Military

SHAPE News Summary & Analysis

13 August 2004

OLYMPICS

• The Olympic Games return to their birthplace in Greece Friday, officially opening with a glittering ceremony, reported CNN. Officials are confident that security arrangements—which include batteries of Patriot missiles and surveillance aircraft—will keep athletes, officials and spectators safe during the Games, the program stressed. Athens daily Ta Nea, Aug. 11, reported that almost the whole of the Greek armed forces are on “red alert,” fully prepared to implement the security plan for the Olympic Games. The daily also noted that NATO’s contribution to Olympic security is fully deployed. “Greek authorities are expressing confidence in the measures they took to ensure maximum security for the Games,” writes France’s Le Monde. Officials say they have created a secure environment by spending 1,2 billion euros and through their military effort, the daily adds. It also highlights NATO’s contribution.

AFGHANISTAN

• An editorial in The Times, Aug. 12, welcomed Defense Secretary Rumsfeld’s announcement that America was to launch a “master plan” to fight opium production in Afghanistan. Stressing that in Britain, about 270,000 heroin users consume up to 35 tons of Afghan heroin each year, the newspaper added: “Any ‘master plan’ must work closely with the Karzai government to deal with the endemic local corruption that vitiates attempts at elimination. Eradication units and counter-narcotics police are being trained, but have little power. Afghan scholars have just issued a fatwa to give moral force to the anti-drug campaign, but the bombing and crop-spraying tactics used elsewhere could simply turn all destitute Afghan farmers into Taliban supporters. It is clear that the West has a vital interest in cutting opium production; but it will take money, a long time and sophisticated coordination. There is no alternative, however. It is right to make a fresh start.”

SUDAN

• According to Reuters, French Foreign Minister Barnier urged the Sudanese government and Darfur rebels Friday to respect a ceasefire and said a peacekeeping mission and more troops may be needed in the region. The world must prevent the turmoil in Darfur, which the UN calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, becoming a clash between Islam and the West, Barnier reportedly said, adding: “Pressure must be exerted on all the parties--the rebel movement as well as the Khartoum authorities--to ensure they respect the ceasefire…. The African Union and the international community must put in place a suitable surveillance mechanism to monitor the implementation of the ceasefire. This may lead to an increase in the number of troops to be deployed on the ground and a change in their mission from protection to peacekeeping.” Stressing that sanctions could not be an end in themselves, Barnier reportedly added: “Rather, they are a means of maintaining pressure and of getting parties to take effective action. It is only by a climate of confidence that we can lessen tensions and pave the way for an agreement.”