Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08USNATO103
2008-03-20 18:11:00
CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN
Mission USNATO
Cable title:  

NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL READOUT - MARCH 19, 2008

Tags:  NATO PREL AF 
pdf how-to read a cable
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 USNATO 000103 

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/20/2018
TAGS: NATO PREL AF
SUBJECT: NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL READOUT - MARCH 19, 2008

Classified By: DCM Richard G. Olson for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 USNATO 000103

SIPDIS

NOFORN
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/20/2018
TAGS: NATO PREL AF
SUBJECT: NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL READOUT - MARCH 19, 2008

Classified By: DCM Richard G. Olson for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C/NF) Summary from the NAC Meeting:

-- Afghanistan: Chairman of the Military Committee Henault
briefed the military chain of command's poppy assessment. In
the operations update, IMS Assistant Director for Operations
MG Li Gobbi briefed on the increased ability of Opposing
Militant Forces (OMF) to move forces and resources from
Pakistan to Afghanistan. Ambassador Nuland commended ISAF's
public affairs staff, which recently responded aggressively
and quickly to counter claims of civilian casualties,
resulting in balanced media coverage.

-- Balkans: The SYG called for a common strategy by the
international community on Kosovo, and briefed on his phone
call to UNSYG leading to UNMIK redeploying in north
Mitrovica. Serbian parliamentary elections add a new
political wrinkle to Kosovo situation.

-- Africa ) Support to the AU: No discussion.

-- Iraq: The SYG informed the NAC that as per Tuesday's
discussion in another forum, the Private Office would release
an SG in response to PM Maliki's letter on January 29,
highlighting the progress made on the structured cooperation
framework for Iraq, the continuation of the NATO Training
Mission-Iraq through 2009, and the consideration of the
training requests in the Prime Minister's letter.

-- AOB: The SYG called attention to a letter from the
Government of Malta, which requested that its participation
in the Partnership for Peace be reactivated. UK Deputy
PermRep Kidd related Prime Minister Brown's plans to announce
Wednesday a new UK national security strategy. Ambassador
Nuland expressed her displeasure that the Bucharest Summit
meeting schedule was altered following final approval by the
Council, and pressed the IS to revert to the approved
version.

END SUMMARY.

--------------
Afghanistan
--------------


2. (C/NF) Chairman of the Military Committee Henault briefed
the military chain of command's poppy assessment. He cited
links between the narcotics trade and the insurgency, stating
that the military chain of command's "best estimate" was that
the Taliban received ten percent of its funding from the

narcotics trade, as well as the negative effects of narcotics
on government corruption. General Henault cited UNODC
figures predicting 2008 cultivation to be approximately the
same as 2007, and stated that ISAF predicts a decrease in the
north and east, an increase in the south and west due to
insecurity, and importantly, tribal and religious norms in
the north and east that translate into more support for
government, shura, or religious decrees against planting. He
noted the growing problem of cannabis cultivation in
provinces classified as poppy-free.

USNATO 00000103 002 OF 004




3. (C/NF) IMS Assistant Director for Operations MG Li Gobbi
gave the operations update, beginning with the assertion that
a continued truce between the government and militants in
Pakistan's border regions has resulted in an enhancement of
the ability of Opposing Militant Forces (OMF) to move forces
and resources from Pakistan to Afghanistan. He stated that
ISAF planners were paying close attention to potential
threats because of the republication of the Prophet Mohamed
cartoons in Denmark, the imminent release of Dutch politician
Wilders' anti-Islam film, and potential suicide attacks
against crowds during the March 20 Now Ruz celebrations. Li
Gobbi stated the some mobile phone service providers have
begun complying with the Taliban's demand that providers turn
off service in the evening.


4. (C/NF) Highlights of MG Li Gobbi's regional brief pointed
to increasing cooperation from local nationals in
RC-Capital's problematic Surobi district, large numbers of
ISAF medical civil affairs patrols in RC-Capital and
RC-North, a continued focus from RC-West on Farah province,
joint ISAF-Afghan operations to provide the security for
construction on the Ring Road segment between Gereshk and
Kandahar, and significant progress in governance and
reconstruction in RC-East's Kapisa province.


5. (C/NF) Ambassador Nuland cited the United States'
comprehensive counterinsurgency activity in RC-East, with
joint planning on the security, counternarcotics, and
governance fronts, as a key reason for the decrease in poppy
cultivation in the east, although in some areas the security
concerns remain high. She pointed to the success RC-East has
seen in rewarding governors who take decisive action against
poppy, enabling them to use these rewards to provide
alternative livelihoods and better services to the
population. She also commended ISAF's public affairs staff,
which responded aggressively and quickly on March 18 to
counter spurious claims of civilian casualties, resulting in
balanced media coverage.

