NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL READOUT - JANUARY 16, 2008

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 06 USNATO 000021

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NOFORN
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E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/16/2018
TAGS: NATO PREL AF
SUBJECT: NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL READOUT - JANUARY 16, 2008

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


1. (C/NF) Please note a typo in the Afghanistan portion of
last week's notes. The corrected sentence should read:
"UNAMA assesses that the areas of Badghis province that were
the site of recent fighting are now stable enough for relief
agencies to operate."


2. (S/NF) Summary from the NAC Meeting:

-- Membership Action Plan ) Croatia: PM Sanader's meeting
with the NAC on Croatia's performance in the Membership
Action Plan will be reported septel.

-- Afghanistan: Secretary General (SYG) de Hoop Scheffer said
he had spoken to UN SYG Ban Ki Moon about the Terms of
Reference for the new UN senior civilian coordinator in
Afghanistan and shared his impression that the UN SYG would
nominate the individual very soon. Deputy Chairman of the
Military Committee (D/CMC) Eikenberry anticipated continued
terrorism in Pakistan throughout 2008 and the International
Military Staff briefed that Opposing Militant Forces (OMF)
are taking a "wait and see" approach in RC-South following
the retaking of Musa Qala. Ambassador Nuland briefed on the
U.S. troop plus-up, plus ANA expansion plans, and Turkey
announced plans to deploy two Operational Mentor Liaison
Teams (OMLTs). The Serena Hotel bombing led the NAC to focus
on the security situation in Kabul, and Norway thanked the
U.S., Turkey, Czech Republic, and others for assistance to
Foreign Minister Stoere's delegation following the attack.

-- Balkans: The SYG said new Kosovo Prime Minister Thaci had
assured him that any future steps in Kosovo's status would be
taken in coordination with Allies and the EU and that
Pristina would do nothing to undermine the safe and secure
environment during Kosovo's transition. The Italian
Operational Reserve Force (ORF) Battalion will deploy to
Kosovo February 4.

-- Darfur: No discussion.

-- Iraq: Italian PermRep Stefanini reported the first class
had graduated from NTM-I Carabinieri training at Camp Dublin.

-- Maritime Operations: The D/CMC described Russian naval
deployments in the Mediterranean as "very interesting" and
"something that hasn't been seen in a very long while."

-- AOB: The SYG said that a letter to Russian President Putin
inviting him to attend the NATO-Russia Council at the
Bucharest Summit in April will be sent via departing Russian
Ambassador Totskiy. Dutch PermRep Schaper raised the issue
of noise pollution in the Netherlands caused by the take-off
and landings of NATO AWACS in neighboring Germany and termed
an interim NAPMO report on the problem "insufficient." He
requested that the AWACS issue be discussed at the Vilnius
Defense Ministerial in February. Although the final NAPMO
report is not due until March, the Private Office will
consider the Dutch request.

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END SUMMARY.

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Afghanistan
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3. (C/NF) The SYG stated that he is sending Deputy Assistant
Secretary General Maurits Jochems to Kabul January 25 through

SIPDIS
the end of February as the temporary Senior Civilian
Representative (SCR),following the departure of SCR
Ambassador Daan Everts. He told the NAC that he had spoken
informally with UN SYG Ban Ki Moon about a new UN senior
civilian coordinator for Afghanistan, stated he had
communicated his views about that individuals terms of
reference as they relate to interaction with ISAF (to which
Ban expressed understanding, he said),and shared his
impression that the individual would be nominated very soon.
With this development, he asserted, the naming of a new NATO
SCR was crucial, and encouraged nations to move quickly to
put forward a formal candidate (comment: the SYG noted he has
received informal queries from two Allies. End comment). De
Hoop Scheffer announced that Mark Laity, who was SCR
Spokesman in 2006, would be returning to the job for 2008. A
new Icelandic voluntary national contribution would serve as
Laity's media advisor, which the SYG welcomed. Later in the
discussion, he expressed regret that, somehow, the dates of
the NAC's February trip to Afghanistan had ended up in the
Afghan press. In light of the Serena Hotel bombing NAC
options may have to be revisited, he said.


4. (C/NF) D/CMC Eikenberry spoke on Pakistan and reminded the
NAC of ISAF's unfilled Combined Joint Statement of
Requirements (CJSOR). On Pakistan, he shared with the NAC
the International Military Staff's assessment that following
the Bhutto assassination, Pakistan's internal turmoil would
continue, and that terrorists would continue seeking to
disrupt the cohesion of political parties, and derail the
electoral process. Internal political violence would likely
remain steady or increase in 2008.


