Military

SHAPE News Summary & Analysis

11 March 2003

NATO

• In an interview with Budapest’s Nepszava, March 10, the Hungarian Army’s new Chief of Staff, Gen. Szenes, explained how specialization within NATO affects the Hungarian army. He said: “A decision has already been made to develop the technical facilities, which means that we will provide high-level technical equipment for activities relating to road and bridge construction and all water activities, which have been practiced during our peacekeeping work. We are also planning to expand the military policing units because, apart from us, only the Italians and the Romanians, who have been invited to join NATO, are doing this activity within the Alliance. Originally we planned the implementation of this by 2006 but we have decided to complete it by 2004, and we will also be developing the traditional military capabilities in the meantime. Naturally, this requires a lot of money. Although it is a fact that personnel preparation in the Hungarian Army is already at a level such that soldiers can perform well in virtually any joint maneuver, we do not have the necessary technology.”

NATO’s pledges of military aid to Turkey’s defense remain at the center of media attention.
Defense Minister Juhasz told the MTI news agency Monday Hungary may offer 2,000 chemical defense suits in answer to a NATO request to provide military equipment to Turkey in case of war on Iraq, reports AFP. According to the dispatch, Juhasz noted that the suits, complete with gas masks, are “of limited military use but are excellent for civilian purposes.” He said the government would decide on the offer during a session on Wednesday. The suits, of a total value of some 2 million euros would come from stocks set aside for civil defense services and will have to be replaced, he reportedly said and added: “Effective legislation regulates the defense stocks Hungary must maintain with potential emergencies in mind, so we will have to buy new suits to replace the ones we could offer.” He noted that the country could finance the suits from either the general reserves of the budget or an aid contingency of the Foreign Ministry
The Financial Times, March 10, claimed that “the United States has been left with the task of sending Patriot anti-missile systems to Turkey after the failure of other NATO countries to provide enough security guarantees to the country.” A decision by the U.S. on whether to provide the defenses might depend on whether the Turkish Parliament votes to allow the transit of U.S. troops through the country on their way to Iraq, added the newspaper.

IRAQ

• The White House Monday demanded that UN Chief Weapons Inspector Hans Blix explain why he buried potentially devastating revelations about newly-discovered Iraqi weapons systems in his last written report, writes The Daily Telegraph. According to the newspaper, U.S. officials told reporters that the UN had discovered a new variety of rocket warhead seemingly configured to scatter “bomblets” filled with biological or chemical agents. Yet, to the apparent dismay of the Bush administration, Blix chose not to raise the discoveries in his oral report. The Bush administration has also seized on the discovery that Iraq has developed an unmanned aerial drone capable of dispensing chemical and biological weapons, and which may exceed the 93-mile range allowed under UN resolutions. British and American officials were reportedly furious that Blix had failed to mention Iraq’s “Project 101” when he addressed the Security Council last Friday.
  
  
• According to the BBC World Service, British diplomats at the UN are putting forward fresh proposals, in an attempt to win wider support for the draft resolution setting Iraq a deadline to disarm. Britain is reportedly suggesting a series of tests which Baghdad should fulfill within a set time limit to prove that it is cooperating with UN weapons inspectors. A related article in The Guardian quotes a Security Council source saying Britain was opting for a list that was “simple, striking and snappy” to win over wavering voters on the Security Council for a resolution that would set down a deadline for the tests. The list reportedly demands that Iraqi scientists be taken out of the country for interviews abroad where they will be free from intimidation, the destruction of banned weapons, and the providing of documents explaining what had happened to the remainder.

Stressing that the U.S. Army is bracing both for war in Iraq and post-war occupation, the Washington Post suggests that the experience of Operation Provide Comfort could provide a glimpse of what post-war Iraq might look like, particularly in the north—and what type of military response may be necessary.
The newspaper stresses that, “interestingly, several commanders from Provide Comfort are key figures in the current confrontation with Iraq and have made clear that lessons learned 12 years ago have not been forgotten.” It continues: “One of them is Garner, the Pentagon’s coordinator for relief and reconstruction efforts in postwar Iraq. Another is Gen. Jones …. A third is Abizaid, an American of Lebanese descent who speaks fluent Arabic. He is deputy commander of the U.S. Central Command, which has responsibility for executing an invasion of Iraq, and defense officials speculate that he may be designated the U.S. military commander for postwar Iraq.”

TURKEY

• AP reports that Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the leader of Turkey’s governing party, was sworn in as a member of Parliament Tuesday. The dispatch recalls that Prime Minister Gul said he would step down later Tuesday so that Erdogan could take over as prime minister. It adds that Gul, who is widely expected to take a top post in the new government, would not say if the new government planned to resubmit a motion to Parliament to allow the deployment of U.S. combat troops in the country. Gul reportedly stressed, however, that “the new government will definitely consider it.”

BALKANS-ESDP

• AFP quotes EU foreign policy chief Solana saying Tuesday the EU is to take over peacekeeping operations in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia from NATO by the end of March. According to the dispatch, Solana told reporters after a joint meeting of EU and NATO ambassadors and political leaders that the 300-400-strong EU force will take over from NATO’s Operation Allied Harmony. “We have finished in the EU the operational plan, we have passed it to NATO, NATO is going to analyze it and will come back to us,” he stressed. Asked when the takeover would happen, he reportedly replied: “It will be before the end of the month.” A related AP dispatch says NATO and the EU are scheduled to sign an agreement on sharing classified information this week to prepare the ground for the EU to start replacing NATO peacekeepers in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The dispatch quotes NATO officials saying the deal would be signed during a meeting of EU defense ministers Friday and Saturday outside Athens. “There are no problems to overcome, but there are some details that still have to be put in place. The small details that remains are not seen as show stoppers,” the dispatch also quotes NATO Secretary General Robertson saying.