Regional Challenges Drive Southcom’s Agenda

By Donna Miles

American Forces Press Service

MIAMI, June 18, 2012 – Air Force Gen. Douglas M. Fraser, commander of U.S. Southern Command, regularly tells members of Congress, audiences around the region and members of his command that events in South America, Central America and the Caribbean affect U.S. national security.

“The hemisphere is our shared home,” Fraser noted in his Command Strategy 2020 “Partnership for the Americas” document issued in July.

“We are all Americans” in the region, he added.

While a mere glance at a map underscores the obvious physical connection among the hemisphere’s nations, Fraser cited other bonds that cross economic, cultural, ideological and security lines.

“Latin America and the Caribbean are vitally important to the security and future of the United States,” he said. “The nations of the region are inextricably linked, and we face common challenges to our security and stability.”

With globalization unfolding at lightning speed over the past decade, transforming commerce, culture, trade and technology, it’s had a profound impact on security as well, the general noted in his 2012 Southcom posture statement, released in March.

Fraser said he’s particularly concerned about “the parallel globalization of organized crime, violence, murder and kidnapping related to illicit trafficking.”

He noted that in many parts of the hemisphere, particularly in Central America, transnational organized crime has evolved to become a “volatile and potentially destabilizing threat to both citizen and regional security.”

These sophisticated networks operate across national borders and dividing lines for U.S. geographic combatant commands, demanding an unprecedented level of cooperation among those attempting to counter them -- regionally, nationally and across U.S. agencies, he said.

“The challenge for United States Southern Command is to find creative ways to enhance the interagency, public-private and partner-nation cooperation as we plan, train and operate with regional military to address the predominant security concerns in the region,” Fraser said.

Fraser recognized other persistent challenges facing the region, including poverty, crime, corruption, institutional weakness, illicit trafficking and terrorism. “These challenges complicate our collective efforts to secure the hemisphere,” he stated in his 2020 command strategy. “At the same time, security helps provide the very means to address these issues.”

He cited the vulnerability of much of Latin America and the Caribbean to humanitarian crises, mass migrations and natural disasters.

Southcom works closely with partner nations to strengthen their humanitarian assistance and disaster relief capabilities, Fraser told the House Armed Services Committee in May. “And we remain ready to respond should our assistance be requested,” he added.

Meanwhile, Southcom watches for potential geopolitical turbulence that could affect U.S. citizens and military personnel in the region, he said in his posture statement. He cited Cuba, Haiti, Bolivia and Venezuela as areas of particular interest.

Frasier noted the yet-to-be-seen long-term effects of Cuba’s market reforms under Raul Castro’s leadership. Haiti, while making slow but steady progress, remains vulnerable to natural disasters and economic hardship, the general said.

Meanwhile, he added, public demonstrations in Bolivia related to low wages, high food prices and energy shortages are likely to continue until the Bolivian government addresses these issues. And in Venezuela, Fraser recognized continuing uncertainty about President Hugo Chavez’ health, as well as continued economic instability and escalating violence that he said place increasing demands on that country’s government.

Adding to the list of concerns, Fraser pointed to Hezbollah supporters operating throughout South America and the fact that the region has become home to a small number of violent extremist organizations.

“We remain vigilant for the potential radicalization of homegrown extremists,” he said. Fraser noted that Sunni extremists, while small in number, are actively involved in radicalization efforts.

Jamaica’s Shaykh Abdullah al-Faisal, for example, was convicted in the United Kingdom for inciting terrorism, he said. Al-Qaida senior operative Adnan el-Shukrijumah has held valid passports for the United States as well as Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago, where he has family and associates. And despite recent convictions in the 2007 plot to attack the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, one of the alleged co-conspirators remains at large in Guyana.

Meanwhile, Fraser noted, Iran represents a troublesome influence in the region, attempting to circumvent international sanctions through ties with Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Nicaragua and Cuba. “We take Iranian activity in the hemisphere seriously, and we monitor its activities closely,” he said.

