NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL READOUT - NOVEMBER 21, 2007

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 06 USNATO 000616 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/23/2017 TAGS: NATO PREL AF SUBJECT: NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL READOUT - NOVEMBER 21, 2007 USNATO 00000616 001.2 OF 006 Classified By: DCM Richard G. Olson for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C/NF) Summary from the NAC Meeting: -- Afghanistan: SHAPE reported that November through February historically has been a period of reduced activity by Opposing Militant Forces (OMF),but OMF would likely seek to retain a high op tempo in limited areas. Ambassador Nuland noted that she had asked SYG de Hoop Scheffer to explore the possibility of using newly-provided video technology to establish a weekly joint ISAF-Afghan press briefing, which could be fed into European news outlets. Dutch PermRep Schaper noted a November 21 report by the Senlis Council which cited "54 percent" of Afghanistan under Taliban control and questioned how NATO would push back on those allegations. The Canadian PermRep commented that NATO had been caught behind the curve by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour's comments critical of ISAF,s role in civilian casualties in Afghanistan, which were picked up by wire services without any response from NATO. Deputy Chairman of the Military Committee (D/CMC) said criticism of civilian casualties highlighted the need for NATO meet Afghan army training commitments since experience has shown that Afghans are much more tolerant of civilian casualties caused by their own forces. On strategic communications, he stressed the need to hold the Afghan government accountable for delivering the right message to its people. -- Balkans: The NAC received an update on Troika-led negotiations. The SYG will travel to Kosovo prior to the December Foreign Ministerial. -- Darfur: D/ASYG Jochems is in Addis Ababa for talks with African Union (AU) officials concerning NATO's current role and future opportunities to support the AU's actions in the region. -- Iraq: The periodic review of the NTM-I and is now under silence in the Policy Coordination Group. The DSYG noted that the Italian non-paper on the future of NTM-I and NATO's relationship with Iraq was a positive contribution. PC is now to discuss next partner steps. -- Autumn 2007 CNAD and NC3B Meetings: ASG Flory briefed the Council of the autumn meetings of the CNAD and NC3B. The UK praised the CNAD's focus on developing capabilities for use in operations. D/CMC Eikenberry complemented CNAD on its focus on long-term and near-term armaments support for the warfighter and reiterated the need for Allied Ground Surveillance (AGS). Estonia voiced support for NATO's work on the issue of cyber defense, and Ambassador Nuland said that the U.S. anticipates a cyber defense package for Bucharest. ASYG Flory is trying to increase formal interactions necessary to make NATO and the European Defense Agency mutually supporting and complementary. The Netherlands welcomed the expansion of defense against terrorism (DAT) initiatives to NATO partners and questioned how NATO could involve partners in capability development. USNATO 00000616 002 OF 006 Ambassador Nuland encouraged PermReps to consider the U.S. paper on helicopters for discussion in Vilnius and welcomed an earlier (late November) conclusion of the MD feasibility study. -- Response to Terrorism: The DSYG informed the NAC that the Ukrainian ship Lutsk has completed force integration training and will be deployed on November 24 to support Operation Active Endeavor, pending final NAC approval. He said a Russian ship was in the certification process now as well. -- Statements on Political Subjects: Ambassador Nuland previewed upcoming meetings of the UNSC, noting that the Council is scheduled to vote Wednesday on a resolution renewing the mandate of EUFOR in Bosnia and Herzegovina and will meet November 26 to review Secretary-General Ban's report on the deployment of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID). -- AOB: Ambassador Nuland told the NAC that Iran's November 20 test of a new medium range ballistic missile had failed mid-flight. END SUMMARY. -------------- Afghanistan -------------- ¶2. (C/NF) Deputy Secretary General Bisogniero chaired in SYG de Hoop Scheffer's absence (comment: the SYG is in Afghanistan with SACEUR, and will have Thanksgiving dinner with U.S. troops). Bisogniero thanked Iceland for its 100,000 euro contribution to the ISAF Post-Operations Humanitarian Relief Fund. ¶3. (C/NF) SHAPE DCOS Ops MG Wright provided the operations update to the NAC. He stated that November through February historically has proven to be a period of reduced activity by Opposing Militant Forces (OMF) against ISAF forces, but OMF would likely seek to retain a high op tempo in limited areas. He noted that the Pakistani army had taken over operations from the Frontier Corps in Swat, and said ISAF's lines of communication through Pakistan remained open and were not currently threatened by the political situation in the country. ¶4. (C/NF) Looking at key operations throughout Afghanistan, MG Wright briefed that HQ ISAF had issued orders for the redeployment of both the Theater Task Force (TTF) and the RC-Capital Portuguese Quick Reaction Force to RC-South. The Portuguese QRF will see action in Zabul province. MG Wright complimented Operation HAREKATE YOLO II, which had successfully