READOUT NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL MEETING NOVEMBER

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 06 USNATO 000436 NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/21/2018 TAGS: AF NATO PREL SUBJECT: READOUT NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL MEETING NOVEMBER 21, 2008. Classified By: Classified by Charge' de Affaires Walter S. Reid for rea sons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C/NF) Summary from the NAC Meeting: -- AFGHANISTAN: Deputy Secretary General (D/SYG) Claudio Bisogniero chaired the NAC and announced that the Secretary General will soon issue a &roadmap8 to the April 2009 Summit for Afghanistan, outlining ways for the Council to have strategic discussions to implement the Comprehensive Strategic Political-Military Plan (CSPMP) more quickly. Deputy Chairman of the Military Committee (DCMC) LTG Eikenberry briefed the NAC about the ongoing November 20-21 Chiefs of Defense meeting at SHAPE, including remarks made by visiting Pakistani Army Chief of Staff General Ashfaq Kayani,s. In response to PermRep interest in having a report to the upcoming meeting of Foreign Ministers on the implementation of the Budapest Defense Ministerial decision on counter-narcotics, Eikenberry reported that thus far no operations had actually taken place using the new authority. -- BALKANS: The UK called for military authorities to begin fleshing out a plan for moving KFOR to a deterrent posture. Bulgaria said that the right time to address such a move was not until after EULEX deploys, and the Czech PermRep called KFOR,s new tasks of demobilizing the Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC) and standing up the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) a precondition for any such KFOR drawdown. Norway announced a 200,000 euro pledge for the KSF. Albania announced it was finalizing details of a 100,000 euros donation, to be divided between the KPC and KSF Trust Funds. In addition, Albania said it would provide a Voluntary National Contribution of two personnel to assist with KSF stand-up. -- AFRICA: The International Staff has withdrawn a paper suggesting that vessels of the DPRK and other states under UN sanction be excluded from carrying WFP food to Mogadishu, pending additional work. The Military Committee is working on more robust ROE for Task Group Allied Provider to allow for boarding and seizure operations. A counter-piracy lessons-learned exercise will be held early in 2009 on the military side, and the results may be shared with the NAC if there is interest. -- IRAQ: The Chairman announced that the progress on the US SOFA with Iraq is a positive step for progress on the stand alone NATO agreement for NTM-I, which will be drafted and circulated soon to Allies for approval. -- RESPONSE TO TERRORISM: no discussion -- AUTUMN 2008 CNAD AND NC3B MEETING: A/SYG for Defense Investment Flory debriefed the results of the October 21-22 Conference of National Armaments Directors (CNAD) and November 12-13 NATO C3 Board (NC3B) meetings. Rushed for time, Mr Flory focused on recent progress made in the areas of Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS),Joint Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (JISR),Helicopters, and Cyber Defense. Mr Flory closed by noting that during his two years on the job there has not been much progress in the area of delivering common funded capabilities. He said he would come back to the NAC in the future with some ideas on how to improve processes in order to deliver critical capabilities as requested by HoSG and Ministers. The UK suggested that perhaps a NAC Reinforced with National Armaments Directors (NADs) might be useful in helping to focus nations on critical capability development issues. -- STATEMENTS ON POLITICAL TOPICS: Italy briefed on recent events in the UN Security Council (UNSC),including updates on operations in Kosovo and Afghanistan. France briefed on last week,s EU-Russia summit and noted the resumption of the Geneva peace process for the Georgian crisis. --AOB: The D/SYG announced that PermReps would hold an informal discussion of Russian President Medvedev,s proposal USNATO 00000436 002 OF 006 for a European Security Treaty on November 24. The U.S. briefed Allies on the recent Iranian missile launch, adding that it hoped this information would inform current Allied discussions on missile defense. END SUMMARY. -------------- Afghanistan -------------- ¶2. (C/REL ISAF) AFGHANISTAN: D/SYG Bisogniero announced that the Secretary General would soon issue an Afghanistan-related roadmap to NATO,s April 2009 Summit. The roadmap will outline opportunities for the Council to have strategic discussions in the NAC, focusing on how to quicker and more effectively implement the Comprehensive Strategic Political-Military Plan (CSPMP). He added that the NAC looks forward to hearing the results of the November 19-20 Chiefs of Defense meeting at SHAPE, particularly visiting Pakistani Army Chief of Staff General Ashfaq Kayani,s remarks. ¶3. (C/REL ISAF) PAKISTAN: Assistant Director of the International Military Staff Operations Division, Maj. Gen. Li Gobbi, gave the operations and intelligence update. Despite the Pakistan Army,s continued operations in Bajaur tribal agency, militant activity has spilled over into other agencies of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and the settled district of Swat. Li Gobbi said Pakistani efforts targeted Tehrik-i Nafaz-i Shariat-i Mohammadi (TNSM ) Movement for the Enforcement of Shari,a Law),a minor militant group whose operations are geographically limited to the Pakistani tribal areas of Bajaur and Mohmand, and Afghanistan,s Kunar province. Since current operations do not target the larger umbrella terrorist organization in Pakistan, Tehrik-i Taliban Pakistan (led by Baitullah Mehsud from South Waziristan),the Military Committee assessed that the impact of Pakistani Army efforts on overall insurgent action in Afghanistan was limited. ¶4. (C/REL ISAF) ISAF SECURITY & INTEL: ISAF continues to focus on three priorities: support to voter registration, support to the Transfer of Lead Security Responsibility (TLSR) of Kabul province, and support to World Food Programme (WFP) convoys in RC-South. There is no evidence of insurgent planning to disrupt Phase II of voter registration, but registration stations could be opportunistic targets due to large crowds. There was a slight delay in Phase III of TLSR when Afghan forces deployed outside RC-Capital to the south, but transfer is now proceeding well and should end by December. Phase IV will be more difficult because it includes the volatile Sarobi district. Timing for Phase IV has not been announced. WFP has delivered 49 trucks (1700 metric tones) to feed 80,000 people for one month. The Military Committee is concerned about rising criminal activity in RC-West near Heart city, and about the information campaign &bounce8 insurgents use to intimidate the populace following spectacular attacks like the November 17 suicide bombing in Kandahar. ¶5. (C/REL ISAF) CHIEFS OF DEFENSE CONFERENCE: Pakistan Army Chief of Staff General Ashfaq Kayani provided NATO Chiefs of Defense (CHoDs) an assessment of the security situation in Pakistan and its border area with Afghanistan on November 19. DCMC announced that the Military Committee plans to increase the frequency of high-level dialogues between NATO and Afghan and Pakistani military leadership. He added that the CHoDs would discuss Afghan National Army expansion, ISAF support to the Afghan National Police, and prioritizing the CJSOR with an aim to filling shortfalls and giving COMISAF more flexibility in the field. During their two-day conference, CHoDs will also talk about support to 2009 elections, enhancing strategic communication, and creating the Transfer of Lead Security Responsibility Phase IV plan for Kabul province. USNATO 00000436 003 OF 006 ¶6. (C/REL ISAF) DISCUSSION: Led by the UK, several PermReps noted that because the NAC took too long to identify topics for strategic discussion it had missed the opportunity to craft messages and questions for the SYG to use during his discussion with visiting Pakistani General Kayani prior to the CHoDs conference. UK, CAN, and U.S. PermReps emphasized that the NAC should narrow down a list of priority discussion topics, sequence them appropriately, and focus discussions on outcomes and decisions the NAC can approve. ¶7. (C/NF) Responding to questions from German and Spanish PermReps, DCMC reported that ISAF has not yet conducted counter-narcotics operations under the new authorities agreed at the Budapest Defense Ministerial. He assured PermReps that ISAF is still examining how to implement the guidance, adding that COMISAF will provide a plan for his forces soon. DCMC added that he does not anticipate counter-narcotics operations using the