Military

SHAPE News Morning Update

16 January 2004

NATO

• Britain may be cutting back its navy but can still hold its own as one of the world’s strongest sea powers, naval chief Alan West said on Thursday. London announced a major overhaul of its armed forces last month, opting for more high-tech weapons to tackle terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. In a briefing on the changes, Admiral West accepted older warships might have to be scrapped but stressed he was sticking to his guns over the need for top priority new weaponry like two aircraft carriers and the Joint Strike Fighter. (Reuters 151637 GMT Jan 04)

AFGHANISTAN

• The outgoing UN envoy in Afghanistan urged the immediate expansion of the international peacekeeping force, warning that factional forces and the terror tactics of extremists are threatening the peace process. In a no-nonsense assessment of the state of the peace process in Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi said the lack of security is a challenge to implementing the agreement calling for elections in June - and he said that date “is not realistic any more.” Brahimi said one of the lessons from the first two years of the Bonn process is the difficulty of carrying out a post-conflict transition without security assistance. (AP 152355 Jan 04)
  

BALKANS

• NATO’s secretary-general denied on Thursday recent media reports that al Qaeda and other Islamic militant groups were present in Bosnia. “We have no firm evidence that international terrorists are operating, training or recruiting in Bosnia-Herzegovina,” Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said during his first trip since taking the position last week. Some local and foreign media had reported that the Balkan country had become a recruiting and training base for militants. “If we had the information, we - us and Bosnia-Herzegovina agencies - have the responsibility to act on it, of course as part of the global campaign against terrorism,” Mr. de Hoop Scheffer told a news conference in Sarajevo. (Reuters 151736 GMT Jan 04)

RUSSIA

• Russia is concerned about the possible relocation of U.S. troops in Europe closer to its borders, Defence Minister Ivanov said Thursday. Sergei Ivanov said that Washington had informed Moscow that it was considering moving its military bases from Germany to Poland, Romania and some other European countries but hadn’t yet made a final decision. “Moving any NATO military infrastructure closer to our borders can’t but cause a corresponding reaction and concern from us,” he said at a news conference in Omsk in remarks broadcast by Russian television. (AP 151214 Jan 04)

WAR ON TERRORISM

• U.S.-led naval forces have begun exercises near the mouth of the Gulf aimed at intercepting ships suspected of arms trafficking, the U.S. Navy said on Thursday. France, Singapore, Spain, Britain, Italy, Australia and the United States are taking part in the Sea Saber 2004 exercises which began on Sunday and will run through Saturday, a U.S. Naval Forces Central Command statement said. Denmark, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands and Turkey are participating as observers. The exercises are part of the Proliferation Security Initiative announced by President Bush last year. (Reuters 152108 GMT Jan 04)

IRAQ

• The French defence minister said in Paris that France, Germany and Japan could work together closely to train Iraq’s police and soldiers once Iraqis have control of their government. Michele Alliot-Marie reiterated France’s position after meeting with Japan’s defence chief, Shigeru Ishiba, who was in Europe for talks on Iraq. (AP 151822 Jan 04)