Military

SHAPE News Summary & Analysis

25 June 2003

ISAF

• German Lt. Gen. Goetz Gliemeroth has been appointed to head the peacekeeping in mission in Afghanistan when NATO takes over in August. Canadian Army Maj. Gen. Andrew Leslie has been named as deputy commander of the NATO mission, which takes over ISAF in August, writes AFP, based on a SHAPE statement. The dispatch quotes Gen. Jones saying in the statement that “the leadership that Germany and Canada have demonstrated today, as well as that of the nations who have led the way before them, signals to the citizens of Afghanistan that the world community is supporting them in their quest for prosperity, peace and the desire to rebuild their nation.”

NATO’s future takeover of ISAF is generating prominent interest in Afghan media.
Kabul’s Radio Afghanistan reported that Afghan leader Karzai met Canadian Defense Minister McCallum in Kabul Tuesday. The program quoted McCallum saying his visit was aimed at holding meetings and discussions with senior authorities of Afghanistan ahead of the arrival of 2,000 Canadian soldiers who will serve with ISAF under the leadership of NATO. A headquarters for ISAF forces is being established in the north of Kabul. Around 600 youths and domestic labor force are being employed to work on this, the broadcast asserted. In another program, Radio Afghanistan reported that Lt. Gen. Helal, the deputy interior minister in charge of security, and McCallum had discussed security issues, the formation of a national police force, and mutual security cooperation
Kabul Weekly, June 23, carried an interview with retired French Gen. Philippe Morillon, now a member of the EU Parliament, who just completed a visit to Afghanistan as a member of an EU delegation. Morillon was quoted saying insecurity creates problems in many parts of Afghanistan. However, he reportedly added: “The expansion of ISAF beyond Kabul has been considered, but I doubt its effectiveness, because more troops are needed to carry out such a mission. I believe that Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) would be effective, because they contribute to reconstruction, on one hand, and, on the other, they help establish security. At the same time, I think that NATO assuming command of ISAF will be a step forward.”

NATO-ACCESSION

• According to Bratislava’s SITA, June 24, in the future, the Slovak armed forces will specialize in units for the protection against NBC weapons, military engineers, special units to fight against terrorism, and military police units. These units, which will be offered to NATO after Slovakia’s accession to the Alliance, should also be prepared for deployment outside Slovakia and in all-weather countries, said the report. It added that a more detailed specification of these units is included in the document on the national military strategy, the amendment of which was approved last week by the Defense Ministry’s special advisory board

NATO-IRAQ

• “If NATO is the best military organization in the world, the question would have to be raised whether its members can afford not to make efforts in post-war Iraq in order to achieve stability there,” Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung quotes NATO Secretary General Robertson saying at a security forum in Berlin Tuesday. The newspaper interprets the remark as a sign that Lord Robertson favors a NATO operation in Iraq.

IRAQ

• The BBC World Service quotes Defense Secretary Hoon saying Wednesday that thousands of extra British troops could be sent to Iraq in the wake of the killing of six members of the Royal Military Police. An urgent review of troop numbers, tactics and equipment is under way after the deaths in southern Iraq Tuesday, Hoon reportedly said, adding that thousands of troops could be sent to Iraq if that was deemed necessary by the new review. The program expected that the review is likely to reassess the British decision not to wear helmets or flak jackets and to maintain high-profile patrols in an effort to win friends in the local communities and keep order.