NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL MEETING, JULY 22, 2009

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 USNATO 000320 NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/07/2019 TAGS: PREL NATO EWWT MARR MOPS AF PK RS TZ XW SUBJECT: NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL MEETING, JULY 22, 2009 Classified By: A/PolAd A. "Hoot" Baez. Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C/NF) Summary of the July 22 meeting of the North Atlantic Council (NAC): -- AFGHANISTAN/PAKISTAN: SACEUR, Admiral Stavridis, and COMISAF, General McChrystal, briefed the Council from Kabul via video teleconference, noting--among other things--that McChrystal was generally pleased with the progress of the operation in Helmand province. The brief was well-received by the Council, with PermReps stressing that they hoped similar briefings would occur on a regular basis. The Deputy Secretary General urged Allies to be flexible in their approach to IS-proposed jurisdiction language for a NATO-UAE agreement on the basing of AWACS aircraft, noting that the deployment of the planes was considered an "urgent" operational need by McChrystal. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband will give an Afghanistan-related speech at NATO on July 27, which the UK PermRep suggested would be a "significant statement." -- IRAQ: NATO and Iraq are tentatively scheduled to sign a long-term agreement on the legal status of the NATO Training Mission-Iraq, assuming that attempts by one Iraqi minister to change the jurisdiction language don't succeed. -- IBAN ANNUAL ACTIVITIES REPORT FOR 2008: The Chairman of the International Board of Auditors for NATO (IBAN) highlighted the progress made in implementation of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), proposed increased performance audits, urged agreement on audit committees, and repeated IBAN's concerns regarding the position of Financial Controllers and the Military Budget Committee's allocation of the Military Budget. -- THE SECRETARY GENERAL'S HEALTH: An angioplasty was performed on outgoing NATO Secretary General de Hoop Scheffer after a blockage was discovered in his heart. He is resting in a Brussels hospital, but was forced to cancel his farewell visit to the U.S. END SUMMARY Afghanistan/Pakistan -------------- ¶2. (C/REL ISAF) In response to calls the previous week by PermReps for more information about the situation on the ground in Afghanistan, the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR),Admiral Stavridis, and the Commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (COMISAF), General McChrystal, briefed the NAC via video teleconference from Afghanistan. COMISAF said that he was pleased with the progress thus far in the operation in Helmand province, stressing that the "clear" phase would take more than a month to complete, not just a few weeks. He noted, however, that local residents were skeptical that international forces were there to stay, adding that demonstrating this commitment was USNATO 00000320 002 OF 004 an important goal of the operation. He also stressed the need to build the confidence of the people in their own government. ¶3. (C/REL ISAF) With regard to the upcoming elections, McChrystal said that he had some concerns about areas where the security situation might not allow polling sites to open. He said that this was mainly in the south. ¶4. (C/REL ISAF) McChrystal stressed the importance of population protection in his approach to Afghanistan. He pointed out that he had issued a revised Tactical Directive in order to carry out this approach, adding that "we must be careful in everything we do." He said that the new approach had already yielded results -- a decrease in civilian casualty incidents. But he cautioned that "we have to stay on it." ¶5. (C/REL ISAF) When asked by Canada whether his time on the ground had led to him to consider changes to the approach with regard to the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), McChrystal said that his 60 day review would not be ready for the Alliance until mid-August. At the same time, he acknowledged that he was considering speeding up the pace of training for the ANSF, as well as possibly adjusting upwards the total end-strength numbers. In response to the German PermRep, McChrystal provided positive feedback on the Afghan Public Protection Force (APPF),citing Wardak Province, but cautioned that the "we do not want to create armed groups." The UK urged him to "tell it like it is" in his 60 day review--which McChrystal promised to do--but also stressed the importance of strategic communications and messaging on its results. ¶6. (C/REL ISAF) McChrystal stressed the importance of finalizing quickly the changes to the ISAF upper command headquarters and operationalizing the new NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan (NTM-A). He said that these would allow for a much cleaner command structure and a better operational focus. He said that the person in his position (COMISAF) cannot look both down at the day-to-day operational level details and up at the national/strategic level issues. The Chairman of the NATO Military Committee later reported that there would be a manning conference for flag level billets in NTM-A on August 14. He said other manning issues would be addressed at a September 2 conference. The UK said later--after McChrystal and Stavridis finished their teleconference--that it will be important that NTM-A not simply be a rebadged CSTC-A (the U.S.