RFG: COMMANDER OF ISAF BRIEFS NAC ON ASSESSMENT;

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 USNATO 000392 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/10/2019 TAGS: PREL NATO MARR MOPS UN AF PK SUBJECT: RFG: COMMANDER OF ISAF BRIEFS NAC ON ASSESSMENT; SAYS RESOURCE REQUEST IS READY Classified By: DCM John Heffern. Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (SBU) This is a request for guidance. See paragraph 10. ¶2. (S/NOFORN) SUMMARY: At the September 16 meeting of the North Atlantic Council, the commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan (COMISAF),U.S. General Stanley McChrystal, briefed NATO PermReps for the first time on the 60-day review via video teleconference. Terming the situation in Afghanistan "serious," McChrystal said that that the mission could still be accomplished. He added, however, that this was only possible if we changed the way we do things. Twice during the brief, McChrystal said that his follow-up report requesting additional resources was ready to submit. Ambassador Daalder urged the Council to maintain the secrecy of the report. He said the Council should cohesively maintain a public line that NATO is undergoing a review of the report without alluding to details or expressing conclusions on the report. Rasmussen said NATO would not make any public statements or recommendations on the report. The Secretary General will distribute the assessment to Allies on September 17 and has scheduled a NAC discussion of the assessment for Friday, September 18. Mission requests guidance for that meeting. End Summary. ¶3. (S/NOFORN) At the September 16 North Atlantic Council Meeting, Gen. McChrystal briefed Perm Reps for the first time on his 60-day assessment report. The report was an assessment of all U.S and ISAF military operations in Afghanistan. McChrystal was tasked to complete this assessment by the U.S. Secretary of Defense and the North Atlantic Council in June. This assessment focused on regaining the initiative, demonstrating greater partnership between the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and ISAF, and supporting Afghan governance at all levels. McChrystal said building the ANSF through partnering is not a stand alone option to solving Afghanistan's security development needs. Instead, it is one of many options that requires NATO's resolve and a long-term commitment. Prioritizing support for Afghan governance at the central, provincial, district, and local levels was critical in his view. McChrystal said NATO must focus resources and prioritize them in areas where the Afghan population is most threatened by the insurgency. �0A; ¶4. (S/NOFORN) McChrystal said Afghans are frustrated by a lack of progress by the Afghan government and the international community. He stated that the situation in Afghanistan was deteriorating and to achieve proper success, proper resources are required. He acknowledged that delays in announcing final election results have created an atmosphere of uncertainty in the minds of the Afghan government and the Afghan people. Time is of the essence, according to McChrystal, immediate resources are required. COMISAF repeated twice that his follow-up report requesting additional resources was ready to submit when requested. ¶5. (S/NOFORN) COMISAF said the need to partner with the ANSF at every level, from the Minister level to the infantry level, and modify all existing organizations, if necessary, to achieve success. COMISAF said that there is a cultural, physical, and psychological gap between ISAF forces and the Afghan public. Portugal and Italy expressed concern with closer partnering with the ANSF and the effect on ISAF force casualties. COMISAF said that the short-term risks associated with ISAF and ANSF partnering would be outweighed by the long-term gains of building ANSF security capacity. He said to achieve the civ-mil balance there is a prerequisite to establish security in some areas before the full potential of civilian efforts can be achieved. USNATO 00000392 002 OF 002 ¶6. (S/NOFORN) Germany, Canada, and the U.K. agreed with McChrystal that there is a need to achieve a civ-mil balance, only the Afghans can defeat the insurgency, and it is up to ISAF to help them accomplish this goal. McChrystal said that the situation in Afghanistan is difficult but NATO can achieve its goals. He said his report recommends accelerating the training of the Afghan National Security Forces and increasing their size to 400,000 forces over the next four years. At the same time, he stressed that there was a limit to how much acceleration could take place, for example, in the speed of recruitment. He also said that the training of leaders was finite because they needed to gain experience. To meet this goal he recommends prioritizing resources and forces in areas where the Afghan population is at the most risk by the insurgency. Italy asked whether it wouldn't be better for now to stay within the authorized limits for the ANSF, given recruitment and funding concerns. The Czech PermRep noted that the aggressive increase in ANSF numbers would need to be matched by a similar increase in equipment and asked how this would be made sustainable over the medium-to-long term. Norway echoed this, noting that Allies will need a process to discuss the resource requirements and our ability to meet those requirements. McChrystal stressed that he had provided the best military advice he could on the size of the ANSF that would be needed for the Afghans to be able to take on an increasing amount of their own security and combat the insurgency. At the same time, he acknowledged that the Afghans themselves would be unable to pay for this force. ¶7. (S/NOFORN) In response to Canada asking if Pakistan was included in the report, COMISAF said that Pakistan military efforts on counterinsurgency have increased in the past six months, which will have a good effect on Afghanistan, but not a decisive one. He did not recommend attempting to seal the Af/Pak border, arguing that this was probably not possible in any case. ¶8. (S/NOFORN) COMISAF said he accepted full responsibility for every word and every conclusion in the report. McChrystal said he made each recommendation based upon what he thought was required to achieve visible, measurable results in Afghanistan in consultation with the Afghans and his military experts. ¶9. (S/NOFORN) The Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, Admiral Giampaolo Di Paola, said COMISAF, SACEUR, and all CHODS would meet in Lisbon the weekend of September 18 and discuss the initial assessment. He said, as a result, the group would provide collective feedback through his chairmanship to the NAC on the assessment. Guidance Request -------------- ¶10. (C/NOFORN) Guidance Request: The Secretary General has said that he would distribute the assessment on Thursday, September 17. He said that the NAC would then meet on Friday, September 18, to have an initial steering discussion of the assessment. Mission requests Washington guidance NLT COB Washington-time on September 17 for that meeting, including how to handle any calls by Allies to request the resource document referenced by McChrystal. DAALDER