NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL READOUT - SEPTEMBER 5, 2007

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 USNATO 000487 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/06/2017 TAGS: NATO PREL AF SUBJECT: NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL READOUT - SEPTEMBER 5, 2007 Classified By: CDA Richard G. Olson for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary from the NAC Meeting: -- Afghanistan: PermReps recapped the NAC,s meeting that morning with UNODC Director Costa (reported septel) and agreed to hold an informal meeting to discuss what more NATO might do within the existing ISAF OPLAN to assist the Afghans in counter-narcotics efforts. The Chairman of the Military Committee noted that SHAPE had recommended outsourcing to fill the airlift shortfall ISAF will face in January. The SYG commented it was a shame to have to take this step in the face of the lack of Allied contributions to meet airlift requirements. Ambassador Nuland said the U.S. uses contract airlift for some of its resupply flights in RC-East, but noted that the SHAPE outsourcing proposal would not cover all of the shortfall and Allies would still need to meet the rest of the airlift requirement. The Danish Perm Rep called for streamlining ISAF's procurement rules to make it easier to buy local goods and hire local employees. In the operational brief, SHAPE Operations Director MG Wright noted Opposition Military Forces (OMF) were using the area around Dai Kundi as a safe haven and transit route due to the limited Afghan National Army (ANA) presence there. ISAF's main focus remained RC-East. Wright also said the shortfall in Operational Mentoring and Liaison Teams (OMLTs) risked hindering future ANA-led operations, such as operation KYBER, which is reaching its decisive phase in RC-East. -- Balkans: The SYG noted that LTGEN Xavier Bout de Marnhac had assumed command of KFOR. The UK expressed concern about anti-NATO statements from Serbian leaders and "schizophrenic" statements expressing support for joining PfP, but not NATO. -- Darfur: The SYG informed the Council that the AU has requested NATO assistance on a study to evaluate the operational readiness of African Stand-by Force Brigades. The SYG asked the Council to approve this NATO assistance under a short silence procedure to close at 1800 on September ¶5. -- Iraq: No Discussion -- AOB: The CMC briefed on the CHOD's September 5-9 meeting in Canada. The CHOD's will discuss current operations, the review of NATO's peacetime command structure, and the NATO Response Force. END SUMMARY. Afghanistan �A; -------------- 2.(C) PermReps recapped the NAC,s meeting that morning with UNODC Director Costa (reported septel) and agreed to hold an informal meeting to discuss what more NATO might do within the existing ISAF OPLAN to assist the Afghans in counter-narcotics efforts. 3.(C) The SYG raised the NATO International Staff's proposal to restructure and expand the Senior Civilian Representative's (SCRs) office in Kabul and commonly fund it. He said the issue would be given to the Policy Coordination Group (PCG) to consider the proposal and report back to the NAC. 4.(C) The SYG noted that SHAPE would host a briefing on September 18 on ANA equipment and training. He hoped the briefing would help clear up some confusion he had seen over who was doing what in ANA equipping and training and clarify priorities. 5.(C) Chairman of the Military Committee (CMC) Henault noted that ISAF would face a shortfall of over 20 aircraft at the USNATO 00000487 002 OF 003 end of January when the U.S. bridging force would be withdrawn. In the absence of any Ally offering to fill the shortfall, SHAPE had proposed outsourcing to fill requirement (at a 45 million Euro annual cost) in a plan that called for leasing both fixed and rotary wing aircraft. This proposal would soon be formally sent to the Military Committee. In order to have contractors in place by January, a decision to pursue this option would have to be made by early October. The SYG commented that having to resort to contractors for such a critical need was a shame. While he understood the need to contract for helos given the shortage in Allied inventories, having to also contract for fixed-wing aircraft when similar planes exist in some Allies inventories was a shame. 6.(C) MG Wright provided the Operations Brief, noting that Central Afghanistan in the area of Dai Kundi and the Sangin Valley remains an area of limited ANA presence. The area is increasingly important to OMF, who use it as a safe haven and transit route. The area was playing an increasingly important role for the Taliban expansion into Badghis province and western Faryab province. The area was "not a hotbed" of OMF activity, however, since Pashtuns, the traditional supporters of the Taliban, remain in the minority. Intelligence indicated that the Iranian al-Qods force was trying to foster cooperation between the majority Hazaras and the Taliban in this area, however. Traditional tension between the two groups made significant cooperation unlikely, but the Hazaras already had facilitated some Iranian-source weapons shipments in the area. 7.