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Viewing cable 08BERLIN1108, German Out-Of-Area Deployment Update
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| Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 08BERLIN1108 | 2008-08-13 09:13 | 2011-08-25 00:00 | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | Embassy Berlin |
VZCZCXRO9355
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHRL #1108/01 2260913
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 130913Z AUG 08
FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1908
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RHMFIUU/COMSOCEUR VAIHINGEN GE
RHMFISS/CDRUSAREUR HEIDELBERG GE
RHMFIUU/HQ USAFE RAMSTEIN AB GE
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RUEHRL/USDAO BERLIN GE
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 BERLIN 001108
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: MOPS PREL MARR NATO EUN GM AF SU KV BK LE GG ET
SUBJECT: German Out-Of-Area Deployment Update
REF: A) Berlin 250
B) Berlin 620
C) Berlin 1045
¶1. (SBU) As of July 30, Germany had 6,750 military personnel in
out-of-area deployments (compared to 7000 in May), plus 2,500 on
stand-by for the NATO Response Force (NRF) and an additional 1,000
on stand-by for the EU's Battle Groups. All armed military
out-of-area (OOA) deployments, with the exception of those in
support of UN observer missions, require parliamentary approval. A
2005 Deployment Law regulates the parliamentary process, allowing
expedited procedures only for non-controversial deployments. What
follows is a brief run-down on Germany's current OOA deployments.
(Note: OOA deployments are defined as deployments outside Germany's
territory where the German military could become part of an armed
conflict. End Note.)
------------------
The Deployment Law
------------------
¶2. (SBU) According to a landmark 1994 Constitutional Court decision
and a subsequent 2005 Deployment Law, the Bundestag must preapprove
the deployment of any German armed forces outside of Germany. The
Deployment Law does provide for urgent armed deployments to go
forward without the prior approval of the Bundestag, but most German
officials view this exception as applicable only in the most exigent
of circumstances, e.g. when there is literally no time to obtain
Bundestag approval between the outbreak of a crisis and the need to
respond militarily. Even in these circumstances, the Deployment Law
requires the government to seek Bundestag approval as soon as
possible. If approval is not granted, the deployment must be
terminated.
¶3. (SBU) In a decision that is likely to make it even more
cumbersome for the government to deploy German armed forces
overseas, the German Constitutional Court ruled May 7 that the
government's decision to allow German air crews to participate in
the NATO AWACS mission in Turkey in 2003, on the eve of the war in
Iraq, without first seeking approval of the Bundestag, was
unconstitutional. The Court dismissed the assertion of the
then-Social Democratic/Green coalition government that the AWACS
deployment was just a "routine," unarmed reconnaissance mission,
holding that there were "tangible, factual indicators" that the
German AWACS air crews could have been drawn into armed conflict.
The Court reaffirmed the Bundeswehr as a "parliamentary army,"
underscoring that the German Basic Law (Constitution) "entrusted the
decision about peace and war to the German Bundestag as the
representative body of the people." The Court emphasized that when
in doubt about whether it is necessary to obtain Bundestag approval,
the government should err on the side of seeking parliamentary
permission. (See Ref B for further reporting and analysis on this
Constitutional Court decision.)
--------------------------------------------- -
International Security Assistance Force (ISAF)
--------------------------------------------- -
¶4. (SBU) The Bundeswehr currently has 3,520 military personnel
(3,446 in May) operating under ISAF in Afghanistan. These personnel
are deployed under a one-year combined mandate approved by the
Bundestag October 12, 2007. This combined mandate includes the
deployment of six Tornado reconnaissance aircraft, which were
previously covered by a separate mandate. Due to force rotation,
Germany as of July 31 had more than the 3,500 soldiers authorized in
Afghanistan; the mandate provides for temporarily exceeding the
ceiling during troop rotations.
¶5. (SBU) Germany has been active in ISAF since the operation's
inception in January 2002, and was the first country to volunteer to
lead an ISAF Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) outside of Kabul.
Germany currently commands ISAF's northern region (RC-North), where
it leads two of the five PRTs (Kunduz and Feyzabad) as well as the
Forward Support Base in Mazar-E-Sharif. On February 23, 2008
Germany inaugurated a Provincial Advisory Team (PAT), a mini-PRT in
Takhar province with around 50 civilian and military personnel
total.
