NETHERLANDS: SUPPORT ISAF UN MANDATE, LEERY OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L THE HAGUE 002272 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/17/2015 TAGS: AF MARR NL PREL NATO UNSC SUBJECT: NETHERLANDS: SUPPORT ISAF UN MANDATE, LEERY OF MANDATE REVISION REF: STATE 146276 Classified By: DCM Chat Blakeman; reasons 1.4 (b, d) ¶1. (C) DCM and Polmiloff met August 15 with Director Robert de Groot and Section Head Hans Sandee of the Security and Defense Policy Division at the Dutch MFA regarding the expiration of ISAF,s U.N. mandate. De Groot noted that the Dutch are satisfied with the U.N. mandate as it currently stands; the mandate is sufficiently broad enough to permit the integration of ISAF and Coalition forces. ¶2. (C) De Groot further expressed concerns regarding the willingness to revise ISAF,s mandate. He explained that the Dutch government will present to Parliament in early September preliminary plans for Dutch involvement in ISAF Stage III. Parliament will discuss these plans for several months, with a decision expected in December on whether to go through with Stage III. De Groot suggested that opening up negotiations on a revised mandate might lead to delays and could harm efforts to persuade Parliament to support Dutch ISAF Stage III plans. He was not/not aware of any Allied misgivings regarding the broad language in the U.N. mandate, but suggested that opening negotiations in the U.N. might lead to a "Pandora's Box" of problems that the Dutch would rather not face. SOBEL