Budapest decision prior to the December ministerial. Several PermReps noted a high degree of media and political interest in NATO,s increased counter-narcotics role, and that Foreign Ministers should be prepared for press questions on December 2-3. -------------- Balkans -------------- ¶8. (C/NF) Balkans: Bisogniero told the Council that given continuing uncertainty over the EU Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) deployment and Kosovar dissatisfaction with UN-Serbian negotiations on the so-called six points (police, court, customs, boundaries, transportation and infrastructure, and Serbian patrimony),NATO will continue to monitor carefully the security situation in Kosovo. Albania stressed the importance of coordinating EULEX deployment with Kosovo authorities. In response to Czech and Dutch requests for an assessment of the implications of the six points for KFOR operations, D/SYG said the appropriate time for an assessment would be after a deal on the six points was finalized. ¶9. (C) The Czech PermRep stressed the importance of KFOR,s new tasks of demobilizing the Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC) and standing up the Kosovo Security Force (KSF),calling the new tasks a precondition for KFOR being able to draw down to a deterrent presence. In response to the UK,s call for military authorities to begin fleshing out a plan for moving to a deterrent posture, Bulgaria said that the right time to address such a move was not until after EULEX deploys. ¶10. (C) D/SYG said the NATO Office of Resources will this week to complete work on detailed project documentation that will contain a list of KSF requirements that are essentially civilian in nature and provide flexibility to nations in identifying the budgetary sources of their contributions to the KSF trust fund. The Dutch PermRep said that with this documentation, he would be able to press the Hague to contribute to the KSF fund. He also reported that the Netherlands was considering a 2 million euro contribution to the KPC fund but thought it might not be necessary. Norway announced that it intended to give 200,000 euros for the KSF and could possibly give more to specifically civilian requirements once the project documentation was published. Albania announced that it would donate two personnel to assist with the KSF stand-up and was close to authorizing a contribution of 100,000 euros to be split between the KPC and KSF funds. ¶11. (C) Eikenberry briefed that on November 14 KFOR launched an information operations campaign in support of the KPC drawdown. He also said that KFOR was supporting Kosovo authorities in a KSF recruiting campaign that should begin in early December. The Czech PermRep emphasized the need for KFOR to take a public role in promoting the KSF. The British PermRep expressed satisfaction concerning the reported progress and stressed the need for sending a careful message USNATO 00000436 004 OF 006 on the KSF. ¶12. (C) LTG Eikenberry said that EULEX Head of Mission de Kermabon on November 19 had briefed NATO Chiefs of Defense (CHODs) via Video Tele-Conference that he and KFOR commander LTG Guy were taking a pragmatic approach on transferring French and Italian Multinational Specialized Units (MSU) from KFOR to EULEX command. The two agreed that the MSUs would not be transferred until conditions were right to do so. -------------- Africa -------------- ¶13. (C/NF) Africa: D/SYG reported that the International Staff was withdrawing SG(2008)0840, a paper which had proposed that vessels flagged by nations such as the DPRK be excluded from the World Food Program (WFP) escort program. A revised paper will be submitted shortly, to "ensure consistency of approach" with the EU on this issue. ¶14. (C/NF) The SHAPE briefer raised the activities of HMS Cumberland, which was forced to revert to national Rules of Engagement (ROE) in order to deal with pirate activities while on counter-piracy patrol. Eikenberry added that SHAPE had generated a request on November 18 for more robust ROE for Task Group Allied Provider in order to allow boarding and seizure operations with the use of minimum force. The Military Committee is working on advice for the NAC, probably in time for the November 26 session. ¶15. (C/NF) The Canadian PermRep suggested that a counter-piracy lessons-learned session would be appropriate early in the new year, following NATO's hand-off to the ESDP mission. Eikenberry said one was already planned on the military side, adding that it could easily be shared with the NAC if there were sufficient interest. The acting Turkish PermRep repeated a previous request for a report on NATO staff-to-staff level discussions with the EU as a result of Operation Allied Provider. -------------- Iraq -------------- ¶16. (C/NF) Iraq: The D/SYG announced that the progress on the U.S. Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with Iraq was a positive step for progress on the stand alone NATO agreement for NTM-I, which will be drafted and circulated soon to Allies for approval. Elements of that proposal will be drawn from the U.S. SOFA once it gains Iraqi parliamentary approval. ¶17. (C/NF) Response to Terrorism: no discussion -------------- Autumn 2008 ANAD and NC3B Meeting -------------- ¶18. (C/NF) Autumn 2008 ANAD and NC3B Meeting: A/SYG for Defence Investment Flory debriefed the results of the October 21-22 Conference of National Armaments Directors (CNAD) and November 12-13 NC3B meetings. Rushed for time, Mr Flory focused on recent progress made in the areas of Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS),Joint Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (JISR),Helicopters, and Cyber Defence. ¶19. (C/NF) Regarding AGS, Mr Flory focused on recent progress and remaining efforts required to move the program forward. The two main open issues are the finalization of the industrial participation plan and the selection of the main operating base (MOB). Mr Flory believed industry was very close to completing their participation arrangements and this would allow other pieces of the program to fall into place. He highlighted that there would only be one MOB and that the nation selected would assume a lot of responsibility for the USNATO 00000436 005 OF 006 future success of the program. He stated that he believed that he would be in a position to make a recommendation to the SYG on the MOB in the near term, at which point the SYG would bring it to the NAC for approval. Mr Flory noted the good work done in the Senior Resource Board to agree on funding arrangements given the complexity of the issues. While 15 of 18 participating nations have publicly stated they will be able to sign the Program Memorandum of Understanding (PMOU) by the end of 2008, clarity on remaining issues is necessary for the last three nations to complete their PMOU staffing in capitals. Mr Flory encouraged all participating nations to sign the PMOU as soon as possible with an eye on being able to go on contract with industry in early 2009. ¶20. (C/NF) Mr Flory discussed the linkage of AGS and JISR as mutually reinforcing capabilities aiming at increasing situational awareness, supporting political and military decision making, enhancing force protection, and minimizing civilian casualties and collateral damage. Regarding the contribution to alleviating the helicopter shortfall, Mr Flory highlighted the very successful CNAD-sponsored Helicopter Conference this past July which included over 200 participants from both government and industry. He encouraged nations to support fielding Precision Air Drop (PAD) capabilities recognizing that while PAD could not eliminate all helicopter sorties it could fulfill many helicopter missions. Mr Flory also encouraged nations to support the UK/French Helicopter Initiative as well as continuing to investigate opportunities for other multi-national helicopter arrangements/solutions. ¶21. (C/NF) On Cyber Defense, Mr Flory highlighted recent success in this area but stated there was still a long way to go. He noted that the Cyber Defense Management Authority (CDMA) was considering a CDMA CONOPS and that there would be a Cyber Defense exercise later this month. Mr Flory discussed the progress and shortfalls of the NATO Computer Incident Response Capability (NCIRC) and the importance of Information Assurance awareness and holding people accountable for security violations. Mr Flory highlighted recent cyber attacks on Lithuania and Georgia as well as the recent accreditation of the Cooperative Cyber Defense Center of Excellence in Estonia. ¶22. (C/NF) Mr Flory closed by noting that during his two years on the job there has not been much progress in the area of delivering common funded capabilities. He stressed that a clear list of priorities was critical to success. He said he would come back to the NAC in the future with some ideas on how to improve processes in