Military

SHAPE News Morning Update

24 January 2003

NATO

• Former Danish Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen said on Thursday he'd be willing to be the next secretary-general of NATO, but conceded the chances were not good. NATO Secretary-General Robertson said Wednesday he will step down from the job in December after four years. His decision left no clear successor lined up. Diplomats at NATO's Brussels, Belgium-based headquarters have said Norwegian Defense Minister Kristin Krohn Devold has emerged as an early favorite to replace Roberston. If so, she'd be the first woman to head the 19-national military alliance. "I am a realist (and) I know from the candidacies of Uffe Ellemann-Jensen and Hans Haekkerup that it is very, very hard," Nyrup Rasmussen, a Social Democrat, told Denmark's TV2.(AP 231649 Jan 03 GMT)

IRAQ

• Secretary of State Powell's offer of a fresh UN debate on using force against Iraq has not stilled European opposition to an attack. Russia on Thursday joined Germany and France in opposing war to disarm Saddam Hussein. "We deemed there are no serious reasons for war with Iraq," Russian Foreign Minister Ivanov said. He said Russia would do all it could to promote diplomacy to deal with Iraq. President Bush interceded with Russian President Putin, but the Kremlin said Putin told Bush on the telephone that "the main criterion" should be the findings of UN weapons inspectors. Powell also raised hopes that a consensus might be reached with the Europeans in the UN Security Council after the inspectors report next week on their two-month search for hidden weapons. "This is a beginning debate, not the end of debate," Powell said at the State Department as he held talks with British Foreign Secretary Straw. "We listen to others and we find a way forward." In fact, he said, while the Bush administration felt a new UN resolution to authorize force probably was unnecessary, the administration was keeping an open mind because many Security Council nations "would prefer to see a second resolution if it comes to the use of military force."(AP 240325 Jan 03GMT)
  
  
• The United States said on Thursday it would not have to act alone against Iraq and brushed aside opposition from France and Germany to war, saying those states could sit on the sidelines if they chose. "I don't think we'll have to worry about going it alone," U.S. Secretary of State Powell said at a news conference with British Foreign Secretary Straw at which he was peppered with questions about the misgivings of France, Germany and other nations about the possibility of an imminent war. "There is no serious reason for the start of a military attack on Iraq. We hope that no country will take single action outside UN decisions," Russian Foreign Minister Ivanov told reporters in Athens. "(For) the international community now, to say: 'Never mind, I'll walk away from this problem,' or ignore it or allow it to be strung out indefinitely with no end, I think, would be a defeat for the international community and a serious defeat of the United Nations process," Powell said." If it can't be solved peacefully and if the UN should fail to act ... then the United States reserves the right to do what it thinks is appropriate to defend its interests," he added. "I'm quite confident if it comes to that we will be joined by many nations ... it will be a strong coalition."(Reuters 0239 240103 GMT)