NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL READOUT AUGUST 1 2007

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 USNATO 000442

SIPDIS

NOFORN
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/31/2017
TAGS: NATO PREL AF
SUBJECT: NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL READOUT AUGUST 1 2007

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


1. (C) Summary from the NAC Meeting:

-- Afghanistan: The Deputy Secretary General (DSYG) reported
on a series of ISAF-related decisions in the Military
Committee. The Deputy Chairman of the Military Committee
briefed the Council again on the need for rotary wing
capability for RC-South when the U.S. bridging force
withdraws at the end of January. The Spanish, U.S. and Dutch
Perm Reps called for an increased Afghan government profile
in strategic communications and Ambassador Nuland asked for
greater detail on ISAF and the ANF,s ability to hold
territory in the Sangin Valley.

-- Balkans: The D/SYG reported that Pristina, Belgrade, and
Moscow have accepted the Troika format of new future status
of Kosovo negotiations under the Contact Group. Moscow has
appointed its representative, and the UN SYG will publicly
inaugurate the 120-day round of talks.

-- Darfur: D/SYG noted that the UNSC approved the hybrid
AU-UN force for Darfur and that NATO should anticipate future
requests for strategic airlift of the AU-UN force.

-- AOB: D/SYG announced the appointment of new COMKFOR POLAD
from France. He also discussed the role of Euro-Atlantic
Disaster Response Coordination Center (EADRCC) assistance in
fighting forest fires in southern Europe. U.S. briefed on
Rice/Gates visit to Middle East, and Gulf Security Dialogue.

END SUMMARY.

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

2. (C) The Deputy SYG noted that a second Korean hostage had
been killed in Afghanistan, which he said underscored the
inhuman tactics of the Taliban. He also reported that ISAF
continued to coordinate with the government of Afghanistan in
preparation for the August 9-12 Peace Jirga with Pakistan.
The DSYG noted a number of recently approved NATO documents
concerning Afghanistan: the Military Committee (MC) approved
procedures for the acceptance of troop contributions to
NATO-led operations from non-NATO nations; the MC approved an
amendment to ISAF's OPLAN adjusting the higher-level command
and control structure; and the MC approved advice to the NAC
concerning COMISAF's intention to integrate ANA officers into
HQ ISAF and the RC HQs.


3. (C) The Deputy Chairman of the Military Committee (DCMC)
LTGEN Eikenberry briefed the Council on the need for rotary
wing capability for RC-South, to replace the U.S. bridging
force which will be withdrawn at the end of January. He
noted that helicopters were a critical enabler for numerous
combat and non-combat tasks. The U.S. had extended the
bridging force through January 2008, but had decided not to
extend it further. He said SHAPE expected force generation
for the helicopters would be very difficult. Eikenberry said
the three options for filling this capability: continuing
force generation efforts; outsourcing some of the rotary wing
needs; and accelerated deployment of Afghan rotary wing
capabilities. He stressed this capability was critical to
the mission.


4. (C) Spanish PermRep Benavides raised the Strategic
Communications Plan for Afghanistan, stressing that the
Afghan government needed to take a more public role in public

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diplomacy efforts. He also confirmed that the Spanish
Parliament had approved the deployment of two OMLTs that
would deploy in September. He also reported that an MOU
would probably be signed in August with the Afghan government
for the Spanish to train and equip two ANA companies that
would be deployed in the West.


5. (C) Ambassador Nuland supported Benavides' point on the
need to put an Afghan face on the strategic communications
effort as soon as possible, noting there had been another
disputed claim of civilian casualties caused by ISAF this
week, but there were no Afghan government public statements
on the issue. She also asked for more details on ISAF
operation CHAKUSH, in which ISAF had gone back in to the
Sangin Valley. She asked how ISAF might take and hold the
territory so it did not have to repeat offensive operations
in the same area. Nuland confirmed the U.S. helicopter
bridging force would only be available to RC-South through
January, and she encouraged Allies to dig deep to come up
with helicopters, especially Allies that are not currently
deployed in the South. The Dutch Deputy Perm Rep also
seconded Nuland and Benavides' point on the need for an
Afghan face on strategic communications.


6. (C) In response to Ambassador Nuland's question, DCMC
Eikenberry said COMISAF has reported that he remains
challenged to hold and retain ground because of the shortage
of Afghan National Army and Police units, which relates to
the shortage of OMLTs. He said he would return to the NAC
with additional tactical details on operation CHAKUSH.

Balkans
--------------

7. (C) The D/SYG gave a readout on the July 25 Contact Group
meeting, where it was agreed to undertake a new round of
Kosovo status negotiations facilitated by a Troika format
consisting of the U.S., EU, and Russia. During the Contact
Group conference call Monday, Russia confirmed its
participation in the Troika, where its current representative
to the Contact Group, Ambassador Alexander Bostan-Kharchenko,
will join U.S. Ambassador Frank Wisner and EU representative
Ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger. The D/SYG also noted the UN
SYG would be asked to issue a public statement inaugurating
the new phase in status negotiations, which will last 120
days, after which point the Troika will report on its
progress to the UN SYG. Belgrade and Pristina "seem to
accept this new course of action."

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

8. (SBU) D/CMC reported that France and Germany (through the
EU) agreed to airlift the Senegalese battalion and the
Gambian battalion into Darfur as part of a troop rotation
within the existing Heavy AU force. The South African
battalion will self-deploy. He noted that the U.S. and UK
have been approached through NATO to airlift the 3 Rwandan
(U.S.) and the 3 Nigerian (U.K.) battalions. Neither U.S.
nor UK confirmed their participation in the NATO airlift.

AOB: New COMKFOR POLAD; EADRCC Assistance; Ambassador Nuland
Demarches Rice/Gates Middle East Visit
-------------- --------------

9. (C) D/SYG alerted Allies to SG0546 on appointment of
Romuald Pichard of France as COMKFOR POLAD; he thanked France
for this contribution. D/SYG then discussed forest fires in
southern Europe and noted NATO,s EADRCC assistance to all
countries that asked for help (Bulgaria, Bosnia-Herzegovina,

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Albania, and Macedonia). He stressed that engagement would
continue as necessary. The Bulgarian DCM noted that forest
fires in his country were being controlled and were getting
smaller, and indicated that Bulgaria no longer required
international assistance. He thanked NATO for its support and
noted the importance of the EADRCC,s coordinating role.
Ambassador Nuland outlined the U.S. comprehensive strategy on
Iran and the Gulf Security Dialogue, noting that press
reports on arms sales to the region were focusing on only one
part of the larger U.S. comprehensive strategy. She noted
that Rice,s meeting on 31 July with Egypt was the latest in
a series of &GCC 28 talks (between the US and the GCC
countries plus Egypt and Jordan).


NULAND