Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08USNATO93
2008-03-11 13:20:00
CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN
Mission USNATO
Cable title:
NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL READOUT - MARCH 5, 2008
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 USNATO 000093
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NOFORN
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E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/11/2018
TAGS: NATO PREL AF
SUBJECT: NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL READOUT - MARCH 5, 2008
USNATO 00000093 001.2 OF 003
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 03 USNATO 000093
SIPDIS
NOFORN
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/11/2018
TAGS: NATO PREL AF
SUBJECT: NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL READOUT - MARCH 5, 2008
USNATO 00000093 001.2 OF 003
Classified By: DCM Richard G. Olson for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)
1. (C/NF) Summary from the NAC Meeting:
-- Afghanistan: Secretary General (SYG) de Hoop Scheffer
thanked the NAC for strengthening the Senior Civilian
Representative's office and, in later discussion, reiterated
his disagreement with a U.S. intelligence report that
concluded the Afghan government only controlled 30 percent of
the country's territory. The Canadian PermRep asked for NATO
analysis in light of the intelligence report,s conclusion.
Chairman of the Military Committee Henault described recent
efforts by JFC Brunssum to enhance international coordination
in Afghanistan, and the International Military Staff
announced the launch of Operation SHAMSHIR.
-- Balkans: The Chairman of the Military Committee (CMC)
highlighted the lack of inter-ethnic violence to date, and
SACEUR briefed on cooperation between the KPC and UNMIK and
their relation to KFOR. Several Allies commented that
UNMIK's activities should be better coordinated with KFOR and
remarked that the UN should keep UNMIK in sufficient strength
until EULEX is fully deployed throughout Kosovo. The Czech
PermRep commented that there are reports of as many as 1,200
Serbian Ministry of Interior Police (MUP) infiltrating into
northern Kosovo on Belgrade's instruction. Ambassador Nuland
noted the importance of public diplomacy and the importance
of conveying the true story of NATO,s success in Kosovo.
-- Africa ) Support to the AU: Not discussed.
-- Iraq: Ambassador Nuland urged Allies to respond to Iraq PM
Maliki's request for expanded NATO training of Iraqi security
forces, and asked the SYG to schedule a discussion on Iraq
next week with the goal of preparing a positive response at
Bucharest to PM Maliki's request.
-- Response to Terrorism: Ambassador Nuland briefly
referenced the March 2 U.S. missile strike southern Somalia.
The Turkish PermRep informed that Turkish land forces had
completed limited land attacks against the PKK and had
withdrawn to Turkey from northern Iraq.
END SUMMARY.
--------------
Afghanistan
--------------
2. (C/NF) The SYG pointed to the recent removal by President
Karzai of Helmand Governor Wafa as an encouraging sign on the
governance front, and thanked the NAC for approving a package
to strengthen the office of the NATO Senior Civilian
Representative (SCR) in Kabul. (Comment: This package for
the first time gives the SCR NAC-approved Terms of Reference,
as well as ten commonly funded staff positions that will
provide the core policy and public affairs structure of the
office. Previously, the office had relied solely on
Voluntary National Contributions, resulting in at-times
under-qualified individuals and unpredictable, lengthy
staffing gaps. End comment.)
3. (C/NF) CMC Henault briefed on a recent "Afghanistan
Coordination Conference" hosted by JFC Brunssum. The
conference was led by UNAMA and included representatives from
the Afghan Government, UNDP, NATO HQ, ISAF, CENTCOM, CSTC-A,
USAID, and the EU. The purpose of the conference was to
produce a draft Action Plan for the development of an
integrated approach to better coordinate the International
USNATO 00000093 002.3 OF 003
Community's involvement in Afghanistan. CMC Henault
commended this initiative, and stated that given that UNAMA
has an extremely limited planning capability, should any
requests by UNAMA to NATO for planning assistance be
forthcoming, it would be in NATO's interest to respond
positively.
4. (C/NF) IMS Assistant Director for Operations MG Li Gobbi
anticipated increased activity by Opposing Militant Forces
(OMF) and increased infiltrations from Pakistan as spring
weather approaches. These infiltrations could also be
facilitated by the ongoing ceasefire between militants and
Pakistani forces in Pakistan's FATA. He briefed ongoing
activity in RC-East to counter this, while also noting that
levels of OMF activity in RC-East continue to be lower thus
far in 2008 in comparison with the same time period in 2007.
