (P. PETERSON) 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O.12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV MARR PREL PINR SR
 
SUBJECT: SERBIA: PRESIDENT APPOINTS NEW ARMY CHIEF OF STAFF 
 
REF: A) 08 BELGRADE 1345, B) 08 BELGRADE 1332 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) President Tadic has named General Miloje Miletic as the new 
Army Chief of Staff (CHOD), filling a position vacant for over six 
weeks since the resignation of General Zdravko Ponos.  Miletic is 
expected to follow the direction of the Ministry of Defense rather 
than pushing the policy envelope as his predecessor did.  One of the 
other senior staff appointments announced at the same time has 
already sparked controversy due to his service in Kosovo during the 
war and the mysterious deaths of several soldiers under his command 
in 2004-2005.  End Summary. 
 
Acting CHOD Appointed Permanently 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) Following six weeks without a permanment Army Chief of Staff 
(CHOD), on February 15 President Tadic announced that acting Army 
Chief of Staff Miloje Miletic would be named the new CHOD. 
Additional announcements included naming Lt. Gen. Mladen Cirkovic 
the new deputy CHOD, and a promotion and new position for Gen. 
Ljubisa Dikovic as the new Infantry Commander.  Tadic also promoted 
Air Force commander Dragan Katanic to the rank of major-general. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Miletic (56) graduated from Artillery School in the 
Military Academy and entered the armed forces in 1976.   His duties 
have included Commander of the Artillery and later the Commander of 
the Training Command.  He finished the Command-Staff School in 1995 
and he graduated from the General Headquarters College in 2000.  He 
was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel-General in 2006 and 
speaks limited English.  Most observers expect him to be less 
proactive in advocating engagement with NATO or playing a policy 
role unlike his predecessor, former CHOD Zdravko Ponos, who was 
relieved of his duties on December 30 (reftel). 
 
Controversy over Deputy CHOD 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Immediately following the announcements, Jelena Milic from 
the Center for Euro-Atlantic Studies contacted us to express concern 
about the appointment of Lt. Gen. Mladen Cirkovic as the new deputy 
CHOD.  According to Milic, Cirkovic was placed on the European 
Union's visa "black list" due to his war time activities in Kosovo. 
She also informed us of her efforts to help the families of three 
soldiers under Cirkovic's command who died under mysterious 
circumstances in 2004-2005 to obtain official explanations.  The 
father of one deceased soldier has publicly alleged that his son was 
murdered in 2005 because he had spoken to others about having driven 
Cirkovic and ICTY fugitive Ratko Mladic together. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Our EU contacts in Belgrade have confirmed that Cirkovic 
was at one time "black listed" due to his service in the Pristina 
Corps during the Kosovo conflict, but has since been removed.  We 
have no information to substantiate or refute Milic's allegations 
about the soldiers who died while under his command. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Given what we know so far about Miletic, it is likely that 
future reform and movement toward NATO are likely to reside 
primarily with Minister of Defense Dragan Sutanovac and State 
Secretary Dusan Spasojevic.  While that may mean a more cautious 
approach than in the past, the Serbian military's continued 
cooperation with the United States will likely continue unchanged. 
End comment. 
 
 
MUNTER