¶6. (SBU) The Bundeswehr has taken on, or has committed to take on, a
number of additional tasks in recent months, which will soon bring
it right up against the current troop ceiling of 3,500:
-- Germany has taken over the Regional Command-North Quick Reaction
BERLIN 00001108 002 OF 005
Force (QRF) company on July 1. This is the first time Germany has
had a force (consisting of about 200 troops) that can be quickly
deployed around the country on short notice and that is authorized
to conduct combat missions. This constitutes a significant new
aspect of the Bundeswehr deployment in Afghanistan, whose forces up
to now have been focused almost solely on stabilization and force
protection missions. German officials point out that the primary
mission of the QRF is to respond to emergencies in RC-North, but
they also have said that Germany will come to the aid of Allies
(i.e., outside RC-North) when required. Such exceptions are
explicitly allowed by the ISAF mandate (see para 10 below).
-- Germany is tripling the number of troops (from 100 to 300)
devoted to the training of the Afghan National Army (ANA). Besides
fielding additional Operational Mentoring and Liaison Teams (OMLTs),
up to a total of seven, Germany also plans to expand a drivers and
mechanics school in Kabul into a logisticians' training center, set
up a combat engineering school in Kabul and establish an infantry
training center in Mazar-e-Sharif.
-- Germany has increased the number of military policemen devoted to
the training of the Afghan National Police (ANP) in Mazar-e Sharif
from 30 to 45.
-- In the wake of numerous rocket attacks against PRT Kunduz, in
February Germany deployed a company of 200 airborne infantry
soldiers to do regular patrolling in the immediate area around the
PRT.
¶7. (SBU) On June 26, DefMin Jung and German Chief of Defense Gen.
Schneiderhan announced the intention to increase the troop ceiling.
The troop ceiling increase is designed to create enough headroom and
flexibility for the Bundeswehr to respond to an unexpected crisis.
Political reactions to the announced increase were fairly moderate,
although some speculated that the increase in the troop ceiling
might hurt the state election prospects of Bavaria's Christian
Social Union, which holds an absolute majority in the state
parliament.
¶8. (SBU) When the ISAF mandate comes up for renewal in October, the
current expectation is that the government will seek a renewed
mandate through December 2009, which would avoid the need to vote on
a mandate in the heat of the campaign for the September 2009
Bundestag election. The new mandate will also include some language
that puts the deployment of German radio operators in Kandahar on
firm legal grounds.
¶9. (SBU) Following COMISAF's request for NATO-AWACS for ISAF, there
has been public discussion about whether Germany should support such
a deployment. (For further detail on the debate, see Berlin 1045).
Depending on the status of discussions at NATO on the deployment of
NATO AWACS aircraft to ISAF, the mandate could address deployment of
German aircrews on NATO AWACS. A decision on this has not been made
yet by the German government.
¶10. (SBU) Germany currently provides OMLTs for ANA maneuver
battalions based in Kunduz and Feyzabad. It also contributes to two
multinational OMLTs -- one for the HQ of the 209th Corps and the
other for the HQ of the 1st Brigade of the 209th Corps. Both HQs
are located in Mazar-E-Sharif. Germany plans to contribute three
additional OMLTs as a new ANA brigade (2nd Brigade, 209th Corps) and
its subordinate battalions are fielded in the north over the next
year. Germany also plans to build garrisons for the new brigade in
the north.
¶11. (SBU) The German ISAF mandate defines their area of operations
as the northern region and Kabul. Nevertheless, an exception in the
mandate allows for temporary, limited deployments to other parts of
the country on a case-by-case basis if deemed "absolutely necessary"
to the overall ISAF mission. Case in point, German radio operators
have provided communication support to Regional Command South in
Kandahar for several months.
¶12. (SBU) In the fall of 2007 and again in May 2008, DefMin Jung
approved the temporary deployment of a small number of Bundeswehr
soldiers outside the north to provide medical and intelligence
support to combat operations against insurgents in Region West.
