Military

SHAPE News Summary & Analysis

29 January 2003

NATO

• According to AFP, Turkey said Wednesday it favored defense measures, currently envisaged by NATO, which would involve the deployment of Patriot missiles on its soil as a precautionary move against neighboring Iraq. The dispatch quotes a Foreign Ministry spokesman saying at a news conference: “An important part of the security measures in the (NATO) package involve supporting Turkey’s preliminary defense measures…. Turkey supports the package.” Earlier, AP wrote that NATO was expected to deliver a setback to the United States Wednesday as France and Germany continued to hold up plans for the Alliance to send planes and missiles to defend Turkey if there is a war with Iraq. The dispatch quoted diplomats saying the French and Germans, backed by Belgium and Luxembourg, would delay for a second week the U.S. proposal to start military planning for a supporting role for NATO in case of war. The dispatch remarked that although NATO Secretary General Robertson insisted there was “no bust up” over the issue, diplomats said the debate was becoming tense after the deadlock continued Tuesday at a private meeting of NATO ambassadors. It stressed that the dispute is raising doubts about NATO’s role just two months after Alliance leaders at a summit in Prague proclaimed the Alliance was reinventing itself to tackle modern threats from terrorism and rogue states.

Terrorism

• “The (Spanish) Navy will deploy at least one submarine and five warships in the Strait of Gibraltar area to guard against a possible Al Qaeda attack. The defense staff is finalizing the plans at the request of NATO,” writes Madrid’s La Razon. Citing unidentified military sources, the daily claims that the defense staff is finalizing the deployment ahead of an official NATO request expected shortly. Sources close to Spanish intelligence services are quoted saying spy satellites from the U.S. National Security Agency have in recent weeks been tracking suspect merchant ships which declare cargoes for Mediterranean ports. Madrid’s El Mundo, Jan. 28, reported that the United States had requested the help of the Defense Ministry with a view to the Spanish Navy cooperating in protecting maritime traffic in the Strait of Gibraltar against possible attacks by Al Qaeda. A top Spanish government official was quoted saying the United States had made the request in response to the current rise in traffic in the Strait and the expected increase in the run-up to a military operation in Iraq. “They may be busy defending military ships and may need our help to protect the odd merchant ship. For Spain, it involves reconnaissance in order to protect the Strait of Gibraltar,” the official reportedly said. According to the newspaper, he stressed that the Spanish Navy was willing to provide that service. The newspaper remarked that the United States is increasingly worried about the Strait of Gibraltar and, weeks ago, began deploying a naval combat unit without waiting for the coming formal NATO decision to extend operation Active Endeavor to the area. In another development, The Daily Telegraph reports the EU Tuesday launched its own “navy” to patrol the southern shores of Europe and head off the flotillas that ship illegal immigrants from North Africa. The scheme, called Operation Ulysses, involves five European nations. Operation Ulysses is based in Algeciras, on the Strait of Gibraltar, says the daily, adding: The Strait will now be one of the world’s most closely watched stretches of water. In recent weeks, NATO countries such as Britain and the United States have stepped up security measures in response to a warning of an Al Qaeda attack on shipping. Britain has recently deployed two fast-patrol vessels to Gibraltar, where it is stepping up preparations to supply and fuel naval vessels heading to the Persian Gulf region. The New York Times writes meanwhile that the EU is taking legal actions against four member countries for breaking ranks and signing up for a U.S. program meant to prevent the use of cargo containers by terrorists. The program, called the Container Security Initiative, reportedly calls on American customs officers to be stationed in foreign ports and work side by side with local inspectors to screen containers bound for the United States for any weapons or hazardous materials that might be used by terrorist groups. According to the article, the EU is moving against Germany, France, The Netherlands, and Belgium, all of which reached agreements with the United States to take part in the program, and is considering action against Britain, Italy and Spain. The EU reportedly says the deals effectively give cargo passing through participating ports preferential treatment, and that shippers will start to divert cargo bound for the United States to those ports from others in the EU. It argues that under its rules, individual members are not allowed to make such deals; the same trade preferences must apply to all 15 members and not be negotiated individually. The newspaper considers that the legal action by the EU, called an infringement proceeding, is the latest evidence of a widening policy gulf between the United States and some European nations over security issues and a possible war in Iraq.

Afghanistan

• The Financial Times reports that U.S.-led coalition forces were Tuesday scouring a network of caves in southern Afghanistan for rebels following their fiercest battle in 10 months. A coalition spokesman said at least 18 rebels had been killed in the clashes near the Pakistani border in Kandahar province, but reported no casualties, notes the newspaper. A related article in The Daily Telegraph observes that the battle occurred as Taliban, Al Qaeda and rebel forces hiding on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border are believed to be regrouping for a spring offensive likely to coincide with a U.S. attack on Iraq.