Military

SHAPE News Morning Update

06 August 2003

NATO

• The head of U.S. forces in Europe said Tuesday that the United States needs to rethink its strategies as NATO expands into Eastern Europe. “The U.S. must reconsider its strategies with regards to the new allies and friends it has made,” said Gen. James L. Jones, who is also NATO’s supreme commander. But Gen. Jones said that no decision had been taken about building new U.S. bases in Eastern Europe, and that any move would be discussed with its new allies. NATO’s supreme commander urged Romania to continue reforms within its armed forces as it prepares to join the western military alliance next year. (AP 051456 Aug 03)
  
  
• Despite the stress of global missions on the U.S. military, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld said on Tuesday that he had seen no conclusive evidence yet that America’s 1.4 million troops should be increased. He said that he was studying the problem with top military officials but that other avenues for making the military more efficient remained available, including shifting tens of thousands of non-combat jobs handled by troops to civilian defense workers. Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also warned at a Pentagon news conference that increasing end strength, including the Army’s active 480,000 troops, was a very expensive and laborious step. Top Army generals have suggested that the services might soon formally press the Defense Department and Congress to increase the size of the active duty Army. (Reuters 052052 GMT Aug 03)

IRAQ

• The U.S. Army will deploy an experimental new security force in Iraq, packaging elite special forces, infantry, military police and civil affairs troops in one unit for more effective peacekeeping, a senior general said on Tuesday. Such troops normally operate separately, but Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. John Keane said the task force was being put together by U.S. Central Command and the 82nd Airborne Division in a Pentagon drive for military flexibility. He did not say how large the force would be or where it would be deployed. (Reuters 051712 GMT Aug 03)
  
  
• Arab League members decided not to recognize Iraq’s U.S.-appointed Governing Council, saying Tuesday that they will wait until a government is elected. “The Council is a start but it should pave the way for a legitimate government that can be recognized,” Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said Tuesday after foreign ministers met to forge a unified stance on how to deal with a post-Saddam Hussein Iraq. (AP 052337 Aug 03)
  
  
• The post-war director of U.S.-backed Iraqi Television has quit, saying the United States is losing the propaganda war to countries like Iran and to the fugitive Saddam Hussein. “Saddam Hussein is doing better at marketing himself, through Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya Gulf channels,” Ahmad Rikabi said. He said that as the United States failed to invest in Iraqi stations or to retain local staff, channels such as Iran’s Al Alam and Qatar’s Al Jazeera were gaining popularity in Iraq. “The people of Iraq, including the Sunni Muslims, are not about to turn against their liberators, but they are being incited to do so. These channels contribute to tension within Iraq. You need television at their level,” he added. (Reuters 051437 GMT Aug 03)

IRAN

• North Korea is in talks to export its Taepodong 2 long-range ballistic missile to Iran and to jointly develop nuclear warheads with Tehran, a Japanese newspaper reported on Wednesday. The conservative Sankei Shimbun, quoting military sources familiar with North Korea, said that the communist state planned to export components and Iran would then assemble the Taepodongs at a factory near Tehran. The paper said North Korea would also send experts to provide Iran with assistance on missile technology and the two states would jointly develop nuclear warheads. They have been discussing the plans for about a year and are expected to reach an agreement in mid-October, the paper added. If Iran acquires the Taepodong 2, which has a range of over 6,000 km, it would be able to hit targets in Europe, the paper said. (Reuters 060311 GMT Aug 03)

MIDDLE EAST

• Israel accused Al Qaeda on Tuesday of recruiting Palestinians and setting up networks in Palestinian areas to carry out attacks on Israel and said it had succeeded in disrupting some of the activity. In a report to the UN Security Council, Israel said al Qaeda operatives carrying foreign passports had tried several times since 2001 to enter Israel to gather intelligence and to carry out attacks. Israel’s report to the Security Council also accused al Qaeda of intensifying its propaganda activities in Palestinian areas. “Examples include leaflets signed by ‘the Bin Laden Brigades in Palestine,’ inciting to ‘jihad’ against Jews and promising to continue ‘in the footsteps of Osama bin Laden,’” the report said. (Reuters 051732 GMT Aug 03)