U.S., Bahrain Discuss Regional Security Issues

By Jim Garamone

American Forces Press Service

MANAMA, Bahrain, Dec. 18, 2010 – Regional security issues and strengthening the U.S.-Bahraini alliance were on the table during a meeting between Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa al Khalifa and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff last night.

Navy Adm. Mike Mullen said the two men discussed the problems caused by Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons.

“We have publicly stated the concerns we have with the Iranian nuclear program,” the admiral said during a news conference at U.S. Naval Forces Central Command headquarters here. “From my perspective, I see Iran continuing down the path to developing nuclear weapons, and achieving that goal would be very destabilizing to the region.”

Mullen said a military strike on Iran’s nuclear facility would be destabilizing, and restated the U.S. position to focus on dialogue and let the United Nations sanctions take effect. The sanctions, “have had a very significant effect on Iran, and more rapidly than many of us expected,” the admiral said. “All options have been on the table and remain on the table.”

The Iranian nuclear issue dominates, but the United States continues to be concerned that leaders in Teheran are funding terror groups throughout the Middle East, Mullen said. Iran could be a productive and valued partner in the region, if the leaders behaved responsibly, the chairman said.

Mullen praised the growth of military cooperation among the nations of the Gulf Cooperative Council. “The GCC has grown more and more important,” he said. “That kind of regional approach … is needed. None of us can do this alone. We need partners now and in the future.”

The cooperation has evolved over the past decade, the chairman said. “A regional approach is very powerful in deterring a country like Iran,” he said. The United States has been emphasizing a regional air defense system to the Gulf nations to defend against short-range ballistic missiles that Iran already has, and longer-range missiles the country is trying to develop.

The friendship between Bahrain and the United States is warm, Mullen said, and has been close since it was established 60 years ago. He thanked Bahrain for its support to the international effort in Afghanistan. For the third iteration, the nation is deploying a police special security force command in the coming days.

The chairman also discussed Korea in response to a question. The United States stands by its treaty commitments with South Korea, he said. South Korea is planning to resume the artillery exercise that was interrupted when North Korean artillery hit Yeongpyeong Island. The North Korean fire killed four Koreans, including two civilians.

“We are working very carefully and very comprehensively with South Korea to ensure that stability is sustained there; steps need to be taken to deter the North,” he said. “I think it is important that China step forward and influence actions in Pyongyang. We need to make sure that nothing happens there that escalates. At the same time, South Korea certainly has every right -- as any sovereign country does -- to defend its people, to conduct and exercise like this.”

But North Korea is unpredictable, and will continue to be even more so as Kim Jong-un succeeds his father, current dictator Kim Jong-il. Mullen called the leader a “belligerent, dangerous individual.”

Gates Praises USS Lincoln’s Crew for War Contributions

By John D. Banusiewicz

American Forces Press Service

MUSCAT, Oman, Dec. 6, 2010 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates today praised the crew of the USS Abraham Lincoln for its support of the war effort in Afghanistan.

Gates arrived aboard the Nimitz-class supercarrier off the coast of Oman this morning, and in addition to touring the ship, observing operations and meeting with small groups of crew members, he held an “all hands call” with hundreds of sailors.

“This visit gives me the opportunity to thank all of you for your service, personally and on behalf of the American people,” he told the Lincoln’s crew. “I want you to know that the entire nation is praying for you and for the success of your mission.”

Though they’re hundreds of miles from Afghanistan, the secretary said, their efforts are making an important impact for ground forces there.

“When your aircraft come screaming, our troops hear the sound of relief and the enemy knows what’s coming next,” Gates said. “You are delivering lethal blows to them and protecting the lives of our men and women on the battlefield. Still, recognizing the complexities of this battle environment, you have been extraordinarily conscious about the need to avoid civilian casualties.”

The secretary invited questions from the crew, and their topics included the defense budget, the prospects for repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law, and North Korean provocation.

In response to a sailor who asked whether defense budget cuts might affect the Navy’s ability to buy ships, Gates said that while the country is facing a $1.3 trillion deficit, the defense budget should not be a target.

“People are going to look to us to be responsible and to contribute to addressing these problems,” he said. “My view is that we don’t address those problems by cutting the defense budget. We address those problems by making sure that every dollar spent for defense is spent wisely and intelligently. It means cutting wasteful programs and overhead and excess staff, and investing that in force structure and capabilities.

“I don’t see the world getting safer over the next 10 years; there will continue to be significant challenges even after Iraq and Afghanistan,” he continued. “And so my hope is that the Congress will work with us, recognize the efforts that we have made to rid the defense budget of waste and abuse and allow us to use the monies we’ve identified in overhead and apply them against capabilities.”

Failing that, he added, the military’s ability to sustain its force structure, including the number of ships, “will be seriously in jeopardy, in my view.”

Another sailor asked whether, in light of recent North Korean provocation, the Lincoln crew might head to that region next. Gates replied that it’s not likely.

“I think the general feeling is that what we are seeing in these provocations in North Korea is a part of the succession, as Kim Jong-Il prepares for his son to take his place,” he explained.

The sinking of a South Korean ship earlier this year, the revelation of a North Korean nuclear enrichment facility and the recent artillery attack on a South Korean island seem to be designed to show the North Korean people, and most importantly, its military, that the ailing leader’s son and heir apparent is tough and strong enough to take leadership, Gates said.

“I think this is a difficult and potentially dangerous time,” the secretary added. “The North Koreans have engaged in some very provocative actions. They get everyone upset, then they volunteer to come back to talks, and we basically end up buying the same horse twice.

