NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL READOUT NOVEMBER 15, 2006

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 USNATO 000676 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/15/2016 TAGS: NATO PREL SUBJECT: NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL READOUT NOVEMBER 15, 2006 Classified By: DCM Richard G. Olson, for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: -- Western Balkans: During an informal PermRep meeting, U.S. PermRep states that without more progress on ICTY, the Riga Summit is too soon to grant Partnership for Peace (PfP) status to Serbia; she proposes keeping pressure on Serbia through the elections, then taking up PfP issue for all three Western Balkan aspirants again in January with support from NATO Allies. -- Afghanistan: SYG to meet with Pakistani Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on margins of NATO Chiefs of Defense (CHODs) meetings at NATO HQ. SHAPE "cautiously optimistic" on levels of violence, but warns that ISAF X composite headquarters shortfalls loom. Canadian PermRep very worried that Taliban fighters are returning to Kandahar vicinity, while Italian PermRep tries to garner support for an international conference in Rome. -- Balkans/Kosovo: NATO to continue coordination with other international organizations while also planning KFOR,s role in the settlement implementation and post-status periods. -- Darfur: UNSYG Kofi Annan hopes "hybrid solution" - an AU-UN joint operation financed by the UN - will be acceptable to all parties; sees need for continued NATO support. -- Iraq: NATO Military Authorities (NMAs) are tasked to provide proposals in response to PM Maliki,s request for gendarmerie training; SHAPE revises CJSOR for force generation conference requesting a 30-man internal security platoon for NATO facilities at Ar-Rustamiyah. -- NATO Response Force: SYG pushing hard for full NRF operability by Riga Summit though additional French amendments on "Financial Support for NRF Short-Order Deployments" will slow the process. -- NATO-UN: UNSYG Kofi Annan proposes UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations Agreement with NATO. END SUMMARY. -------------- Western Balkans -------------- ¶2. (C) During an informal 11/14 NATO PermRep discussion of the Western Balkans, Ambassador Nuland noted the importance during the election campaign of continuing to press Serbia for more reform, and reformers to campaign on positive change. To that end, it would be premature to suggest granting PfP to Serbia at the November 28-29 Riga Summit without more ICTY progress. She said Washington now agreed with those Allies who favored granting PfP to all three Western Balkan aspirants (Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro) at the same time, and suggested that Allies take the issue up again in January 2007. Seven Allies (UK, France, Denmark, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands and the Slovak Republic) clearly supported delaying the question until later. Poland and Canada also made supportive statements yet with a softer tone. Interestingly, Germany, on new instructions, said all three should receive PfP at Riga. -------------- Afghanistan -------------- ¶3. (C) SYG de Hoop Scheffer informed PermReps that he will meet with Pakistani Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General ul-Haq, on November 17, prior to the General,s meeting with the NATO Military Committee. Deputy/CMC USNATO 00000676 002 OF 003 Baptiste noted that NATO CHODs were meeting at NATO HQ today and would discuss the unfilled CJSOR, caveats, ISAF X composite HQ issues, liaison with Pakistan, equipping and training the ANA, and how to support reconstruction and development. The SYG welcomed circulation of the second "NATO/ISAF PRT Weekly" report, expressing hope that it will enhance NATO Allies' understanding of in-theater developments. ¶4. (C) SHAPE J3 MG Stein briefed the NAC on ISAF,s current operational environment (including development snapshots), ISAF X composite HQ, and CJSOR shortfalls. Expressing cautious optimism that a resurgence of attacks had not materialized following Ramadan, he predicted that insurgents would focus on asymmetric attacks in urban environments as winter set in. MG Stein presented a graph that detailed a significant spike in attacks over August, followed by a steady decrease since, and stated that attacks in Regional Command-East were down 40% since summer. He told the NAC that UAE officials had recently visited Kandahar and confirmed that $30 million for Kandahar reconstruction had been approved "in principle" in Abu Dhabi. He briefed that while the Composite HQ is beginning to stand up through the implementation of a phased training and integration plan, (that began in October 2006 and will conclude in February 2007),nations had not yet fully staffed the HQ, leaving 150 slots unfilled. MG Stein reiterated CJSOR shortfalls, highlighting that this hampers COMISAF,s ability to act proactively. ¶5. (C) The Canadian Ambassador stated that the Taliban continued to return to the area around