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

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NOFORN
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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.

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Western Balkans
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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.

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Afghanistan
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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

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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.

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Balkans/Kosovo
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7. (SBU) The SYG told the NAC that during the period leading
up to the Serbian parliamentary elections, NATO should

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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.

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Darfur
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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.

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Iraq
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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.

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Any Other Business
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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