NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL READOUT APRIL 4, 2007

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 USNATO 000230 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/03/2017 TAGS: NATO PREL AF SUBJECT: NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL READOUT APRIL 4, 2007 REF: USNATO 228 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Ian Kelly for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Note: The April 4 exchange of views on the spring 2007 assessment of Armenia,s Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) reported reftel. -- Afghanistan: NAC agrees to task NMAs for advice on how to support EU police mission. International organizations meet more regularly in Kabul. LTG Eikenberry takes over as Deputy Chairman of the Military Committee (D/CMC). SHAPE DCOS Ops MG Stein, in final NAC brief, points to positive indicators in-country and urges more effort on ANA training and mentoring. -- Kosovo: SHAPE completes Transition Directive for KFOR and forwards it to the Military Committee. Italy pledges to maintain its carbinieri unit in KFOR, while offering additional carbinieri forces for the EU,s rule of law mission. END SUMMARY. Afghanistan -------------- ¶2. (C) Deputy Secretary General Minuto-Rizzo, chairing, sought and received NAC consensus to task NMAs for rapid advice in response to a letter from EU SG/HR Solana that asked ISAF to assist the future ESDP police mission in Afghanistan with logistical support, which, according to the letter, &( may include ( the provision of accommodation, food, MEDEVAC, CIS, and in extremis security arrangements.8 The UK and Germany encouraged quick, positive action on this request by NMAs, as well as the NAC when advice comes to Council. SHAPE DCOS Ops, MG Stein, noted that SHAPE had already been talking with EU staff and was prepared to move quickly. ¶3. (C) The D/SYG welcomed new D/CMC LTG Karl Eikenberry, former commander of Combined Forces Command ) Afghanistan, and bade farewell to MG Stein. MG Stein will be replaced by U.S. General Rudy Wright, formerly DCOS Strategic Communications in MNF-I in Baghdad. The D/SYG told the NAC that SCR Everts had intensified dialogue with UNAMA and the EU in Kabul, and the three actors were now meeting weekly. ISAF and others in the international community had supported the Afghan government in flood relief over the past week, the D/SYG relayed, and he asked NMAs to track the situation following the April 3 earthquake in eastern Afghanistan, should the Afghan government ask ISAF for help. ¶4. (C) MG Stein, in his last brief to the NAC, reminded the Council that offensive operations under Operation Now Ruz were aimed to support ongoing development efforts, and degrade insurgents, ability to conduct operations, thus increasing the legitimacy and influence of the Afghan government. He praised joint operations conducted by ISAF with the ANSF under Now Ruz. Realistic that much remained to be done, he cited several tactical successes as proof that ISAF,s efforts were working: positive civilian responses to the energetic governor of Paktika; a $1.5 million road complex to ease market access in Nangarhar; and significant improvements to the power situation in Kandahar already from the unfinished Kajaki Dam project. Nonetheless, governance must be improved, and more Afghan security forces developed, he concluded. He cited the COMISAF &Post Operations Humanitarian Relief Fund8 as worthwhile, but stated more Allies should donate to it (only $540,000 are currently in its coffers),and its mandate should be expanded to include post-combat quick impact projects. Turning to NATO,s &Operational Mentor Liaison Teams8 (OMLTs),he noted that NATO was still short by 26 of the 46 OMLTs it had pledged, and said that SHAPE would have some proposals to send forward &in the near future8 on ways to ease requirements for USNATO 00000230 002 OF 002 fielding OMLTs that could make it more feasible for some Allies to provide these crucial trainers. ¶5. (C) Luxembourg announced a 50,000-euro contribution to NATO,s trust fund for ANA equipment support and that it also will provide 100,000-euros toward training projects. The German PermRep informed the NAC that the EU,s Political and Security Committee (PSC) had approved the CONOPS for the upcoming ESDP police mission in Afghanistan, and an EU civilian response team was heading to Kabul soon to take preparation further following the decision. The UK PermRep agreed with MG Stein on the importance of governance in Afghanistan, and noted that both Chancellor of the Exchequer Brown and MOD Browne recently visited the country. The Canadian PermRep briefed on continuing high-level travel to Afghanistan by a range of Canadian officials, underscoring Canada,s commitment to the mission. Kosovo -------------- ¶6. (C) The DSYG noted the importance of the NAC,s April 2 visit to Kosovo, which not only provided a good sense of things on the ground, but also sent the right message at the right time about NATO,s continuing commitment. He provided a brief update on the April 3 meeting of the U.N. Security Council, which the UK PermRep further elaborated on during his intervention. ¶7. (C) The CMC noted that SHAPE has finished drafting the transition directive that would give COMKFOR the tools necessary to confront any difficulties during the 120-day transition phase. It is now with the international military committee for its consideration. The MC hopes to have the document ready for NAC consideration by the end of April. The transition directive would not take effect until after the adoption of a new UNSCR. The CMC added that investigation continues into last weekend,s RPG attack on a Serbian monastery. ¶8. (C) The Italian Charge informed the NAC that Rome has no intention of pulling its Carbinieri multi-national support unit from KFOR and pledged to maintain its current strength of 120 personnel. Rome is planning to offer an additional 140 Carbinieri personnel as part of the EU,s Rule-of-Law mission, which would help the EU meet its commitment to have capable crowd and riot control police. ¶9. (C) Responding to the Slovenian PermRep,s inquiry, ASYG Pardew explained that NATO-EU technical agreement drafts now have been fully coordinated within NATO and said there would be another NATO-EU staff level meeting dealing with the technical agreements later in April. He also pointed out that the technical agreements would not come into effect until after the 120-day transition period. KELLY