Military

SHAPE News Summary & Analysis

14 January 2004

ISAF

• AP reports NATO Secretary General de Hoop Scheffer appealed Wednesday for governments to commit more troops to expand ISAF. According to the dispatch, he echoed the warning of his predecessor, Lord Robertson, that Alliance credibility was on the line and said Afghanistan was NATO’s “No. 1 priority.” Speaking after a meeting in Brussels with acting UN envoy to Afghanistan, Jean-Francois Arnault, he reportedly said: “I have made an appeal on all the nations … to do more. It’s important that in more parts of the country, also in the more difficult parts, we’ll be able to participate for stability and security.” The dispatch adds that Arnault renewed the call for NATO to do more as insecurity and the continued influence of local warlords threatens plans for elections and the implementation of a new constitution. Arnault is also quoted saying establishing PRTs in more provincial centers was the best way to expand the rule of the Kabul government and the fledgling Afghan police. “They rally can make a difference in expanding the rule of law, not only in Kabul, not only in the main cities, but also in the countryside,” he reportedly said. He welcomed a NATO program due to start this week in Kabul to clear the capital of heavy weapons, but said more such efforts were needed. He stressed that extra NATO troops would be needed as Afghanistan prepares for presidential elections in June. “As the electoral process unfolds there will also be a need for international forces to bring support,” Arnault is quoted saying and adding: “There will be an element of security assistance and in due time we are sure that NATO will be able to assist.” The dispatch notes that Mr. de Hoop Scheffer refused to be drawn on how many troops are required.
  
• Three Nordic countries are discussing the possibility of sending a joint peacekeeping force to Afghanistan this spring, with a mandate to operate outside Kabul, reported Helsinki’s Hufvudstadsbladet, Jan. 11. According to the newspaper, the Swedish government is engaged in negotiations with Finland, Norway and Britain on a peacekeeping force to take part in the reconstruction of Afghanistan beyond Kabul. A formal proposal and a decision by Parliament are expected shortly. Two possibilities are reportedly under discussion. One is to increase the size of ISAF in which 47 Finns are already involved. The second possibility is linked to the PRTs.

BALKANS

• Banja Luka’s RTRS radio, Jan. 13, reported that the OHR, the EU mission in Bosnia and SFOR Tuesday commended as “very positive and professional” the participation of the Republika Srpska local authorities and Interior Ministry in the joint operations with SFOR aimed at finding war crimes suspect and their supporters. “An SFOR spokesman said the support to the SFOR actions was unprecedented. It was the first real step that the authorities have made toward the arrest of the war crimes suspects,” said the broadcast.

GERMANY-DEFENSE

• Defense Minister Struck’s announcement Tuesday that he would cut up to 26 billion euros from Germany’s military spending plans, shut bases and slash troop numbers to create a more professional and efficient armed forces is the subject of media scrutiny.
  “Over the next few years, the Bundeswehr will have to do without armament purchase amounting to billions of euros. Defense Minister Struck presented corresponding austerity plans, according to which procurement projects of up to 26 billion euros are not to be implemented. This is more than the entire Bundeswehr budget for one year,” noted Berlin’s DDP, Jan. 13. Stressing, however, that the savings will finance the restructuring to an “army in action,” the dispatch continued: “In the future, the Bundeswehr will be divided into so-called intervention, stabilization, and support forces. The new structure will consistently orient the Bundeswehr toward the more likely missions—that is, conflict prevention and crisis management, including the struggle against international terrorism.”
  The Daily Telegraph, which highlights that the Bundeswehr is involved in more foreign operations than any other country apart from the United States, including Afghanistan and the Balkans, comments: “Struck’s announcement demonstrated in particular his commitment to channeling more money into producing higher caliber career soldiers whose new focus would be international missions…. The military will be divided into three categories. The 35,000-strong intervention forces will be available for multinational operations, stabilization forces will have 70,000 peacekeeping soldiers, and support forces will train new troops and be available for other operations.”
  A commentary in the Wall Street Journal observes, however, that while the Bundeswehr is getting some organizational improvements, the priority appears to be cost savings. “While the quality of Europe’s defense spending, rather than quantity, has been the bigger problem, Germany clearly needs to invest more in its military. Its defense budget this year was 1.4 percent of GDP. With Germany’s defense budget due to remain stable until 2007, there’s little prospect of the major equipment upgrades the Bundeswehr needs to be the kind of flexible, effective force the government is hoping for,” the newspaper warns.
  “Defense Minister Struck said the cuts would help to make the armed forces more professional and deployable. However, British experts viewed the cuts as another example of Europe’s failure to follow the United States in devoting greater resources to defense,” says a related article in The Times. The newspaper quotes Andrew Brookes, of the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, saying Germany’s plan to create more flexible military units was commendable, but he failed to see how substantial cuts in spending would help to achieve this. All across Europe, Brookes reportedly said, there had been big talk of “headline goals” to improve defense capabilities—but there is still a long way to go and nothing much has really happened. The newspaper notes, however, that experts said that despite the cuts, Germany was at last focusing on rapid reaction forces for future conflicts and emergencies. The article acknowledges that Germany is heavily involved in Afghanistan and the Balkans but concludes: “With Britain spending 2.8 percent of GDP on defense compared to Germany’s 1.26 percent, reduced military expenditure by Berlin will be viewed with alarm within NATO and the EU.”