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Tuesday, January 16, 2007
In his first visit - on the job - to NATO headquarters in Brussels,
new Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, while answering questions
from reporters, accused Iranians of "acting in a very negative
way," and warned Iran that the US is not leaving Iraq.
"The Iranians clearly believe that we're tied down in Iraq;
that they have the initiative, that they are in a position to
press us in many ways," Gates said. "They are doing
nothing to be constructive in Iraq at this point."
Gates continued, "In addition, they have supported Hezbollah's
efforts to create a new conflict in Lebanon and so the Iranians
are acting in a very negative way in many respects. My view is
that when the Iranians are prepared to play a constructive role
in dealing with some of these problems, then there might be opportunities
for engagement. Secretary Rice already has said that she would
sit down any time, any place with her counterpart from Iran if
they would commit not to enrich uranium."
"So the opportunity is there for engagement, but I would
say that the initiative needs to rest with the Iranians and we
are simply trying to communicate to the region that we're going
to be there for a long time," Gates added.
Full transcript:
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De Hoop Scheffer: Good morning. It is a great pleasure indeed
so soon after his appointment, with which I heartily congratulated
Secretary Gates, that he found the time to come to NATO; underlining
first of all of course the importance the Alliance; and secondly
the subject we have discussed as you will not be surprised about
in the run-up to the meeting we'll have very soon at the beginning
of February, the Defense Ministers meeting of NATO, the informal
one, in Seville in Spain.
And you know and it goes without saying the subjects which will
be discussed there were also the main body, the main part, of
our conversations. We spent of course some time on Afghanistan
where it first of all is important that NATO delivers, that NATO
lives up to expectations; that it is important that we embark
on a comprehensive strategy and that means the involvement - you
know my mantra - the full involvement of the international community,
first of all of NATO, but also of the Afghan government and of
the international community as a whole. You know at the 26th we'll
have a meeting here of the NATO Foreign Ministers and that fits
very well together I think with the Defense Ministers meeting
in Seville.
We discussed Kosovo, another very important NATO operation. Both
on Afghanistan and Kosovo I commended Secretary Gates, I commended
the United States, on the very important fundamental contribution
the U.S. makes to both operations. In Kosovo you know the key
element is support for the proposals which are going to be made
soon by President Ahtisaari. It's important that KFOR is up to
strength, that they will see no change in the operational strength
of KFOR, KFOR being prepared for all eventualities in Kosovo,
but there the key element is support for President Ahtisaari.
The second important topic of course we discussed, apart from
our operations, where I should add that we also discussed Iraq
and the NATO training mission in Iraq which is running well. I
would that that training mission can be expanded in the near future;
that is at least the wish of the Iraqi government.
On the transformational side of NATO, the way NATO is changing,
the way NATO is adapting to global threats and global challenges,
we discussed the items which will be on our agenda in the Seville
meeting where Ministers will discuss the ongoing transformational
activities of NATO.
So in all it was a very fruitful and productive meeting. I know
that all the Defense Ministers are very much looking forward to
meeting Secretary Gates in Seville and I was glad and happy to
meet him here this morning. Mr. Secretary once again a warm welcome
to you.
Gates: Thank you very much. Good morning. It was a pleasure this
morning to have the opportunity to meet the Secretary General
and to have conversations about a NATO that has changed a great
deal over the years. We talked about the current state of the
Alliance; its missions, as well as the future. The last time I
was in government service in 1993, NATO was a very different organization.
At that time it was still unclear what role the Alliance would
have in a post-Soviet world. Today the Alliance that never fired
a shot during the Cold War is leading six missions on three continents
and in the Mediterranean with partners from all over the globe.
At the recent NATO summit in Riga we declared the NATO Response
Force operational; an important milestone, but we must continue
to improve the NRF, as well as make progress on other goals such
as the strategic airlift capability, a global partnership alliance,
the special operations forces initiative and the training co-operation
initiative. NATO was formed in the belief that together we are
stronger than when we act alone. That belief has sustained the
Alliance now for nearly six decades and it sustains us today as
we face a new series of challenges and threats.
The mission in Afghanistan, the first outside NATO's traditional
European borders, is a model of the organization's potential in
this new era and success in Afghanistan is our top priority. 37
NATO partners and allies with over 30,000 men and women in uniform
are working side-by-side with the people of Afghanistan to ensure
a more stable and prosperous Afghanistan. We've made a lot of
progress since 2003. It's important that the members of NATO fulfil
the commitments that each has made to one another. I'm confident
we will overcome and meet all the challenges that we face in future.
Thank you very much.
Q: A question for Secretary Gates. This is Bob Burns from AP.
