READOUT NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL MEETING DECEMBER

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 USNATO 000460 NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/11/2018 TAGS: AF NATO PREL SUBJECT: READOUT NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL MEETING DECEMBER 10, 2008. USNATO 00000460 001.3 OF 004 Classified By: Classified by Charge' de Affaires Wlater S. Reid for rea sons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C/NF) Summary from the NAC Meeting: -- AFGHANISTAN: The Secretary General (SYG) said election support was a time critical issue with Afghan elections taking place as early as May 2009. He received NAC approval to task the Military Committee to provide advice on a NATO Election Support Force (ESF) and on SACEURs recent letter raising the possibility of using the NATO Response Force (NRF). The NAC will discuss the Election Support Force on January 7. SHAPE,s Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Maj Gen Wright, stated there has been a reduction in OMF activity in the last few weeks due to successes in neutralizing high value targets, Pakistani military operations in the NWFP and FATA, and winter weather. The U.S. and Canada spoke in support of the Senior Resource Board delivering advice to the Council by the end of the year on the ANA Trust Fund,s expansion to cover sustainment costs. -- BALKANS: The SYG said the EU Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) deployment on December 9 should prevent any security gaps, but KFOR will monitor the situation closely. The SYG, U.S., Czech Republic, Netherlands, Slovenia, and Albania warned that this would be an inappropriate time to start discussions on the Kumanovo Military Technical Agreement, but Norway, Bulgaria, Greece, and Hungary said we should be ready to hold informal, low-level talks with Serbia. SHAPE Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations Major General Wright said the continuing failure to name a Kosovo Security Force (KSF) commander would probably delay the KSF stand-up. -- AFRICA: Operation Allied Provider, the NATO World Food Program (WFP) escort and counter-piracy mission off the Horn of Africa, will cease operations December 12, the day the ESDP mission to escort WFP ships begins. Lessons-learned discussions are already underway, both in the Military Committee and at JFC Naples. -- IRAQ: No Discussion -- RESPONSE TO TERRORISM: No Discussion -- STATEMENTS ON POLITICAL TOPICS: France briefed on the discussion of EU foreign ministers at the recent General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC),which touched on EU operations, decisions to reinforce the EU,s cooperation with Pakistan and Israel, and preparations for the upcoming European Council meeting. Croatia briefed on activities of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), specifically the UNSC visit to Afghanistan and recent briefings on the political and security situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. -- AOB: Denmark notified Allies that the Danish parliament has approved the accession protocols for Albania and Croatia, and Croatia expressed hope that remaining Allies complete their respective approval procedures. Bulgaria announced that it will be circulating to Allies a paper on security in the Black Sea region, specifically maritime security, and the U.S. notified the group that it has circulated a letter on the successful December 5 U.S. ballistic missile defense test. END SUMMARY. -------------- Afghanistan -------------- ¶2. (C/NF) Afghanistan: The SYG noted that election support is a time critical issue with Afghan elections taking place as early as May 2009 and he set a NAC discussion on the Election Support Force (ESF) for January 7. The SYG requested and received the Council,s approval to task the USNATO 00000460 002.4 OF 004 Military Committee to provide advice on a letter from SACEUR raising the possibility of using the NATO Response Force (NRF) as part of an ESF. ¶3. (C/NF) Regarding the deployment of elements of the NATO Airborne Early Warning & Control (NAEWC) Force for ISAF, the SYG called on the Senior Resource Board to complete its tasking to provide funding recommendations, the International Staff to assess host nation support for a deployed NAEWC force, and the military staff to begin assessing air refuelling options. In closing, SYG mentioned that UNAMA is developing its Integrated Approach in close coordination with other key players, such as ISAF, with the aim of better coordinating security, governance, and development at different levels within Afghanistan. He stated UNAMA,s progress is welcome news and in line with the Comprehensive Approach for Afghanistan, which the Alliance has all agreed upon. ¶4. (C/NF) SHAPE,s Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, MG Wright, stated there has been a reduction in OMF activity in the last few weeks due to successes in neutralizing high value targets, the Pakistan Military,s operations in the NWFP / FATA, and winter weather. Approximately 2.5 million Afghans were registered to vote during phases 1 and 2 of voter registration. Phase 3 is set to begin on 13 Dec and so far there has been no specific OMF targeting of voter registration. Phase 3 of Kabul Province,s transition of lead security responsibility to the ANSF is on track with a planned transfer date of December 31st. ¶5. (C/NF) The Chairman of the Military Committee, Admiral Di Paola, provided a brief overview of SACEUR and DSACEUR,s Election Support Force (ESF) concept. The plan calls for deploying approximately 8 maneuver battalions and key enablers to provide the third and fourth tier security after the ANP (1st tier) and the ANA (2nd tier). An ESF force generation conference will be hosted by DSACEUR on January 14th. If the conference fails to generate the required force, SACEUR