In presenting his command priorities, Fraser emphasized four major objectives:

-- Strengthen regional partnerships;

-- Increase partner capability;

-- Confront regional challenges; and

-- Support humanitarian and disaster response, as required.

Fraser called partnership-building “the cornerstone of our strategic approach.” It ensures the forward defense of the United States, he said, by promoting capable regional militaries that share in the responsibility of hemispheric security and stability.

“What we focus on in the region is building partner capacity and security cooperation, collaboratively, with willing nations,” Navy Vice Adm. Joseph D. Kernan, Southcom’s military deputy commander, told American Forces Press Service at the command’s headquarters here. “We endeavor to plan extensively with them, ensuring that our efforts to help build their security in ways they believe are helpful to them.”

These efforts are coordinated closely with the State Department and with full respect for each partner nation’s sovereignty, Kernan said.

“We truly want to be the security partner of choice,” said Army Maj. Gen. Gerald W. Ketchum, director of the command’s theater engagement directorate, who oversees many of the programs designed to build those partnerships. “And as we work to build them, we want those partnerships to be enduring.”

In establishing new ties and strengthening existing ones, Kernan said, Southcom is demonstrating the deep U.S. commitment to the region.

“We have to pursue a persistent, welcomed presence with countries in the region,” he said. “That is what builds lasting relations and mutual respect. We need to be able to stand alongside our partners and talk about collectively addressing common security problems.”

Fraser said efforts to strengthen and enhance partner nations’ ability to respond to domestic and regional threats -- individually and collectively -- will pay off in long-term security for the region.

“We envision a hemisphere characterized by nations working together to address the emerging security challenges of the coming decade,” he said.

South Korea, U.S. Hold Defense, Foreign Affairs Talks

By Jim Garamone

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON  – The U.S.-South Korea alliance is a force for peace and stability in Northeast Asia and the world, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said today at the start of the “Two-Plus-Two” talks with South Korea.

Clinton and Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta hosted talks with their counterparts in the South Korean government -- Kim Sung-hwan, minister of foreign affairs and trade, and Kim Kwan-jin, minister of national defense – at the State Department.

The meeting covered a full range of issues from combating piracy in the Indian Ocean to investing in development in Africa to promoting democracy and the rule of law around the world. “It would be difficult to list all the ways we are working together,” Clinton said.

The two nations agreed to increase cooperation on cybersecurity and will add realistic cyber portions to bilateral exercises, Panetta said.

“The talks strengthen our cooperation,” Clinton said. “We enjoy unprecedented coordination on a number of bilateral, regional and global issues.”

The talks are an example of the close, regular conversations on mutual issues and on developments in North Korea, Clinton said. “We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our Republic of Korea allies in the face of threats and provocations,” she said.

Foreign Affairs Minister Kim said through an interpreter that the meetings are necessary to keep pace with the changes in the security environment. “It is significant that we are here today to review the changes that we need to continue making,” he said.

Underlying the alliance is the solid trust between the United States and South Korea, he said.

Kim said North Korea continues to be a threat. In 2010, the North sank the South Korean ship Cheonan and shelled a South Korean island. Earlier this year, Pyongyang tried to launch a missile over the objections of the international community.

The U.S.-ROK alliance has “shown an almost perfect cooperation,” he said. “We have also handled some complex alliance issues such as the operational control transition or the base relocation.”

But the allies must not become complacent, Kim said. “Hopefully, today’s meeting will not only strengthen our alliance and send a clear message to North Korea, but also try to seek what we can contribute to the region and the world,” he said.

Panetta said the alliance has been built on shared sacrifices that began during the Korean War and continue today. “As we face the many security challenges and opportunities on the horizon, on the peninsula regionally and globally, we must forge a common, strategic approach and address these issues collectively – rooted in friendship and in mutual interest,” he said.

Korea is a lynchpin of the new defense strategy that rebalances U.S. forces to the Pacific. “One of the cornerstones to our ability to effectively implement that strategy is the close partnership and relationship that we have with the Republic of Korea,” Panetta said. “That’s why it is so important for us to come together to meet, to discuss our common views on the shared security challenges we face and to forge a common strategic approach to those challenges.”

