Military

SHAPE News Summary & Analysis

27 March 2003

NATO

• NATO said Thursday two more NATO-supplied Patriot anti-missile systems have arrived in Diyarbakir, bringing to five the number of units aimed at protecting the country from any Iraqi attack, reports AFP. The latest Patriot systems were provided by the United States and are operated by U.S. soldiers, adds the dispatch. It notes that they are expected to be operational within a few days, but officials did not say where they would be deployed.
  
  
• AFP reports that speaking after a ceremony Wednesday at which the foreign ministers of Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia signed membership accords, NATO Secretary General Robertson insisted that divisions regarding Iraq will not permanently damage NATO. “This is not the only organization that has got internal difference of opinion on the present situation in Iraq,” he reportedly remarked, citing the EU, the UN and the Arab League. “It does not render any of them less powerful. Democracies will occasionally disagree, and that is the lifeblood of democracies. At the end of the day we will still be united by our common values,” Lord Robertson stressed.
  
  
• According to Berlin’s DDP, Greens Chairwoman Angelika Beer has rejected suggestions by Chancellor Schroeder, in an interview with Die Zeit, that Germany’s defense budget should be increased in view of new challenges. “One could not adopt major cutbacks in the social sphere and increase defense spending at the same time,” Ms. Beer reportedly told a radio interview. The Europeans should first decide what military tasks they could and wanted to assume. In dealing with conflicts, not more money was needed but the “structures would have to be adapted,” she stressed. While welcoming Schroeder’s proposal, Der Tagesspiegel remarked that “many people are not aware of some ‘inconvenient consequences’” of “Germany’s hard ‘no’ to the Iraq war.” The article charges: “Those who say ‘no to American domination’ must say ‘yes’ to more European responsibility and must also themselves face up to hard tasks.” In the newspaper’s view, “the next question is who is supposed to pay for this?” While welcoming Schroeder’s remarks Die Welt cautions: “The German government has long been talking about the need for a powerful and flexible German army for the development of Europe’s defense capabilities…. If in the future the chancellor were not just to talk along these lines but also to take the corresponding decisions, then that would be a nice surprise.” In the Die Zeit interview, Schroeder called for a discussion on the strengthening of the Bundeswehr so that Germany can “count on its own forces” in the framework of a European defense. Reflecting on differences regarding Iraq, he stressed: “We must draw the consequences of European divisions within the UN Security Council…. If we want to be able to adopt a different position while respecting our obligations as allies, we must be able to count on our own forces. From this viewpoint, we must discuss the equipment and the financing of the Bundeswehr.”

European divisions regarding Iraq appear to have revived interest in ESDP.
In a contribution to the Financial Times, Laurent Fabius, formally prime minister of France, writes that the genesis of the war shows the need to construct a united Europe and rapidly create a European defense force. “European public opinion has shown its desire to avoid war and we must therefore improve the chances of this happening,” Fabius writes and adds: “Europe was unable to make its voice heard in the United States because it was divided and lacked a unified defense force…. If the countries of the former Soviet bloc leant toward the American position in the Iraq debate, it was because of their own history. They regard NATO—whose role needs now to be reexamined—as the only body capable of providing them with military protection, chiefly because no European defense force currently exists. We need to understand, and respond to, their belief, rather than simply giving them a stern talking-to. The new internationalism must not only reassert the law but be able to threaten force to back it up. Europe is currently unable to do that. The construction of a European defense force requires France and Germany in particular to pool their military resources speedily, along with other countries in favor of the force. These should include if possible the UK, Spain and Italy.”
In contrast, in a contribution to the International Herald Tribune, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw cautions those who contend that European differences over Iraq have sounded the death knell for ESDP. “What the crisis has shown is that the foreign policies of nation states are ultimately determined by national interests. This should not deter action by the EU in those areas where there is a common European interest,” Straw says, adding: Britain is well aware of the dangers of Europe relying on the U.S. armed forces and is encouraging its EU partners to increase their defense spending. NATO will flourish only as long as both sides of the Atlantic shoulder the burden. It would be wrong to conclude that the prolonged slump in EU defense spending means Europe has decided to ignore its international responsibilities. The first ESDP civilian mission began in Bosnia in January, where an EU police mission is helping to restore the rule of law. The first ESDP military mission will begin in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia next week. Straw also suggests that “Europe’s experience in the exercise of the subtle art of soft power could prove indispensable to the reconstruction of Iraq.”
Questioning a Belgian proposal for a mini-summit on EU defense, the Financial Times stresses: “The EU needs a security and defense policy, not least as insurance against the possibility of the Alliance losing its relevance to the United States and therefore eventually to other members. But the surest way of precipitating NATO’s demise before the EU is ready to replace it would be for a group of EU states to build a defense bloc in rivalry to London and Washington.” Discussing the upcoming mini-summit in an interview with Die Zeit, Chancellor Schroeder stressed, however, that there is no question of alienating Europe from the United States. “It is important to repeat that the question is not that there is too much America, the problem is that there is not enough Europe,” Schroeder insisted.
The International Herald Tribune argues meanwhile that “Germany must emancipate itself from France’s policy of stop-the-Americans at all costs.” According to the newspaper, “the idea of the EU as a broad counterweight to the United States on the world stage is probably dead. And France deliberately chose to divide its own camp by allying itself with countries that oppose its natural values.” In an interview with Die Zeit, CSU leader Edmund Stoiber warned France against trying to push the United States out of Europe and accused Chancellor Schroeder of having split Europe with his position on Iraq.

• Belgian media quote a Belgian military spokesman saying that since Monday, service personnel from the Spa-based 12th and 13th line battalions are assisting the police with the protection of “sensitive sites” on Belgian territory, including SHAPE and NATO headquarters.

BELGIUM-MILITARY TRANSPORTS

• AP reports that following protests over the war in Iraq, Belgian parliamentarians will open talks Friday to review the cooperation agreement with the United States which allows military transports through its territory. The dispatch adds that on Wednesday, the Cabinet took the first step to review the 1971 law, by creating a special parliamentary committee to seek a joint position in talks with the United States. The dispatch considers that it is unlikely the parliamentarians will have finished their work ahead of the May 18 elections, leaving any possible negotiations to a future government. It recalls that any interruption to the U.S. transport agreement would need six months warning. “Observers think it likely the Iraq war will be over by then. Still, the government is seeking more leeway to approve such shipments in the future,” adds the dispatch.

IRAQ

Among significant developments:

In a news briefing carried live by the BBC, a British Defense Ministry official said British tanks had destroyed 14 Iraqi T-55 tanks in the Basra area Thursday.
Central Command in Qatar told a news briefing carried live by CNN that coalition forces plan to step up their operations in Iraq in the next three days as the weather improves. Central Command also stressed there was no conclusive evidence that coalition forces were responsible for the bombing of a Baghdad market place on Wednesday which left 14 dead.
Electronic media reported that a missile fired at Kuwait from southern Iraq was brought down by a Patriot anti-missile battery.
The BCC reported that the first ship bringing humanitarian aid to Iraq had been delayed by 24 hours because of the discovery of mines.