READOUT: NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL MEETING APRIL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 05 USNATO 000169

NOFORN
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/05/2019
TAGS: AF PREL NATO
SUBJECT: READOUT: NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL MEETING APRIL
29,2009.

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: Estonia increased its election support
contribution from a platoon to a company for Helmand. SHAPE
continues to report Elections Support Force shortfalls,
despite the U.S. and OEF partners, recent commitments.
Canada expressed its hope that efforts to build a broader
political and practical relationship with Pakistan would be
at a meeting of NATO or ISAF Foreign Ministers held in
conjunction with the upcoming meeting of NATO-Russia Council
Foreign Ministers, leading the Secretary General to point out
that no decision had been taken on any such meetings. ISAF
Senior Civilian Representative Gentilini said Afghan
officials had not mentioned the proposed update of the NATO
military technical agreement since February. The UK finished
its policy review on Afghanistan.

-- BALKANS: The Secretary General (SYG) said that violent
reconstruction-related demonstrations near Mitrovica
highlighted the need for continued NATO and EU vigilance in
Kosovo. Assistant Director of the International Military
Staff Operations Division Major General Li Gobbi reported
that 273 of 323 additional former Kosovo Protection Corps
personnel invited to attend Kosovo Security Force training
had accepted.

-- AFRICA: Allies agreed to take a number of steps toward the
near-term establishment of a dedicated NATO counter-piracy
(CP) operation.

-- IRAQ: no discussion

-- RESPONSE TO TERRORISM: The SYG offered his condolences to
Turkey for the nine soldiers killed in a recent attack in the
south of the country.

-- STATEMENTS ON POLITICAL TOPICS: The Czech Republic
briefed on recent EU activity, while the UK briefed on a
recent London conference addressing anti-smuggling efforts in
Gaza.

--AOB: The Secretary General stressed the need to find a date
for the NATO-Russia Council Foreign Ministerial before the
June Defense Ministerial. He also reported on the status of
the NATO/Partnership for Peace exercises in Georgia, noting
the withdrawal of a couple of countries. Ambassador Volker
stressed the need to follow up on Summit discussions of
contingency planning, while also urging Allies to stay in the
Allied Ground Surveillance. The Secretary General said a
working group had been set up to follow developments related
to the swine flu outbreak. END SUMMARY.

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Afghanistan
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2. (C/NF) Afghanistan/Pakistan: Estonia announced that it
will augment its company of troops in RC-South by an
additional company, rather than the one platoon it pledged
the Summit. SHAPE maintains that the election support force
remains unfilled in Regional Command South. (Comment: In
order to dispel this continuing perception, it would be
useful if the U.S. could make an official announcement that
increases in U.S. troops and a partners' contributions to
Operation Enduring Freedom have, in effect, lowered the
requirement, and the recently confirmed contributions of
Australia, Estonia, and the UK have filled remaining gaps.
End comment).


3. (C/NF) The Canadians joined the Secretary General (SYG)
in welcoming the outcome of the April 27 Political Committee
meeting, where Allies agreed to take forward a cooperation
framework with Pakistan and establish a Contact Point Embassy

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(Turkey) in Islamabad. The Canadian PermRep asked that the
NATO-Pakistan framework be a &deliverable8 for a meeting of
ISAF Foreign Ministers in conjunction with the upcoming
NATO-Russia Council (NRC). The SYG said he was unaware that
a decision had been taken to link the NRC meeting with an
ISAF one, adding that further discussions on ministerial
formats and dates were required. While noting that the
proposed May 19 date for the NRC would not work for Secretary
Clinton, Ambassador Volker said he did support the Canadian
suggestion of linking the NRC meeting to a North Atlantic
Council and even an ISAF-format meeting. . The SYG confirmed
that the Defense Ministers, meeting June 11-12 would include
an ISAF meeting. Also on Pakistan, the International
Military Staff (IMS) reported on the April 11 meeting of the
Trilateral Commission, where Pakistan had agreed to open a
Border Cooperation Center (BCC) on its side of the border. A
third BCC in Afghanistan would also be opened near Spin
Buldak.