--------------
Balkans
--------------


6. (C/NF) The SYG told the Council today that based on his
recent visit to Kosovo and in the aftermath of Monday's
violence, it has become clear that there needs to be a common
strategy supported by all the relevant international players
(NATO, the EU, and the U.N.) that would deal with effective
coordination among the international community in the
upcoming Serbian elections in May, UNMIK-EULEX transition,
and developing a coordinated response to Serbian provocations
that could lead to more violence. He called on respective
capitals to use their contacts in Belgrade to send a clear
message on refraining from further provocations by Serbia and
Kosovo Serbs and to respect previous commitments to
non-violence. The SYG also said that COMKFOR had issued a
strong clarification regarding press reports suggesting that
KFOR has implemented martial law. The SYG noted such reports
are detrimental to the mission and that NATO is not in any
position to declare martial law. The SYG mentioned that he

USNATO 00000103 003 OF 004


spoke to the U.N. Secretary General last night by phone
regarding UNMIK's plans to redeploy to north Mitrovica. The
CMC confirmed in his briefing that UNMIK as of today has
begun redeploying to the northern part of the city, which has
been calm over the last 24 hours following Monday's events,
and an increase in KFOR troop levels. The CMC informed the
NAC that KFOR will maintain the increased troop presence in
northern Mitrovica at least until March 21 and followed up in
response to a Bulgarian inquiry that COMKFOR will then decide
based on the situation on the ground if the increased troop
presence is needed. He underlined that COMKFOR does have the
flexibility to further reinforce trouble spots based on the
taskforce deployments with no caveats and that 47 of the 56
companies are trained in crowd and riot control. Lastly, the
CMC noted that with the approval of the NAC Execution
Directive for the Bridging document, KFOR has begun to adjust
its current posture in preparation to assume new taskings in
coordination with a revision of the operational plan. He
also noted that the military committee has approved the
minimum military requirements document to resource the NATO
new tasks during the bridging period.


7. (C/NF) Slovenia informed the NAC that the EU presidency
had issued a statement condemning the recent violence and
called on all parties to respect UNSCR 1244 and the mandate
of UNMIK. He also informed the Council about a meeting of
PSC ambassadors with the head of the EULEX mission, de
Kermabon, where the clear message was sent by de Kermabon
that the EULEX mission will deploy throughout Kosovo. Spain,
echoing the SYG, also called for a coordinated approach from
the international community and informed the Council that
Madrid would be demarching Belgrade to adhere to their
previous statements on refraining from making inflammatory
statements that could lead to further violence. France, with
support from Norway, also called for a coordinated approach
to messages being sent from the international community and
to be mindful of the political context that we find ourselves
in the run-up to the Serbian parliamentary elections in May.
Both Norway and France highlighted the importance of not
undermining the moderate, pro-EU forces in Serbia and
avoiding situations that could be exploited by Serbian
radicals, a point echoed by Latvia. Turkey requested
additional information regarding UNMIK's restructuring during
the transition period and what the transfer of authority
means for their mandate in the north. Estonia called for the
international community to be more pro-active and not allow
events to engulf us, and asked for further information
regarding the K-Serbs in the north and the size of the
radical elements among the population. The CMC promised to
get more information on the K-Serbs and provide it to
PermReps. Portugal echoed Turkey's inquiries on UNMIK and
further pointed to the public diplomacy aspects of ensuring
that NATO takes an active role in explaining events to the
outside world and not letting press rumors and speculations
drive the story on Kosovo. Ambassador Nuland thanked the SYG
for his engagement with the U.N. SYG, which is leading to
UNMIK redeployment to north Mitrovica, and informed the NAC
that U.S. bilateral efforts are focused on getting all sides
to renounce violence and avoid incendiary statements, a
message that should be conveyed by other countries outside of
the region. The SYG responded to Turkey's question on UNMIK,

USNATO 00000103 004 OF 004


saying that what will be important is that UNMIK continue to
have an adequate police presence while working with the EU on
the transitioning of tasks. The SYG also said he would be
signing a condolence letter for the Ukrainian mission in the
aftermath of a Ukrainian UNMIK police officer's death.

--------------
Iraq
--------------


8. (C/NF) The SYG informed the NAC that as per Tuesday's
discussion in another forum, the Private Office would release
an SG in response to PM Maliki's letter on January 29,
highlighting the progress made in the Political Committee on
the structured cooperation framework for Iraq; that the NATO
Training Mission-Iraq (NTM-I) would continue through 2009;
and that the training requests in the Prime Minister's letter
would be fully considered after guidance is received from the
Military Committee. The SYG noted that this military
guidance was under silence until Wednesday afternoon.

---
AOB
---


9. (C/NF) The SYG called attention to a letter from the
Government of Malta, which requested that its participation
in the Partnership for Peace be reactivated. Ambassador
Nuland welcomed the Maltese government's renewed interest for
involvement and noted Malta's hope for a quick reactivation
process, with participation at Bucharest as a goal. The SYG
planned to forward to the PermReps the Maltese letter, along
with recommendations on moving forward by NATO's legal
advisor. He expected to take up discussion of the matter
next week.


10. (C/NF) British Deputy PermRep Kidd related Prime Minister
Brown's plans to announce Wednesday a new UK national
security strategy. Kidd emphasized that this new overarching
approach would represent a break from previous strategies, by
drawing on tools and capabilities from each unit of
government. It would additionally redefine security in terms
of both the state and the citizenry, addressing "immediate
threats and underlying drivers." Kidd promised to circulate
the text of the announcement when it was available. The SYG
noted his intentions to speak with PM Brown this afternoon.


11. (C/NF) Ambassador Nuland expressed her displeasure that
the Bucharest Summit meeting schedule was altered following
final approval by the Council. She noted that the revised
schedule created conflicts for the U.S. delegation and
pressed the IS to revert to the approved version. PermRep
Duque additionally related his preference for the approved
schedule. The SYG assured the Council that he would
investigate the matter, but he could not make any guarantees
due to the complexity of the issue.
NULAND