SECRETARY KERRY'S STATEMENT ON NATIONAL SECURITY BLUEPRINT

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 
The National Security Strategy
Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
February 6, 2015

This National Security Strategy is a blueprint to leverage America's leadership in a more complicated world than many people would have ever imagined.

It's ambitious and achievable. It's a pragmatic, clear-eyed assessment of both the challenges we face and the full arsenal of our power to confront them through moral, diplomatic, economic, development, and military tools. It's a strategy to promote our values in a world where no ocean, no fence, and no firewall can shield us from the reality of threats across the globe.

In the 21st Century, next door is everywhere.

Whether the opportunities and threats are old or new, from proliferation to violent extremism to global climate change, this strategy reflects the fact that America needs to lead, we will lead, and we are leading.

It's a vision of an America that energizes and galvanizes alliances and partnerships and puts our credibility and our capacity on the line to get things done.

For the State Department, it's also a clarion call for the resources that back up our mission. The investments are relatively small but couldn't pay bigger dividends for our country and our people.

Strong and sustainable leadership of a rules-based international order isn’t a favor we do for other countries – it’s a strategic imperative for America. And with this strategy, we are putting ourselves in the strongest possible position to lead and to get things done that simply couldn’t happen without our leadership and our engagement.

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE HAGEL ADDRESSES NAVAL ACADEMY CLASS OF 2014

Right:  Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel advises U.S. Naval Academy Class of 2014 graduates to connect with those they will lead, to understand different perspectives, and to stay humble during commencement activities in Annapolis, Md., May 23, 2014. U.S. Naval Academy photo  

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 
Hagel Addresses U.S. Naval Academy Class of 2014
By Cheryl Pellerin
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, May 23, 2014 – Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel this morning congratulated the future Navy and Marine Corps officers of the U.S. Naval Academy’s Class of 2014, advising the graduates to connect with those they will lead, to understand different perspectives, and to stay humble.

From a sunlit stage on the grounds of the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland, Hagel joined Navy Secretary Ray Mabus and Naval Academy Superintendent Vice Adm. Michael H. Miller in addressing the midshipmen, then shook the hand of each graduate.

“As you conclude four years of education and training on the Yard, our nation is concluding 13 years of war, the longest in our history … [and] you will soon be presented with great 21st century challenges and opportunities,” Hagel told the graduates.

The Yard is long-used name for the USNA campus, which began as the 9.9-acre Fort Severn Army post in 1845 to a 340-acre campus today.
“Meeting those challenges, seizing the opportunities, and managing through this period of uncertainty and transition will require exceptional leadership,” the secretary added, noting that helping lead America’s sailors and Marines through such a defining time is a heavy responsibility.

Toward their success, Hagel offered three suggestions.

“These are not just my ideas,” he cautioned. “They’re what enlisted sailors and Marines tell me all the time. It’s what I believed as an enlisted infantryman in 1968.”

First, Hagel told them to personally connect with people they will lead.
“When you do, you’re forging a bond that you can rely on years down the road and under different circumstances. Having built close relationships on the Yard, you will soon do so across the fleet,” the secretary said.

“With new technologies and social media making our relationships sometimes seem less relevant,” he added, “it’s more important than ever to be personally invested in your people and build relationships face-to-face. Take the time to ask them about themselves. Get to know them. Listen to them. That earns their respect.”

Second, Hagel told them, try to understand different perspectives.
“From the diverse group of people you’ll serve with to the allied and partner forces you’ll interact with, being able to see the world through their eyes, through the eyes of others, will be critically important,” he said.

“Seek out allies and partners,” Hagel added, “and opportunities to build relationships and engage in the world. Understanding the intentions and experiences of other militaries is a skill that’s vital to our national security and America’s future.”

The secretary’s third suggestion was that the future leaders be humble and stay humble.

“Humility is about respect for others. Give credit to others and remember … someone else will always have something to teach you,” said Hagel, who then shared a personal story about his own experience of leadership from his service in Vietnam.