4. (C/REL ISAF) In response to a question from Ambassador
Volker, NATO Senior Civilian Representative Fernando
Gentilini (SCR)--participating by video link--said that
Afghan officials had not mentioned Minister of Defense
Wardak,s proposed amendment of NATO,s Military Technical
Agreement (MTA) with Afghanistan in more than eight weeks.
He said the focus in Kabul had shifted to politics, adding
that resurrecting the MTA revision at this point could turn
it into an election issue. While many people intend to
declare candidacy for the Afghan presidency, the SCR said the
field would probably narrow over the next four months.
President Karzai and United Front candidate Dr. Abdullah were
both looking for vice presidential running mates. Concern
over a level playing field for candidates, he added, now
dominates the international community,s efforts to prepare
for elections. Gentilini agreed with the International
Military Staff assessment that the cancelation of Victory Day
celebrations in Kabul on April 28 by Afghan National Security
Forces demonstrated their increasing professionalism, and had
minor public affairs impact.


5. (C/REL ISAF) Responding to PermRep questions, the SCR said
the Shi,a Family Law is under review by Afghan government
officials. Karzai could &shelve the law somewhere in the
process,8 but Gentilini thought this an unlikely outcome in
an election year on this highly politicized issue. The SCR
expects the Afghans to offer a revision that will make the
law more palatable to the population and international
community. Despite a draft police law that would give some
authority to provincial and district governors over local
police, Gentilini said Minister of Interior Atmar continued
to advocate for central management of the Afghan National
Police (consistent with Afghanistan,s unitary system of
government). He noted that Atmar had threatened to resign if
he did not see movement toward this centralization.


6. (C/REL ISAF) Italy announced that it had finalized a
bilateral arrangement for Serbia to send two junior diplomats
to the Italian PRT in Herat to augment civilian activities
there. The first Serbian participant will depart to
Afghanistan in a few weeks, while the deployment of the
second was being delayed due to budgetary concerns.


7. (C/REL ISAF) The UK reported that Prime Minister Gordon
Brown would address Parliament later that day to present the
outcome of the UK,s policy review on Afghanistan. The
foundation of the review is that there can be no stability in
Afghanistan without stability in Pakistan. Key elements
include a broader regional focus, a joint civil-military
approach, and long-term capacity building. The UK said it
would circulate the Prime Minister,s statement and a policy
paper.


8. (C/NF) The IMS noted that peace deals between the
Pakistani government and militants are providing freedom of
movement to insurgent groups, who have set up checkpoints in
the settled Buner district. Poppy farmers have begun

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extracting opium from fields across Afghanistan,s Helmand
province. The highest concentration of insurgent activity in
Regional Command (RC) West is in Bala Baluk, Farah province
(Note: ISAF has an Operational Maneuver and Liaison Team
shortfall in Bala Baluk for an Afghan army battalion that
will come out of training in June 2009. End note).

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Balkans
--------------


9. (C/NF) Balkans: The Secretary General (SYG) said that
violent reconstruction-related demonstrations near Mitrovica
highlight that tensions remained high in Kosovo despite the
positive evolution of the security situation over the past 12
months. He noted that even if NATO and EU intervention
helped avert escalation, both organizations must remain
vigilant.


10. (C) In response to an Albanian query, Assistant Director
of the International Military Staff Operations Division Major
General Li Gobbi said that NATO had no solid intelligence
indicating the involvement of a structured organization the
violence. While acknowledging that some local Kosovo Serb
community leaders might be involved, he said that this seemed
more spontaneous than organized, noting that it was a
situation where both sides were competing for a limited about
of construction space.. The SYG said he would check into the
possibility of fulfilling an Albanian request for EU Rule of
Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) officials to brief the Council
on EULEX,s assessment of the Kosovo security situation.


11. (C) MG Li Gobbi said that 415 recruits out of 455 passed
during the first round of Kosovo Security Force (KSF) basic
training. The selection board has chosen 404 applicants for
the first round of KSF training for civilian recruits. The
KFOR Deputy Commander on April 10 issued invitations to 323
additional former Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC) personnel to
attend KSF training, of which 273 accepted the offer.

