Military

SHAPE News Morning Update

30 January 2004

IRAQ

• NATO's new secretary-general warned on Thursday the United States and its European allies must patch rifts over Iraq and other issues because Washington cannot "go it alone" in international security. "I have come into the job with my eyes wide open. I know that NATO has had a bruising year," said Jaap de Hoop Scheffer after arriving on his first U.S. visit for two days of meetings with President George W. Bush and other administration officials. "My message is simple: It's time to get back to business. There are too many threats on the horizon, too many challenges for us to tackle," de Hoop Scheffer added in a speech at the Pentagon's National Defense University. He said the war in Iraq, where more than 500 American troops have died, has shattered "the dangerous illusion that the U.S. can, and should, go it alone when it comes to security." The first myth, the NATO leader added, was that Europe could ever rival the United States. He called that "politically impossible, militarily unrealistic and financially unaffordable." "The second myth is the flip side of the first: the dangerous illusion that the U.S. can and should go it alone when it comes to security. Iraq should demonstrate the impossibility of that approach." U.S. Ambassador to NATO Nicholas Burns, who accompanied de Hoop Scheffer, said at the defense university that U.S. officials would make clear to the NATO leader during talks that the United States wanted a larger NATO role in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Burns and de Hoop Scheffer stressed that NATO had made major progress during the past year in standing up a military reaction force for operations worldwide, including possible anti-terrorism missions. But the secretary-general said the alliance faced a major problem in meeting future commitments because countries like the United States, France, Canada and others already had too many troops serving around the world. "Look at Afghanistan. I will be honest -- we are not flooded with offers of troop contributions to expand into the provinces," de Hoop Scheffer said. "Not because NATO members don't want to, but because they are having real trouble coming up with deployable forces to take on this new task." (Reuters 292154 GMT Jan 04)
  
  
• More violence is likely as Iraq moves toward resuming self-governance, the commander of U.S. forces in the region said on Thursday, and a "bad series of events" could put the country on a path to civil war. Gen. John Abizaid, head of U.S. Central Command, also said the United States planned to restructure its military leadership in Iraq before the planned return of sovereignty by July. He said U.S.-trained Iraqi security forces, now numbering 203,000, would not be able to take over security responsibilities by themselves at that time. "It's apparent to all of us that Iraqi security institutions will not be mature enough by July ... to be able to control the situation throughout the nation without the help of coalition forces," Abizaid told a group of reporters. "The clear thing that I understand as a military commander is, whether we have elections or not (have) elections, as we move toward an Iraqi sovereign authority, we're going to have increased levels of violence," Abizaid said. Abizaid said the United States planned to restructure its military command in Iraq in April or May. (Reuters 292314 GMT Jan 04)

AFGHANISTAN

• The U.S. military said it is "sure" it will catch Osama bin Laden this year, perhaps within months, but Pakistan said it would not allow American troops to cross the border in search of the al-Qaida leader. The comments Thursday came on one of the deadliest days for American forces in Afghanistan: seven soldiers were killed when a weapons cache exploded southwest of the capital. U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Bryan Hilferty's prediction about capturing bin Laden comes as the U.S. Army readied a spring offensive against Taliban and al-Qaida holdouts. A U.S. official hinted Wednesday that the offensive might extend into Pakistan. The U.S. commander in the region, Gen. John Abizaid, said Thursday American forces will continue conducting "limited military operations" along the Afghan border, but he has no plans to put U.S. troops inside Pakistan against Pakistani wishes. (AP 300007 Jan 04)

CANADA-DEFENSE

• NATO's new secretary general hinted on a visit to Ottawa Thursday that he hoped Canada would beef up its military spending, one of the lowest in the military alliance. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, the former Dutch foreign minister, said he hopes that a review of defense and foreign policy announced by Prime Minister Paul Martin's new government will produce more money for the military. Scheffer offered some gentle prodding on defense spending at a media conference and in private talks with Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham and Defense Minister David Pratt. The Canadian defense budget was cut by about a quarter in the last decade and manpower fell by a third. The three branches of the service have been stretched to the limit by sending 2,000 troops to Afghanistan and naval tours in the Persian Gulf. "I hope that the financial means which are necessary to play that role will be provided by the Canadian government," said Scheffer. He also paid tribute to Canada's long track record in international peace and stability operations. (AP 292209 Jan 04)

U.S.-TROOP BASING

• Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Thursday the United States would deploy fewer troops and have fewer bases in Europe as a result of its review of military forces around the world. Powell, who was chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff at the end of the Cold War, said the restructuring was a "sensible" response to the end of that geopolitical standoff and would generally bring troops back to the United States. Although the planned reduction in U.S. forces in Europe was a foregone conclusion, Powell's remarks were believed to be the first public acknowledgment from a senior U.S. official of such an outcome. "We are not looking to move bases per se of the kind we used to have during the Cold War closer to Russia," Powell told reporters after meeting new NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. "It is important to remember that this (realignment) will result in a reduction in the number of troops in Europe and the number of bases that we have in Europe," he added. (Reuters 292241 GMT Jan 04)

OTHER NEWS

• Fifty-five countries signed a declaration Wednesday to fight genocide and ethnic cleansing, but left out any mention of the International Criminal Court because of U.S. objections. An overwhelming majority of delegates at the three-day conference in Stockholm on preventing genocide backed the ICC, but had no hopes of reversing staunch U.S. opposition to the court, Swedish Prime Minister Goeran Persson said. The head of the U.S. delegation to the conference, ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues, Pierre-Richard Prosper, said he did not pressure other delegates to leave out the ICC from the declaration. "There was no pressure," Prosper told reporters. "The reason was that they wanted to reach a consensus and clearly we could not join consensus on welcoming the establishment of the ICC." He added the United States was committed to working with other countries in bringing to justice those responsible for genocide. (AP 281600 Jan 04)