Tuesday
Jan272009
Gates: Afghanistan is “greatest military challenge right now”
Tuesday, January 27, 2009 at 3:31PM
While testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates laid out the challenges facing the Defense Department. Gates said that “the greatest military challenge right now is Afghanistan,” but went on to say that there is “no purely military solution in Afghanistan”. Gates said that the highest priorities should be increasing the size and training of the Afghan army. He stated that America’s NATO allies could be doing more to support the war in several ways: providing caveat free military forces, providing a greater number of civilians for other efforts pertaining to operations and building, and sharing the financial burdens associated with Afghan army, estimated to be $3-4 billion in the next several years. Gates said that Afghanistan will be a “long and difficult fight”, and that the goal is for it not to be a base for terrorists.
On the topic of Iraq, Gates highlighted that on January 1st the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between the US and Iraq went into effect. SOFA withdraws US combat troops from Iraqi cities by the end of June with all troops out by 2011. Secretary Gates said that the upcoming elections in Iraq show progress. In his prepared testimony, Gates noted that the “sovereignty of Iraq” is one of the “non-military ways to blunt Iran’s power to threaten its neighbors and sow instability throughout the Middle East”. On Iran, Gates reinforced that they are “developing the capabilities needed to support a nuclear weapons program.” He said that “the lower price of oil deprives Iran of revenues and, in turn, makes U.N. economic sanctions bite harder.”
On North Korea, Secretary Gates said that denuclearization is still the goal, but it is uncertain whether North Korea will be willing to entirely give up its nuclear ambitions.
Speaking generally on foreign policy, Secretary Gates said that the United States military “must be able to dissuade, deter, and, if necessary, respond to challenges across the spectrum.” He highlighted the modernization China has recently been engaged in of their armed forces, specifically in cyber warfare, anti-satellite weaponry, anti-air and anti-ship weaponry, and their use of submarines and ballistic missiles. Gates said, “modernization in these areas could threaten America’s primary means of projecting power and helping allies in the Pacific: our bases, air, and sea assets, and the networks that support them.” Gates pointed out that the ground offensive by Russian troops into Georgia was preceded by a “sophisticated cyber attack”, and said that the Russian army is a “force to be reckoned with” in Eastern Europe. Secretary Gates was careful to say that Russia’s current efforts to dominated its “near abroad” should not be confused with the Soviet ideological campaign to dominate the world.
Defense Secretary Gates also met today with the House Armed Services Committee on the similar topics.
By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico - Talk Radio News Service
On the topic of Iraq, Gates highlighted that on January 1st the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between the US and Iraq went into effect. SOFA withdraws US combat troops from Iraqi cities by the end of June with all troops out by 2011. Secretary Gates said that the upcoming elections in Iraq show progress. In his prepared testimony, Gates noted that the “sovereignty of Iraq” is one of the “non-military ways to blunt Iran’s power to threaten its neighbors and sow instability throughout the Middle East”. On Iran, Gates reinforced that they are “developing the capabilities needed to support a nuclear weapons program.” He said that “the lower price of oil deprives Iran of revenues and, in turn, makes U.N. economic sanctions bite harder.”
On North Korea, Secretary Gates said that denuclearization is still the goal, but it is uncertain whether North Korea will be willing to entirely give up its nuclear ambitions.
Speaking generally on foreign policy, Secretary Gates said that the United States military “must be able to dissuade, deter, and, if necessary, respond to challenges across the spectrum.” He highlighted the modernization China has recently been engaged in of their armed forces, specifically in cyber warfare, anti-satellite weaponry, anti-air and anti-ship weaponry, and their use of submarines and ballistic missiles. Gates said, “modernization in these areas could threaten America’s primary means of projecting power and helping allies in the Pacific: our bases, air, and sea assets, and the networks that support them.” Gates pointed out that the ground offensive by Russian troops into Georgia was preceded by a “sophisticated cyber attack”, and said that the Russian army is a “force to be reckoned with” in Eastern Europe. Secretary Gates was careful to say that Russia’s current efforts to dominated its “near abroad” should not be confused with the Soviet ideological campaign to dominate the world.
Defense Secretary Gates also met today with the House Armed Services Committee on the similar topics.
By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico - Talk Radio News Service
Plans underway to reshape military spending
President Obama’s Defense budget falls short on missile defense spending, say House Republicans.
Last week, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced plans to scale-back and reshape military spending. Even though the 2010 budget includes a 4% increase overall, this marks a slow-down of the growth of defense spending which occurred during the Bush administration.
Congressman Bob Inglis (R-SC) said the cut-backs irresponsibly take money away from missile defense.
Recently returned from a trip to Syria, Israel, Gaza, and India, Inglis said, "When you see tangible evidence of the results of missiles in Israel, and all in the midst of this comes a launch by the North Koreans, it's just a particularly bad idea to cut funding for this."
Gates' supporters say the balancing pf priorities marks a milestone for the Defense Department.
The United States could save billions by "Keeping ballistic missile defense in a research mode until the technologies are proven,” said Lawrence J. Korb, Senior Fellow with the Center for American Progress.