Military

NATO

¨         A Czech  CTK news agency dispatch reports that the Czech government is planning to definitely do away with the highly discussed tender on the purchase of 24 supersonic fighters which was won by the British-Swedish Bae Systems/SAAB consortium and its Jas-39 Gripen and is now searching for less expensive methods to acquire supersonic fighters since the August floods handcuffed the government's financial possibilities. As a temporary measure, according to Defense Minister Tvrdik, the government will now consider buying 12 or 14 fighters or renting the same amount of planes.

EU

¨         According to AP, the European Union said Russia has accepted its demand that Russians obtain a special visa for travel to and from Kaliningrad after Poland and Lithuania join the union in 2004, making Russia's Baltic Sea region an enclave in the EU. EU officials  reportedly said a deal may be sealed at a meeting in Brussels next Monday. The deal also safeguards the sovereignty of Lithuania and Poland through which Russians travel to go to Kaliningrad. However, the two nations, said some officials, retain the right to refuse entry to any Russian.

¨         The head of the European Union's constitutional Convention Valery Giscard d'Estaing, reports the REUTERS news agency, was quoted on Friday as saying Turkey was not a European country and its entry into the EU would be "the end of the European Union." He was also quoted: "Its capital is not in Europe, 95 percent of its population live outside Europe, it is not a European country." Asked what the effect of enlarging the EU to Turkey would be, he said: "In my opinion, it would be the end of the European Union." The European Commission swiftly dissociated itself from the comment. A European Commission spokesman said that the comments were Giscard's d'Estaing private opinion and the EU executive saw no reason to call into question Turkey's candidacy.

IRAQ

¨         In spite of the fact that France's foreign minister de Villepin avoided any sense of diplomatic triumph, the Financial Times reports, in private French diplomats are delighted about the substantial change on the initial U.S. position. They feel the U.S. administration has accepted, with the new resolution, the need to operate within the legal framework of the UN in dealing with the elimination of the Iraqi regime's weapons of mass destruction when only two months ago the U.S. appeared ready to bypass the UN and take unilateral military action. Paris perceived the acceptance by the U.S. of the "two-step approach" - first, giving weapon inspections a final try; then, in case of failure, referring back to the Security Council for action - as an important achievement. The hard part  for Paris now, the newspaper notes, may be deciding what to do should Baghdad refuse to cooperate.

¨         The Daily Telegraph reported that Syria , which is the only Islamic country sitting on the UN Security Council, pleaded for more time to study the U.S. draft resolution last night. According to the newspaper, there were two possible explanations for the request circulating last night: one was that today is the first Friday in the Ramadan fasting season and the other was that Arab foreign ministers meet in Cairo on Sunday. Syria's potential support offered the prospect of a clean sweep of all 15 Security Council members.

ANTI- TERRORISM

¨         NATO is to adopt an aggressive counter-terrorist role, The Times  wrote. The strategy will be announced at the NATO summit in Prague and officials consider it a dramatic development in the alliance's attempt to transform itself into a "usable" organization able to counter 21^st-century threats. NATO's new strategy would involve it pledging to help any "stricken country" - inside or outside the alliance - that requests military assistance to "destroy" those behind terrorist outrages. Lord Robertson reportedly told The Times that the policy would be one of "defending against or deterring a terrorist attack and, if required, destroying" terrorist groups. He went on saying that deterrence implied an element of pre-emption and saw no difficulty in acting to stop a terrorist attack were there evidence of an imminent threat. Lord Robertson did not foresee, according with the newspaper, a military role for NATO if force had to be used against Iraq. However, NATO sources said that alliance members might be called on to provide extra protection for Turkey whose base at Incirlik could be needed.

¨         An AP dispatch reports that the Pentagon is sending an estimated 1,000 more Americans to help track down Al Qaeda around the Horn of Africa, where the yearlong war on terrorism has produced few visible results so far. According to some defense officials, Amphibious command ship USS Mount Whitney  will leave its Norfolk  homeport November 12 with Marines who will coordinate future military operations in the region. "This is..focused on looking for Al Qaeda, looking for terrorist cells and dealing with them expeditiously, and directly," Marine Corps Commandant General Jones reportedly said. In addition to Americans already in Djibouti, there are more than 2,000 French troops and about 1,000 Germans, as well as a number of British forces.

BALKANS

¨         According to  REUTERS, EU foreign policy chief Solana told Serbian Prime Minister Djindjic on Thursday his hopes for closer ties with the wealthy bloc hinged on a new constitutional deal between Serbia and Montenegro that will replace Yugoslavia. "Further down the road there is Stabilisation and Association Agreement (on closer economic and political ties with the EU)," Solana was quoted saying. Djindjic told Solana he was confident Serbia and Montenegro would soon reach a final accord on the new constitution. 

¨         AP reported that, according to a government statement, Albanian President Moisiu and his Macedonian (sic) counterpart Trajkovski, decided to meet in mid- November ahead of a NATO summit in Prague for talks on NATO membership efforts and other issues. More important than the agenda, the planned meeting will be the first on the presidential level since before the end of ethnic bloodshed in Macedonia (sic) more than a year ago.