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By Sgt. 1st Class Doug Sample, USA American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, March 14, 2004 -- On the one-year anniversary of the war in Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told television viewers today he stands behind the president's decision to go to war, although weapons of mass destruction, one of the justifications for the invasion, have not been found. Rumsfeld, appearing on the CBS program "Face The Nation" with Bob Schieffer, said that he still believes the war with Iraq was "the right thing to do," and that he's glad "it is done." The secretary told Schieffer the U.S.-led coalition helped liberate 25 million Iraqi people from a vicious regime and decades of repression, death squads, mass graves and mass killings. He said Iraq was a country that used chemical weapons on its own people and fired ballistic missiles into several neighboring countries. "It's a good thing they're gone," he said of Saddam Hussein and his regime. Rumsfeld said the United States and United Nations offered Iraqi leader Saddam several opportunities to comply with U.N. resolutions and avoid war, but "he chose war." "There were 17 U.N. resolutions, there was unanimous agreement that he had filed a fraudulent declaration," Rumsfeld said. "The final opportunity was given with the last resolution, and he didn't take it." The secretary said other countries with nuclear weapons knew the right thing to do. "(Saddam) didn't do what Kazakhstan did, he didn't do what South Africa did, and he didn't do what Ukraine did. He didn't say, 'Come in and look, and see what we have.' He was engaged in active deception. We'll ultimately know a great deal about what took place," he said. Later Sunday during an interview with Wolf Blitzer on "CNN Late Edition," the secretary again defended his stance on the war. Although no weapons of mass destruction have yet been found, the secretary noted that Iraq is a country the size of California, and that biological and chemical weapons could have been hidden just about any place. "You could have hidden enough biological weapons in the hole that we found Saddam Hussein in to kill tens of thousands of people," Rumsfeld said. "So it's not as though we have certainty today." The secretary there is a team of about 1,200 people still is in Iraq trying to determine "what really took place." Despite violence including this weekend's deadly attacks in which six U.S. soldiers were killed, U.S. efforts in the Middle East over the past year have been worth the risks, Rumsfeld said. The war, he added, is putting pressure on terrorists in both Afghanistan and Iraq, is an "advance for freedom" and is "clearly making the world a safer place." Rumsfeld offered condolences to the families of those killed by terrorist bombs March 11 in Madrid, Spain, calling the attack that left some 200 dead a "tragic event." The secretary said that although he has no intelligence that would give "clarity" as to who or what organization was responsible for the attack, he did say that there seem to be growing connections among terrorist organizations.
By Rudi Williams American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, March 14, 2004 It isn't clear who was behind the brutal attack in Spain that killed 200 and wounded more than 1,400 people, but National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice said today that in the global war on terrorism, this is just more evidence of the lengths to which terrorists will go to try to intimidate free people. In an appearance today on NBC's "Meet the Press" with commentator Tim Russert, Rice said Spanish authorities still suspect the Basque terrorist group ETA in the bombings, but acknowledge it might have been foreign terrorists such as al Qaeda. "We have offered to do everything that we can to help the Spanish authorities determine who was behind this attack," Rice noted. "But I'd just like to say one thing to the Spanish people: terrorism is terrorism in the view of the United States and this president. And we stand with them at this terrible time when once again we have seen what brutal killers will do in the name of a cause. They will take innocent lives. They will do so without any warning, and they will do so in places as varied as Indonesia and Saudi Arabia, Morocco and Spain and the United States. It simply doesn't matter to them. "They will try and attack those who they believe might defeat them," she noted. "That is a part of their game. But they will not win, and we will not falter." Rice said the world can't afford to be intimidated by terrorists and sit back and let them grow and continue. "If we don't bother them, they won't bother us, that's simply a notion that cannot be tolerated after 9/11," she said. Terrorists began to think they were on the road to victory because of inadequate responses to a progression of terrorist activities that got stronger since the early 1980s, Rice said. "And now they recognize that they have a United States of America and a coalition that is taking them on," she noted. "They've committed acts of war against us. We have no choice but to take them on wherever they may be." Russert quoted Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld as saying that more terrorists seem to be created faster than they're being arrested or killed. Rice said the United States and its allies have to deal with several layers of terrorists, starting with organizations like al Qaeda. "We've rounded up two thirds of (al Qaeda's) known leadership -- people like Khalid Sheik Mohammed and Abu Zubeida, who used to be their field generals, are now in custody," Rice noted. "Others of them have been killed. We are hurting that organization." But Rice said to be successful, it's also necessary to break up terrorists' financing and their support networks. Rice said the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks were meant to decapitate the United States by attacking the Pentagon and going after the Capitol and the White House. "That's an act of war!" she said emphatically. The United States, she said, has to go after terrorists in their strongholds because, as an open society, the nation can't defeat terrorism by sitting at home trying to defend. "We are succeeding, because slowly but surely their world is getting smaller, not larger," she said. "They don't have Afghanistan as a base of operations. They will not have Iraq as a base of operations. They will not have Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, countries that now have joined in an aggressive way in the fight against terrorism. They will not have Libya. They will not have Sudan. It's only through a policy that is aggressive and tough that we are ultimately going to defeat them," Rice said. In the final analysis, Rice said, the United States has to work with those who want to change attitudes in the Middle East. "It's obviously a place where hatred and ideologies of hatred are flourishing because of lack of opportunity and the freedom deficit," she said. Though al Qaeda's capabilities have been damaged, Rice said, the organization still can launch spectacular attacks like the one in Madrid. "They are going to win skirmishes in the war on terrorism," she said. "They are going to, from time to time, pull off an attack. We know that. We know that even though we are safer -- much safer -- in the United States, we are not yet safe. "But they are not going to win the war, and they are losing many of their most important assets," she continued. "Not only (have they lost) parts of their leadership, but their world is getting smaller." She said places where terrorists can operate with impunity are shrinking, because the United States and its global coalition fight them daily through law enforcement and through intelligence. "We also fight them on the ground for territory, where we can take regimes that were once supporters of terrorism, regimes that were once problems for weapons of mass destruction, and make those places that are on the road to democratic development," Rice said. "The terrorists are losing." Everyone looks forward to the day that al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is captured or killed, but the war on terrorism isn't just about one man, Rice noted. For example, she said there are others, like Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who is operating in and around Iraq. "There is an awful lot floating around about Osama bin Laden and where he might be caught, or where he might not be caught, that isn't backed up by sound intelligence," Rice said. "People should stop speculating. We're on the hunt for him. We're working with our allies in Afghanistan, and with Pakistan in Pakistan, to try to find him and to try to find his associates. That is a daily, hourly activity and task. "We will find him when we find him," she noted. "And the best news is that he is on the run because we have real allies now in the war on terrorism that we did not have prior to Sept. 11."
