Military

SHAPE News Summary & Analysis

14 November 2003

NOTE

Sueddeutsche Zeitung devotes a full page to a feature describing Gen. Jones’ recent trips to Iraq and Afghanistan. A summary of the article, which gives Gen. Jones’ visions on Iraq, ISAF, NATO’s transformation and the NRF, will be included in the News Summary and Analysis of Nov. 17.

ISAF

• NATO is planning to deploy small and flexible groups of soldiers to Afghanistan as part of a strategy to help the UN prepare for the elections due to be held next year, writes the Financial Times. According to the newspaper, diplomats said the “temporary deployment” units were designed to compensate for serious shortfalls in NATO’s military capabilities since the troops would be away from base for only a few days. “The UN, for example, will tell us they need troops for a few days to provide security for voters to register for the elections or help with other issues,” a NATO official reportedly said. The article claims that the personnel and equipment will be drawn from the existing 5,500-strong ISAF. Recalling that the UN recently extended ISAF’s mandate, the article notes that NATO commanders said it would take time to extend the UN mandate largely because the Alliance lacks capabilities such as helicopters and heavy strategic airlift used for transporting troops, equipment and supplies. They also have to have measures in place for “extraction” of troops in case of emergency. A senior NATO officials is quoted saying this shortfall was one of the reasons the German-led PRT, to be based in Kunduz, would act as a pilot PRT for NATO. “We have to see how this works out in terms of logistics, supplies and backup by ISAF before thinking about taking on other PRTs,” the official reportedly explained. The newspaper continues: “NATO diplomats said the German-led Kunduz mission would test the Alliance. The distances between Kunduz and Kabul are separated by high mountain ranges of more than 7,000 meters. ‘This puts great demand on airlift required to carry troops and equipment and supplies. We need airlift heavy and big enough to deal with such heights,’ said a NATO official. Another problem facing NATO/ISAF is the shortage of helicopters. Germany said it needed many more helicopters because maintenance took far longer as spare parts were not immediately available.

ESDP

• According to The Independent, Germany has scaled back plans for a European Union military headquarters to try to woo Prime Minister Blair and break the deadlock over moves to boost Europe’s military capabilities. Recalling that Germany and France want to form an EU military planning center, the article claims that Berlin is now willing to accept a small unit, described as a “nucleus.” For serious operations, command and control would pass to national headquarters, normally in France, Britain or Germany—something London accepts. The newspaper quotes Foreign Minister Fischer saying there was no question of the EU setting up a significant military headquarters. “You have a national capability in Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Greece. I don’t believe you will have another big operational headquarters,” he reportedly stated.

IRAQ

Media focus on reports that the Bush administration is rewriting its political plan for Iraq to speed the transfer of power to the Iraqis.
President Bush’s national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, acknowledged Thursday that the United States was changing course on forming an Iraqi government, writes the New York Times. Speaking to reporters in the White House, she said the administration had been persuaded by the Iraqi governing council that writing a constitution would take so long that Iraq and its American occupiers could not wait until it was complete to transfer more civilian authority, the newspaper adds. It quotes administration officials saying President Bush had approved in broad strokes the formation of a temporary government by the middle of next year. The Washington Post argues that the new approach amounts to “Iraqification,” or the handing over of responsibility for both a deteriorating situation and stalled political process to Iraqis.
The Independent claims meanwhile that the death toll in Wednesday’s suicide bombing at the Italian base in Nasiriyah is adding impetus to the efforts of the Bush administration to extract the United States from the worsening conflict. The article says: “As Italy mourns troops killed in Nasiriyah and Japan abandons plans to send troops, President Bush is desperately scrambling for a new approach…. The coalition has not yet disintegrated but it is in danger of crumbling in the face of attacks in Iraq and growing worldwide opposition…. Despite claiming in February that it had assembled a coalition of at least 30 ‘willing’ nations, America has been unable to assemble a credible group prepared to provide troops in the numbers required. The real failure of the U.S. has been its inability to expand the coalition, and attract a second international division to join the one already in Iraq.”