5. (C/NF) Deputy AD for Ops RADM Moreno gave the operational
update. He stated that the January 14 attack on the Serena
Hotel in Kabul illustrated the OMF goal to seek dramatic
asymmetric attacks in Kabul as part of their information
operations strategy and create an impression of insecurity.
He said they will continue to try to infiltrate Kabul to
conduct similar operations. In RC-South, he stated that OMF
had taken a "wait and see" approach, and were monitoring
locals, Afghan forces, and ISAF, watching for a change in the
balance of the security presence. Musa Qala was presently
secured by ISAF Forward Operating Base Edinburgh and three
ANP checkpoints; two ANA kandaks and the ISAF theater task
force remained in the district center, with ANSF and other
ISAF units providing an outer ring of security. The goal, he
stated, is to establish an enduring security presence that
eventually will enable ISAF to hand over responsibility for
Musa Qala district center to the Afghan police.


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6. (C/NF) Ambassador Nuland highlighted to Allies President
Bush's January 15 approval of a one-time deployment of
approximately 3,200 troops to Afghanistan. She noted the
24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU),consisting of
approximately 2,200 soldiers, would be placed under General
McNeill command for use at his discretion in RC-South, and
1,000 would chop to MG Cone at CSTC-A to assist in training
Afghan National Security Forces, most probably as force
protection to allow robust police training efforts in RC-West
and RC-South. Underlining that this deployment was
short-term, temporary, and that the U.S. had dug deep under
tremendous resource strains to come up with forces that
COMISAF needed to succeed this coming spring, she challenged
Allies to do the same. She told PermReps to expect a strong
push diplomatic push from the White House for Allies to come
to Bucharest with offers to backfill the MEU in Fall 2008
when its deployment ends, and to fill the ISAF CJSOR on a
long-term basis.


7. (C/NF) D/CMC Eikenberry stressed to PermReps in response
that the U.S. offer was significant and would have great
impact while deployed, but that it did not cover all CJSOR
shortfalls, and regardless, was a short-term deployment. For
planning purposes, he underscored, Allied nations should
presume no change to the ISAF CJSOR based on this temporary
U.S. deployment.


8. (C/NF) Ambassador Nuland also told the NAC that the United
States expected the Afghans at the February 5 - 6 Tokyo Joint
Coordination and Monitoring Board meeting to ask for a
10,000-troop increase in the force structure of the Afghan
National Army, which the U.S. supports. She urged Allies to
support this proposal at the JCMB, while noting that the
future force structure of the ANA is under evaluation, and
that she would stay in touch with Allies on any further
developments.


9. (C/NF) The Turkish PermRep announced that Turkey had
approved the deployment of two Operational Mentor Liaison
Teams (OMLTs),which would work with the headquarters of the
ANA Second Brigade, 201 Corps. He stated that Turkey will
work the details of the deployment through SHAPE, and offered
no timelines.


10. (S/NF) Interventions by the Greek, Portuguese, Spanish,
and Norwegian PermReps represented the concern in the NAC
over the January 14 Serena Hotel attack. Greece asked if an
impact assessment were underway as to the effect of the
attack on civilian operations in Kabul. Portugal noted a
January 14 SHAPE intelligence assessment stating OMF were
planning high-profile attacks in Kabul. Spain, supported by
Ambassador Nuland, asked for more information on the status
of OMF intentions and abilities to operate in Kabul. Spanish
PermRep Benavides did note the quick reaction of Afghan
security forces was encouraging. The Norwegian PermRep
stated that they did not believe the attack specifically
targeted FM Stoere and expressed official appreciation from
Oslo for Allied help in the attack's aftermath, praising U.S.
and Turkish forces, as well as the Czech field hospital whose

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doctors and nurses treated the wounded.


11. (C/NF) Canadian PermRep McRae thanked the SYG for his
update on efforts underway to name a UN senior civilian
coordinator for Afghanistan. He stated that if the UNAMA
mandate is expanded, NATO will need to look at the recently
agreed terms of reference for the NATO SCR, to ensure maximum
cooperation. He expressed hope that the new UN coordinator
could attend the February 6 - 7 Defense Ministers meeting in
Vilnius. The SYG said he would be in touch with the new
coordinator immediately after the announcement of his
appointment and would look for early opportunities for him to
be in contact with NATO and the NAC.