By Jim Garamone American Forces Press Service BUENOS AIRES, March 13, 2004 It is still too soon to say definitively who launched the terrorist attacks in Spain March 11 that killed almost 200 people and wounded more than 1,400, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said during a press conference here March 12. Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, on a visit to the region to improve military- to-military ties, said the "heinous terrorist attacks" reinforce the need to combat the scourge of terrorism around the world. He said the United States stands "shoulder-to-shoulder" with Spain in the war on terrorism. Myers said Spanish officials must perform more investigations before they can determine who launched the attack. Spanish officials said initially that the ETA, a Basque separatist group, launched the attacks at the Atocha train station. However, news reports said an al Qaeda splinter group sent a fax to an Arab-language newspaper in London claiming responsibility. ETA has denied responsibility. "Any extremist organization that attacks innocent civilians is clearly outside the bounds of civility that most normal nations understand," Myers said. "It simply cannot be tolerated in whatever forms it surfaces. I don't think it matters what side of the political spectrum you are on; this form of political extremism is simply unacceptable." The international community understands that, he said, and countries have reached across political boundaries to work together against terrorism. "We need to strengthen that cooperation until this threat is eradicated," Myers said. Myers told the reporters that al Qaeda is damaged and disrupted in major ways. "Lots of top operatives have been captured or killed, finances disrupted, their Afghanistan safe havens have been eradicated, but nevertheless, they are a very adaptive adversary," he said. "Others have stepped in to leadership positions of those captured or killed. And they still have significant operational capabilities." The chairman stressed that the solution to groups like al Qaeda rests not only with the military, but with law enforcement, attacking terrorist finances and on other fronts as well. During his stay in Argentina, Myers met with Vice President Daniel Ozvaldo Scioli, Defense Minister Dr. Jose Pampuro and Argentine air force Gen. Jorge Alberto Chevalier. Myers discussed the peacekeeping mission in Haiti. The Argentine government may decide to send forces to the nation. "The Argentine armed forces are particularly good at this task," Myers said. "They've deployed around the world to participate in U.N. peacekeeping missions." He said a U.N. assessment team is in Haiti now to determine the requirements for a follow-on peacekeeping force. That group will report back to the headquarters in New York. The U.N. Security Council likely will likely authorize a peacekeeping force, he added. But the main discussion point with Argentina during the chairman's visit was to tend and nurture the military-to-military relationship between the United States and Argentina. The country is recovering from its economic collapse of two years ago. The cash-strapped military is looking for new ways to economize. But it is important to maintain the relationship between the two militaries, Myers said. "Our military-to-military relationship is strong, shown by our cooperation on issues such as peacekeeping, counterproliferation, regional security and counterterrorism," he said. "We appreciate the continued support of joint and combined exercises. We look forward to enhancing our bilateral cooperation to further our interoperability and to further address illegal trafficking, transnational crime and terrorism throughout the Western Hemisphere."
By Gerry J. Gilmore American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, March 12, 2004 U.S. special operations troops have become a key military weapon in the war on terrorism, DoD's top special operations official told U.S. House of Representatives' members here March 11. Special operators are "taking the war to the terrorists before it can be fought on our own soil or that of our allies," Thomas W. O'Connell said in testimony before the House Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee. O'Connell is the assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict. He told House members that special operations forces played a front-line role in routing the Taliban and disrupting al Qaeda's influence in Afghanistan, as well as "destroying the brutal (Saddam Hussein) regime in Iraq." U.S. special operations forces, O'Connell pointed out, are also assisting Colombian and Philippine authorities in their fight against terrorists. New global realities brought about by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, he asserted, have given special operators "a prominent, front-line, essential role in the defense of our nation." Consequently, U.S. special operations has required "necessary increases in support and training" to continue the fight against global terrorism, O'Connell noted. The proposed fiscal 2005 DoD budget, he pointed out, provides $6.6 billion for special operations' needs, a 34 percent funding boost over last year. Some proposed new funding will be used to add 3,700 more special operations' troops to the rolls over the next five years, O'Connell noted, a personnel boost necessitated by "a significant increase in operational tempo." The increased funding for special operations is "essential to sustaining the necessary operations in the war on terrorism and to ensuring we can meet essential transformation requirements," O'Connell said. He pointed out the extra money will also be used to track terrorists and mount stealthy attacks against them; maintain operations in places where terrorists are operating; purchase required aircraft manufactured to meet special operations' unique needs; and improve special operations' communications network. In the wake of 9/11 and in acknowledgement of a changed national security environment, O'Connell noted that U.S. special operations has become "a global, proactive and preemptive force." As special operations forces continue to evolve to meet 21st century contingencies such as global terrorism, O'Connell suggested that lessons learned could also be applied in the transformation of Cold War-era, legacy forces. Special operations' innovations, O'Connell declared, "can be a critical tool to inform the evolution of the larger military and support the transformation of our national defense as a whole in coming years."