has stated he will call on the NATO Response Force to fill the void. CMC noted that this will require a political decision by the NAC. ¶6. (C/NF) Charg Reid echoed the SYG,s request for an early NAC discussion on election support to Afghanistan and he urged the SRB to complete its recommendations on the ANA Trust Fund expansion to include sustainment before the end of the year. The Canadian PermRep endorsed the U.S. comments and recommended a &reinforced8 Perm Reps Away Day in January to include MilReps, ASG/Ops, and perhaps the DCMC in a discussion on Afghanistan. ¶7. (C/NF) The Slovakian PermRep reported his nation,s decision to increase support to ISAF by deploying an additional 50 personnel to their contingent already working with Canada and the UK in RC-South. The Czech PermRep reported that 3 more Czech attack helicopters were moved to Afghanistan last week with the help of the U.S. He thanked the U.S. and called for the Alliance to donate 200,000 to the ANA Transportation Trust Fund in order to move the remaining 3 donated helicopters. Nine of the 12 donated Czech helicopters are now in Afghanistan. The Latvian PermRep noted that their OMLT is now in country; deployed to Jalalabad. -------------- Balkans -------------- ¶8. (C/NF) Balkans: The SYG said the EU Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) deployment on December 9 should prevent any security gaps but KFOR will monitor the situation closely. SHAPE Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations MG Wright said Kosovo remains relatively calm but that KFOR expects the situation to be strained for the next 30-60 days given the EULEX deployment. EULEX deployed 65 personnel into northern USNATO 00000460 003.2 OF 004 Kosovo on December 9 without incident; KFOR transferred two French Multinational Support Unit platoons to EULEX and is prepared to support EULEX and to take action to maintain public order if necessary. Chairman of the Military Committee (CMC) Admiral Di Paola added that KFOR is working closely with EULEX and will react appropriately to any problems in coordination with EULEX. Charge Reid said the U.S. was heartened by EULEX,s deployment but cautioned on the need for vigilance. ¶9. (C) The U.S., Czech Republic, Netherlands, Slovenia, and Albania warned that this would be an inappropriate time to start discussions on the Kumanovo Military Technical Agreement (MTA),noting that Serbian public comments on the issue demonstrate the potential for this to be destabilizing within Kosovo. Charge Reid cautioned that such talks could be appropriate later but now is a time for &strategic caution.8 Norway, supported by Bulgaria, Greece, and Hungary, argued that we should be ready to hold informal, low-level talks, particularly in the context of restarting dialogue between the KFOR commander and Serbian Chief of Defense. The SYG called this &the worst possible moment8 for such talks and added he was expecting a letter from Belgrade political authorities soon on the issue and would distribute it to the Council for discussion. He argued that political discussion of the future of the MTA must precede military dialogue on the topic. ¶10. (C) MG Wright said the Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC) commemoration ceremony scheduled for December 10 had been postponed due to the failure to name a Kosovo Security Force (KSF) commander, which would also probably cause a delay in the KSF stand up. He said that current KSF monetary donations and pledges would only meet 4 percent of the estimated costs of standing up the KSF, but welcomed the U.S. uniform donation and German vehicle donation and said that SHAPE still needed to do a financial estimate on the impact of those donations. -------------- Africa -------------- ¶11. (C/NF) Africa: The SYG reported that Operation Allied Provider (OAP),to escort World Food Program ships to Mogadishu and to conduct limited counter-piracy operations off the Horn of Africa, will come to an end on December 12. The ESDP operation which will follow it, ATALANTA, will begin escort operations the same day. He added that OAP had provided the Alliance with useful experience as it considers possible long-term counter-piracy efforts in the months ahead. ¶12. (C/NF) The Chairman of the Military Committee added that the MC will provide a summary report of the operation to the NAC on December 17. Meanwhile, JFC Naples will undertake a more in-depth lessons-learned exercise, covering both OAP and larger issues of maritime awareness, in the near future. ¶13. (C/NF) Iraq: No Discussion ¶14. (C/NF) Response to Terrorism: No Discussion -------------- Statements on Political Subjects -------------- ¶15. (C/NF) Statements on Political Subjects: France briefed on the discussions of EU foreign ministers at the recent GAERC meeting. Croatia briefed on activities of the UNSC, noting that in their visit to Afghanistan UN Perm Reps noted points of progress, specifically on cooperation with Pakistan, appointment of Afghan ministers and voter registration. December 5 briefings to the UNSC by High Representative for BiH Lajcak and Chairman of the BiH Council of Ministers Spiric demonstrated the political situation in BiH was &difficult8 and the &good will fragile,8 but the USNATO 00000460 004.2 OF 004 security situation remained stable. -------------- Any Other Business -------------- ¶16. (C/NF) Any Other Business: Denmark notified Allies that the Danish parliament had ratified the accession protocols for Albania and Croatia, and Croatia expressed hope that remaining Allies would complete their respective approval procedures. Bulgaria announced that it will be circulating to Allies a paper on security in the Black Sea region, specifically maritime security, and the U.S. notified the group that it has circulated a letter on the successful December 5 U.S. ballistic missile defense test. REID