AUGUST 12 MEETING OF THE NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 USNATO 000346 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/13/2019 TAGS: PREL NATO EWWT MARR MOPS AF PK RS TZ XW SUBJECT: AUGUST 12 MEETING OF THE NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL USNATO 00000346 001.2 OF 003 Classified By: A/PolAd A. "Hoot" Baez. Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C/REL NATO) Summary of the August meeting of the North Atlantic Council: -- AFGHANISTAN: NATO will release its media coordination plan for Afghan elections on August 12. PermReps requested information about ad-hoc community guards to be hired by the Afghanistan Ministry of Interior for additional elections security. Germany announced a joint initiative with Russia which refurbish and delivered two medical evacuation helicopters to the Afghan Ministry of Interior. Montenegro will begin procedures to become an ISAF troop contributing nation with an initial offer of 40 soldiers. The Deputy SecGen confirmed that the Commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force will not deliver his 60-day assessment of the situation in Afghanistan until after August 20 Afghan elections. The report of the SecGen's visit to Afghanistan has been circulated to nations (e-mailed to EUR/RPM). -- COUNTER-PIRACY: The Deputy Secretary General reported that on August 10 the NAC approved the Execution Directive for the Ocean Shield Operations Plan (OPLAN 10710) and the associated Rules of Engagement (ROE). This will allow for the immediate implementation of escort/deterrence operations and capacity building efforts. -- RUSSIA: The UK noted concern regarding the murder on August 10 of two human rights supports in Chechnya and asked whether thought had been given to the possibility of a NATO statement on the issue. After Canada asked for a readout of the Secretary General's first meeting with Ambassador Rogozin, the Deputy Secretary General said that a report of the meeting was being distributed to nations. (Note: The meeting report, as well as an attached non-paper which Rogozin delivered to Rasmussen, were e-mailed to EUR/RPM). -- BALKANS: Secretary General Rasmussen will travel to Kosovo on August 13; a full trip report will follow. SHAPE will host a Force Balancing Conference on September 8. END SUMMARY Afghanistan/Pakistan -------------- ¶2. (C/NF) Afghanistan: Trip Report and Media Plan: Deputy SecGen Claudio Bisogniero (D/SYG) said the trip report from Secretary General Rasmussen's first visit to Afghanistan was now available (report e-mailed to EUR/RPM). He said NATO headquarters was also working on a coordinated media strategy for the Afghan elections period and would release an initial plan August 12. The U.S. welcomed work to coordinate elections messages, noted that Washington and Embassy Kabul would have 24-hour operations centers, and said USNATO 00000346 002.2 OF 003 the U.S. mission would share as much information as possible with the NATO spokesman for dissemination to Allies and ISAF partners. ¶3. (C/NF) Elections Security: Responding to the weekly written report from the ISAF Senior Civilian Representative (sent separately by e-mail Spain and Germany requested more information about "ad hoc militias" hired by the Afghan Ministry of Interior (MoI) to provide additional election security. Both nations raised concerns about the quality of recruits, reliability of ad hoc forces, and the number of districts where such "militias" may be present. SHAPE Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations Major General Rudy Wright emphasized that the hiring of these groups was an exclusively Afghan-led MoI initiative. He said that the MoI planned to hire temporary community guards or pursue some form of negotiated cease-fires with local insurgents in up to 240 (of nearly 400) districts. Wright said that the final list of polling stations that could not open or would be relocated or consolidated would come out August 14. He estimated that around 400 stations may not open due to security or inaccessibility. ¶4. (C/REL NATO) Delay of 60-day assessment: In response to a question from the Netherlands, the Deputy Secretary General confirmed that GEN McChrystal, the Commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, would not deliver his 60-day assessment of the situation in the country until after the upcoming elections. ¶5. (C/REL ISAF) Requests for Briefings: Germany asked for an update on the Baghdis province cease-fire between the Afghan government and local insurgents and a broader discussion on reconciliation options following the elections. Canada requested a post-election brief on the pattern of Afghan National Security Force deployment. In response to a Dutch request, the Director of the International Military Staff said that an analysis of insurgents' improvised explosive device (IED) capabilities would be presented at the next meeting of the Council. ¶6. (C/REL ISAF) New Contributions: The Deputy Secretary General said Montenegro had offered 40 troops to be deployed under ISAF and would begin the standardized procedures to officially become an ISAF troop contributing nation. Germany announced a joint initiative with Moscow which had resulted in the turning over of two overhauled Mi-8 helicopters to the Afghan Ministry of Interior for use as medical evacuation assets in support of Afghan National Police. The German PermRep added that this was evidence that Allies could find practical means of cooperating with Russia on this issue. ¶7. (C/REL ISAF) Operations Update: SHAPE Major General Rudy Wright noted that while indirect fire by insurgents was down over last year, there were more IED and direct fire incidents, resulting in an overall 71 percent increase in insurgent-initiated violence over the last year. Wright said USNATO 00000346 003.2 OF 003 that there would probably be a surge in violence toward late summer (consistent with annual trends),adding that could coincide with Afghan presidential elections. He said that the reported death of Baitullah Mehsud in Pakistan was still unconfirmed. Counter-Piracy -------------- ¶8. (C/REL NATO) The Deputy Secretary General reported that on August 10 the NAC approved the Execution Directive for the Ocean Shield Operations Plan (OPLAN 10710) and the associated Rules of Engagement (ROE). This will allow for the immediate implementation of escort/deterrence operations and capacity building efforts. The Supreme Allied Commander Europe must inform Allies when he believes he has sufficient means to perform two additional tasks. The Deputy Secretary General also said that the NATO Legal Advisor was continuing his efforts to establish a legal framework for the detention of captured pirates. Russia -------------- ¶9. (C/REL NATO) The UK noted concern regarding the murder on August 10 of two human rights supports in Chechnya and asked whether thought had been given to the possibility of a NATO statement on the issue. After Canada asked for a readout of the Secretary General's first meeting with Ambassador Rogozin, the Deputy Secretary General said that a report of the meeting was being distributed to nations. (Note: The meeting report, as well as an attached non-paper which Rogozin delivered to Rasmussen, were e-mailed to EUR/RPM). The Balkans -------------- ¶10. (C/REL NATO) Secretary General Rasmussen will travel to Kosovo on August 13; a full trip report will follow. SHAPE will host a Force Balancing Conference on September 8. DAALDER