Military

SHAPE News Morning Update

17 June 2004

IRAQ

• NATO would not “slam the door in the face” of Iraq’s new government if a request came for military assistance to help stabilise the country, the alliance’s secretary-general said on Wednesday. U.S. President Bush last week said NATO ought to be involved in Iraq, but he was quickly contradicted by French President Chirac who said he did not think it was the “mission” of the alliance to intervene there. “I have heard, listened and seen very clearly the president of the (French) republic,” Mr. de Hoop Scheffer told news agency reporters at Brussels headquarters. So far NATO has limited itself to providing logistical support for a Polish-led division in south-central Iraq as part of coalition occupying forces. Mr. de Hoop Scheffer said if any other countries among the 16 NATO allies with troops in Iraq were to seek such indirect assistance the alliance “would certainly say yes.” (Reuters 161932 GMT Jun 04)

ESDP

• Europe’s three largest defence contractors believe a new European Defence Agency needs more funding to promote research and development in the face of U.S. competition, a spokesman said Wednesday in Frankfurt. “We are not criticizing the agency itself, which is a good idea,” said Rainer Ohler, a spokesman for the European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. “But we feel that the funds are not enough for it to fulfil its mission.” In a joint statement published in newspapers in France, Spain, Germany and Britain on Tuesday, EADS, France’s Thales and Britain’s BAE Systems said too much money is being spent on building the agency, leaving too little for research. (AP 161540 Jun 04)

BALKANS

• Secretary-General Kofi Annan has appointed Danish refugee expert Soren Jessen-Petersen as the new UN administrator in Kosovo. He will replace Harri Holkeri of Finland, who resigned last month, citing health reasons. (AP 170100 Jun 04)
  
• Serbia’s war crimes prosecutors said they were looking into reports that a fugitive police commander who faces war crimes charges related to the Kosovo war was willing to return from Russia and face justice. The UN war crimes tribunal has charged Police Gen. Vlastimir Djordjevic for atrocities committed during the 1998-99 Kosovo war, when he commanded Serb troops. On Wednesday, the Belgrade weekly Nedeljni Telegraf published what it said was a letter from Djordjevic. In the letter, he denied any wrongdoing and said he was ready to appear before a court in Serbia - but not in The Hague. (AP 161752 Jun 04)

OTHER NEWS

• The presidents of China, Russia and four Central Asian nations are fortifying a regional security group, opening an anti-terrorism center that aims to breathe life into an alliance that had been mostly dormant until the Sept. 11 attacks. Afghan President Hamid Karzai is also to attend the one-day summit on Thursday in Tashkent of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as an observer. (AP 170353 Jun 04)
  
  
• President Bush named Pakistan a major non-NATO ally of the United States, making it easier for the country to acquire U.S. arms. The announcement rewards Pakistani President Musharraf for supporting the U.S.-led war on terrorism. The status of major non-NATO ally is also enjoyed by Australia, Bahrain, Israel, South Korea and Morocco. (Reuters 161640 GMT Jun 04)