Military

SHAPE News Summary & Analysis

28 January 2003

AFGHANISTAN

• Gen. Jones warned Tuesday that the Alliance faces a “defining moment” in showing whether it can follow through on a political commitment to expand operations in Afghanistan, writes the Washington Post. The newspaper reports that in a testimony before the Senate Armed Forces Committee, Gen. Jones acknowledged difficulty last year mustering helicopters and other equipment to meet an Alliance decision to take over ISAF in Kabul. “We simply have to become better and quicker and more efficient at generating the force to support the operational plan,” he reportedly said, adding: “And I believe this exercise that we are about to go through with this very ambitious expansion of NATO’s mission in Afghanistan will be a defining moment for the Alliance as to whether we have in fact the internal will and discipline to generate the force.” The newspaper notes that Gen. Jones’ remarks came in response to expressions of concern by both Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the United States and its allies were failing to do enough to stabilize and rebuild Afghanistan. The newspaper further quotes Gen. Jones saying the insurgents had no chance of preventing U.S. and allied forces “militarily from being successful,” but adding that enemy groups do “have some military capability to psychologically demoralize us.” He reportedly made clear that his optimism about military success in Afghanistan hinged on NATO providing resources adequate to support its increased political commitment. According to the article, asked by a senator whether U.S. interests would be advanced by doubling the 10,000 American forces there now, Gen. Jones said more forces might be helpful either for combat operations or reconstruction projects, noting: “Obviously, whether they are NATO troops or U.S. troops if you bring more to the table, you might be able to accelerate the outcome.” But he cautioned against counting on more foreign troops alone to secure the country. Key to Afghanistan’s long-term stability, he said, is development of a national army. “NATO’s top commander in Europe voiced frustration on Tuesday that members were not providing enough troops for the reconstruction effort in Afghanistan, which he said was a defining moment for the Alliance as it adopted a broader agenda in the world,” says the New York Times. The article adds that in a testimony intended to bring members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee up to date on Afghanistan, Gen. Jones said NATO’s plans to expand beyond Kabul and the northern area of Kunduz would require more troops than the current 5,500. “The politician will has been stated. The Alliance has agreed, the donor countries have been identified, and yet we find ourselves mired in the administrative details of who’s going to pay for it, who’s going to transport it, how’s it going to be maintained,” he reportedly said. The article observes that NATO Secretary General de Hoop Scheffer has called Afghanistan NATO’s “No. 1 priority.” “Gen. Jones told the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Tuesday that operations and troop strength in Afghanistan will be ramped up amid an upsurge of violence in the war-torn nation,” reported CNN. A related Washington Times article reports that the departing UN envoy to Afghanistan, Lakdar Brahimi, warned Tuesday that violence and drug trafficking still pose grave threats to the Karzai government, as a suicide bomb attack killed a Canadian soldier in ISAF just outside the capital Kabul. “The UN envoy’s concerns were echoed in a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, where lawmakers and U.S. military officials both said more troops and resources must be devoted to Afghanistan,” the article notes, adding: “Gen. James Jones, the top U.S. military commander in Europe, said some U.S. allies have not come through on troop and support commitments they had made to the Afghan security force.”
  
  
• According to Reuters, a police officer said in Kabul Wednesday that a British soldier died and three were wounded when a suspected suicide bomber drove a taxi carrying explosives up to their vehicle, the second attack on peacekeepers in the Afghan capital in as many days. The dispatch adds that a statement issued by ISAF confirmed the soldier’s death. The dispatch further reports that Abdul Latif Hakimi, an official of the deposed Taliban militia, claimed responsibility for the attack. “It’s just the beginning. More such attacks will take place. Hundreds of our men are ready to carry out such attack,” he reportedly told the news agency from an undisclosed location. The dispatch notes that the Taliban also said it was behind Tuesday’s attack when a bomber threw himself in front of a vehicle being driven by Canadian peacekeepers.

BALKANS

• AFP reports NATO-led peacekeepers arrested Wednesday a Bosnian Serb thought to be a bodyguard of top war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic. “This morning as part of a larger operation, SFOR detained a person suspected of supporting persons indicted for war crimes in Bijeljina,” the dispatch quotes an SFOR spokesman saying. According to the dispatch, a Bosnian Serb police spokeswoman in Bijeljina identified the man arrested as Zeljo Jovanovic, also known as “Luna” and often mentioned in the local press as Karadzic’s bodyguard.