By John D. Banusiewicz American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, March 9, 2004 Though al Qaeda's leadership structure has been seriously damaged, the organization remains "as committed as ever to attacking the U.S. homeland," the nation's top intelligence official said today on Capitol Hill. Director of Central Intelligence George J. Tenet identified al Qaeda as the biggest danger to the United States in his annual national security threat assessment to the Senate Armed Services Committee. Though many al Qaeda's top leaders have been killed or captured, Tenet said, the organization still is capable of devastating attacks like those of Sept. 11, 2001. "Military and intelligence operations by the United States and its allies overseas have degraded the group," he said. "Local al Qaeda cells are forced to make their own decisions because of the central leadership's disarray." Tenet said the operations have hurt al Qaeda. "Over the past 18 months," he said, "we have killed or captured key al Qaeda leaders in every significant operational area, logistics, planning, finance and training, and have eroded the key pillars of the organization." U.S. and allied military and intelligence efforts have prevented attacks that otherwise would have taken place, he added, and have reduced al Qaeda's operational safe havens. But despite "notable strides" these efforts have made against the terror organization, Tenet said, al Qaeda has transformed into a loose collection of more autonomous regional networks and still poses a significant threat. "Detainees consistently talk about the importance the group still attaches to striking the main enemy, the United States," Tenet said. "Across the operational spectrum, air, maritime, special weapons, we have time and again uncovered plots that are chilling. On aircraft plots alone, we have uncovered new plans to recruit pilots and to evade new security measures in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Europe." Catastrophic attacks like those of Sept. 11, 2001, he added, remain within al Qaeda's reach. Radical Muslim jihadists are growing in numbers and pose a similar threat, Tenet pointed out. A spectacular attack against the U.S. homeland continues to be "the brass ring" to which both terrorist organizations and jihadists aspire, he said. Tenet noted that acquiring chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons remains "a religious obligation" in the eyes of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. "And al Qaeda and more than two dozen terrorist groups are pursuing CBRN materials," he added. The threat of an attack using such weapons is one the intelligence community takes very seriously, Tenet said. "Extremists have widely disseminated assembly instructions for an improvised chemical weapon, using common materials, that could cause a large number of casualties in crowded, enclosed areas." He called al Qaeda's program to produce anthrax "one of the most immediate terrorist CBRN threats we are likely to face." The director emphasized, however, that al Qaeda is not the limit of the worldwide terrorist threat. He said "a serious threat will remain for the foreseeable future, with or without al Qaeda in the picture." This will happen through spreading Osama bin Laden's anti-American sentiment via the wider Sunni extremist movement and broad dissemination of al Qaeda's destructive expertise. Dozens of groups exist within the al Qaeda-influenced movement, he said, and they represent "the next wave of the terrorist threat." Tenet said small, international Sunni extremist groups who have benefited from al Qaeda links pose one of the most immediate threats. "They include groups as diverse as the Zarqawi network and Ansar al-Islam in Iraq, the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan," he said. "These far- flung groups increasingly set the agenda and are redefining the threat that we face." Though he expressed concern about former regime elements in Iraq joining forces with foreign jihadists, Tenet told the senators there's "low" likelihood those efforts would undermine the June 30 transfer of sovereignty in Iraq to the Iraqi people. But he said he expects more violence as June 30 draws closer. Tenet noted some Sunnis, the deposed ruling minority in Iraq -- have started to work toward securing a legitimate stake in the country's new government. "Some are beginning to recognize that boycotting the emerging political process will weaken their community," he said. "Their political isolation may be breaking down in parts of the Sunni Triangle, where some Sunni Arabs have begun to engage the coalition and assume local leadership roles." He cited national Sunni umbrella organizations that have formed over the last three months to work with the coalition and the Iraqi Governing Council as another encouraging sign.
