US embassy cable - 05PRAGUE1145

C O N F I D E N T I A L PRAGUE 001145 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/21/2015 
TAGS: KOMC, PREL, IZ, PGOV, EZ, AF 
SUBJECT: U.S. ANSWERS MFA CONCERNS ABOUT EXPORTS OF CZECH 
AMMUNITION TO IRAQ 
 
REF: A. HORNER-GREANEY E-MAILS 6/20/05 - 8/2/05 
     B. PRAGUE 889 NOTAL 
     C. PRAGUE 1104 NOTAL 
 
Classified By: Political-Military Officer Brian Greaney 
 for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
1) This is an action request please see paragraph 5. 
 
2)  As reported Ref B, the licensing authorities at the Czech 
MFA are often cautious about authorizing transfers of 
ammunition to Iraq and Afghanistan. In Ref B, Embassy Prague 
requested points of contact at Embassy Baghdad and Embassy 
Kabul in order to develop answers to Czech MFA questions 
about transfers to each country. 
 
3) Embassy Baghdad's designated point of contact August 1 
provided information that ammunition requests from the Iraqi 
Ministries of Defense, Justice and Oil were: a) within the 
powers of the ministries to contract, b) met an established 
need for ammunition, and c) included provision for 
appropriate secure storage. 
 
4) Pol-Mil Off August 2 delivered this information to Petr 
Kaiser, head of licensing at the Czech MFA. Kaiser indicated 
that this was precisely the information needed. We expect the 
MFA to issue a decision in favor of the ammunition transfers, 
leading to issuance of a license by the Ministry for Industry 
and Commerce. Post would like to thank Embassy Baghdad in 
assisting with this information request in spite of staffing 
shortages. 
 
5) (C) Comment: We understand that when future Czech-Afghan 
arms shipments take place, information gathering may be 
difficult. The Czechs lack of an embassy in Kabul will limit 
their own ability to assess the appropriateness of each arms 
transfer. The Czech MFA's willingness to consult is driven by 
a desire to ensure U.S. personnel and interests are not 
endangered by a Czech arms deal. This consultative mechanism 
has in recent months been placed under strain by U.S. delays 
when dealing with other types of arms exports (Ref C). The 
Czech MFA, while waiting for a U.S. response, has been 
exposed to potential legal action from arms exporters for 
failing to render an advisory opinion in a timely manner. MFA 
contacts have warned that their ability to inject U.S. policy 
concerns into the GOCR's export licensing process will be 
limited if the U.S. is unable to render a timely opinion. 
Post suggests that Embassy Kabul nominate a point of contact 
to work with us to provide U.S. information on the 
appropriateness of future deals. By doing so we can maximize 
U.S. influence over future Czech decisions on arms exports to 
Afghanistan. End comment. 
CABANISS