REMARKS AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY BY
SECRETARY OF DEFENSE DONALD H. RUMSFELD
TO THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STRATEGIC STUDIES
JUNE 5, 2004
Ministers, parliamentarians, distinguished guests.
My thanks to the Institute for hosting this conference. You've brought commendable focus to issues critical to freedom and security in Asia.
I also want to thank the people of Singapore for their gracious hospitality. We value your friendship and appreciate your contributions to the defense of freedom.
For well more than a century, the United States has understood well its vital interests in the Asia Pacific Region.
We've built important friendships here that have withstood tumultuous change, and which remain among America's highest strategic priorities.
Today, in this new era, our close cooperation with allies and friends in Asia is more essential than ever. The phenomenon of ideological extremism - of which terrorism is the weapon of choice - stands in the way of global political progress and economic prosperity, threatens the stability of the international order, and clouds the future of civil society.
Because it cannot be appeased, it must be confronted.
So today I want to talk a bit about the way ahead in the global struggle of civilization versus extremisrn, and then touch on some of the longstanding issues of importance to the region.
Perhaps the best way to provide context is to look back to the world as it was just three years ago.
The Cold War had ended, and many looked forward to an era of peace. Some believed future conflicts would be minor, and that military alliances had lessened in importance.
Others recognized that we might be facing an era of the unexpected, the unforeseen, and the unplanned.
Then, on a bright September morning, those concerns proved prescient.
In an instant, the twin towers of the World Trade Center were aflame, killing men, women, and children of all religions, from all over the world. The Pentagon became a battle zone. Passengers sacrificed their lives on a hijacked plane that crashed in Pennsylvania.
Stunned, Americans faced this new world with resolve. We turned instinctively to our longtime friends including many here in Asia and the Pacific. They offered sympathy, support, and resolve.
I am gateful to be able to say today that our friendships here have never been stronger - not least our steadfast friends here in Singapore.
An 80-nation coalition against terrorism was quickly formed. Their achievements in the past several years speak for themselves. Together, we've:
Liberated 50 million people in Iraq and Afghanistan
Captured or killed nearly two-thirds of known senior al-Qaeda operatives;
Arrested al-Qaeda's Southeast Asia chief who revealed crucial information about its operations in this region;
Detained or arrested at least 200 members of the Jemaah lslamiyah terror group;
Seized or frozen some $200 million in terrorist assets; and
Prompted Libya to voluntarily renounce terrorism and disclose and dismantle programs related to weapons of mass destruction.
Despite a great deal of progress, the reality is that today we remain closer to the beginning of this struggle than to its end. Terrorists continue to inflict violence and death across the globe.
They have
attacked multiple targets in Saudi Arabia last month;
killed innocent people on trains in Madrid;
murdered 24 people in Casablanca,
blown up a nightclub in Bali;
struck a hotel in Jakarta,
launched a series of attacks in the Philippines;
killed innocent men and women in Istanbul;
and murdered other innocent citizens across the globe.
And here terrorists plotted a major attack, only to be thwarted by vigilant Singapore officials.
But let there be no doubt, there is more to come.
The message is unmistakable: no area of the world is immune from extremists' attacks. A terrorist needs only to be lucky once; civil society needs to be prepared always. Terrorists can attack at any time, in any place, using any technique.
But as the Ministers of Defense here how well, it is not possible to defend in every place, at all times, against every technique.
So the only way --the only way - to win this global struggle - this war-- call it what you will - is to go on the offense to root out terrorists at their source, and for us to collectively put steady pressure on them and all those enablers that sustain them.
For several years, the United States has been considering how to refocus its military posture to meet the challenges of the new century. Future dangers will less likely be from battles between great powers, and more likely from enemies that work in small cells, that are fluid and can strike without warning anywhere at anytime - enemies that have access to increasingly formidable technology and weapons.
So we have developed a set of concepts we think should guide America's security presence in this new world. We have been and will continue to seek the advice and Counsel of our friends and allies over the coming months.
Let me set out some of the principles:
First and foremost is strengthening our partnerships with existing allies and friends and working with newones;
Second is developing greater flexibility to deal with the unexpected;
Another is focusing on more rapidly deployable capabilities and power, rather than simply static presence and mass; and
Another is breaking down artificial barriers between regions in our planning, since today's dangers know no regional boundaries.
