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Cablegate: Afghanistan: Parliament Approves Deployment Of

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS VIENNA 001966

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPARTMENT FOR PM, SA/PAB, EUR/RPM, EUR/ERA AND EUR/AGS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: MARR PREL KPKO AF AU BK SR MK NATO EUN
SUBJECT: AFGHANISTAN: PARLIAMENT APPROVES DEPLOYMENT OF
100 SOLDIERS FOR ELECTIONS - CAVEATS LIFTED

REFS: A) VIENNA 1895 B) VIENNA 1152 C) STATE 60862
D)VIENNA AU 081201Z APR 05

This message is sensitive but unclassified.

1. (SBU) On June 10, Parliament's standing committee
(Hauptausschuss) unanimously approved the cabinet's
decision (ref a) to send up to 100 Austrian soldiers to
the ISAF mission in Afghanistan for a period of three
months, until October 31, 2005. The Austrian soldiers
will join the German PRT in Konduz. At the same time,
the committee extended the mandate of the staff officers
already in Afghanistan to the end of December 2005 and
lifted the caveat restricting their deployment to Kabul.
Their mandate now covers the entire ISAF field of
operations, including ISAF transit/logistics bases in
Uzbekistan.

2. (SBU) Speaking to the standing committee June 10,
Foreign Minister Plassnik stressed that free and fair
elections were key to further positive developments in
Afghanistan. According to Plassnik, the international
community placed a high priority on stabilizing the
country, and in particular, on containing the illicit
drug traffic.

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3. (SBU) The committee also approved Plassnik's request
to support the EU's EUJUST LEX program to promote rule of
law in Iraq. Austria will second up to five experts
(three from the Justice Ministry and two from the
Interior Ministry) for a period of 12 to 16 days starting
in June 2005. Plassnik assured committee members that
the training seminars would be held outside Iraq,
possibly in Italy. Plassnik said the first free elections
and the formation of a transitional government in Iraq
have been two encouraging developments toward
democratization.

4. (SBU) In response to the Ambassador's demarche to
Defense Minister Platter (ref b), the GoA took advantage
of the vehicle of the newest deployment authorization to
lift the caveat on the previous ISAF deployment. MFA
Deputy Political Director Thomas Hajnoczi told Acting DCM
"it would have been silly for the troops to deploy to
Konduz - and the officers at ISAF not to have been able
to go visit them."

BROWN

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