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RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0354
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 USNATO 000098 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/14/2017 
TAGS: NATO PREL AF
SUBJECT: NORTH ATLANTIC COUNCIL READOUT FEBRUARY 14, 2007 
 
 
Classified By: DCM RICHARD G. OLSON for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY: 
 
-- Afghanistan: Chairman of the Military Committee (CMC) 
stressed the immediate need to get ISAF X HQ fully staffed. 
SHAPE MG Stein detailed ISAF operational successes and plans. 
 UK noted that the jury is still out on Musa Qala, though it 
believes that Taiban influence is waning.  Norway will send 
150 SOF to ISAF.  Ambassador Nuland called on the EU to 
increase its police mission and briefed the NAC on Secretary 
of Defense Gates, visit to Islamabad. 
 
-- Kosovo: SYG announced his upcoming visit to Pristina, 
Mitrovica on February 15 to reinforce NATO,s commitment; CMC 
briefs on February 10 riots in Pristina, including KFOR 
support to UNMIK and Kosovar police. 
 
-- Darfur: AU PSC Djinnit plans to brief the NAC on March 2; 
AMIS spring battalion rotations to be fully funded. 
 
-- Iraq: CMC informed the NAC that the NTM-I National Defense 
University (NDU) Director was kidnapped and murdered. 
 
-- Six-Party Talks: Ambassador Nuland briefed the NAC on 
successful outcome of Six-Party Talks in Beijing. 
 
-- The NAC approved the Senior Resource Board,s (SRB) 
recommendation to form the NATO Office of Resources (NOR). 
 
END SUMMARY. 
 
Afghanistan 
----------- 
¶2. (C) CMC Henault made a strong plea to nations to meet 
commitments to the staffing of the ISAF X Composite HQ, still 
at only 66% manning.  In particular, he highlighted the lack 
of a Role 1 medical facility and maintenance staffs as 
shortfalls that stood to impact both the health and morale of 
the HQ, not to mention more operational shortfalls and lack 
of training that detracted from mission effectiveness.  SHAPE 
J3 MG Stein later stated that of 43 HQ slots in the 
counter-IED branch (IEDs are COMISAF,s top threat), only 20 
were filled. 
 
¶3. (C) In the weekly operational update, MG Stein stated that 
ISAF continued to assess Taliban goals as seeking to encircle 
Kandahar and cut off Highway 1 traffic.  The ongoing 
Operation Oqab is paving the way for ISAF,s spring campaign, 
(Operation &Now Ruz8 or "New Year"), which will seek to 
preempt and dislocate enemy offensive operations, while 
supporting development and governance.  The recently 
successful &Operation Kryptonite8 in the Kajaki Dam area, 
had dislodged enemy camps despite Taliban efforts to use 
children as human shields.  Stein said that RC(S) reserves 
were using rotary wing mobility to precisely interdict 
reinfiltration attempts in the Panjwayi and Zhari districts 
that had been cleared during Operation Baaz Tsuka.  On Musa 
Qala, he stated that COMISAF supported lettin the Afghan 
government and elders work through te current problems, but 
was ready to act if necesary.  Planning for reconstruction 
and aid had ben completed, and ISAF is poised to support 
bothonce the security situation permitted.  Finally, MG 
Stein added that the next Tripartite Commission meeting would 
be on March 14. 
 
¶4. (C) Norway announced that in response to SACEUR,s 
request, it would send a contingent of 150 SOF to RC 
 
USNATO 00000098  002 OF 003 
 
 
(Capital) for six months.  The UK said it was cautiously 
optimistic regarding Musa Qala, noting if the Afghans found 
an Afghan solution, it would represent a large step forward, 
and that the UK has seen signs of decreasing Taliban 
influence there.  Ambassador Nuland thanked Norway for 
answering SACEUR,s call, and urged that the Norwegian 
deployment be without geographical caveats.  She welcomed the 
recent EU GAERC decision to move ahead with an ESDP police 
mission in Afghanistan, but hoped it was only the beginning, 
noting the tremendous in-theater needs and that the U.S. had 
deployed more than 500 police mentors compared with initial 
E plans for approximately 120 new trainers.  She gae 
PermReps a brief sketch of SecDef Gates, meetig with 
Pakistani President Musharraf, noting Mushrraf,s commitment 
to regional security and our itent to help him better 
deliver, and encouragingAllies to respond to any Pakistani 
requests for echnical or training assistance for the border. 
Ambassador Nuland and the Spanish ambassador agreedon the 
need for consistent, unified messaging from NATO HQ and ISAF, 
with Ambassador Nuland noting the need for Afghan faces to 
deliver the message. 
 