By 1st Lt. Phillip Ulmer, USAF Special to American Forces Press Service TIMBUKTU, Mali, March 8, 2004 -- Soldiers assigned to the 1st Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) in Stuttgart, Germany, are training African soldiers along the outer reaches of the Sahara Desert in support of the global war on terrorism. Special Forces training teams from Special Operations Command Europe are in Bamako, Gao and Timbuktu, Mali; and Atar, Mauritania in northwestern Africa to provide foreign internal defense training for the Pan Sahel Initiative, a U.S. State Department security assistance program. "We're training basic platoon level tasks to one company of the 33rd Parachute Infantry Regiment in Bamako in order to enhance their capabilities to police their border regions in the north," said the battalion's operational detachment commander in Bamako. "They're really a sharp unit, and they're picking it up quickly." Key aspects of the training include basic marksmanship, planning, communications, land navigation, patrolling and medical care. This foreign internal defense training, officials said, will help the countries involved better protect their own borders and regions. Lt. Col. Robert Warburg, the battalion commander, met with the 33rd Parachute Infantry Regiment commander in Bamako during a recent visit and discussed the challenges and highlights of the training. "The training here is a two-way street," said Warburg. "While we're here to train the Malian soldiers, we're also receiving tremendous training from them." The African soldiers are not the only ones to benefit from the Pan Sahel Initiative. The SOCEUR forces, known throughout the U.S European Command for their abilities to excel in the most austere locations with the command's area of responsibility, are getting the opportunity to learn new cultures, terrain and languages by working with these African forces. They're also conducting special operations forces specific training requirements in a new environment that they don't normally encounter in central Europe. "We're fighting against terrorists, so this training is very important for us," said Malian Army Lt. Col. Unisa Barizamega, commander of the 5th Military Region, based in Timbuktu. "This training is helping us improve our combat skills and is teaching us new ones," he said. "One of the highlights of our training was our joint airborne operation with the Mauritanian 1st Battalion Commando Parachutists using their aircraft and their airspace," said the battalion's operational detachment commander at Atar, Mauritania. "The soldiers are very motivated, and they have a good attitude." The commander of the battalion's area operating base near Gao, agreed. "This is a good program, and we're glad to be a part of it," he said. The base near Gao serves as the Pan Sahel Initiative's headquarters, and two Special Forces teams conduct training there with local Malian forces. "The guys in the unit are working hard and doing a great job," said the AOB commander. State Department officials said this region of Africa has become important in the global security arena. Vast expanses of unpopulated areas, instability, and porous borders make Africa an inviting playground for terrorists. "By cooperating with Mali to better protect its borders and territory, we can help keep it from being used by terrorists. This makes Mali a very important partner in the war on terrorism," said Vicki Huddleston, U.S. ambassador to Mali. (Air Force 1st Lt. Phillip Ulmer is assigned to 435th Air Base Wing public affairs.) By Gerry J. Gilmore American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Feb. 6, 2004 Prosecuting the war against terrorism necessitates taking the fight to the enemy rather than waiting for another 9-11-style assault, a senior DoD civilian leader said here today. "The stakes are so high that we must take action before the threats ripen and destruction is again brought to our shores," Thomas W. O'Connell, assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low intensity conflict, said to attendees at a downtown defense industry symposium. Accordingly, O'Connell said he supports President Bush's policy of taking pre- emptive military action against global terrorists. Such a policy, he pointed out, "necessitates a new, more robust, and increasingly critical role" for U.S. special operations forces. The special operations community is now undergoing transformation, O'Connell explained, to be employed proactively and globally to better confront terrorism threats. However, special operations will maintain its capability to respond to other contingencies and to assist allies, he emphasized, such as the training of Colombian military to fight narcotics traffickers. "SOLIC must be ready to act at any time in all environments," he pointed out. O'Connell said SOLIC has achieved considerable success as "the primary DoD tool for fighting the war on terror." Still, he acknowledged, "Much remains to be done."
By K.L. Vantran American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Feb. 4, 2004 The struggles and challenges the United States and its allies face in the war on terror are similar to those British Prime Minister Winston Churchill knew in World War II, President Bush said here today. "Today we are engaged in a different struggle," he said at the Library of Congress, which is featuring an exhibit on Churchill. "Instead of an armed empire, we face stateless networks. Instead of massed armies, we face deadly technologies that must be kept out of the hands of terrorists and outlaw regimes," he said. "The outcome of the war on terror depends on our ability to see danger, and to answer it with strength and purpose," the president said. "One by one, we are finding and dealing with the terrorists, drawing tight what Winston Churchill called a closing net of doom." Bush said this war also is a conflict of visions. "In their worship of power, their deep hatreds, their blindness to innocence, the terrorists are successors to the murderous ideologies of the 20th century," he said. "And we are the heirs of the tradition of liberty, defenders of the freedom, the conscience and the dignity of every person. Others before us have shown bravery and moral clarity in this cause." The president said the United States accepts the responsibilities of history. "The tradition of liberty has advocates in every culture and in every religion," Bush noted. "Our great challenge is to support the momentum of freedom in the greater Middle East. The stakes could not be higher. "As long as that region is a place of tyranny and despair and anger," he continued, "it will produce men and movements that threaten the safety of Americans and our friends. We seek the advance of democracy for the most practical of reasons, because democracies do not support terrorists or threaten the world with weapons of mass murder." America is pursuing a forward strategy of freedom in the Middle East, said the president. "We're challenging the enemies of reform, confronting the allies of terror and expecting a higher standard from our friends," he said. "For too long, American policy looked away while men and women were oppressed, their rights ignored and their hopes stifled. That era is over, and we can be confident. As in Germany and Japan and Eastern Europe, liberty will overcome oppression in the Middle East." The president talked about the progress the United States and its allies have made in Afghanistan and Iraq. "We know that success of freedom in these nations would be a landmark event in the history of the Middle East, in the history of the world," he said. "Across the region, people would see that freedom is the path to progress and national dignity," he continued. "A thousand lies would stand refuted, falsehoods about the incompatibility of (democratic) values and Middle Eastern cultures. And all would see -- in Afghanistan, in Iraq -- the success of free institutions at the heart of the greater Middle East. "Achieving this vision," Bush continued, "will be the work of many nations over time, requiring the same strength of will and confidence of purpose that propelled freedom to victory in the defining struggles of the last century." The president said America will do whatever it takes to win the war on terror. "We will not leave until the job is done," he said as the crowd applauded. "We will succeed because, when given a choice, people everywhere, from all walks of life, from all religions, prefer freedom to violence and terror. We will succeed because human beings are not made by the Almighty God to live in tyranny. We will succeed because of who we are, because even when it is hard, Americans always do what is right. And we know the work that has fallen to this generation."
