Keep Us Strong WikiLeaks logo

Currently released so far... 97115 / 251,287

Articles

Browse latest releases

Browse by creation date

Browse by origin

A B C D F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

Browse by tag

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
ETRD EAGR ETTC EAID ECON EFIN ECIN EINV ELAB EAIR ENRG EPET EWWT ECPS EIND EMIN ELTN EC ETMIN EUC EZ ET ELECTIONS ENVR EU EUN EG EINT ER ECONOMICS ES EMS ENIV EEB EN ECE ECOSOC EK ENVIRONMENT EFIS EI EWT ENGRD ECPSN EXIM EIAD ERIN ECPC EDEV ENGY ECTRD EPA ESTH ECCT EINVECON ENGR ERTD EUR EAP EWWC ELTD EL EXIMOPIC EXTERNAL ETRDEC ESCAP ECO EGAD ELNT ECONOMIC ENV ETRN EIAR EUMEM ENRGPARMOTRASENVKGHGPGOVECONTSPLEAID EREL ECOM ECONETRDEAGRJA ETCC ETRG ECONOMY EMED ETR ENERG EITC EFINOECD EURM EENG ERA EXPORT ENRD ECONEINVETRDEFINELABETRDKTDBPGOVOPIC EGEN EBRD EVIN ETRAD ECOWAS EFTA ECONETRDBESPAR EGOVSY EPIN EID ECONENRG EDRC ESENV ETT EB ENER ELTNSNAR ECHEVARRIA ETRC EPIT EDUC ESA EFI ENRGY ESCI EE EAIDXMXAXBXFFR EETC ECIP EIAID EIVN EBEXP ESTN EING EGOV ETRA EPETEIND ELAN ETRDGK EAIDRW ETRDEINVECINPGOVCS EPEC ENVI ELN EAG EPCS EPRT EPTED ETRB EUM EAIDS EFIC EFINECONEAIDUNGAGM EAIDAR ESF EIDN ELAM EDU EV EAIDAF ECN EDA EXBS EINTECPS ENRGTRGYETRDBEXPBTIOSZ EPREL EAC EINVEFIN ETA EAGER EINDIR ECA ECLAC ELAP EITI EUCOM ECONEFINETRDPGOVEAGRPTERKTFNKCRMEAID EARG ELDIN EINVKSCA ENNP EFINECONCS EFINTS ECCP ETC EAIRASECCASCID EINN ETRP EAIDNI EFQ ECOQKPKO EGPHUM EBUD ECONEINVEFINPGOVIZ ENERGY ELB EINDETRD EMI ECONEFIN EIB EURN ETRDEINVTINTCS EIN EFIM ETIO ELAINE EMN EATO EWTR EIPR EINVETC ETTD ETDR EIQ ECONCS EPPD ENRGIZ EISL ESPINOSA ELEC EAIG ESLCO EUREM ENTG ERD EINVECONSENVCSJA EEPET EUNCH ECINECONCS ETRO ETRDECONWTOCS ECUN EFND EPECO EAIRECONRP ERGR ETRDPGOV ECPN ENRGMO EPWR EET EAIS EAGRE EDUARDO EAGRRP EAIDPHUMPRELUG EICN ECONQH EVN EGHG ELBR EINF EAIDHO EENV ETEX ERNG ED
KMDR KPAO KPKO KJUS KCRM KGHG KFRD KWMN KDEM KTFN KHIV KGIC KIDE KSCA KNNP KHUM KIPR KSUM KISL KIRF KCOR KRCM KPAL KWBG KN KS KOMC KSEP KFLU KPWR KTIA KSEO KMPI KHLS KICC KSTH KMCA KVPR KPRM KE KU KZ KFLO KSAF KTIP KTEX KBCT KOCI KOLY KOR KAWC KACT KUNR KTDB KSTC KLIG KSKN KNN KCFE KCIP KGHA KHDP KPOW KUNC KDRL KV KPREL KCRS KPOL KRVC KRIM KGIT KWIR KT KIRC KOMO KRFD KUWAIT KG KFIN KSCI KTFIN KFTN KGOV KPRV KSAC KGIV KCRIM KPIR KSOC KBIO KW KGLB KMWN KPO KFSC KSEAO KSTCPL KSI KPRP KREC KFPC KUNH KCSA KMRS KNDP KR KICCPUR KPPAO KCSY KTBT KCIS KNEP KFRDCVISCMGTCASCKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG KNNB KGCC KINR KPOP KMFO KENV KNAR KVIR KDRG KDMR KFCE KNAO KDEN KGCN KICA KIMMITT KMCC KLFU