Cablegate: Black Sea Border Security Initiative Experts Group
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BUCHAREST 001347
SIPDIS
STATE DEPT FOR EUR/NCE - WILLIAM SILKWORTH AND ALSO FOR NP
SECDEF FOR ISP - EURASIA, ISP-NPP
DOE/NNSA FOR NA-211, NA
HOMELAND SECURITY FOR NAP
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL ETTC KNNP RO MD GG UP BU
SUBJECT: BLACK SEA BORDER SECURITY INITIATIVE EXPERTS GROUP
"STYX 2005" BUCHAREST PLANNING CONFERENCE READ-OUT
REF: A. A) STATE 90931
B. B) STATE 90564 C) 04 STATE 253728
1. Summary. Under the auspices of the Black Sea Border
Security Initiative (BSBSI), USG representatives attended a
first planning conference to consider Romania,s proposal to
hold a tabletop simulation of a WMD incident. The other
states represented at the conference were Georgia, Moldova,
Bulgaria, and Ukraine. The delegations agreed in principle
to send representatives to the forthcoming &STYX 20058
tabletop exercise, scheduled for June 23 in Bucharest.
Further coordination between the BSBSI participant states and
the Romanian organizers will take place with Romanian MFA
nonproliferation chief Dan Neculaescu via fax and e-mail.
End Summary.
INTRODUCING THE BLACK SEA BORDER SECURITY INITIATIVE
--------------------------------------------- -------
2. Romanian MFA Nonproliferation and Arms Control Division
Director Dan Neculaescu opened the May 27-28 planning
conference for the Black Sea Border Security Initiative
(BSBSI) held at the Southeast European Cooperative Initiative
(SECI) Regional Center Headquarters in Bucharest. Neculaescu
stated that BSBSI's goals consist of:
- enhancing regional cooperation in the field of
counterproliferation of WMD, and identifying mechanisms for
increasing that cooperation; and,
- establishing confidence between the Black Sea littoral
states and generally increasing the Black Sea,s security
posture.
Neculaescu stated that while the BSBSI states agreed in
principle to projects in accordance with these goals during a
high-level policy discussion in May 2004, the Romanians,
&STYX 20058 proposal represented the first concrete
proposal under the BSBSI rubric. (Note: During the May 2004
meeting, BSBSI was referred to by its prior name, the
&Border Defense Initiative (BDI)8. For further background
on BSBSI, see Reftels. End Note.)
PRESENTATION OF &STYX 20058
---------------------------
3. Following Neculaescu's introduction, Romanian National
Commission for Nuclear Activities Control (&CNCAN8) officer
Florian Baciu presented the proposed &STYX 20058 tabletop
exercise. STYX 2005 is a fictional scenario in which the
five BSBSI states cooperate to prevent the central European
front-companies STYX, and the Precision Tool Company,
from trafficking a truck-borne radiological dispersal device
(i.e. a dirty bomb) and a quantity of WMD chemical precursors
to the EMANON terrorist organization. In the Romanian draft,
the countries were listed solely by colors (i.e. the RED
LAND,). Romania proposed to hold the tabletop simulation in
Bucharest on June 23. Baciu advised the national delegations
that they are looking into the possibility of off-setting
travel expenditures for three participants from each BSBSI
government ) one to serve in a five-member control group,
that will run the exercise, and two to serve in a ten-member
working group,, which will simulate the responses of the
BSBSI national governments to events that unfold in the STYX
2005 scenario. During the simulation, the control group will
provide the working group with (fictional) real-time
developments within the scenario, and the working group will
attempt to effectively respond on behalf of their governments.
4. All national delegations agreed to participate in the June
23 tabletop simulation. They also agreed to the Romanians
proposal regarding which colors (i.e. roles) their respective
countries would play in the scenario (GREEN LAND - Bulgaria;
BLACK LAND ) Georgia; YELLOW LAND ) Ukraine; BLUE LAND )
Romania; GRAY LAND ) Moldova). During the discussion of the
ideal composition of the control and working groups,
Bulgarian MOD official Lecev Lecezar opined that the control
groups would ideally be comprised of MFA officials, as the
MFA is best placed to know how to effectively conduct
international dialogues. For their working group delegation,
Lecezar said that he would recommend to his government one
Ministry of Internal Affairs (MOIA) officer and one
intelligence officer. Most delegations agreed with the
Bulgarian-proposed structure, although Romanian CNCAN
official Baciu cautioned that the MFA may not have sufficient
technical expertise in dealing with radiological materials to
serve as effective control group officers. Lecezar responded
that no delegation is perfect, but the MFA nevertheless has
the best available expertise.
