Military

SHAPE News Morning Update

14 February 2003

WAR ON TERRORISM

• A voice purported to be that of Osama bin Laden reads a poetic last will and testament on an audio tape and issues a rallying cry for fresh attacks on the United States. The British-based Islamic Al-Ansaar news agency said on Thursday that it bought the 53-minute tape it attributed to bin Laden on Saturday after a week of discussions with an anonymous Internet seller. The voice on the tape says that “before my end, I incite myself and my brothers ... In this final year I hurl myself and my steed with my soul at the enemy. Indeed on my demise I will become a martyr.” “I pray my demise isn’t on a coffin bearing green mantles. I wish my demise to be in the eagle’s belly,” the voice continued. Imran Khan, who runs Al-Ansaar, said experts contacted by the news agency believed the “eagle” referred to the United States and the quote revealed bin Laden’s wish to end his life in a final act of terrorism. (AP 131959 Feb 03)

IRAQ

• The United Nations’ nuclear weapons expert, preparing to give a crucial report to the Security Council on Friday, said inspections should continue for months because “we are moving forward.” British diplomats said it was possible that the United States and Britain could present a proposal by Saturday for a new resolution authorizing military action against Iraq. (AP 140426 Feb 03)
  
  
• Europe’s diplomatic crisis over Iraq spread as wrangling in NATO spilled into the European Union with a move to exclude pro-U.S. candidate nations from an emergency summit. In an unexpected move on Thursday, 13 nations seeking to join the EU were excluded from a summit in Brussels on Monday to seek a common position on Iraq. The move came from Germany and France because the candidates mostly back the United States on Iraq, according to British diplomatic sources. (AP 140046 Feb 03)
  
  
• The head of Georgia’s Security Council said Thursday that the country is ready to offer military assistance to the United States if an attack on Iraq is launched. Tedo Dzhaparidze said on Radio Imedi that President Eduard Shevardnadze has informed U.S. officials of Georgia’s readiness to give help, but he did not give details of what such assistance could entail. Georgia lies about 400 kilometers north of Iraq and its air bases could be strategically important in an attack on Iraq. (AP 131833 Feb 03)

NATO

• NATO’s failure to approve steps to protect Turkey in the event of a U.S.-led war with Iraq has hurt the alliance’s credibility but will not affect Turkey’s security, Turkey’s foreign minister said on Thursday. Speaking after talks with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, Turkish Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis said his country would get what it needed, via bilateral agreements if necessary, to protect itself from counter-attack by neighbor Iraq. “It does not affect Turkey’s protection or security but it may have affected the credibility of NATO as a whole so that in the future, when there is such a situation, the third parties will believe that NATO will be bogged down in discussions on the procedures and formalities,” he added. (Reuters 140342 GMT Feb 03)

OTHER NEWS

• Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Thursday accused Austria of blocking the movement of U.S. troops from Germany by rail through that neutral country to Italy, apparently part of a buildup of American forces preparing for possible war against Iraq. He complained that it would take additional days to get the troops where they were going and told the Senate Armed Services Committee it was an example of problems in stationing more than 100,000 U.S. troops in Europe, including 70,000 in Germany. A spokesman at the Austrian Embassy in Washington confirmed that the movement of U.S. troops was being temporarily blocked by his country. Austria is a neutral state and restricts the movement of foreign military equipment across its territory. (Reuters 132034 GMT Feb 03)