COORDINATING U.S. LEADERSHIP OF HORN OF AFRICA

C O N F I D E N T I A L STATE 042321 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/11/2018 TAGS: EWWT KCRM NATO PBTS PREL SUBJECT: COORDINATING U.S. LEADERSHIP OF HORN OF AFRICA COUNTER PIRACY:NEXT STEPS FOR NATO REF: USNATO 160 Classified By: Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary Bruce Turner for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Washington Inter-Agency agrees with the way forward outlined in USNATO 160 as modified below. ¶2. (C) Recently Secretary of State Clinton has called for U.S. leadership of international counter-piracy efforts in the Horn of Africa and Gulf of Aden. She also called for a strengthened NATO Mission with robust rules of engagement and authorities to detain and transfer suspected pirates for prosecution in states victimized by piracy or to prosecution in third party states in the Horn of Africa (HOA) region At the April 22 NAC Session, led by the U.S., Netherlands, UK and Canada, PermReps discussed (a) expanding NATO's mandate and rules of engagement (at least to match those of the EU), (b) the retasking of the Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1) to remain in the Gulf of Aden (Allies subsequently agreed during silence procedure that SNMG1 would cancel its scheduled out of area deployment to South East Asia and return to Gulf of Aden - Horn of Africa counter-piracy patrols immediately following an April 27 Karachi port visit),and (c) possible agreement on a long-term, dedicated NATO counter-piracy operation to contribute to global counter-piracy efforts. Germany and France - for the first time ) spoke in favor of a long-term NATO counter-piracy operation. Several PermReps also spoke in support of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS) and urged that sustainable legal authorities and detention policies be worked out through that body. END SUMMARY ¶3. (C) Recognizing that NATO is part of broader U.S. and international efforts, Mission should support the following positions in discussions at NATO: -- (C) Revising NATO's mandate and rules of engagement, as proposed by SACEUR, at a minimum to match those of the European Union; -- (C) Urging NATO to participate actively in Contact Group discussions, particularly on legal authorities and detention policies, in order to provide sustainable solutions to those issues, and at the same time to pursue a NATO agreement with regional states such as Kenya on receiving captured pirates; -- (C) Establishment of a long-term NATO counter-piracy operation to provide critical command and control, coordination, and additional naval capacity as a backbone to broader Trans-Atlantic and international counter-piracy efforts off the coast of Somalia. The North Atlantic Council should seek agreement on clear roles, missions, and objectives for the NATO counter-piracy operation. Defining the U.S. contribution to the NATO operation will be an important component to reaching a NATO consensus, based on NATO's value-added. This will demonstrate U.S. leadership, and provide additional assets to efforts to counter piracy in the HOA. -- (U) Asking NATO military authorities to provide before the next meeting of Defense Ministers on June 11, 2009, advice on what forces, capabilities, and command arrangements would be best suited for counter-piracy operations. ¶4. (U) It is possible that the EU will decide to renew the Atalanta operational mandate that is now scheduled to terminate in December. USNAVCENT and NATO should welcome unity of effort with the EU and all international countering piracy operations patrolling the 1.5 million square mile Horn of Africa maritime area. ¶5. (SBU) NMA's should be tasked to implement the President's goals, which were agreed by HOSGs at Strasbourg, for establishing a long-term NATO effort to provide maritime and coastal security capacity building assistance to the AU and regional states. Such efforts may include NATO Mobile Training Teams, possibly drawing on Allied Coast Guards. NATO capacity building may also include opening of the NATO Maritime Operations Interdiction Training Center to higher-end African navies including Kenya and South Africa. Regional capacity building efforts of NATO and other international organizations and states should be mutually supportive. CLINTON