A PIECE of a 120-mm shell was discovered by Bulgarian soldiers under the ruins of the Bulgarian camp in Kerbala, Iraq, in the wake of the attack on December 27.
The shell had a sign on it saying it was manufactured in one of the military plants in the Bulgarian town of Sopot.
This was reported on Tuesday by the Dupnitsa-based Viara newspaper and had a shocking effect, mainly for its striking headline saying "Bulgarian bombs killed the Bulgarians in Kerbala." Five Bulgarian military personnel lost their lives, while more than 20 of those stationed there were injured in the incident.
The disclosure, made by Senior Sergeant Ivan Kyumdzhiev, of the first battalion, was strongly condemned as "speculations and insinuations" by the general staff of the Bulgarian army.
"Kyumdzhiev's words can be easily refuted on all points, it is sad though that Bulgaria has been involved in a rather discrediting situation which affects the image of the country," Brigadier General Nikolai Vulkov of the general staff said on Wednesday. "There is no 120-mm calibre in the artillery system. What is more, it sounds absurd to put on an inscription referring to a geographical location."
Officials at the plant in Sopot also said similar denotations had never been used, by rule, yet they did not deny the possibility that there might be Bulgarian weapons in Iraq because prior to 1989, the communist regime in Bulgaria exported weapons, including to Iraq.
The controversy broke out on Wednesday when Bulgaria marked 40 days since the attack against the Bulgarians in Kerbala.
The report on the tragedy in Iraq which was to be prepared by an interdepartmental committee chaired by Deputy Defence Minister Ilko Dimitrov was also completed this week. It was put for discussion to the Prime Minister's security council.
The report cited problems in the training programmes and the anti-terrorist training of the first contingent. There were also problems in logistics and communications. The general conclusions were that the number of experts on anti-terrorism in missions should be increased, while elements of anti-terrorist actions should be included in the overall training of the contingent.
The use of grenade launchers in the protection of the Bulgarian camp has been a matter of broad discussions among military experts who were divided on this issue, Dimitrov said. He attended, between February 2 and 5, a conference in Plovdiv entitled "National Defence Review - Building Up Capabilities."
The forum was organised by the Ministry of Defence and the George Marshall Security Studies European Centre.
The number of Bulgarian army service personnel and possible future reductions were among the main issues discussed at the forum. Expert groups of the Ministry of Defence and the general staff are currently working to prepare a complex assessment of the following components: the existing challenges ahead of national security, the ways to meet them, the means needed to step up the modernisation of the Bulgarian army, the salaries of the military, and this year's military budget. The assessment is to be wrapped up by March 1. Based on it, a decision will be made on the reduction of the armed forces.
The reduction of the number of military service personnel is a matter of political decision and lies within the powers of the National Assembly, armed forces chief General Nikola Kolev said.
"According to our estimates, a 45 000-man army is the critical minimum of Bulgaria's armed forces. If however the modernisation of the army is stepped up even further in the future, the need to support a large number of military maintenance personnel will be done away with," Kolev said. He added that in that case the reductions of army servicemen could go even beyond that 45 000-man minimum.
Former military personnel could be of interest to the criminal world, Kolev said, while trying to outline the problems that could ensue from the reduction of the army. This was why the Ministry of Defence envisaged the implementation of a special social programme for the sacked military. The project is to be launched with the support of the governments of the Netherlands, Norway and the US.
Addressing the opening of the forum in Plovdiv, US ambassador James Pardew said that Bulgaria was to become a full-fledged NATO member at the summit in Istanbul in June.
The forum was also attended by General John Sylvester, US Supreme Commander in Europe. He said he would not commit to a statement as to when there would be clarity whether any US bases will be stationed on Bulgarian territory.
"US military experts have been continuing their surveys of the bases we have put forward as possible locations," Kolev said.
According to an article in the Financial Times on Wednesday, "Washington will not establish new permanent bases in Eastern Europe. Romania and Bulgaria will be disappointed by the news."
The Financial Times said that the US was preparing to cut the number of troops stationed in Europe by up to a third. Washington will not establish new permanent bases in Eastern Europe. The article said that "the old days of the giant US barracks are over," and now only small bases will be established on a temporary basis in Poland, Romania or Bulgaria.