S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 04 USNATO 000029

SIPDIS

NOFORN
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/17/2017
TAGS: NATO PREL AF
SUBJECT: NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL READOUT JANUARY 17, 2007


Classified By: DCM Richard G. Olson for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (S) SUMMARY:

-- Afghanistan: The NAC agreed to invite UN, EU, World Bank,
Japan, and South Korea to January 26 Foreign Ministerial
session on Afghanistan with troop contributors and Afghan
Foreign Minister Spanta. The SYG will invite Afghan Minister
of Defense Wardak to Seville meeting of NATO Defense
Ministers. The Chairman of the Military Committee (CMC)
detailed the recent heavy fighting on the Pakistan border,
highlighting the cooperation of the Pakistani military
liaison to ISAF.

-- Kosovo: SYG met with Kosovo President Sejdiu on January
15, and reiterated NATO,s commitment to Kosovo and the
Ahtisaari-led process. The SYG announced that the Contact
Group will meet on January 26, in Vienna. KFOR increases
operational tempo in five polling areas ahead of elections.

-- UNSYG visit to NATO: UN SYG Ban Ki Moon to visit Brussels
January 24; address to NAC or meeting with PermReps under
consideration.

-- Darfur: NATO awaits clarification of how AU-UN "heavy8
and &hybrid8 packages will be deployed, and how NATO may
assist.

-- Iraq: Joint JFC-Naples and Italy police training
assessment mission underway in Iraq; Hungary to take over
MALT leadership in July 2007.

-- SACT Briefs NAC: SACT General Smith briefed the NAC on
&SACT Key Issues and Priorities for 2007.8

-- NATO Special Committee: The Special Committee's outgoing
German Chairman presented the 2006 annual report and the
incoming Greek Chairman presented the work program for 2007.

-- AOB: U.S. shares Middle East news with NAC as USNATO
POLAD hands out January 16 Gulf Cooperation Council-Plus-Two
Ministerial joint statement.

End Summary.

Afghanistan
--------------

2. (C) SYG de Hoop Scheffer sought NAC consensus to invite
representatives from the UN, EU, World Bank, Japan, and South
Korea to a Ministerial meeting with ISAF non-NATO troop
contributors and Afghan FM Spanta on January 26. France, on
instructions, did not object to inviting Japan or the ROK,

but noted that given the participation of international
organizations and nations not in ISAF, the meeting could
neither be labeled an ad hoc partners meeting (&26 N8),
as defined at Riga, nor an ISAF meeting. France proposed
calling the meeting simply &A Meeting on Afghanistan.8
Ambassador Nuland thanked France for the decision, expressed
some bafflement at the theological underpinnings of the
French intervention, and suggested &NAC plus Partners and
Partner Organizations8 as an alternative. The SYG said he
would issue invitations, and find an acceptable title.
PermReps also agreed to invite Afghan MOD Wardak to the
Seville informal Defense Ministerial; the SYG will issue an
invitation shortly.


3. (C) The SYG told PermReps he was looking forward to a
report from NMAs on last week's Tripartite Commission (TPC)
meeting, a &crucial forum for high-level military-military
relations and confidence building.8 He noted his &useful
discussion8 January 15 with SecDef Gates. He thanked
Iceland for its work in enabling the handover of operations
at Kabul airport to the Afghan government, including the
stationing of Icelandic advisors since February 2006. He

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told Council that both SCR Everts and General Craddock would
attend the PermReps, coffee on January 23. In response to a
Belgian question on Afghan refugees in Pakistan later in the
meeting, the SYG noted that a NATO-Pakistan political
dialogue should discuss such topics, and proposed returning
to the idea of establishing this dialogue at a later date.


4. (C) CMC Henault told the NAC that, while ISAF had
initially discovered the cross-border movement of a large
body of enemy fighters into Paktika province from Pakistan on
January 10, the ISAF ground and air operation that killed an
estimated 150 fighters was coordinated from start to finish
with the Pakistani military liaison to ISAF. While noting
that the end result was a positive one, Henault observed this
operation is further evidence that enemy operations are
emanating from Pakistan, and that the enemy views the border
area as a sanctuary. Henault also noted good progress by
ISAF in Kandahar repatriating internally displaced persons
after Operation Medusa. IMS AD for OPS Fenton told the NAC
that NATO had filled 20 of 46 Operational Mentor Liaison
Teams, (OMLTs), and urged nations to fill remaining
shortfalls.


5. (C) Ambassador Nuland asked NMAs for military thinking on
options to address the PAK-AFG border challenges, and to
include a stocktaking report on progress thus far that NATO
has made in its equipment support to the ANA. She briefed
elements of Secretary of Defense Gates, travel to
Afghanistan, noting she hoped to be able to provide a more
detailed briefing the following week. Italian Ambassador
Moreno relayed that during the recent visit of Italian MFA
Under Secretary Vernetti to Kabul, he had found President
Karzai &relaxed, optimistic, and confident,8 and that
Karzai had agreed to a judicial reform and rule of law
conference in Rome in April, co-sponsored by Italy,
Afghanistan, and the UN, with the active participation of the
EU. Moreno said that Karzai would be in Europe in
mid-February, and suggested inviting him to the NAC. Belgium
and Spain asked if the TPC had discussed Pakistani proposals
to mine the border, of particular relevance given the
upcoming January 30 meeting of Pakistani PM Aziz with the
NAC. Norway criticized an ISAF press release following the
January 10 Paktika operation that contained body counts of
enemy fighters killed. Both Ambassador Nuland and CMC
Henault pushed back hard, noting that ISAF needed to stay
ahead of the Taliban in PD efforts, and that Allies and
Afghans needed to know about ISAF successes.