Since the global war on terror began, we have witnessed the forging of new partnerships and closer cooperation with longtime friends.
For example:
We have reinvigorated long-standing relationships with countries like India and Pakistan;
We have forged new relationships with countries like Yemen and Uzbekistan;
We've worked with the Philippines in upgrading security programs;
We've improved intelligence-sharing with longstanding allies and friends in Europe, Australia, and East Asia; and developed a better relationship with China.
NATO is now leading the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan;
Many allies and friends have contributed forces to help reconstruct Afghanistan and Iraq - including friends here today. From this region alone - New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, India, Australia, Japan, Mongolia, the Philippines, Singapore, Brunei, and Thailand are helping with the reconstruction and in many other ways.
Though the way we organize may evolve and change, the United States is a Pacific nation, and we will most certainly maintain our security presence with modernized deterrent capabilities here in the region.
We are committed to the security of our allies and friends, whether against traditional challenges or new ones.
The new challenges include not only terrorism, but the danger of the nexus between terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. We know that extremists are seeking still more powerful means to inflict damage on even greater numbers of innocent men, women, and children.
Recognizing this danger, the United States and a growing number of partners have pushed forward with the Proliferation Security Initiative, forming a new international coalition to:
coordinate efforts to interdict the transfer of weapons of mass destruction, delivery systems, and related materials;
improve information-sharing about suspected proliferation activities; and to
work with international organizations to strengthen legal authorities to accomplish these vital objectives.
More than 50 nations have already expressed support for this initiative, including many represented here today.
Japan and Australia have gone further, joining the United States in a bold effort to counter the ballistic missile threat through a missile defense system.
Let me offer an example of what can be accomplished when concerned nations work closely together.
As you know, A.Q. Khan, was regarded as the architect of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program. What many did not know, until recently, was that he had also constructed an elaborate international network - in Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and elsewhere - to proliferate nuclear technology to many outlaw regimes, including Iran and North Korea.
Over recent years, the United States and several other governments have worked closely together to unravel the Khan network. Today, Khan has been stopped. His criminal enterprise is out of business. At least one key supply line for civilization's most determined enemies has been closed.
Consider how much more progress could be made if our entire 80-nation global coalition made the fight against proliferation a top priority.
North Korea poses another serious challenge to the international community's decades-long effort to prevent nuclear weapons proliferation. A year and a half ago, it became clear that North Korea was violating its nonproliferation commitments.
Today, the United States strongly supports the multilateral diplomatic effort to solve this problem. We are pleased that China has agreed to play a leading role. It is important that this diplomacy succeed.
China, of course, is an emerging power. The United States seeks to cooperate with it in many fields - diplomacy, economics, and global security. The world would welcome a China that is committed to peaceful solutions and whose talented people contribute to international peace and prosperity.
My country has demonstrated that the best foundation for that peace and prosperity is in continuing advance of openness and democracy.
Most of the nations in the Asia-Pacific region understand this as well. Their modern histories are testaments to the benefits of self-government, political freedom, and free economic systems.
In the past three years, the world has welcomed to this family of free nations 50 million Iraqis and Afghans. Their road to liberty has not been smooth, but that road never is.
Later this mouth, our multinational coalition will hand over power to an interim Iraqi government. An Iraqi president, prime minister, and cabinet have already been named.
The rise of a free and self-governing Iraq will deny terrorists a base of operations, discredit their violent ideology, and may well provide more momentum for reformers across the region. Success in Iraq will be a victory for the security of the civilized world.
Terrorists know this, and they are seeking to derail this progress. They fear that one day the Middle East might shed itself of their tyranny and violence and replace the law of tenor with governments of the people.
Yet even today, some ask if such a breathtaking transformation is possible.
I suggest they come to Asia.
Think of how much has changed in this region in the last few decades. A century ago, many of the region's great nations were not free nations, or were torn by civil strife.
Today, Asia is one of the world's fastest-growing centers for the creation of opportunity, prosperity, and knowledge.
Asian nations have found firm footing on the road to democracy and prosperity through freer economic systems.
None of this has been easy, to be sure. But the true measure of a people is in their ability to persevere, to overcome hardship and difficulty, and build a better future. In this, the people of Asia have few equals.
In these perilous times, the United States is privileged to have such close bonds with so many courageous and steadfast friends.
Thank you
