CHAIRMAN JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF SAYS U.S. "NOT POLITICALLY EXHAUSTED"

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

Dempsey Rejects Notion of Exhausted United States

By Jim Garamone

American Forces Press Service

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates, May 28, 2014 – The United States is not politically exhausted, “and it would be a mistake to come to that conclusion,” Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey said during an interview here today.

“In fact, it would be a mistake to decide that we are politically exhausted or weary militarily,” the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told Sky News.

Many in the Persian Gulf region believe that the United States is exhausted from 13 years of war. They point to the withdrawal of troops from Iraq and the coming drawdown in Afghanistan as proof of this weariness, and they extrapolate a U.S. withdrawal from the region at large.

But this is not the case, Dempsey said, citing what has happened to al-Qaida as an example. Al-Qaida was a centralized organization based out of Afghanistan and Pakistan. The United States and its allies -- including the United Arab Emirates -- put pressure on the terror organization. Central al-Qaida is a shadow of its former self, but the group has adapted, the chairman said.

“They have taken advantage of unsettled and ungoverned spaces elsewhere in the Middle East and North Africa,” the general said. “The terror group is a long-term problem and not one the United States is giving up on.”

Rather than being weary or wary, Dempsey said, the United States is “rebalancing our efforts to build partners, to enable others and to do certain things ourselves -- but that should be our last resort.”

“For the most part,” he added, “we ought to address these challenges collaterally and collaboratively with partners.”

U.S. forces do face fiscal challenges, the chairman said, but he doesn’t see that affecting the Persian Gulf region. “We are going through a period of retraction in our budget, but it’s a matter of history,” he explained. “We go through this about every 20 years, and the United States still has the military capability to do many more than one thing at a time.”

The United States doesn’t face a choice to be either in the Atlantic or the Pacific, in Europe or the Middle East, or in Asia or Africa, Dempsey said.

“We have global responsibilities. We have global partnerships,” the chairman said. “One of the greatest strengths of the United States is its alliances, its partnerships, unlike some others who aspire to be great powers, but they don’t have friends, they don’t have partners. They try to go it alone. We, on the other hand, see our strength through our partners.”

REMARKS BY SECRETARY KERRY AND CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTER WANG YI BEFORE MEETING

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 
Remarks With Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi Before Their Meeting
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Benjamin Franklin Room
Washington, DC
September 19, 2013


SECRETARY KERRY: Good morning, everybody, thank you very much for joining us. And it’s my great privilege to welcome His Excellency, the Foreign Minister of China Wang Yi.
He was here 15 years ago as a visiting scholar at Georgetown, and I know that he remembers well this kind of weather, this kind of a beautiful day along the Potomac. And we’re very happy to have him back in Washington.

I met with Foreign Minister Wang in April in Beijing where he gave us a very generous and warm welcome, and we had excellent conversation, and then in Brunei this summer. And I’m very pleased that he has taken the time to strengthen our relationship by visiting here ahead of our very busy week in New York.

As President Obama has frequently stated, the United States welcomes the continued peaceful rise of China, and we have a vested interest in China’s growing prosperity and partnership, not only in the Asia-Pacific region, but also around the world.

President Obama has also made what I believe is a strategic and appropriate commitment to rebalance our interests and our investments in Asia. A stronger partnership with China is very much a part of that effort. The United States is a Pacific nation, and we take our Pacific partnerships very seriously, and we will continue to build our enduring presence in that area, working with our partners to promote peace and prosperity.

China and the United States have also agreed to a new model of relations, and that was worked on and announced at the Sunnylands summit with our presidents. It is based on practical cooperation and constructive management of differences. We recognized the need to avoid falling into a trap of seeing one another as strategic rivals, and that recognition is now driving our partnership on issues from climate change to wildlife trafficking to military consultations and the promotion of balanced growth around the world.

Importantly, part of our new relationship is a commitment to engage in frank discussions on sensitive issues, particularly where we disagree, where misunderstanding could lead to a miscalculation.

We plan to discuss Syria today, and while we appreciate China’s support for a political solution, the only solution we believe is ultimately available and possible, we do have differences between our nations and have disagreed sharply over how the international community should respond to the Syrian regime’s use of chemical weapons. With negotiations ongoing at the Security Council, we look forward to China playing a positive, constructive, important role.

