Thursday
May272010
Pentagon Notes
Thursday, May 27, 2010 at 12:21PM
From Thursday’s press gaggle with Pentagon spokesperson Bryan Whitman.
BP Spill
Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fl.) has suggested that the response to the massive oil spill off the Gulf Coast should be transferred to the U.S. military if the situation worsens. Whitman said he wasn’t sure how shifting responsibility to the military would help.
“Regardless of who is in charge, all of the DoD capabilities and assets that might be helpful are available,” Whitman said. “It’s not like we’ve got some secret capability that’s just being held on until somebody else is put in charge.”
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
Whitman says there is nothing new to report from the Pentagon’s standpoint on the upcoming vote to insert an amendment into the FY 2011 Defense Budget that would effectively repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) if passed.
Whitman emphasized that the review currently being conducted by the DoD will still be useful since it is aimed at determining the best way to move forward with the repeal of DADT and not based on debating the policy.
North Korea
Whitman would not give detailed information on the threat conditions the U.S. Navy is operating under after North Korea allegedly sank a South Korean vessel, but did say “Our forces are on a constant state of readiness given the conditions that exist in the Republic of Korea today and every day.”
Last week, Admiral Michael Mullen said that the U.S. is not on high-alert following the attack.
The U.S. and South Korea are both performing anti-submarine exercises, but they are reportedly being held independently.
National Security Strategy
The National Security Council is releasing their Security Strategy today.
When asked why the first-cabinet level discussion of the strategy is going to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Whitman noted that the National Security Strategy is not a DoD product.
“It is the President’s document,” Whitman said. “[Gates] guiding document is the National Defense Strategy. How the [National Security Concil] rolls out the President’s National Security Strategy is something you can ask them about. “
BP Spill
Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fl.) has suggested that the response to the massive oil spill off the Gulf Coast should be transferred to the U.S. military if the situation worsens. Whitman said he wasn’t sure how shifting responsibility to the military would help.
“Regardless of who is in charge, all of the DoD capabilities and assets that might be helpful are available,” Whitman said. “It’s not like we’ve got some secret capability that’s just being held on until somebody else is put in charge.”
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
Whitman says there is nothing new to report from the Pentagon’s standpoint on the upcoming vote to insert an amendment into the FY 2011 Defense Budget that would effectively repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) if passed.
Whitman emphasized that the review currently being conducted by the DoD will still be useful since it is aimed at determining the best way to move forward with the repeal of DADT and not based on debating the policy.
North Korea
Whitman would not give detailed information on the threat conditions the U.S. Navy is operating under after North Korea allegedly sank a South Korean vessel, but did say “Our forces are on a constant state of readiness given the conditions that exist in the Republic of Korea today and every day.”
Last week, Admiral Michael Mullen said that the U.S. is not on high-alert following the attack.
The U.S. and South Korea are both performing anti-submarine exercises, but they are reportedly being held independently.
National Security Strategy
The National Security Council is releasing their Security Strategy today.
When asked why the first-cabinet level discussion of the strategy is going to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Whitman noted that the National Security Strategy is not a DoD product.
“It is the President’s document,” Whitman said. “[Gates] guiding document is the National Defense Strategy. How the [National Security Concil] rolls out the President’s National Security Strategy is something you can ask them about. “
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