Military

SHAPE News Morning Update

09 February 2004

NATO

• NATO’s secretary-general warned on Saturday that the alliance could soon find itself unable to deploy troops to hotspots around the world unless it tackles serious shortcomings in its armed forces. Mr. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said NATO must not fail in the drive to expand its peacekeeping operation in Afghanistan and it must act if a call comes from a legitimate Iraqi government to help restore stability there. But the alliance could be called upon to deal with other crises, and it needs to have the ability to act, he added. “We should all be concerned that of two million men under arms among NATO’s European members, barely five percent are deployable and sustainable on an expeditionary basis,” said Senator John McCain, one of the most outspoken members of the U.S. Congress. French Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie echoed those concerns about the “usability” of allied forces, and sought to allay U.S. suspicions that Paris favoured the European Union’s emerging rapid reaction force over NATO. “Faced with significant security needs, we should once and for all put aside the idea of competition between NATO and the European Union,” she said. (Reuters 071716 GMT Feb 04)

AFGHANISTAN

• Britain has offered to lead an expanded NATO peacekeeping mission in northern Afghanistan. “We are prepared to take command of the Northern Region Group” in Afghanistan, Britain’s Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon said in a statement at an international security conference in Munich. NATO diplomats said preparations were more advanced in the north because the situation was relatively more secure there. Afghan President Hamid Karzai welcomed Friday’s offers from NATO to expand the force. Aside from Britain, Italian Defence Minister Martino confirmed Italy’s commitment, but said it was contingent on parliamentary approval. In Berlin, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder also said units from a 5,000-strong Franco-German army brigade could play a role. Although NATO officials said the numbers of new troops had not been finalized, U.S. Defence Secretary Rumsfeld said Friday that it was “realistic” that five such teams of 80 to 300 soldiers could be in place by June. German officials expressed doubts about a U.S. proposal for NATO to eventually merge its peacekeeping operation with the combat mission currently run by the United States against the Taliban and al-Qaida. Also in Munich, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov criticized NATO for failing to crack down on burgeoning Afghan drug smuggling which was “posing a serious threat” to national security in Russia. He called for NATO, Russia and Central Asian nations to create a “joint group” to counter

BALKANS

• Defence Secretary Rumsfeld praised the leaders of Croatia’s new government on Sunday and encouraged their pursuit of defence reforms designed to make the Balkan nation eligible for NATO membership. He also thanked President Mesic and other government officials for supporting the U.S.-led fight against terrorism. Croatia has a small contingent of military police in Afghanistan but it has not yet asked the Parliament to approve troops for Iraq. (AP 081550 Feb 04)
  
  
• The European Union and the United States said on Sunday they would not allow political violence to harm Albania’s European integration, after opposition protesters tried to storm the prime minister’s offices. The EU ambassador to Tirana, Lutz Saltzmann, praised police for taking “mature and adequate decisions” when they fired in the air on Saturday to stop some protesters out of a gathering of 4,000 from breaking into Prime Minister Fatos Nano’s office. The opposition has said it plans more protests. (Reuters 082242 GMT Feb 04)

MIDDLE EAST

• King Abdullah II of Jordan appealed on Sunday for an international coalition to push Israelis and Palestinians toward peace, including “active leadership” by the United States. The monarch warned at an international security conference that the conflict remained the principal breeding ground for extremism that threatens societies around the world. Nabil Shaat, the Palestinian minister for international Cooperation, welcomed suggestions that NATO might one day send troops to keep peace between the Palestinians and Israelis, but stressed such an operation would need United Nations authorization. Although NATO is seeking closer ties with Israel and Arab nations, alliance officials stress there are no current plans for a peacekeeping mission. However they say it could become a possibility if the two sides conclude a firm peace agreement. Israel’s National Security Council chief Giora Eiland said NATO intervention would only be feasible if the Palestinians succeed in eradicating terrorism. (AP 081141 Feb 04)

RUSSIA

• Russia’s defence minister urged NATO on Saturday to grant his country permanent access to any new alliance bases in Poland or the Baltic states, underscoring Moscow’s concerns about a possible eastward redeployment of U.S. troops in Europe. Sergei Ivanov said groups of Russian military should have “facilities of permanent monitoring” at NATO bases “to verify the fact that the ways of use of those facilities, as we are told, pose no threat to Russia.” NATO officials said Ivanov’s demand went beyond existing agreements that allow spot checks on each other’s bases and observers at maneuvers. The Baltic states rejected the proposal for permanent posting of Russian monitors. They stressed their countries had not been mentioned as possible staging grounds for U.S. troops, but said Russia had no right to impose conditions if NATO