“So I think we need to figure out the way ahead with North Korea,” he continued. “Nobody wants a war on the Korean peninsula. And I think we just have to work with the Chinese and with others to see if we can’t bring some greater stability, some greater predictability to the regime in Pyongyang.”

Another crew member wanted to know whether Gates thinks the current Congress will repeal the law that bans gays from serving openly in the military after a Defense Department working group that studied the issue released its report last week.

“I’d have to say I’m not particularly optimistic that they’re going to get this done,” he said, noting that Congress has only two weeks remaining in the current session. “I would hope that they would,” he added.

Gates reiterated his concern that if Congress doesn’t act on the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” legislation –- which would repeal the law once he certifies, along with the president and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that the military can handle it -- the courts might overturn the policy on their own.

“My greatest fear is that we will be told that this law will be overturned by a court and we will be told to implement it without any time for preparation for training [or] any of the other efforts that need to be undertaken to prepare us for such a change,” he said. By contrast, he added, the legislative repeal route gives the Pentagon “enormous latitude” to prepare for such a change.

The service chiefs provided testimony on the matter before the Senate Armed Services Committee last week, and some said that while they believe the law eventually will be repealed, now may not be the right time for that to happen.

“I agree with the service chiefs,” Gates said today. “A change in this law is inevitable. Their concern is whether it ought to be done now, while the force is under such stress, with such continuing rotations, or deployments, still having the war in Afghanistan, and still having 50,000 troops in Iraq.

“Their view is, by and large, that it should come, but not now,” he continued. “And we’ll see where the Congress goes with it.”

If Congress does repeal the law, Gates told the group, he would put a lot of stock in the service chiefs’ views in terms of when to certify the military is ready to implement repeal.

Gates will remain aboard the carrier overnight.

Terror, Iran, North Korea Top List of Threats

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

Feb. 28, 2007 – Terror remains the No. 1 threat to the United States and its interests, the new U.S. director of national intelligence said in congressional testimony yesterday. In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Retired Navy Vice Adm. John M. "Mike" McConnell gave a tour of the world from a threat level.

Al Qaeda remains the terrorist network that poses the greatest threat to the United States, he said. "While many of al Qaeda's senior leadership have been killed or captured, its core elements are resilient," he said. "They continue to plot attacks against the homeland and other targets with the aim of inflicting mass casualties."

Al Qaeda and other terror groups continue to seek chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons or materials, he said. "Al Qaeda also is forging stronger operational connections that radiate outward from their camps in Pakistan to affiliated groups and networks throughout the Middle East, North Africa and Europe," the admiral said.

Hezbollah, the Shiite organization backed by Iran and Syria, remains a source of serious concern to the United States also, McConnell said. "Last summer, hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah have increased Hezbollah's self-confidence," he said.

Cooperation among nations remains the best defense against these terror organizations, McConnell said. "Our ability to prevent attacks abroad and at home has been aided considerably by cooperation from many foreign governments, among them Iraq, the United Kingdom, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan," he said.

In Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States faces challenges exacerbated by terrorism.

In summarizing a national intelligence estimate on the situation in Iraq, McConnell said the current security and political trends in Iraq "are moving in a negative direction." The Samarra mosque bombing in February 2006 caused sectarian violence that has become self-sustaining. "Unless efforts to reverse these conditions gain real traction during the 12- to 18-month timeframe of this estimate, we assess that the security situation will continue to deteriorate at a rate comparable to the latter half of 2006," he said.

Success by the stronger and more loyal Iraqi security forces supported by the coalition in reducing violence "could give Iraqi political leaders breathing space to pursue political compromise needed for progress and stability," McConnell said.

However, he added, even if violence declines, the current level of sectarian animosity will make political reconciliation difficult over the next 12 to 18 months.

If the coalition withdraws rapidly, intelligence officials foresee a significant increase in the scale and scope of sectarian conflict, he said. A withdrawal would also intensify Sunni resistance to the Iraqi government and have adverse consequences for national reconciliation. In addition, al Qaeda almost certainly would use Anbar province to plan for increased attacks.

While outside actors are not likely to be a major driver of either violence or stability, Iranian lethal support for select groups of Iraqi Shiite militants clearly intensifies the conflict in Iraq. Syria also continues to provide safe haven for expatriate Iraqi Baathists, McConnell said.

In Afghanistan, 2007 is a pivotal year, the admiral said. "They must build central and provincial government capacity, confront perverse drug cultivation and trafficking, and, with NATO and the United States, arrest the resurgence of the Taliban," he said.

Progress in Afghanistan will not be easy. "There is a chronic shortage of resources and of qualified, motivated government officials," he said. "Once more, although the insurgency probably does not now directly threaten the government, it is deterring economic development and undermining popular support for President (Hamid) Karzai. The drug trade contributes to endemic corruption and undercuts public confidence. In addition, a dangerous nexus exists between drugs, the insurgents, and warlords who derive funds from cultivation and trafficking."

McConnell said that Iran and North Korea are of particular concern to the United States. These regimes have pursued nuclear programs in defiance of U.N. Security Council restrictions. "We assess that Tehran seeks to develop nuclear weapons and has shown greater interest in drawing out the negotiations rather than reaching an acceptable diplomatic solution," he said.

In addition, a nuclear Iran could cause a nuclear arms race in the region, McConnell said. "While our information is incomplete, we estimate Iran could produce a nuclear weapon by early to mid next decade," he said.

With North Korea, six-party talks have produced an agreement intended to lead to a declaration of all North Korean nuclear programs and to the country's disabling all existing nuclear facilities. "The agreement is the initial step in the denuclearization process and will be closely observed as we watch for its implementation," McConnell said.

Police and military personnel who have authored books in addition to criminal justice online leadership sponsored the publication of this article.