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SHAPE
News Summary & Analysis
29
March 2004
GENERAL JONES
- “NATO
faces challenges as it retools for the war on terror,”
wrote the Boston Globe, March 28, stressing that despite its
transformation, NATO remains plagued by a fundamental dilemma.
“The war on terrorism requires quick, nimble,
and often stealthy military responses. But such responses
often are difficult to deliver for a large military alliance
of democratic nations in which every member has a veto,”
the newspaper noted, quoting Gen. Jones saying, in an interview
at SHAPE headquarters: “This is symptomatic of a great
alliance. We have rules and procedures that are historically
based on consensus. It is a deliberative body, and people
wish to preserve that.” Still, the newspaper,
added “Gen. Jones said it is important not to
allow NATO turn into ‘an international debating society.’”
Noting that Gen. Jones has spearheaded efforts to make the
Alliance a leaner, proactive, and more agile fighting force,
the newspaper further quoted him saying: “We
are trying to attack the old way of doing things. (The NRF)
is probably the most important transformational vehicle …
to show the direction of the Alliance. People say: ‘What’s
new? What’s different? Well, the NRF is new and the
NRF is different.” Noting that some officials
worry that when it is time to deploy the NRF, the force’s
new military capabilities could be slowed by politics because
many nations require parliamentary approval before sending
troops in to combat, the article further quoted SACEUR saying:
“This is somewhat at odds with the ability to provide
forces that can move…. The issue is, at what point nations
transfer authority” for NATO to use troops.
Remarks
by Gen. Jones in an interview with defense reporters in Washington
continue to generate interest.
In Washington Friday, reports AFP, Gen. Jones said NATO “is
in the process of one of its most fundamental changes in history.
“It will be a different organization. It will have a different
membership. The Eastern European influence will change the voting
demographics. It will bring different views. It is an organization
that as a result of the Prague summit is going global instead
of regional,” the dispatch quotes Gen. Jones saying.
In an article focusing on security for the Athens Olympics,
the Washington Post, March 27, quoted Gen. Jones saying that
NATO’s role at the Olympics will likely be limited to
providing aerial and naval security, and the Alliance does not
expect to have troops on Greek soil. “I don’t think
we’ll have a footprint ashore,” Gen. Jones reportedly
said. According to the newspaper, he mentioned the use of NATO
AWACS surveillance aircraft, which Greek officials said would
be in the air around the clock during the Games. He also said
guaranteeing coastal security would be vital at the Games, particularly
because some spectators and Olympics officials will be housed
on cruise ships ashore. “Gen. Jones told defense reporters
in Washington that NATO’s new rapid response force will
be positioned to act if necessary,” the newspaper added,
further quoting him saying: “We’ll do what we can
to make sure that the Olympics go off in as secure a way as
possible.”
NATO-ACCESSION
- Foreign
Minister Lavrov intends to discuss in Brussels security issues
in Europe in the light of NATO expansion. He will participate
in a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council on April 2 where he
will raise questions on the entire range of relations with
the Alliance, reports Moscow’s Itar-TASS. Earlier,
AP reported that a top Russian lawmaker warned Monday
of a growing rift between NATO and Moscow as the Alliance
enlarges to include seven new members. The dispatch
notes that of particular concern to Russia is the
entrance into NATO of the Baltic states. “NATO
has agreed to include three Baltic states under its air defense
shield, planning to enforce it by stationing four F-16 fighter
planes in Lithuania. The planes will make regular flights
near Russia’s border, close enough to conduct reconnaissance,”
the dispatch stressed. It quoted Konstantin Kosachyov, head
of the International Affairs Committee in Russia’s lower
house of parliament, saying: “NATO’s steps have
had an unfriendly character toward Russia…. If significant
NATO military bases appear near Russia’s borders and
change the balance of forces in this region, then we can’t
exclude that Russia will consider the possibility of taking
corresponding action so that the balance is not breached.”
Moscow Channel One television quoted the Russian Defense Ministry
saying, however, that patrolling of the Lithuanian, Latvian
and Estonian air space by NATO planes will not affect Russia’s
national security. The Russian air force will monitor the
situation near the border and, if need be, take adequate measures,
the Ministry was further quoted saying. Moscow’s Agentstvo
Voyennykh Novostey reports meanwhile that over 70
warplanes will take part in a command post exercise of the
CIS Unified Air Defense System on April 7. The report
quotes a spokesman for the CIS Air Defense Department saying:
“The CIS Unified Air Defense System is developing dynamically.
Its main mission is to provide reliable protection of CIS
aerial borders. With the emergence of NATO aviation
in the Baltic states’ skies, additional measures, including
extraordinary ones, will be taken in the framework of the
Unified Air Defense System. We will test them in
the near future.”
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