We will also engage in very important conversation about North Korea today. China plays a very special role in addressing the North Korean nuclear challenge and in achieving our shared goal: the peaceful denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

China and the United States also have a shared interest in preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, and our close cooperation will be critical to that effort, and the Foreign Minister and I will discuss this further today.

From our dialogue on intellectual property to maritime security and human rights, we are committed to working through difficult issues, and, as you can tell, we have a very big agenda. And it’s through the process of working through these difficulties that we can actually forge a stronger friendship, a stronger partnership, and a stronger future for both of our nations.

So, Foreign Minister Wang, thank you again for your visit. I welcome you here. I hope you feel at home during your time in Washington. It’s good to see you again.

FOREIGN MINISTER WANG: (Via interpreter) Secretary Kerry has on several occasions asked me to visit the United States, and I’m very happy that finally I have come to visit this country.

This year is an important year for China-U.S. relationship to build on past achievements and make new progress. Since the change of government in both countries, China-U.S. relationship has had a smooth transition, got off to a good start, and now enjoys strong momentum. President Xi Jinping and President Barack Obama met successfully twice in less than three months. They reached important agreement on our two countries working together to build a new model of major country relationship, charting the future course for China-U.S. ties.

I have come to the United States to work with the U.S. side to push forward the building of this new model of major country relationship between our two countries with concrete actions and enrich its (inaudible) with our specific cooperation. I look forward to having in-depth and candid discussion with Secretary Kerry on all these issues of mutual interest, to which that Mr. Secretary just referred. And the Chinese side is ready to work with the United States to make good preparations for our upcoming high-level engagement, and for pushing forward our mutually beneficial cooperation. At the same time, we are also ready to have in-depth communication with the United States with an open mind on those issues, including Syria, issues on the Korean Peninsula, climate change, and cyber security. We also want to discuss with the United States the relevant issues in the Asia-Pacific region, to work with the U.S. side for sound interaction in the Asia-Pacific between our two countries.

I have come to the United States to implement the agreement reached between our top leaders to strengthen the mutually beneficial cooperation between our two countries and to enhance the China-U.S. friendship. We look forward to working with the United States to ensure that we will be able to translate the defining feature of this new model of major country relationship, namely non-conflict and confrontation, mutual respect, and win-win cooperation into all aspects of China-U.S. relationship to bring benefits to our both countries and beyond. And it is my belief that there is tremendous potential for us working together to further expand and deepen our cooperation.

Just now, Secretary Kerry referred to the two important issues of Syria and the DPRK. Let me make a few brief comments here.

On Syria, China welcomes the framework agreement reached not long ago by the United States and Russia. We believe that there needs to be early agreement on the decision to be taken by the OPCW, and at the same time, the Security Council of the United Nations also needs to recognize and support this decision. Ultimately, the issue of Syria needs to be resolved through political means. The Chinese side will continue to play its positive and constructive role in that direction.

Addressing issues on the Korean Peninsula have been an important area for China-U.S. cooperation. Today marks the 8th anniversary of the issuance of September 19th

Joint Statement of the Six-Party Talks. I believe it is an important time for the Six Parties to review the past, summarize the good experience, and open up brighter prospects for the future. To achieve the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and maintain peace and stability in Northeast Asia serves the common interests of China and the United States. I look forward to having a deep discussion with Secretary on how we can work together to re-launch the Six-Party Talks and effectively push forward the denuclearization process. And I am confident that we will be able to reach new, important agreement.

Well, today is also the Chinese traditional festival, a mid-Autumn day for family reunion. And the moon tonight will be the fullest in this whole year, which augurs well, I suppose, for a brighter future. And let me use this opportunity to convey the festive greetings to all of you and through all of you to the American people. Thank you.

(In English) Thank you.

SECRETARY KERRY: (In Chinese.)

FOREIGN MINISTER WANG: (In Chinese.)

SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you very, very much.

U.S. REP TO UN WARNS OF INACTION REGARDING SYRIAN REGIMES USE OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
U.N. Rep: Inaction Would Be More Risky Than Action in Syria
By Cheryl Pellerin
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Sept. 6, 2013 - The risks of inaction in response to the Syrian regime's use of chemical weapons against its own people would be greater than the risks of military action, the U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations said here today.

Speaking to an audience at the Center for American Progress, Ambassador Samantha Power characterized Syria as lying at the heart of a region critical to U.S. security -- a region that is home to friends and partners and one of the closest U.S. allies.