KMSG KSEC KUM KCUL KMNP KSMT KCOM KOMCSG KSPR KPMI KRAD KIND KCRP KAUST KWAWC KTER KCHG KRDP KPAS KITA KTSC KPAOPREL KWGB KIRP KJUST KMIG KLAB KTFR KSEI KSTT KAPO KSTS KLSO KWNN KPOA KHSA KNPP KPAONZ KBTS KWWW KY KJRE KPAOKMDRKE KCRCM KSCS KWMNCI KESO KWUN KPLS KIIP KEDEM KPAOY KRIF KGICKS KREF KTRD KFRDSOCIRO KTAO KJU KWMNPHUMPRELKPAOZW KEN KO KNEI KEMR KKIV KEAI KWAC KRCIM KWCI KFIU KWIC KCORR KOMS KNNO KPAI KBWG KTTB KTBD KTIALG KILS KFEM KTDM KESS KNUC KPA KOMCCO KCEM KRCS KWBGSY KNPPIS KNNPMNUC KWN KERG KLTN KALM KCCP KSUMPHUM KREL KGH KLIP KTLA KAWK KWMM KVRP KVRC KAID KSLG KDEMK KX KIF KNPR KCFC KFTFN KTFM KPDD KCERS KMOC KDEMAF KMEPI KEMS KDRM KEPREL KBTR KEDU KNP KIRL KNNR KMPT KISLPINR KTPN KA KJUSTH KPIN KDEV KTDD KAKA KFRP KWNM KTSD KINL KJUSKUNR KWWMN KECF KWBC KPRO KVBL KOM KFRDKIRFCVISCMGTKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG KEDM KFLD KLPM KRGY KNNF KICR KIFR KM KWMNCS KAWS KLAP KPAK KDDG KCGC KID KNSD KMPF KPFO KDP KCMR KRMS KNPT KNNNP KTIAPARM KDTB KNUP KPGOV KNAP KNNC KUK KSRE KREISLER KIVP KQ KTIAEUN KPALAOIS KRM KISLAO KWM KFLOA
PHUM PINR PTER PGOV PREL PREF PL PM PHSA PE PARM PINS PK PUNE PO PALESTINIAN PU PBTS PROP PTBS POL POLI PA PGOVZI POLMIL POLITICAL PARTIES POLM PD POLITICS POLICY PAS PMIL PINT PNAT PV PKO PPOL PERSONS PING PBIO PH PETR PARMS PRES PCON PETERS PRELBR PT PLAB PP PAK PDEM PKPA PSOCI PF PLO PTERM PJUS PSOE PELOSI PROPERTY PGOVPREL PARP PRL PNIR PHUMKPAL PG PREZ PGIC PBOV PAO PKK PROV PHSAK PHUMPREL PROTECTION PGOVBL PSI PRELPK PGOVENRG PUM PRELKPKO PATTY PSOC PRIVATIZATION PRELSP PGOVEAIDUKNOSWGMHUCANLLHFRSPITNZ PMIG PREC PAIGH PROG PSHA PARK PETER POG PHUS PPREL PS PTERPREL PRELPGOV POV PKPO PGOVECON POUS PGOVPRELPHUMPREFSMIGELABEAIDKCRMKWMN PWBG PMAR PREM PAR PNR PRELPGOVEAIDECONEINVBEXPSCULOIIPBTIO PARMIR PGOVGM PHUH PARTM PN PRE PTE PY POLUN PPEL PDOV PGOVSOCI PIRF PGOVPM PBST PRELEVU PGOR PBTSRU PRM PRELKPAOIZ PGVO PERL PGOC PAGR PMIN PHUMR PVIP PPD PGV PRAM PINL PKPAL PTERE PGOF PINO PHAS PODC PRHUM PHUMA PREO PPA PEPFAR PGO PRGOV PAC PRESL PORG PKFK PEPR PRELP PREFA PNG PGOVPHUMKPAO PRELECON PINOCHET PFOR PGOVLO PHUMBA PRELC PREK PHUME PHJM POLINT PGOVPZ PGOVKCRM PGOVE PHALANAGE PARTY PECON PEACE PROCESS PLN PRELSW PAHO PEDRO PRELA PASS PPAO PGPV PNUM PCUL PGGV PSA PGOVSMIGKCRMKWMNPHUMCVISKFRDCA PGIV PRFE POGOV PEL PBT PAMQ PINF PSEPC POSTS PHUMPGOV PVOV PHSAPREL PROLIFERATION PENA PRELTBIOBA PIN PRELL PGOVPTER PHAM PHYTRP PTEL PTERPGOV PHARM PROTESTS PRELAF PKBL PRELKPAO PKNP PARMP PHUML PFOV PERM PUOS PRELGOV PHUMPTER PARAGRAPH PERURENA PBTSEWWT PCI PETROL PINSO PINSCE PQL PEREZ PBS

