IISS 2008 Regional Security Summit Press Coverage
- 13 Dec 2008 - - Reuters - Armed guards would deter Somali pirates:US Navy
But Gortney expressed scepticism about going after pirates on land or targeting them with air strikes, even though a draft U.N. Security Council resolution drawn up by Washington seeks authority for such actions.
"I see people trying to look for an easy military solution to a problem that demands a non-kinetic solution," Gortney told reporters travelling with visiting U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates at his headquarters in Bahrain.
- 13 Dec 2008 - - Agence France Presse - Gates warns US adversaries not to test Obama
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates warned on Saturday that US adversaries would be "sorely mistaken" to test Barack Obama's resolve in the Gulf as Iran shunned a regional security conference.
"Anyone who thought that the upcoming months might present opportunities to 'test' the new administration would be sorely mistaken," he told the conference in the Bahraini capital.
- 13 Dec 2008 - - Der Spiegel - Deutsche Marine darf Piratenschiffe versenken
US-Verteidigungsminister Robert Gates hat sich für Angriffe auf die Sammelpunkte somalischer Piraten an Land ausgesprochen. Dazu müssten die Verbündeten im Kampf gegen die Piraterie geheimdienstliche Informationen austauschen, sagte Gates am Samstag bei einem Besuch im Golfstaat Bahrain.
- 13 Dec 2008 - - Der Spiegel - EU Authorized to Sink Pirate Ships
As part of the worldwide effort to combat the piracy threat, the US recently submitted a proposal to the United Nations Security Council which would allow anti-pirate operations inside Somalia itself. But US Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Sunday admitted that the US didn't have enough reliable intelligence to conduct such operations. "With the level of information we have at the moment, we're not in a position to do that kind of land-based operation," Gates said at a regional security meeting in Bahrain,
- 13 Dec 2008 - - BBC News - Foes warned off 'testing' Obama
The US defence secretary has warned opponents of the US against trying to "test" Barack Obama with a crisis in the early days of his presidency.
Robert Gates said the new president's security team was ready to defend US national interests from the moment he takes office next month.
- 13 Dec 2008 - The National (UAE) - Gates calls for GCC to embrace Iraq
Iraq should be embraced into the Arab fold and included in organisations such as the Gulf Co-operation Council, a move that will help to limit Iranian influence, Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, said at a regional security summit today.
Speaking at the Manama Dialogue in Bahrain, which has drawn policy makers from more than 20 governments, the defence secretary said that it is in the strategic interest of all to support Iraq’s new government, especially when it came to limiting “meddling” from Ira