Military

SHAPE News Summary & Analysis

7 June 2004

BALKANS

• Stressing that NATO wants to take appropriate measures as a result of the March insurgency by ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, Der Spiegel writes that
  after the Bundeswehr and the other KFOR forces were completely taken by surprise by the rioting, Gen. Jones now wants the Alliance to establish an analysis center designed to analyze and evaluate information obtained by intelligence services. “The fusion and swift transformation of such intelligence to commanders on the ground is to prevent such debacles in the future. The military have meanwhile learned that national intelligence services had indeed received indications that attacks on Serbs were being planned—but they failed to pass on all their intelligence to the KFOR headquarters of German General Kammerhoff,” says the article. It adds that criticism is also voiced at NATO headquarters against the rules of engagement and the ratio of combat troops to support personnel. “Of the approximately 20,000 troops from as many as 30 states, only about 6,000 can be employed to preserve and maintain order. The remainder is mainly composed of logistics units or is subject to national reservations—which, for example, prohibits the use of military force against civilian demonstrators,” the article stresses.

The drive-by murder of a Kosovo Serb teenager in Kosovo appears to be raising fears of renewed unrest in the province.
Hundreds of outraged Serbs gathered in Granica Sunday to protest against the murder of a Serb teenager amid fears of more ethnic turmoil in Kosovo, writes The Independent. The protesters demanded an end to random attacks on the Serb community and threatened to resume road blocks of vital highways—a move bound to inflame tension with Kosovo’s restive Albanian majority, adds the newspaper. Belgrade’s news agency FoNet, June 5 blamed the death of the teenager to KFOR’s alleged removal of checkpoints. The dispatch said: “The Serbian Orthodox Church and Kosovo Eparchy point out that apart from the direct perpetrators of this crime, the representatives of UNMIK bear responsibility for ethnic violence and that the KFOR command bears special responsibility as, a few days ago, KFOR checkpoints at the approaches of Granica were removed ‘which had provided some kind of security for Serbs, as all Albanian vehicles passing through the Serb settlement were checked and any potential escape by attackers was impossible.’ The Eparchy called on UNMIK and KFOR to effectively safeguard Serb enclaves and the defenseless Serb population instead of just passively registering crimes.”
A related AFP dispatch notes that the motives for the slaying of the teenager are not known yet, but the incident has already alarmed international officials who fear the province could be swept by more violence.

NATO

• According to Jane’s Defence Weekly, June 4, the Greek government has accepted NATO’s offer to deploy the multinational Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Defense Battalion to protect participants at the Olympic Games in Greece in August. A 160-strong contingent, under the command of a Czech colonel, will deploy to Greek Army installations near Athens in June, the article said. It noted that the battalion achieved an initial operational capability on Dec. 1, 2003 and is scheduled to achieve a full operational capability by July 1. “The Greek government’s decision to request the deployment of the NATO unit earlier this year was made mainly because specialist equipment ordered for the Athens fire brigade’s CBRN unit will not be delivered before the Games begin on Aug. 31,” added the article.
  
  
• Greece has asked NATO for another battalion, specialized in rescuing people in emergency situations, in order to prepare for extreme scenarios included in the security plan for the Olympics, reported Greek daily Ta Nea, June 4. The unit is specialized in safely evacuating and rescuing people who may be held hostage or be stuck during terrorist incidents. Officially known as “evacuation team,” it will be on constant alert for immediate mobilization when the Operations Center asks for it to intervene. The unit may be exclusively American and, in case of an extreme, “catastrophic” scenario, may be called to deploy in Greece under the NATO banner, said the daily.

ISAF

• Madrid’s El Mundo, June 4, reported that at a meeting Friday, NATO Secretary General de Hoop Scheffer asked Spanish Prime Minister Zapatero for a bigger Spanish military effort in Afghanistan. However, the article claimed, “Zapatero gives priority to the future operation in Haiti and is reluctant to strengthen the Spanish military presence in Afghanistan beyond what is foreseen.” According to government sources, “with the Haiti mission intruding, Afghanistan has dropped down the list,” the article said. Furthermore, it added, the sources said there will be no decision before the June 13 European elections. The Spanish government does not want to give the image before the elections that it is compensating for the withdrawal from Iraq with an increase in forces in Afghanistan, despite strong international pressure.

IRAQ

• According to BBC News, the UN is moving closer to agreement on a resolution on the future of Iraq after the June 30 handover of power to the interim government. The network reported that a special Security Council session Sunday discussed a third draft of a resolution proposed by the United States and Britain. “Iraq and the United States have promised to cooperate on military operations. The U.S. Ambassador, John Negroponte, said the Security Council was moving toward a consensus, and he hoped a new resolution could be passed Tuesday,” said the network. It added that letters exchanged between Iraq and the United States would be attached to the new resolution in an attempt to clarify the status of the “multinational force” envisaged to stay in Iraq after the handover of power. A related Washington Post article says the United States will offer revisions in a final draft later Monday to accommodate several proposals by France, Russia, Germany, China, Chile and Algeria and then call for a vote on the resolution by the 15-member Security Council Tuesday. According to the newspaper, the Bush administration is optimistic that it is nearly over the last major diplomatic hurdle before the June 30 transition of power.