Mr. Secretary, with your recent decision to deploy Patriot missiles
to the Gulf and to move a second aircraft carrier into that region,
is the United States moving toward confrontation with Iran; and
if it's not, what is the purpose of those deployments?
Gates: I think that what we are trying to communicate to all
of the countries in the Gulf area is a reaffirmation that the
United States has had a strong presence in the Gulf for a long
time. Multiple Presidents have affirmed that stability in the
Gulf is in the long-term strategic vital interests of the United
States and we are simply reaffirming that statement of the importance
of the Gulf region to the United States and our determination
to be an ongoing strong presence in that area for a long time
into the future.
Q: (Inaudible)… what do you expect from NATO, especially
in Afghanistan, when it comes to the fights we see at the moment
in the south of Afghanistan?
Gates: Well one of the subjects we've been talking about was
the increased level of violence last year and some indications
that the Taliban want to increase the level of violence in 2007.
And one of the subjects we've been discussing is how we will respond
to that and perhaps try to act to avoid it.
Q: Mr. Secretary David Cloud with the New York Times.
Just to follow up on Bob's question: there have been calls by
the Iraq Study Group and others for more diplomatic engagement
with Iran. One of the thrusts of the administration's new Iraq
strategy appears to be more confrontation with Iran. You've talked
about going after Iranian networks inside Iraq; the Patriot deployments,
the carrier deployments, do seem to be aimed, in part at least,
at Iran. Is that the case and can you explain the thinking behind
that?
Gates: Well I had, as you probably remember, I co-chaired a council
on foreign relations study on the United States relations with
Iran in 2004 with Dr. Brzezinski, President Carter's National
Security Advisor, and our conclusion at that time was that it
would be useful for the United States to engage with Iran and
it appeared to be promising because the Iranians clearly were
concerned by the presence of American troops on both their eastern
and western borders and there was some evidence they were actually
doing some things to be helpful inside Iraq. None of those conditions
apply any longer.
The Iranians clearly believe that we're tied down in Iraq; that
they have the initiative, that they are in a position to press
us in many ways. They are doing nothing to be constructive in
Iraq at this point. In addition, they have supported Hezbollah's
efforts to create a new conflict in Lebanon and so the Iranians
are acting in a very negative way in many respects. My view is
that when the Iranians are prepared to play a constructive role
in dealing with some of these problems, then there might be opportunities
for engagement. Secretary Rice already has said that she would
sit down any time, any place with her counterpart from Iran if
they would commit not to enrich uranium.
So the opportunity is there for engagement, but I would say that
the initiative needs to rest with the Iranians and we are simply
trying to communicate to the region that we're going to be there
for a long time.
Q: Thank you. Youssef Magdy from Egyptian Television. Secretary
General of NATO first question is for you.
You said that you hope to extend your mission in training in
Iraq, the training mission in Iraq. Does it mean that the Iraqi
government do not ask for anything else besides the training?
And for Secretary Gates, do you have any comment in hanging today
to other person from the system of the ex-President Saddam Hussein?
Thank you.
De Hoop Scheffer: Let me briefly answer that the focus of the
Iraqi government, as far as NATO is concerned, is on training
and equipping the Iraqi Armed Forces. That is what we are doing
as we speak and I express the hope and that is I know very much
the wish of the Iraqi government that we can expand that training
mission in Iraq.
Gates: With respect to the hangings I'm aware that they took
place. It was a matter under the auspices of the Iraqi government.
I really have no further comment.
Q: I'm from Danish Broadcasting and I would like ask Mr. Gates
now you are about to send in more troops Iraq the U.S. and at
the same time the U.K. and Denmark are discussing when to pull
out their troops - can you do without the Danish and the British
troops? And what is your reaction to this discussion?
Gates: Well I met with the British Secretary of Defense last
night. They are making a draw-down, planning a draw-down at some
point this year in their forces in the south. The situation in
the south and particularly in Basra is different than the situation
is Baghdad. Our increase in forces is aimed very much and targeted
in particular at the violence in Baghdad and we think that situation
is a different situation than prevails in the south and therefore
the different response.
Q: Barbara (inaudible), AP's German Service.
Mr. Gates the German government specifically has been asking
for a stronger civilian component in Afghanistan. So which way
will your government go in this aspect?
Gates: I think that there is clearly a need for both a military
response in Afghanistan, but also a civilian response. Clearly
the reconstruction, economic development, strengthening the Karzai
government and its ability to render services to its citizenry
are all very important of the long-term stability of the government
of Afghanistan and ultimate peace in the country. So it's not
either/or. There has to be both a strong civilian and a strong
military component to our support for that government.
De Hoop Scheffer: Thank you.
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