Kandahar, asserting the only reason for a decrease in attacks was that the Taliban had chosen not to engage ISAF. He reiterated that additional resources were needed in the south and said he hoped CHODs would be successful in addressing the CJSOR. The UK briefed on development activities run out of PRT Lashkar Gah and continued to defend its recent deal with the local shura and withdrawal from Musa Qala. The Netherlands briefed on FM Bot,s early November travel to Afghanistan and Pakistan. FM Bot had returned to The Hague "moderately optimistic," noting that local leaders in Uruzgan wanted more development, but were happy with the presence of international security forces. Italy briefed on FM D,Alema,s November 11 trip to Afghanistan, reporting that President Karzai, FM Spanta, and UN SRSG Koenigs had expressed "interest" in the FM,s idea for an international conference on Afghanistan in Rome. ¶6. (SBU) NATO Response Force (NRF): Under AOB, the SYG stated that he was seeking agreement on his Common Funding compromise proposal (contained in SG(2006)0809) for short-notice NRF deployments, which was discussed at the 14 November PermReps, Coffee. Reaching agreement on the proposal soon would "give us a sporting chance" at achieving NRF full operating capability by Riga. French PermRep Duqu said his instructions confirmed that the paper was on "the right track" and he put forward two amendments to the paper. The Belgian PermRep put down a marker that his government might also be proposing new amendments. UK PermRep Eldon said that the UK would be willing to work constructively toward agreement, but did not want the document referred back to the Executive Working Group. AMB Nuland recommended that the SYG,s office write a revised document that incorporated French comments and then put the document out under silence before the end of the week. The SYG indicated that he would do so. -------------- Balkans/Kosovo -------------- ¶7. (SBU) The SYG told the NAC that during the period leading up to the Serbian parliamentary elections, NATO should USNATO 00000676 003 OF 003 coordinate with other international organizations and continue prudent military planning for implementing a Kosovo status agreement. The D/CMC reported that there was no violent reaction to last week's announcement of status delay, but cautioned that tensions could increase if the process is dragged out. He mentioned that the Balkans Autumn PMR was approved and sent to the SYG. The D/CMC added that military authorities are requesting additional political guidance that would help sharpen the focus on planning for KFOR,s role during settlement implementation and its post-status future role. -------------- Darfur -------------- ¶8. (SBU) The SYG said UN Secretary General Kofi Annan had called him to emphasize the importance of the meeting on November 16 in Addis Ababa on ways to move the peace process forward in Darfur. The UN, Government of Sudan, and other international actors (including the Arab League) will be in attendance. Annan stated that he hoped an AU-UN hybrid option, financed by the UN, would be a solution agreeable to all parties. Whichever option was implemented, Annan said the UN would come back to ask for NATO assistance. -------------- Iraq -------------- ¶9. (U) The SYG noted he has circulated a document tasking NMAs to provide proposals in response to Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki,s request for further training. The Spanish PermRep reminded the NAC that the EU has been in Iraq for 18 months doing the same thing (i.e. police training) and that it would be important to coordinate with the EU. (Comment: The letter from Maliki (Nov 06) asks specifically for gendarmerie-like training that "bridges the gap between routine police actions and military operations.") ¶10. (C) D/CMC Baptiste stated that, due to security environment changes as noted by NTM-I and JFC Naples, 14 contract guards have been redeployed from the International Zone to Ar-Rustamiyah to augment security. SHAPE has issued a revised CJSOR for the force generation conference November 21-23, requesting a 30-man internal security platoon to provide enhanced security to NATO facilities within Ar-Rustamiyah. Baptiste stated that this force will be complementary to the Iraqi Base Defense Battalion, which remains responsible for perimeter security. -------------- Any Other Business -------------- ¶11. (SBU) NATO-UN Agreement Still In Process: The SYG said that during a recent call with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, the UNSYG had raised status of the NATO-UN Declaration. Annan had suggested aiming for some form of agreement with the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO),since a more wide-ranging agreement might take longer to conclude. The SYG said he was amenable to this, since it was the UN that had originally proposed an agreement with NATO. He was meeting with UN Deputy Secretary General Malloch Brown later that day to discuss plans for such an agreement and said he would brief PermReps more extensively the following week. NULAND