READOUT: NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL MEETING MARCH 25,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 USNATO 000122

NOFORN
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/25/2019
TAGS: AF PREL NATO
SUBJECT: READOUT: NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL MEETING MARCH 25,
2009

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Classified By: Classified by Deputy Chief of Mission Walter E. Andrusys
zyn for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C/NF) Summary from the NAC Meeting:

-- AFGHANISTAN: The U.S. said it was looking for Allies to
take decisions this week on paramilitary policing and on
melding the U.S. review and Alliance approach in order to
show unity and progress at the Summit. Canada encouraged
Allies to agree to statements of Alliance support for ANSF
capacity building, policing, and training for Pakistani
forces. Poland announced it would send an additional 400
troops to Afghanistan.

-- BALKANS: SHAPE Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations MG
Wright briefed that the new tasks of demobilizing the Kosovo
Protection Corps and standing up the Kosovo Security Force
(KSF) are progressing well, but the KSF trust fund has a
16.87 million euro shortfall.

-- AFRICA: MG Wright reported that Standing NATO Maritime
Group -1 (SNMG-1) had arrived off the Horn of Africa and
begun 20 days of anti-piracy operations, which will be
followed by port visits to Karachi, Singapore and Perth
before another 10 days off the Horn.

-- IRAQ: Assistant Secretary General for Operations Martin
Howard said he had initialed a short-term MOU on the NATO
Training Mission Iraq (NTM-I) during his March 21-22 visit to
Baghdad and had passed a draft letter for President
Talabani,s signature on human rights protections and began
discussions about a longer-term agreement that would cover
the legal status of NTM-I personnel.

-- RESPONSE TO TERRORISM: The UK announced its government had
yesterday released an updated, unclassified version of the
UK,s counter-terrorism strategy.

-- STATEMENTS ON POLITICAL TOPICS: No discussion.

--AOB: No discussion.

END SUMMARY.

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Afghanistan
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2. (C/NF) Afghanistan: The Deputy Secretary General (DSYG)
cited the important exchanges with Special Envoy Holbrooke on
March 23 and the recent NAC visit to Afghanistan as preparing
the way for the Summit. Turkey noted Special Envoy
Holbrooke,s proposal for a NAC visit to Islamabad and said
the Alliance needs to follow-up on the Secretary General,s
(SYG) recent visit to Pakistan, suggesting NATO establish a
Contact Point Embassy in Islamabad and answer clearly
Pakistan,s request for slots at NATO schools. The U.S.
highlighted that the SYG would be meeting with the President
today, and Afghanistan would be a major part of that
discussion.


3. (C) The U.S. said it was looking for Allies to take
decisions this week on paramilitary policing and on melding
the U.S. review and Alliance approach in order to show unity
and progress at the Summit. Canada encouraged Allies to
agree to statements of Alliance support for ANSF capacity
building, increased coherence in police training, and
strengthening relations with Pakistan. Italy called for a
unified police training initiative that would establish a
clear-cut chain of command and exhibit synergy between
civilian and military policing.


4. (C) Poland announced it would send an additional 400
troops to Ghazni province by early May and would designate a
force of 200 soldiers in Poland as a reserve. Slovakia said
it this week completed deployment of a third base protection

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unit to Uruzgan and was examining how it could further
increase its ISAF commitment. Italy said it was committed to
increasing support for police training and encouraged a
pragmatic, flexible approach.


5. (C) SHAPE Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations MG Wright
assessed that OMF activity would increase throughout 2009 as
OMF forces moved back into Afghanistan from Pakistan, as a
result of peace deals in the tribal areas. NATO Military
Authorities expect a 50 to 75 increase in IED attacks. MG
Wright briefed that there have been four additional
counter-narcotics operations since the last Council meeting
on March 11, which destroyed 13 heroin labs and confiscated
over 60 million dollars worth of narcotics.

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Balkans
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6. (C/NF) Balkans: The Deputy Secretary General (SYG) noted
there had been no significant security incidents in Kosovo on
March 24 during the 10th anniversary of NATO,s bombing
campaign. He said the UNSC meeting on Kosovo on March 23
showed that the positions of Belgrade and Pristina remain
diametrically opposed.


7. (C) MG Wright briefed that 87 percent of those eligible
have signed up for the Kosovo Protection Corps resettlement
program, and the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) training plan
remains on track. He noted the recent Dutch pledge of 1
million euros and Finnish pledge of 60 thousand euros for the
KSF standup trust fund and said the fund has a 16.87 million
euro shortfall after including these pledges.

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Africa
--------------


8. (C/NF) Africa: MG Wright reported that Standing NATO
Maritime Group -1 (SNMG-1) had arrived off the Horn of Africa
and begun 20 days of anti-piracy operations, which will be
followed by port visits to Karachi, Singapore and Perth
before another 10 days of operations off the Horn. He said
SNMG-1 would patrol the recommended international transit
corridor while other forces in the area concentrated on
waters off the coast of Puntland and Yemen. He said SNMG-1
was coordinating with CTF-151 and EU Operation ATALANTA, but
that NATO would keep coordination at the lowest possible
level.

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Iraq
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9. (C/NF) Iraq: Assistant Secretary General for Operations
Martin Howard said he had initialed a short-term MOU on the
NATO Training Mission Iraq (NTM-I) during his March 21-22
visit to Baghdad. Howard said the MOU would be put under
silence in the NAC this week with the intention of having it
signed soon by the SYG and PM Maliki. He reported he had
also used the good offices of the U.S. Embassy to pass a
draft letter for President Talabani,s signature regarding
the need to respect the commitments of some Allies to Human
Rights conventions. He said he also began discussion on a
longer-term agreement with Iraq that would cover legal
protections for NTM-I personnel, and the NATO legal office
intended to produce a draft that would place NTM-I personnel
under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. He said
his objective was to have the long-term agreement settled by
mid-May, though final approval by the Iraqi Council of
Representatives could take longer.


10. (C/NF) Italy, Poland, Denmark, and Romania said they were
eager for a resolution to question of legal status for NTM-I
personnel and expressed support and appreciation for
Howard,s efforts

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Response to Terrorism
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11. (C/NF) Response to Terrorism: The UK announced its
government had yesterday released an updated, unclassified
version of the UK,s counter-terrorism strategy.


12. (C/NF) Statements on Political Subjects: No discussion.


13. (C/NF) Any Other Business: No discussion.
ANDRUSYSZYN