Military

SHAPE News Summary & Analysis

28 July 2003

IRAQ

• According to the Washington Post, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz yesterday put new emphasis on the current fighting in Iraq calling it the “central battle” in the Bush administration’s post-Sept. 11, 2001, war on terrorism. Appearing on “Fox News Sunday”, in response to a question about the increasing number of casualties among American soldiers, he reportedly answered: “It is a sacrifice that is going to make our children and grandchildren safer because the battle to win the peace in Iraq now is the central battle in the war on terrorism.” When asked about the administration’s use of intelligence on Iraq’s weapons that led to the war, he allegedly talked for the first time about the “nature of terrorism intelligence as intrinsically murky,” linking Iraq to the Sept. 11 attacks. “If you wait until the terrorism picture is clear, you’re going to wait until after something terrible has happened,” he also reportedly said defending the decision to start the war in Iraq without further delay. On “Face the Nation”, observes the daily, he called the groups attacking Americans in Iraq a “secret, conspiratorial, criminal gang on a large scale,” but on “Meet the Press,” he said they were “terrorists.” He was finally quoted saying: “We went to war and I believe we are still fighting terrorists and terrorist supporters in Iraq in a battle that will make this country safer in the future from terrorism.
  
  
• Turkish news agency Anatolia, July 27, wrote that Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Gul, upon his return from the U.S. to Ankara on Sunday, said Turkey and the U.S. had the determination to act together in northern Iraq. Reportedly stating that he received positive answers from U.S. officials about the package of measures presented by Turkey for Iraq, Mr. Gul said that Turkey’s sending soldiers to Iraq had not yet been discussed by the government. Furthermore, he said both Turkey and the U.S. had special forces in northern Iraq and stated that a new determination was in question to carry out many works in the region by communication. Stressing that the Turkish Armed Forces’ view in the decision process to send troops was very important, he was quoted saying: “Whatever Turkey’s interests require, it will be done. Turkey cannot be indifferent to things taking place in its neighbor countries. It has to monitor closely what happens there.” Turkish daily Star, July 26, commented that the agenda of the July meeting of the National Security Council was dominated by the current state of relations with the U.S. and the proposal to send troops to Iraq. It was reported that the military wing of the Council voiced the opinion that troops should be sent into Iraq under the UN’s umbrella or after a NATO decision sanctioning deployment of Turkish soldiers was made. The generals reportedly pointed out that soldiers should have a say in the decision, also advising that Turkey should refrain from acting as the U.S.’ subcontractor. An AFP dispatch notes that the Croatian government’s decision to contribute troops to an international peacekeeping operation in Iraq, widely seen as a means to boost the Balkan country’s chances to join NATO, has stirred controversy at home. Over 93 percent of 1,000 people surveyed, continues the report, opposed sending troops to Iraq, mostly arguing that they “should not risk their lives for someone else’s goals.”

BALKANS

• Serbian Radio B92, July 26, reported Prime Minister Zoran Zivkovic saying he was confident that Serbia-Montenegro will join NATO’s Partnership for Peace program by the end of this year or the beginning of next. Speaking for Voice of America in Washington, the Prime Minister allegedly said that there were certain conditions for the membership, including the extradition of former Bosnian Serb army chief Ratko Mladic to the war crimes tribunal in The Hague. The premier, who is on a four-day visit to America stated, according to the radio, that Washington supported Serbia’s efforts towards reform and international integration.

U.S. TROOP BASING

• Bulgarian weekly 168 Chasa observes that immediately after being officially elected chief of the Foreign Policy, Defense, and National Security Commission on July 23, Professor Venko Aleksandrov said he had offered Pleven as a NATO (sic) military base. Since last April, comments the magazine, when the talk started about increasing the U.S. presence in the countries of East Europe, Gen. Jones, the chief of NATO’s allied forces in Europe, had mentioned “Poland, Bulgaria, and Romania” on several occasions. After his return from the U.S. in February, Defense Minister Svinarov reportedly said there was a possibility that four or five bases may be deployed on Bulgarian territory, but the final decision would be made after the process of strategic planning has been completed in the U.S. Some military infrastructures such as Saraforo, Ravnets, Bezmer, and Graf Ignatievo have already been inspected by U.S. delegations.