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NATO

• AP reports NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels debated Thursday a radical overhaul of allied military forces to combat terrorism and face the threat of nuclear, chemical and biological attacks. According to the dispatch, NATO Secretary General Robertson told the ministers the Alliance must commit more resources to adapting forces to the new threats since Sept. 11. "The attack on the United States last September brought home to everybody that there is no relief in today’s world from the obligations of defense or the need for military preparedness," he reportedly insisted. "NATO Secretary General Robertson urged defense ministers Thursday to spend more on their military forces to ensure the Alliance remains relevant for new security threats in a post-September 11 world," says a related Reuters dispatch. AFP writes that a more effective fight against post-Sept. 11 terrorism and simmering tensions between nuclear rivals India and Pakistan took top billing as NATO defense ministers opened their regular biannual meeting in Brussels.

Commentators see the NATO meeting as the launch of a debate on a reorientation of the Alliance ahead of the Prague summit.

The meeting coincides with brainstorming sessions which NATO Secretary General Robertson has held with NATO ambassadors to establish how the Alliance can become relevant since Sept. 11. The proposals are expected to be unveiled in time for the Prague summit, writes the Financial Times. In the meantime, it adds, Lord Robertson wants to move away from the Defense Capabilities Initiative, which has fallen short of expectations. One NATO official is quoted saying the idea now is to make DCI "leaner, tighter and more focused." The newspaper expects that the "shopping list" will be reduced to between seven and 12 items, ranging form logistics to smart weapons. Quoting Lord Robertson saying that "what I want to have by Prague is a plan with delivery times, prices and commitments," the newspaper suggests that if he achieves his goal, it will also be a big boost for ESDP. With 11 of the 15 EU member states in the Alliance, any improvement of NATO capabilities would also have a positive effect on ESDP, since it shares the same capabilities shortfalls, comments the newspaper.

A commentary in the Wall Street Journal remarks that during his recent visit to Europe, President Bush suggested that the U.S. wants and needs NATO to act beyond Europe. Stressing that for that to happen, the Alliance and the allies need the right tools, the article observes that previously little heard voices in Europe are now suggesting that Bush’s challenge is being taken seriously. "Will real action or empty promises follow? It may not be clear until after November’s crucial Prague summit where the allies will take the big decisions on NATO’s future….. Stay tuned," adds the newspaper.

AP notes that seven European allies have already voiced support for plans to give the Alliance more flexible, rapid-reaction forces that can project power way beyond NATO’s borders to far-flung regions harboring terrorists that threaten allied interests. They also want to give urgent attention to the possibility of extremists obtaining weapons of mass destruction.

France’s daily Le Figaro highlights that NATO defense ministers are starting "a large transformation site" to adapt the Alliance to the struggle against terrorism. The project has received public support from Madrid and Britain but has prompted reticence on the part of the "small" member countries, which fear that it gives more weight to the "large" countries, notes the newspaper.

Warsaw’s Rzeczpospolita writes meanwhile that the likely fundamental reform of the NATO operation system may result in giving the "weaker allies, such as Poland," less say in decisions. The Americans are proposing that NATO’s present structure of 20 strategic and regional commands be reduced and moved to the background, notes the newspaper, adding: "In such a case the leading role would be taken over by national commands, referred to in the military jargon as ‘corps commands.’ They belong to the individual countries of the Alliance—such as France, Britain and Germany—and can only be used on their initiative, without approval from the NAC…. The most efficient allies can ‘get together’ among themselves and take quick action even in the remotest part of the world. This will make for bypassing the lengthy NATO decision-making procedures, which require approval from the allies…. The American viewpoint … already has the backing of several European allies, including Britain and Spain. The French, too, have no fears because, due to their potential, they now that no NATO operation can take place without their participation. Germany wants to go in the same direction. However, Poland has its concerns." The article asserts that in the face of the likely changes in the Alliance, Polish experts are trying to come up with ideas for making Poland’s military offer "more attractive." One option reportedly involves increasing the rapid-deployment forces to 5,000 troops. Another envisions building transport military ships, or developing the means of dealing with biological attacks.

In a contribution to the International Herald Tribune, five prominent European politicians and military experts call for the Prague summit to transform NATO into a global alliance.

Bronislaw Geremek, a former foreign minister of Poland; ret. Adm. Lanxade, a former joint chief of staff of the French armed forces; Peter Mandelson, Labor Member of Parliament; Margarita Mathipoulos, founder and director of the Center for Trans-Atlantic Security and Military Affairs at the University of Postdam; and retired Gen. Klaus Naumann, former chairman NAMILCOM, warn that the Prague summit in November will be "a survival summit for NATO—to be or not to be." They write: "The Europeans will have to give an answer in Prague not only to the demands of NATO Secretary General Robertson but frankly to themselves: Are they interested in keeping NATO militarily relevant? That means a genuine, precise, timed commitment to acquire the missing defense capabilities. And the Americans will have to give an answer in Prague as well, not only to Lord Robertson, but frankly also to themselves: Are they interested in having a militarily relevant NATO for future crises, or is the Pentagon doctrine of ‘keeping the illusion alive’ the policy of the Bush administration?" The five stress that an expanded NATO, with Russia linked to it, could well be so political that its defense guarantee would look hollow. NATO would no longer be used in crises. It would be the end of NATO—a disaster for Europe and a severe blow to American national interests. They insist that the United States and its allies must find ways to revalitalize NATO. That means much more than further enlargement and a new agreement with Russia. "Global challenges require global security and thus a global NATO. Prague should become the summit for the transformation of NATO into a global alliance," they conclude.

• Claims that the German Federal Court of Auditors has found out that NATO armament agencies were accumulating billions of Euros continue to generate attention in the German media. Berlin’s news agency DDP quotes the daily Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung saying that according to investigations of the Federal Audit Office, NATO has hardly controlled bank accounts and interest income of almost $1 billion. According to the dispatch, the opposition CDU/CSU has called on Defense Minister Scharping to immediately ascertain Germany’s share in the assets and to transfer it to the German defense budget. If relevant negotiations with NATO were to fail, they are calling for Germany’s withdrawal from the affected NATO organizations. Claiming that the procurement agency NAMSA is concerned, the dispatch quotes the Federal Audit Office saying the NATO agency does not meet its obligation of special accounting for the filling of contracts on a trust basis. The dispatch adds that "reportedly, other agencies also have bank accounts valued at several 100 million Euros."

BALKANS

• Reuters quotes an SFOR spokesman saying Thursday that NATO peacekeepers have been handed a letter from fugitive war crimes suspect Karadzic by his wife during a discussion with her. According to the dispatch, the spokesman said a group of peacekeepers met Karadzic’s wife at her invitation for half an hour on Thursday morning in her house in Karadzic’s wartime stronghold of Pale near Sarajevo. The spokesman reportedly stressed that "contents of both the letter and the discussions are confidential." The dispatch recalls that the West has been raising the pressure on Karadzic to surrender in recent months. A related AFP dispatch quotes the SFOR spokesman saying three of the force’s soldiers were at Kjiljana Zelen Karadzic’s home for about 30 minutes. "She was very polite and gave us the letter from her husband," he reportedly indicated. The dispatch recalls that COMSFOR, Gen. Sylvester, wrote a letter in April to Karadzic’s friend asking him to appeal to the Bosnian wartime leader to surrender voluntarily and use the opportunity of a court hearing to defend himself.

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