The Bashar Assad regime, Power said, has stores of chemical weapons that it recently used on a large scale and that the United States can't allow to fall into terrorists' hands. The regime also collaborates with Iran and works with thousands of extremist fighters from the militant group Hezbollah.

The ambassador acknowledged that questions are being raised about why the United States should be the world's police in such brutal situations and how the nation can afford another war in the Middle East.

"Notwithstanding these complexities, notwithstanding the various concerns that we all share," Power said, "I'm here today to explain why the costs of not taking targeted, limited military action are far greater than the risks of going forward in the manner that President [Barack] Obama has outlined."

The chemical weapons attack in Damascus on Aug. 21 killed more than 1,400 Syrian men, women and children, she said, and the U.N. assessed that although Assad used more chemical weapons on Aug. 21 than he had before, he's barely put a dent in his large stockpile.

"Obama, Secretary of State John F. Kerry and many members of Congress have spelled out the consequences of failing to meet this threat, Power said. "If there are more chemical attacks," she added, "we will see an inevitable spike in the flow of refugees on top of the already 2 million in the region, possibly pushing Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey or Iraq past their breaking points."

The Zaatari refugee camp is now the fourth-largest city in Jordan, she said, adding that half of Syria's refugees are children and that such camps are known to become fertile recruiting grounds for violent extremists.

Beyond Syria, the ambassador said, if violating a universal agreement to ban chemical weapons is not met with a meaningful response, other regimes will try to acquire or use them to protect or extend their power, increasing risks to American troops in the future.

"We cannot afford to signal to North Korea and Iran that the international community is unwilling to act to prevent proliferation or willing to tolerate the use of weapons of mass destruction," Power told the audience.

"People will draw lessons," she added, "if the world proves unwilling to enforce the norms against chemical weapons use that we have worked so diligently to construct."

Moving from discussing the risks of inaction to the risks of taking action, Power said the reason nonmilitary tools can't be used to achieve the same end in Syria is that the alternatives are exhausted.

"For more than a year," Power said, "we have pursued countless policy tools short of military force to try to dissuade Assad from using chemical weapons."

The ambassador explained how she and others engaged the Syrians directly and asked the Russians, the U.N. and the Iranians to send similar messages, but when Scud missiles and other weapons didn't stop the Syrian rebels, Assad used chemical weapons on a small scale several times, as the United States reported in June.

Her group then redoubled its efforts, backing the U.N. diplomatic process and trying to get the parties back to the negotiating table, she said. They provided more humanitarian assistance and on chemical weapons they went public with evidence of the regime's use.

"We worked with the U.N. to create a group of inspectors and then worked for more than 6 months to get them access to the country on the logic that perhaps the presence of an investigative team in the country might deter future attacks. ... We expanded and accelerated our assistance to the Syrian opposition. We supported the U.N. Commission of Inquiry," the ambassador said.

She noted that Russia, often backed by China, blocked every relevant action in the U.N. Security Council, even mild condemnations of the use of chemical weapons that ascribed blame to no particular party. "And on Aug. 21, [Assad] staged the largest chemical weapons attack in a quarter-century while U.N. inspectors were sitting on the other side of town," Power said.

It was only after the United States pursued such nonmilitary options without deterring chemical weapons use in Syria that Obama concluded that a limited military strike is the only way to prevent Assad from using chemical weapons as if they are a conventional weapon of war, the ambassador added.

"From the start of the Syrian conflict, the president has consistently demonstrated that he will not put American boots on the ground to fight another war in the Middle East," Power said. "The draft resolution before Congress makes this clear."

The president is seeking public support to use limited military means to degrade Assad's capacity to use these weapons again and deter others in the world who might seek to use them, the ambassador said. "And the United States has the discipline as a country to maintain these limits," she added.

Limited military action will not solve the entire Syria problem, Power noted, but the action should reinforce the larger strategy for addressing the crisis in Syria.

"This operation, combined with ongoing efforts to upgrade the military capabilities of the moderate opposition, should reduce the regime's faith that they can kill their way to victory," the ambassador said.

"We should agree that there are lines in this world that cannot be crossed and limits on murderous behavior -- especially with weapons of mass destruction -- that must be enforced," Power said. "If we cannot summon the courage to act when the evidence is clear and when the action being contemplated is limited, then our ability to lead in the world is compromised."