Military

SHAPE News Morning Update

3 July 2003

LIBERIA

• The Pentagon has ordered military planners to prepare detailed options for American troops to join an international peacekeeping force to oversee a cease-fire in the war-battered West African nation of Liberia, two senior military officials said today. It was unclear tonight what other nations might join this force, and how it would be commanded. The Pentagon directed the European Command in Stuttgart, Germany, to prepare a “planning order,” a document that typically offers three options for using military forces of varying size and makeup, one of the officials said. Given the urgency of the situation in Liberia and Mr. Bush’s coming trip to Africa, Gen. James L. Jones of the Marine Corps, the head of the command, is expected to review the options within the next two days, recommend one, and forward it all to Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Officials said they are considering sending 500 to 2,000 American troops, a number that will be determined after a decision is made about the force’s precise mission. (The New York Times, 03 Jul 03)
  
  
• President Bush has agreed to send up to 1,000 troops to Liberia, White House sources told CNN television last night. Mr Bush took the decision after a meeting of his National Security Council, CNN said. An announcement was expected, possibly today, that the U.S. troops will head an international peacekeeping force. A U.S. navy amphibious assault ship, the Kearsarge, carrying 1,200 marines, is off the Liberian coast. Marines are also reported to be preparing for the deployment in Spain. (The Daily Telegraph, 03 Jul 03)

CONGO

• The European Union’s foreign policy chief will on Friday call for a radical shake-up of policy towards Democratic Republic of Congo, proposing that the recently deployed peacekeeping force should be followed by a long-term civilian commitment. The proposals, which Javier Solana will present to ambassadors of the committee that deals with the EU’s security and defence policy, reflect a consensus by experts about the limited usefulness of military missions. The EU’s new security doctrine, which Mr Solana presented at the summit, spelt out the need for change and it calls for much greater emphasis on civilian planning alongside and after any military operation. (The Financial Times, 03 Jul 03)

IRAQ

• The British foreign minister and American senators visiting Iraq on Wednesday played down concerns that the U.S.-led occupation risks descending into a Vietnam-style quagmire, saying the remnants of Saddam Hussein’s regime will be crushed. “A quagmire? No,” Jack Straw told reporters at the British mission in Baghdad. “These actions against the coalition forces won’t succeed and will be dealt with.” The comments coincided with a statement by President Bush on Wednesday vowing that anti-U.S. attacks would not keep the United States from fulfilling its mission in Iraq. U.S. officials insist there is no nationally coordinated resistance to the occupation, and it remains unclear exactly which groups are staging attacks - though most suspicion falls on Saddam’s former security forces. On Wednesday, a videotape aired on Lebanon’s Al Hayat-LBC satellite station showed a man claiming to belong to the previously unknown “Independent National Commando Front” and threatening new attacks. The man said some of the resistance is from Saddam loyalists but said his group was “independent.” (The Washington Times 03 Jul 03)