NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL MEETING, MAY 13,2009

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 06 USNATO 000197

NOFORN
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/18/2019
TAGS: PREL NATO AF XG
SUBJECT: NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL MEETING, MAY 13,2009

Classified By: Classified by A/PolAd A. "Hoot Baez. Reasons: 1.4 (b) a
nd (d).

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

-- AFGHANISTAN: Allies discussed the U.S. nomination of LTG
Stanley McChrystal to be the new Commander of the NATO-led
International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, with
several stressing that they hoped McChrystal would be able to
meet with the NAC as soon as possible. The U.S. and UK
pushed back on Norwegian attempts to press NATO to move
forward on Afghanistan's request for a Military Technical
Agreement. The Chairman of the NATO Military Committee said
that NATO Chiefs of Defense (CHODs) had noted continuing
problems with police training in Afghanistan, leading a
number of Allies to press for quick movement on the
establishment of a NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan.
Estonia announced a 50,000 Euro contribution to the Afghan
National Army Trust Fund. The Secretary General agreed to
try to arrange a briefing from Kai Eide, the UN Secretary
General's Special Representative for Afghanistan. During the
operational briefing, Major General Wright noted that 80
percent of kinetic operations in Afghanistan took place in
only 11 percent of its provinces and that kinetic activity in
Kabul accounted for less than 1.5 percent of all activity in
Afghanistan. He also noted, however, that kinetic activity
in the country had increased 73 percent over a similar time
period the previous year.

-- BALKANS: The Chairman of the Military Committee (CMC) said
SACEUR last week briefed CHODs that he envisaged KFOR
undertaking a 12-24 month, conditions-based drawdown in three
stages (8,500 troops; 5,500 troops, 2,500 troops). CMC said
most CHODs supported beginning KFOR downsizing. The
Secretary General said he looked forward to receiving
military advice on the issue so Defense Ministers could
discuss and take decisions in June.

-- Piracy: Allies were unable to reach consensus in the NAC
on an Initiating Directive requesting military advice on a
long-term NATO role in counter-piracy, due to Greek-Turkish
wrangling over EU-related language. The Secretary General
issued a revised version which is under a Council silence
procedure until May 18. (Note: Greece broke silence on this
document on May 18.)

-- IRAQ: Progress on negotiating a long-term NATO-Iraq
agreement on NTM-I appears "mildly encouraging" following
Assistant Secretary General's recent visit to Iraq.

-- OTHER CHOD TOPICS: The Chairman of the NATO Military
Committee noted that in addition to the subjects discussed
above, NATO Chiefs of Defense had discussed Russia and the
NATO Response Force. They had also blessed the "flags to
post" exercise which had been carried out in the Military
Committee and which determines which nations will get which
billets in the NATO integrated military structure.

-- FAREWELL TO AMBASSADOR VOLKER: The Secretary led the NAC
in bidding farewell to outgoing U.S. Permanent Representative
to NATO Kurt Volker.

END SUMMARY.


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--------------
AFGHANISTAN
--------------


2. (C/REL ISAF) Nomination of new COMISAF: After NATO
Secretary General de Hoop Scheffer noted that the U.S.
intended to nominate LTG Stanley McChrystal as the new
Commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance
Force (ISAF),Ambassador Volker drew from Washington-provided
points to brief his colleagues on the nomination. The
Ambassador also stressed that the additional nomination of
LTG Rodriguez to be McChrystal's deputy would not impact ISAF
as Rodriguez would only be wearing a U.S., not NATO, hat. In
this regard, he emphasized that ISAF would remain separate
from the U.S.-led Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). Several
Allies--including the UK, Canada, and Germany--expressed
hopes that McChrystal would be able to meet with the NAC as
soon as possible. The Secretary General agreed that direct
meetings between the new operational commander and the NAC
would be useful, but cautioned that they might also raise
sensitivities within the NATO military chain of command.
Germany asked for additional details on the schedule for
McChrystal's Senate confirmation.


