Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09USNATO320
2009-07-24 18:42:00
CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN
Mission USNATO
Cable title:
NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL MEETING, JULY 22, 2009
how-toVZCZCXRO6032 OO RUEHAG RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHMRE RUEHNP RUEHPW RUEHROV RUEHSL RUEHSR DE RUEHNO #0320/01 2051842 ZNY CCCCC ZZH O 241842Z JUL 09 FM USMISSION USNATO TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3236 INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RUCNOSC/ORG FOR SECURITY CO OP IN EUR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RUEHAD/AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI PRIORITY 0242 RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA PRIORITY 0513 RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA PRIORITY 0631 RUEHDR/AMEMBASSY DAR ES SALAAM PRIORITY 0034 RUEHDJ/AMEMBASSY DJIBOUTI PRIORITY 0025 RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 0798 RUEHKH/AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM PRIORITY 0586 RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PRIORITY 6464 RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI PRIORITY RUEHYN/AMEMBASSY SANAA PRIORITY 0020 RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL PRIORITY 0606 RUEHGP/AMEMBASSY SINGAPORE PRIORITY 0405 RUEHSI/AMEMBASSY TBILISI PRIORITY 5815 RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 0930 RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON PRIORITY 0029 RUEHUNV/USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA PRIORITY 0049 RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC WASHDC PRIORITY RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC PRIORITY RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0989 RUEHNO/USDELMC BRUSSELS BE PRIORITY RHMFISS/USNMR SHAPE BE PRIORITY
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).
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
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