Li Gobbi stated that ISAF's pan-theater Operation SHAMSHIR
had been launched on March 1. Recalling an oft-briefed
figure ) 70 percent of activity against OMF has occurred in
only 10 percent of Afghanistan's districts ) he stated that
Operation SHAMSHIR will focus on that 10 percent, and aim to
enhance security, facilitate reconstruction and development,
and bolster the credibility of local governance.
5. (C/NF) Canadian PermRep McRae expressed puzzlement at
recent testimony of Director of National Intelligence
McConnell before the Senate Armed Services Committee, during
which it was stated that the Afghan government controlled
only 30 percent of the country's territory, and asked for the
views of NATO's intelligence officials. McRae also asked if
there were any indications that Taliban destruction of cell
phone towers in the south had affected the public mood. The
SYG reminded PermReps that he had publicly disagreed with the
DNI's testimony while in Washington in late February,
repeated his disagreement, and told the Canadian PermRep he
would ask for a NATO analysis.
--------------
Balkans
--------------
6. (C/NF) The SYG informed the Council that twenty-three
countries have recognized Kosovo independence, with
additional countries indicating their intent to recognize.
The SYG also briefed on the status on the Kosovo
constitution, which is currently under public review. Work
continues on the 30 laws that will be necessary to carry out
the tenets of the Ahtisaari plan, with nine having passed
last week. The CMC highlighted the lack of inter-ethnic
violence to date, despite Serbian provocations to effect a
soft partition of the Serb populated region north of the Ibar
River.
7. (C/NF) SACEUR briefed on cooperation between the KPC and
UNMIK and their relation to KFOR. He said tension was
manageable, even in northern Kosovo. Ethnic Serb officials
and members of the police were not cooperating with
Kosovar-Albanian authorities, but Serb efforts at soft
partition were concentrated in judicial functions, including
requisition of the court house and recognition of Serb
magistrates only. Customs collection still did not work in
the north.
8. (C/NF) Slovakia, Turkey, France, Belgium, the UK and the
Netherlands commented that UNMIK's activities should be
better coordinated with KFOR and remarked that the UN should
keep UNMIK in sufficient force until EULEX is fully deployed
throughout Kosovo. SACEUR said that while the KPC had no
USNATO 00000093 003.3 OF 003
authority in the north, northern Serb cooperation with UNMIK
and UNMIK's cooperation with KFOR has improved in recent
days. SACEUR said he did not understand UN HQ intentions for
the remainder of UNMIK's mandate. He wanted UNMIK to remain
at full force until the transition to the EULEX mission in
June. SACEUR said that the international community needed to
get on with its task of disbanding the KPC, and recruit some
of its elements into a truly multi-ethnic Kosovo Security
Force.
9. (C/NF) The SYG reported on his discussion Tuesday with EU
Special Representative Peter Feith, who told him that Serbs
in northern Kosovo would not recognize the legitimacy of the
EULEX police mission. The SYG said he would have talks both
with UN SYG Ban Ki-moon and EU Secretary General Javier
Solana about the need for maintaining a full strength UNMIK
police presence, especially in the north, during the ramping
up of EULEX. The Czech PermRep commented that there are
reports of as many as 1,200 Serbian Ministry of Interior
Police (MUP) infiltrated into northern Kosovo under Belgrade
instruction. SACEUR rejoined that there were no more than
200 MUP in northern Kosovo, but it appeared that they were
not there on a permanent basis. Ambassador Nuland noted the
importance of public diplomacy and the importance, both for
Allied capitals and the NATO Secretariat, to convey to the
media, the true story about NATO's success in Kosovo. She
remarked that since independence, no one has been displaced
from Kosovo or forced to become a refugee.
--------------
Iraq
--------------
10. (SBU) Ambassador Nuland urged Allies to respond to Iraq
PM Maliki's letter requesting expanded NATO training of Iraqi
security forces. She asked the SYG to schedule a discussion
on Iraq next week with the goal of preparing a positive
response at Bucharest to PM Maliki's request.
--------------
Response to Terrorism
--------------
11. (SBU) Ambassador Nuland made a brief statement that on
March 2, a U.S. missile targeted a high value al-Qaeda
terrorist in southern Somalia.
