Tim W Hayes  02/23/2009 11:13:02 AM  From  DB/Inbox:  Tim W Hayes

Cable 
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UNCLAS        SOFIA 00076
CXsofia:
    ACTION: POLEC
    INFO:   RSO AID PAO AMB DCM LEG POLM FAS FCS DAO

DISSEMINATION: POLE
CHARGE: PROG

APPROVED: AMB: NMCELDOWNEY
DRAFTED: POLEC: KHAWK
CLEARED: DCM: AKARAGIANNIS; POLEC: JBIGUS; DOJ: TPEEBLES; FBI: JHARP

VZCZCSFI310
RR RUEHC RUEHTH RUEHNC
DE RUEHSF #0076/01 0511509
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 201509Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY SOFIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5781
RUEHTH/AMEMBASSY ATHENS 1480
RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 0377

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SOFIA 000076 
 
EUR/NCE FOR TOM YEAGER 
S/CT MARC NORMAN 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PTER BU
SUBJECT:  BULGARIA: RSI PROPOSALS FOR CT FUNDING 
 
REF: A) STATE 01148 
 B) 08 NICOSIA 00995 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:   The following cable is Embassy Sofia's response 
to reftel regarding Regional Security Initiative 
(RSI)counterterrorism (CT) proposals to be considered for funding. 
Embassy Sofia is seeking projects under the NADR Anti-Terrorism 
Assistance Funding (ATA) - DS/T/ATA training program and the 
Ambassadors Fund for Counterterrorism. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Embassy Sofia has set forth the following nine proposals 
for funding under the NADR Anti-Terrorism Assistance Funding (ATA) - 
DS/T/ATA training program.  Embassy Sofia would like to coordinate 
DS/T/ATA training programs with RSI Eastern Mediterranean partners, 
Embassy Athens and Embassy Nicosia, where similar training programs 
have been proposed.  The three Embassies are willing to share costs 
through combined trips and joint training sessions (See Reftel B and 
Athens septel). 
 
--A.  AIRPORT SECURITY MANAGEMENT (ASM):  Ministry of 
Transportation, Civil Aviation Administrations.  This nine-day 
course is designed for airport managers and security personnel 
responsible for airport police and security operations.  Airport 
Security Management provides in-depth exposure to International 
Civil Air Organizations (ICAO) standards and recommended practices 
for effective civil aviation security programs.  The Federal 
Aviation Administration (FAA) upgraded Bulgaria's Civil Aviation for 
Category 1 rating, allowing for future direct flights to the United 
States.  This course would provide needed training for compliance 
with international aviation security standards.  The embassy 
coordinating office and POC: POLEC, Kimberly Hawk, POLEC Officer, 
hawkkx@state.gov, +359 2 937-5218. 
 
--B.  BORDER CONTROL MANAGEMENT (BCM): Bulgarian Ministry of 
Interior, Border Police; Description - A two-week course designed 
for mid-level to senior level border control managers with 
operational responsibility for land border ports-of-entry.  Bulgaria 
is a transit country for contraband, drugs, cigarettes, human 
trafficking, forged documents and possibly terrorists bound for the 
European Union.  This training provides officers with skills to 
understand, manage, and control border situations.  The Embassy 
coordinating office and POC:  LEGAT/RSO +359 2 937-5152/ +359 2 
937-5316. 
 
--C.  COMPUTER AWARENESS FOR PROSECUTORS:  Bulgarian Prosecution 
Service; Description - A four-day seminar designed for judicial 
prosecutors who are responsible for coordination and prosecution of 
computer crime.  Participants will explore the process by which 
digital evidence is seized and analyzed, and courtroom tactics 
unique to cyber terrorism cases.  The seminar is non-technical in 
nature and no prior computer training is required.  The class would 
provide much needed training in preparing and prosecuting computer 
related crimes in Bulgaria.  The Embassy coordinating office is DOJ 
and Embassy POC:  Tom Peebles, +359 2 937-5679. 
 
--D.  CRISIS RESPONSE TEAM (CRT): Bulgarian Ministry of Interior, 
National Police Force.  Designed for supervisors and tactical 
officers, the CRT provides hands-on outdoor firearms training, raid 
and assault simulations, and other standard crisis response skills 
for use in an urban environment.  Participants develop the basic 
skills required to resolve high-risk terrorist confrontations using 
a variety of options and employing the minimum force necessary to 
protect human life.  The training would enhance the National 
Police's crisis response to terrorist attacks.  Embassy coordinating 
office and POC:  LEGAT/RSO +359 2 937-5152/ +359 2 937-5316. 
 
--E.  EXPLOSIVES INCIDENT COUNTERMEASURES (EIC):  Bulgarian MOI and 
Ministry of Defense (MOD).  This seven-week course provides entry 
level bomb disposal training for law enforcement and public safety 
participants.  It is designed to train participants to search, 
identify, render safe, mitigate and dispose of Improvised Explosive 
Devices (IED) and related materials.  Digital X-ray technology, 
targeting and disablement techniques, as well as chemical and 
radiological detection, are also taught in this course through 
lecture, demonstrations, and practical exercises.  The training 
would enhance Bulgarian bomb technicians' ability to detect, 
identify, and mitigate IEDs.  Embassy coordinating office and POC: 
DAO/RSO/LEGAT +359 2 937-5451/ +359 2 937-5152/ +359 2 937-5316. 
 
