US embassy cable - 04HANOI2711

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HANOI 002711 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
OSD/ISA/AP FOR LEW STERN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: MARR, MOPS 
SUBJECT: REPORT ON DPMO DISCUSSIONS IN GIA LAI PROVINCE ON 
POW-MIA CASES 
 
1. (SBU) Summary:  The Department of Defense, POW/MIA Affairs 
Office, Senior Director for Policy, led a team of five 
Americans 
to Pleiku city on 23-24 September 2004, in order for U.S. and 
Vietnamese technical experts to review cases involving 
unaccounted- 
for Americans in Gia Lai Province, interview previously 
requested 
witnesses, and determine next steps on conducting Joint 
POW/MIA 
Accounting Command investigation and recovery operations in 
the 
Central Highlands province.  The Chairman of the Gia Lai 
Province People's 
Committee received the team and restated clearly that there is 
only one standard for conducting MIA operations in Vietnam 
and that the 
Central Highlands (Dak Lak, Gia Lai and Kon Tum Provinces) 
are not off 
limits. The Province Chairman also said that MIA operations 
would continue 
in GiaLai Province when the time was appropriate.  He said he 
was upset 
that the U.S. State Department had placed Vietnam on the 
"countries of 
particular concern" list and asked senior Director for Policy 
to relay his 
comments to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for 
POW/MIA Affairs. 
End Summary. 
 
2.  (SBU) The Defense POW-MIA Office (DPMO) Senior Director 
for 
Policy (SDP), Melinda Cooke, visited Pleiku City 23-24 
September representing 
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for POW/MIA Affairs to 
discuss 
resumption of MIA recovery operations in Gia Lai Province. 
Cooke was 
accompanied by policy officer Jack Kull from DPMO, 
operational and investigations 
specialists Richard Hites and Ron Ward from the Joint POW-MIA 
Accounting Command (JPAC) Headquarters in Hawaii and Gary 
Flanagan from JPAC 
Detachment 2 in Hanoi, Vietnam.  Vietnam Government's 
Director of 
the Vietnam Office for Seeking Missing Personnel 
(VNOSMP/Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs) Pham Van Que also traveled to Pleiku for the 
discussions 
and interviews, as well as military, public security and other 
civilian officials from Gia Lai.  Que was accompanied by 
VNOSMP/Ministry of 
Public Security specialist Nguyen Quang Minh and 
VNOSMP/Ministry of 
National Defense specialist Colonel Nguyen Tri Chu. 
 
3.  (SBU) The Gia Lai Province People's Committee Chairman 
Pham 
The Dung (Dzung) received the U.S. working group as the first 
official stop after 
arriving in Pleiku city on 23 September.  After announcing 
that "I am upset" 
with Vietnam being placed on the "countries of particular 
concern" (CPC) list, 
Dung stressed that SDP should relay to the U.S. side with 
emphasis that 
there is only one national standard for MIA operations in 
Vietnam. 
Chairman Dung then introduced his Provincial MIA Team and 
invited the U.S. 
working group to discuss cases in Gia Lai Province and 
discuss potential 
methods for continuing MIA search work in the province. 
 
4.  (SBU) The Vietnamese and U.S. members of the working group 
reconvened at the Pleiku Hotel to resume discussions.  The 
Provincial MIA Team 
announced they had located three of five requested witnesses 
for 
interview and would make them available for interviews on 24 
September.  JPAC members reviewed all the cases in Gia Lai 
Province and discussed requirements with the provincial 
officials 
for the cases that remain unresolved.  Provincial MIA Team 
members, especially the members from the Provincial Military 
Command, showed great interest in the remaining cases and 
responded enthusiastically when discussing details of how to 
proceed.  After lengthy discussions, the Provincial MIA Team 
offered that two cases had previously been prepared for 
excavation.  These cases, they stated, would be the logical 
starting point for resuming recovery operations in Gia Lai. 
 
5.  (SBU) The VNOSMP Director Que closed the working meeting 
with 
his assessment that all the working level discussions had 
been very positive. 
Que stressed that the U.S. side would not yet be able to 
carry out 
combined Vietnam/U.S. recovery operations.  He said the 
VNOSMP would 
continue to work with the provinces in the Central Highlands, 
and requested that 
the U.S. side provide pertinent information on all the 
remaining cases in 
Gia Lai. The U.S. side agreed. 
 
6.  The Gia Lai Provincial MIA Team and members of the VNOSMP 
said 
that it might be time to discuss a new mechanism for 
recovery.  VNOSMP 
Director Que stated that the Vietnam side may be ready to 
consider 
a Vietnamese unilateral recovery effort at specific sites, but 
would consider allowing the U.S. side to assign an 
anthropologist, 
a team leader, a life support investigator and a linguist to 
participate in the recovery effort. 
 
7.  (SBU) JPAC members offered to discuss the remaining cases 
in 
the other Central Highlands provinces.  VNOSMP Director Que 
declined and 
said that the working group should concentrate on Gia Lai 
Province for now. 
He thanked the working group and informed the U.S. members of 
the 
working group that the requested interviews would take place 
the following 
morning. 
 
8.  (SBU) In the morning on 24 September, the U.S. working 
group 
interviewed three witnesses.  (Comment: Results of the 
interview 
will be published under separate cover and issued from JPAC 
Headquarters in Hawaii.) 
 
9.  (SBU) On 24 September, when the US team met with the 
Provincial MIA Team, the team leader started this working 
session 
by informing SDP Cooke that the recent U.S. Government 
initiative 
to include Vietnam on the Country of  Particular Concern (CPC) 
list made him suspicious of U.S. intentions.  He also stated 
that 
this might impact future investigations and recovery 
operations. 
He went on to discuss all the cases in Gia Lai Province, the 
remaining work, and to determine which cases would be worked 
as higher priority.  The 
following day, the Provincial MIA Team made available three 
witnesses for 
interview by the U.S. team. 
 
10.  (SBU) Although the witnesses did not provide any specific 
information concerning the cases being investigated, they did 
provide 
information that correlated to other Americans; one involving 
a resolved case and 
one other case not yet correlated. 
 
11.  (SBU) Comments:  Reopening the Central Highlands to 
investigations and recoveries is an important step in 
advancing the overall success 
of POW/MIA affairs in Vietnam.  Embassy feels the interviews 
are 
steps in the right direction, however, more coordinated 
efforts by USG will be 
necessary to make this realized.  References to the effects 
of CPC 
on this important mission were not unexpected, however, it is 
interesting 
that the repeated reference to CPC by Gia Lai officials is 
the strongest 
verbal complaint by GVN officials to USG on CPC to date.  It 
remains 
important to the success of POW/MIA affairs in Vietnam that 
the Mission be 
completely involved and informed with when dealing with GVN 
on POW/MIA matters. 
MARINE