NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL READOUT OCTOBER 25, 2006

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 04 USNATO 000641

SIPDIS

NOFORN
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E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/26/2016
TAGS: NATO PREL
SUBJECT: NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL READOUT OCTOBER 25, 2006

Classified By: DCM Richard G. Olson for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY:

-- Belgian FM De Gucht, addressing the NAC in his capacity as
the OSCE Chairman-in-Office (CIO),highlighted the OSCE,s
intermediary role between Russia and Georgia, saying that
there was "almost open conflict" between the two countries
over South Ossetia, and argued for "addressing this issue at
the highest levels." He added that the Russia "doesn't like"
the OSCE and is using South Ossetia and the other frozen
conflicts for their "nuisance value."

-- Afghanistan: Secretary General elaborated upon the
November 2 informal NAC to discuss the possible development
of an international mechanism a monitor the progress of
reconstruction and development efforts. He also encouraged
quick NAC approval enabling ISAF to replace Combined Forces
Command-Afghanistan (CFC-A) in its Tripartite Commission.
Canadians deplore the UNHCR decision to end repatriation.

-- Kosovo: Chairman of the Military Committee (CMC) reports
on Military Committee's visit to Kosovo, reporting that KFOR
is working closely with UNMIK and Kosovo police to provide
security during the referendum period.

-- Darfur: Deputy Assistant Secretary General (DASG) Jochems
will travel to New York this week to discuss NATO-UN
cooperation in Darfur. NAC also discussed expulsion of SRSG
Pronk.

-- Iraq: CMC details upcoming Force Protection Exercise,
while also noting the Force Protection report to be issued in
December.

END SUMMARY.

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OSCE
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2. (SBU) De Gucht said his year as C-I-O has not been "clear
sailing along well-known coasts." He was particularly
frustrated with frozen conflicts in Nagorno-Karabakh, South
Ossetia, and Transnistria, and said OSCE had tried to resolve
these conflicts, but had not made much progress. As a
result, OSCE had been "taken hostage" by issues beyond its
control. Regarding Nagorno-Karabakh, he said Azerbaijani and
Armenian leaders are not compromising for fear of being
perceived as weak, and that both countries have been
"limiting their options," making the conflict even more
difficult to resolve. On South Ossetia, he urged all nations
to return to the negotiating table, and noted that he had
made the OSCE,s good offices available to both the Georgians
and the Russians. Tensions between Moscow and Tiblisi were
"sky-high and explosive." He reported that the conflict in
Transnistria is "at a standstill," but that he foresees a
political agreement supported by an international military
force, which in turn would be complemented by a non-military
component.


3. (SBU) De Gucht said that Russia doesn't like the OSCE and
seeks limits on what the OSCE can do. The west needs to be
aware of this and to be firm with the Russians, while also
being flexible, so as not to provide easy excuses for Russia
to try to block OSCE field missions. The key was to preserve
the OSCE "for better times." At the same time, Russia at
times finds the OSCE useful; for example, Russia asked the
OSCE for help in gaining the release from Georgia of its
arrested military officers. De Gucht noted Russia is using
the frozen conflicts for their "nuisance value," in order to
affect other issues such as Kosovo, although comparisons with
Kosovo were "dangerous and ludicrous." He said there was
"almost open conflict" between the Russians and the Georgians
over South Ossetia, and that Russia had taken the recent

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apprehension of its alleged spies personally. These issues
needed to be addressed "at the highest levels."


4. (SBU) Amb. Nuland thanked De Gucht for his efforts in
resolving frozen conflicts, including encouraging the parties
to talk, and for playing the role of honest broker between
the Russians and the Georgians. She suggested a third
"pillar" for the OSCE, that of democracy support and
transparency. The Spanish PermRep said that Spain, taking
over as Chairman-in-Office in 2007, will strive to increase
the political dialogue between NATO and the OSCE, as well as
coordination at the operational level.


5. (SBU) In response to a question from Nuland, De Gucht
noted that the OSCE and NATO were working together well in
Kosovo and that the OSCE, which currently has 1,000 personnel
in Kosovo, would have a major role post-status. He also said
the OSCE could contribute to increased border security in
Afghanistan in cooperation with others, but would need
funding.

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Afghanistan
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6. (S/NF) The SYG said he saw a need for an international
mechanism in Afghanistan that would provide a consolidated
overview of reconstruction and development progress since
2001 and guide future efforts. He intends to discuss this
idea in the informal November 2 NAC with Senior Civilian
Representative (SCR) Everts, which will include reps from the
UN, World Bank, and EU. He encouraged quick NAC approval of
military advice that would enable ISAF to replace CFC-A in
its Tripartite Commission coordinating, noting that the next
TPC meeting was scheduled for November 11. Chairman of the
Military Committee (CMC) Henault informed the NAC on progress
in standing up ISAF X,s Composite HQ, which will come fully
on-line in February 2007 when U.S. General McNeill takes over
as COMISAF. The HQ was making steady progress in training,
although nations had yet to fill 15% of the HQ,s authorized
963 military slots. CMC again noted the problems that
national caveats and the unfilled Stage III CJSOR presented
to COMISAF. IMS BG Fenton provided the weekly operational
update and threat assessment, reiterating that upcoming
Operation Eagle (formerly called "Argus Resolve") aimed to
enable the establishment of Afghan Development Zones and
reconstruction throughout winter, with a focus on enabling
freedom of movement nationwide around Highway 1.


