Viewing cable 09USNATO334, RASMUSSEN TAKES CHARGE; ANNOUNCES STRATEGIC

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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 USNATO 000334 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: NATO PGOV PREF PTER MOPS MAR IC
SUBJECT: RASMUSSEN TAKES CHARGE; ANNOUNCES STRATEGIC 
CONCEPT ROADMAP 
 
REF: USNATO 00247 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY On August 3--his first day of official 
business at NATO Headquarters--new NATO Secretary General 
(SYG) Anders Fogh Rasmussen released his roadmap for 
completing NATO's new Strategic Concept in time for a NATO 
Summit in the fall of 2010. He also named the 12 individuals 
he has chosen to serve in their personal capacities on a 
Group of Experts who will lay the ground for the new 
Strategic Concept. Former Secretary Albright will Chair this 
Group of Experts, while former Royal Dutch Shell President 
and CEO Jeroen van de Veer will serve as the Vice-Chair. 
Rasmussen has invited the Group of Experts to Brussels on 
September 4 for an informal meeting with NATO PermReps. In a 
press conference announcing these decisions, Rasmussen said 
that the process should be the most open and inclusive 
process of policy development NATO has ever conducted. END 
SUMMARY 
 
----------------- 
The Experts Group 
----------------- 
 
¶2. (U) According to Rasmussen the twelve individuals were 
chosen in order represent a broad range of Allies, as well as 
to bring a broad range of skills and expertise to the job. 
They are: 
 
- Madeleine Albright as Chair of the Experts Group, the 
United States, former Secretary of State 
 
- Jeroen van der Veer as Vice-Chair, the Netherlands, former 
president and CEO of Royal Dutch Shell 
 
- Giancarlo Aragona, Italy, currently Italy's Ambassador to 
the UK 
 
- Marie Gervais-Vidricaire, Canada, currently Canada's 
Ambassador to Austria and Permanent Representative to the 
International Organizations in Vienna 
 
- Geoff Hoon, the United Kingdom, member of parliament 
 
- Umit Pamir, Turkey, former Turkish Ambassador to the UN, 
Senior Diplomatic Advisor to the Prime Minister 
 
- Fernando Perpina-Robert Peyra, Spain, currently the 
Secretary General of the Club of Madrid 
 
- Hans-Friedrich von Ploetz, Germany, former German 
Ambassador to Russia, the UK, and Permanent Representative to 
NATO 
 
- Bruno Racine, France, currently President of the 
Bibliotheque Nationale de France 
 
- Aivis Ronis, Latvia, currently the Director of the 
Latvian-American Financial Forum (COMMENT: Ronis was 
nominated jointly by Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia as the 
Baltic candidate. END COMMENT) 
 
- Adam Daniel Rotfeld, Poland, currently Chairman of the 
International Consultative Committee at the Polish Institute 
of International Affairs 
 
 
USNATO 00000334 002 OF 004 
 
 
- Yannis-Alexis Zepos, Greece, currently Greek Ambassador to 
Egypt 
 
¶3. (U) The text of Rasmussen's roadmap for the new Strategic 
Concept is outlined below: 
 
- BEGIN TEXT - 
 
A ROADMAP FOR THE NEW STRATEGIC CONCEPT 
 
At the NATO Summit in Strasbourg/Kehl on 4 April 2009, Heads 
of States and Government (HoSG) tasked the Secretary General 
to develop a new NATO Strategic Concept. This exercise 
should be completed by the time of NATO's next Summit which 
is expected to take place in Lisbon in late 2010. The Summit 
also tasked the Secretary General to convene and lead a broad 
based group of qualified experts who will lay the ground for 
the new Strategic Concept. This will be done with the active 
involvement of the North Atlantic Council (NAC). 
 
GUIDING PRINCIPLES 
 
NATO's current strategic concept dates back to 1999. A sound 
transatlantic consensus on a new NATO strategy is an 
indispensable element of the Alliance's strategic adaptation. 
 The Strategic Concept is a central piece of NATO's acquis. 
Politically, it occupies place second only to the Washington 
Treaty. 
 
This calls for an inclusive and participatory approach from 
the biggest to the smallest Ally. Moreover, the process 
should engage Partners in the Euro-Atlantic Partnership 
Council, the Mediterranean Dialogue and the Istanbul 
Cooperation Initiative as well as partners across the globe. 
Furthermore, the process should be transparent and engage 
other key international actors such as the EU and UN as well 
as other types of NATO interlocutors, like NGOs. Finally, an 
interactive dialogue with the broader public is encouraged. 
To this end, a web-page dedicated to the process leading to 
the new Strategic Concept has been established. 
 