(C) In RC-Capital, successful information ops and civil military cooperation activities conducted under the umbrella of Operation SHUKRAN were assessed to have resulted in an increasingly friendly attitude of the population toward ISAF. However, there was an increase in IED attacks that were apparently aimed at the entire international community. In RC-North, operation HAREKABE YOLO II, designed to prevent OMF freedom of movement, had begun. In RC-South, the main tactical, Operation GARANDAY ZMARAY, had commenced in Kandahar province. RC-East continues to be the focus of ISAF's main tactical effort. Operation KYBER, an ANA-led operation supported by ISAF, is in its decisive phase and aims to set the conditions to enable economic and political progress throughout Paktya, Paktika, and Khost provinces. Continuing this type of ANA-led operation will require increased contributions of Operational Mentoring and Liaison Teams (OMLTs). The shortfall in OMLTs remains large and will continue to grow as more ANA units complete training. MG Wright reiterated the invitation to the September 18 SHAPE briefing on ANA equipping and training, noting that while donated equipment continues to be delivered, currently 3 million Euros worth of approved donations is awaiting delivery. 8.(C) Danish PermRep Poulsen-Hansen said ISAF could enhance Afghanistan economic development by purchasing more local products and hiring more local employees. He suggested the Infrastructure Committee review ISAF procedures to remove obstacles to local procurement. Responding to the briefing on the rotary wing shortfall, Ambassador Nuland noted the U.S. contracts about 20 percent of its airlift requirements in RC-East, mainly for resupply runs but not combat missions. This arrangement has proven to be cost efficient and, in the absence of alternatives, Allies should look seriously at the SHAPE outsourcing proposal. She noted, however, that the SHAPE proposal would only cover 20 percent of the airlift shortfall, so Allies will still need to fill the remainder of the requirement. She supported Poulsen-Hansen's comment on local procurement, citing as an example the U.S. contract with an Afghan provider to provide all drinking water for the U.S. in RC-East. 9.(C) Czech PermRep Fule reported that the Czech government decided to set up and lead a PRT in Logar province. An USNATO 00000487 003 OF 003 advance team would arrive in Logar in September and they expected the PRT to be fully operational in March 2008. Balkans -------------- 10.(C) The SYG said there would be intensive diplomatic activity in the run-up to the September 27 Contact Group FMs meeting in New York with the Serbian and Kosovar leadership. On August 31, KFOR conducted its planned change of command with French LTGEN Xavier Bout de Marnhac taking over command from LTGEN Roland Kather. The SYG said he thought Gen. Kather had performed superbly and had invited him for the traditional outbrief with the NAC. CMC said KFOR's op tempo was steady and the security situation in Kosovo was stable, but not calm. KFOR continued to conduct contingency planning for all possible scenarios. 11.(C) UK Deputy PermRep Kidd said DSS leaders in Serbia continued to make "schizophrenic" statements about NATO, in which they support Serbia's membership in PfP, but explicitly oppose NATO membership. The Serbian Interior Minister had complained of the possibility that in December Kosovar Albanians could declare independence unilaterally, and Kosovo would become the "first NATO state." He noted the UK intended to raise these statements when the NAC met that afternoon with Serbian FM Jeremic (septel). Italian PermRep Stefanini said he thought it would be a mistake to make too much of Serbia's statement against joining NATO since there was no contradiction to wanting to join PfP but not NATO. Italy was concerned, however, about the public statements of Serbian leaders on Kosovo. Darfur -------------- 12.(C) The SYG informed the NAC that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon is currently on a week-long tour of Sudan, Chad and Libya, and is pressing for a political solution in Darfur and quick deployment of the AU-UN hybrid mission. He also informed the NAC that a new UN special envoy for Sudan, Ashraf Qazi, has been appointed. Qazi succeeds Jan Pronk who was PNGed by the GOS in Oct 2006. 13.(C) The SYG informed the Council that the AU has requested NATO assistance on a study to evaluate the operational readiness of African Stand-by Force Brigades. The SYG asked the Council to approve this NATO assistance under a short silence procedure to close at 1800 hrs on September 5. CHOD Meeting in September -------------- 14.(C) Under AOB, CMC briefed on the CHOD's September 5-9 meeting in Canada. The CHOD's will discuss current operations, the review of NATO's peacetime command structure, and the NATO Response Force. OLSON