Military

SHAPE News Summary & Analysis

30 October 2003

ESDP

• Secretary of State Powell is reportedly preparing to travel to Europe in November to stress the seriousness of American concerns over ESDP with EU leaders, writes the Washington Times. The article suggests that when, and if he goes, Powell should stress that if Europeans want to preserve the American security guarantees that promise to keep Europe “whole and free,” reassuring Central and Eastern Europeans against instability on their eastern borders, they need to listen to American concerns. The newspaper stresses: “NATO has been a great stabilizing force in Europe since its creation after World War II, and NATO is the glue that binds the two continents together politically. (Powell) could let Europeans know that the United States values NATO as the most important forum in which the U.S. and Europe both have a seat at the table. As the EU enlarges and strives toward greater integration, NATO becomes more important for Washington in that sense. And, Powell might suggest that if the EU countries seriously want to field international peacekeeping operations—which is indeed among the stated goals of European defense cooperation—American cooperation on logistics and forward projection is invaluable. In other words, if we give the hatchet a rest and work together, much can be achieved.”

ISAF

• According to AFP, NATO Secretary General Robertson said in Moscow Thursday that NATO has approved Russian proposals for cooperation in Afghanistan, notably concerning overflights by aircraft of Russian territory and the use of Russian transport planes.
  
  
• A UN survey has found that opium cultivation in Afghanistan is spreading like a “cancer.” According to a report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Afghanistan produces three quarters of the world’s illicit opium and two thirds of all opiate users take drugs of Afghan origin, reports The Independent. The newspaper quotes Antonio Maria Costa, the director of the UN drugs agency, warning: “Either major surgical drug-control measures are taken now or the drug cancer in Afghanistan will keep spreading and metastasize into corruption, violence and terrorism. Out of this drug chest, some provincial administrators and military commanders take a considerable share. The more they get used to this, the less likely it becomes that they will respect the law, be loyal to Kabul and support the legal economy. Terrorists take a cut as well: the longer this happens, the greater the threat to security.”

IRAQ

• The Washington Post quotes officials saying Wednesday that the United Nations and the Red Cross will scale back their presence in Iraq in the wake of the threat of new terrorist attacks after a suicide car bombing at Red Cross headquarters. According to the newspaper, the officials said UN Secretary General Kofi Annan had decided to withdraw all 15 remaining international staff from Baghdad. Annan reportedly discussed his decision with Secretary of State Powell, who argued against the withdrawal. U.S. officials expressed concern that the UN departure could increase pressure on private aid agencies to reconsider their role in Iraq. The newspaper considers that Annan’s decision represents a setback for the Bush administration, which has been urging the UN to continue its humanitarian operations in Iraq. A related Reuters dispatch quotes a spokeswoman saying Red Cross officials in Iraq are to hold talks outside the country with Swiss-based colleagues on how to reduce foreign staff in Baghdad. The spokeswoman reportedly stated that Wednesday’s decision by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to pull out some of about 30 international staff, but maintain activities in Iraq was the best solution to an agonizing dilemma.
  
  
• According to the New York Times, the Bush administration has told the Pentagon to revamp and accelerate its plans for putting Iraqi security forces on the streets of Baghdad and other areas where U.S. forces have come under attack, even if their training is significantly shortened. The newspaper quotes military and administration officials saying that as part of a plan the Pentagon is still developing, thousands of Iraqis who are now acting essentially as security guards would be given a few weeks of training in Iraq and Jordan. They would then be put on the front lines as militiamen, chiefly in the Sunni-dominated area northwest of Baghdad, where the attacks have intensified the most in recent days. Germany’s DDP, Oct. 29, reported that Germany plans to train Iraqi policemen in the United Arab Emirates. Envoys of the Foreign Ministry and the German Interior Ministry have basically agreed on this with representatives of the United Arab Emirate. The beginning and scope of the training are to be discussed in November, said the dispatch.