7. (C) Canadian PermRep briefed the NAC on the recent visit
to Afghanistan by Canadian Development Minister Verner,
including two new programs focusing on women and girls in
society. He deplored the fact that UNHCR had ended its
repatriation program of Afghan refugees, despite the fact
that nearly 2.5 million refugees remained in Pakistan, and
urged governments to work this issue hard at the UN.

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Balkans
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8. (SBU) The SYG briefed the NAC on the October 21 Contact
Group meeting in Vienna and reiterated Special Envoy
Ahtisaari,s concern about the impact of the 28-29 October
Serbian constitutional referendum vote on the security
situation in Kosovo. The CMC briefed that the military
committee's visit to Kosovo last week provided a clearer
picture of the security situation and its linkage to both the
upcoming vote and a possible delay in status resolution. The
CMC stated that Serbia is planning for 261 polling stations
in Kosovo for an estimated 97,000 Kosovo Serb registered
voters. KFOR is working in close coordination with UNMIK and
the Kosovo local police to identify potential trouble spots
and to provide security during the voting. COMKFOR is also
reinforcing Multi-National Task Forces Centre, East, and
North during the referendum period with one maneuver company

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each drawn from the West and South. COMKFOR requested a
further extension of the operational reserve battalion to
remain deployed north of the Ibar until December 15.


9. (SBU) The D/SYG noted that on 23 October, the Council
agreed on an exchange of letters with Montenegro on air
transit and lines of communication agreements and mentioned
that negotiations would begin soon. The Italian and Spanish
PermReps stated their desire for the Balkans to be a focus in
the SYG,s meetings this week in Berlin, Moscow, and
Washington, and requested that the scheduled PermRep
discussion on the Western Balkans be moved up on the calendar
from the third week in November. The Italian PermRep said he
was not convinced that a delay in Kosovo,s status resolution
would be destabilizing and suggested giving a positive
message to Serbia on PfP membership.

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Darfur
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10. (SBU) D/SYG Rizzo noted the recent expulsion of UN
Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG) Pronk
by the Government of Sudan. Rizzo informed PermReps that
DASG Jochems will travel this week to New York to discuss
UN-NATO cooperation in Darfur. CMC Henault said the AU note
verbale on "lessons learned" trainers has been received, and
that the first team from NATO will arrive in Addis Ababa
later this week.


11. (SBU) Ambassador Nuland asked for an update on the NATO
Legal Advisor de Vidts, preparation of a draft agreement
between NATO and the AU, which had been proposed at the
October 18 NAC. D/SYG Rizzo said he had no update, but would
inquire. The French PermRep noted that, at the Oct. 18 NAC,
the SYG had proposed discussing the idea of a political
agreement at a PermRep coffee or lunch. The Dutch PermRep
called the expulsion of SRSG Pronk a setback for the
international community's efforts in Darfur and said that the
timing was not coincidental; rather, it was meant to hamper
any attempt to implement UNSCR 1706.

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Iraq
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12. (U) CMC noted that a Force Protection assessment at
Ar-Rustamiyah, including NTM-I, will conclude in
mid-November, with the report to be completed by 15 December.
He also noted that a Force Protection exercise will be held
at NTM-I in November. The Czech and Norwegian PermReps
informed the NAC of their respective countries, ongoing
contributions to NTM-I training programs.

-------------- --
Crisis Management Exercise (CMX-06)
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13. (SBU) PermReps agreed that CMX-06 was generally
successful in providing a mechanism to exercise existing NATO
crisis response capabilities, while testing evolving
concepts. However, the lack of Generic Contingency Operation
Plans (GCOPS),along with exercise debates over whether a UN
resolution would be required for NATO to act, slowed the
planning process to the point that the NATO Initiating
Directive (NID) could not be agreed upon. This meant that
the "Fast Track" process to speed-up operational planning was
not practiced, which was a major U.S. concern. Several
PermReps (SP, IT, FR, GE) spoke of NATO's need to streamline
the framework and better coordinate NATO's "Fast Track
decision process" using generic operational plans, and to
clarify the legal basis and functional role of the NATO
Response Force (NRF).

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Political Subjects
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14. (SBU) UNSC to Send Delegation to Afghanistan: The
Slovak PermRep reported that the Japanese UN PermRep will
lead a delegation of 10 UNSC PermReps to Pakistan and
Afghanistan November 10-17.

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Any Other Business
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15. (SBU) - NAC WMD Seminar: The D/SYG announced the NAC
annual WMD Seminar is scheduled for November 8. The seminar
will focus on the WMD maritime threat. The French PermRep
asked the IS to reconsider the timing of the seminar in the
busy run-up to Riga and proposed conducting it after the
Summit.


16. (S) U.S. to Circulate Report on Iran: DCM Olson
announced that the U.S. delegation will circulate an
intelligence report on the Iranian government's efforts to
control internal dissent. (Note: The report is classified
releasable to NATO.)

OLSON