ISAF LIAISON GROUP TO STAY IN QATAR ANOTHER THREE

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 USNATO 000146

SIPDIS

NOFORN
SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/RPM (BROTZEN),NEA/ARP (JACHIM)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/06/2017
TAGS: MARR MOPS PREL NATO QA
SUBJECT: ISAF LIAISON GROUP TO STAY IN QATAR ANOTHER THREE
MONTHS AFTER TALKS EXTENDED

REF: A. USNATO 139 AND PREVIOUS


B. REID/BROTZEN E-MAIL 06MAR 2007

Classified By: AMB VICTORIA NULAND; REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D).

1.(U) This is a request for guidance. See para. 7,

2.(C) Summary: NATO Secretary General (SYG) Jaap de Hoop
Scheffer and the Qatari Crown Prince cleared the air between
NATO and Qatar in a March 3 telephone call, extending NATO
talks for another three months and allowing the ISAF liaison
function to continue in the interim. NATO plans to send
Qatar a new draft text of a possible broad framework
agreement within approximately two weeks and to follow up
with further talks in Doha shortly thereafter. We need to
examine our substantive negotiating input for NATO carefully
so as to make the most use of this three-month window. End
Summary.

3.(C) NATO SYG de Hoop Scheffer spoke Saturday, March 3,
with the Qatari Crown Prince, and after clearing the air,
both agreed that each will be more involved personally in
future NATO-Qatar discussions which will take place &over
the coming months.8 In discussions between NATO Deputy
Assistant General (DASG) Robert Simmons and BGEN Abdullah
later on March 3, the time frame was more clearly set as the
&next 3 months.8 As a result the NATO ISAF liaison group
working at the al-Udeid Combined Air Operations Center (CAOC)
is staying in Qatar for another three months as talks
continue (REF. A).

4.(C) Simmons plans to produce a bracketed text based on a
recent Qatari draft (only circulated at NATO Headquarters
late Monday, March 5 and sent to interested U.S. inter-agency
parties via Ref. B) and to send it to Qatar within one to two
weeks. He said it would be a common negotiating text and
would replace dueling texts which so far had yielded little
fruit. Simmons said that he already has discussed visiting
Doha for another round of talks &shortly after8 sending the
bracketed common text. He predicted at least three rounds of
talks with Qatar over the coming three months. Simmons also
said that continuing use of respective existing Allied
defense cooperation agreements (DCA) as the basis for status
of personnel in the Al-Udeid ISAF liaison group had been his
understanding of the state of play on jurisdiction in this
interim period. He also reported that agreement had been
reached between NATO and Qatar on a technical information
security agreement, such as that agreed by NATO with Kuwait
in late 2006. Simmons said that the agreement could become an
annex to a larger agreement, should it materialize.
Otherwise it could be a stand-alone document.

5.(C) Asked what closer involvement by the SYG and the
Qatari Crown Prince in the talks would mean operationally,
NATO authorities were somewhat unclear. Certainly they
expect the SYG to review outgoing proposals first hand and
perhaps to pursue a dialogue with the Crown Prince through
correspondence or calls at milestones in the discussion, such
as perhaps a cover letter to the upcoming bracketed text.
Simmons told the NATO Political Committee (PC) on March 5
that neither the Crown Prince nor BGEN Abdullah suggested any
additional flexibility in their respective discussions on
March 3. Substantive differences remain over the Qatari
desire for a NATO security guarantee and its desire for
criminal jurisdiction over NATO personnel. Simmons also
noted an interesting side discussion with Qatar on March 2 in
which Qatar had said that any prospective agreement could
apply only to current NATO Allies and not to partners or
future Allies. (Note: Simmons said that he interpreted this
to be a hedge against possible Israeli accession to NATO or
NATO work with Israel under the current Mediterranean
Dialogue Partner framework. End Note.)

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6.(C) While PC review of the state of play was
inconclusive, it suggested that few Allies would be flexible
on offering Qatar a security guarantee. Opinions were mixed
as to whether they would consider alternate formulas for
criminal jurisdiction, although prevailing opinion was to be
cautious. Several Allies, including Canada and UK, who both
welcomed the extra 90 days of liaison window at al-Udeid,
foresaw no meaningful changes in substantive positions by
either NATO or Qatar. Simmons said that, by demonstrating
last week that Allies were willing to leave Qatar, perhaps
NATO had introduced a more modest Qatari estimation of the
leverage that the ISAF liaison group,s presence at al-Udeid
represents.

7.(S/NF) Guidance request: As per last week's discussions
between Ambassador Nuland and Legal Adviser Bellinger, we
request guidance on how to move forward on a NATO agreement
on jurisdictional issues with Qatar while still protecting
the equities in our bilateral DCA.
OLSON