By Jim Garamone American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Jan. 27, 2004 A new generation of American service members has picked up the gauntlet thrown by terrorists and has accepted new responsibilities in the world, Vice President Dick Cheney said at Aviano Air Base, Italy, Jan. 26. "Today's generation of our military has been called to fight in the first war of the 21st century, a war that began on September 11th, 2001, when enemies struck the United States and murdered thousands of our fellow citizens," Cheney said to assembled airmen, their families and their Italian allies. Cheney said that Sept. 11 changed everything, and in that day of violence and grief, America got a glimpse of the even greater harm terrorists want to inflict on America. "The terrorists hate our country and everything we stand for in the world," Cheney said. "They seek even deadlier weapons, and they would use them against us. In the face of this danger, we have only one option, and that's to take the fight to the enemy." The coalition against terrorism is breaking up cells and disrupting plots. America and its allies are tracking al Qaeda operatives around the world, Cheney said. "Many skilled and determined military personnel are on a manhunt," he noted, "and one by one, we will bring the terrorists to justice." And the United States is prepared to hold liable rogue regimes that support terrorists, provide them havens and provide them with weapons of mass destruction. "That's why we went into Afghanistan, and took down the regime, and shut down the al Qaeda camps," he said. Afghanistan today is a land embarked on a democratic trail. The country has written a new constitution and the Loya Jirga has accepted it. Afghanistan has a long way to go. Taliban and al Qaeda remnants are still battling coalition service members, but it will never again house the terrorists, Cheney said. "In Iraq, where a dictator cultivated ties to terror and sought to arm himself with deadly weapons, America led a mission to make the world safer, and liberate the Iraqi people," the vice president said. "Saddam Hussein defied the demands of the civilized world and he has experienced the consequences." At the start of 2003, Saddam controlled the lives of 25 million people. "Now at the beginning of 2004, he's in jail," Cheney said. "He will never again brutalize his people, never again threaten the United States of America." The vice president said recent combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq showed the great power and precision of America's modern military. U.S. military units were able to strike at military targets and spare civilian resources, he said. "We will invest in these and other capabilities in the years ahead," Cheney noted. "To carry out any mission that may come, you deserve the very best, in terms of weapons, equipment, and training and support. And you will have them." Cheney said operations continue in Iraq and Afghanistan. U.S. military personnel are working with coalition partners from around the world to "establish free and stable societies in a troubled region of the world." That effort still has enemies, he said, and those enemies have adopted terror tactics to confront the United States. "They hope to intimidate us, but they won't succeed," Cheney declared. "We will confront and defeat them at the heart and the center of their power, so we do not have to face them on the streets of our own cities."
By Jim Garamone American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Jan. 26, 2004 Vice President Dick Cheney called on all democratic nations to support the war on terror during a speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 24. Terrorism is a real threat, Cheney told the audience. He said that 19 men armed with "box cutters and airplane tickets" killed 3,000 people on Sept. 11, 2001. Terrorists armed with chemical, biological or nuclear weapons could kill 300,000 and would not hesitate to use them. "We must act with all urgency that this danger demands," Cheney said. "Civilized people must do everything in our power to defeat terrorism and to stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction." The vice president said there are three fundamental responsibilities for all democracies in the war on terror. "First, we must confront the ideologies of violence at the source by promoting democracy throughout the greater Middle East and beyond," he said. "Second, we must meet these dangers together. Cooperation among our governments and effective international institutions are even more important today than they have been in the past." Finally, if diplomacy fails, then the democracies must be prepared to use force if necessary. "Direct threats require decisive action," he said. Cheney responded to those who say that democracy cannot work in the Middle East. He called that thinking condescending and false. He said there were many who said that Germany and Japan could never become democracies in the years following World War II, but the events of the last 50 years have proved those critics wrong. "Democracies do not breed the anger and the radicalism that drag down whole societies or export violence," the vice president said. "Terrorists do not find fertile recruiting grounds in societies where young people have the right to guide their own destinies and to choose their own leaders." Cheney echoed a persistent point in many of President Bush's speeches that the desire for freedom is not just for Americans or Western countries, but is universal. "Whenever ordinary people are given the chance to choose, they choose freedom, democracy and the rule of law, not slavery, tyranny and the heavy tread of the secret police," he said. He pointed out there are many countries in the Arab world and the Middle East working toward democracy. Cheney named Morocco, Bahrain, Qatar, Egypt and Saudi Arabia as countries making progress along that road. He called on the rulers of Iran to follow these examples. In Iran, "there is a growing call for true democracy and human rights," he said. "Europe and America must stand as one in calling for the regime to honor the legitimate demands of the Iranian people. They ask nothing more than to enjoy their God-given right to live their lives as free men and women." The best examples of the fruits of freedom can be seen in Afghanistan and Iraq, Cheney said. In Afghanistan, the Loya Jirga has approved a constitution that reflects the values of tolerance and equal rights for women. In Iraq, democracy is beginning to take hold, he said. "Less than a year ago, the people of that country lived under the absolute power of one man and his apparatus of intimidation and torture," Cheney said. "Today the former dictator sits in captivity, while the people of Iraq prepare for full self-government. Saddam Hussein can no longer harbor and support terrorists, and his long efforts to acquire weapons of mass destruction are finally at an end." Supporting democracy calls for many nations and institutions to work together. Cheney said it is vital that the nations of the world work to keep alliances and international partnerships strong and to cooperate on every front. The vice president said there has been much progress. "Today, our intelligence and law enforcement services are cooperating to tighten the noose around terrorists, to choke off their sources of funding, to prevent them from moving freely across our borders and to apprehend them before they strike again," he said. "By these means we are safer, but we are not yet safe. Each of us bears responsibility to close the holes in our common effort against terror and weapons of mass destruction." NATO has been a bulwark in the war on terror, and Cheney said it is no surprise that "21 of the 34 countries keeping peace with us in Iraq today are NATO allies and partners." NATO also maintains security in Kabul, Afghanistan, and is looking to expand that security zone. But allies can do more. "Europe and Canada have 1.4 million soldiers under arms, but only 55,000 deployed, and many European militaries still maintain they are overstretched," Cheney said. "We have spoken before about the need for more deployable European forces -- and today that need is critical." Cheney said he was pleased that Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi agreed to dispose of his weapons of mass destruction program. The vice president said the agreement came about through quiet diplomacy, but was backed by the firm principles and commitments of the United States. "Over the last two years, we have demonstrated that when we speak of fighting terrorism and of ending the spread of weapons of mass destruction, we mean exactly what we say," Cheney said. "Our diplomacy with Libya was successful only because our word was credible. "That kind of credibility can be earned in only one way -- by keeping commitments, even when they bring difficulty and sacrifice; by leaving potential adversaries with no doubt that dangerous conduct will invite certain consequences." The three fundamental responsibilities that democracies must accept are not easily met, Cheney said. "Promoting freedom, justice and democracy in areas that have known generations of despotism is an enormous undertaking," he said. "Working cooperatively against the dangers of a new era will place demands on us all, and there will be occasional differences, even among allies who have great respect for one another," Cheney noted. "And using military power, when no alternative remains, will always be the most difficult decision that leaders can make." Still countries must accept these responsibilities, because tragedy can come from division, weakness and vacillation. "Going forward, we can be guided as well by one of the last century's more hopeful lessons, Cheney said. "History has not dealt kindly with dictators and murderous ideologies. The momentum of history is on the side of human freedom. And when free people are clear in our purposes, and confident in our ideals, and united in our defense, no enemy will prevail against us."