--F.  FRAUDULENT TRAVEL DOCUMENTS (FTD):  Bulgarian Ministry of 
Interior, Border Police, and Ministry of Finance's Customs Service. 
This four-day course is designed for police officers, customs and 
immigration officers, forensic specialists, and training officers. 
Fraudulent Travel Documents uses lecture, discussion, and hands-on 
exercises to ensure that the Partner Nation has the training and 
resources to properly examine travel documents and detect fraudulent 
specimens.  Participants will be able to quickly examine a 
wide-range of documents and prepare them for use in a criminal 
investigation.  A pre-course Needs Assessment conducted prior to the 
presentation of this course will be used to propose an equipment 
grant for the Partner Nation.  Bulgaria occupies a strategic 
position on the European Union's border as an entry point to Europe 
and lies along traditional smuggling routes.   FTD training would 
enhance the Border and Police and Customs officials' ability to 
detect fraudulent documents, helping to prepare Bulgaria for 
eventual Schengen and Visa Waiver programs.   Embassy coordinating 
office and POC:  LEGAT/RSO +359 2 937-5152/ +359 2 937-5316. 
 
--G.  MAJOR CASE MANAGEMENT (MCM):  Bulgarian Ministry of Interior 
(MOI), National Police.  This two-week course is designed for senior 
police supervisors, chiefs of investigations, and police 
investigators with oversight responsibilities for the investigation 
of major terrorist crimes.  The training will enhance Bulgaria's 
National Police's ability to investigate arrest, prosecute, and 
convict terrorists in complex cases, especially focusing on 
inter-and intra-agency investigative procedures and task force 
formation.  Embassy coordinating office and POC:  LEGAT/RSO +359 2 
937-5152/ +359 2 937-5316. 
 
--H.  SENIOR CRISIS MANAGEMENT (SCM):  Bulgarian MOI, National 
Police.  This one-week course is designed for sub-cabinet level 
officers with the skills and authority required to implement and 
administer a national crisis management policy.  Senior Crisis 
Management utilizes lectures and discussions led by current experts 
and leaders in the field of crisis management in a seminar-style 
approach.  Group exercises, including a final crisis management 
exercise, give participants the opportunity to apply information 
gained in the seminar.  Embassy coordinating office and POC: 
LEGAT/RSO +359 2 937-5152/ +359 2 937-5316. 
 
--I.  SURVEILLANCE DETECTION (SD):  Bulgarian MOI, National Police. 
This two-week course is designed for police command officers, police 
trainers, and operational personnel responsible for conducting 
antiterrorism surveillance detection operations.  Bulgarian 
participants will develop the ability to detect hostile surveillance 
operations of high-risk personnel and facilities using non-technical 
techniques and skills.  They will also learn to analyze data, 
develop a database, share information, and conduct route analysis 
and site surveys.  Embassy coordinating office and POC:  LEGAT/RSO 
+359 2 937-5152/ +359 2 937-5316. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Embassy Sofia has set forth the following project proposal 
for funding under the Ambassadors Fund for Counterterrorism. 
 
--A.  THE NEW MUSLIM PUBLIC IN BULGARIA:  ENHANCING COMMUNICATION 
WITH CIVIL SOCIETY June 2009 - November 2010.  Implementing Agency: 
Center for Intercultural Studies and Partnership (CISP).  Embassy 
coordinating office and POC, POLEC and POC:  Joslyn Mack-Wilson, 
Mack-WilsonJG@state.gov, +359 2 937-5276.  Project Director:   Dr. 
Simeon Evstatiev, Associate Professor of Middle Eastern and Islamic 
Studies, Sofia University.  Estimated total project cost:  $50,000. 
 This projects aims to enhance the ability of Bulgarian law 
enforcement to diminish the risk of terrorist activities by bridging 
social/cultural/political communication gaps between Muslims and 
Bulgarian society at large.  Bulgarian Muslims are, for the most 
part, ethnically Turkish or Roma.  But Arab funded mosques are being 
built, and "non-traditional" or "foreign" Islamic influences, such 
as Al-Jazeera, are growing.  Some Bulgarian Muslims are influenced 
by foreign centers of Islamic propaganda, while others are 
questioning traditional religious authority and what have to date 
been their traditional representation in politics, culture and 
society.  These "new" Bulgarian Muslims are perceived as at threat 
to social and political peace, which has lead to their 
marginalization and reluctance to be involved in the mainstream 
public space.  Project activities are: 
--Identify the main credible voices and new faces in the emerging 
Muslim public sphere and empower them to develop socially positive 
discourses; 
--Enhance their communication skills and foster critical thinking 
among Muslim youth; 
--Provide Muslim youth with opportunities, especially through the 
internet (in particular the Project's blog network), to debate in an 
open way key pressing issues related to the role of Islam in a 
predominately secular society; 
--Change the general public's perceptions of Muslim social 
participation in the direction of more transparency and positive 
discourse. 
 
MCELDOWNEY