order to deliver critical capabilities as requested by HoSG and Ministers. Several nations discussed closer cooperation with the EU and EDA to avoid duplication. The UK suggested that perhaps a NAC Reinforced with National Armaments Directors (NADs) might be useful in helping to focus nations on critical capability development issues. -------------- Statements on Political Subjects -------------- ¶23. (C/NF) Statements on Political Subjects: Italy briefed on recent events in the UN Security Council (UNSC),including updates on operations in Kosovo and Afghanistan,. On November 10, the political committee postponed decision on the UN Mission in Kosovo, pending the Secretary General,s Report. In the recent Secretary General,s lunch, UNSYG Ban highlighted points to be raised on the UNSC,s visit to Afghanistan, including support for upcoming elections and relations with Pakistan. ¶24. (C/NF) France briefed on last week,s EU-Russia summit, noting that a decision was made to resume talks on a new partnership agreement with Russia on December 2. France also noted the resumption of the Geneva peace process for the USNATO 00000436 006 OF 006 Georgian crisis, pointing out that the talks will seek to resolve the issue of internally displaced persons (IDP),the humanitarian situation on the ground and the lingering security situation. -------------- Any Other Business -------------- ¶25. (C/NF) Any Other Business: Bisogniero announced that PermReps would hold on informal discussion of Russian President Medvedev,s European Security Treaty proposals on November 24. ¶26. (C/NF) The U.S. briefed Allies on the recent Iranian missile test, noting the hope that this information would inform Allied discussions on Missile Defense. ¶27. (C/NF) NATO ForMin Communiqu Status Update: Negotiation of the December Foreign Ministerial communiqu is at about the forty percent mark and currently is somewhat jumbled, a customary state for this point in the process. Chief issues in debate are a way ahead on enlargement for Ukraine and Georgia; Russia policy; Open Door re-affirmation; Missile Defense; Arms Control; NATO-EU relations (and this is spilling over into Comprehensive Approach and counter-Piracy statement side debates); Macedonia; Energy Security; and an unresolved conflicts statement. Discussion of Afghanistan, Kosovo, Iraq, Transformation, HQ Reform, Strategic Communications, Partnerships, Counterterrorism and Africa text are converging gradually, yet still incomplete. Germany leads the entrenched naysayers (France, Spain, Netherlands, Norway, Italy, Luxembourg and Belgium) on Georgia/Ukraine MAP and enlargement issues, but bilateral consultations continue. Germany, Italy, France, Norway, Spain, Iceland and Turkey lead an effort to restore fully the NRC, while the U.S., Canada, Poland, the Czech Republic, and the Balts are placing significant qualifiers on the NRC relationship. The UK, Netherlands and Hungary are exploring middle ground. Missile Defense (MD) debate is mirroring the Bucharest alignments and progress on MD is linked to a statement on arms control by the Germans and Norwegians. Turkey is staunchly resisting French efforts to broaden the Bucharest text on NATO-EU relations and associated language in the Comprehensive Approach and Counter-Piracy paragraphs. They have begun talking off-line to defuse their formal increasingly testy standoffs in the committee. Greece is insisting that it has a monopoly on what can be said about Macedonia and how prominent it can be and encountering push-back by Italy, Hungary, Turkey, Norway, the Netherlands and, less frequently, the U.S. UK and Canada. Germany continues efforts to gut the energy security text in a repeat of their performance at Bucharest. Romania is trying to advocate for a Black Sea and &Frozen Conflicts8 statement and encountering resistance from Turkey and Bulgaria on regional grounds and several Allies who either doubt NATO should raise a topic where it recently has had limited impact or are averse to the &frozen8 nomenclature. Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina text finalization is generally slowed by repeated Hungarian Serbo-centric insistence on text insertions and the usual reservations and deflections of the Kosovo non-recognizing Allies led by Spain. Nevertheless, it is slowly converging along Bucharest lines. The Netherlands continues to insist on strong ICTY compliance language as a safeguard on the Serbia text. REID