Defense Minister Kim said the alliance between South Korea and the United States is “developing into a multidimensional strategic alliance addressing not only security issues of the Korean peninsula but moves out into the Asia-Pacific and the world.” He added that more than 80 percent of Koreans agree with that.

In defense issues, the two nations have managed well during the transition in North Korea following the death last year of leader Kim Jong Il “through a policy of very close military cooperation, especially in intelligence sharing,” Kim said.

This was the second “Two-Plus-Two” meeting, so named because it combines foreign affairs and national security chiefs. South Korea hosted the first meeting in Seoul in 2010. All parties said the Two-Plus-Two talks will continue.

Southcom Promotes ‘Whole-of-Society Solutions’

By Donna Miles

American Forces Press Service

MIAMI  – With the Defense Department now embracing broader, “whole of government” approaches to national security challenges, officials here at U.S. Southern Command have taken the paradigm to the next level to encompass what they call “whole-of-society solutions.”

The command was a pioneer in integrating interagency representatives into its headquarters, Lisa Samson, the new director of Southcom’s process management analysis cell who spent a year as chief of the J9 Partnering Directorate, told American Forces Press Service. More than 30 representatives from 17 different government agencies are embedded throughout the command’s structure to support interagency coordination and collaboration.

In addition, Ambassador Carmen Martinez serves not only as senior foreign policy advisor to Air Force Gen. Douglas M. Fraser, the Southcom commander, but also as his civilian deputy.

Integrating this position into Southcom’s senior leadership underscores recognition that the agencies’ collective contributions in Central and South America and the Caribbean are far greater than the sum of their individual efforts, Martinez said. She noted the “circle of constant communication” as the agency representatives work together toward the same goals.

The State Department leads U.S. government engagement in the region, but DOD plays an important supporting role, contributing resources, personnel, expertise and technological capabilities, Martinez noted.

In addition, other members of the interagency team represented in the Southcom headquarters bring different capabilities, experiences, authorities, and often, different perspectives to the mission, she said.

Martinez described their contributions as the “three legs of the stool” -- the “3 Ds” that underpin the U.S. government strategy in the region: defense, development and diplomacy.

Southcom is now on the leading edge in fostering relationships with what Samson called the “fourth D” -- domestic partners -- that she said also play a vital theater role. These civil society and private-sector entities, academia and non-governmental and private volunteer organizations, among them, have vested interests and deep roots in the region, she noted.

In addition, they possess specialized expertise, close associations and valuable resources beyond those within the federal government, she said.

Recognizing these strengths, Fraser, the Southcom commander, has made a concerted effort to engage with these groups, some with few or no previous ties with the Defense Department.

He hosted leaders of prominent non-governmental organizations at the Southcom headquarters here in February for the third roundtable session in as many years to discuss shared interests in the region and identify common ground for addressing them. Martinez called the “frank and free-flowing discussion” promoted through these engagements an important step toward new and closer working relationships.

In March in California, Fraser again joined representatives of educational institutions, international students, federal law enforcement agencies, military organizations, international affairs groups and business leaders, for what he described as “a robust, collaborative exchange of ideas.”

“It was mutually beneficial and enlightening to share concepts and ideas regarding our collective efforts to improve security, stability and prosperity on both the domestic and international fronts,” Fraser reported in his blog following the trip. “While each organization has different charters, we all share the responsibility and desire for improving security and stability throughout the world.”

This outreach is vital, he said, particularly in light of new and evolving threats in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the efforts being conducted on a wide range of fronts to confront them.

“We need established relationships and understanding to ensure, as a command, we are prepared to integrate with other organizations that share our common goals,” he said. “Taking the time to understand and support other institutions, partners and agencies is as important, and in many situations more important, than leading the efforts ourselves.”

