Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09USNATO227
2009-06-04 15:21:00
CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN
Mission USNATO
Cable title:  

ACTION REQUEST: NATO COUNTER-PIRACY: FISH OR CUT

Tags:  PREL NATO MOPS EWWT PBTS ZR SO XA 
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RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
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RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
INFO RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA PRIORITY 0592
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PRIORITY 6390
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL PRIORITY 0573
RUEHGP/AMEMBASSY SINGAPORE PRIORITY 0370
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RHFMISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE PRIORITY
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0915
C O N F I D E N T I A L USNATO 000227 

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PASS TO NAVCENT POLAD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/04/2019
TAGS: PREL NATO MOPS EWWT PBTS ZR SO XA
SUBJECT: ACTION REQUEST: NATO COUNTER-PIRACY: FISH OR CUT
BAIT TIME

REF: A. BRUSSELS 751

B. USNATO 202

Classified By: Ambassador Ivo Daalder. Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L USNATO 000227

NOFORN
SIPDIS

PASS TO NAVCENT POLAD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/04/2019
TAGS: PREL NATO MOPS EWWT PBTS ZR SO XA
SUBJECT: ACTION REQUEST: NATO COUNTER-PIRACY: FISH OR CUT
BAIT TIME

REF: A. BRUSSELS 751

B. USNATO 202

Classified By: Ambassador Ivo Daalder. Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C/NF) This is an Action Request. See para 14.


2. (C/NF) SUMMARY: At the strong urging of the United States,
NATO is moving forward with planning for a long-term
counter-piracy operation. At the same time,
Allies--including the U.S.--have been tepid in their
willingness to actually contribute to the mission. NATO will
host a Force Generation conference on June 10. If the U.S.
and its Allies are unwilling to announce contributions at
this conference, the NATO operation will be either
significantly scaled-back, delayed, or canceled. Because
U.S. policy makers have advocated this operation, we strongly
recommend that the U.S. pledge a significant contribution at
the conference to demonstrate U.S. leadership. We also
recommend demarching Allies in capitals, urging them to
contribute as well. We believe that the U.S. should also
consider proposing moving Combined Task Force 151 under a
NATO flag, as well as considering what contributions the U.S.
could make to a NATO maritime capacity building effort. The
failure of this mission would have strategic implications
beyond the counter-piracy mission, corroding NATO's role as
the key trans-Atlantic link on security issues. END SUMMARY



Progress on a NATO Counter-piracy Mission
--------------


3. (C/NF) At the strong urging of the United States, NATO has
been working hard to develop a robust and long-term
counter-piracy mission. The Military Committee has recently
endorsed the Concept of Operations (ConOps) for such a
mission, naming it Operation Ocean Shield. We expect this to
be raised with Defense Ministers on June 11.

But Lack of Forces Threatens it...
--------------


4. (C/NF) NATO Allies, however, have not yet been forthcoming
in pledging forces for this mission. Many of our European

Allies have claimed that because they are already
participating in the EU's Atalanta counter-piracy mission,
they will be unable to contribute to a NATO mission (ref A).
A May 22 SHAPE conference designed to get a sense of what
Allies might be willing to contribute was described as
disappointing, leading the Chairman of the Military Committee
to argue that if the situation did not change the planned
NATO mission would likely either have to be significantly
scaled back, delayed, or canceled.

Is the U.S. Serious About a NATO Mission?
--------------


5. (C/NF) While it would be tempting to blame this lack of
interest entirely on our European Allies, the U.S. has also
been unwilling to fully commit to participation in a NATO
operation. At the May 22 meeting, the U.S. was only prepared
to say that it was "considering" moving a ship from the
Standing NATO Maritime Group to the NATO counter-piracy
mission, as well as possibly providing some logistics and
intelligence support.


6. (C/NF) This lack of commitment conflicts with the
Administration's strong statements of support for a NATO
mission. In the run-up to the NATO Summit in April, for
example, the Washington interagency instructed this Mission

to fight for communique language in support of a long-term
NATO role in counter-piracy: a battle we won. A May 13 press
release by the Department said that the U.S. "actively"
supported the expansion of NATO counter-piracy efforts;
Acting Assistant Secretary Mull used similar language when
testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on
April 30.

