US embassy cable - 05PARIS1764

S E C R E T PARIS 001764 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR NEA/I/PM, EB/IFD AND EUR/WE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/15/2014 
TAGS: PREL, EAID, IZ, FR 
SUBJECT: GOF OFFERS TRAINING TO IRAQI POLICE AND JUDGES, 
SEEKS TO ADVANCE INTERNATIONAL COORDINATION MECHANISM 
 
REF: PARIS 1716 
 
Classified By: Political Minister-Counselor Josiah Rosenblatt, reasons 
1.5 (b) and (d). 
 
1. (SBU) In recent discussions with us on Iraq, working-level 
MFA officials have described new French training programs for 
Iraqis under the EU umbrella and preliminary GoF thinking on 
the U.S.-proposed international coordination mechanism for 
Iraq assistance.  The new GoF assistance is part of the 
recently approved EU "rule of law" package for Iraq, and will 
consist of a four-week training program for 160 Iraqi police 
officers in France this summer, followed by a month-long 
training program for 30 Iraqi magistrates in Bordeaux in the 
fall.  The proposed police training is separate from an 
earlier GoF offer to train some 1,500 Iraqi gendarmes in 
France and Qatar, to which the GoF has not received a reply 
from the Iraqi government since President Chirac raised the 
issue with visiting IIG President Yawer in mid-January. 
 
2. (C) MFA Iraq desk officer Renaud Salins commented to us 
during a March 11 discussion on Iranian interference in Iraq 
(reftel) that the summer and fall training programs put the 
GoF at the top of the EU in terms of contributions to the new 
rule of law program, which aims to train some 800 Iraqi 
officials.  He added that it was a strange, but good feeling 
for France to be at the head of any contribution list for 
Iraq. 
 
3. (C) Salins also informed us that the GoF is seeking to 
encourage EU reflection on the proposed international 
coordination mechanism for Iraq, first floated by the U.S. 
earlier this year.  The GoF's preliminary thinking on the 
coordination mechanism was that it should, of course, be led 
by the Iraqi government, and that it was up to Iraq's 
Transitional Government to define Iraq's immediate assistance 
needs.  At the same time, the GoF believed that the UN could 
play an important role within the coordination mechanism to 
help the Iraqi government identify assistance needs and 
create a sort of clearinghouse for international aid.  The EU 
should play an important role as well in the coordination 
mechanism, still to be defined.  Salins commented that the 
only EU member which had showed enthusiasm for advancing the 
coordination mechanism idea was the UK, which was keen on 
promoting an international conference on Iraq to take place 
in May.  Salins was unsure whether the May timeframe was 
realistic, given the continued delay in formation of the ITG. 
 In any case, French, UK and EC working-level representatives 
had met in Brussels the week of March 7 to explore further 
the international conference and coordination mechanism 
ideas. 
 
4. (C) UK Embassy First Secretary Tom Fletcher (protect) 
informed us March 16 that the UK continued to consult with 
the French on the coordination mechanism and conference 
proposals.  He described the UK and France as differing on 
one point: France was more inclined to limit the coordination 
mechanism on capacity building activities for Iraq, while the 
UK was leaning towards a more ambitious, open-ended mandate. 
Fletcher also confirmed that the UK embassy in Baghdad had 
approached IIG VP Ibrahim al-Ja'fari on the conference 
proposal and found him open to the idea.  Fletcher also 
clarified that while the venue for such a conference remained 
to be determined, the logical choice was Brussels, with the 
EC hosting. 
 
5. (C) Comment: The GoF continues to move in a positive 
direction in offering more assistance to Iraq, primarily via 
training programs for Iraqis in France.  At the same time, 
the French red-lines on no troops in Iraq and qualified 
assistance to the NATO training mission remain in place, and 
the GoF continues to be averse to sending any personnel into 
Iraq for reconstruction or assistance projects, as long as 
security conditions are difficult.  End comment. 
 
6. (U) Baghdad minimize considered. 
Leach