Military

SHAPE News Morning Update

7 April 2003

TERRORISM

• The director of the Spanish intelligence told NATO colleagues there is a growing danger of an Islamic terrorist attack in Spain in reprisal for the government’s support of the war to oust Saddam Hussein, a newspaper reported Sunday. The heads of military intelligence from the 19 NATO countries held an unannounced meeting Tuesday and Wednesday in Madrid, at which Jorge Dezcallar, head of the National Intelligence Center, expressed his concerns, El Mundo said. Government officials were not available to comment. (AP 061118 Apr 03)

IRAK

• The Pentagon on Sunday pledged to examine whether changes are needed after a spate of “friendly fire” deaths in the Iraq war, but analysts said the incidents suggest the U.S. military failed to institute needed reforms after many similar tragedies in the 1991 Gulf War. Critics note that the Pentagon in 2001 canceled as too costly an Army program to equip tanks and other military vehicles with electronic devices enabling troops to distinguish U.S. vehicles from those of the enemy. The Army currently is working to develop another similar system along with NATO allies, but it is only in the testing stages. (Reuters 061911 GMT Apr 03)
  
  
• Iran is opposed to the creation of a Kurdish state in northern Iraq and supports greater consultations among Iraq’s neighbors on the country’s future, Iran’s foreign minister said after talks in Turkey. “We are opposed to the creation of a government in the north or any other section of Iraq,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said after talks with his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul in Ankara. Kharrazi said he favored a meeting of Turkish, Iranian and Syrian officials to discuss the future of Iraq. Gul said he would travel to Syria next week to discuss the repercussions of the Iraq war on the region. (AP 061516 Apr 03)
  
  
• British troops will leave Iraq as soon as possible after war ends and only a few should still be there by the end of this year, Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon said Sunday. Asked on the BBC program “Breakfast with Frost” how many British soldiers would still be in the country in six to nine months, Hoon answered “I would hope that it would be a very small number.” “It’s important that British forces, coalition forces, do not stay in Iraq a day longer than necessary,” he continued. Troops will have to remain in Iraq for some time after the hoped-for overthrow of Saddam Hussein, to maintain security and provide humanitarian assistance, Hoon added. (AP 061854 Apr 03)
  
  
• European finance leaders on Saturday discussed for the first time possible financial EU involvement for reconstructing post-war Iraq. “I am sure we can make a good contribution,” Greek Finance Minister Nikos Christodoulakis, chairman of a two-day informal EU finance ministers meeting in Athens, told a news briefing. (Reuters 051745 GMT Apr 03)

NATO

• Romania could become a “springboard” for future military operations as NATO’s focus shifts from the east to the south in the post-Cold War era, Romanian Foreign Minister Mircea Geoana said on Friday. Geoana described Romania’s contribution to the war in Iraq as “relatively modest” but said it underscored the Balkans’ future role within NATO and a European Union defence initiative, because of the region’s proximity to the Middle East. “We have been telling our American and European friends the real threats are coming from the south,” Geoana said. “The Black Sea basin...is now becoming (part of) the greater Middle East.” “We’re not looking into seeing NATO bases in Romania,” he said. “We anticipate mobile, far more flexible, even a quasi-permanent military presence would be needed that can be used as springboards for operations in the area.” (Reuters 041644 GMT Apr 03)

EU

• European Union leaders will meet in Athens on April 16 and may be joined by Russia’s Vladimir Putin and some other leaders to show unity despite splits over the Iraq war, an EU source said on Sunday. The source said a scheduled EU meeting for a ratification signing ceremony by 10 new EU members has expanded to include all 15 EU leaders as well as a number of other European nations. “All European Union leaders will be in Athens for the signing ceremony,” the official said, adding that Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan would also attend. Russian President Vladimir Putin has been invited and Greek officials were waiting to hear from Moscow on whether he would attend, the official said. (Reuters 061440 GMT Apr 03)

BALKANS

• A hardline Kosovo Serb leader threatened Saturday that the Serb minority in Kosovo would form its own army if Kosovo’s UN administration implements a plan aiming to give more power to the province’s local institutions. Milan Ivanovic, a hardline Kosovo Serb leader, told Belgrade’s Beta news agency Saturday that the “implementation of such a plan would destabilize Kosovo and it would lead to conflicts.” “I am afraid that Kosovo Serbs would have to form their own army and defend themselves and their freedom,” he was quoted as saying. The report provided no further details. Another Kosovo Serb leader, Oliver Ivanovic, a moderate politician not related to Milan Ivanovic, dismissed the hardline leader’s claims as “ridiculous and dangerous.” “We will try to protect our interests within Kosovo institutions,” he said. “However, that is getting increasingly difficult mainly because of Steiner’s plans.” On Friday, top officials in Serbia, including Prime Minister Zoran Zivkovic and his deputy in charge of Kosovo, Nebojsa Covic, urged Steiner not to implement the plan. He acknowledged there was a disagreement but insisted that he only acted as directed by the UN Security Council. (AP 051743 Apr 03)
  
  
• Serbia said on Sunday that a former secret policeman and members of an organised crime gang linked to him had confessed to the killing of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic. Speaking to Belgrade Studio B television, Interior Minister Dusan Mihajlovic said police had gathered enough evidence about the organisers and perpetrators of the March 12 assassination to start court proceedings. (Reuters 062139 GMT Apr 03)
  
• Croatian police have arrested a Bosnian Croat long sought by the UN war crimes tribunal for allegedly carrying out atrocities against Muslim civilians during the Bosnian war, a police official said Sunday. Ivica Rajic was arrested Saturday in the Croatian capital Zagreb according to police sources. (AP 061543 Apr 03)
  
  
• Serbia promised on Saturday to hunt down former Bosnian Serb army chief General Ratko Mladic, still at large despite being indicted for war crimes by an international tribunal. Serbia and Montenegro’s Defence Minister Boris Tadic told Montenegro’s IN TV he did not know whether Mladic was protected by the army or “some alienated power centers,” but said: “We will conduct the widest possible investigation.” (Reuters 052119 GMT Apr 03)