GUIDANCE: SENIOR RESOURCE BOARD (SRB) DECEMBER

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 STATE 128585 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/06/2018 TAGS: AF MARR MOPS NATO PREL SUBJECT: GUIDANCE: SENIOR RESOURCE BOARD (SRB) DECEMBER 8-9 PLENARY MEETING REF: A. A. USNATO 450 ¶B. B. USNATO E-MAIL TO OSD POLICY 3 DECEMBER 2008 ¶C. C. SRB-N(2008)0088 REV2-AS1 Classified By: Acting DAS Bruce Turner for reasons 1.4 (b,d) ¶1. (C) In general, Washington concurs with positions outlined by USNATO in Ref A. Additional guidance is provided below. ¶2. (C) In response to Mission's request for guidance (ref B) concerning a one-year extension for SRB Chairman Pino, Washington concurs with Mission recommendation to support a one-year extension for Chairman Pino. ¶3. (C/REL NATO) I. RESOURCE POLICY AND PLANNING ISSUES: ISAF. Washington instructs Mission to push for SRB agreement to expand current ANA Trust Fund by the end of the year to include ANA sustainment in accordance with Ref C. In advocating for early action on expanding the trust fund, U.S. representative may wish to draw on the following points: -- Allies have agreed that Afghanistan is our number one mission, and supporting the Afghan National Army is one of our top priorities there. We all are striving for a stable Afghanistan that can provide for its own security; supporting the Afghan National Army is a critical means of achieving that goal. The international community itself through the Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board has recognized the importance of and approved the expansion of the ANA. However, the Government of Afghanistan will not be able to train, equip, mentor or sustain its maturing Army without assistance from the international community. -- We continue to strongly support expanding the scope of the existing ANA Trust Fund to help sustain our substantial investment in a modern Afghan National Army capable of providing for its own security without relying on international forces. -- Failure to support expanding TrF mandate and, more importantly,) the sustainment of the Afghan National Army (ANA) will ensure Afghan dependence on ISAF to assist in maintaining security for years to come. That is what the JCMB sought to avoid in deciding to support an expanded ANA. -- The issue of expanding the functional scope of the trust fund is entirely separate from the question of the levels and purposes of national contributions. While we fully support the call for additional information related to costs and priorities to inform national discussions on contributing to the fund, we strongly urge SRB agreement on the separate issue of opening the bank account. -- We will work with our national commands in Afghanistan to ensure that all requested information is made available to inform national decisions on the separate issue of contributing to sustainment. -- Some non-NATO nations are considering substantial contributions to ANA sustainment, but cannot do so in the absence of this mechanism. ((C REL NATO) Note: if asked, you may inform Allies that Japan is actively considering a contribution.) Moreover, expanding the scope of the trust fund does not imply that NATO Allies alone will assume the total responsibility for funding the sustainment of ANA. However, NATO is best positioned to administer this fund for worldwide contributors, and PermReps have agreed that it is technically feasible to do so. Allies may voice concerns about the open-ended character of the proposed expansion and the potential for onerous administrative requirements. If such concerns are raised, and the U.S. representative judges that some conditions on Trust Fund expansion are essential to winning early Allied agreement to proceed with the trust fund, Washington is willing to consider some conditions or qualifications on Trust Fund expansion. We leave it to the U.S. representative to determine how best to communicate this position to Allies and/or International staff. (Note the following is not for deployment in Plenary.) Conditions acceptable to Washington could include one or more of the STATE 00128585 002 OF 002 following: -- A commitment to support regular reviews (annual or biennial) of the effectiveness and administrative requirements associated with using an expanded ANA Trust Fund as the funding mechanism to support ANA expansion. -- Agreement to expand ANA Trust Fund to support ANA sustainment for a fixed period (two to five years) only, after which continued use of ANA Trust Fund for this purpose would require separate approval by the SRB/NAC. ¶4. (C) VII. PEACETIME ESTABLISHMENT (PE) REVIEW OF THE NATO COMMAND STRUCTURE (NCS). Washington agrees with Mission assessment of the unbalanced content of the current draft SRB report on affordability and concurs with Mission recommendation to push for modifications to address the potential for increasing contribution ceilings to fund implementation of PE review phase 2. (For background, not deployment) However, we wish to emphasize that in formulating a final U.S. position with respect to implementation of the PE review, affordability is but one of several considerations that will shape the U.S. way ahead. RICE