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 USNATO 00000442 002 OF 003 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, USNATO 00000442 003 OF 003 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