By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
July 30, 2007 - A military sales package for Arab countries estimated at $20 billion represents a tangible symbol of the United States' commitment to the region and its long-term security, a senior defense official said today on background. The arms, the bulk to be sold to Saudi Arabia, are expected to help promote stability in the Persian Gulf, including Iraq.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who released a statement about the plan before leaving for a trip here with Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, said the package "will help bolster forces of moderation and support a broader strategy to counter the negative influences of al Qaeda, Hezbollah, Syria and Iran."
"We are helping to strengthen the defensive capabilities of our partners and we plan to initiate discussions with Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states on a proposed package of military technology that will help support their ability to secure peace and stability in the Gulf region," the statement said.
The nature of the package, including dollar figures attached to it, will be on the table here as Rice and Gates meet in Sharm el-Sheikh with members of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Congress must approve the sales package before it is formalized.
The package will consist of missile defenses, including early-warning and air capabilities; maritime capabilities, with enhancements to Saudi Arabia's eastern fleet; weaponry to counter unconventional threats; and enhanced counter-proliferation capabilities. "It's a very broad package," an official said.
Arms deals demonstrate that the United States values its long-term relationships in the region and has a long-term interest in its security, the senior official said. "We have been here 60 years and we're going to be here a lot longer, and one of the reasons for these arms deals is to reaffirm that long-term shared interest in the shared security and stability of the region," he said.
Saudi Arabia, the biggest buyer, has been a close ally of the United States for decade, he noted. "They have been in important partner in the war on terror. They have been especially effective in going after al Qaeda, particularly after the attacks within Saudi Arabia itself," he said.
That's not to say, he emphasized, that the Saudis – or anyone else in the region -- is "doing all the things we would like them to do" and can't contribute more toward regional stability.
"But they are doing some things that are very important to us," he said. "And I think that, plus the long-term relationship and the key role Saudi Arabia plays in all these other issues ... are a manifestation of why the kind of long term relationship represented by the arms deal is important."
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Gates, Rice to Reaffirm U.S. Ties to Gulf Region
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
July 30, 2007 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said his rare and possibly unprecedented joint trip here with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sends a message that the United States has no intention of cutting long-term ties in the region. "I think that it is a statement, first of all, of the importance of this region in terms of U.S. vital interests and the importance we attach to reassuring our friends out here of our staying power," Gates told reporters traveling with him.
The two Cabinet members will meet tomorrow in Sharm el-Sheikh with members of the Gulf Cooperation Council. The council includes Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates and works to strengthen their cooperation in broad areas, including security. Jordan and Egypt will send representatives to the meeting, too.
Gates told reporters he has four goals for the conference. First and foremost, he said, is "to reaffirm that the Persian Gulf and the Middle East are an enduring vital interest to the United States and that we will continue to have a strong presence in the region, as we have for decades," he said.
The secretary said he also seeks "to intensify our dialog with friends on long-term regional political and security issues." Unlike his previous visits to the region, which centered heavily on Iraq, Gates said he expects a much broader dialog this time that will include Iran, al Qaeda, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Syria, Lebanon, proliferation and other issues.
Gates also said he hopes "to explore new initiatives to strengthen and expand existing security relationships and opportunities for further cooperation among states in the region." He said he intends to see if there's an interest in pursuing dialog on ways to strengthen existing bilateral security relationships.
Finally, he said he wants to reassure regional countries that U.S. policies in Iraq "have had and will continue to have regional stability and security as a very high priority," he said.
A senior defense official speaking on background told reporters the talks are expected to focus heavily on Iraq and encouraging its neighbors to do more to support its new government.
"Instability in Iraq will negatively affect the stability of the region as a whole, and so it is in these countries' own interest to try to bring about stabilization of the political and security situation in Iraq," he said. "And that is a message we will be carrying."
Concerns about Iranian interference in Iraq, its nuclear programs and its ambitions in the region also are expected to weigh heavily in the discussions. There's "broad concern" about Iran, particularly now that two forces that previously countered its ambitions, the Taliban in Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein in Iraq, are both gone, the official said.
"So I would be one to argue it is in your interest to strengthen the government in Baghdad and embrace it in the Arab would so that it is an obstacle to Iranian influence and not a bridge," the official said he will tell participants at the conference.
But the visit is not what the official called "a Johnny-one-note trip" that will be limited to Iraq and Iran. "We also are going to be talking quite straightforwardly about how we can enhance cooperation bilaterally and maybe even multilaterally in terms of defense capabilities," the official said.
American Forces Press Service
July 30, 2007 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said his rare and possibly unprecedented joint trip here with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sends a message that the United States has no intention of cutting long-term ties in the region. "I think that it is a statement, first of all, of the importance of this region in terms of U.S. vital interests and the importance we attach to reassuring our friends out here of our staying power," Gates told reporters traveling with him.
The two Cabinet members will meet tomorrow in Sharm el-Sheikh with members of the Gulf Cooperation Council. The council includes Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates and works to strengthen their cooperation in broad areas, including security. Jordan and Egypt will send representatives to the meeting, too.
