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 �A;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. USNATO 00000197 002 OF 006 -------------- 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, USNATO 00000197 003 OF 006 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. USNATO 00000197 004 OF 006 -------------- 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. -------------- 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 USNATO 00000197 005 OF 006 -------------- 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 USNATO 00000197 006 OF 006 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