Military

SHAPE News Morning Update

25 March 2003

IRAQ

• A U.S. special envoy rushed back to Turkey on Monday but failed to reach agreement on Turkey’s plans to send troops into northern Iraq – plans that Washington says could lead to friendly fire incidents with U.S. forces and clashes with Iraqi Kurds. U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, accompanied by U.S. Ambassador Robert Pearson and U.S. military officials, met with Turkish foreign ministry and military officials in Ankara. He said that he would hold more talks on Tuesday. Turkey’s daily Zaman reported Monday that Washington had set as conditions for a Turkish incursion that it be limited in time and number of troops. Officials would not comment on the report. (AP 241919 Mar 03)
  
  
• U.S. officials say the Iraqi leadership has drawn “a red line” around the map of Baghdad and once American troops cross it Iraqi Republican Guards have been authorized to use chemical weapons, U.S. television networks reported on Monday. The reports, by CNN, NBC and CBS’s National Security correspondent David Martin, did not name the U.S. officials or give any further details. NBC said its information was coming from intelligence officials who based it on intercepts of Iraqi communications. “It’s believed once U.S. ground troops cross the line drawn roughly between Karbala and Al Kut, the Republican Guards are under orders to attack with chemical weapons,” NBC said. CNN said the fact that the use of the weapons had apparently been authorized did not mean they would ultimately be used. A senior Pentagon source told the Reuters news agency that he could not confirm the reports. (Reuters 250042 GMT Mar 03)
  

NATO 

• NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson said Monday in Tallinn that there was no reason disagreements within the alliance about war in Iraq should damage the 19-member organization or force a delay in its expansion. “Surely this is an important moment for NATO,” he said, fielding questions after speaking in NATO-candidate Estonia. “But surely the alliance will go on.” He insisted there was nothing alarming about the sharply contrasted opinions about Iraq. “You get the sensation at times that people expect NATO to behave like in the Warsaw Pact where someone in Moscow or Washington decides and everyone falls in line,” he said. “NATO’s not the Warsaw Pact ... Differences are the lifeblood of democracy.” Lord Robertson rejected suggestions that some NATO members, including France, could oppose the would-be members because of their support for Washington on Iraq. “I don’t see any indication in any of the 19 parliaments that the configuration of support for one side or another in the conflict will affect the outcome, nor should it,” he said. Instead, the only criteria should be if the candidates meet NATO’s military and democratic requirements, Lord Robertson said. “You now have a ticket on the NATO train,” he told his Estonian audience. (AP 241849 Mar 03)

EU

• The European Union head office on Monday warned Turkey not to enter northern Iraq, hinting that doing so would damage its chances of joining the 15-nation club. EU Commission spokesman Jean-Christophe Filori said he hoped Ankara understood clearly that the EU opposed any Turkish military incursions into northern Iraq. He said that he was simply restating a statement by EU leaders at their spring summit last week which called on “all countries of the region to refrain from actions that could lead to further instability.” (AP 241420 Mar 03)

RUSSIA

• In a sharp dispute between the two houses of the Russian parliament, the upper chamber plans to call Tuesday for the quick ratification of a U.S.-Russian nuclear arms treaty that the lower house wants to postpone because of the war in Iraq. The foreign relations committee of the Federation Council, the upper house, on Monday decided to make the move because of the treaty’s value to Russia, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported. The report quoted Federation Council speaker Sergei Mironov as saying the treaty “affects Russia’s interests, including the improvement of our defense capability” and should be ratified as soon as possible. (AP 241906 Mar 03)

OTHER NEWS

• The U.S. ambassador in Paris, a sharp critic of France’s diplomatic handling of the Iraq crisis, said on Monday that the time had come for the United States and France to “turn the page” and take their relationship forward. Speaking at a forum on relations between France, Britain and the United States, Ambassador Howard Leach criticised France’s pre-war threat to veto a United Nations resolution paving the way for the conflict in Iraq as “a step too strong.” But he said Paris and Washington must move forward. “We have a relationship that is too important to neglect,” he added, citing the two countries’ commercial ties and what he said were excellent relations between U.S. and French military and intelligence officials. Describing political relations between Washington and Paris as “somewhat frayed,” Ambassador Leach said France needed to take a more flexible approach at the United Nations in the future for the world body to function effectively. “I think when people come to the table with too fixed an opinion...it becomes very difficult for an organisation like the United Nations to be effective,” he said. However, he stressed that the United States wanted the UN to work, saying: “We want to see the United Nations be a strong, effective tool to provide peace and security in the world.” NATO, which like the UN has been strained by international tensions over Iraq, also had a future, Leach said. “I believe that NATO still has a role, I think NATO is an excellent trans-Atlantic opportunity for cooperation,” he said. (Reuters 242117 GMT Mar 03)