Military

SHAPE News Summary & Analysis

15 April 2003

TRANSATLANTIC RELATIONS

• Looking at the status of transatlantic relations, Philip Gordon, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, writes in the International Herald Tribune that a NATO role in post-war Iraq would “heal many hurts.” Noting that NATO has experience with peacekeeping and disarmament, an available pool of troops, existing command arrangements and a proven track record of promoting defense reform and civil-military relations in former authoritarian states, Gordon lists what he sees as the many advantages of giving NATO a key role in post-war Iraq. He says: Nowhere else is there a pool of available and experienced peacekeepers who could gradually replace U.S. and British soldiers currently deployed in Iraq. Involving NATO in post-war Iraq would also help to legitimize the reconstruction process in the eyes of many around the world—making a UN mandate more likely and facilitating the provision of EU reconstruction funds. Giving a role to NATO would prove that Iraq was not a mere American protectorate, while still giving America confidence that security would be ensured. Involving NATO in Iraq’s security arrangements would also be a vital step toward giving America’s European allies—including Russia—a stake in the reconstruction of Iraq. “Getting NATO involved in Iraq would not only help share the burden of what could be a difficult and costly occupation, but it could be a first step toward repairing the vital trans-Atlantic relationship,” Gordon insists.
  
  
• According to the Financial Times, former Secretary of State Kissinger and Larry Summers, a former treasury secretary, were named Monday to head a task force to find ways to repair the fractured relationship between the United States and Europe. The Council on Foreign Relations (CPR) group will examine the state of U.S. policy toward Europe at a time when the transatlantic alliance has been shaken by disagreements over the war in Iraq, the article says. It adds that the CPR task force will assess the seriousness of the rift and consider whether the United States needs to reorient its relationship to Europe. It will also consider whether a close working relationship with Europe remains important to U.S. interests.

OPERATION CONCORDIA-ESDP

• Referring to Operation Concordia, the Wall Street Journal observes that “little noticed amid the trans-Atlantic feuding over Iraq, something remarkable is happening in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia: (Gen. Maral), a French general is leading an EU peacekeeping mission, thanks to support from the United States.” The story of the mission suggests that hard facts and common interests can force disaffected allies to cooperate, even when their leaders are not talking to each other. It also shows how essential international unity is to the success of such missions, stresses the newspaper, adding: NATO is cooperating closely with the EU’s maiden peacekeeping mission. Gen. Maral’s boss is a German NATO deputy commander. The mission itself was designed by NATO planners. If the 350 lightly armed troops get in trouble, NATO forces from neighboring Kosovo will bail them out.
  
  
• Germany, France, Belgium and Luxembourg are discussing substantial increases in defense spending ahead of a meeting of the four countries’ defense ministers later this month, according to a draft document spelling out ambitious plans for ESDP, reports the Wall Street Journal. According to the article, the document, drafted by Belgium, is intended as a statement of intent of the four nations to boost defense spending, pool military procurement and planning, and merge various other defense initiatives among EU members. Under the plan, each of the participating nations would reportedly commit to spending at least 0.25 percent of its GDP on military investment and equipment to modernize its defense forces starting next year, and at least 0.45 percent of GDP by 2012 at the latest. Noting that for some countries, that would mark a substantial increase, the newspaper stresses: According to the U.S. Defense Department’s latest annual Report on Allied Contributions to the Common Defense, dated June 2002, Germany spent just 0.2 percent of its GDP on defense modernization in 2001, France 0.52 percent, Belgium 0.07 percent and Luxembourg 0.13 percent. The U.S., by comparison, spent 0.75 percent of its GDP on defense modernization in 2001 and Britain 0.7 percent. The article adds that although the four countries would initially represent a minority of the EU’s soon-to-be 25 members, the plan foresees the eventual inclusion of other nations “that share the same desire to launch concrete initiatives” toward the formation of a proper European defense union.
  

BALKANS

• AP quotes an SFOR spokesman saying Tuesday that NATO-led troops in the Balkans have been formally advised that Russia will pull its peacekeepers out of the region. “The withdrawal process will occur with close coordination between Russian military authorities and NATO,” an SFOR spokesman is quoted saying and adding that it will not affect the peacekeepers’ ability to carry out their mandate. He reportedly noted, however, that “Russian soldiers and officers have been highly professional and committed to the joint goals of bringing stability to the region, and for these reasons their contribution will be missed.” The dispatch recalls that last week Russian authorities announced the decision, citing financial concerns and a lack of a war threat in the Balkans as the reason for their withdrawal.