Military

SHAPE News Summary & Analysis

1 September 2003

ESDP

• Brussels’ Eurobserver.com. reports that a British “Food for thought document” proposing the creation of a planning unit for the EU’s ESDP operations at SHAPE, will be examined on Sept. 5 at an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers at Riva del Garda, Italy. The report noted that the British proposal was submitted to a meeting of political directors of the EU foreign ministries in Rome Friday. The conclusions of the meeting will be presented by the Italian Presidency to the EU foreign ministers at their Riva gathering, it adds. Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Aug. 29, asserted that “if the British have their way, their paper will be the focus of interest at the Sept. 5 meeting.” The newspaper added that the European defense policy, its military structures and its strategy will also be on the agenda of the governmental conference on the Draft European Constitution that will take place on Oct. 3. Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagzeitung, Aug 31, reported that political directors of the EU foreign ministries met for a “brainstorming” session in Rome. However, the session did not bring any concrete results.

IRAQ

• With Turkish media focusing on a U.S. request for Ankara to join the international security force in Iraq, Gen. Jones’ forthcoming to Turkey is generating prominent interest. According to AFP, Turkish Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ozkok indicated Sunday that a U.S. military delegation will visit Turkey this week to discuss the possible deployment of Turkish troops in Iraq. He reportedly noted that Gen. Jones would visit Tuesday ahead of the talks, adding, however, that while talks with Gen. Jones will focus on Iraq, they will also include other military, economic and political issues. Ankara’s TRT 2 television, Aug. 30, reported that on the occasion of a Victory Day reception, Gen. Ozkok told reporters that Gen. Jones is arriving in Turkey within the framework of NATO, but an exchange of views on Iraq will also be conducted with Gen. Jones in his capacity as commander of the U.S. European Command. “On Sept. 2, Gen. Jones will bring to Ankara a file containing Washington’s answers to a questionnaire from Turkey,” said Istanbul’s Turkiye’de Aksam, Aug. 29. The main talks about the dispatch of Turkish soldiers will be held in Ankara. Turkey will make its decision based on the outcome of these talks, added the weekly. AFP reports meanwhile that, according to a poll published Monday in the English-language daily Turkish Daily News, three out of five Turks oppose sending troops to Iraq. The survey by Polmark Research reportedly showed 59.3 percent of Turks were opposed to government plans for the dispatch of some 10,000 soldiers to Iraq as part of an international peacekeeping mission.
  
  
• The Washington Post quotes a U.S. military officer in Iraq saying Sunday the U.S. military will delay transferring authority in southern Iraq from the Marines to a Polish-led international force because of the car bombing at the mosque in Najaf. “To leave in the middle of the crisis, the message that sends to the people of Najaf is that we are abandoning them in a time of tragedy and crisis,” Lt. Col. Woodbridge, commander of the lst Battalion, 7th Marines, in Najaf reportedly said. He indicated he had received the orders from the U.S. Central Command the day after the blast, which killed at least 95 people, including leading cleric Ayatollah Al Hakim. The unit will now stay until at lest Sept. 10, and could be in Iraq for several weeks after that, Woodbridge asserted. The article adds that the Polish troops, along with the Spanish forces, have conducted joint patrols with the Marines in the south in anticipation of the new arrangement. But, it notes, U.S. commanders now appear reluctant to hand over responsibility because of the insecurity in the area.

ISAF

• German Defense Minister Struck has confirmed that Afghanistan will be the new focal point for future foreign military deployments but that German troops will be reduced in the Balkans, reported Deutsche Welle. In an interview with Bild am Sonntag, said the network, Struck said he estimated troops would remain in the country for several years. “If Parliament approves this, German soldiers will possibly support reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan for several years. Afghanistan will be the focal point for German foreign deployments,” Struck reportedly said. He stressed, however, that a larger German peacekeeping force in Afghanistan was only possible if the German troop presence in the Balkans was scaled back. “We want to end our Macedonia (sic) mandate early next year and gradually reduce the German presence in Kosovo and Bosnia,” he reportedly announced.