Canada: Peacekeeping operations have been the principal
focus of the Canadian military’s foreign interventions, although it gave
active support to US forces during the Gulf War. Its largest overseas
deployments are in the Blakans, where it has about 2,400 troops on the
ground in Bosnia and Kosovo. Troop morale was damaged during the nineties
and command structures were redrawn after several scandals that included
the murder of a Somali teenager by Canadian peacekeepers and a subsequent
cover-up. It is expected to deploy naval vessels to support US aircraft
carriers in operations against Afghanistan.
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UK: The British military was the only member of
the coalition to participate alongside the US in the first wave of attacks
on Afghanistan. Three nuclear submarines - HMS Trafalgar, HMS Triumph
and HMS Superb - took part in the strikes, including the launch of Tomahawk
land attack cruise missiles against targets in Afghanistan. The UK also
authorised the use of the British-owned US military base at Diego Garcia
in the Indian Ocean and the deployment of UK reconnaisance aircraft and
refuelling tankers. The UK played a major role in the Gulf War and has
played a leading role in Nato interventions in the Balkans. The Royal
Air Force played an important role during the air campaign aginst Serbia
in 1999 and is expected to play a moderate but significant role in the
operation against Afghanistan. UK policy makers have become sensitive
to the pitfalls of operating in a “stateless environment“ after the military
intervention in Sierra Leone and Tony Blair, UK prime minister, has identified
the creation of a viable post-Taliban regime for Afghaniastan as a key
priority. Back to map
France:An independent nuclear power,
France has a staunchly independent streak to its thinking on defence and
although a member of N Nato, has not been formally under the organisation’s
command structure since 1966. As a ’semi-detached’ Nato member, France
has in recent years emphasised the need for UN-sanctioned actions wherever
possible, as well as the need for a greater European defence indentity.
The country has tended only to lend its military assets to those actions
which have attracted broad-based support, participating in the 1991 Gulf
War, as well as peacekeeping efforts in the Balkans. France has substantial
military forces and in 1999 spent US$37,814m on defence the highest in
the EU. However, the administration of Lionel Jospin, the prime minister,
deep cuts have been planned. The biggest will be in the Army, which will
have been reduced by 30 per cent on 1997 levels by 2002. Back
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Germany: The German military is well behind other major European
Nato powers in the modernisation of its forces and overseas experience
following a long freeze in its foreign engagements after the second world
war. It’s involvement in Nato military action in 1999 against Yugoslavia
was a watershed for the country and followed a 1994 constituional court
ruling that opened the way to foreign interventions. Germany has deployed
about 2,700 troops in Bosnia and more than 4,000 troops in Kosovo. Germany’s
involvement in the US-directed coalition marks a departure, of sorts,
from its previous adherence to multilateral action led by Nato. Back
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Italy:
Italy came late to the military coalition after concerns that it had been left out of planning in favour of France, Germany and the UK. In a rare show of unity across the Italian political spectrum, some 513 of the 630 members of the chamber of deputies, the lower house of parliament, supported a bipartisan motion backing the despatch of troops and military hardware. The vote was also significant in a country with strong pacifist traditions and a foreign policy that has often focused on mediation of diplomatic disputes rather than military action. Italy's decision two years ago to participate directly in the Nato bombardment of Serbia was widely seen as an important step in developing a more active foreign and military policy. It has committed 2,700 troops for deployment under US command in later phases of the campaign. It is also providing an aircraft carrier, equipped with up to eight Tornado fighter jets, and two frigates and a supply vessel.
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Turkey:
Turkish forces have experience in mountain guerrilla warfare from their long-running counter-insurgency war against Kurdish rebels. For years Turkey has funded ethnic Uzbek militias, which share Turkic descent. Turkey’s military involvement has been channelled more through these ties than through the multilateral efforts of its Nato allies. It has committed 90 special forces members to advise the Uzbek forces, led by General Abdul Rashid Dostum, in north-west Afghanistan. It is the only Muslim-dominated nation directly involved in the attacks and has faced opposition to troop deployment from domestic political parties and Muslim neighbours.
Australia: The Australian military is the smallest
member of the coalition and is already stretched by its peacekeeping job
in East Timor. Its lead role in the UN mission in East Timor has tested
its resources and forced the government to raise spending and staffing
levels. Its efforts to ensure it played a leading role in the UN intervention
led to a rift with Indonesia and the cancellation of joint military exercises.
Australia contributed forces and observers during the Gulf War and to
subsequent US-led operations in the Gulf.