Browse by classification

Community resources

courage is contagious

Viewing cable 06BOGOTA11488, COLMIL: JTF-O ONTO A MORE AGGRESSIVE FOOTING

If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs

Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:
  • The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
  • The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
  • The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.
To understand the justification used for the classification of each cable, please use this WikiSource article as reference.

Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #06BOGOTA11488.
Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
06BOGOTA11488 2006-12-27 19:01 2011-03-02 12:30 SECRET Embassy Bogota
Appears in these articles:
http://www.elespectador.com/wikileaks
VZCZCXYZ0010
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBO #1488/01 3611901
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
P 271901Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1560
INFO RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 8550
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ DEC LIMA 4613
RUEHZP/AMEMBASSY PANAMA 9855
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 5268
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC//USDP ADMIN/CHAIRS//
S E C R E T BOGOTA 011488 

SIPDIS 

SIPDIS 

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/18/2016 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER MARR CO
SUBJECT: COLMIL: JTF-O ONTO A MORE AGGRESSIVE FOOTING 

Classified By: Ambassador William B. Wood 
Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d) 

------- 
Summary 
------- 

1. (S)  In the Colombian military's main focus area against 
the FARC, the incoming commander is planning two changes to 
improve results.  First, he will spread battalion formations 
to widen their area of control and increase chances of enemy 
contact.  Second, he will create new companies dedicated to 
killing specific FARC leaders.  Both plans require a shift to 
smaller sized units, farther from bases and with rapid 
reaction capability.  The strategies hold real potential to 
boost military impact against FARC guerrilla tactics, but 
they are riskier to troops and dependent on extra training, 
mobility, and political will to endure casualties.  End 
Summary.

--------------------------------------- 
Mission 40% Met; Adjustments Now Needed 
--------------------------------------- 

2. (C)  EmbassyMilgroup met on December 14 with the new 
commander of Joint Task Force Omega (JTF-O), General 
Alejandro Navas, replacing General Gilberto Rocha who was 
promoted to the General Staff.  The Omega area -- comprising 
portions of Meta, Caqueta, and Guaviare departments -- is a 
region of traditional FARC concentration, where some of its 
leaders hide out.  It is the main focus of the Plan Patriota
campaign.  The force's eight Army mobile brigades, one Navy 
riverine element, and four Air Force helicopters cover 30,000 
square miles, which Navas noted is 3.5 times the area of El 
Salvador.  With 14,500 troops, JTF-O has reduced local FARC 
forces by an estimated 40% in the last two years; 1,900 
terrorists have been killed, captured, or demobilized.  Navas
said his goal was to eliminate 80-90% of the enemy in the 
area in the next two years. 