Samson called Southcom’s partnerships -- at the interagency level and across the public and private sector -- central to the command’s operations. “Working with our nontraditional military partners, we are able to leverage their resources, their expertise and their authorities,” she said. “We could not meet the challenges of this region without their partnership.”

If there’s been a single “proof of concept” that shows Southcom’s outreach is making a difference, Samson said it’s the Operation Unified Response earthquake relief effort in Haiti in 2010.

During that mission -- the largest-ever U.S. military response to a natural disaster overseas -- the command served in a support role to the U.S. Agency for International Development and its Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance. Tapping into interagency representatives in the headquarters staff “allowed us to reach back, interact, get their guidance, align and synchronize our efforts” to provide a better response, Samson said.

But as Army Lt. Gen. P.K. “Ken” Keen, Southcom’s military deputy commander at the time, recognized, NGOs and the private sector turned out to be the “real muscle” of the humanitarian response, with DOD support.

“We were there to enable them to get to the point that they needed, to deliver … the critical aid that was needed, whether it was saving lives from rescue efforts or delivering water and food,” Keen reported last year to the Council on Foreign Relations.

Collectively, these entities donated an estimated $36.2 million in goods and services during the first three months of the response mission in Haiti, Samson reported.

She mentioned just a few of the many examples. Several large transportation industry corporations, cruise lines and commercial airlines stepped up to transport and deliver donated goods. When the Port-au-Prince airport became overloaded with incoming aid, these companies were able to divert their deliveries through the commercial routes they had established in the Dominican Republic and at other ports. Another private company sent technical assistance when communications went down at the Port-au-Prince air traffic control tower. The University of Miami provided Creole-speaking translators and a large soft drink company donated 2.8 million bottles of water.

In addition, NGOs that had been on the ground in Haiti for years stepped up to work with the interagency to support disaster response.

“We had been working all along to bring in different partners to the headquarters,” Samson said. “But at the time of the disaster, when everybody had a shared focus and the same goal and interest, we all came together, and it was very easy to work alongside each other to see how we could help each other meet that mission set.”

That mission, she said, underscored the importance of relationship-building. “When there is a disaster, that is not a time to be changing business cards with your partners,” she said. “You need to be doing it way ahead of time.”

Samson and Martinez agreed that partnerships -- interagency and civil sector alike -- will be increasingly important as all face budget constraints.

“In this time of dwindling resources, we have to be sure we are not all doing the same thing, and also that we are not stepping on each other’s toes and … getting in the way of the same effort,” Martinez said.

“We really have to look at how we leverage each other’s resources, and look at how we can do things more effectively and efficiently,” Samson added. “The groundwork that was laid before, during and after Operation Unified Response has paid dividends in NGO and private sector support to steady-state activities such as humanitarian civic assistance exercises and civil military operations. The most successful example of this deliberate collaboration in steady state is the annual Continuing Promise missions conducted by U.S. Naval Forces-South.”

“So when people ask me what we get out of working with the interagency and private sector, I always respond to them: ‘It is the expertise they carry, the resources they have and the access that they have in those partner nations that are beyond what we have at a combatant command that really helps us work in addressing our regional threats and challenges,’” she said.

Clinton Affirms NATO Open-door Membership Policy

By Karen Parrish

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, May 21, 2012 – Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said at NATO’s summit in Chicago today that member nations are committed to the organization’s open-door membership policy, which she called a “powerful motivation” for countries wishing to join the alliance.

Speaking at a meeting of NATO’s decision-making body, the North Atlantic Council, Clinton said the prospect of gaining membership in the alliance spurs countries to “implement difficult but necessary reforms, resolve internal differences as well as differences with their neighbors, and contribute to security operations that benefit themselves and all of us.”

The open-door policy has produced some of the alliance’s most active and committed members, she said, and has helped to promote stability and cooperation in central and eastern Europe.

According to NATO agreements, the alliance is open to any European country able to meet the commitments and obligations of membership and contribute to security in the Euro-Atlantic area.

