Military

SHAPE News Summary & Analysis

22 April 2003

ISAF

• According to AP, Afghanistan Tuesday welcomed a recent NATO decision to take over command of ISAF, saying the changeover would enhance security in Kabul. “The Afghan government welcomes the NATO decision as a practical and effective measure to provide continuity and enhance security in Kabul. This decision will also help ISAF’s troop-contributing nations improve coordination, command-and-control leadership and resource management over a sustained period of time in Afghanistan,” the Foreign Ministry reportedly said in a statement, adding: “Providing continued international security assistance for the foreseeable future is an essential element for rebuilding state institutions and reviving Afghanistan’s economy.” The dispatch recalls that NATO is expected to send personnel to run the military headquarters in Kabul and provide a commander appointed by Gen. Jones. Earlier, AFP quoted Secretary of State Powell saying in a statement the move proved that NATO was capable of adapting to meet a new generation of threats. “I am confident that NATO will run this operation as professionally as it has run the successful peacekeeping mandates in Bosnia and Kosovo. This will be NATO’s first significant military operation outside of Europe in its history, and is a sign of the Alliance’s new direction and emphasis on confronting the threat of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction from wherever they come,” the statement reportedly said.

NATO’s decision to enhance its support to ISAF continues to generate interest.
Le Monde, April 17, highlighted the political significance of the NATO decision. No official announcement was made. All efforts will be made to keep the operation discreet. But, while the new role given to NATO will be relatively minor from a military perspective, it is highly significant from a political viewpoint, the newspaper observed. As was noted by a jubilant diplomat, added the newspaper, it confirms that NATO still has a role to play.

NATO’s decision to enhance its support of ISAF is also prompting French media to suggest that a spirit of reconciliation is emerging between Washington and Paris.
The French Embassy in Washington is clearly giving the impression that the heat is now being taken out of relations between France and the United States. Washington is said to be particularly sensitive to France’s decision to stop opposing NATO managing operations in Afghanistan, writes Liberation.
Despite the rhetoric and continuing rancor, everyone at NATO’s Brussels headquarters is in reality stressing pragmatism and trying to pick up the pieces after the Iraq crisis, writes AFP, adding: “Americans and French publicly insist that military cooperation between the two countries is on track, a point underlined recently by Gen. Jones…. In an example of this, Paris agreed on Wednesday, despite its initial reservations, that NATO should take command of ISAF.”

IRAQ

• AFP quotes Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagzeitung saying Sunday that according to German officials and American diplomats, NATO is preparing to take part in the post-war reconstruction of Iraq. Ambassadors from NATO member states met with Secretary General Robertson Tuesday to discuss the Alliance’s possible role in Iraq, the article reportedly said. It quoted sources close to NATO saying the meeting was called to establish “what was, and what was not possible for the Alliance members.” German defense and foreign ministry sources were quoted saying, however, that even in the event of a mission in Iraq, NATO would only be able to send a limited number of troops.

TURKEY- DEFENSE

• AP quotes a U.S. official saying Tuesday that Turkey has agreed to buy four AWACS from Boeing to boost its radar surveillance capabilities. The U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, reportedly said Prime Minister Erdogan signed off Monday on the purchase of the planes. According to the dispatch, Turkish newspapers reported that Ankara would receive its first AWACS in four years and that the others would later be assembled in Turkey. Turkish officials would reportedly not comment.

U.S. TROOPS BASING-RUSSIA

• Moscow’s Interfax quotes a Moscow-based diplomatic source saying Russia intends to bring up the possibility of transferring U.S. military bases from Germany to other European countries, including Poland, during Polish Defense Minister Szmajdzinski’s current two-day visit to Moscow. “Russia is concerned about (reports) that military contingents of the U.S. and other members of NATO could be deployed in territories of new NATO members,” the source reportedly said. He recalled that NATO leaders have repeatedly claimed that the Alliance’s eastward enlargement would not involve any transfer of additional military units to the territories of the new NATO members. Moscow Agentstvo Voyennykh Novostey quotes the source saying that according to information available to Russia, U.S. troops may be stationed at the Polish Air Force bases of Biala Podlaska, Minsk Mazowiecki, and Powidz. U.S. service personnel from Frankfurter, Ramstein and Bitburg are expected to be stationed there. Land forces may be stationed at the garrisons of Swientoszow, Zay and Zagan or Legnica, the source is further quoted saying.