U.S. Efforts in Iraq, Afghanistan Are Succeeding, Panetta Says
By Jane Morse
Staff Writer
Washington - Ten years after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, U.S. efforts to weaken al-Qaida are succeeding, says U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta.
At an October 13 hearing before the House Armed Services Committee, Panetta said, "Make no mistake: We are succeeding. Ten years after 9/11 we have significantly rolled back al-Qaida and al-Qaida's militant allies. We have undermined their ability to exercise command and control and to do the kind of planning that was involved in the attack on 9/11."
"We are closer than ever to achieving our strategic objectives in Afghanistan and Iraq," the secretary of defense said.
According to Panetta, the United States is at a turning point - not only in its operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, but for its own military as well.
"As the current mission in Iraq comes to an end, as we continue to transition security responsibility in Afghanistan and as we near the goal of disrupting, dismantling and ultimately defeating al-Qaida, the Department [of Defense] is also facing a new fiscal reality here at home. As part of the debt ceiling agreement reached in August, the department must find more than $450 billion in savings over the next decade."
Even with the resolution of conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. military will face continuing threats from terrorism around the world, including in Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen and North Africa, Panetta said. In addition, nuclear proliferation and cyber-attacks will continue to be dangerous challenges, he said.
Panetta emphasized the need for a military that can remain "agile and deployable" at a smaller size. But he warned: "We absolutely have to avoid a hollow force" - that is, a military that falls short in training and equipment. While announcing changes in the way the U.S. military manages its budget, Panetta cautioned against further cuts to defense funding that hamper the military's ability "to align resources with strategy."
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey told the committee that the U.S. military finds itself in "an increasingly competitive security environment."
"Capabilities that previously were the monopoly of nation-states are now proliferated across the security landscape," he said. "As a consequence, we must learn faster, understand more deeply and adapt more quickly than our adversaries."
Dempsey said coalitions and partnerships are more important than ever for sharing security responsibilities and reducing budget pressures. He cited as an example that the U.S. presence on the African continent is part of the U.S. network for building partners and gaining intelligence.
(This is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State.)
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