Kosovo 
------ 
¶5. (C) The SYG said he intends to use his trip to Kosovo 
February 15 to assess the security situation following the 
February 10 riots in Pristina and to send a strong signal of 
continued NATO commitment to maintaining a safe and secure 
environment.  In addition to Pristina, the SYG will visit 
Mitrovica to meet with Kosovar Serb leaders and will tour 
Camp Nothing Hill.  Due to a Serbian holiday, the SYG has 
postponed his planned stop in Belgrade until the week of 
February 19.  The CMC briefed on the February 10 riots by 
Kosovar Albanian radicals, noting that KFOR deployed a 
mission specialty company in support of the Kosovar police 
and UNMIK.  KFOR also manned checkpoints throughout the city, 
conducted aerial surveillance, and placed tactical reserve 
units on heightened alert.  He further noted, in response to 
PermReps, inquiries, that the KFOR unit employed tear gas in 
accordance with NATO/KFOR,s rules for non-lethal engagement. 
 In response to an inquiry from the UK PermRep over the lack 
of information during the riots, the SYG said he had been in 
constant touch with SACEUR and stated that there are systems 
in place to increase the flow of information during a crisis. 
 Ambassador Nuland drew PermReps, attention to the fact that 
the riots show that time is not on our side and that it is 
critical to move the Kosovo status process forward.  She 
further reiterated what Secretary of Defense Gates stated at 
the Defense Ministerial in Seville -- which UNMIK should not 
reduce by a single person until the EU ESDP police mission is 
at full operating capacity. 
 
¶6. (C) A/SYG Pardew provided an update to the NAC on the 
status of NATO-EU technical discussions, noting that the 
organizations have drafted technical agreements for the five 
previously identified common areas of responsibility. 
Further refining of the agreements will continue with the 
objective of formalizing an exchange of letters between the 
two organizations which will outline respective areas of 
responsibility.  Pardew mentioned that NATO planners 
continued to conduct prudent planning for NATO,s future role 
based on U.N. Special Envoy Ahtisaari,s proposal and that 
the MC will brief the NAC on staff planning on February 28. 
The next round of technical discussions between NATO and the 
EU is scheduled for March 2. 
 
Darfur 
------ 
 
USNATO 00000098  003 OF 003 
 
 
¶7. (SBU) The SYG said that international attention is focused 
on the ongoing AU/UN Special Envoy,s five-day mission aimed 
at re-energizing the stalled peace process.  This mission is 
being conducted in parallel with the implementation of the 
three-phase UN assistance package to AMIS.  He reported that 
the UN is establishing a monitoring mission to Chad and the 
Central African Republic which could ease the spillover 
effects of the Darfur crisis.  The SYG also reminded the NAC 
of tentative plans for AU Commissioner for Peace and 
Security, Ambassador Djinnit, to brief the NAC on March 2. 
CMC stated that he expects all of the spring 2007 troop 
rotations to be funded.  Current commitments to fund the 
rotations include the UK (one of three Nigerian battalions), 
France and Germany (Gambian and Senegalese battalions). 
After the NAC, a UK mission officer told PolOff that the UK 
intends to fund the remaining two Nigerian battalion 
rotations, but must wait until the beginning of the UK fiscal 
year, April 1, to confirm. 
 
Iraq 
---- 
¶8. (SBU) CMC reported that NTM-I Brigadier General Nawfal, 
Director of the Defense Language Institute of the National 
Defense University (NDU) at Ar-Rustimayah was kidnapped on 
February 8, and found dead on February 9.  This is the second 
time in six months that a commanding general of NDU has been 
kidnapped and murdered (the previous incident took place in 
September 2006).  It is currently unknown if the two 
incidents are linked.  An investigation is underway and 
instruction on personal security outside of the compound 
(both of these incidents happened in private homes) is being 
conducted. 
 
Six-Party Talks 
--------------- 
¶9. (U) Under Political Subjects and using information 
contained in State 18387, Ambassador Nuland briefed the NAC 
on  the February 13 agreement by the Six Parties on the 
&Initial Actions for the Implementation of the September 
2005 Joint Statement.8  She emphasized that this would not 
have been accomplished without the strong united effort of 
all parties. Ambassador Nuland told PermReps that she would 
circulate details of the agreement separately, following the 
NAC. 
 
NATO Office of Resources 
------------------------ 
¶10. (U) The NAC approved the Senior Resource Board,s (SRB) 
recommendation to form the NATO Office of Resources (NOR) and 
revisions to the resource committees terms of reference so 
that the Infrastructure Committee (IC) and Military Budget 
Committee are subordinate to the SRB.  The Director of the 
NOR will be DASG Peltier (US).  During the next three months, 
the SRB will review the source of the IC Chairman, currently 
DASG Peltier, as most nations favor a national chairman. 
 
OLSON