Military

SHAPE News Morning Update

03 August 2004

TERRORISM

• Top Italian police and intelligence officials were discussing anti-terrorism measures on Monday, having received the latest in a series of threats aimed at intimidating Italy into withdrawing its troops from Iraq. A statement sent Sunday by an al-Qaida-linked group to an Arabic newspaper gave Italy 15 more days to withdraw from Iraq or it would mobilize terrorist cells in Rome and other Italian cities for attacks. (AP 021730 Aug 04)

IRAQ

• Masked gunmen shot a blindfolded Turkish hostage three times in the head on a gruesome Internet video meant to warn Muslim workers to stay out of Iraq. Soon after the video was discovered, Turkish truckers announced they would stop hauling goods for U.S. forces in hopes of saving two other Turkish captives. “As of today, those trucks won’t be crossing into Iraq,” said Cahit Soysal, head of the International Transporters’ Association. However, it was unclear how the decision would effect U.S. forces; the military did not respond to requests for comment. (AP 030326 Aug 04)

MIDDLE EAST

• The State Department defended a prospective deal to equip Jordan with high-tech air-to-air missiles. As Israel looks to Congress to block the deal to upgrade the firepower of Jordanian jets, department spokesman Adam Ereli praised the Arab kingdom and said the U.S. would be careful to maintain Israel’s military edge over the combined forces of Arab nations. “We certainly appreciate all that Jordan has done to contribute to regional stability, including its support for a stable, secure and democratic Iraq, as well as its efforts to foster peace between Palestinians and Israel,” he said in defence of a weapons sale. (AP 021807 Aug 04)

IRAN

• The Bush administration warned Iran that it would face rising international pressure if it refused to back down on its nuclear program, saying Tehran would be isolated if it continued on that path. President Bush said the U.S. and the EU’s “big three” members - France, Britain and Germany – “expect there to be full disclosure, full transparency of their nuclear weapons programs.” White House national security adviser Condoleezza Rice further warned, “Iran is going to be confronted,” she told Fox News, adding that the resolutions should be ready for consideration in September. (Reuters 030111 GMT Aug 04)

CAUCASUS

• The military chief of Georgia’s breakaway Abkhazia region asserted it was in “a state of war” with the central government after a Georgian patrol boat fired at a ship off the shore of the Black Sea coastal province. Vyacheslav Eshba, minister of defence in the government of the province in north-western Georgia, also warned that Abkhazian forces could retaliate by firing on Georgian ships. Commenting on Abkhazia’s statement that it was halting contacts aimed at a settlement with Georgia because of the shooting at sea, the Russian Foreign Ministry urged Georgia to refrain from “actions that would worsen the situation or raise tensions.” The ministry said the ship that was fired on was Turkish and that Turkish ships entering Abkhazian ports have been subject to or threatened with force in the past. (AP 021702 Aug 04)