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


12. (C/NF) Africa: The Council achieved consensus in favor of
an active, long-term NATO counter-piracy (CP) role that fits
within the wider international effort, in particular the
Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS).
Allies formally agreed to four SYG proposals:

-- to task NATO Military Authorities to revise OPLAN 10709
(Operation Allied Protector) to strengthen the current
mandate and rules of engagement. New measures include the
ability to detain pirates and to intervene in situations
where pirates have already taken control of a ship. (Note:
Revised rules of engagement are under Military Committee
consideration and should soon be submitted to Council.);

-- that the International Staff (IS) should develop a NAC
Initiating Directive for a dedicated NATO CP mission that
would include capacity building; escort, deterrence and
intervention operations; and proactive searches for pirates
and mother ships. Ambassador Volker urged a quick decision
on the NAC Initiating Directive;

-- to enhance NATO,s political, military and legal
engagement with the CGPCS and its associated working groups.
NATO will participate in the working group meetings in London
and Copenhagen next week; and

-- to urgently begin work on developing a shared legal
framework for detention and prosecution of captured pirates
and the embarkation of armed personnel on escorted vessels.
The Netherlands led a chorus of Allies in emphasizing the
vital importance of having a common legal framework for the
detention and transfer of pirates to third states, and that

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it must ensure the human rights of the detainees. The
Netherlands noted that a boarding policy must ensure the
consent of the flag state is taken into account, and that
embarked security personnel should only be used in
conjunction with an escorting ship and never as an
independent measure. Ambassador Volker emphasized the urgency
of establishing a shared legal framework and noted that NATO
is able to pursue multiple tracks simultaneously. The U.S.
and UK advocated taking advantage of the legal foundation
that nations and the EU have already established. The IS and
NATO Legal Advisor are planning to visit the AU HQ and Kenya
in pursuit of an agreement.



13. (C) Portugal questioned NATO,s ability to generate
forces for a new NATO CP operation. Denmark encouraged the
use of Standing NATO Maritime Groups (SNMGs). France
cautioned that NATO,s capacity building work should ¬
dilute other initiatives,8 and insisted that a trust fund be
established based on voluntary contributions.


14. (C) France, supported by Belgium, Spain, and Italy,
emphasized the need for the new NATO operation to complement
EU operation Atalanta. Belgium, Spain, and Italy also called
for coordination with other actors. Turkey reiterated its
view that ad hoc coordination among deployed assets is
necessary, that current staff-to-staff coordination is
working, and noted its support for broader cooperation within
the CGPCS.

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Response to Terrorism
--------------


15. (C/NF) Response to Terrorism: The SYG offered his
condolences to Turkey for the nine soldiers killed in a
recent attack in the south of the country.

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Statements on Political Subjects
--------------


16. (C/NF) Statements on Political Subjects: The Czech
Republic briefed on recent EU activity, noting that at the
recent GAERC meeting ministers discussed Ukraine, Moldova,
Somalia, Iran and plans for the upcoming Eastern Partnership
Summit. A meeting of the EU-Russia Permanent Partnership
Council was held on the margins during which the Czech
Presidency tried to address Russian concerns over the planned
Eastern Partnership Summit. The Czech Republic also noted
Albania,s formal application for EU membership.


17. (C/NF) The United Qgdom briefed on a recent London
conference addressing anti-smuggling efforts in Gaza. Among
the attendees were Israel and NATO and the EU in an observer
capacity; Egypt was invited but did not attend. The
conference focused on countering smuggling in the Southern
Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. A program of action established at
the conference is to be further developed at a follow-up
meeting to be held in Ottawa next month.

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Any Other Business
--------------


18. (C/NF) Any Other Business: The Secretary General stressed
the need to quickly determine a date for the NATO-Russia
Council Foreign Ministerial, arguing that he believed there
was a clear agreement at the Summit to do this before the
June Defense Ministerial.


19. (C/NF) The SYG noted that Switzerland and Serbia had
decided they will not participate in the upcoming Partnership
for Peace (PfP) exercises in Georgia, while Armenia and
Kazakhstan were still considering their participation. (Note:
The Swiss Mission informs us that Bern,s decision was taken

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because of the unique role Switzerland plays as protecting
power for Russian and Georgian interests, not on the merits
of the exercise.)


20. (C/NF) Amb. Volker thanked the SYG for his report on the
Allied Ground Surveillance (AGS) Program and encouraged
Allies to make efforts to retain funding for the program.
Amb. Volker also noted that Allies need to discuss how to
reinforce contingency planning, as Pres. Obama had discussed
at the Summit.


21. (C/NF) The SYG noted that an IS/IMS working group is
monitoring the possible implications of the swine flu.
VOLKER