Guard Artillerymen Training As MPs to Support Terror War By Donna Miles American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Jan. 9, 2004 -- The third group of National Guard artillerymen is slated to begin retraining as military police at the Army's Military Police School [http://www.wood.army.mil/usamps/default.htm] at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. [http://www.wood.army.mil/], Jan. 12 to support the war on terror. Army Lt. Col. Henry R. Evans, commander of the Army Reserve unit conducting the training, said B and C companies of the Illinois National Guard's 2nd Battalion, 122nd Field Artillery Regiment, will undergo a four-week class in basic military police skills. The soldiers are among the first of about 2,200 Army National Guard soldiers to be retrained as provisional military police to conduct patrols, control crowd and direct traffic at military installations in the United States and Germany. The National Guard Bureau [http://www.ngb.army.mil/] announced the decision last fall to help ease the burden placed on the Army's heavily tapped active and reserve military police corps, much of it deployed overseas in support of Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom. In addition, more than 12,000 of the National Guard's 15,000 military police soldiers have been mobilized since Sept. 11, 2001 -- some more than once, according to Col. Frank Grass, chief operations officer for the Army National Guard [http://www.ngb.army.mil/]. Grass said nearly all of the Guard's 92 military police companies have been activated. In response, the Guard will establish 18 new provisional military police units 14 from field artillery units, one from a transportation unit, and three from combat support units that had already been slated to convert to military police units, Grass said. Air Force Joint Chiefs of Staff [http://www.dtic.mil/jcs/], said during a Jan. 6 Pentagon briefing that the decision to convert units less likely to be called on in the current security environment and to convert them to much-needed military police "makes eminent sense." Grass said it demonstrates the flexibility of the National Guard. He said that's something America's citizen soldiers have demonstrated repeatedly since the Minutemen first took up arms to protect their country during mid-1700s and continue to do as they respond to emergencies within their states. "This shows that the Guard is relevant, viable and adaptable to a changing environment," Grass said. "It fits right in with what we've always done as a National Guard." So far, four field artillery batteries from the Missouri National Guard have received the training: A and C companies, 1st Battalion, 128th Field Artillery; and A and D companies, 1st Battalion, 129th Field Artillery. Troops from the 128th Field Artillery Regiment who made up the first class of artillerymen-turned-military police graduated Dec. 19 and are now serving in their new capacities at Fort Polk, La [http://www.jrtc-polk.army.mil/]. Evans said Army Reservists from the Nashville, Tenn.-based 2nd Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 100th Division, are teaching junior enlisted soldiers how to conduct patrols, route reconnaissance and crowd control, set up traffic control points, detain unauthorized persons and work with local law enforcement. The course lasts four weeks. Noncommissioned officers and officers receive additional training that emphasizes leadership and management as well as military police skills. At the end of the training, the enlisted soldiers receive the military police job classification, Evans said. Their unit designation changes as well, with "Military Police Provisional," in parentheses, following the unit name. While the military police specialty involves "a whole different skill set" from those required of artillerymen, Evans said the training runs smoothly because the students "are already seasoned soldiers." And although they take "great pride in being field artillery soldiers," Evans said most of the students have responded positively to their reclassifications into a new job specialty. "It hasn't affected their motivation," Evans said. "They're highly motivated soldiers."