3. (C) Call for Military Technical Agreement: Norwegian
Permanent Representative Kim Traavik asked why the Council
had not revisited the Afghan request for a Military Technical
Agreement (MTA) following the "very solid military advice"
received from SHAPE. The Secretary General said there had
been "no pressure from the Afghans whatsoever" on this since
the original Afghan request, including during the recent
civilian casualty incident in Farah province. He added that
NATO would also need to make sure that anything NATO did was
consistent with what was taking place bilaterally between the
U.S. and Afghanistan, noting that the Afghans had also
approached the U.S. for an MTA. The Secretary General said
the Council might discuss (but he did not recommend) the
political question of whether NATO should lead the push for
an MTA. Drawing from ISAF Senior Civilian Representative
Gentilini's brief last week, the UK and U.S. cautioned
against moving forward on a legal document such as an MTA
prior to Afghanistan's August elections. Ambassador Volker
also said two issues were being conflated in the MTA
discussion which needed to be separated. One was the Afghan
political assertion of sovereignty and the resulting desire
to feel that they had ultimate control over operations taking
place within Afghanistan; the other was what practical steps
could be taken to enhance practical cooperation among Afghan
and international troops in order to limit the fallout from
specific operations. He argued that the first must be
treated delicately to preserve the legal jurisdictions and
liability protections for international troops. NATO might
consider dealing with the second issue along the lines of
General McKiernan's work and joint statement in February with
Afghan Defense Minister Wardak. Norway insisted on a coffee
or lunch discussion at NATO in the near future, but agreed
NATO should not get ahead of the U.S. Germany said that
aside from the MTA, NATO must correct the public record if
press and initial investigation reports prove true that
insurgents deliberately set up civilians to be killed and
participated in executing them and parading the bodies.


4. (C/REL ISAF) Readout of CHODs meeting: The Chairman of the
NATO Military Committee (CMC),Admiral Giampolo di Paolo,

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said that Afghanistan had been a major focus of the May 6-7
meeting of NATO Chiefs of Defense (CHODs). He said that
while there was wide recognition that Afghan army training
was progressing well, the same could not be said for police
training. He explained that while Focused District
Development and Afghan National Civil Order Police training
were progressing, the International Police Coordination Board
(IPCB) had not yet responded to Minister of Interior Atmar's
request to double the force from 82,000 to 160,000. The IPCB
had agreed to initially increase the Kabul police by 5,000
and recruit and train an additional 10,000 for the south in
advance of the upcoming elections, but had not yet considered
further growth. He also said that CHODs had noted the
continuing need for Operational Mentoring and Liaison Teams
(OMLTs) to mentor freshly trained army units. This
discussion led several Allies to stress the need to move
quickly to establish the NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan
(NTM-A); they hoped that Defense Ministers could take a
decision on the mission during their June meeting. CMC said
that SHAPE's military advice on NTM-A would be forthcoming,
noting that SHAPE may present several options rather than a
single preferred one. CMC said that CHODs also discussed the
transfer of lead security responsibility and the potential
move of the ISAF HQ. Regarding the transfer of lead security
responsibility, CHODs had agreed that NATO needed to clearly
define the conditions for transfer. CMC also stressed that
"transfer does not mean departure and does not diminish the
need to fill the Combined Joint Statement of Requirements."


5. (C/REL ISAF) Contributions and Openings: Estonia announced
a 50,000 Euro contribution to the Afghan National Army Trust
Fund. Dutch Permanent Representative Schaper reported that
Dutch FM Verhagen had visited Oruzgan province the previous
week where he had participated in the opening of UNAMA's
Tarin Kowt office, as well as the opening of the province's
first commercial bank.


6. (C/REL ISAF) Request for Briefing by Kai Eide: Noting that
it had been some time since the NAC had been briefed by
Special Representative to the UN Secretary General Kai Eide,
Canadian Permanent Representative McRae requested that a
briefing with Eide be set up as soon as possible. He added
that the briefing should take place before NATO's June
Defense Ministerial. The Secretary General undertook to
arrange a briefing with Eide, either in person or by video
teleconference.


7. (C/REL ISAF) Operational Update: SHAPE Deputy Chief of
Staff for Operations Major General Wright reported that 80
percent of kinetic operations in Afghanistan took place in
only 11 percent of the country's districts. He also reported
that kinetic operations in Kabul represented less than 1.5
percent of the kinetic activity in Afghanistan. At the same
time, he also reported that kinetic activity in Afghanistan
was up 73 percent over a similar period the previous year.
Improvised Explosive Device incidents were up 83 percent, but
only 40 percent of these resulted in a detonation. The other
60 percent were found and disabled. When several Allies,
including Belgium, said that better use needed to be made of
this data for public diplomacy/strategic communications
purposes, the Secretary General noted that much of this data
was already being distributed to nations in an unclassified
format. MG Wright noted that freedom of movement remained
the top priority for the Commander of ISAF.

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--------------
Kosovo
--------------


8. (C/REL NATO) Move to Deterrent Presence: CMC said that
Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) GEN Craddock had
briefed CHODs that he envisaged KFOR undertaking a 12-24
month, conditions-based drawdown in three stages (8,500
troops; 5,000-5,500 troops; 2,000-3,000 troops). He added
that SACEUR was probably closer to the 12-month end of the
spectrum. CMC said that the KFOR move to a deterrence
presence is based on the assumption that Kosovo authorities
could better manage security; KFOR would shift to a lighter,
more mobile, intelligence-heavy posture; over-the-horizon
reserves would play a greater role; and there would be
balanced, multi-national participation in KFOR. In response
to a Bulgarian query, Admiral Di Paola said that SACEUR
envisages the Kosovo Police Service (KPS)*supported by
EULEX*as the primary force that would replace KFOR in
providing a safe and secure environment. The Kosovo Security
Force (KSF) would have a secondary role. SHAPE Deputy Chief
of Staff for Operations Major General Wright added that the
KFOR commander assesses the EULEX Formed Police Units (FPUs)
as capable of handling the situation in Mitrovica without
KFOR. While CMC said most CHODs supported beginning KFOR
downsizing, the Secretary General stressed that it was
important that discussions not get ahead of the military
advice. The Secretary General noted that there would be time
for further discussions on this subject prior to the June
Defense Ministerial.