3. (S)  Achieving that objective will require the Colombian 
Army to change from its traditional deployment at battalion 
scale.  Army concentration makes it easy for the FARC to 
track its movements (via observation, signals interception, 
or infiltration) while keeping its own forces at a safe 
distance and moving its leaders out of danger.  Navas
sketched a diagram of how the FARC surrounds its leaders with 
rings of protective forces.  As a result, the Army comes into 
contact with minor elements of outer scouts and sentries.  To 
penetrate those rings, the Army must move in units that are 
smaller and nimbler than battalions. 

-------------------------- 
Widening Battalions' Reach 
-------------------------- 

4. (S)  As the former commander of JTF-O's rapid response 
force, Navas knows the theater and comes to JTF-O command 
with his own ideas on counterguerrilla combat.  The first of 
these is a method he calls the "active neutralization of 
critical areas," involving an expanded layout of forces with 
platoons sent further afield to rotate around the main camp. 
Widening each battalion's radius of operations will expand 
its footprint and multiply offensive contact with the 
guerrillas.  As seen in several costly encounters for the 
military with the FARC in 2006, soldiers operating at platoon 
scale will be more exposed to enemy attacks, and the FARC 
will seek to exploit this vulnerability. 

------------------------- 
New HVT-Focused Companies 
------------------------- 

5. (S)  Navas' second initiative is the creation of new 
companies to target FARC leaders.  President Uribe has made 
this a priority, but the military has failed to achieve 
results due to slow response times and poor operational 
security.  In Navas' plan, each of JTF-O's eight brigades 
will form a "reconnaissance and destruction" company of 
128-152 men, each to operate against a named FARC leader.
The goal is to move rapidly in response to timely 
intelligence and to insert within 10 km of the target with 
greater operational security.  In practice mobility depends 
on availability of scarce air assets.  Company sized units 
also cannot move with complete stealth.  Milgroupasseses
that FARC Secretariat members may remain the domain of more 
nimble special forces, while the new units may achieve 
results against mid-level leaders. 

6. (S)  The plan's success relies on factors which the U.S. 
can help support.  Navas is expecting to increase his number 
of helicopters from four to six, taking two of eight Black 
Hawks arriving soon.  Communications are critical, and the 
U.S. has supplied a radio network to enable the new missions. 
 Friendly fire is a risk among converging small units, 
especially during night operations.  Navas has also pushed 
for more timely intelligence from Bogota headquarters, as 
well as for direct online access to data through the 
U.S.-built intelligence communications computer system.  The 
general has initiated hiring of demobilized guerrillas to be 
integrated into the companies.  The U.S. will play an 
essential role in the training of the new units; the 
Milgroup's training teams are now designing a specialized 
one-month program to kick off in February 2007. 

------------------ 
Rewards vs. Risks?
------------------ 

7. (C)  Embassy has long counseled the COLMIL to adapt to 
FARC irregular warfare.  Smaller units made up of the very 
best soldiers could move more rapidly and be sequestered for 
operational security.  Navas' plans could measurably increase 
effectiveness if well implemented.  However, more dispersed 
deployment also implies greater exposure of troops to enemy 
fire, without the mobility and extensive backup called for in 
U.S. doctrine.  These strategies depend on quick reaction, 
solid communications and coordination, and air mobility.  It 
remains to be seen whether Navas can summon the resources to 
effect these changes and the political cover to sustain them, 
how the FARC will exploit any vulnerabilities, and how many 
casualties the COLMIL will suffer in exchange for gaining 
ground.  We will do what we can to support this tactical 
shift. 

WOOD