Wikileaks - MDCXXII

Tuesday, 06 September, Year 3 d.Tr. | Author: Mircea Popescu

251186 2/26/2010 23:45 10OTTAWA93 Embassy Ottawa CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN 10STATE17308 VZCZCXYZ0000 OO RUEHWEB DE RUEHOT #0093 0572345 ZNY CCCCC ZZH O R 262345Z FEB 10 FM AMEMBASSY OTTAWA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0435 INFO ALL CANADIAN POSTS COLLECTIVE RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0019 RUEHBM/AMEMBASSY BUCHAREST 0032 RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS 0002 RUEHDK/AMEMBASSY DAKAR RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0024 RUEHLE/AMEMBASSY LUXEMBOURG RUEHPC/AMEMBASSY LOME 0001 RUEHSW/AMEMBASSY BERN 0003 RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS 0001 C O N F I D E N T I A L OTTAWA 000093

NOFORN SIPDIS AMEMBASSY OTTAWA PASS TO AMCONSUL QUEBEC AMEMBASSY OTTAWA PASS TO APP WINNIPEG

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/02/26 TAGS: PREL, PGOV, SOCI, MCAP, ASEC, MARR, KJUS, KPKO, EFIN, HA, CA SUBJECT: Canada Willing To Consider Training, Equipping Formed Police Units for Haiti

REF: STATE 17308

CLASSIFIED BY: Scott Bellard, Political Minister Counselor, Ottawa, POL; REASON: 1.4(B), (D)

1. (C/NF) In a discussion with Deputy Pol/C on February 25, Michael Kaduck, Director of Peace Operations and Fragile States at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT), dismissed the idea of contributing a Canadian formed police unit (FPU) for Haiti. He noted that Canada had encountered significant difficulties in finding the 60 extra recently pledged civilian police officers, the list of whom Canada recently had forwarded to the UN's Department of Peacekeeping Operations. He elaborated further that DFAIT "would not recommend under any circumstances" providing Canadian FPUs for MINUSTAH because it would be an "egregious misuse of resources." Kaduck emphasized that FPUs tend to "spend a lot of time in the barracks" until some public order situation arises and that is not a "rational use" of "fantastically expensive" and "highly skilled" Canadian police officers. Kaduck was adamant that if he had an extra 140 Canadian police--which he stressed he does not--he would use them as CIVPOL mentors and trainers, rather than as garrison-based FPUs.

2 (C/NF) Kaduck underscored that DFAIT was much more inclined to discuss how Canada might train and equip third countries to stand up their own FPUs for service in Haiti. He observed that Canada has already trained and equipped three francophone African-nation FPUs for assignment with UNAMID in Darfur, and they might be willing to explore that option with MINUSTAH. He cautioned that he does not "know the upper limit of how many potential FPUs are actually out there to deploy to Haiti." He noted that deploying 20 FPUs would "actually require 60-20 in the field, 20 preparing to go, and 20 just returning." Kaduck shared that any new Canadian initiative of this magnitude would require a ministerial initiative, perhaps even the Prime Minister, to go forward. He suggested that it would likely require a "high level ask" by "senior U.S. counterparts." JACOBSON

Category: Breaking News
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