US embassy cable - 05GABORONE520

C O N F I D E N T I A L GABORONE 000520 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPT FOR AF/S DIFFILY 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/13/2015 
TAGS: PREL, MARR, US, BC, POL/MIL 
SUBJECT: GENERAL WALD URGES BOTSWANA PARTICIPATION IN PKOS 
DURING MEETING WITH PRESIDENT MOGAE 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR JOSEPH HUGGINS FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). 
 
 1. (C)  Summary: General Charles Wald, Deputy Commander of 
EUCOM, discussed EUCOM programs, Botswana,s training needs, 
and peacekeeping (PKO) issues in a meeting at the Presidency 
on April 13.  General Wald said the African Union (AU), not 
the United Nations or the European Union, should have the 
lead in maintaining security in Africa.  He urged Botswana to 
show leadership by participating in the current PKOs in 
Darfur by lending one or more of its C-130s on a reimbursable 
basis. This was crucial due to insufficient logistical 
support on the continent. President Mogae repeatedly cited 
difficulties with assisting, but when asked by General Wald 
if military planning support might be an option, said 
Botswana could contribute one or two planners.  General Wald 
and Ambassador Huggins also highlighted the U.S. military,s 
humanitarian programs within Botswana, especially on 
HIV/AIDS, for which President Mogae thanked them.  End 
summary. 
 
2. (C) General Wald called on President Mogae in the company 
of the Ambassador, POLAD Terry Snell, DIA,s John Kiehm, 
Brigadier General Thomas Verbeck, DCM (notetaker), and other 
EUCOM staff.  Asked by President Mogae what he had learned, 
General Wald lauded Botswana,s leadership in Africa.  Mogae 
thanked him but noted that Botswana must &avoid missteps 
with neighbors,8 i.e. Zimbabwe. 
 
3. (C)  Commending the Botswana Defence Force as being &as 
good as any in Africa,8 General Wald said he had raised the 
importance of the AU in African peacekeeping during his BDF 
briefing. He stressed the urgent need for support in Darfur, 
Sudan.  With the AU planning to double its force to 7,200, a 
capable airlift fleet was a necessity.  General Wald said 
those troops would later transfer to UN command.  Would 
Botswana offer its C-130s on a reimbursable basis, since they 
were among the few in Africa that actually functioned?  While 
saying the U.S. would continue to give Botswana PKO training, 
General Wald pressed this theme throughout the conversation, 
appealing to Botswana,s leadership and generosity. 
 
4. (C)  President Mogae replied that, while Botswana accepted 
this in principle as a &moral duty,8 its budget constraints 
and the HIV/AIDS pandemic constrained Botswana,s 
participation.  Botswana was already diverting development 
funds to fight HIV/AIDS.  He added that Botswana had recently 
been asked to send troops for a PKO in the Democratic 
Republic of Congo.  The two later discussed the complexity of 
assisting in the DRC.  President Mogae agreed that military 
observer teams were preventing atrocities in Darfur and that 
Southern African countries should increase their presence. 
He added that the Sudanese think Botswana is hostile to them 
because he constantly raised the issue of the Arab north,s 
abuse of Sudan,s southern population at numerous OAU/AU 
meetings.  He continued to maintain, however, that Botswana 
could not participate. 
 
5. (C)  General Wald then suggested that Botswana could 
contribute by providing military planning staff for these 
operations.  If Botswana could provide three planners, this 
would be a significant contribution to the 32 total needed. 
President Mogae offered to send one or two planners. 
 
6.  (C)  EUCOM also wanted Botswana, when it saw fit, to 
provide leadership as the Southern African Development 
Community (SADC) forms its Brigade Response Force, said 
General Wald.  He praised Botswana,s attention to addressing 
HIV/AIDS in the military.  He and Ambassador Huggins 
discussed details of the U.S. military,s humanitarian 
assistance for HIV/AIDS and orphans, which President Mogae 
appreciated. 
 
7.  (C) Comment: President Mogae certainly had expected 
General Wald to ask Botswana to participate in PKOs, 
especially in Darfur, and he initially gave his standard 
response.  However, he also knows how important Botwana,s 
participation is to the U.S., and his willingness to send 
planners reflects that understanding.  SADC SecGen Ramsamy 
divulged in a later meeting (septel) that Botswana had 
offered C-130 support to the SADC Brigade Response Force. 
Ramsamy did not provide details of pledges to the new force, 
however, since the report is still in draft, and it is not 
clear that the C-130 might be available anytime soon for 
PKOs.  Mission will follow up with Botswana on the C-130 
issue since the proposal for use of the aircraft is on a 
reimbursable basis, and cost should no longer be a driving 
factor. 
 
HUGGINS 
 
 
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