Kosovo
--------------

6. (SBU) The SYG reported on his meeting with Kosovo
President Fatmir Sejdiu on 15 January. He reiterated NATO,s
undiminished commitment to Kosovo and support for the
Ahtisaari-led process. The SYG told Sejdiu that Pristina,s
leadership needed to continue to act with restraint and
moderation during the upcoming Serbian election period and
conclusion of the status process. President Sejdiu insisted
on full independence as the only acceptable outcome for
regional stability and stressed the need for guarantees on
Kosovo,s territorial integrity. The SYG informed the NAC
that technical discussions between NATO and the EU are
continuing, following the most recent meeting held on 11
January, and that the NAC will continue to receive updates.
He announced that the Contact Group will meet on 26 January
in Vienna, at which time Ahtisaari will share his status
resolution proposal.


7. (C) CMC briefed the NAC on KFOR operations in the run up
to the Serbian elections on 21 January. He said that KFOR
has increased its operational tempo in five polling areas,
including the Mitrovica area, to gain situational awareness,
deter violence, and remain ready to support UNMIK and the
Kosovo police. During the elections, KFOR will work to
ensure freedom of movement and prevent any violent reaction

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following the elections. Lastly, the SYG expressed his hope
for discussions on Kosovo during the joint NATO-EU
Transatlantic lunch to be held on 26 January.

Darfur
--------------

8. (SBU) The SYG noted the upcoming AU summit will address
the AU-UN &hybrid8 option, which may have relevance for
future NATO involvement in Darfur. He expressed concern
that the Sudanese may link support for the &hybrid8 force
to Sudan's candidacy for the AU Chairmanship. The SYG said
he would discuss the issue of NATO support today by telephone
with UNSYG Ban Ki Moon.


9. (SBU) CMC Henault noted part of the UN &light8 force was
now in Darfur, but increasing force levels was contingent on
locating accommodations. He noted that NATO had provided
more than 100 flights lifting 17,000 troops from 8 countries.
The CMC mentioned a delay in airlifting of Rwandan soldiers,
allegedly because of delays on the part of the U.S.;
Ambassador Nuland said we would seek clarification.


10. (SBU) The SYG said UNSYG Ban Ki Moon will be in Brussels
January 24 and suggested a meeting with PermReps. Ambassador
Nuland suggested the UNSYG formally address the NAC, with a
fallback of an informal lunch. French Ambassador Duqu said
he would need instructions from Paris on this issue. The SYG
responded that if France cannot agree to this &normal8
procedure it would create a &new and unique situation.8

Iraq
--------------

11. (C) The CMC reported the assessment of police training
in Iraq, a joint JFC- Naples and Italy mission, was currently
underway in Iraq. The initial report on results of the
assessment is due to SHAPE by 31 January. The Hungarian
PermRep informed the NAC that Hungary will take over
leadership of the MALT from Poland in July 2007.

SACT Briefs NAC
--------------

12. (SBU) Supreme Allied Commander for Transformation (SACT)
General Smith briefed the NAC on &SACT Key Issues and
Priorities for 2007,8 outlining the Command,s process for
translating political guidance into useful outputs for the
Alliance. SACT,s three top priorities are: improving the
preparation of Forces; improving Alliance and Partner defense
planning, interoperability and capabilities; and utilizing
NRF and ISAF as tools for transformation.


13. (SBU) In response to several questions on how SACT is
supporting Alliance efforts to implement the Comprehensive
Approach to operations and missions as outlined at Riga,
General Smith noted that it would support the development of
pragmatic proposals and has been developing thoughts on the
Effects Based Approach to Operations (EBAO). (Note: The
French PermRep intervened to state there is no consensus on
the EBAO concept as the way forward on Comprehensive
Approach.) The General also noted that ACT is already
sharing PRT lessons learned and best practices through PRT
training courses at Oberammergau.


14. (SBU) Ambassador Nuland inquired about how ACT efforts
on the NATO Training Initiative are developing. SACT noted
the first step will be the training needs assessment, which
he will present as soon as possible to the Council. The next
step will then be building the capacity in the NATO training
schools, and then finally a training center would be
established.

NATO Special Committee Activities
--------------

15. (S) The Special Committee's outgoing German Chairman
presented the 2006 annual report and the incoming Greek

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Chairman presented the work program for 2007. Both
emphasized the need for greater integration with external
intelligence services and enhanced cooperation with partner
services. To promote the external service interface, the
German external intelligence chief presented a Special
Committee threat analysis on "Current Developments in the
Balkans and Possible Effects on the Security Situation of the
Region." All twelve interventions praised the analysis and
the incoming Chairman's commitment to provide analysis
updates within 30 days of the NAC's request.

AOB: U.S. Shares Middle East News with NAC
--------------

16. (SBU) U.S. Political Advisor noted that Secretary Rice
will share her impressions of her recent trip to the Middle
East at the Transatlantic Lunch during the January 26
Informal Ministerial. He also provided the NAC with copies
of the January 16 Gulf Cooperation Council-Plus-Two
Ministerial joint statement.


17. (SBU) Schedule Note: The Chairman of the OSCE plans to
address the NAC in May.



NULAND