NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL READOUT - MARCH 12, 2008

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 05 USNATO 000096 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/12/2018 TAGS: NATO PREL AF SUBJECT: NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL READOUT - MARCH 12, 2008 Classified By: DCM Richard G. Olson for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C/NF) Summary from the NAC Meeting: -- Afghanistan: Secretary General De Hoop Scheffer welcomed the appointment of Kai Eide as Special Representative of the UN Secretary General in Afghanistan, and urged Allies to support him fully. Deputy Chairman of the Military Committee (D/CMC) LTG Eikenberry noted counter-IED improvements by NATO forces and urged Allies to ensure their troops receive available NATO training. SHAPE Deputy of Staff for Operations MG Wright cited an increase in IED attacks from 2007, but also an increase in IED discoveries, and stated that ISAF's Theater Task Force (TTF),comprised of elements of the 82nd Airborne Division, was preparing for a relief in place by elements of the 101st Airborne Division. -- Balkans: The SYG announced he will visit Kosovo by the end of the week. The Execution Directive is under NAC silence until March 14. SHAPE said that KFOR remains ready to support UNMIK and other international organizations throughout Kosovo. -- Africa ) Support to the AU: No discussion. -- Iraq: D/CMC reported that the SHAPE Spring 2008 NATO Training Mission-Iraq (NTM-I) out-of-cycle review is under silence until Friday, March 14. The SYG confirmed that the NAC would discuss a request for additional training from Iraq PM Maliki. -- Response to Terrorism: Spain thanked the NAC for its support in the wake of an ETA bombing that killed a Basque worker belonging to the Socialist party. This was the first time Spain has mentioned "ETA" at the NAC. -- Statements on Political Subjects: Slovenia, as EU Presidency, raised EU concerns about the situation in Iran, specifically the recent IAEA report, and about future Georgian elections. Ambassador Nuland echoed EU/Slovenia's concern about Abkhazia, reporting that U.S. officials have made public statements expressing concern about the lifting of CIS economic sanctions. She called on Allies to echo these U.S. statements. -- AOB: A NAC-plus-1 with Georgia will be scheduled for March 26 to discuss Georgia Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP). Poland announced a 30K euros contribution for the PfP trust fund project to demilitarize rockets in Georgia. Ambassador Nuland announced that Acting Under Secretary Fried will return to NATO on March 19 to report on the upcoming 2-plus-2 talks in Moscow. END SUMMARY. -------------- Afghanistan -------------- ¶2. (C/NF) The SYG reiterated his support for new UN SRSG Kai Eide, support which he had expressed publicly in a March 10 press statement. The SYG told the NAC that Eide will be a superb interlocutor for ISAF and the NATO Senior Civilian USNATO 00000096 002 OF 005 Representative (SCR),and will help fill the pressing need for greater coordination of the international civilian effort. He urged Allies to support Eide's efforts to the maximum extent possible. ¶3. (C/NF) Deputy Chairman of the Military Committee LTG Eikenberry stated that NATO had made significant improvements in counter-IED technology, equipment, and tactics over the past year, but reminded Allies that some nations were not taking full advantage of the range of counter-IED training offered by NATO, and were still deploying units to Afghanistan that were not as well-trained as they should be. He also stated that Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) have much less counter-IED capability than do ISAF forces, and that they have paid the price in higher casualties. He urged that ANSF be fully integrated into ISAF operations and maneuvers, to keep within ISAF's "protective umbrella" during maneuvers, so that they may benefit from the better ISAF counter-IED technology and tactics. ¶4. (C/NF) SHAPE Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations MG Wright reiterated the importance of counter-IED training and equipping of ISAF forces by providing some data: IED incidents against ISAF are up 33 percent this year compared to the same time period in 2007. However, due largely to training he stated, the number of IED discoveries are up 55 percent. Of the 171 IED "incidents" in February 2008, he briefed that 38 percent exploded, 55 percent were discovered prior to detonation, 5 percent were pointed out by local nationals prior to detonation, and 2 percent pre-detonated. ¶5. (C/NF) MG Wright stated that COMISAF had issued a March 9 fragmentary order (FRAGO) to guide ISAF support to the Afghan government's flood response effort and NATO military authorities had taken steps to provide seven bridges requested by COMISAF for the Afghan population, as well as five additional bridges to support Afghan army logistics. He also noted reports from Kabul that the Ring Road should be complete by March 2009, and informed the NAC that ISAF's TTF (comment: the 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division. end comment) is at Kandahar Air Field preparing for its relief in place by elements of the 101st Air Assault Division. ¶6. (C/NF) During discussion, UK PermRep Eldon asked for input from NATO military authorities that could help illustrate concrete NATO military successes in Afghanistan publicly at Bucharest. Questions such as the progress by ISAF in integrating a senior Afghan General into ISAF HQ, the prospect for turning over security responsibility in select areas to ANSF, and the Commanders' views on the status of the campaign as of the end of March would need to be addressed, he stated. Canadian PermRep McRae recalled the NAC's brief with COMCSTC-A MG Cone in February in Kabul, and asked how the 2013 target completion date of the Focused District Development police training program could be moved forward. Ambassador Nuland stated that the top issue slowing down police training is the lack of trainers, particularly embedded trainers, and encouraged the fielding of forces such as Italy's