created the conditions in the region on the border of RC-West (Badghis province) and RC-North (Faryab province) for ANSF to establish a permanent presence. Both RC-West and RC-North commanders had cooperated closely on the planning and execution of this operation, which had seen USNATO 00000616 003 OF 006 Afghan forces take the lead, with ISAF support in clearing out OMF, and delivering aid to the local population. In RC-South, he noted Task Force Helmand is focused on cutting off OMF reinforcements in the Sangin and Gereshk areas, as well as continuing operations by the ANA 201st Corp in Tora Bora. On counternarcotics, MG Wright stated that ISAF forces continue to support IRoA efforts, to include information operations, logistics support, in extremis support, and intelligence sharing; he pointed to particularly good cooperation in RC-East. ¶5. (C/NF) Ambassador Nuland noted that she had asked SYG de Hoop Scheffer, while in Afghanistan this week with SACEUR, to explore the possibility of using the new 1-star ISAF spokesman together with new U.S.- and Danish-provided video technology to establish a weekly joint ISAF-Afghan press briefing, which could be fed into European news outlets. Dutch PermRep Schaper noted a November 21 report by the Senlis Council which cited "54 percent" of Afghanistan under Taliban control and a crisis-level security situation. Schaper wryly questioned the report's credibility, but was joined by Italy, Canada, and Germany in asking how NATO would push back on those allegations, and whether NATO had figures and analysis to counter these charges. MG Wright stated that SHAPE could provide a relevant intelligence brief. The Norwegian PermRep stated that his embassy in Kabul had reported some grumbling from UNAMA over a lack of coordination by ISAF in planning Operation HAREKATE YOLO II, which resulted in substandard assistance being delivered in its aftermath, and asked for some of the back-story to this from MG Wright. MG Wright cited the lack of UNAMA presence throughout Afghanistan as well as the lack of a single point of contact on development and assistance issues among the international community with whom ISAF can coordinate as limiting factors, but assured the Norwegian of SHAPE and ISAF's commitment to the most effective civ-mil cooperation possible. ¶6. (C/NF) The Canadian PermRep commented that NATO had been caught behind the curve again as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) Louise Arbour's comments critical of ISAF's role in civilian casualties in Afghanistan were picked up by wire services without any response from NATO. UK PermRep Eldon, supported by Turkey, suggested that NATO reach out to UNHCHR to try to set the record straight, and work on some of the institutional perceptions that inform unhelpful comments such as those issued by Arbour. Eldon also announced UK plans to pay for the transport of donated Czech helicopters to Afghanistan, and urged Allies to make a greater effort on equipment support to the Afghan army. The German PermRep expressed concern that all signs pointed to OMF using the Musa Qala district center in Helmand as a sanctuary, and asked if SHAPE had signs of similar situations elsewhere in Afghanistan. ¶7. (C/NF) Taking an overarching approach to the questions, D/CMC Eikenberry reminded the Council to look not only at a sanctuary such as Musa Qala within Afghanistan, but also to USNATO 00000616 004 OF 006 sanctuary being provided to OMF outside of Afghanistan, such as Pakistan. He strongly questioned the credibility of the Senlis Council report. He showed the link between the controversy of civilian casualties and NATO's inability to meet Afghan army training commitments: experience has shown that Afghans are much more tolerant of civilian casualties caused by their own forces as opposed to those caused by foreign forces. On strategic communications, he stressed the need to hold the Afghan government accountable for delivering the right message to its people. ¶8. (C/NF) Ambassador Nuland strongly supported D/CMC's comments, noting that, disappointingly, during both the Senlis Council press release and Louise Arbour's comments, the Government of Afghanistan has been silent. -------------- Balkans -------------- ¶9. (C/NF) The DSYG updated the Council on the November 20 Troika negotiations with the parties in Brussels saying although it was the most constructive meeting to date, there were no breakthroughs and the chances of achieving a settlement appear slim. He said the next round of talks would take place in Austria around November 28. He also noted the relative calm during the November 17 elections in Kosovo and said the preliminary results show the Democratic Party of Kosovo led by Hashim Thaci in the lead. The D/CMC updated the Council on the security situation saying that the German operational reserve unit had deployed to support Multi-National Task Force-East,s increased patrolling along the Macedonian border rather than Multi-National Task Force- North as initially planned. He further noted that NATO,s international military staff on November 15 received SHAPE's autumn 2007 operational update for the Balkans joint area of operations. In response to the U.S. request for more information on the Troika-led discussions, DASYG Pardew provided a further readout noting the more positive tone of the meeting, but lack of substantive progress. Pardew reiterated the slim chances for an agreement. He also mentioned that Serbia, led by Prime Minister Kostunica, harshly