Military

SHAPE News Summary & Analysis

15 May 2003

GENERAL JONES

• Under the title, “NATO could be very useful in Iraq,” Die Welt carries a question-and-answer interview with Gen. Jones in which he discusses a possible NATO role in post-war Iraq, NATO’s involvement in ISAF, NATO’s Rapid Response Force and ESDP. The newspaper, which focuses on SACEUR’s remarks on post-war Iraq, quotes him saying: “In its overall kit, NATO has a broad range of military capabilities to tackle such tasks. I am sure that NATO could be very useful in Iraq if the political will existed. If the military headquarters were to receive the order from the NATO Council, we would be able to react within a very short period of time.” SACEUR is further quoted saying tensions within NATO regarding Iraq have had “very little” military impact. “The U.S. and the European forces look back on more than 50 years of good relations. They know each other, they have trained together. They know that there are political disagreements from time to time, which are solved on the political level,” he reportedly said. Regarding NATO’s future involvement in ISAF, Gen. Jones explains that it will be “a very traditional military operation.” He stresses, however, that “the mission in Afghanistan will show that NATO is able to accomplish several operations simultaneously.” Gen. Jones is further quoted saying that “by deciding to conduct the operation in Afghanistan, NATO follows up on its new political strategy: This is no longer a regional approach. This is no longer an ‘out of area’ operation in its original sense. This one here is global.” Asked whether he regards the plans by four EU countries to launch a “European Security and Defense Union” as a threat to NATO, Gen. Jones replies: “One should be very cautious about creating parallel structures and parallel headquarters. A successful military alliance is already in place. It would be a waste of military resources to set up a second structure when one can do the job alone.” He also suggests that Operation Concordia in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, in which NATO and the EU work together, will be a test case for this concept. “Before we start talking about duplicate structures, we should wait and see whether this mission works. I’m sure it will work just fine,” he adds. Regarding the NATO Response Force, SACEUR says: “At the beginning, the NRF could be employed in the event of humanitarian disasters if the NATO Council gives the order. The larger the force becomes, the more ground-, air- and naval-based elements are integrated, the more the range of operations will expand up to ‘more robust’ scenarios in the sense of a military crisis.” He also expresses the hope that the NRF will provide the disciplinary framework for the armed forces of the 21st century. “If this is achieved,” SACEUR adds, “we will not only have more capable forces, but military resources which will be used more efficiently as far as costs are concerned.” Asked what is currently his greatest challenge, Gen. Jones answers: “To help the people in Europe and in the U.S. understand why (NATO) still exists in the 21st century. There are a lot of global threats on which there should be a consensus on both sides of the Atlantic: weapons of mass destruction, international terrorism. After almost four months of being in office, the impression I have got is that everyone understands what NATO will be about in the future.” The article, illustrated with a head-and-shoulder photograph of Gen. Jones, also carries biographical remarks connected to his experience as a Marine Corps officer.

NATO

• Gazet van Antwerpen quotes Gen. Van Daele, Chief of Staff of the Belgian Armed Forces, saying Tuesday that Belgium must contribute to the new Response Force being created by NATO. According to the newspaper, Gen. Van Daele suggested that Belgium could contribute at different levels—with land, air, as well as naval forces. He believes that Belgium could contribute paracommandos, F-16 and frigates. Gen. Van Daele is further quoted saying the Defense Staff is currently examining how Belgium can participate concretely to the new force. However, the Belgian army has not yet received precise requests from NATO.
  
  
• According to AFP, Hungary announced plans Wednesday to purchase weaponry worth some 100 million euros to equip its new fleet of Gripen fighter jets, as part of efforts to meet NATO military standards. The dispatch quotes an advisor to Defense Minister Juhasz saying the Hungarian Defense Ministry has held talks with Swedish, U.S., British and Hungarian suppliers and plans shortly to ask for tenders. “We held talks with suppliers on May 9 and our next task is to send out tenders to potential suppliers by the middle of June,” the adviser reportedly indicated. The dispatch also quotes the Defense Ministry saying in a statement that the weapons Hungary plans to buy include AMRAAM-120 and Sidewinder missiles used for air-to-air combat, as well as Maverick missiles and GBU bombs for air-to-surface attacks.
  
  
• AP quotes Defense Minister Tvrdik saying Thursday that the Czech armed forces plan to phase out the draft and fully rely on career soldiers by 2005. The Czech army now has 15,700 career soldiers and 8,270 draftees. Plans are to create an all-professional force of some 32,000 soldiers by 2005, Tvrdik reportedly said. A fully professional army would be both less expensive and more effective in the long run, he added.