Military

SHAPE News Summary & Analysis

12 July 2004

IRAQ

• According to Italy’s ANSA news agency, July 9, JFC South Commander Adm. Johnson said Friday it will take two-to-three weeks before a report by a fact-finding mission to Iraq--which he led--reaches the political level of the Alliance in Brussels. Speaking on the sidelines of a meeting of NATO’s Parliamentary Assembly Mediterranean Group in Naples, Adm. Johnson, reportedly said: “Our duty is to try to help NATO in implementing the intentions of heads of state a they emerged in Istanbul. We are trying to understand what can be done to facilitate the development of Iraqi security forces; it is therefore fundamental to observe, feet and eyes on the ground, what is happening and what can be done…. To this end, I met with the Iraqi defense minister and we are now assessing what the needs are, what our capabilities to intervene are, and what added value our presence can bring. We are not yet in a position to draw conclusions. The mission is in progress. When we have all necessary information we will produce a report. It is just the beginning of an articulated process of which we represent the first level.” The dispatch said the report will be forwarded to SACEUR, who will forward his observations to the political level in Brussels. It added that some members of the NATO team are still at work in Iraq. “The report should be ready soon…. There is obviously a sense of urgency,” Adm. Johnson was further quoted saying.

OLYMPICS

• On Thursday, the North Atlantic Council approved Greece’s request for supplementary aid for the security of the Athens Olympics, reported Greek daily I Kathimerini, July 10. The newspaper stressed that this paves the way for the arrival of a special U.S. anti-terrorist unit, composed of 300 to 500 armed personnel. It quoted unnamed sources saying the unit will likely be stationed at Elevsis military airport, west of Athens, and will operate under NATO command. “The Alliance’s Military Committee is studying the technical and operational details of the mission,” the daily claimed. It noted that another NATO force awaited in Greece by end of July is part of a Czech battalion specializing in dealing with nuclear, radiological, biological and chemical threats. The force, which includes 126 members and 30 vehicles, will be stationed at the Army Academy in Khalkidha and will intervene only in case of a major attack with over 500 victims, acting as a backup to a 217-member Greek unit, trained in the Czech Republic, added the newspaper. “The NATO umbrella is opening for good over Athens through the provision of technology and expertise for the protection of the Olympic Games,” wrote Elevtherotipia, July 11. NATO’s contribution, through AWACS, the naval “shield” and specialized units that will set up camp in Greece, will be paid for by Greece at a cost of 3.5 million euros, the daily said. It asserted that NATO’s contribution will last until Oct. 1, when the alert status will also be withdrawn.

AFGHANISTAN

• Reuters reports the UN-Afghan election body announced Friday that Afghanistan will hold a landmark presidential poll Oct. 9. However, parliamentary polls, which were meant to have been held at the same time, will be delayed until April.

Against the background of poppy production in Afghanistan, the Washington Times, July 11, stressed the need to secure the Tajik-Afghan border.
Russian border guards will be continuing their patrol of the Tajik-Afghan border. That decision was met with relief around the world, the newspaper said, adding: Afghanistan’s border with Tajikistan is considered the most vulnerable in Central Asia and a frequented route for heroin traffickers. The heroin trade is enriching militants in Afghanistan who attack U.S. and NATO forces. However, opium cultivation also is providing many ordinary Afghans with a lifeline. As long as the people of Afghanistan face extreme difficulties in eking out livelihoods, growing poppy will remain popular. Deploying NATO and U.S. forces on counter-drug missions therefore would alienate troops from Afghanistan’s desperate population. The extension of the Russian force is undoubtedly positive, since the United States and European countries were not prepared to deploy their own troops to the area and have not been training Tajik forces to patrol it. Still, the border has been all-too-permeable to heroin traffickers under the current system and the international community must step in. Russia, the United States and European countries should all contribute to training and funding a Tajik border force. In Russia and Europe, heroin use is a key concern, as is the potential mobility of Islamic militants. The United States, meanwhile is more centrally concerned about the militant Afghans enriched by the drug trade. All these countries have a strong interest in helping to fortify Tajikistan’s border with Afghanistan.