rejected the Troika idea of a "status neutral" agreement. This drew a response from the Greek PermRep, who said that it was Russia who had prevented the Troika from formally presenting the proposal during the talks so Serbia did not reject it. Pardew stated that Russia's rejection was not reflected in the reporting to the Contact Group and that the report they received from the Troika asserted that the Kostunica very sharply rejected the status-neutral proposal. The DSYG concluded by saying that the SYG will be traveling to Kosovo at some point before the upcoming NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting on December 6-7. -------------- Darfur -------------- USNATO 00000616 005 OF 006 ¶10. (C/NF) The DSYG reported that D/ASYG Jochems was in Addis Ababa for talks with African Union (AU) officials concerning NATO's current role and future opportunities to support the AU's actions in the region. -------------- Iraq -------------- ¶11. (C/NF) The DSYG noted that the periodic mission review of the NTM-I was under silence following the Policy Coordination Group's (PCG) review. The DYSG also commented that as indicated by the SYG a report would be forthcoming and circulated to Allies on the SYG's meeting with Iraqi Foreign Minister Zebari. ¶12. (C/NF) On the issue of the Italian non-paper on future additional training at NTM-I and a possible future NATO partnership relationship with Iraq, the DSYG asked for the NAC's consent (which was given by silence),to direct the PCG to draft recommendations for the NAC on future training and the Political Committee to do the same on partnership tools that could be opened to Iraq. -------------- Autumn 2007 CNAD and NC3B Meetings -------------- ¶13. (C/NF) ASG Flory briefed on the autumn meeting of the Conference of National Armaments Directors (CNAD) and the NATO Consultation, Command and Control Agency (NC3B). The UK PermRep said that the CNAD meeting had been one of the most productive yet and welcomed the focus on capabilities for operations. D/CMC Eikenberry complimented CNAD for its focus on long-term and near-term armaments support for the warfighter and reiterated the need for Allied Ground Surveillance (AGS). Spain said that since the primary AGS acquisition is in one country (the U.S Global Hawk UAV),cost share should equal work share so the remaining nations do not have to pay more. Ambassador Nuland stated that the U.S. had invested billions in the development of the Global Hawk and that the U.S. would not pass these costs on to NATO, but would also not pay twice. Poland asked if AGS could be used to complement other Alliance programs such as treaty verification. France noted it withdrew from AGS at the CNAD meeting for financial reasons. Italy requested clarification of the basing for AGS and was told it was in process. ¶14. (C/NF) Estonia supported NATO's work on the issue of cyber defense. Ambassador Nuland welcomed progress in cyber defense and expressed the hope there would be a cyber defense package ready in time for the Bucharest Summit. The UK noted the European Defense Agency's (EDA) participation in the CNAD meeting (the EDA Deputy Executive Director attended the PfP session) and encouraged more NATO-EDA coordination. ASYG Flory said he is trying to increase formal interactions necessary to make NATO and the EDA mutually supporting and complementary. The Netherlands welcomed the expansion of USNATO 00000616 006 OF 006 defense against terrorism (DAT) initiatives to partners and questioned how NATO could involve partners in capability development (i.e., Turkey remained silent). No nations objected to the statements regarding closer NATO-EDA ties and more involvement of partners in DAT or capability development. Ambassador Nuland encouraged PermReps to consider the U.S. paper on steps to address NATO's helicopter shortfall that had been distributed that day. She noted that ASYG Flory had said that the CNAD's Missile Defense work, considering how NATO work fits with the U.S. MD efforts, will be completed by the end of November, ahead of schedule. -------------- Response to Terrorism -------------- ¶15. (C/NF) The DSYG informed the NAC that the Ukrainian ship Lutsk has completed force integration training and would participate in Operation Active Endeavor (OAE) from November 24 to December 11, subject to the NAC's final political approval. D/CMC Eikenberry noted that he expected SACEUR's letter of approval to be submitted to the NAC today. He also reported that a Russian ship is in the certification process and this issue soon will be brought to the NAC for expeditious approval to maximize the amount of time it could deploy with OAE. -------------- Statements on Political Subjects -------------- ¶16. (C/NF) Ambassador Nuland reported that the UNSC is scheduled to vote today on a resolution renewing the mandate of EUFOR in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In addition, she reported that the UNSC will meet on November 26 to review Secretary-General Ban's report on the deployment of the SIPDIS African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) and that NATO's support of peacekeeping forces in Sudan remain an important element of international peace efforts. Finally, Ambassador Nuland noted that the UNSC will hear a report on efforts to implement UNSCR 1701 on Lebanon on November 27. --- AOB --- ¶17. (C/NF) Ambassador Nuland told the NAC that Iran's tested of a new medium range ballistic missile on November 20 had failed mid-flight. NULAND