NEWS IN BRIEF
EUROPE
05 Sep 07. Iraq: OP TELIC. A Sergeant from The Parachute Regiment was killed “while conducting routine Operations” on 5 Sep 07. UK deaths since the start of the Campaign thus rose to 169, of whom 109 have been classified as Killed in Action and 24 as Died of Wounds sustained in action. (MoD, 7 Sep 07.)
The 4 RIFLES Battle Group ‘repositioned’ from Basrah Palace to the Contingency Operating Base at Basrah Air Station. (MoD, 3 Sep 07.)
CO 4 RIFLES, Lt Col P N Y M Sanders OBE, said that 11 had been killed and 43 seriously injured during his Battle Group’s stay at Basrah Palace. (MoD, 4 Sep 07.)
Basrah Palace was formally handed over to the Iraqi Security Forces on 5 Sep 07. (MoD, 5 Sep 07.)
Comment: CO 4 RIFLES gave a robust interview on ‘The Today Programme’ (Radio 4, 6 Sep 07). The Colonel rejected media reports of ‘defeat’ as “complete nonsense”. 4 RIFLES is due to leave Iraq in late November/early December 2007.
(Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 0735, 10 Sep 07)
05 Sep 07. Afghanistan: OP HERRICK. Two Privates from 2nd The Mercian Regiment were killed when their vehicle was caught in an explosion
North of Lashkar Gah on 5 Sep 07. UK deaths since the start of Operations in November 2001 thus rose
to 76, of whom 51 have been classified as Killed in Action and two as Died of Wounds sustained in action. (MoD, 5 Sep 07.)
In response to newspaper reports, the MoD acknowledged that a C-130 Hercules had been damaged following “a heavy landing”. The aircraft had been destroyed “in accordance with standard procedure”. The MoD was “looking to send a replacement aircraft as soon as possible”. (MoD, 5 Sep 07.)
Comment: Media speculation that the Hercules which crashed was being used to transport Special Forces was ignored by the MoD (as would be expected). The precise date of the accident has yet to be confirmed. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 0735, 10 Sep 07)
03 Sep 07. Report Foresees Shrinking Defense Budget for Sweden. A Swedish Armed Forces Command report says the military may face reduced spending and reorient itself toward regional and international missions. The Twenty Year Defense Perspective (TYDP), presented to Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt’s ruling coalition on Aug. 18, is intended to provide a basis for, and a military view of, the development of Sweden’s armed forces. Defense Minister Mikael Odenberg described the report as an “honest, clear and valid” analysis of the problems, fiscal issues and options confronting Swedish defense. The TYDP offers three key options for the military’s development and raises the prospect that more frugal spending on defense could downgrade emphasis on territorial security and push available resources toward developing regional Nordic defense systems and international missions. Defense analysts have questioned what they say is a lack of decisiveness and commitment by the Reinfeldt government to spend more on national defense. “The European Union may be an economic giant, but its so-called security architecture, which is where Sweden’s hopes of defense now lie, is weak and untested in the face of any serious threat,” said Wilhelm Agrell, a defense research analyst at Lund University’s Peace Research Institute. “That would not matter so much if we were witnessing an unambiguous new security order based on economic integration and cooperation. But we are not.” The TYDP’s three primary options include a highly restructured defense force with a limited budget; an armed force with its budget focused on international operations; and a best-case scenario in which defense spending would rise by 5 percent to 10 percent a year to expand national and international defense tasks. Toward Cooperative Defense? The third option, if adopted, could lead to the establishment of pan-Nordic air force, land and naval units within 10 years. (Source: Defense News)
10 Sep 07. The Ministry of Defence has been accused of “massaging” the estimated costs o