Nato plans army of 250,000 to fight 'anywhere'

Nato is organising three rapid-reaction corps in its effort to reinvent a role for itself after being sidelined by America in the Afghan war.

The alliance would like to be able to put more than 100,000 men into a campaign, and envisages a total force in excess of 250,000, capable of combat in three conflicts in any part of the world for up to two years.

The British-led Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) will form the spearhead of the "new type of conflict" after the end of the Cold War. Five other corps – led by the Italians, the Spanish, the Germans, the Dutch, Turkey and a Franco-German Eurocorps – are also being formed. They are expected to be amalgamated into two, to supplement the ARRC.

The various corps will be multinational, with ARRC, for which the UK will supply 60 per cent of the personnel, as their model. Nato's plans to present a united force for use in global conflict is the result of soul-searching in response to the US making clear it is capable of mounting military operations without help from its allies.

A crucial and imminent test for Europe, Britain and Nato is likely to be Iraq. Senior British and European commanders are convinced that the US is likely to take military action there, including sending in ground troops, by the summer. Although most European countries are certain to oppose a new war in Iraq, the British Government appears to be gearing up to back Washington.

The Nato initiative faces the added complication of a proposal for an EU rapid-reaction force that would be made up of 60,000 personnel with its own command structure and headquarters. Although countries that have signed up, including Britain and France, have tried to allay American fears by stressing that the "Euroarmy' will complement Nato, rather than try to replace it, alliance commanders are unsure about how the two rapid-reaction forces would work together.

One proposal is that the EU force will form part of Nato's deployment. But this is expected to lead to objections from the French, who want far more autonomy from the American-dominated alliance.

Although ARRC, which deployed during its evolution in Bosnia and Kosovo, has been recognised as providing highly effective command and control by the Nato governments, including Washington, doubts remain about Nato being able to operate without significant help from America.

The alliance forces still depend on the US for a vital services, including air power and communications. The European members of the alliance do not have anything like enough "airlift" to transport large numbers of troops and equipment into a conflict zone, or air-strike capacity for a sustained campaign. During the Kosovo conflict, the European nations made just 20 per cent of the air raids, the rest being done by the Americans.

There are other basic problems, concerning radio and other communication between the armies of the European members of Nato. Because of disparities in the communication systems, different European forces can often "talk" to each other only with the help of the Americans.