Military

SHAPE News Summary & Analysis

27 May 2004

NATO

• NATO Secretary General de Hoop Scheffer is proposing a radical shake-up of the way the Alliance plans and finances its operations, as part of an overall strategy to adapt to the needs of the 21st century, reports the Financial Times. The article adds that the reforms, set out in an interview with the newspaper, would create a small but essential pool of military assets that NATO could call on without having to assemble a force from scratch for each mission. They would also spread the cost of missions across the Alliance’s 26 members. They would seek to close the gap between the huge military inventory of NATO’s members and the meager commitments the Alliance can muster for a single mission. In future, the article claims, Mr. de Hoop Scheffer wants member states to say exactly what resources are available when they make a political commitment to become involved in any mission. He wants member states to become more involved in common funding, in which several countries would finance equipment that is always needed for missions. He also wants to review the way missions are funded. Noting that in most cases, the nations are responsible for any troops or equipment they deploy abroad, the newspaper quotes Mr. de Hoop Scheffer saying this system of “costs lie where they fall” means that costs tend to fall on countries with the most needed assets. The article, which further quotes Mr. de Hoop Scheffer saying he would spell out his plans during the NATO summit next month, stresses that if accepted, they would continue an overhaul began by former NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson, who reduced NATO’s bureaucracy. It recalls that military chiefs have also reformed the command structure, creating a NATO Response Force. The newspaper observes that Mr. de Hoop Scheffer’s proposals come amid warnings that the Alliance could become irrelevant if it is not reformed. It stresses that the reform agenda has gained new urgency because of NATO’s difficulties in Afghanistan. Elsewhere, the newspaper writes, under the title, “Afghan troubles will test NATO’s quest for new role,” that the Istanbul summit could provide the opportunity to tackle military planning and funding issues. The article says: “The timing for next month’s NATO summit in Istanbul could not be worse. The issues supposed to dominate the two-day meeting and show how NATO is finding a role in the post Cold War era are turning out to be uncomfortable.” In Afghanistan, the newspaper continues, the Alliance is hard-pressed to provide a medical corps or a few transport helicopters for ISAF. NATO’s ambitions to develop its own “Greater Middle East Policy” have been lowered as Washington dilutes its grand plans for the region. Discussions over NATO’s future role in Iraq will also be limited, as world leaders focus on the handover of sovereignty two days later. Commenting that it is therefore “hardly surprising that the atmosphere at Alliance headquarters in Brussels is gloomy,” the newspaper adds, however: “But Jaap de Hoop Scheffer … is not. As secretary general, he seems determined to make a virtue out of necessity at Istanbul. ‘There is no room for gloom,’ (he said in an interview). Indeed, (he) intends to raise more uncomfortable issues in Turkey, using the example of Afghanistan … to spell out his plans for transforming the Alliance. One is the military planning for missions, the other is how they are financed.” AFP carries similar information.
  
• According to Limburgs Dagblad, Dutch Environment Minister Dekker told the Lower House of Parliament Wednesday that inhabitants of the Dutch municipality of Onderbanken will this summer have fewer nuisances from AWACS aircraft deployed at the Geilenkirchen airbase in neighboring Germany. NATO has promised to relocate part of their AWACS flights to a base in Northern Greece. These are, among other things, flights for the protection of the European Soccer Championship in Portugal and the Olympic Games in Athens, Ms. Dekker reportedly told parliamentarians. She said this promise had been made by NATO Secretary General de Hoop Scheffer to the Dutch government. The article asserts that “also in 2005, NATO will make more use of the Greek base in order to reduce the nuisance in Onderbanken.” The article recalls the polemic between inhabitants of Onderbanken and NATO, which reportedly wants several acres of the woods there to be reduced in height by one meter since the trees hinder the AWACS aircraft.
  

AFGHANISTAN

• AP reports the EU said Thursday troops with the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan are endangering humanitarian efforts by operating in civilian vehicles and clothes, raising local hostility toward aid workers. The dispatch adds that in an unusually strong criticism, a spokesman for the EU’s head office said such practices had to stop. “Elements in coalition forces, through their behavior, contribute to a situation where the distinction between humanitarian and military personnel is becoming blurred,” the spokesman reportedly said, adding: “This undermines the perception of the humanitarian aid workers being impartial, being neutral, and makes it difficult to carry out what they are meant to do—that is bringing vital humanitarian aid to those in need.” According to the dispatch, he claimed that coalition forces in civilian clothes had used jeeps of a similar color to those used by aid agencies and complained about one reported incident where soldiers distributed leaflets offering humanitarian aid to villagers in exchange for information. He said such practices increased the dangers to aid workers and pointed out that 23 aid workers had been killed in Afghanistan since March 2003. The dispatch adds that in contrast, the spokesman praised ISAF’s operations in Kabul, stressing: “These are examples of good practice being used by the NATO troops. They work according to very clear rules, so it’s always easy to identify the military personnel.” He added that the EU was not opposed in principle to the establishment of PRTs, which both NATO and the U.S.-led coalition are seeking to expand around Afghanistan to provide protection to aid operations. “This is not an objection to the concept,” he reportedly insisted.

BALKANS

• Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports the Bundeswehr Wednesday looked into claims by a former soldier that he possesses photographs showing how German soldiers tortured prisoners in Kosovo. The newspaper adds that the pictures, previously unknown to the Bundeswehr, are said to have been taken five years ago in Prizren, where for several weeks after arriving the Bundeswehr had to take over not only of the provision of water and electricity but also of control of the prison until the new civilian administration was able to take charge. According to the article, the Defense Ministry learned of the supposed photographs Tuesday through a telephone call. A reserve staff sergeant reportedly called Defense Minister Struck’s adjutant and informed him that he had photos showing soldiers torturing prisoners. He had previously informed a news magazine of this. Struck subsequently instructed the Army Chief of Staff to clarify the matter. The investigation is under way. The article notes that two incidents are known from 1999, when German troops were briefly responsible for the city prison in Prizren, and which resulted in disciplinary actions: a sign was hung on one prisoner with the inscription “I am a thief”; two other prisoners were bound together with wire.