Cablegate: Mgbm01: Offer to Assist with Cyclone Nargis

VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHKA #0513 1281125
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 071125Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY DHAKA
TO RUEHGO/AMEMBASSY RANGOON IMMEDIATE 2638
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6737

UNCLAS DHAKA 000513

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR S/ES-O-CMS, EAP/EX, AND EAP/MLS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: AMGT BM EAID PREL
SUBJECT: MGBM01: OFFER TO ASSIST WITH CYCLONE NARGIS
RESPONSE

1. (U) All of us at Embassy Dhaka have been following
events in Burma related to Cyclone Nargis' devastation
closely, and we wish to express our solidarity with our
colleagues at Embassy Rangoon. Among the lessons we learned
during the response to Cyclone Sidr in November - December
2007 was the need for additional staff with certain skills
that were in short supply and high demand. In particular, we
needed a surge capacity in our Public Affairs Section and
required officers who could be embedded into U.S. military
and civilian disaster response teams, including at a forward
operating base established in the cyclone affected areas. In
order to meet our staffing needs, we reallocated personnel
within the mission and utilized TDY personnel detailed to
Bangladesh for 2 - 3 week periods. In retrospect, we wish we
had been able to identify these requirements much earlier and
that we had had additional staff available at the beginning
of our response.

2. (U) We realize that the situation in Burma is different,
and in many ways more challenging, than what we faced. In
particular, we were spared any major impact of the storm in
Dhaka and it did not affect Embassy operations. Depending on
how the humanitarian response evolves in Burma, we stand
ready to provide assistance utilizing staff who gained
experience during Operation Sea Angel II and the overall USG
response to Cyclone Sidr.
Moriarty

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