A few months ago, after a long search, Hagel and his brother Tom who served in the Army together in Vietnam found their then-commanding officer, former Army Lt. Jerome Johnson, living in Chicago with his family and spoke with him for the first time since 1968.

Speaking to the graduates, Hagel described 1968 as the worst year for the nation during which 16,000 fallen Americans were sent home from Vietnam, and racial unrest was evident within the military’s ranks and in the populace at home.
“Our country was in trouble,” the secretary said.

That year in Hagel’s unit in Vietnam, he said, “this young African-American lieutenant out of Chicago stepped into the middle of this and brought everyone together. He said we were going to take care of each other … and the force of this one young African-American lieutenant in this white unit brought that company together like nothing I’ve ever seen.”

Hagel added, “That’s stepping up. That’s leadership.”

The secretary also used Johnson’s character to illustrate humility, describing how the lieutenant earned a Silver Star in Vietnam but never told his wife of 40 years or his children or grandchildren.

“That’s an individual who lived something pretty special,” Hagel said.
The secretary also asked the graduates to remember that the first principle of leadership is accountability.

“Once you take up your duty stations and the responsibility of leadership … at times you’ll be pressured to succeed at any cost,” he said, adding, “ … Small actions can reverberate in large ways, whether it’s sharing answers on a test, looking the other way when someone denigrates another human being, or taking advantage of the trappings of your office.”

As future officers, Hagel said, the graduates will be counted on to lead in helping eliminate sexual harassment and sexual assault of their sisters and brothers in uniform.

“You’ve seen what these crimes do to the survivors, their families, institutions and communities,” he added, “and you know how they tear people and units apart, how they destroy the bonds of confidence and trust that lie at the very core, the center, the heart of our military.”

The secretary added, “Take this knowledge and do whatever you can to make sure everyone is treated with the dignity and respect they deserve. We’re all accountable, from new recruits to four-star admirals and generals, from second lieutenants to the Secretary of Defense.”

As Hagel praised the midshipmen’s accomplishments he also remembered three classmates who lost their lives earlier this year -- Will McKamey, class of 2017, Hans Loewen, class of 2016, and Max Allen, class of 2014;, and Nick Tarr, class of 2014, who passed away two years ago.

“I knew Hans Loewen and I know his wonderful family. His sister Zatha is here among you today [and she] will be commissioned today as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps,” Hagel said to cheers from the midshipmen.

“This community will always remember their enthusiasm and compassion …,” the secretary said, adding, “Our hearts and prayers go out to the families of all these midshipmen and their friends here at the Academy.”

The men and women who graduated today from the U.S. Naval Academy, Hagel said, will lead from the bottom up and will help bring about a renewed sense of the collective responsibility to take care of each other and watch out for each other.

“If you stand together and face your challenges head on, you and your fellow sailors and Marines will be a force for good throughout the world,” the secretary told them.

“So go forth, class of 2014,” he said. “Connect with people. Understand different perspectives. Stay humble. Be there for your people and their families. And may you always be officers worthy not only of the people you lead but the nation you serve.”

PRESIDENT OBAMA SPEAKS ON COUNTERTERRORISM POLICY

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Obama Delineates Counterterrorism Policy
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, May 23, 2013 - President Barack Obama spoke today on U.S. counterterrorism policy and looked at how the United States can defend itself from terrorism, yet remain true to core beliefs.

The president's speech at the National Defense University on Fort Lesley J. McNair here took a broad view of counterterrorism efforts. Obama reviewed what has taken place since September 11, 2001, and how the counterterrorism effort has changed.

In 2001, Al-Qaida was the threat. It was that organization, led by Osama bin Laden, that planned and executed the attacks that killed 3,000 people on 9/11. "Now the core of al-Qaida in Afghanistan and Pakistan is on a path to defeat," the president said.

The United States has relentlessly pursued al-Qaida's senior leadership and the threat of a 9/11-scale attack is greatly reduced, he said.

At the same time the threat has morphed. Al-Qaida affiliates – notably those in North Africa and on the Arabian Peninsula – remain threats to the American homeland. Threats have grown following the unrest in the Arab world, although those are mostly local or regionally based.

