Military

SHAPE News Summary & Analysis

22 October 2003

NATO

• According to The Times, the United States called on the EU Tuesday to agree a “joint strategic vision” with NATO to avoid the potentially damaging rifts that have emerged in the past few weeks. At a meeting between NATO and the EU in Brussels, the Americans reportedly suggested that a shared vision on handling security in the future could be announced at NATO’s next summit, scheduled to take place in Istanbul next June. The newspaper speculates, however, that the idea of a joint strategic vision, while not opposed by anyone at the meeting, might still cause problems for the EU, which is anxious to move ahead rapidly with taking over the NATO mission in Bosnia. Some EU members want to replace in NATO by the end of this year, but the Americans seem to be intent on drawing up their new strategy for NATO-EU cooperation first, stresses the daily.

ISAF

• Remarks by ISAF Commander, Lt. Gen. Gliemeroth, at a news briefing in Kabul Tuesday generated prominent interest. Gen. Gliemeroth demanded Tuesday the removal of tanks and other heavy weapons from Kabul, reports AFP, quoting him saying: “There should by no means be heavy weapons in Kabul…. In line with the Bonn agreement, ISAF definitely asks for a demilitarized Kabul. The Bonn agreement is indicating very clearly that Kabul should be demilitarized and currently, Kabul is not demilitarized.” The dispatch recalls that the Bonn agreement, struck during international talks in December 2001 included a clause requiring the disarmament of militias and the withdrawal of heavy arms from Kabul. According to the dispatch, Gen. Gliemeroth said the weapons should be removed to special sites on the city’s outskirts. He gave no details on how or when the city would be demilitarized. He said, however, that Afghan authorities would be in charge and ISAF would assist. The dispatch also quotes diplomats saying western embassies and ISAF experts are working with the central government to implement the clause. Another AFP dispatch observes that Gen. Gliemeroth painted a bleak picture of security across Afghanistan, warning that Kabul had been infiltrated by terrorists, fighting had intensified and Taliban and Al Qaeda activity was on the rise. The dispatch quotes Gen. Gliemeroth saying, however, that ISAF and the U.S.-dominated military coalition had taken “significant steps” to counter the rising terrorist threats. “One week after the UN Security Council passed a resolution allowing the expansion of ISAF, the force’s commander, Lt. Gen. Gliemeroth, has warned that security in Kabul may be at risk if stability is not brought to the country’s provinces,” reported the BBC World Service. The program remarked that his appeal comes as Afghanistan is beginning an ambitious program to send 100,000 militiamen across the country in the framework of a UN-sponsored Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) scheme. Noting that about 400 German soldiers are to be deployed to the northern city of Kunduz, the broadcast further quoted Gen. Gliemeroth saying further details the planned expansion were not available at this stage. But, the program noted, the general stressed that current peacekeeping operations in Kabul would not be threatened by the broader UN mandate. He also said Kabul should be demilitarized, with heavy weapons owned by militias removed to cantonments. In a related broadcast, Kabul Radio Afghanistan, Oct 23, reported: “The Commander of ISAF has asked for Kabul to be demilitarized and heavy weapons left in a place out of the city where they can be kept under control…. Gen. Gliemeroth also told a news conference that the facilities and conditions for sending ISAF forces to the rest of the country’s provinces will be prepared soon.”

SHAPE

• Belgian media continue to report on plans by the Bomspotting pacifist organization to carry out a protest action against SHAPE headquarters on Saturday, Oct. 25. La Province quotes organizers saying they are planning an “honest, pacific act of civil disobedience.” According to “Bomspotting,” adds the article, on Monday some of the demonstration’s organizers met SHAPE officials who explained the makeup of the headquarters, notably that not only military personnel but also their family live there, which should be taken into account on Oct. 25. An accompanying article in the same newspaper notes that enforcing law and order at SHAPE is the task of the Federal Police. However, adds the article, police will receive reinforcements from the Army since, “as is often the case in this type of demonstrations, pacifists may try to penetrate inside the base.” Similar information is carried by Brussels’ Belga news agency.