US embassy cable - 05PRAGUE111

UNCLAS PRAGUE 000111 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, MARR, EZ, IZ 
SUBJECT: CZECH CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES APPROVES EXTENSION OF MP 
MISSION IN IRAQ 
 
REF: A. PRAGUE 60 
 
     B. PRAGUE 25 
 
1.  (U) Sensitive But Unclassified - Not for Internet 
Distribution. 
 
2.  (SBU) Summary.  On January 21 the Czech Chamber of 
Deputies, parliament's lower house, approved the extension of 
the Czech military police (MP) mission in Iraq until the end 
of 2005.  With a few exceptions, the coalition and opposition 
Civic Democratic (ODS) MPs voted as a bloc in favor, while 
the Communist Party unanimously opposed the move, as 
expected.  The approval went smoothly, largely because PM 
Gross chose a smart strategy of consulting potential 
opponents beforehand and not binding Social Democratic (CSSD) 
MPs to vote in favor.  The fact that the request came 
formally from the British and Iraqi contributed to the 
positive outcome.  The proposal now moves to the Senate, 
which is expected to approve it without delay.  End Summary. 
 
3.  (SBU)  125 out of the 181 deputies present voted in favor 
of extending the military police mission serving in the 
British sector in southern Iraq; 46 voted against.  Foreign 
Relations Committee Chairman Vladimir Lastuvka (CSSD), an 
opponent of the war in Iraq, abstained, and former Foreign 
Minister Jan Kavan, another critic of the Iraqi war, voted in 
favor.  Our contacts in CSSD, including some who have raised 
objections to the war in Iraq and remain skeptical about 
Iraq's democratic future, said that the approval can largely 
be credited to the fact that the request came from the 
British and the Iraqis (both PM Blair and PM Allawi wrote to 
PM Gross formally seeking the extension); the GOCR made no 
public mention of the U.S. role.  Another factor generating 
support for the extension was the agreement to move the Czech 
MPs into the NATO Training Mission once Phase III is launched 
later this year. 
 
4.  (SBU)  In general, Czech officials and parliamentarians 
agree that no matter what happened in the past, it is not 
time to leave Iraq until some normalcy returns to the 
country.  However, they remain skeptical about the outcome of 
the January 30 elections given the security situation in the 
country.  Gross's decision to meet with potential CSSD 
opponents of the extension provided an opportunity to 
alleviate embarrassment in Parliament.  Defense Minister 
Kuhnl's ability to allocate the necessary money, estimated at 
7.5 million US dollars, from the defense budget also bore 
positively on the final decision. 
 
5.  (U) The extension still needs the approval of the Senate. 
 The Senate Foreign Affairs, Defense and Security Committee 
will discuss the proposal on January 26.  A vote is possible 
January 27.  No significant opposition is expected. 
 
6. (SBU) Comment:  Czech officials acknowledge privately that 
behind-the-scenes USG efforts to build support for the 
extension and smooth the way for the transition to the NATO 
Training Mission (reftels) were important to the surprisingly 
swift and noncontroversial extension.  In addition to 
demonstrating the Czech's commitment to remain engaged in the 
war in Iraq, the deft handling of the extension vote is a 
sign that we can continue to work with PM Gross on matters of 
importance to the U.S., despite his weakened political 
position. 
 
HILLAS