Military

SHAPE News Morning Update

26 May 2003

NATO

• NATO announced on Friday the appointment of a top U.S. naval officer as its first Supreme Allied Commander for Transformation, replacing the 19-nation defence alliance’s Cold War Atlantic military commander. The appointment of Admiral Edmund Giambastiani, who will couple the job with being head of the U.S. joint forces command in charge of modernising the U.S. armed forces, was part of a drive to streamline NATO and make it more flexible. In his U.S. role, he also provides combat-ready Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps forces to support the military requirements of U.S. unified combat commands around the world. (Reuters 231656 GMT May 03)

IRAQ

• Britain’s top official in Iraq’s civil administration conceded Sunday that there are too few coalition troops to restore order in the country. Speaking on BBC television, Alex Renton of the charity group Oxfam said the United States and Britain must “get enough people on the ground to restore people’s sense of a civil framework. ... There are not enough soldiers or policemen in Iraq at the moment to do that.” Maj. Gen. Tim Cross, British head of the international section of Iraq’s civil administration, home briefly from his posting, said that was a “very fair summary.” But he said some were exaggerating the problems facing Iraq. He said troops were doing their best to stop widespread theft and create order. Speaking to BBC radio, former American CIA director James Woolsey agreed the troop requirements in Iraq were large, saying about 100,000 soldiers would be needed to stabilize the country. American planning for the war’s aftermath was insufficient, he added. (AP 251350 May 03)

OTHER NEWS

• President Jacques Chirac says he’s saddened but not losing “much sleep” over U.S. anger against France and expects world leaders to set aside differences and focus on boosting economic growth when they meet next week. In an interview with London’s Financial Times, President Chirac expressed disappointment about what he said is American disengagement from European affairs, although he also insisted the alliance between Europe and the United States remains vital. “The U.S. is less and less interested in Europe,” the newspaper quoted the French president as saying. “This is a very significant development and I am not entirely happy about it. Nevertheless, in the medium term, over the next 50 years, I still see the trans-Atlantic link being essential.” “A war that lacks legitimacy does not acquire legitimacy just because it has been won,” he was quoted as saying speaking about Iraq. He added: “I have been struck by the hostility coming out of Washington and it saddens me. But I regard this as the chattering of a few people, which has been picked up by the media. Frankly, I don’t lose much sleep over it.” President Chirac also said he doesn’t expect divisions over Iraq to sabotage long-term construction of a more united European Union. (AP 252131 May 03)
  
  
• Iran’s hard-line government, accused by the Bush administration of harboring top al-Qaida members, poses a big problem for the United States and should be replaced, lawmakers said on Sunday. Democrats and Republicans urged extreme care in working toward that end, in order to avoid fomenting an anti-American reaction among Iranians who admire the U.S. way of life. In Tehran, Iran’s foreign minister insisted his country does not and would not shelter al-Qaida terrorists, and even has jailed some members of Osama bin Laden’s network and plans to prosecute them. “Iran has been the pioneer in fighting al-Qaida terrorists, who have been posing threats to our national interests,” Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi told the government’s Tehran Television. The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee suggested without elaboration that Americans might expect “better cooperation from Iran once the strong signal has gone out” that the United States will not accept weapons of mass destruction there. The Washington Post reported Sunday that the administration has cut off contacts with Iran and “appears ready to embrace an aggressive policy of trying to destabilize the Iranian government.” Asked about the report, a White House spokesman said: “No, our policy continues to be the same.” The United States insists that Iran stop supporting terrorists and end illicit weapons programs, he said. “Iran knows what it needs to do,” he added. (AP 252352 May 03)
  
  
• Osama bin Laden’s terrorist network has been pursuing a sophisticated biological weapons research program and is seeking chemical weapons, the Pentagon has told Congress. Other terrorist groups and dozens of countries also are pursuing chemical and biological weapons, which could be used in a regional conflict or terrorist attack, the military said in a report. “The relative ease of producing some chemical or biological agents has increased concern that their use may become more attractive to terrorist groups intent on causing panic or inflicting large numbers of casualties,” the Pentagon report said. The Pentagon report, sent to Congress in April and disclosed in a news release late on Thursday, is the first government document to say al-Qaida had a sophisticated biological weapons development effort. (AP 232148 May 03)