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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 WARSAW 000109 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/CE (GLANTZ, KARAGIANNIS) 
OSD FOR MITCHELL, AMBASSADOR VERSHBOW, ADMIRAL MULLEN 
EUCOM FOR ADMIRAL STAVRIDIS 
USAREUR FOR GENERAL HAM 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/22/2020 
TAGS: PREL MARR MOPS PGOV PL
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR MEETS GENERAL STAFF CHIEF GAGOR 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Lee Feinstein for reasons 1.4 (B) and (D) 
 
¶1. (C) Summary:  Chief of the General Staff Franciszek Gagor 
emphasized the importance to Poland that the first Patriot 
missile battery rotation take place in April in a February 19 
meeting with the Ambassador.  Gagor said it was his judgment 
that after the first rotation in Morag, it made military 
sense to consider other locations for future rotations. 
Gagor repeated Poland,s request for additional MRAPs for 
Afghanistan, saying that Poland has taken steps within its 
national capability to overcome its equipment shortfalls, and 
that the additional MRAPs would make Poland,s police 
mentoring teams more effective.  Gagor said he hoped that the 
United States will participate in the proposed 
Polish-Lithuanian-Ukrainian Brigade and discussed plans to 
host his Russian counterpart in May. End Summary. 
 
FUTURE PATRIOT ROTATIONS AT SITES OTHER THAN MORAG 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶2. (C) During the Ambassador,s February 19 courtesy call, 
Polish Chief of the General Staff Franciszek Gagor emphasized 
Poland's strong desire to have the first Patriot battery 
rotation take place in April.  He also asked if the U.S. 
intent was still to have the first rotation occur at the 
Morag garrison.  The Ambassador repeated what he said he had 
told Defense Minister Bogdan Klich the day prior--the United 
States has said it is committed to rotating the Patriot 
battery to Poland within 90 days of SoFA ratification.  He 
said that military planning for the first rotation will be 
discussed at the Final Planning Conference scheduled for 
March 1-5 in Warsaw. 
 
¶3. (C) Gagor then asked where future Patriot rotations might 
occur.  Ambassador Feinstein said he appreciated Defense 
Minister Klich,s prior public remarks that the Patriot 
battery is &inherently mobile8 and that rotating the 
battery to different locations in Poland exercises the 
deployable capability of the system.  He added that we should 
work together to identify all options for future rotations. 
Gagor completely agreed that from a military perspective it 
makes sense to look at other locations for future rotations 
and to ¬ fight for one location.8  He then recited a 
long list of other possible garrisons that could host a 
Patriot rotation.  Gagor stated this is his military opinion 
and the Defense Minister understands the value of this 
advice, but that this is still not a &political position.8 
 
MRAPS CRITICAL FOR GHAZNI 
------------------------- 
 
¶4. (C) Turning to Afghanistan, Gagor said Poland appreciates 
the continued assistance of the United States, in particular 
with intelligence and support for Polish special operations 
forces.  He repeated Poland,s standing request for an 
additional 50 MRAP vehicles, adding that he had used 
continued U.S. support as an argument to convince his 
civilian leadership to increase troops in Afghanistan.  Gagor 
said that the additional MRAPs are critical for Polish teams 
that will train the Afghan National Police.  In April, Poland 
will have a total of 10 POMLTs in Ghazni and will train at 
least four more for a future rotation.  Gagor added that, as 
a national solution, he will send this year an additional 50 
Polish armored Rosomaks, 30 taken from units in Poland and 20 
from new production, to Afghanistan.  However, he emphasized 
again that additional MRAPs would significantly increase the 
effectiveness of the police mentoring teams. 
 
ENGAGEMENT WITH EASTERN NEIGHBOR MILITARIES 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (C) Gagor asked how supportive the United States would be 
to participating in the nascent Polish-Lithuanian-Ukrainian 
Brigade.  He said that the Ministry of Defense is still 
drafting a proposal for the unit that is planned to be 
operational in 2011, but that U.S. participation in the 
brigade would make the venture more attractive to other 
nations.  Gagor added that the level of participation of 
 
WARSAW 00000109  002 OF 002 
 
 
Lithuania and Ukraine will depend upon their financial 
resources, but he sees the brigade as an important mechanism 
for helping transform the Ukrainian military.  Ambassador 
Feinstein stated that he would report the proposal and that 
the U.S. wants to support Ukraine in a workable and realistic 
way. 
 
¶6. (C) Gagor also said that he was looking forward to hosting 
his Russian counterpart, General Nickolay Makarov, for an 
official visit May 19-21 in Warsaw.  He said Makarov agreed 
to these dates during their last meeting in Brussels, but it 
is always unpredictable if the visit will actually happen. 
Gagor plans to send a general officer led team to Moscow in 
March or April to work on the agenda and prepare for the 
visit in hopes this will increase the likelihood of the visit 
actually taking place. 
 
¶7. (C) COMMENT: The meeting with General Gagor dovetailed 
well with the Ambassador,s February 18 meeting with Defense 
Minister Klich (septel).  Like Klich, Gagor focused on the 
timing of the first Patriot battery deployment, rather than 
on the composition of this or future batteries.  Gagor,s 
agreement that future Patriot rotations can occur at almost 
any garrison in Poland is particularly welcome.   While 
recognizing that this is still not the GoP position, Gagor,s 
advice carries significant weight with the civilian 
leadership, as evidenced by his role in the GoP decision to 
increase troops in Afghanistan.  Gagor,s efforts to outline 
Poland,s national solutions to equipment requirements in 
Afghanistan are also significant.  He clearly wanted to show 
that Poland has done everything within its capabilities to 
meet critical requirements. 
FEINSTEIN