Military

SHAPE News Morning Update

1 July 2003

IRAQ

• Two top leaders of Iraq’s Shiite Muslims denied that Iran was influencing their movements and called for the formation of a multiethnic Iraqi government and the end to the U.S.-led occupation. Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, the leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, said: “Our demand is that a government be formed by the Iraqis and work to end the occupation by peaceful means.” Another Shiite leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali Husseini al-Sistani, also denied an Iranian influence in his movement. “We don’t have any contact with any foreign side when it comes to Iraqi affairs,” al-Sistani said. “All governments should respect Iraq’s sovereignty, the will of the Iraqi people, and not interfere in their affairs,” he added. (AP 010105 Jul 03)

AFGHANISTAN

• Pakistani President Musharraf called for international leaders to rethink their political and military strategy on Afghanistan in order to bring stability and allow foreign forces to pull out. “We need to reorient the political-military strategy so that we move toward a situation where stability and harmony is brought into Afghanistan and foreign forces ... have a way of exiting,” Musharraf said on Monday after talks with German President Johannes Rau in Berlin. Musharraf said Islamabad had “concrete” proposals that had already been passed to Afghan President Karzai on how to bring more security. He didn’t elaborate. (AP 010005 Jul 03)

BALKANS

• Serbia and Montenegro’s army, struggling to adapt its mission to post-war political and financial difficulties, said Monday it is preparing to cut back on mandatory military service. The army’s commander-in-chief, Gen. Branko Krga, said in a statement carried on the military’s Web site that the changes would shorten the nine-month terms that all able-bodied young men currently must serve. Gen. Krga did not say when the change would be made, but he said new conscripts enlisted this June “would be discharged from service earlier.” (AP 301619 Jun 03)

OTHER NEWS

• Dozens of countries could face the loss of U.S. military assistance on Tuesday for not heeding American demands that they exempt members of the armed forces of the United States from prosecution before a new UN international war crimes tribunal. Congress barred military aid to countries that had failed to agree by July 1, 2003, not to bring U.S. personnel before the International Criminal Court established last year. The State Department expects the immediate practical effect of the deadline will be minimal, a spokesman said on Monday. (AP 302231 Jun 03)
  
  
• Malaysia prepared Tuesday to launch a U.S.-proposed Southeast Asian counterterrorism center that will analyze militant activities and train officials to bolster regional security. Officials say the center will be run like an institute, holding seminars and workshops on boosting border security and tackling the aftermath of any terrorist attacks. The center is also expected to have a research and database unit to monitor and assess terrorist operations, officials added. (AP 010137 Jul 03)
  
  
• The Bush administration is considering boosting financial aid in Palestinian areas as part of an effort to marginalize the militant group Hamas, diplomats said on Monday. Washington is aiming to shore up support for U.S.-backed Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, while minimizing Hamas’ public role. “The United States wants the Palestinians to understand that there is much to gain, that there are tangible benefits” from turning away from Hamas, one diplomat said of the plan. One source familiar with the Bush administration’s deliberations called it a “Marshall plan” for the Palestinians. (Reuters 301909 GMT Jun 03)