Carabinieri, either integrated with CSTC-A or as part of coherent national programs such as Canada's "POMLTs" initiative. Looking at Bucharest public diplomacy, Ambassador Nuland said it would be helpful to see a USNATO 00000096 003 OF 005 year-on-year comparison map of territory held by the ANSF and ISAF, versus territory held by Opposing Militant Forces. MG Wright said that SHAPE could do that, and LTG Eikenberry predicted it would show positive movement in the presence of the ANSF throughout Afghanistan. -------------- Balkans -------------- ¶7. (C/NF) The SYG announced to the Council that he plans on visiting Kosovo within the week, which will constitute his first visit since Pristina's February 17 declaration of independence, and that he plans on reassuring all communities within Kosovo of NATO's continued resolve and commitment to their safety. The SYG also noted that the Execution Directive for KFOR's new tasks has been placed under silence for NAC approval until noon Friday, March 14. ¶8. (C/NF) The D/CMC highlighted a border incident in late February as a positive example of the good communications between KFOR and Serbian military authorities. During the incident, COMKFOR called the Serbian Chief of Defense (CHOD), General Ponos, and reminded him of KFOR's right to establish a "ground safety zone" of 5 kilometers in the event of an incident on the border. If activated, Serbia has to remove all security forces, except for local police, from the zone. CHOD Ponos was receptive and brought it up for discussion during a meeting of the Serbian NSC. Ambassador Nuland later praised this story as an example of good cooperation between NATO and Serbia on Kosovo for our public diplomacy efforts. ¶9. (C/NF) General Porter from SHAPE reported the situation in Kosovo remains calm, but tense, and that KFOR continues to focus its operations on maintaining its visibility and its flexibility in order to respond in support of UNMIK and the KPS. He said the German operational reserve battalion (ORF) would deploy to northern Kosovo, replacing the Italian ORF that is already there, on March 18. General Porter also reaffirmed that KFOR remains ready to provide support to UNMIK and other international organizations throughout all of Kosovo, including in-extremis support, in accordance with its mandate and established procedures. He noted the positive developments with regard to the lack of refugee flights, inter-ethnic violence, and the good behavior of the Kosovo Albanians, but advised that the Kosovo Serbs continue to hold demonstrations against independence and to target any entity associated with Pristina authority, such as the customs posts, the Mitrovica court house, and the university. Walkouts and the subsequent suspension of Kosovo Serb police in the enclaves make it more likely that KFOR could be called on to fulfill a law enforcement role, should violence erupt. ¶10. (C/NF) As for the railway that links Kosovo to Serbia, General Porter informed the Council that UNMIK has control over the rail lines, but train service in the north has not resumed due to strikes by the Serb railway workers, primarily the operators. Ambassador Nuland added that since these trains essentially serve the Serbian enclaves, one set of Serbs from Mitrovica was dictating conditions to other Serbs in Kosovo. General Porter, in response to U.S. and German questions on customs service, had no further details on when UNMIK would resume customs service in the north, only noting USNATO 00000096 004 OF 005 that they needed time to replace the destroyed equipment. Spain notified the Council that they demarched the UN yesterday on the need to give UNMIK clear instructions and that UNMIK needs to continue fulfilling its mandate in the north and Kosovo wide. ¶11. (C/NF) Note: Later on March 12 at the EAPC, the Serbian Special representative to NATO, inter alia, called for "no erosion in UNMIK's mandate," and strongly urged no further transfers of authority to any other body, specifically ruling out the EULEX mission. He welcomed KFOR's role of implementing para. 9 of UNSCR 1244 and called for all nations to observe UNSCR 1244 in full. He also apologized to Allied and Partner nations whose embassies had been attacked, while linking the "unfortunate acts by several hundred" to the seizure of Serbia's territory. In contrast to last month's EAPC Ambassadorial meeting, Russian Ambassador Rogozin was silent on the issue. EndNote. -------------- Iraq -------------- ¶12. (C/NF) The CMC eported that the SHAPE Spring 2008 NATO Training ission-Iraq (NTM-I) out-of-cycle review is undersilence until Friday, March 14. Ambassador Nulandrequested the NAC issue a decision permitting th SYG to respond affirmatively to a request for aditional training from Iraq PM Maliki. The SYG rplied that the NAC would take this up next week. -------------- Response to Terrorism -------------- ¶13. (C/NF) Spain thanked he NAC for its support in the wake of an ETA boming that killed a Basque worker belonging to the Socialist party. This was the first time Spain has said the word "ETA" in the NAC, according to the Spanish Ambassador. -------------- Statements on Political Subjects -------------- ¶14. (C/NF) Current EU President Slovenia raised concerns about the situation in Iran, specifically the recent IAEA report, and about future Georgian elections. Slovenia said that the EU will monitor the upcoming elections and was concerned about the possibility that some countries might recognize Abkhazia. Ambassador Nuland also echoed Slovenia's concern about Abkhazia, reporting that U.S. officials have made public statements expressing concern about the lifting of CIS economic sanctions. --- AOB --- ¶15. (C/NF) The SYG said he will schedule a NAC-plus-1 with Georgia t discuss its IPAP on March 26. Georgia had asked to the SYG to arrange the meeting prior to the Buharest Summit. USNATO 00000096 005 OF 005 ¶16. (C/NF) Poland announced that it was contributing 30K euros for the PfP trust fund project to decommission military rockets in Georgia. Ambassador Nuland announced that Acting Under Secretary Fried would come to NATO on March 19 to report on upcoming 2-plus-2 talks in Moscow. NULAND