5. Baciu also advised all delegations that in order to
maximize the possibility of success for the tabletop
exercise, national delegations should be thoroughly versed in
STYX 2005 during the June 23 simulation, keeping in mind that
the control group will be privy to simulation information
that will be withheld from the working group until the day of
the exercise. Questions that the control group should be
prepared to answer include:
-Who are your national decision-makers in the event of a WMD
incident?
-What information does your intelligence community require in
the event of a trafficking incident?
-To what extent do your national institutions coordinate?
What points are critical for effective inter-institutional
coordination?
-Do you coordinate at the international level in the event of
a WMD incident? Through what channels? Police channels?
Diplomatic channels? How are such channels established?
-What capabilities exist to assist other countries in either
interdicting WMD or in disaster response should they request
it?
-What about jurisdiction in international waters?
-How do you work with the media? At what point are
announcements made in the event of a WMD incident? How much
information is publicly disseminated? How much international
cooperation is appropriate regarding public liaison?
FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES
--------------------
6. Neculaescu requested national delegations that they inform
him of their representatives to the June 23 simulation by
June 10. Neculaescu also stated that he would disseminate
the minutes of the STYX 2005 first planning conference to the
local Embassies of the BSBSI participant states, and the
Romanian Embassies in the other BSBSI capitals would do the
same directly to their host government contacts. He also
collected the contact information of the conference
participants, and advised the conference that he would
further coordinate with BSBSI states via fax and e-mail.
Following the conclusion of the tabletop simulation,
Neculaescu proposed that experts from the BSBSI participant
states again meet to evaluate the relative success of &STYX
20058. At such a meeting, the BSBSI experts would evaluate
the strengths and weaknesses of their respective
nonproliferation infrastructures, as well as evaluate their
current legal and institutional capacity to cooperate
internationally in responding to a WMD incident. Neculaescu
further suggested that &STYX 20058 be run as a field
operation in Fall 2005.
PARTICIPANTS
------------
7. Delegation lists for the STYX 2005 first planning
conference follows:
BULGARIA:
Mr. Tonev Dimov, Ministry of Internal Affairs
Mr. Nikolay Kolev, Bulgarian Embassy to Romania
Mr. Lecev Lecezar, Ministry of Defense
GEORGIA:
Mr. Guram Rogava, Ministry of Internal Affairs
Mr. Mindia Janelidze, Foreign Intelligence Service
MOLDOVA:
Mr. Igor Goredetki, Service of Intelligence and Security
Mr. Victor Nichifor, Ministry of Internal Affairs
ROMANIA:
Mr. Augustin Aculai, Nuclear Agency
Mr. Florian Baciu, National Commission for Nuclear Activities
Control
Mr. Nicolae Comanescu, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Ms. Codruta Dima, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Lt. Cmdr. Cristian Gadei, Ministry of Defense
Mr. Horatiu Grigorescu, Romanian Intelligence Service
Ms. Daniela Marca, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Mr. Dan Neculaescu, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Mr. Nicolae Neferoiu, Foreign Intelligence Service
Mr. Alin Tanase, Ministry of the Interior
Mr. Dragos Tocae, National Agency for Export Controls
UKRAINE:
Mr. Ivan Zaitev, Interior Ministry Attache, Ukrainian Embassy
to Romania
UNITED STATES (observer):
Mr. John Conlon, EUR/PRA, State Department
Mr. Christopher Palmer, Political-Military Affairs Officer,
U.S. Embassy to Romania
Mr. Milan Sturgis, Department of State SECI Coordinator
8. Amembassy Bucharest's reporting telegrams are available
on the Bucharest SIPRNet website:
www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/bucharest .
DELARE