Military

SHAPE News Morning Update

12 February 2004

BALKANS

• UN war crimes prosecutor Del Ponte said that top Bosnian Serb fugitive Radovan Karadzic was living in Belgrade, drawing an immediate challenge from Serbs to “tell us the address.” If widely credited, her charge could wreck Serbia’s efforts to prove it is cooperating with the Hague tribunal in efforts to track down the genocide suspect, an assurance on which hang continued U.S. aid and vital access to international funds. The Interior Ministry said “Serbia does not have information which would confirm the claims of Mrs Carla del Ponte.” (Reuters 111821 GMT Feb 04)

AFGHANISTAN

• U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan are considering setting up a national guard made up of fighters from unregulated militia forces to enforce security while a proper army is created. A U.S. military spokesman said moving some militia to a national guard would not conflict with plans eventually to disarm all the militias. (Reuters 111030 GMT Feb 04)

OTHER NEWS

• The CIA has gone public for information about the still elusive weapons of mass destruction in Iraq by posting a notice on its Web site (www.cia.gov) offering rewards. The “Iraqi Rewards Program” notice dated Tuesday seeks “specific and verifiable information” on the location of stocks of “recently made” chemical or biological weapons, missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles or their components. People can respond on electronic forms in English or Arabic. The CIA said they were secure and would protect the information and identity of the sender. (Reuters 112122 GMT Feb 04)
  
  
• The United States could develop an arms and equipment storage facility in Australia as part of plans to change its military presence worldwide to better combat terrorism and other threats, a U.S. official said on Thursday. U.S. Undersecretary of Defense Douglas Feith discussed the possible creation of a storage facility in a meeting with Australia’s Defence Minister Robert Hill in Canberra. The U.S. had no plans for a military base in Australia, Defence Minister Hill added. (Reuters 120504 GMT Feb 04)
  
  
• A tribal council in remote western Pakistan is to raise a militia to hunt down foreign Islamic militants hiding in the region, local officials said. Pakistan’s mountain region bordering Afghanistan is thought to be a haven for al Qaeda and Taliban fugitives. “They have vowed to catch al Qaeda and Taliban men in the area and hand them over to the government,” a top local official in North Waziristan said. A similar militia was set up in South Waziristan region last month. (Reuters 111509 GMT Feb 04)
  
  
• Russia and Georgia have agreed to renew discussions on Abkhazia, a Georgian separatist region bordering Russia, Georgian President Saakashvili said Wednesday after talks with President Putin and other top Russian officials in Moscow. President Saakashvili said that Georgia is dedicated to fighting terrorism and that he and Russian officials had discussed setting up “joint structures” to increase border security. (AP 112004 Feb 04)