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Balkans
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12. (C/NF) The SYG reported the UN Security Council would
meet January 16 to discuss Kosovo and UNMIK's quarterly
report. In the report, UN SYG Ban Ki Moon will announce the
readiness of the EU to undertake the ESDP mission and
reconfirm NATO's commitment to maintain KFOR at its present
level as reaffirmed by NATO Foreign Ministers in December.
The SYG mentioned his phone call with Kosovo's new Prime
Minister, Hacim Thaci, in which the PM assured the SYG that
any future steps in Kosovo,s status would only be done in
coordination with Allies and the EU. He also assured the SYG
that Pristina would eschew provocations to undermine the safe
and secure environment during Kosovo's transition. The D/CMC
updated the Council on the deployment of the Italian ORF
battalion to Kosovo saying that the deployment, originally
scheduled to begin on January 21, has been delayed until
February 4 in order to take into account the end of the
Serbian presidential election period. The deployment will
last for one month.


13. (C/NF) Slovenia gave a readout of its foreign minister's
meeting in Belgrade with Serbian FM Jeremic in which he
stressed the importance of continuing efforts to finalize a
stabilization and accession agreement (SAA) with the EU,
further ICTY cooperation, and ensuring that the upcoming
presidential elections strengthen Serbia's credentials as a
European democracy. He said the complex issue of Kosovo
should not be linked to Belgrade's move toward Europe. The
Serbian FM responded by acknowledging that Serbia is at a
crossroads, pressing for early signing of the SAA, arguing
for no linkage between Serbia's EU aspirations and Kosovo
(although he called for further negotiations on status),and
placing President Tadic's chances of re-election at
"fifty-fifty." Jeremic said that Tadic's Radical opponent
was a real competitor. Ambassador Nuland briefed that the
U.S. has entered into an intense bilateral engagement with
the new Kosovo government on ensuring that, in the event of a
declaration of independence, Pristina would commit to doing
all in its power to prevent violence and adhere to the
principles inherent in the Ahtisaari plan. The engagement is
focusing on getting the Kosovo parliament to formally adopt
and legalize the elements of the plan and thus ensure a

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multi-ethnic Kosovo. The UK PermRep followed by stressing
the importance of NATO having a public diplomacy strategy on
Kosovo. The German PermRep requested that NATO and KFOR
provide any additional information regarding reported Serbian
plans following the adoption of their "secret plan of
action." The SYG concluded by supporting the UK's point on
the importance of public diplomacy and the need to monitor
Serb reaction.

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Iraq
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14. (C/NF) Italian PermRep Stefanini reported on the December
18th graduation of the first class from NTM-I
gendarmerie-type training conducted by the Italian
Carabinieri at Camp Dublin. The graduation ceremony was well
attended by Iraqi government officials, including Interior
Minister Bolani, and received excellent media coverage. The
second class of 450 Iraqi national police (1st Battalion, 2nd
Brigade) started training at Camp Dublin last week.
Stefanini said that the aim of the Carabinieri training is to
establish basic police procedures -- such as investigation
technique, combating terrorism, anti-corruption, and crowd
control.

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Maritime Operations
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15. (C/NF) The D/CMC, for the sake of brevity, decided to
forgo his formal presentation on Russian naval deployments in
the Mediterranean, instead, referring PermReps to his weekly
operational report to obtain the information. He described
the deployments as "very interesting" and "something that
hasn't been seen in a very long while."

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AOB
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16. (C/NF) D/SYG Bisogniero asked PermReps if the SYG could
send a letter to Russian President Putin inviting him to
attend the NATO-Russia Council at the Bucharest Summit in
April. The PermReps concurred and the letter will be sent
via departing Russian Ambassador Totskiy.


17. (C/NF) Dutch PermRep Schaper raised the issue of noise
pollution in the Netherlands caused by the take-off and
landings of NATO AWACS at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen,
Germany. Reiterating the issues raised in his January 8
letter to the SYG, Schaper underscored that the negative
environmental impact caused by the aircraft is becoming a
significant political issue in the Netherlands. The
Netherlands Council of State has revoked the Dutch
government's plan to cut down trees in the vicinity of the
airport runway, as was requested by NATO. In addition, the
Dutch Parliament had extensive debate in its early December
session asking its government to resolve the issue before

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March 2008. Without a resolution, Schaper said, "Parliament
could impose flight restrictions on the AWACS when flying in
Dutch airspace." He termed an interim NAPMO report on the
problem "insufficient" as it did not thoroughly examine the
business case for switching the AWACS engines, as stipulated
in his letter to the SYG. He reported that a Dutch
delegation will visit the three American engine manufacturers
to gather relevant information needed for the business case
model. He also requested that the AWACS issue be discussed
at the Vilnius Defense Ministerial in February.


18. (C/NF) D/SYG Bisogniero responded that NAPMO will
continue to work with the Dutch on this issue, but noted that
NAPMO's final report is not due until March 2008. He also
said that the Private Office will consider the Dutch request
to discuss the issue at the Defense Ministerial in Vilnius.
OLSON