US embassy cable - 04DJIBOUTI1350

C O N F I D E N T I A L DJIBOUTI 001350 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF, AF/E AND PM 
PARIS LONDON FOR AFRICA WATCHER; DOD FOR ISA AFRICA DAS 
THERESA WHELAN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/21/2014 
TAGS: PREL, MASS, MARR, MOPS, PTER, MCAP, FR, DJ 
SUBJECT: FRANCE'S MILITARY COMMANDER IN DJIBOUTI DESIRES 
GREATER REGIONAL FOCUS FOR FRENCH FORCES 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR MARGUERITA D. RAGSDALE. 
REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). 
 
 1.  (C) During the Ambassador's regular weekly meeting 
October 21 with General Michel Arrault, Commander of French 
Military Forces in Djibouti, General Arrault related his 
desire to have his forces become more active in regional 
security matters.  He said the threat of terrorism in this 
part of the world is certainly a factor in his thinking.  The 
General mentioned a trip undertaken by members of the French 
armed forces stationed in Djibouti to Massawa, Eritrea during 
the first week of October.  While the General did not 
elaborate on the activities of his forces during their visit, 
he said there were difficulties in working with the Eritrean 
government. 
 
2. (C) Ambassador observed that the unresolved conflict over 
border issues between Ethiopia and Eritrea may lead to 
Ethiopian suspicions about French-Eritrean cooperation, given 
the penchant for conspiratorial thinking among the two 
states.  Arrault agreed but did not comment on whether a 
similar visit of his forces was planned in the near future 
for Ethiopia.  Meanwhile, post has learned that the 5th 
Marine Overseas Regiment (Regiment Interarmee d'Outre-Mer) of 
French Forces stationed in Djibouti is set to conduct 
training in Ethiopia to prepare Ethiopian forces for 
peacekeeping duty.  We do not have dates for such training. 
We note, however, that during the meeting with Ambassador, 
General Arrault queried whether peacekeeping by African Union 
forces anywhere in the Horn -- specifically in Darfur or in 
Somalia -- could work without significant physical 
involvement, and infusion of money, by external powers such 
as the United States, France, the United Kingdom and Italy. 
 
3. (C) Comment:  Post views General Arrault's expressed 
desire for greater regional involvement as a significant 
shift in policy for French Forces Djibouti (FFDJ).  Both 
General Arrault and his predecessor, in prior conversations 
with us, have been consistently  negative toward the 
possibility of greater FFDJ participation in regional 
security matters.  Instead, they have stressed that France's 
sole mandate in Djibouti -- unlike our own -- is to uphold 
the bilateral defense agreement existing between Djibouti and 
France that guarantees France's defense of Djibouti against 
external attack.  Both he and his predecessor have routinely 
explained that FFDJ requires the approval of Paris for 
greater participation in Coalition activities such as those 
conducted by the Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa 
(CJTF-HOA) and the Combined Task Force - 150 (CTF-150).  We 
do not know if this new stance reflects merely General 
Arrault's desire and action or is at the direction of Paris. 
End comment. 
RAGSDALE