9. (C/REL NATO) Operational Update: MG Wright noted that the
first training of KSF civilian recruits began on May 4. He
said that the KSF was on track to reach Initial Operating
Capability by September 15, but that reaching Full Operating
Capability might run into problems due to the nearly 17
million euro shortfall in the Trust Fund created to stand up
the KSF.

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Piracy
--------------


10. (C/NF) Allies were unable to reach consensus on an
Initiating Directive asking for military advice on a
long-term NATO role in counter-piracy due to Greek-Turkish
disagreements over language relating to cooperation with the
EU. While Turkey had already made what it believed to be
significant concessions in order to allow the Directive to
move forward, the Greek PermRep said that Athens had given
him very strict red lines which the current document crossed.
The Secretary General agreed to reissue the document with a
proposed compromise, but chastised Allies for being unable to
come to closure on this item. He called the situation "an
embarrassment." (Note: A revised version of the Initiating
Directive was issued and was under silence until Monday, May

18. Greece, however, broke silence on the document on May
18.) The U.S. and UK stressed their understanding that
language in the draft Directive would not prevent actions
from being taken against pirates in Somali territorial waters.

--------------
Iraq

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11.(C) NATO Assistant Secretary General for Operations
Martin Howard briefed on his May 6-7 visit to Iraq to
negotiate a long-term agreement for continued operation of
the NATO Training Mission in Iraq (NTMI). He said that he
met with Defense Minister Abdul Qadir, who voiced support for
Howard's draft proposal. Qader had, however, said that that
the draft proposal needed some "cosmetic changes." Howard
noted that, in the past, "cosmetic changes" had sometimes
turned out to be less than cosmetic. Howard also attempted
to meet with Legal Advisor Dr. Fadil, but was unsuccessful.
He said that he accepted that this was partly due to
scheduling difficulties, but he also noted that Fadil might
have also been deliberately avoiding him because Iraq's
Council of Ministers had not yet authorized Fadil to engage
in negotiations. Attempts to secure a meeting with the
Chairman of the Defense and Security Committee, Hadi Amiri,
were also in vain. Despite these setbacks, Howard concluded
that, "overall," the plan to secure an agreement before the
end of July appeared to be "on track." Nevertheless, Howard
admitted that he will have a better idea of where the
agreement stands after receiving Iraqi comments on the draft
agreement. Following Howard's remarks, the Secretary General
concluded that progress on the agreement was "mildly
encouraging."

--------------
Other CHODs meeting Issues
--------------


12. (C/REL NATO) CMC said that CHODs had discussed three
other items of note: Russia, the NATO Response Force (NRF),
and "flags to post."


13. (C/REL NATO) On Russia, CHODs had agreed that a
resumption of military-to-military cooperation with Russia
would require two things: a) more clarity on the Alliance
political framework within which this cooperation should take
place and b) a better understanding of what Moscow itself
wanted to get out the relationship.


14. (C/REL NATO) On the NRF, CMC said that there had been
strong support for SACEUR's work on Option "Charlie." Two
issues, however, remained contentious. First, there was a
clear split over the proposed Allied Security Force. As a
result, an understanding was reached to "decouple" this from
the NRF for now, until further political discussions about
the proposal could take place. Second, there was no
consensus regarding the issue of common funding for the NRF.


15. (C/REL NATO) Finally, CHODs had given final approval to
the "flags to post," which determines which nations will
assume which positions in NATO's integrated military
structure.

--------------
Farewell to Ambassador Volker
--------------


16. (C/REL NATO) The Secretary General led Allies in bidding
farewell to U.S. Permanent Representative Kurt Volker. He
said that while his time at NATO had been short, Volker's
work had been important in forging consensus on several key

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issues. The Secretary General said that Volker's joint
non-paper with German PermRep Brandenburg had allowed the
Alliance to "find the right balance on Russia" in the
aftermath of the August 2008 Russia-Georgia war. In his
farewell remarks, Ambassador Volker stressed the continuing
relevance of the Alliance, arguing that only by acting
together can Europe and America protect "our freedom, our
sovereignty, our commitment to decency, human rights, the
rule of law, to peace, and to the security of our nations."
DAALDER