NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL READOUT - JULY 2, 2008

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 05 USNATO 000233

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/03/2018
TAGS: NATO PREL AF
SUBJECT: NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL READOUT - JULY 2, 2008

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


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

-- Afghanistan: The SYG welcomed the new Chairman of the
Military Committee (CMC) Admiral Giampaolo De Paola (Italy),
and stated that the NAC would benefit from military advice
from SHAPE on military preparations for the upcoming
Afghanistan voter registration and elections. The SYG
reported that he had received a letter from Afghan DefMin
Wardak urging expansion of the ANA to 122K troops plus a
training float of 12K, for a total force of 134K. CMC De
Paola reported on ISAF support to ANA operations during the
prison breakout and announced that consultations with nations
on ANSF plans to take responsibility for security in Kabul
city will begin July 3. During the operational brief,
Admiral Moreno reported on the Pakistan military operations
against OMF in the Khyber area of FATA. In Afghanistan, the
OMF are shifting to greater asymmetric attacks, while ISAF
continues its focus in RC-South. Several PermReps challenged
the report by UN U/SG John Holmes, which noted over 600
civilian deaths in Afghanistan, but expressed concern about
the impact on public opinion.

-- Balkans: The CMC said UNMIK's new chief Lamberto Zannier
has received a "green light" to reconfigure UNMIK, but the
new concept of operations for the UNMIK Police is still being
drafted in New York. The CMC reported that KFOR structures
related to the implementation of NATO New Tasks in Kosovo are
only manned at 24 percent of authorized strength. Charge
Olson expressed concern about the composition of EULEX and
the lack of insight into EULEX's plans. The SYG seconded the
Charge's comments and suggested the NAC invite EULEX
commander de Kermabon to brief in an informal format on
EULEX's plans.

-- Africa - Support to the AU: The SYG highlighted a number
of positive steps underway to strengthen the relationship
between NATO and the AU, including responding to a formal AU
request for training assistance, solidifying current liaison
arrangements, and expanding cooperation. However, an
outstanding request for airlift support to deploy a Burundian
Battalion to Somalia remains unfulfilled.

-- Iraq: The SYG reported that the NTM-I out-of-cycle review
passed NAC silence on July 1, and will serve as a good basis
to respond to PM al-Maliki's request to enhance support to
NTM-I.

-- IBAN Activities Report for 2007: The Chairman of the
International Board of Auditors for NATO (IBAN) highlighted
the progress made by NATO bodies in compliance with
International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS),
urged accelerated closure of old NSIP projects, and repeated
IBAN's concerns regarding MBC allocation of the Military
Budget.

-- AOB: The SYG asked for Allies' opinions on visiting Batumi
during the NAC's September 4-5 visit to Georgia. Allies were
split and agreed to continue the discussion next week at an
informal Tuesday "Coffee" meeting.

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END SUMMARY.

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


2. (C/NF) The SYG took the opportunity to welcome the new
CMC, Admiral Giampaolo De Paola.


3. (C/NF) The SYG stated that Afghanistan's voter
registration will be conducted October 5, 2008, through
February 2, 2009, and that the NAC would benefit from
military advice from SHAPE by July 22 on military
preparations for the registration and elections. He also
announced that UN SRSG Kai Eide will visit Islamabad this
week, calling it "a timely and important visit."


4. (C/NF) The SYG said he had received a letter from Afghan
DefMin Wardak on June 26, urging expansion of the ANA to 122K
troops plus a training float of 12K, for a total force of
134K. This request will be submitted to the JCMB for
approval in September, and in the meantime, the NAC desires
military advice from SHAPE. U.S. Charge Olson delivered
Washington guidance, noting that the U.S. fully supports
Wardak's request, that we are consulting with Congress, and
that there will be implications for the number of OMLTs
required to support the larger ANA.


5. (C/NF) CMC De Paola stated that in the Arghandab fighting
near Kandahar, ISAF supported ANA operations in the wake of
the Sarpoza prison breakout, and said that one nation had
contributed U.S. 4 million to repair the prison. 700 of the
ANA troops in the operation now have orders to redeploy back
to Kabul, which will leave one Company of ANA, plus 200 ANP
and 90 NDS forces, on the ground.


