Military

SHAPE News Summary & Analysis

11 April 2003

IRAQ

• The Bush administration moved Thursday to enlist allied support for post-war reconstruction, writes the Washington Post. According to the newspaper, Marine Gen. Pace, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing that the Pentagon had given the State Department a list of urgent needs from other countries, including police officers. The U.S. administration is reportedly also seeking doctors and nurses as well as engineers to help rebuild bridges. The newspaper notes that U.S. officials said they believed the dramatic collapse of the Iraqi government—broadcast around the world Wednesday—would galvanize broader international support for assisting in Iraq’s reconstruction. It stresses, however, that such countries as France and Germany have advocated that the UN manage the reconstruction effort, while the Bush administration has insisted that U.S. and British officials would control the process and turn it over as quickly as possible to the Iraqis. A related AFP dispatch reports that Gen. Jones told the Armed Services Committee hearing that France’s military cooperation had continued as usual within NATO during the conflict in Iraq. He reportedly noted that France and Germany, while opposing the war, have allowed U.S. and British warplanes to use their airspace to conduct air strikes on Iraq. France “plays roughly the same in formulating military positions in response to taskings from the North Atlantic Council as does any other member nation,” the dispatch quotes Gen. Jones saying. It notes that Deputy Defense Secretary Wolfowitz told the Committee France should “pay some consequences” for its opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq, particularly for its veto of NATO support for Turkey.

NATO

• According to AFP, a senior German government official said in Berlin Friday that Germany does not presently see a role for NATO in a post-war Iraq, where security can only be overseen by the UN. “We do not see any role at all for NATO at the moment. Security in Iraq can only be managed under the auspices of the UN,” the official, who asked not to be named, reportedly said. Earlier, Berlin’s DDP quoted Germany’s opposition CDU politician Fridebert Pflueger saying in an interview that NATO should be involved in Iraq with a robust UN mandate. “We cannot send friendly blue-helmet soldiers there. I could imagine a stabilization force under a NATO leadership, supplemented by units from Arab countries and equipped with a robust mandate,” Pflueger was quoted saying. In a similar vein, Berlin’s DDP quoted Deputy CDU/CSU Bundestag Group Chairman Wolfgang Schaeuble saying that if NATO were to be charged by the UN Security Council with an Iraq mission, this would be a very sensible solution. Schaueble also called for a “robust mandate” and “strong military capabilities.”
  
  
• Reuters quotes U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Stephen Brauer saying in an interview Friday that Belgium’s opposition to the war in Iraq could undermine its claim to remain the base of NATO, in any future talks on where the Alliance should be headquartered. Brauer reportedly told the financial daily De Financieel-Economische Tijd that “when the future seat of NATO is discussed again, the Belgian attitude on Iraq will certainly be raised.” The dispatch recalls that NATO unveiled plans in January for an enlarged Brussels headquarters.

ESDP

• German plans to establish a European Defense Union (EDU) have caused rather reserved reactions in Brussels, reports Die Welt, adding that in NATO, reactions range from “amusement to disconcertment.” The newspaper recalls that Gen. Jones has emphasized that at present he considered it “unnecessary to establish a second military structure parallel to the one already existing.” It notes that NATO is planning to set up a Rapid Response force by 2006 at the latest, a 21,000-strong intervention army that can be used for combat and anti-terrorism operations as well as for particularly dangerous peace missions. The Economist suggests meanwhile that the aftermath of the Iraq war could turn NATO and the EU into rivals. Although the UN is likely to emerge as the central institutional battleground in the Iraq debate, the future of other international institutions is also now in question. Some Europeans are using Iraq to make a much bigger effort to turn the EU into an independent military power, stresses the article.

BALKANS

• AFP reports a former commander of Moslem forces in Bosnia, Naser Oric, was transferred to the ICTY Friday after his capture by SFOR. The dispatch quotes NATO Secretary General Robertson saying in a statement that Oric’s capture should serve as a warning to other fugitives from the court still at large, and notably to wartime Bosnian Serb leaders Karadzic and Mladic.