12. (SBU) Turkey's PermRep informed the NAC that Turkish land
forces had completed limited land attacks against the PKK and
had withdrawn to Turkey from northern Iraq.
NULAND
SIPDIS
NOFORN
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/11/2018
TAGS: NATO PREL AF
SUBJECT: NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL READOUT - MARCH 5, 2008
USNATO 00000093 001.2 OF 003
Classified By: DCM Richard G. Olson for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)
1. (C/NF) Summary from the NAC Meeting:
-- Afghanistan: Secretary General (SYG) de Hoop Scheffer
thanked the NAC for strengthening the Senior Civilian
Representative's office and, in later discussion, reiterated
his disagreement with a U.S. intelligence report that
concluded the Afghan government only controlled 30 percent of
the country's territory. The Canadian PermRep asked for NATO
analysis in light of the intelligence report,s conclusion.
Chairman of the Military Committee Henault described recent
efforts by JFC Brunssum to enhance international coordination
in Afghanistan, and the International Military Staff
announced the launch of Operation SHAMSHIR.
-- Balkans: The Chairman of the Military Committee (CMC)
highlighted the lack of inter-ethnic violence to date, and
SACEUR briefed on cooperation between the KPC and UNMIK and
their relation to KFOR. Several Allies commented that
UNMIK's activities should be better coordinated with KFOR and
remarked that the UN should keep UNMIK in sufficient strength
until EULEX is fully deployed throughout Kosovo. The Czech
PermRep commented that there are reports of as many as 1,200
Serbian Ministry of Interior Police (MUP) infiltrating into
northern Kosovo on Belgrade's instruction. Ambassador Nuland
noted the importance of public diplomacy and the importance
of conveying the true story of NATO,s success in Kosovo.
-- Africa ) Support to the AU: Not discussed.
-- Iraq: Ambassador Nuland urged Allies to respond to Iraq PM
Maliki's request for expanded NATO training of Iraqi security
forces, and asked the SYG to schedule a discussion on Iraq
next week with the goal of preparing a positive response at
Bucharest to PM Maliki's request.
-- Response to Terrorism: Ambassador Nuland briefly
referenced the March 2 U.S. missile strike southern Somalia.
The Turkish PermRep informed that Turkish land forces had
completed limited land attacks against the PKK and had
withdrawn to Turkey from northern Iraq.
END SUMMARY.
--------------
Afghanistan
--------------
2. (C/NF) The SYG pointed to the recent removal by President
Karzai of Helmand Governor Wafa as an encouraging sign on the
governance front, and thanked the NAC for approving a package
to strengthen the office of the NATO Senior Civilian
Representative (SCR) in Kabul. (Comment: This package for
the first time gives the SCR NAC-approved Terms of Reference,
as well as ten commonly funded staff positions that will
provide the core policy and public affairs structure of the
office. Previously, the office had relied solely on
Voluntary National Contributions, resulting in at-times
under-qualified individuals and unpredictable, lengthy
staffing gaps. End comment.)
3. (C/NF) CMC Henault briefed on a recent "Afghanistan
Coordination Conference" hosted by JFC Brunssum. The
conference was led by UNAMA and included representatives from
the Afghan Government, UNDP, NATO HQ, ISAF, CENTCOM, CSTC-A,
USAID, and the EU. The purpose of the conference was to
produce a draft Action Plan for the development of an
integrated approach to better coordinate the International
USNATO 00000093 002.3 OF 003
Community's involvement in Afghanistan. CMC Henault
commended this initiative, and stated that given that UNAMA
has an extremely limited planning capability, should any
requests by UNAMA to NATO for planning assistance be
forthcoming, it would be in NATO's interest to respond
positively.
4. (C/NF) IMS Assistant Director for Operations MG Li Gobbi
anticipated increased activity by Opposing Militant Forces
(OMF) and increased infiltrations from Pakistan as spring
weather approaches. These infiltrations could also be
facilitated by the ongoing ceasefire between militants and
Pakistani forces in Pakistan's FATA. He briefed ongoing
activity in RC-East to counter this, while also noting that
levels of OMF activity in RC-East continue to be lower thus
far in 2008 in comparison with the same time period in 2007.
