Military

SHAPE News Summary & Analysis

10 August 2004

OLYMPICS

• The Times alleges that British and American security agents will be armed during the Olympic Games in Athens despite a Greek ban on foreign security forces carrying weapons. Greek officials are understood to have privately permitted police to carry guns, the article claims. The newspaper, which also views NATO’s involvement in Olympic security, further says: “Athens has approved a NATO involvement in the Games in an operation codenamed Operation Distinguished Games. It will be the first time that the Alliance has been called upon to help secure an Olympic Games. An unprecedented array of NATO weaponry, firepower and surveillance equipment will be on standby. A formal request for military assistance from the Greek government was approved by the (NAC) because of the perceived potential risk of an attack by Al Qaeda terrorists. The units have already been deployed and will remain at the Greek government’s disposal until the end of September. NATO officials stressed that the Greeks would be in charge of security and that the Alliance was only in a supporting role. However, the presence of NATO at the Games underlines the extraordinary level of security which the Greek government has called upon to ensure they go ahead safely,” the article says. It adds that the NATO operation will come under the overall command of Gen. Jones, although the key man in the region will be Adm. Johnson, head of Joint Forces Command in Naples. A forward command element linked with Adm. Johnson has been set up in Athens, the newspaper adds.

AFGHANISTAN

ISAF’s change of command continues to generate interest.
Under the title, “EU troops take over in Kabul,” The Times writes that “Eurocorps, Europe’s five-nation defense force, took control of the expanding NATO force in Afghanistan” in a ceremony in Kabul Monday.
“EU takes charge in Kabul,” says the International Herald Tribune, adding that “the European Union’s chief military arm, Eurocorps, on Monday took command of an expanding NATO peacekeeping force (in Kabul).”
Eurocorps took command from Canada of more than 6,500 NATO-led international peacekeepers in Afghanistan Monday amid growing tension nationwide, reports Montreal’s Gazette. “The European force takes over at a critical moment in Afghanistan’s history. Security is deteriorating in the run-up to the presidential elections amid a string of attacks on civilians, politicians and military forces,” the newspaper notes.
Against the background of the change-of-command ceremony, BBC News carried a correspondent in Kabul claiming that NATO is facing growing criticism in Afghanistan over its leadership of the international peacekeeping operation, which it has called its number one priority. The correspondent said the criticism centers around the apparent confusion and delay that has surrounded NATO’s provision of extra troops it promised to bolster security for the presidential elections. “At the Istanbul summit, … NATO committed to providing an additional 3,500 troops for ISAF before the polls, to take its strength to around 10,000…. Six weeks later--and just two months before polling day--there has still been no announcement of when they are coming. Meanwhile, the security has deteriorated, with mounting attacks on election workers registering voters,” the correspondent stressed.
The New York Times notes meanwhile that ahead of Afghan’s presidential elections, nearly 9 million eligible Afghans have registered to vote so far, several million more than expected, despite efforts by the Taliban to disrupt the process. “NATO has agreed to provide extra forces to help American troops who are maintaining security…. President Karzai and 22 opponents have registered for the race and are starting to hold rounds of news conferences and rallies,” the newspaper adds.