US embassy cable - 05LJUBLJANA92

C O N F I D E N T I A L  LJUBLJANA 000092 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/NCE AND EUR/RPM 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/09/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, MARR, SI, NATO 
SUBJECT: SLOVENIA: INCREASED CONTRIBUTIONS EXPECTED FOR 
IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN 
 
REF: A. LJUBLJANA IIR 6 952 0009 05 
 
     B. LJUBLJANA 0061 
     C. 04 LJUBLJANA 1134 
     D. LJUBLJANA IIR 6 952 0008 05 
     E. LJUBLJANA 0011 
 
Classified By: Chief of Mission Thomas B. Robertson for reasons 1.4(b) 
and (d). 
 
1.  (C) SUMMARY:  Building on COM's recent conversations with 
PM Janez Jansa and DefMin Karl Erjavec, the snapshot below 
provides new information about Slovenian contributions for 
Iraq and Afghanistan and summarizes what we have reported 
piecemeal in recent weeks.  Slovenia may offer five or more 
military trainers for NTM-I at the 10 February NATO Defense 
Ministerial, in addition to a monetary contribution of EUR 
100,000 announced on 09 February for the NATO Trust Fund for 
Iraq.  Slovenia has announced publicly its EUR 5.2 million 
contribution through NATO of weapons and equipment for Iraqi 
Security Forces.  Finally, a GoS decision on increased ISAF 
contributions is expected soon, possibly designating 2 SAF 
officers to join a German-led PRT this year and contributing 
to an Italian-led PRT next year.  We are encouraged by the 
GoS shift to a more forward leaning posture on Iraq and will 
continue to press for Slovenian boots on the ground in Iraq. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
2.  (C) TROOPS AND MONEY FOR NTM-I:  Slovenia plans to 
increase its contribution to the NATO-led Training Mission 
for Iraq (NTM-I) by sending an undisclosed number of military 
instructors to a third country to train Iraqi Security 
Forces, according to a source on the Slovenian Armed Forces 
(SAF) General Staff.  DefMin Erjavec told COM on 07 February 
that there would be five such trainers, and he emphasized 
that this was different from the five police trainers the 
Ministry of Interior now has in Jordan.  Following the 09 
February meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers in Brussels, FoMin 
Dimitrij Rupel told the press that Slovenia would provide "a 
few instructors" for the Mission, in addition to contributing 
EUR 100,000 to a NATO Trust Fund for financing the NTM-I.  A 
General Staff officer told DATT that the GoS had authorized 
DefMin Erjavec to offer NATO an increased number of military 
trainers over the five that had been discussed previously 
(ref A) and that Erjavec mentioned to COM.  Erjavec is 
expected to make the offer during the 10 February meeting of 
NATO Defense Ministers in Nice. 
 
3.  (C) WEAPONS FOR IRAQI SECURITY FORCES:  FoMin Rupel also 
made public the GoS decision to offer the Iraqi Security 
Forces military gear and weapons worth roughly EUR 5 million 
that has been reported previously (ref B, C).  MFA Security 
Policy Department's Stanislav Vidovic pegged the figure more 
precisely at EUR 5.2 million.  The donation will consist of 
17,000 AK-47 rifles, 320 M76 sniper rifles, 128 82mm mortars, 
and ammunition for each weapon type (ref D). 
 
4.  (C) POSSIBLE TROOPS FOR ISAF PRTs:  FoMin Rupel told the 
press on 09 February that the GoS is also considering an 
increased contribution to ISAF, although he did not offer 
specifics.  DefMin Erjavec told COM on 07 February that 
Slovenia planned to send two SAF soldiers to a German-led PRT 
later this year and that the GoS would contribute to an 
Italian-led PRT "next year."  Zorica Bukinac Cimpersek of 
MFA's Security Policy Department told Pol-Miloff on 10 
February that a proposal for an increased ISAF contribution 
had been put forward for Cabinet approval; however, she was 
uncertain whether the proposal would be considered in the GoS 
Session on 10 February or 17 February.  As reported ref E, 
MoD Director for Defense Policy Uros Krek expected two SAF 
officers to join a German-led PRT by early April, while he 
said MoD was busy drafting legislation to allow civilian 
participation in PRTs, potentially by Summer 2005. 
 
5.  (C) COMMENT:  PM Jansa and the GoS appear solidly 
committed to shifting policy to a more forward leaning 
posture on Iraq and increased involvement in Afghanistan.  As 
the GoS finalizes its plans to make increased contributions 
for both Iraq and Afghanistan, it is talking about these 
decisions to the press in an unprecedentedly positive way. 
After Rupel's 09 February announcement, we will hope for a 
more specific public statement from Erjavec in Nice outlining 
Slovenia's contributions for Iraq.  While we are encouraged 
by the news of increases over the anticipated contributions 
 
 
that we have reported previously, we will continue to press 
aggressively for the elusive jewel in the crown of Slovenian 
contributions:  boots on the ground in Iraq.  END COMMENT 
ROBERTSON 
 
 
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 2005LJUBLJ00092 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL 


 
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