Fish or Cut Bait Time
--------------


7. (C/NF) On June 10, SHAPE will host a formal force
generation conference. If this conference fails to generate
needed contributions, the proposed NATO mission will likely
be dead before it has even begun.


8. (C/NF) At the June 3 North Atlantic Council meeting,
Secretary General de Hoop Scheffer stressed that the failure
of NATO to act on this matter only two months after NATO
Heads of State and Government--including President Obama--had
agreed to do so would be unthinkable. He strongly rebuked
those Allies who had been arguing that their contributions to
the EU mission would prevent them from also contributing to a
NATO mission, pointedly telling PermReps to look at Alliance
inventories because there are significantly more ships in
Allied navies than the few ships that are taking part in
Atalanta.


9. (C/NF) For similar reasons, if the United States--as one
of the main advocates of a NATO counter-piracy role--is
unable or unwilling to contribute to a NATO mission, the
missi/Q"Q+QQQ$?QNZthe end match our words.

Getting Things Back on Track
--------------


10. (C/NF) Assuming the United States does want to see a
robust NATO role in counter-piracy, we believe that the
following minimum steps will need to be taken:

-- the United States will need to make a firm pledge of U.S.
forces at the June 10 Force Generation conference. At a
minimum, this will need to include the forces the U.S. said
it was considering contributing at the May 22 conference
(i.e. moving its vessel from the Standing NATO Maritime
Group, as well as contributions of certain logistics support
-- including oilers). We should also include other
contributions we could make. The Secretary General has noted
the need, for example, for Maritime Patrol Aircraft.

-- if the U.S. is willing to contribute, it should demarche
Allies in capitals prior to the June 10 Force Generation
conference, urging them to also make commitments at the
conference. Following the Secretary General's lead, we
should make clear that the U.S. does not accept the argument
that their contributions to an EU operation prevents them
from also contributing to a NATO operation. We should remind
them that they are the ones who have argued that the European
Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) would not be undertaken in
a manner that was competitive with NATO and that it was upon
that basis that we supported the development of ESDP.

A Bolder Proposal: Some Recommendations
--------------


11. (C/NF) We also believe that the United States should

consider proposing the movement of Combined Task Force 151
into the NATO Mission. Of the five nations currently
contributing to CTF 151, three (the U.S., UK, and Turkey) are
NATO Allies. The other two (South Korea and Singapore) are
already working with NATO in other areas, particularly
Afghanistan. South Korea, for example, is defined as one of
NATO's Partners Across the Globe, and NATO has developed a
Tailored Cooperation Package with it. Other NATO partners,
such as Russia and Japan, are operating independently in the
region, but may be willing to contribute to a NATO operation.
Russia, in particular, has already expressed an interest in
working with NATO on this issue and may well raise the
possibility at the June 27 NATO-Russia Foreign Ministerial.
Using TF 151 as the core of a NATO counter-piracy mission,
might therefore have a knock-on effect of aiding
counter-piracy coordination, putting more and more ships
under a NATO flag and making use of the interoperability
which has been developed between NATO and NATO partner
forces.


12. (C/NF) An important part of the NATO Summit decision on
counter-piracy was that NATO would examine the issue of
maritime capacity building in the region. In support of this
decision, we would recommend that Washington consider what
contributions the U.S. could make to NATO maritime capacity
building--through AFRICOM, for example.

Comment
--------------


13. (C/NF) If the Force Generation conference fails, it is
likely that the NATO mission will, as well. While that would
be bad enough, this will have even greater strategic
consequences. Certain EU Allies will be emboldened to
further place EU commitments ahead of their NATO commitments,
corroding NATO's role as the key trans-Atlantic link and
weakening U.S. influence in Europe.

Action Request
--------------


14. (C/NF) We request that Washington take the steps
identified in para 10 above, providing a robust U.S.
commitment at the June 10 Force Generation conference and
demarching Allied capitals to the same. Moreover, we ask
that Washington also seriously consider our proposals in
paras 11 and 12.
DAALDER