Military

SHAPE News Summary & Analysis

28 May 2003

IRAQ

• Reuters reports Polish Defense Minister Smajdzinski told public radio Wednesday a 7,000-strong multinational peacekeeping force under Polish command would be sent to Iraq in July. “The deployment will take place in July … and it will be fully operational in August,” Smajdzinski reportedly said. According to the dispatch, he said Poland would deploy more than 2,000 troops as part of the force and a similar number could be recruited from Ukraine. He declined to name other participants of the Polish-led force, although he said he could not contradict media reports that Denmark would take part in the operation. Smajdzinski is further quoted saying about 20 countries participated in last week’s “force generation” conference in Warsaw and that another similar meeting would be held next week. Danmarks Radio P1, May 27, reported that Denmark is making 10 staff officers available to the Polish-led international peacekeeping force in Iraq. The Danish contribution comes after NATO decided last week to give the Poles technical and logistical assistance, the broadcast said. It added, however, that offering the 10 officers does not mean that Danish involvement in Iraq will be increased as the 10 come from the 380-strong DANCON/Iraq force operating near Basra. Prime Minister Rasmussen was carried saying: “I am very glad that we can assist the Polish-led division in performing its duties in Iraq in this way, with our many years’ experience from NATO.”

TRANSATLANTIC RELATIONS

• The Washington Post quotes White House officials saying Tuesday that President Bush will use an eight-day trip to try to mend his rift with Europe, but only on his terms and with no concessions to the traditional allies that opposed the war in Iraq. Aides reportedly said that on Saturday in Krakow, Poland, Bush will outline a cooperation agenda for “a positive transatlantic relationship,” in an effort to frame the trip in forward-looking terms. The aides added, however, that the leaders of France, Germany and Russia must demonstrate they can cooperate with the United States through new efforts, among others, to fight terrorism, oppose the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, promote trade, and alleviate poverty. According to the newspaper, the official said the spirit of Bush’s address will be: “Get off the couch and get to work, do what needs to be done in the world.” He indicated that Bush believes the military victory in Iraq “gives him and the United States an enormous amount of political capital he will use to push the world’s rich democracies to join him in fighting poverty, making the world a better place.” Elsewhere, the newspaper writes, under the title, “Memo to Bush: Europe is listening”: “The war (in Iraq) did prove … that we no longer need military allies—and in that sense, Europe is irrelevant. But the war also proved we do need allies for other things: to help in the nation-building we have such a national allergy to, and to help fight our battles in the multilateral institutions we so loathe. We do have a few (allies)…. We could have more, if we bothered to cultivate them.”

BALKANS

• According to AFP, the Foreign Ministry announced Wednesday that Germany will transfer the head of the UN Mission to Kosovo (UNMIK), Michael Steiner, to Geneva where he will become the country’s permanent UN representative. The ministry reportedly gave no reasons for the decision.

ESDP

• The EU response force is poised to conduct its first combat mission in Congo. The Military Committee in Brussels may conclude planning by the middle of next week, writes Sueddeutsche Zeitung. The new EU peacekeeping force has to prepare for an armed combat mission in Congo. The ambassadors of the 15 member nations decided in Brussels Tuesday that the EU Military Committee was to submit plans for the peacekeeping mission requested by the UN as early as the middle of next week, the article claims. It quotes diplomats saying the Europeans might issue the marching order for up to 3,000 servicemen as early as the second week of June. The article adds that the objective of the mission would be to separate the warring parties in the north east of Congo. It stresses that France, in particular, which has already declared it willingness to send a thousand servicemen, is urging the deployment of the EU force. The EU governments make the deployment of the crisis response force contingent on a UN Security Council mandate for a “robust mission.” This could happen “within a few days,” the newspaper further says. It notes, however, that the planned Congo mission remains controversial in Brussels, where military officials warn that the new EU force “does not have sufficient experience” yet for such a delicate mission.

BELGIUM-GOVERNMENT

• Belgian media report that King Albert II has charged Prime Minister Verhofstadt with forming a new government, 10 days after his liberals and socialist partners made big gains in national election.