US embassy cable - 05SANTODOMINGO1147

C O N F I D E N T I A L SANTO DOMINGO 001147 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR PM, WHA, WHA/CAR; 
NSC FOR SHANNON; 
USCINCSO ALSO FOR POLAD; 
USCENTCOM ALSO FOR POLAD, 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/02/2015 
TAGS: PREL, MARR, DR 
SUBJECT: DOMINICAN PRESIDENT APPROVES PROVIDING STAFF 
OFFICERS TO SUPPORT IRAQ EFFORT 
 
REF: USDAO SANTO DOMINGO IIR 6 827 9937 05 
 
Classified By: EcoPol Counselor Michael Meigs. 
 
1.  (C) On Tuesday, February 17 President Leonel Fernandez 
accepted a proposal from Armed Forces Minister Sigfrido Pared 
Perez to send Dominican officers to help staff operations in 
Iraq and to provide support for the Iraqi Area of Operations 
at Central Command in Tampa, Florida.  There will be no 
publicity for this military cooperation, at least initially. 
On the basis of that discussion, Pared Perez has given 
instructions to draw up criteria for selection of as many as 
20 officers, from captains through lieutenant colonels, drawn 
from all services.  A key limiting criterion is English 
language ability.  The senior staff  plans to pay all 
allowances ("viaticos") due  by regulation (the Mejia 
administration failed to pay most of the viticos owed to the 
two 300-soldier contingents sent to Iraq between August 2003 
and May 2004).  Dominicans believe that they can send these 
officers within 60 days from selection, which may mean by 
late May of this year.   The specialties most likely to be 
provided are planning officers and military police trainers 
(the earlier Dominican contingents performed this task and 
briefly provided personal security to Administrator Paul 
Bremer when he visited the area). 
2. (C) Fernandez's approval of this measure delivers on his 
pre-election message to the USG that 
he and his administration would be supportive of the U.S. 
military in international operations 
(when his lieutenants delivered that generally worded message 
in March, 2004, it appeared that 
under President Meja the Dominican armed forces might be 
considering a third rotation ) one 
that never materialized).   This initiative would keep the 
Dominicans as candidates for international 
peace keeping, both in the U.S. effort abroad and in future 
UN peacekeeping operations.  And 
it would give healthy exposure to upcoming mid-rank officers 
that could help change the 
orientation of the Dominican armed forces toward a more 
professional, service-oriented mission. 
 
3. (C) Given these developments, encouraged in part by the 
visit last month of CINCSOUTH General 
Craddock, Embassy advises that no rpt no demarche is required 
on the subject of military support 
for the Iraq effort; however, a letter of invitation with 
thanks from a senior U.S. military leader 
would be appropriate. 
 
18. (U)  This piece and others in our series can be consulted 
at our SIPRNET site 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/santodomingo/  
along with extensive other material. 
 
 
 
MARSHALL