6. (C/NF) The CMC said that the ANSF consultations with
nations on ANSF plans to take responsibility for security in
Kabul city in August will begin July 3.


7. (C/NF) Admiral Moreno provided the operational brief,
stating that the Pakistan military operations against OMF in
the Khyber area of FATA had a predominantly propaganda
purpose. The operation was not intensive and the enemy was
not a major group involved in cross-border activities.
Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud had responded by suspending
all peace negotiations with GoP until the operation ends.


8. (C/NF) In Afghanistan, the OMF are shifting to greater use
of asymmetric attacks, while ISAF continues its focus in
RC-South. In RC-Capital, ISAF has found 80 weapons caches in
2008, an increase over 22 during a similar period of 2007.
Operational priority is in Musahi and Surobi valleys. In
RC-North, the Kunduz/Baghlan remains a focus of OMF. In
RC-West, there is the normal level of OMF activity, and ISAF
and ANA are continuing to support the ANP's development and
FDD (Focused District Development) plan. In RC-South,
Helmand continues to be the operational focus. The OMF are
reluctant to engage in direct confrontation. ANSF and Task
Force Helmand are conducting ops in Kajaki/Musa Qala area in

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north. In south, the 24th MEU continues to find unexploded
ordnance and is planning a transfer of responsibility to a
combined ANA/TF Helmand force in August. Major operations in
Kandahar associated with the prison break and Arghandab
district operations have concluded. In RC-East, the key
threat remains IEDs. ISAF and ANSF are operating to block
OMF border infiltration.


9. (C/NF) RADM Moreno noted a late-breaking report that a
U.S. Blackhawk helicopter had been downed in RC-East by an
RPG, with no casualties. No further information was given.


10. (C/NF) Spanish PermRep Benavides (supported by Germany)
commented on the report by UN Under-Secretary General for
Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator (OCHA)
John Holmes which states that 698 civilians died in the
conflict in Afghanistan during the first half of the year,
255 of whom were killed by government or international
forces. Benavides noted that these statistics are much
higher than ISAF's and should be responded to promptly and by
capitals. The UN report, he said, is not favorable nor
objective. Norwegian PermRep Traavik agreed, adding that
UNAMA officials in Kabul also had expressed concerns about
Holmes' methodology. A PermRep asked whether the difference
in figures could be attributed to civilian casualties caused
by ANA and OEF. RADM Moreno noted that ICRC is familiar with
and satisfied with ISAF's rules of engagement and procedures
for investigating civilian casualties.


11. (C/NF) The SYG concluded by saying he would lead a
process to carefully scrutinize NATO's own methodology for
calculating civilian casualties, and provide a public
briefing on the process next week. This would lead to an
exchange of views with UN in New York to compare NATO and UN
methodologies. He also pledged to promote regular,
event-driven exchanges with UN U/SG Holmes and OCHA to avoid
surprises and miscommunication.

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


12. (C/NF) The SYG reported that Kosovo Serbs held an
inaugural session of the Assembly of the Union of
Municipalities of Kosovo in North Mitrovica on June 28.
UNMIK and Pristina had contested this action as an attempt to
consolidate parallel structures and Pristina continues to
look to the international community to lead on a political
response.


13. (C/NF) The CMC said NATO Military Authorities assess that
the authorities in Kosovo are unlikely to take direct action
to reassert control over Kosovo Serb enclaves, but will rely
on the international community to facilitate Kosovo's
sovereignty and formal recognition. CMC said UNMIK's new
chief Lamberto Zannier has said he has received a "green
light" to reconfigure UNMIK, but the new concept of
operations for the UNMIK Police is still being drafted in New
York. The CMC said that KPS and Kosovo authority have said
that if the new concept continues to allow for Kosovo-Serb
policemen in the north to report only to the international

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police, they would consider it as supporting Kosovo Serb
attempts to strengthen parallel structures.