Li Gobbi stated that ISAF's pan-theater Operation SHAMSHIR
had been launched on March 1. Recalling an oft-briefed
figure ) 70 percent of activity against OMF has occurred in
only 10 percent of Afghanistan's districts ) he stated that
Operation SHAMSHIR will focus on that 10 percent, and aim to
enhance security, facilitate reconstruction and development,
and bolster the credibility of local governance.
5. (C/NF) Canadian PermRep McRae expressed puzzlement at
recent testimony of Director of National Intelligence
McConnell before the Senate Armed Services Committee, during
which it was stated that the Afghan government controlled
only 30 percent of the country's territory, and asked for the
views of NATO's intelligence officials. McRae also asked if
there were any indications that Taliban destruction of cell
phone towers in the south had affected the public mood. The
SYG reminded PermReps that he had publicly disagreed with the
DNI's testimony while in Washington in late February,
repeated his disagreement, and told the Canadian PermRep he
would ask for a NATO analysis.
--------------
Balkans
--------------
6. (C/NF) The SYG informed the Council that twenty-three
countries have recognized Kosovo independence, with
additional countries indicating their intent to recognize.
The SYG also briefed on the status on the Kosovo
constitution, which is currently under public review. Work
continues on the 30 laws that will be necessary to carry out
the tenets of the Ahtisaari plan, with nine having passed
last week. The CMC highlighted the lack of inter-ethnic
violence to date, despite Serbian provocations to effect a
soft partition of the Serb populated region north of the Ibar
River.
7. (C/NF) SACEUR briefed on cooperation between the KPC and
UNMIK and their relation to KFOR. He said tension was
manageable, even in northern Kosovo. Ethnic Serb officials
and members of the police were not cooperating with
Kosovar-Albanian authorities, but Serb efforts at soft
partition were concentrated in judicial functions, including
requisition of the court house and recognition of Serb
magistrates only. Customs collection still did not work in
the north.
8. (C/NF) Slovakia, Turkey, France, Belgium, the UK and the
Netherlands commented that UNMIK's activities should be
better coordinated with KFOR and remarked that the UN should
keep UNMIK in sufficient force until EULEX is fully deployed
throughout Kosovo. SACEUR said that while the KPC had no
USNATO 00000093 003.3 OF 003
authority in the north, northern Serb cooperation with UNMIK
and UNMIK's cooperation with KFOR has improved in recent
days. SACEUR said he did not understand UN HQ intentions for
the remainder of UNMIK's mandate. He wanted UNMIK to remain
at full force until the transition to the EULEX mission in
June. SACEUR said that the international community needed to
get on with its task of disbanding the KPC, and recruit some
of its elements into a truly multi-ethnic Kosovo Security
Force.
9. (C/NF) The SYG reported on his discussion Tuesday with EU
Special Representative Peter Feith, who told him that Serbs
in northern Kosovo would not recognize the legitimacy of the
EULEX police mission. The SYG said he would have talks both
with UN SYG Ban Ki-moon and EU Secretary General Javier
Solana about the need for maintaining a full strength UNMIK
police presence, especially in the north, during the ramping
up of EULEX. The Czech PermRep commented that there are
reports of as many as 1,200 Serbian Ministry of Interior
Police (MUP) infiltrated into northern Kosovo under Belgrade
instruction. SACEUR rejoined that there were no more than
200 MUP in northern Kosovo, but it appeared that they were
not there on a permanent basis. Ambassador Nuland noted the
importance of public diplomacy and the importance, both for
Allied capitals and the NATO Secretariat, to convey to the
media, the true story about NATO's success in Kosovo. She
remarked that since independence, no one has been displaced
from Kosovo or forced to become a refugee.
--------------
Iraq
--------------
10. (SBU) Ambassador Nuland urged Allies to respond to Iraq
PM Maliki's letter requesting expanded NATO training of Iraqi
security forces. She asked the SYG to schedule a discussion
on Iraq next week with the goal of preparing a positive
response at Bucharest to PM Maliki's request.
--------------
Response to Terrorism
--------------
11. (SBU) Ambassador Nuland made a brief statement that on
March 2, a U.S. missile targeted a high value al-Qaeda
terrorist in southern Somalia.
12. (SBU) Turkey's PermRep informed the NAC that Turkish land
forces had completed limited land attacks against the PKK and
had withdrawn to Turkey from northern Iraq.
NULAND