Gates told reporters he has four goals for the conference. First and foremost, he said, is "to reaffirm that the Persian Gulf and the Middle East are an enduring vital interest to the United States and that we will continue to have a strong presence in the region, as we have for decades," he said.
The secretary said he also seeks "to intensify our dialog with friends on long-term regional political and security issues." Unlike his previous visits to the region, which centered heavily on Iraq, Gates said he expects a much broader dialog this time that will include Iran, al Qaeda, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Syria, Lebanon, proliferation and other issues.
Gates also said he hopes "to explore new initiatives to strengthen and expand existing security relationships and opportunities for further cooperation among states in the region." He said he intends to see if there's an interest in pursuing dialog on ways to strengthen existing bilateral security relationships.
Finally, he said he wants to reassure regional countries that U.S. policies in Iraq "have had and will continue to have regional stability and security as a very high priority," he said.
A senior defense official speaking on background told reporters the talks are expected to focus heavily on Iraq and encouraging its neighbors to do more to support its new government.
"Instability in Iraq will negatively affect the stability of the region as a whole, and so it is in these countries' own interest to try to bring about stabilization of the political and security situation in Iraq," he said. "And that is a message we will be carrying."
Concerns about Iranian interference in Iraq, its nuclear programs and its ambitions in the region also are expected to weigh heavily in the discussions. There's "broad concern" about Iran, particularly now that two forces that previously countered its ambitions, the Taliban in Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein in Iraq, are both gone, the official said.
"So I would be one to argue it is in your interest to strengthen the government in Baghdad and embrace it in the Arab would so that it is an obstacle to Iranian influence and not a bridge," the official said he will tell participants at the conference.
But the visit is not what the official called "a Johnny-one-note trip" that will be limited to Iraq and Iran. "We also are going to be talking quite straightforwardly about how we can enhance cooperation bilaterally and maybe even multilaterally in terms of defense capabilities," the official said.
2007 Maintenance Award Winners Announced
The Department of Defense today announced the 2007 winners of the Secretary of Defense Maintenance Awards at the depot and field levels. These awards are presented annually to recognize outstanding achievements in military equipment and weapon systems maintenance.
The Robert T. Mason Depot Maintenance Excellence Award recipient is the Dedicated Design and Prototype Effort Team at the U.S. Marine Corps Maintenance Center, Albany, Ga. The team provided exceptional and responsive maintenance support to our warfighters by demonstrating the ability to be responsive, resourceful, agile, and creative by designing and prototyping multiple systems in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The depot-level award is named in recognition of Robert T. Mason, a former assistant deputy under secretary of defense for maintenance policy, programs, and resources. Mason served as the champion of organic depot maintenance for three decades, while helping to transform DoD organic depot-level operations.
There are six field-level awards presented in the categories of large, medium, and small units (two each). The recipients of this year's Secretary of Defense Field-level Maintenance Awards are as follows: for the large category, the 1st Maintenance Battalion, Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton, Calif. and the 56th Maintenance Group at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz. Winners in the medium category include the Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 16, Marine Corps Air Station. Miramar, Calif. and the 1st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Langley Air Force Base, Va. Small category winners includes the Navy's Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Detachment, Mayport, Fla. and Army's Charlie Company, 501st Military Intelligence Battalion, Wackernheim, Germany.
The awards will be presented to the winners at the Secretary of Defense Maintenance Awards banquet on Nov. 15, 2007, during the 2007 DoD Maintenance Symposium and Exhibition at the Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel in Orlando, Fla. Additional information regarding the 2007 DoD Maintenance Symposium and Exhibition can be found at http://www.sae.org/dod.
The Department of Defense today announced the 2007 winners of the Secretary of Defense Maintenance Awards at the depot and field levels. These awards are presented annually to recognize outstanding achievements in military equipment and weapon systems maintenance.
The Robert T. Mason Depot Maintenance Excellence Award recipient is the Dedicated Design and Prototype Effort Team at the U.S. Marine Corps Maintenance Center, Albany, Ga. The team provided exceptional and responsive maintenance support to our warfighters by demonstrating the ability to be responsive, resourceful, agile, and creative by designing and prototyping multiple systems in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The depot-level award is named in recognition of Robert T. Mason, a former assistant deputy under secretary of defense for maintenance policy, programs, and resources. Mason served as the champion of organic depot maintenance for three decades, while helping to transform DoD organic depot-level operations.
There are six field-level awards presented in the categories of large, medium, and small units (two each). The recipients of this year's Secretary of Defense Field-level Maintenance Awards are as follows: for the large category, the 1st Maintenance Battalion, Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton, Calif. and the 56th Maintenance Group at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz. Winners in the medium category include the Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 16, Marine Corps Air Station. Miramar, Calif. and the 1st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Langley Air Force Base, Va. Small category winners includes the Navy's Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Detachment, Mayport, Fla. and Army's Charlie Company, 501st Military Intelligence Battalion, Wackernheim, Germany.
The awards will be presented to the winners at the Secretary of Defense Maintenance Awards banquet on Nov. 15, 2007, during the 2007 DoD Maintenance Symposium and Exhibition at the Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel in Orlando, Fla. Additional information regarding the 2007 DoD Maintenance Symposium and Exhibition can be found at http://www.sae.org/dod.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
