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SHAPE News Morning Update
6
February 2003
IRAQ
- Three
powers vow to stop any UN backing for Iraq war
- Turkish
military backs U.S. troops move
- NATO
officials say Turkish request for defensive help still
urgent, despite refusal to allow U.S. troop deployment
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OTHER
NEWS
- China
announces 9.6 percent increase in military spending
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IRAQ
- In
a blunt warning to the United States and Britain, the foreign
ministers of France, Germany and Russia said they will block
any attempt to get UN approval for war against Iraq.
Diplomats say the Europeans have concluded that they cannot
stop the United States from launching a war but are determined
to resist to the last moment rather than see the Americans
dominate world affairs. As the diplomatic end game entered
what could be its final stage, U.S. and British chances of
gaining UN backing for military action appeared to be slipping.
(AP 060022 Mar 03)
- Turkey’s
powerful military made a strong call on Wednesday to allow
U.S. troops on its territory, boosting chances of an attack
from there on Iraq’s north, which it sees making for
a shorter, less costly war. In a rare public statement
that may increase the likelihood of a deal between the United
States and its NATO ally, Chief of the General Staff
Hilmi Ozkok said Turkey would be better off in any
war than out of it. “The Turkish armed forces’
view is the same as the government’s and is reflected
in the motion our government sent to parliament,” Gen.
Ozkok told reporters. “The war will be short if a second
front is opened from the north.” Gen. Ozkok
said Turkey would suffer consequences of a war whether it
was involved or not and was better placed to minimise damage
if it sided with the United States. (Reuters 051928
GMT Mar 03)
- Turkey
remains under threat and needs urgent help from its allies
despite the parliament decision in Ankara to block deployment
of U.S. troops in the event of a war on Iraq, NATO officials
said Wednesday in Brussels. “We are being told
that there is no need to downgrade the threat assessment that
we have,” a NATO official said after meetings of NATO
ambassadors. The NATO official said the request remains “a
matter of urgency. The member nations are aware this is a
serious matter.” (AP 051741 Mar 03)
OTHER NEWS
- China
unveiled plans Thursday for a new military budget that calls
for a 9.6 percent increase in spending “with a view
to adapting to changes in the international situation.”
It was the lowest announced increase of military funding in
more than a decade. (AP 060150 Mar 03)
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