14. (C/NF) The CMC reported that KFOR structures directly
related to the implementation of NATO New Tasks in Kosovo are
only manned at 24 percent of authorized strength. If this
under-staffing continues, NATO could be seen as an impediment
to the development of the new Kosovo security structures.


15. (C/NF) Charge Olson expressed concern about the
composition of EULEX and the lack of insight into EULEX's
plans. The SYG seconded the Charge's comments and suggested
the NAC invite EULEX commander de Kermabon to brief in an
informal format on EULEX's plans. There was no objection
among Perm Reps to the SYG's proposal.

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Africa - Support to the AU
--------------


16. (C/NF) The SYG highlighted a number of positive steps
underway to strengthen the relationship between NATO and the
AU, including a formal AU request for training assistance,
solidifying current liaison arrangements, and expanding
cooperation. However, an outstanding request for airlift
support to deploy a Burundian battalion to Somalia remains
unfulfilled.


17. (C/NF) The SYG noted Tuesday's productive discussion on
Africa (at the PermReps' lunch) and also brought attention to
the Note Verbale from the AU Commission requesting assistance
to the African Standby Force (ASF) though a three-phased
approach. The SYG said this should be seen as a follow-up to
the December 2007 Note Verbale from the AU. The SYG informed
the NAC that he is referring the AU request to the Military
Committee (MC) for military advice. Following staff-to-staff
discussions, the MC will draft a report.


18. (C/NF) Regarding the NATO-AU Liaison Position, the CMC
said the MC is considering a proposal to convert the current
temporary 6-month liaison officer position with the AU into a
permanent position (if approved by the MC and NAC).


19. (C/NF) The CMC also drew attention to the unfulfilled
request (with responses due to the MC by June 25) for airlift
support for a Burundian Battalion destined for AMISOM. He
also noted that deployment support could be provided through
a funds transfer or commercial flights (at an estimated cost
of 650,000 euro).

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


20. (C/NF) The SYG reported that the NTM-I out-of-cycle
review passed NAC silence on July 1, and will serve as a good
basis to respond to PM al-Maliki's request to enhance support
to NTM-I.

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IBAN Activities Report for 2007

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21. (SBU/NF) Wieslaw Kurzyca, Chairman of the International
Board of Auditors for NATO (IBAN),briefed the Council on the
activities of the Board last year. Kurzyca specifically
highlighted the status of NATO body compliance with
International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS),
which was a factor in several qualified audit opinions. He
stressed the need for additional work by the NATO Office of
Resources, the Infrastructure Committee, and nations to close
old NSIP projects. He also reiterated the Board's concern
about the NAC's delegation of budgetary authority to the
Military Budget Committee under its new Terms of Reference
(TORs). Several nations thanked Kurzyca for the IBAN's work
and supported the continued implementation of IPSAS and
efforts to address the NSIP issue. Nations urged a stronger
focus on performance audits by IBAN and stressed rotation of
auditors. Some nations shared the IBAN's concerns about
budget delegation, others, including the U.S., dissented,
stating that the Council still sets the budget ceilings. As
was the case last year, it was concluded that the NAC had
taken decisions on the TORs and should allow the agreed-upon
two-year review period to pass before revisiting those
decisions.

---
AOB
---


22. (C/NF) AOB: The SYG briefed Allies on the NAC's September
4-5 visit to Georgia. He then asked Allies whether they
wanted to meet with President Saakashvili in Batumi. Allies'
opinions were mixed; some (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania,
Romania, Bulgaria, Canada and the U.S.) supported the idea
while others (Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy,
Portugal and Spain) opposed the proposal. Charge Olson
intervened in support of visiting Batumi. Because Allies
could not reach consensus, the SYG said the Perm Reps would
continue the discussion during the Perm Reps informal lunch
next week.


23. (C/NF) Poland briefed Allies on the recent "Friends of
Georgia" meeting in Warsaw during which participants
discussed Georgian military reforms, relations with Russia,
territorial integrity, support for MAP, visa questions and
trade issues.
OLSON