By Jim Garamone American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Jan. 6, 2004 Stopping terrorist networks from acquiring weapons of mass destruction is at the top of U.S. goals for 2004, Joint Chiefs Chairman Staff Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers [http://www.defenselink.mil/bios/myers_bio.html] said today. Myers spoke with Arab Radio and Television Network during an interview at the Pentagon with correspondent Paula Yaacoubian. He said the global war on terrorism is still the No. 1 American focus, and the objectives remain the same: to disrupt, degrade and destroy al Qaeda, and to eliminate safe havens for terrorists. Terror groups with weapons of mass destruction are the greatest threat facing the world, he said. "The evidence is very clear that if they could find more ways to kill more people, they would," Myers noted. Intelligence gleaned in Afghanistan makes it clear that al Qaeda has an interest in weapons of mass destruction, the general said. That group examined developing anthrax, he said, and the hunt for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq continues. "It's difficult," he said. "Where we found Saddam Hussein was in a hole in the ground. That same size hole could accommodate a lot of anthrax -- enough to virtually wipe out cities. This is a tough business, but that's got to be our goal. We don't want these types of weapons or these capabilities to fall into the wrong hands." The chairman said finding Osama bin Laden will be much the same as finding Saddam Hussein. "Finding any single individual anywhere on this planet is very, very difficult," he said. The al Qaeda leader probably is in some rough terrain, guarded by followers made fanatical by belief or money, the general added. In the end, individuals will come forward and point the way to bin Laden, Myers said. "In the case of Saddam Hussein, we were on his tail right after the war, and we got closer and closer and closer," he said. "Finally, (we) captured somebody who led to another capture. In the end, it comes down to good intelligence." But at the heart of good intelligence is local people in Afghanistan and Iraq coming forward and giving information that puts an end to the dictatorial past of the countries. The general was quick to state that even with bin Laden captured it won't mean that al Qaeda will go away. Yet, he said, the world is a safer place now than it was before Sept. 11, 2001. The global war on terrorism is not just about the United States, Myers said, noting that the most recent targets have been the Saudis, the Iraqi people, Indonesians and Turks. The former regime members blew up the Baghdad headquarters of the International Red Cross and the United Nations. The bombing today in Kandahar, Afghanistan, resulted in 40 casualties, the most of whom were women and children. "This is a threat against people who want to have a prosperous and civilized life and a better life for their children," he said. Myers said the combat in Iraq was worth it. "Less than a year ago, Iraq was ruled by a dictator that killed hundreds of thousands of his own citizens (and) had fought wars against two neighboring countries," he said. The general noted that Saddam used chemical weapons against his own people and Iranian soldiers, and that he had any number of chances to obey the U.N. Security Council resolutions, but refused. "It took combat to overturn the regime," Myers said. He said people of the region must realize that a stable, democratic Iraq that doesn't threaten its neighbors has to be better for the region than the one with Saddam in charge. The same is true in Afghanistan, he said. "More than two years ago, the Taliban was executing people in the soccer stadium in Kabul," Myers said. "Now they're playing soccer in the soccer stadium, and they have a new constitution that guarantees many different rights to all the various groups in Afghanistan." Myers said the policy of pre-emption is necessary now, because the results of a miscalculation are too high to accept. He said the United States could absorb the casualties caused by a conventional attack, but the country cannot absorb the casualties caused by a nuclear, chemical or biological attack. "These are difficult times," he said. "Al Qaeda is a real enemy. The leaders of al Qaeda are on record wanting to do away with the way of life of many of the Arab states in the Gulf region, the United States and, by extension, our friends and allies around the world. This is not a virtual enemy. This is a real enemy that can do us real harm if they had the wherewithal to do it."
By Jim Garamone American Forces Press Service CAMP LEMONIER, Djibouti, Dec. 20, 2003 The American presence here has helped thwart at least three and possibly as many as 10 terrorist attacks in the Horn of Africa region, said Marine Brig. Gen. Mastin Robeson, commander of the Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa. Robeson spoke to press traveling with Joint Chiefs Chairman Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers during a stop at the command's headquarters here Dec. 19. Robeson said the only mission of the 1,400 Americans deployed in the region is counterterrorism. The command uses humanitarian assistance, military-to-military ties, civil-military missions and other means to help the countries of the region fight terrorists that have burrowed in to the region. The U.S. service members in the region, which stretches from Kenya to Yemen and Sudan to the border of Oman, work through host nations to fight al Qaeda and other terrorist groups. "We measure our success by allowing the host nations to do what they do," Robeson said. "If we're doing our mission, we will help find and fix the transnational terrorist, and the host nation will capture or kill him." And the commitment by host nations is there. "We're facilitating and partnering with them," he said. "But they are doing a great job of capturing the terrorists within their borders." Success in this very poor region will be measured by the governments exercising effective control over their borders and all areas within their countries. Robeson and representatives from other American agencies, such as the State Department, U.S. Agency for International Development and other government bodies, work together to build a regional partnership among the seven nations of the region. Operations in the region are complicated by ethnic, tribal and clan divisions. Somalia, the "poster child" of failed states, according to joint task force officials, presents another challenge. "There are many people in Somalia who want to help (this anti-terrorist effort), but there are no governmental structures to work through," Robeson said. He pointed out that the command has been very successful at exposing the transnational terrorist networks. He said al Qaeda made a conscious, deliberate decision to emplace operatives and have them blend in with local populations. The young al Qaeda operatives were to "marry local girls, live a normal life and wait to be called up," Robeson said. "We're seeing a significant growth in our ability to pull the carpet up, so to speak, and see the all cockroaches underneath." The general noted it is possible that as more pressure is applied to terrorist groups in Iraq and Afghanistan, some of those people will flow to the region. "We believe that's why (Osama) bin Laden and al Qaeda left the architecture they left so they'd have a place to flow back to," he said. Robeson said that when he arrived in the region seven months ago, officials thought there were between 20 and 40 al Qaeda operatives in the region. Today dozens of terrorists have been captured or killed and there are "hundreds we know by name that we need to talk to." The fight against terrorism in the Horn of Africa is inherently different from operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. In those countries "the (terrorist) architecture is above ground. Everything here is below ground," he said. "It's like crab grass: You pull one weed up and think, 'I've got it,' but there's a whole runner that's connected to it." The Marine commander said he wouldn't be surprised if there was still an American presence of some sort in the region in 10 years. "We're committed to this fight and to establishing a relationship that could serve as a model for the rest of Africa," Robeson said.
