Military

SHAPE News Summary & Analysis

21 August 2003

IRAQ

• “Ankara, which plans to convene the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) in a special session in September and send close to a division of Turkish troops to the international stabilization force in Iraq, has received a meaningful response from Washington,” reported Istanbul’s Milliyet, Aug 20. According to the newspaper, the Bush administration said “unofficial” talks would continue regarding technical details, but stressed that it would wait for the decision of the National Assembly before it begins real negotiations. The newspaper continued: “It has been learned that the probable duty area of the Turkish troops will not in any form be Northern Iraq, that they will most likely take up duties to the north of Baghdad, and that there is an agreement that they will not be put under the command of any country other than the United States. It is stated that the visit that … Gen. Jones will make to Turkey in early September is important from the standpoint of the two sides obtaining mutual confirmation and that the process will accelerate following the visit.”
  
  
• Media focus on reports that the United States is seeking a UN resolution to encourage more countries to send troops to join the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq in the wake of the deadly bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad. CNN reported that Secretary of State Powell and British Foreign Secretary Straw are to meet separately later Thursday with UN Secretary General Annan. They will reportedly discuss a UN resolution that would call for a multinational police and security presence. The broadcast quoted a senior State Department official saying Washington is talking with allies about a multinational force, with greater international involvement than the current coalition. The Washington Post reports that in a letter to President Bush Wednesday, two of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s most senior members called on the president to recruit more police and military units from other countries, especially NATO allies. “A genuine international effort” is needed, Sen. Biden and Sen. Hagel, reportedly wrote. A related Washington Times article speculates that the request for a multinational security force in Iraq could put governments in a diplomatic bind, obligating them to assist the UN even as their troops would be seen as supporting the U.S.-led occupation.

ISAF

• Remarks by Lt. Gen. Gliemeroth, commander of ISAF, at a news conference in Kabul Wednesday continue to generate interest. AFP quotes Gen. Gliemeroth saying ISAF expects a long-awaited drive to disarm some 100,000 militiamen to start “very soon.” Imminent reform of the Defense Ministry would move the process forward, he reportedly stressed, noting: “With the important reform of the Afghan Defense Ministry, the important disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) process appears to be revitalized for the provinces, including, of course, the city of Kabul. I expect that the Afghan transitional authority will initiate very soon the DDR process.” The dispatch observes that Defense Minister Marshal Mohammad Qasim Fahim has been accused of trying to pack the Defense Ministry and new national army with fellow Tajiks. Militiamen nationwide have been reluctant to hand over their weapons to a Defense Ministry dominated by a rival faction, it stresses. Focusing on ISAF’s mandate, Reuters writes meanwhile that Gen. Gliemeroth said the debate on ISAF’s expansion into the provinces was still open but stressed that even if this did happen, it would not mean ISAF would become involved in fighting opponents of the U.S. backed government. According to the dispatch, asked if he felt the need for an expansion in the face of the recent violence, Gen. Gliemeroth replied: “ISAF has a different mandate…. We will ensure a secure environment, but we are not here to attack terrorists and similar elements throughout the country.” He reportedly noted that any expansion would be subject to high-level deliberations involving the Karzai government, NATO, troop-contributing nations and the UN.