Finally, there is a threat from homegrown extremists like those who are alleged to be responsible for the bombing in Boston.

Attacks like those from al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, like those against our embassy in Benghazi and like those in Boston represent the future of the threats we face from terrorism, the president said.

"We must recognize, however, that the threat has shifted and evolved from the one that came to our shores on 9/11," he said. "With a decade of experience to draw from, now is the time to ask ourselves hard questions – about the nature of today's threats, and how we should confront them."

Since 9/11, the United States has spent well over a trillion dollars on war. "Our service members and their families have sacrificed far more on our behalf," he said. "Nearly 7,000 Americans have made the ultimate sacrifice. Many more have left a part of themselves on the battlefield, or brought the shadows of battle back home. From our use of drones to the detention of terrorist suspects, the decisions we are making will define the type of nation – and world – that we leave to our children."

No one can promise the total defeat of terror. There will always be people misguided enough to resort to attacks on society, the president said. "What we can do – what we must do – is dismantle networks that pose a direct danger, and make it less likely for new groups to gain a foothold, all while maintaining the freedoms and ideals that we defend," Obama said. "To define that strategy, we must make decisions based not on fear, but hard-earned wisdom."

The threats do not arise in a vacuum, the president said. There is the belief in many parts of the world that Islam is in conflict with the United States and the West, and that violence against Western targets is justified in pursuit of a larger cause. "Of course, this ideology is based on a lie, for the United States is not at war with Islam; and this ideology is rejected by the vast majority of Muslims, who are the most frequent victims of terrorist acts," Obama said.

The ideology persists, however, and all parts of the U.S. government must work to counter it, he said.

The United States must continue to defeat al-Qaida and its associated forces, the president said. In Afghanistan, U.S. forces will follow the NATO plan and continue training Afghan security forces up to the end of NATO combat operations there at the end of next year, Obama said.

"Beyond Afghanistan, we must define our effort not as a boundless 'global war on terror' – but rather as a series of persistent, targeted efforts to dismantle specific networks of violent extremists that threaten America," he said. Most of these will be done in partnership with other nations, he said, specifically mentioning Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia.

The United States will continue to cooperate with other nations and share counterterrorism intelligence with these nations, he emphasized, butwill not be afraid to work alone when the situation calls for it.

Al-Qaida looks for ungoverned areas to set up and plan, he noted. "In some of these places ... the state has only the most tenuous reach into the territory," Obama said. "In other cases, the state lacks the capacity or will to take action."

In cases when using American troops in these places isn't possible and lethal action is needed, he said, "The United States has taken lethal, targeted action against al-Qaida and its associated forces, including with remotely piloted aircraft commonly referred to as drones."

The technology raises profound questions about targeting, civilian casualties and the risks of creating new enemies, he said, but Obama maintained the strikes strikes have been effective and are legal nationally and internationally. "Simply put, these strikes have saved lives," he said.

Beyond Afghanistan, the United States only targets al-Qaida and its associated forces, the president said.

"America does not make strikes when we have the ability to capture individual terrorists - our preference is always to detain, interrogate, and prosecute them," Obama said. "America cannot take strikes wherever we choose – our actions are bound by consultations with partners, and respect for state sovereignty. America does not take strikes to punish individuals – we act against terrorists who pose a continuing and imminent threat to the American people, and when there are no other governments capable of effectively addressing the threat. And before any strike is taken, there must be near-certainty that no civilians will be killed or injured – the highest standard we can set."

The president insists on strong oversight of all lethal action. "After I took office, my administration began briefing all strikes outside of Iraq and Afghanistan to the appropriate committees of Congress," he said. "Let me repeat that – not only did Congress authorize the use of force, it is briefed on every strike that America takes."

The use of force must be part of a larger discussion about a comprehensive counter-terrorism strategy, he said, adding that. force alone cannot make America safe.

"We cannot use force everywhere that a radical ideology takes root; and in the absence of a strategy that reduces the well-spring of extremism, a perpetual war – through drones or Special Forces or troop deployments – will prove self-defeating, and alter our country in troubling ways," the president said.