Military

SHAPE News Summary & Analysis

27 February 2003

NATO

• Dutch soldiers began moving Patriot missiles Thursday to two major cities close to the Iraqi border, part of a NATO mission to defend Turkey from a possible Iraqi attack if there is a war, writes AP. The Turkish government asked NATO Wednesday for more anti-missile systems along with gas masks and protective clothing to guard against a possible Iraqi attack with biological or chemical weapons. NATO members are expected to make a decision within a week, adds the dispatch.

The arrival of two AWACS at Konya airbase, Turkey, in the framework of the deployment of Alliance defensive assistance to the country, is generating high interest. Media echo statements by NATO officials that the mission is purely defensive.

Euronews carried footage of the two AWACS’ arrival in Turkey. “The planes arrived in Turkey as part of NATO’s first deployment of equipment to defend the country,” stressed the pan-European network.

Italian media report on Gen. Jones’ visit to Italy Wednesday against the background of reports that four Italian military personnel are taking part in the AWACS mission and that NATO has sent new requests for aid to Turkey to member countries.
“Four Italian military personnel will participate in the NATO AWACS mission for the defense of Turkey. Defense circles are stressing that the mission consists in defensive measures envisaged under the NATO Treaty for the protection of an ally. They insist that the AWACS’ activity will be purely defensive,” writes La Stampa. Noting, however, that NATO has sent new requests for aid to member countries, the article adds: A SHAPE spokesman confirmed that the “long list” gives precise details on requirements connected to the protection of Turkey with missiles, radar aircraft and NBC units. At the beginning of next week an expert conference will examine “voluntary contributions.” The newspaper claims that talks in Rome Thursday between Gen. Jones and Italian officials included discussions about AWACS and other possible assistance to Turkey. La Repubblica, Feb. 26, claimed that with respect to a request for further aid to Turkey sent by NATO to all member countries, Italian military circles do not exclude that Italy’s contribution could be increased. While this may be premature, it is in fact not ruled out that Italy could provide NBC specialists, an area in which Italy has highly skilled personnel and top-of-the line equipment, stressed the newspaper. Noting that the unit falls under SACEUR, the newspaper reported that during his first visit to Italy Wednesday, Gen. Jones was received by President Ciampi, Prime Minister Berlusconi and Defense Minister Martino.

German media focus on the announcement by a German government spokesman that Berlin cannot offer Turkey further help to protect it during a possible war in Iraq.
A government spokesman made clear Wednesday that Berlin wants to examine the statement of requirements developed by Gen. Jones, but that it will stand by its repeated refusal of further support, writes Frankfurter Rundschau. The Federal government takes the view that by providing … Patriot missiles, which are currently on their way to Turkey via the Netherlands, it has already proven its readiness to help, stresses the newspaper, also quoting the government spokesman saying further examinations would show to what extent other states would also be ready to show solidarity.
“The Federal Government wants to deny Turkey further military support,” writes Die Welt. A government spokesman said Germany is providing one third of the AWACS crews in addition to providing Patriot missiles via the Netherlands and has therefore made its contribution and fulfilled its obligations to the Alliance. He said this stance would be kept at a force generation conference on Monday, adds the newspaper. Noting that the government did not want to comment on the actual content of the new request, the newspaper adds, however, that according to “NATO circles,” the list contains the three fields the NATO ambassadors had agreed on Feb. 16: air space surveillance, tactical missile defense and protection against biological and chemical agents.
“There are new differences of opinion between the Alliance and the Federal Government,” says a related Handelsblatt article, adding: “NATO has requested more support for Turkey from its member nations. However, Berlin does not want to go beyond the Patriot missiles already promised. On Wednesday, a SHAPE spokesman said the Alliance had sent the governments a catalogue of requirements. Informal offers are expected by the weekend in order to begin official planning on Monday…. The spokesman said the request did not contain any concrete requests to individual countries. He refused to comment on possible German contributions. However, the three Patriot missiles that are already on their way to Turkey via the Netherlands were not enough, he said.”

IRAQ

• According to Reuters, Turkey’s AKP ruling party said Thursday it wanted a parliamentary debate on a deal to allow U.S. troops to use Turkey as a launching pad for an attack on Iraq’s northern border delayed until Saturday. The dispatch adds that Parliament’s ruling board must now make a decision on timing but appears likely to back the AKP. Earlier, the BBC World Service reported that Turkey had stopped all traffic crossing its southern border with Iraq amid growing expectations of a U.S.-led war with Iraq. The transportation of goods from Turkey to Iraq had reportedly been halted and oil tankers within Iraq had been told to return to Turkey. With momentum toward war gathering pace, the Turkish government had also said it was closing its embassy in Baghdad. The program quoted a correspondent in Ankara noting that it looks very much as if Turkey is preparing to become a frontline state.
  
  
• UN chief weapons inspector Hans Blix, due to present a crucial report by this weekend, said bluntly Wednesday that Iraq still had not made a “fundamental decision” to disarm, reports The Times. According to the article, Blix appeared intent on correcting the widespread interpretation that he is satisfied with recent offerings by Iraq.
  
  
• The Times reports President Bush laid out an optimistic and ambitious vision of a new Middle East Wednesday in which a disarmed Iraq would trigger sweeping democratic changes across the region and pave the way for Arab-Israeli peace. The newspaper stresses that American foreign policy experts believe that the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks have given the United States the opportunity to reconfigure the Middle Eastern political map into a region more attuned with U.S. economic and geopolitical interests. A related article in The Independent suggests that Bush’s speech, to the American Enterprise Institute, served a double purpose: an attempt to defuse charges he is no more than a warmonger, and to convince skeptics at home and abroad that the United States would follow through in Iraq, in a way that would not simply add to the instability of the region.