Military

SHAPE News Morning Update

7 May 2003

NATO

• NATO allies must close the gap in military know-how with the United States to be able to jointly overcome new challenges such as chemical and biological weapons, the head of the alliance said Tuesday in Montreal. “We are having to replace a Cold War sumo wrestler with a 21st-century fencer,” NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson told an international economic forum. Lord Robertson said a “capabilities gap” had opened up between the United States and the rest of its NATO allies, prompting criticism from other nations that the United States must be “unilateralist” in military conflict because Europe and Canada are incapable of significant contributions. To keep pace and best defend against new threats posed by chemical and biological weapons, he suggested NATO members pool their military equipment. (AP 062155 May 03)

TERRORISM

• Spain’s prime minister called for greater global cooperation in fighting terrorism, proposing that the United Nations raise its profile in the battle by drawing up a list of suspected terrorists. “The strategic challenge represented by terrorism calls on us to define more ambitious collective responses,” Prime Minister Jose Aznar told the Security Council in an open debate on Tuesday. (AP 070142 May 03)

AFGHANISTAN

• NATO said on Tuesday it expected Canada to play a key role in peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan, but it would be up to NATO’s military command to decide if Canada would lead the mission for six months. Speaking to reporters at a conference in Montreal, NATO Secretary-General George Robinson said the alliance welcomed Canada’s offer to lead a security assistance force in Afghanistan. “We are deeply grateful for Canada for making the commitment to serving in ISAF and for making the suggestion that from now on that this is a full NATO mission,” NATO Secretary-General George Robertson told a news conference. (Reuters 061921 GMT May 03)
  
  
• The top UN envoy to Afghanistan warned that ethnic strife and increased activity by Taliban and rebel forces were threatening the peace process, and he called for strengthening Afghan security forces nationwide. “The process as a whole is challenged by the deterioration in the security environment,” UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi told the Security Council on Tuesday, stressing that the problems threatened to cast “a long shadow over the whole peace process and indeed, over the whole future of Afghanistan.” (AP 070015 May 03)

IRAQ

• U.S Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz sharply criticized Turkey for not backing the United States in its war against Iraq and urged the country to now follow Washington’s line in its relations with Iran and Syria. He told private television CNN-Turk that he was particularly disappointed with the Turkish military. “I think for whatever reason, they did not play the strong leadership role and attitude that we would have expected,” he said in the interview conducted in Washington on Monday. He said Turkey and the United States could still mend ties by closely cooperating in rebuilding Iraq. (AP 061629 May 03)
  
  
• Germany suggested on Tuesday it would be prepared to send peacekeeping troops to Iraq if requested by the United Nations. But Defence Minister Peter Struck greeted sceptically a proposal that German troops team up with Polish and Danish soldiers to keep the peace in one region of post-war Iraq. “We spoke with U.S. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld about whether the U.S. would seek a UN Security Council resolution on this matter,” Struck said at a news conference after talks with his French opposite number Michelle Alliot-Marie in Berlin. “The answer was yes...I want to note that the German government has always said if the United Nations asks our country for help, which does not necessarily mean military, we will not stand on the sidelines.” Alliot-Marie said France would not stand in the way of such a resolution but gave no indication French troops would take part. (Reuters 062021 GMT May 03)

IRAN

• A top Russian diplomat said Tuesday that there was no evidence that Iran had pursued a nuclear weapons capability in violation of the international nonproliferation treaties. In a rebuff to the United States, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov contradicted allegations about Iran’s nuclear program made a day earlier by U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton. “Very sound evidence is needed to accuse anyone. So far, neither the United States nor any other countries can present it,” Losyukov was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency. Losyukov acknowledged that Iran’s nuclear program had some “uncertainties.” He said that Moscow would work with Tehran to “add more transparency” to its program. As for Russian-Iranian nuclear cooperation, Losyukov said the work was “strictly in line with IAEA norms.” (AP 062028 May 03)
  
  
• A high-ranking Iranian official told UN diplomats Tuesday that his country has no nuclear weapons program, but was not yet willing to submit to tougher inspections of its facilities, an official said. Gholamreza Aghazadeh, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, defended his government’s nuclear program to a closed-door meeting of 135 members of the UN nuclear watchdog, according to a diplomat who attended the briefing and spoke on condition of anonymity. A spokeswoman for the agency said that “inspections and analysis” of Iran’s nuclear sites were still underway, and that the report to be delivered in June was not yet ready. (AP 061944 May 03)
  
  
• A leading reformist political party called on Iran’s ruling establishment to reconsider its policies and engage in direct talks with the United States over a future government in Iraq. The Hambastegi (Solidarity) Party also warned that Iran’s ruling establishment may meet the fate of Saddam Hussein if un-elected hard-liners continued to undermine voted reforms. “We believe, considering America’s control of Iraq, the Islamic Republic of Iran can hold direct talks with the United States, the United Nations and true representatives of the Iraqi people and engage in positive interaction with them on Iraq’s future government,” the party said in a statement. (AP 062023 May 03)

RUSSIA

• Swedish Defense Minister Leni Bjoerklund said Tuesday that Russia and Sweden plan to conduct joint naval exercises in the Baltic Sea next year in a bid to promote and enhance military cooperation in northern Europe. “We agreed on setting up an expert commission and to prepare for a joint exercise for our naval forces,” Bjoerklund said before planned meetings with defense ministers from Norway, Denmark, Finland and Russia. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov however cautioned the decision didn’t necessarily mean the country was endorsing the Partnership for Peace program. Ivanov also said he wasn’t interested in talks about whether Sweden or Finland should join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Instead, he said threats to Russia are to the south, referring to unrest in Chechnya, and terrorism. (AP 061637 May 03)

BALKANS

• U.S. President George W. Bush authorized the U.S. government on Monday to provide military materials to Serbia and Montenegro in a “presidential determination” sent to the State Department. “I hereby find that the furnishing of defense articles and services to Serbia and Montenegro will strengthen the security of the United States and promote world peace,” he said in the memorandum. (Reuters 070327 GMT May 03)