NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL MEETING, JUNE 10,2009

C O N F I D E N T I A L USNATO 000257 NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/12/2019 TAGS: PREL NATO EWWT MARR MOPS AF PK RS SUBJECT: NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL MEETING, JUNE 10,2009 REF: A. USNATO 254 ¶B. USNATO 224 (NOTAL) Classified By: A/PolAd A. "Hoot Baez. Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C/NF) Summary of the June 10 North Atlantic Council (NAC) meeting: -- AFGHANISTAN: The Secretary General said that hoped NATO Defense Ministers would agree in principle at their June 11-12 meeting to SACEUR's proposed changes to the ISAF command and control structure, pending additional work to be completed by NATO military and resource authorities. (Note: Defense Ministers subsequently did reach agreement in principle, tasking further military and resource work on the proposal be completed by July 29.) The expressed concern about press statements attributed to incoming ISAF Commander General McChrystal that the new NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan (NTM-A) would "perform the bulk" of the training of the Afghan Security Forces, arguing that that was not his understanding of the proposed scope of NTM-A. SHAPE Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations Major General Wright said that an investigation had been launched it the incident described by the Czech Charge at the May 27 NAC in which Afghan Security Forces threatened to use force if they were not allowed to search the cargo of a Czech-contracted plane at the Kabul International Airport. Wright added that steps were being taken to make sure that this type of incident would not happen again. The UK expressed its continuing concern on the need for a level playing field in the upcoming Afghanistan elections, particularly in the areas of the media law and access to transport. -- PAKISTAN: While welcoming the agreement to make Turkey the NATO Contact Point Embassy in Islamabad, Canada expressed regret that the Alliance had not yet developed the modalities for a cooperation framework with Pakistan. (Note: Pakistani President Zardari is scheduled to meet with the NAC on June 17.) -- BALKANS: The SYG said the Council session on June 9 with EUSR Feith and EULEX Head de Kermabon provided grounds for cautious optimism that the political conditions in Kosovo are favorable for a graduated KFOR move to deterrent presence. The UK, with support from the SYG, stressed the need for a supporting strategic communications strategy. -- NATO HQ REFORM: The Secretary General noted that Allies had thus far only agreed the paper dealing with reforms to better integrate the International Staff and the International Military Staff. The Secretary General said that he intended to raise the issue of the other three papers--on how senior International Staff jobs would be competed, NATO decision making, and the civil budget--with Defense Ministers at their June 11-12 meeting, hoping to get a final agreement on them before NATO's summer break in August. -- FAREWELL TO THE CZECH PERMREP: In his farewell remarks, Czech PermRep Fule commented on enlargement, Kosovo, and missile defense, among other issues. He argued that the only way the NATO-Russia Council (NRC) could work is if the Allies took a "two-stream" approach to Russia. While one stream would be "at 29" with Russia in the NRC, the other would require Allies to also follow a second, Allies-only stream. END SUMMARY. Afghanistan -------------- ¶2. (C/NF) ISAF Command and Control Changes: At the June 10 meeting of the North Atlantic Council, the Secretary General said that he intended to ask NATO Defense Ministers at their June 11-12 meeting to approve, in principle, SACEUR's proposed changes to the ISAF command and control structure and to task the development of detailed military and resource advice on the subject. Ambassador Daalder agreed with the Secretary General's way forward, adding that the U.S. hoped for a final Council agreement on ISAF command and control changes before NATO's summer break in August. He said that this would allow implementation of the changes to begin following the Afghan presidential elections in August, with a goal of having the new structure reach full operational capability by early winter. The Chairman of the Military Committee Admiral Di Paola (CMC) cautioned that this was a very tight timeline. Nevertheless, he said that if so-directed SHAPE and the Military Committee would work to have the detailed proposal ready by the third week of June. (Note: Defense Ministers did subsequently agree the command and control changes in principle, while tasking that additional military planning and resource advice be completed by July 29.) ¶3. (C/NF) NTM-A: The Netherlands asked for clarification of a comment by incoming COMISAF McChrystal that the new NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan (NTM-A) "would perform the bulk of the training." PermRep Schaper noted that NTM-A was to be complementary to G8 lead nation (i.e., U.S. CSTC-A) training efforts. ¶4. (C/NF) Boarding of a Czech contract plane by Afghan Security Forces: SHAPE Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations Major General Wright said that an investigation had been launched it the incident described by the Czech Charge at the May 27 NAC (ref B) in which Afghan Security Forces threatened to use force if they were not allowed to search the cargo of a Czech-contracted plane at the Kabul International Airport. Wright added that steps were being taken to make sure that this type of incident would not happen again. ¶5. (C/NF) The UK expressed its continuing concern on the need for a level playing field in the upcoming Afghanistan elections. The UK said it had particular concerns over the media law and access to transport. Pakistan -------------- ¶6. (C/NF) While welcoming the agreement to make Turkey the NATO Contact Point Embassy in Islamabad, Canada expressed regret that the Alliance had not yet developed the modalities for a cooperation framework with Pakistan. The Canadian PermRep stressed that he saw this as an important part of the implementation of the April Summit decision that NATO would build a broader political and practical relationship with Pakistan. The Secretary General said that the Canadian PermRep was unfairly painting a "gloom and doom" picture of progress in the Summit tasking, noting that--in addition to the Contact Point Embassy decision--progress had been made in the areas of border cooperation and the Tripartite Commission. (Note: Pakistani President Zardari is scheduled to meet with the NAC on June 17.) The Balkans -------------- ¶7. (C/NF) The SYG said the Council session on June 9 with EUSR Feith and EULEX Head de Kermabon (ref A) provided grounds for cautious optimism that the political conditions in Kosovo were favorable for a graduated KFOR move to deterrent presence. The SYG repeated Feith's admonitions that the KFOR drawdown should take into account the need to provide support as third responder for primary security during probable local Kosovo elections in November and to maintain a KFOR presence in northern Kosovo, enclaves, and protected sites. The UK, with support from the SYG, stressed the need for a strategic communications strategy and for key press lines to be circulated to all Allies for use during the Defense Ministerial. NATO HQ Reform -------------- ¶8. (C/NF) The Secretary General noted that Allies had thus far only agreed to one of the four papers he had issued on the issue of NATO Headquarters reform--the paper dealing with reforms to better integrate the International Staff and the International Military Staff. The Secretary General said that he intended to raise the issue of the other three papers--on how senior International Staff jobs would be competed, NATO decision making, and the civil budget--with Defense Ministers at their June 11-12 meeting. He said that while he did not intend to get into a "drafting session' with ministers, he hoped that the documents could be moved forward and that Allies could take a final decision on them before NATO's summer break in August. Farewell to Czech PermRep -------------- ¶9. (C/NF) The Secretary General led Allies in bidding farewell to Czech PermRep Fule, who had become Prague's Minister for Europe. In his farewell remarks, Fule said that if some think of NATO as a Cold War relic, it was not necessarily a bad thing--if it meant NATO was continuing to stand in the way of those who have "a different agenda." He also stressed the continuing importance of NATO's Open Door policy, which he termed a success. He said that Kosovo was a key priority. On missile defense, he said that he recognized that ALTBMD and the "3rd U.S. pillar" might be better "conceptually than in reality," but maintained that he still believed "we" were doing the right thing. He added that whatever NATO ends up doing on missile defense, "let us at least be consistent." He also argued that the only way the NATO-Russia Council (NRC) could work is if the Allies took a "two-stream" approach to Russia. While one stream would be "at 29" with Russia in the NRC, the other would require Allies to also follow a second, Allies-only stream. DAALDER