Since 1949, NATO’s membership has increased from 12 to 28 countries through six rounds of enlargement. Albania and Croatia, which were invited to join NATO at the alliance’s April 2008 summit in Bucharest, Romania, formally became members April 1, 2009.

Georgia is advancing toward NATO membership, and Macedonia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina are also working to become alliance members.

Clinton said the United States is deeply committed to NATO’s open-door policy. “It is in that spirit that we welcome our aspirant nations here today,” she said.

“We will keep working with each of them, both bilaterally and through NATO, to help them implement finally the reforms needed to meet the standards for membership,” she added. “As I said yesterday, I believe this summit should be the last summit that is not an enlargement summit.”

Clinton said NATO looks to aspiring member nations to demonstrate that they share NATO’s values and =are willing and able to meet the standards for membership. “And we promise to help them as they do so because this is in our interest,” she added.

Gaining membership can be a lengthy and challenging process, Clinton acknowledged.

“We need to stick with it and remember our ultimate goal: a stronger, more durable, more effective NATO,” she said, adding that enlargement of the alliance, done right, is a core element of NATO’s purpose and its community.

U.S., Japan Agree on Okinawa Troop Relocation

By Karen Parrish

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON  – U.S. and Japanese officials announced yesterday the two nations have agreed on a plan to relocate U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam.

The joint statement of the U.S.-Japan Security Consultative Committee spells out unit moves, land and facilities on Okinawa the United States will return to the Japanese government, and the costs each government will pay for the relocation.

The joint statement is the latest result of negotiations between the two countries dating to the 2006 Realignment Roadmap and the 2009 Guam International Agreement. The two nations issued a joint defense posture statement in February that “delinked” the two agreements so parts of the relocation plan could move forward more quickly.

“I am very pleased that, after many years, we have reached this important agreement and plan of action,” Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said in a statement yesterday. He praised Japanese Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka for “spearheading discussions” leading to the joint statement.

“We will work closely with our partners in the Japanese Self Defense Force to implement these decisions and to further improve this vital alliance of ours,” the secretary added.

Panetta said he looks forward to strengthening the two nations’ partnership “as, together, we address security challenges in the region.”

During a Pentagon background briefing to reporters yesterday, senior State and Defense Department officials outlined the agreement.

About 9,000 Marines will relocate from Okinawa, with about 5,000 moving to Guam and the rest transferring to other locations in the Pacific such as Hawaii and Australia, the defense official said.

The Marines will be organized in air-ground task forces, which combine command, ground, air and logistics elements that can deploy and operate as a unit.

“This new posture that we've created results in a more operationally effective presence across the region,” the defense official said.

“In the end, we are sustaining the same presence in the Western Pacific that we've intended for some time,” the official added.

About 10,000 Marines will remain on Okinawa when the relocation is complete, the official said.

The agreement also sets Japan’s funding for the move to Guam at $3.1 billion of the overall $8.6 billion estimated cost, the defense official added.

“We're particularly appreciative of this commitment in the context of Japan's fiscal challenges, which we fully recognize,” the official added.

One element of the agreement involves possible development of joint training ranges in Guam and the commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands as shared-use facilities for U.S. and Japanese forces, the official said.

The State Department official said the plan will result in a stronger, more sustainable and more flexible alliance.

“This is really a key component of our strategic rebalancing toward the Asia-Pacific region,” the official said. “As you know, one of the key aspects of that is strengthening partnerships with regional allies, and of course Japan is a very important alliance partner.”

The official said the agreement reaffirms both nations’ commitment to relocate Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, now in the center of Okinawa’s Ginowan City, to a more remote area of the island. Until the Futenma relocation happens, both governments will share the cost of maintaining the existing facility, the official added.

The Japanese government will determine the timeline for the Futenma move, the State Department official said, noting the U.S. focus for Okinawa is sustaining an operationally effective Marine Corps presence there.

The defense official said U.S. representatives are “delighted” at the agreement.

“We think it's a significant achievement that demonstrates that the U.S.-Japan alliance is still capable of big things,” the official said.