DUTCH AT NATO OPTIMISTIC ABOUT AUSSIE SOF

S E C R E T USNATO 000187 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR P, SCA, EAP, EUR/RPM, EUR/UBI E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/21/2017 TAGS: NATO PINS PREL MARR AF AS NL SUBJECT: DUTCH AT NATO OPTIMISTIC ABOUT AUSSIE SOF REF: A. THE HAGUE (NOTAL) 488 B. SECSTATE 34078 (NOTAL) C. CANBERRA 329 (NOTAL) Classified By: Ambassador Victoria Nuland, for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (S) Dutch Ambassador to NATO, Herman Schaper, predicted March 20 that all issues related to the deployment of additional Australian SOF to Oruzgan province would be satisfactorily resolved March 21-22 during Dutch-Aussie CHOD talks in the Hague. Schaper confirmed that the Netherlands prefers to have the additional Aussies under ISAF, and hopes that creative proposals by SACEUR to make this possible would be acceptable to Canberra. ¶2. (S) If, however, C2 and ROE cannot be worked out to the Aussies, satisfaction, Schaper also confirmed that the Dutch would rather see the Aussies in Oruzgan under OEF than not at all. This had been confirmed in a phone call between the Foreign Ministers on March 20, and the Dutch would approach the CHOD talks in the spirit of ensuring the deployment happens in some form. NULAND