UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 USNATO 000095

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

H PLEASE PASS TO SUSAN OLSON (HOUSE NATO PA DELEGATION)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: MARR NATO OREP PREL PTER
SUBJECT: SUBJECT: BACKGROUNDER FOR NATO PARLIAMENTARY
ASSEMBLY MEETING, BRUSSELS, BELGIUM

(U) This message is sensitive but unclassified. Please
handle accordingly.


1. (SBU) We look forward to your visit to Brussels, where
your presence will remind Allies once again of the strong
Congressional support for the Alliance. Today, NATO is
conducting operations on three continents bringing peace and
stability to Afghanistan and the Balkans, while supporting
peacekeeping operations in Darfur and security training in
Iraq. NATO is also building new partnerships with
like-minded security providers, such as Australia, Japan, and
Sweden, who play vital roles in supporting NATO missions.
The Alliance continues to serve as an agent of transformation
for the Nations' military forces, making them increasingly
agile and expeditionary, as required for the challenges of
the 21st century. The Riga Summit confirmed NATO's door
remains open to any European democracy and offered robust
enhancements to the Alliance's partnership programs with over
thirty countries in Eurasia, the Middle East, North Africa,
and Asia.


2. (SBU) Afghanistan remains job one for the Alliance. At
recent meetings of Foreign and Defense Ministers, the
Alliance reaffirmed its strong political commitment to
Afghanistan, and embraced a Comprehensive Approach, involving
the full use of political, economic, and military means to
bring about peace and stability in Afghanistan. Allies and
partners provided new civilian assistance contributions and a
few new military contributions. That said, we must continue
to press Allies to match words with concrete action to fill
mission force requirements, to eliminate the most harmful
restrictions on national forces (caveats), and provide
high-impact reconstruction assistance. Allied willingness to
give is affected by a number of internal political, economic,
and military factors which we'll discuss in detail when we
see you.

Post Riga Agenda


3. (SBU) The Riga Summit on November 28-29 2006 demonstrated

once again that the U.S. is leading strongly in NATO.
Alliance Heads of State and Government strengthened their
commitment to NATO,s Afghanistan and Balkans missions and
adopted new initiatives to further enhance the Alliance,s
role as a 21st century security provider, such as: enhanced
coordination among Special Forces; the establishment of a
consortium of countries who will buy C-17 aircraft to provide
much needed strategic lift capabilities; consideration of a
Middle East Security Cooperation Center with partners in the
Mediterranean and the Gulf; proposals for enhanced stability
and reconstruction operations; and a tasking to examine
NATO's role in energy security. Operationally, we showcased
NATO as an alliance that can go where the threat is and
perform the full range of operations required for mission
success. The Alliance aims to work seamlessly with other key
actors * the United Nations, European Union, African Union,
non-governmental organizations, and development agencies as
part of a broader and growing network of institutions seeking
to address global challenges.

-- Afghanistan: There is no better example of NATO
transformation into a true global instrument than
Afghanistan. NATO, through its International Security
Assistance Force (ISAF), now commands more than 34,000 troops
-- including approximately 15,000 U.S. personnel -- spanning
the entire territory of Afghanistan. All 26 Allies plus 11
NATO partner countries contribute, showcasing our vision of a
Global Partnership. ISAF is driving real transformation at
NATO - changes the U.S. has sought are being validated by the
mission, such as strategic airlift, increased attention to
Afghan National Army and Police training, SOF coordination,
and intelligence sharing. NATO,s success in Afghanistan is
not guaranteed, and we have been pushing Allies hard to
provide NATO military commanders the resources and forces
they say they need to take the fight to the Taliban this
spring, and to deliver the follow-up assistance necessary to
secure military gains. President Bush,s $10.6 billion
request to Congress for Afghanistan development and security
force training funds, announced here by Secretary Rice at the
January 26 ministerial, was a clarion signal to Allies to of
U.S. commitment. While leading by example, we need to keep
urging Allied leaders and legislators to dig deep and follow

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up on the commitment made by Heads of State and Government at
the Riga Summit: to ensure that ISAF has the forces,
resources, and flexibility needed to ensure the mission,s
continued success.

-- Kosovo: NATO remains firmly engaged in Kosovo through the
NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) which is the Alliance,s second
largest military mission, with over 16,000 troops from more
than 25 countries participating. On February 2, U.N. Special
Envoy Ahtisaari presented his proposal for the resolution of
Kosovo,s status to Belgrade and Pristina and plans to have
both parties engage on the document over the next couple of
weeks. SYG Jaap de Hoop Scheffer will travel to the region
on February 15 with a message of NATO unity behind Ahtisaari.
Current planning is focused on providing a safe and secure
environment during the concluding phase of the status
process, as well as preparing for NATO,s post-status role as
both security provider and in mentoring and training a new
Kosovo security force. The U.S. remains committed to peace
and stability in the Balkans with approximately 1,650 troops
in Kosovo and assists the other countries in the region on
defense reform.

-- Global Partnership: At NATO,s Riga Summit, the Alliance
agreed to expand its partnerships to interested democratic
Contact Countries, to open the Partnership for Peace (PfP)
"toolbox" to these new global partners, and to improve
political consultations with all partners through new, more
flexible "26 n" formats. This has already led to high-level
consultations, including January visits by the Japanese and
Pakistani Prime Ministers respectively to brief the NAC, as
well as the first stages of opening all PfP tools to
Mediterranean Dialogue and Istanbul Cooperation Initiative
participants and to other contributors to NATO-led
operations, from Australia to Argentina.

-- Enlargement: Reflecting NATO,s open door policy, the
Alliance at Riga invited Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro,
and Serbia into NATO's Partnership for Peace program and
looks forward to fostering further reform efforts in those
respective countries. The Alliance continues to actively
engage both Georgia and Ukraine to deepen their respective
reform efforts as they move closer to Euro-Atlantic
integration. Albania, Croatia, and Macedonia are all working
hard to make the grades in 2008.

-- Russia: The NATO-Russia Council (NRC) continues to foster
engagement with Russia as we have moved forward on joint
initiatives such as counter-narcotics training in Central
Asia, nuclear emergency drills, and some theatre missile
defense work. For the first time in history, a Russian
warship served under a NATO flag last year as part of
Operation Active Endeavor, the Alliance,s Article V
counter-terrorism operation in the Mediterranean. The
Russians intend on participating again in Active Endeavor and
will supply another warship this year. However, differences
between Russia and the Alliance continue, particularly over
NATO,s partnership with Georgia and over Kosovo,s final
status. At the recent Munich Security Conference, President
Putin signaled a more robust assertion of Russian national
interests and blasted NATO's enlargement, evidence that
2007-2008 may be complex years for the NRC.



4. (SBU) As always, we,re working on a rich and ambitious
agenda in support of U.S. global interests, and I look
forward to welcoming you to Brussels and discussing this
agenda with you this weekend. As usual, we'll put you to
work pushing your Allied counterparts to support NATO
strongly, particularly in Afghanistan where both the stakes
and opportunities are enormous this year.
NULAND