US embassy cable - 05PARIS2661

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 002661 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/15/2015 
TAGS: PREL, IZ, FR 
SUBJECT: SECOND FRENCH DEMARCHE ON SECURITY CONCERNS IN 
BAGHDAD 
 
REF: A. PARIS 426 
 
     B. EMAIL ESPINOZA-ROSENBLATT 2/8/2005 
 
Classified By: Acting DCM Josiah Rosenblatt, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1. (U) This message contains an action request for 
Washington, see para 5. 
 
2. (C) MFA DAS-equivalent for Iraq/Iran/Arabian Gulf Affairs 
Antoine Sivan, during a previously scheduled meeting with 
poloff April 18, raised security problems involving the 
French embassy in Baghdad, which he said will be the subject 
of high-level GoF demarches in Washington and Baghdad, and 
were the topic of a similar French demarche in January 
(reftel).  Sivan said the security problems center around 
three issues, which were recently summarized in a cable from 
French Ambassador to Iraq Bernard Bajolet to the MFA: 1) 
access to the Green Zone, 2) access to the airport zone, and 
3) lack of gun permits for firearms carried by French 
security officials.  On Green Zone access, Sivan reported 
that the French embassy in Baghdad possesses only one "blue 
badge" which facilitates expedited access and was used by 
Ambassador Bajolet.  All other badges (green and others) used 
by French embassy staff at Green Zone checkpoints required 
waiting in line 20-30 minutes outside checkpoints and 
typically involved extensive car searches, despite the 
diplomatic status of the staff.  Sivan concluded that the 
badge access issue inhibited the work of the French mission 
in gaining access to Iraqi officials and other embassies 
located in the Green Zone, in addition to exposing French 
personnel to danger by requiring them to wait for long 
periods in exposed, vulnerable areas.  According to Sivan, 
Bajolet had complained to Paris that a system of "diplomatic 
apartheid" existed with respect to issuance of badges to 
Coalition member embassies, who reportedly did not face the 
same delays or restrictions as non-Coalition members, like 
France and Germany.  When poloff asked Sivan about the 
measures taken last February to facilitate French access to 
the Green Zone, which were the subject of a February letter 
of appreciation from Bajolet to our Baghdad mission (ref b), 
Sivan affirmed that he had no doubt Washington and our 
embassy in Baghdad had sought to resolve the problem, but the 
message was not traveling to the level of soldiers manning 
the Green Zone checkpoints and the situation remained "worse 
than ever." 
 
3. (C) Sivan also complained over difficulties French embassy 
personnel faced in accessing the Baghdad airport road, which 
he said had become much more restrictive since the shooting 
incident involving Italian official Nicolas Calipari.  Again 
citing Bajolet's reporting, Sivan said the French embassy 
lacks the necessary DoD-issued badges which permit access to 
a priority checkpoint line, requiring French vehicles to face 
long waits in the non-priority line of cars seeking access to 
the road.  Sivan again complained that an apparent 
distinction existed between Coalition member embassies and 
non-Coalition members in ability to access the airport road, 
and said that the new restrictions hampered the operations of 
the French embassy in Baghdad.  On gun permits, Sivan 
complained that the French mission, despite repeated appeals 
to U.S. and Iraqi authorities, had never received permits for 
its officials to carry weapons, so the French security staff 
did so without any authorization.  When asked to what extent 
France had pursued the issue with the Iraqi MFA, Sivan 
claimed that the Iraqi government had claimed ignorance on 
the issue and told the French mission to take up the issue 
with the USG. 
 
4. (C) In closing, poloff offered to convey Sivan's concerns 
to Washington, and reiterated the difficult security 
situation and operating conditions in Baghdad, which U.S. 
personnel had to contend with on a daily basis and which no 
amount of badge issuance could resolve.  Sivan conceded that 
the GoF understood the security risks associated with 
maintaining its mission in Baghdad, and that not all risks 
could be eliminated; at the same time, the GoF wanted to 
address avoidable security risks, such as keeping cars 
waiting in stationary spots subject to frequent terrorist 
attacks.  He added that it was not unreasonable to expect 
that Coalition and non-Coalition embassies would enjoy the 
same treatment with respect to access to the Green Zone and 
the all-important airport road.  He added that if French 
personnel were harmed in an attack while waiting at one of 
these checkpoints, it could provoke a domestic outcry and 
affect bilateral relations to a similar degree as the 
Calipari case, obviously an outcome we all would like to 
avoid. 
 
5. (C) Comment/Action Request: We hope that Washington and/or 
Baghdad can provide guidance on responding to the latest GoF 
security complaints, which are undoubtedly half of the story. 
 We expect the GoF will raise this issue with Senior Iraq 
Coordinator Jones during his April 25 visit, and would 
appreciate it if Washington can provide additional guidance 
or background on this issue by COB April 22.  End 
comment/action request. 
 
6. (U) Baghdad minimize considered. 
WOLFF