-led Combined Security Transition Command - Afghanistan). ¶7. (C/REL ISAF) In response to several PermRep questions on Pakistan, Stavridis said that he was very focused on Pakistan and would soon travel there. McChrystal said he thought it was important to stay linked up with the Pakistanis, adding that he had already met twice with Pakistani Chief of Army Staff Kiyani and would see him again in the near future. USNATO 00000320 003 OF 004 AWACS Basing in the UAE -------------- ¶8. (C/NF) The Deputy Secretary General briefed PermReps on the discussions Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Operations Lawrence Rossin had with UAE official regarding the basing of NATO AWACS planes in the UAE in support of the NATO-led operation in Afghanistan. The Deputy Secretary General said that Rossin had come away believing that there was support for the basing from senior levels of the UAE leadership. At the same time, he did not believe that the UAE would make all the concessions on jurisdiction issues that Allies would like. The Deputy Secretary General said that Rossin was developing compromise language which he hoped would meet enough of the UAE concerns. He said that he recognized that this would not be an "ideal document," but stressed that ISAF's AWACS needs were becoming "urgent." He therefore asked Allies to be flexible on this issue, noting the need for a "practical balance" of the legal and operational needs. Miliband to give Afghanistan/Pakistan speech at NATO -------------- -------------- ¶9. (SBU) UK PermRep Eldon announced the UK Foreign Secretary Miliband would give a speech about Afghanistan and Pakistan on Monday, July 27 at NATO. Eldon said that he expected Miliband to "make a significant statement." Iraq: NTM-I Long Term Agreement: So Near, Yet So Far -------------- -------------- ¶10. (C/REL NATO) The Deputy Secretary General reported that plans were underway for a July 27 signing by NATO and the Iraqi Minister of Defense of the Long Term Agreement providing legal status for the NATO Training Mission-Iraq. He said, however, that he understood "one minister" in Baghdad was attempting to reopen the jurisdiction language. He said that the International Staff had made clear that changes in this area were unacceptable and would make it impossible for NATO to sign the agreement. He said the International Staff had also made clear that lacking an agreement, NATO would have to consider withdrawing its personnel. The Deputy Secretary said that the issue was now with Prime Minister Maliki, adding that he hoped to know within a a day or so whether NATO would be able to move forward with signing. The Italian PermRep supported the Deputy Secretary's statement, argeeing with the possible consequence. (Note: On July 23, the Deputy Secretary issued a notice that he and the Iraqi Minister of Defense would sign the agreement on July 26. The version to be signed (e-mailed to EUR/RPM) includes a few minor, non-jurisdictional changes, mainly to provide clarity. In addition, it includes an element that the Iraqis asked to be reinserted which they had previously successfully asked to be removed. The NATO Legal Advisor has confirmed that these small changes are all acceptable and do not alter the purpose and goal of the agreement.) USNATO 00000320 004 OF 004 IBAN Annual Activities Report for 2008 -------------- ¶11. (SBU) Wieslaw Kurzyca, outgoing Chairman of the International Board of Auditors for NATO (IBAN) briefed the Council on the activities of the Board in 2008. Mr. Kurzyca specifically highlighted the progress made in compliance with International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS),but urged that momentum be maintained and that all aspects of the standards be implemented. He briefed the NAC on progress made in past performance audits, adding that increased performance audits will be pursued. He reiterated the Board's concerns regarding the position and independence of Financial Controllers in the Military Commands and regarding the NAC's delegation of budgetary authority to the Military Budget Committee (MBC). Several nations thanked Kurzyca for the IBAN's work, supported the implementation of IPSAS, and increased performance auditing. Some nations shared the IBAN's concerns about budget delegation, others--including the U.S. and Norway--recalled that the Council still sets the budget ceilings for MBC allocation. They also pointed out that this issue was due to be reviewed later in the year. Several nations supported the position and independence of the Financial Controllers, with the UK urging a wider, strategic look at financial reform in NATO, including support for audit committees. The Chairman of the NATO Military Committee noted the Military Committee position that the Financial Controllers should be integrated with other staff elements. The NAC agreed, as in past years, to publish the IBAN Annual Activities Report. Health Status of the Secretary General -------------- ¶12. (C) The Deputy Secretary General reported that a blockage had been found in the heart of outgoing Secretary General de Hoop Scheffer on July 21. The Deputy Secretary General reported that an angioplasty had been performed and the blockage removed. He said that de Hoop Scheffer was resting in a Brussels hospital. (Note: The Secretary General had to cancel his planned visit to the States this week as a result of this incident. He had been scheduled for a farewell courtesy call with President Obama.) DAALDER