None of the German soldiers, however, were directly involved in
combat operations. For the May 2008 operation, German members of
the multinational OMLT for the 209th Corps HQ were part of a group
authorized to deploy, the first time that German OMLT members were
allowed to deploy outside the north (albeit for a Corps HQ and not a
fighting unit). MOD has thus far not allowed German OMLTs assigned
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to infantry ANA battalions to deploy outside the north.
¶13. (SBU) Meanwhile, the ISAF mandate allows the Tornado
reconnaissance aircraft to operate throughout Afghanistan, but
restricts the resulting information from being distributed outside
of ISAF channels. The information can only be passed to OEF in
instances where doing so directly supports ISAF operations. Since
the end of January 2008, Germany has provided an additional two
C-160 Transall aircraft in Afghanistan to ISAF, for a total of
eight.
---------------------------------
Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF)
---------------------------------
¶14. (SBU) The parliamentary mandate for OEF, which allows for the
deployment of up to 1,400 personnel, expires on November 15.
Currently, Germany has deployed 90 sailors (263 in May) and the
Bundeswehr has P3-Orion Reconnaissance Aircraft stationed at the
Horn of Africa. At this point, Germany has no frigates under OEF
operating around the Horn of Africa. In June 2008 there was a
controversial debate on whether German navy ships deployed under OEF
have the authority to act against pirates. Germany is currently
considering support for an ESDP mission on the Horn of Africa that
would act against pirates. The structure of the ESDP mission
remains unclear at this point.
¶15. (SBU) The OEF mandate includes an authorization for the
deployment of up to 100 German Special Forces (KSK) to Afghanistan.
Reportedly, no KSK have been deployed to Afghanistan under OEF since
2005, which led some politicians to question the utility of
maintaining this part of the mandate during last fall's debate over
its renewal. The Afghanistan portion of the OEF has become a
"virtual mandate," the main purpose of which is to demonstrate
solidarity with the United States. There is little parliamentary
support for actually deploying the KSK to Afghanistan under OEF.
¶16. (SBU) Despite parliamentary approval, OEF remains unpopular in
Germany due to misperceptions of the mission as a strictly combat
operation and its association with civilian casualties. OEF is an
especially divisive issue within the Social Democratic Party (SPD),
the junior party in the Grand Coalition government. Some 42 SPD
parliamentarians -- about 20% of the caucus -- voted against
extending the OEF mandate this past year. While significantly
higher than in 2006, when only 13 opposed OEF, the number of
defections is significantly below what the SPD suffered in March
2007, when 69 voted against the original deployment of Tornado
reconnaissance aircraft to Afghanistan.
¶17. (SBU) During the parliamentary debate on OEF, FM Steinmeier
called for evaluating whether OEF could be mandated in the future
through a UNSCR, rather than continuing to rely on the self-defense
provisions of Article 51 of the UN Charter. He also called for
examining the possibility of transferring the ANA training mission
from OEF to ISAF, thereby continuing the trend toward an ever larger
ISAF and smaller OEF. Finally, he proposed holding an international
conference in the coming months to take stock of the progress made
towards achieving the goals of the Afghanistan Compact.
¶18. (SBU) Given the upcoming 2009 national parliamentary election
and the fact that public support for the operation remains very low,
renewal of the OEF mandate this coming fall could be difficult.
Nonetheless, the government is still likely to seek renewal of the
mandate, believing that failing to do so could send a negative
signal about Germany's commitment to the fight against terrorism.
On June 26, DefMin Jung announced that he intends to cut the OEF
mandate by 600 military personnel, which would mean that only 800
soldiers would be authorized after November 2008.
-------------------
Kosovo Force (KFOR)
-------------------
¶19. (SBU) Germany currently has 2,240 military personnel (compared
to 2,645 in May) in KFOR, far below the authorized troop ceiling of
8,500 military personnel. There is a German Operational Reserve
Force (ORF) battalion on stand-by in Germany to reinforce KFOR as
necessary. The mandate is extended automatically each year unless
there is a change to the UNSC Resolution framework for the Kosovo
Force. Germany formally recognized Kosovo's independence on
February 20 in a letter from President Koehler. The government made
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clear that it still considers UNSCR 1244 as the legal basis for
KFOR, a position that all parties in the Bundestag, except the small
Left Party (roughly 12% support nationally), support.