By Jim Garamone American Forces Press Service MANAMA, Bahrain, Dec. 20, 2003 Navy forces have detained four al Qaeda suspects as a result of maritime interdiction operations in the U.S. Central Command [http://www.centcom.mil/] area or responsibility, Vice Adm. David Nichols [http://www.cusnc.navy.mil/pages/commander.htm] said Dec. 19. Nichols, who heads the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, 5th Fleet [http://www.cusnc.navy.mil/index.htm], said that within the last two weeks, ships stopped and searched two ships. In one instance, sailors detained one individual; in the other it was three. In one case, the suspected al Qaeda was trying to enter Iraq. In the other, Navy officials do not know where the ship was destined. At least one ship was carrying hashish, said Navy officials. They conjecture that al Qaeda is running drugs to pay for terrorist acts. "We're having some success at that disrupting movement, not only of terrorists going into Iraq but other terrorist activities in the region," Nichols said. "Frankly, drugs and terrorists use the same network and stopping one will stop the other." He would not say where the men are being held. U.S. and coalition ships interdict terrorists and terrorist support that is flowing or finding its way into Iraq. What's more, the maritime interception program works against drugs and weapons of mass destruction also. The operation also puts a damper on oil smuggling out of Iraq. Unless there is specific intelligence, most ships are simply queried by crews of frigates and destroyers enforcing the rules. Only some ships that fit the profile are searched, and a very small proportion is impounded. Most interceptions occur in the Persian Gulf but, Nichols said, some also happen in the Gulf of Oman and in the Red Sea.
By Sgt. 1st Class Doug Sample, USA American Force Press Service WASHINGTON, Dec. 17, 2003 -- "The spread of weapons of mass terror is one of the most urgent threats facing the globe today," Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz [http://www.defenselink.mil/bios/wolfowitz.html] told members of the Proliferation Security Initiative here today. Wolfowitz addressed the group, in which 16 nations are represented, during PSI's conference at the National Defense University. "The threat is global, and our response has to be global as well," he said. "We have to address this threat now, before an attack that would make the events of Sept. 11 pale in comparison." The PSI is a response to the growing challenge posed by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, their delivery systems, and related materials worldwide. It originally consisted of 11 countries: Australia, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. Five countries -- Canada, Denmark, Norway, Singapore and Turkey -- have joined since President Bush announced the initiative May 31. Wolfowitz said the group's "international and multilateral efforts" will only be successful to the extent that the group can get broad cooperation. PSI's initial statement of interdiction principles [http://www.state.gov/t/np/rls/fs/23764.htm] was published in September. During that time, more than 50 nations offered their support and readiness to take part in interdiction efforts against WMD trafficking, he said. "It's been fast-moving," he said, noting that he expects more nations to join PSI efforts as time goes on. "I think there are already some impressive achievements that should encourage many more countries to join the PSI principles," he said, "and hopefully give pause to some of those countries whose activities we are trying to stop." Wolfowitz said the good news since Sept. 11, 2001, is that the United States has been able to avoid more terror attacks on U.S. soil. He added that a coalition of some 90 countries has been relatively successful, preventing many attacks worldwide. But he said a side-effect of the coalition's success in preventing terrorist attacks is a "dangerous" complacency "that people may think that somehow Sept. 11 was the high- water mark of terrorism, and the worst that we will ever face." He warned the group that, in fact, "if terrorists can get their hands on chemical or biological or, God forbid, nuclear weapons, they could make the events of Sept. 11 pale in comparison." Wolfowitz said weapons of mass destruction in the hands of "bad actors" and "rogue states" are something that the international community cannot continue to live with. He said that for too long, the United States relied on diplomacy, arms control, nonproliferation treaties and export controls to stop the trade of WMDs. He said that although major successes were achieved through nonproliferation, it became increasing clear over time that certain nations and terrorist groups were not going to be stopped by the "normal standards of a nonproliferation treaty or international agreements." Wolfowitz noted that when he served on the Ballistic Missile Defense Commission in 1998, one surprise he encountered was to see that a "fundamental rule" had changed. "It used to be that when countries joined the so-called nuclear club," he said, "they seemed to think the club had just about the right number of members and they wanted to stop further expansion." Wolfowitz said that in the last 10 years or more, the United States has seen a "very dangerous trade in the most dangerous materials, and the most dangerous technologies among these countries that lie outside the nonproliferation regimes." He said a concerted international effort is needed to prevent the "rogue trade of rogue materials from coming home to any of us in disastrous form." "The need for interdiction has never been greater," he said. "Given the growing number of states pursuing WMD and missile programs, combined with the threat that arises from the possible connections between those programs and terrorists, we have to go beyond the pre-existing nonproliferation architecture." He said the fate of Saddam Hussein has sent a powerful message to those who would make it their business to support exporters of terror. "One way or another, the world is determined to put them out of business," he said. The deputy defense secretary noted that even before Saddam was found last weekend, President Bush had said, "No terrorist network will gain WMDs from the Iraqi regime because that regime is no more." Part of the job of PSI is to help make sure there are no "safe harbors" for terrorists or the trade of WMDs, he said. Wolfowitz said that since May, four operational exercises led by Australia, the United Kingdom, Spain and France have tested key areas of proliferation trafficking, such as the Pacific Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. He said the exercises were important at the symbolic, political and operational levels. He said the operations help to "show the flag" and to deter proliferators by demonstrating a commitment to stopping the WMD trade, but that they also "enhance our capability to take real action, when action is necessary." Wolfowitz said the Defense Department is committed to PSI and the exercises associated with it, and to making interdiction an essential mission the U.S. military. He said the United States soon would begin negotiations with major shipping nations to facilitate boarding and inspections. The deputy defense secretary said that while PSI agreed during meetings in Brisbane, Australia, that North Korea and Iran are of particular concern with threats of WMDs, "We know that our efforts cannot be confined to just any one or two countries alone. Our efforts have to be aimed at the larger global trade in WMD materials that pose a threat to all of us," he said. (1) (2) (3) (4)
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