THE GROUP OF EXPERTS 
 
In order to facilitate the working process, the Secretary 
General has today appointed a broad based Group of Experts. 
The 12 group members have been appointed in their personal 
capacities. The Group of Experts includes a broad spectrum 
of large and small NATO members and offers a balanced 
combination of insiders and outsiders, including from the 
private sector, think tanks and the academic community. Dr. 
Madeleine Albright, former US Secretary of State, will chair 
the Group of Experts with Mr. Jeroen van der Veer, former CEO 
in Royal Dutch shell, as vice-chair. To ensure close 
coordination between the Group of Experts and NATO 
Headquarters, the Secretary General has designated a small 
NATO team led by Dr. Jamie Shea, head of Policy Planning 
Unit, to function as a secretariat and staff support. 
 
A THREE-PHASED APPROACH 
 
The process leading to a new Strategic Concept will have 
three distinct phases: a reflection phase through a series 
of seminars; a consultation phase with allied capitals; and a 
drafting and final negotiation phase. 
 
 
USNATO 00000334 003 OF 004 
 
 
Reflection phase: 
 
A series of seminars hosted by individual allies will take 
place in order to enhance the strategic debate. The seminars 
will engage all stakeholders and relevant players - Permanent 
Representatives, Military Representatives, NATO Strategic 
Commands, the Military Committee, officials from capitals, 
strategic thinkers and partners as appropriate. Each seminar 
will cover a specific aspect of the Strategic Concept. 
 
- One seminar will look at NATO's core tasks and functions: 
the meaning of collective defence and deterrence in today's 
environment; how to confront broader spectrum of threats to 
our populations; NATO's role in disarmament, arms control, 
and non-proliferation. 
 
- Another seminar will look at NATO as a part of a network of 
security actors in contributing to global civil and military 
crisis management and NATO's likely tasks with a view to 
enhancing cooperation with international organizations and 
NGOs. 
 
- A third seminar will look at NATO and the Euro-Atlantic 
security environment; NATO's role in building security in the 
Euro-Atlantic area, enlargement and NATO's partnerships 
including relations with Russia. 
 
- A fourth seminar will look at forces and capabilities, 
including defence planning and transformation. IT will also 
look at procurement at a time of increased financial 
constraints - that requires flexibility and prioritization. 
 
The Group of Experts may also, as appropriate, explore other 
relevant topics. 
 
The Group of Experts will start its work on 4 September when 
the Secretary General convenes an informal meeting with NAC 
for an initial exchange of vies. The Group of Experts will 
meet periodically with the Secretary General and will submit 
a progress report in time for the Foreign Ministers meeting 
in December 2009. 
 
Consultation phase: 
 
Following the seminars, experts will visit Allied capitals to 
discuss their findings and proposals with governments, and 
where possible, parliamentary committees. Public outreach 
events could be organized on these occasions by the capitals 
concerned. 
 
In April 2010 the Group of Experts should present their 
analysis and recommendations to the Secretary General. 
 
Based on the experts' analysis and recommendations and 
Allies' initial reactions the Secretary General will produce 
his own report on elements in a new Strategic Concept. It 
will be submitted to governments and- before the summer 
holiday - the Secretary General will collect political 
guidance on the drafting of the new Strategic Concept. 
 
Drafting and final negotiation phase: 
 
After the summer 2010 the Secretary General will prepare his 
draft of the concept, and he will meet with Permanent 
Representatives to discuss the evolving drafts. Finally ,the 
 
USNATO 00000334 004 OF 004 
 
 
Secretary General will present his Strategic Concept text to 
the NATO summit expected to be held in the autumn of 2010. 
After approval by HoSG it henceforth becomes NATO's new 
Strategic Concept. 
 
END TEXT 
 
¶4. (U) COMMENT: In the press conference announcing these 
decisions, Rasmussen gave a strong impression that he sees 
the new Strategic Concept as a project to be executed clearly 
under his leadership and that he intends to control the 
process. He made clear that the chosen experts will 
participate in their individual (not national) capacities and 
that they answer to him. At the same time, he demonstrated 
his appreciation for the public dimension of this exercise, 
launching a public program of consultation to that effect. 
He suggested a hands-on approach by stating that he will 
conduct town halls in Allied capitals to listen to those from 
all walks of life. END COMMENT 
DAALDER