-----------------------------------
European Union Force (EUFOR) Bosnia
-----------------------------------
¶20. (SBU) Germany currently has around 130 soldiers (same as in May)
in Bosnia as part of the EU's Operation ALTHEA. Most of the German
soldiers are deployed as liaison and observer teams. The mandate,
amended December 1, allows the deployment of up to 2,400 military
personnel. This operation extends automatically unless there is a
change to its underlying UNSC resolution. In 2007, Germany reduced
its military presence in Bosnia by more than 700 military personnel
in coordination with other allies. Germany is relying more on
home-based reserve forces and less on deployed troops to provide the
necessary security support for the implementation of reform measures
mandated by the Dayton Peace agreement.
--------------------------------------------- ---
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)
--------------------------------------------- ---
¶21. (SBU) Since March 2008, Germany no longer leads UNIFIL's naval
component, but still has 460 military personnel deployed (compared
to 464 in May). The current mandate, authorizing up to 1,400
military personnel, expires on September 12. On February 29,
Germany handed over the command of UNIFIL's naval component to
EUROMARFOR, a joint, non-permanent fleet including Portugal, Spain,
France and Italy. An Italian officer assumed command.
------------------------
Sudan (UNAMID and UNMIS)
------------------------
¶22. (SBU) Germany currently has 39 military observers taking part in
the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS). These observers monitor the
implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. The parliament
imposed a caveat barring military observers from going to Darfur
without prior consultation with the Bundestag Foreign Relations
Committee's chairman and ranking members. The mandate, which was
extended for an additional year on November 15, 2007, allows for the
participation of up to 75 German military observers.
¶23. (SBU) Replacing its old AMIS mandate, the Bundestag approved a
new mandate in support of the UN/AU hybrid mission in Darfur (UN
Assistance Mission in Darfur, UNAMID) on November 15. It authorizes
the Bundeswehr to deploy transport aircraft and up to 200 troops in
support of the UN/AU hybrid mission.
----------------
Georgia (UNOMIG)
----------------
¶24. (SBU) Germany has been part of the UN Observer Mission in the
Abkhazian region of Georgia (UNOMIG) since 1998 and currently has 12
personnel stationed there, most of whom are medical personnel and
military observers. To meet a UN request for additional medical
personnel, the German cabinet decided last August to raise the
personnel ceiling for this mission from 13 to 20. Despite the
conflict currently raging in Georgia, German observers are
remaining.
-----------------------
Other minor deployments
-----------------------
¶25. (SBU) One military observer serves in the United Nations Mission
in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE). One German military observer is
seconded to the United Nation Assistance Mission in Afghanistan
(UNAMA). The Bundeswehr has seconded 41 military personnel to
Strategic Medical Evacuation (STRATAIRMEDEVAC), for which no
parliamentary mandate is required, since it is not an armed
deployment and the stand-by aircraft are stationed in Germany.
-----------------------
Other force commitments
-----------------------
¶26. (SBU) The Bundeswehr currently has 2,500 soldiers committed for
the twelfth rotation of the NATO Response Force (NRF). There are
currently 1,000 Bundeswehr soldiers assigned to EU Battle Groups in
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the second half of 2008.
-------------------------
Bundeswehr transformation
-------------------------
¶27. (SBU) The Bundeswehr is currently undergoing a transformation
process, the goal of which is to be able to send up to 14,000
soldiers to as many as five different theaters for stabilization
missions by 2010. The Bundeswehr will be reduced from its
pre-transformation level of 270,000 to a final strength of 250,000
(162,300 Army, 62,700 Air Force and 25,000 Navy). The new
Bundeswehr will be composed of three different groups: 35,000 for
intervention forces, 70,000 for stabilization forces and 147,000 for
support forces. Part of the Bundeswehr's transformation is a
comprehensive rebasing program, which is also intended to be
completed by 2010. Moreover, transformation includes the
procurement of new equipment to fill capability gaps, mainly in the
fields of strategic air lift, network centric warfare and armored
vehicles. Due to limited funding (Germany spends just 1.3 percent
of its GDP on defense, with few prospects of significant increases
in the future) and defense industry delays (mainly EADS), the
equipment side of the transformation is behind schedule.