NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL MEETING, MAY 27,2009

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 USNATO 000224 NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/02/2019 TAGS: PREL NATO EWWT MARR MOPS AF PK RS SUBJECT: NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL MEETING, MAY 27,2009 Classified By: A/PolAd A. "Hoot Baez. Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C/NF) Summary from the May 27 meeting of NATO North Atlantic Council: -- AFGHANISTAN: The Czech Charge reported that Afghan security forces had demanded to open the cargo on a Czech-charted flight at Kabul International Airport, leading to an 11-hour standoff. Allies discussed the possibility of a NATO role in providing humanitarian assistance to Pakistan as Islamabad struggles with the growing Internally Displaced Persons crisis. The Deputy Secretary General urged a quick political decision on a proposal by SACEUR to base AWACS planes in Turkey in order to support the NATO operation in Afghanistan. -- BALKANS: Charge Heffern briefed Allies on Vice President Biden's trip to the Balkans, emphasizing that the trip underscored U.S. commitment to the region. -- PIRACY: The Chairman of the NATO Military Committee reported disappointing results from a SHAPE conference designed to get a sense of what assets Allies might be willing to contribute to a long-term NATO counter-piracy mission. He said that if this situation did not change a NATO role might either have to be scaled back or delayed. -- CNAD AND NC3B: Assistant Secretary General for Defense Investment Peter Flory updated Allies on the activities of the Conference of National Armaments Directors (CNAD) and the NATO Consultation, Command, and Control Board (NC3B). He asked for Allied assistance on six specific items, but put particular stress on the need to move forward with the Allied Ground Surveillance (AGS) capability. -- NATO-RUSSIA: Charge Heffern said that Secretary Clinton's staff wished to propose June 27 in Corfu as the date and place for the much anticipated meeting of NATO-Russia Foreign Ministers. Greece said it was willing to host the meeting. END SUMMARY. Afghanistan -------------- ¶2. (C/NF) Possible Unwarranted Search of ISAF material: The Czech Charge reported that on May 21 incident an 11-hour stand-off took place at the Kabul International Airport between Afghan Security Forces and Czech officials. According to the Charge, the Afghan forces claimed to have intelligence that a Czech-charted flight contained contraband for insurgent forces. The Charge said that the Afghans threatened to use force if they were not allowed to inspect the cargo. The Charge said that the Czech ambassador in Kabul eventually allowed the cargo to be unsealed and inspected. As soon as the Afghan security authorities realized the cargo was intended for ISAF use, they apologized and withdrew. The Charge requested an investigation into the incident. He asked, for instance, how the Afghans had obtained access to that part of the airport and why ISAF had provided no force protection during the incident. SHAPE Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations Major General Wright responded that an investigation was already under way. USNATO 00000224 002 OF 003 ¶3. (C/NF) Potential for NATO Humanitarian Assistance to Pakistanis Fleeing Fighting: The Canadian PermRep suggested that NATO might garner considerable public diplomacy value in being seen to offer assistance to Pakistan as it struggles to deal with the growing humanitarian crisis involving Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). He added that such an offer would be to NATO's benefit, whether the GoP responded positively or not. Several PermReps disagreed, arguing that Pakistani sensitivities might be offended by an overt NATO role in the crisis. The Deputy Secretary General agreed that the NATO International Staff would delicately raise the issue with Islamabad to determine whether NATO assistance would be welcomed or not. The Deputy Secretary General said that the Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Center (EADRCC) could be asked to compile an inventory of what assistance Allies were providing bilaterally. He also suggested asking NATO Military Authorities for advice on what assistance NATO could provide. The Chairman of the Military Committee, however, said that a broad request for advice on what could be done was not likely to be productive. He said that the military would be in a better position to offer advice after political authorities had more clearly defined what the potential parameters for such assistance might be. The Deputy Secretary responded that it would be difficult to take this issue further until Pakistan's reaction to the possibility of NATO assistance was clearer. ¶4. (C/REL NATO) The Deputy Secretary General noted that SACEUR GEN Craddock had proposed that as a short-term fix, NATO AWACS planes be based in Turkey to support NATO's Afghanistan mission. The Deputy Secretary General said the Senior Resource Board was studying this proposal in order to provide its resource advice. He urged nations to quickly make a political decision on this proposal, once resource advice was available. Germany echoed the need for speed, pointing out that it would require a parliamentary mandate and that parliament would soon be going on its summer recess. Turkey said that it was reviewing the proposal, which it said it had just received. Balkans -------------- ¶5. (C/NF) Charge Heffern briefed Allies on Vice President Biden's trip to the Balkans, emphasizing that the trip demonstrated U.S. commitment to the region. Deputy Secretary General Bisogniero said that the visit sent an important signal on the need for responsible action by all actors in the region if the goal of the region's integration into Euro-Atlantic structures was to be realized. Piracy -------------- ¶6. (C/REL NATO) The Chairman of the Military Committee reported disappointing results from a SHAPE force "sensing" conference held in order to get a "sense" of the possible Allied contributions to a long-term NATO role in counter-piracy. While not a formal force generation conference, he warned that, if the results of the sensing conference were accurate, a long-term NATO role might either have to be scaled back or delayed. USNATO 00000224 003 OF 003 CNAD and NC3B Briefing -------------- ¶7. (C/REL NATO) NATO Assistant Secretary General for Defense Investment Peter Flory updated Allies on the activities of the Conference of National Armaments Directors (CNAD) and the NATO Consultation, Command, and Control Board (NC3B). He asked for Allied help in six specific areas, but put particular stress on the need to move forward with the Allied Ground Surveillance (AGS) capability. He said that AGS was "on the brink of success" and that it would be a significant blow to similar (needed) multinational procurement projects if this project--which had repeatedly and publicly been declared an Alliance goal--fails. The U.S. was joined by Denmark, Estonia, Germany, and Italy in intervening to support AGS, urging those participating Allies who have not already done so to sign the project's Memorandum of Understanding. Germany said that its Defense Minister was ready to sign as soon as enough other Allies supported the project to make it viable. NATO-Russia Foreign Ministerial -------------- ¶8. (C) Charge Heffern said that Secretary Clinton's staff wished to propose June 27 in Corfu as the date and place for the much anticipated meeting of NATO-Russia Foreign Ministers. He noted that many Allied ministers would be in Corfu anyway for the OSCE ministerial. Greece said it was willing to host the meeting. DAALDER