Military

SHAPE News Summary & Analysis

21 March 2003

IRAQ

• Reporting on a special session of the NAC Thursday in reaction to the beginning of the war in Iraq, Die Welt quotes NATO Secretary General Robertson saying all NATO states had “attached great significance to humanitarian questions and the rebuilding process.” The article, titled, “Opposition in Brussels: NATO does not want to participate in the rebuilding of Iraq,” asserts, however, that a suggestion by the U.S. representative that already now NATO’s role in the rebuilding of Iraq should be discussed and a “coalition of the willing” within the alliance should be found encountered the resistance of the other 18 partner nations. Discussing military aid to Turkey, the article further says SHAPE is considering the deployment of a fifth AWACS form Geilenkirchen to Konya in order to ensure 24-hour patrols. Claiming that “not all the gaps regarding the military requirements for the protection of Turkey have been closed,” the article adds: “The Netherlands has delivered three batteries of Patriot missile defense systems to Ankara, equipped with 46 warheads from Bundeswehr stocks. Two further batteries from the United States are on their way. NATO had requested a total of nine batteries from the allies in order to guarantee a sufficient level of protection from its Alliance partner.”
  
  
• According to AFP, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said Thursday in a statement carried by the Anatolia news agency that Turkey has asked fellow NATO countries to provide protection materials and equipment to guard against possible chemical and biological attacks by Iraq. Turkey has reportedly asked for 10,000 smallpox vaccines from Denmark, 1,500 smallpox vaccines from Hungary, protection supplies and equipment worth 650,000 euros from Norway, 150,000 medical supply units providing protection against anthrax from Canada and unspecified supplies from Poland.

With the situation in Iraq in mind, Belgian media continue to show interest in security measures at SHAPE headquarters.
RTL-TVI showed footage of vehicles being controlled at the entrance to the headquarters. The program, which highlighted that inside the headquarters, the situation was normal, also carried Col. Twrsnick, Chief of Public information Office, saying: “We are taking very general precautionary measures to avoid being surprised…. It does not mean that we have indications that something is going to happen.” The program observed that NATO does not participate in the U.S.-led war against Iraq and concluded that SHAPE should therefore not constitute a potential target.

OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM

All media report that U.S. and British troops have advanced deep into Iraqi territory. U.S. Marines are said to have reached Iraq’s only deep-water port at Umm Qasr in the southeast. British troops have reportedly taken control of key oil installations on the Al-Faw Peninsula. Media remark that the military successes came as the U.S.-led forces reported their first combat fatality—a U.S. Marine killed by gunfire in southern Iraq. This came hours after eight British and four U.S. military died when their helicopter crashed in Kuwait.

• Reuters quotes sources saying Turkey delayed opening its airspace to U.S. aircraft Friday, demanding close control of overflights and greater freedom to dispatch its own troops over the border. “We’ve taken a break in talks with the U.S. because there are snags both concerning airspace use and movement of Turkish troops into northern Iraq,” A Turkish Foreign Ministry source is quoted saying. According to the dispatch, diplomatic sources said Turkey was demanding detailed information of every overflight, its timing and nature of the aircraft and its load. The United States reportedly considered the degree of detail went beyond the demands of safety. Ankara was expecting a reply from Washington later Friday on its requests. Furthermore, there were reportedly still disagreements about the terms under which Turkish would cross their southern frontier with Iraq.
  

ESDP

• According to Reuters, Belgian Prime Minister Verhofstadt said Friday that France, Germany and Belgium plan a summit next month to discuss closer European defense integration. “In April, Chancellor Schroeder, President Chirac and myself will meet in Brussels to discuss a stronger integration of our forces,” he reportedly said. He added that the meeting would be open to other EU members and candidate countries. The dispatch suggests that the move appeared to be the first reaction to the 15-nation EU’s deep divisions over the Iraq crisis, with a small “inner core” group of countries determined to press ahead with a more integrated common foreign and defense policy.

TERRORISM

• Reuters quotes French Interior Ministry Sarkozy saying Friday there was a possible link between the discovery of the deadly toxin ricin in a Paris railway station Monday and a terrorist threat but he had no concrete proof. “We have also found some acetone and ethanol. A mixture of the three can make an extremely nasty poison,” he reportedly added.