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By Bill Rice Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld gave an important speech in Singapore at the International Institute for Strategic Studies on June 4, 2005. His message to the 19 other defense ministers from around the Pacific Rim and parts of Europe and North America is important from many perspectives. Sec. Rumsfeld expanded on 1) democratic progress, 2) the the War on Terror, 3) future threats to the US from China and 4) the US effort to grow Pacific alliances.
Democratic Successes
“Much has changed in the world since we met here last year. The past year has been a time of promise as the people of Afghanistan, Iraq, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, and elsewhere have demanded at ballot boxes the freedom that they deserve. Dictatorships around the world are losing sway, as more and more people recognize the greater opportunities a life of freedom affords – economic freedom and political freedom as well.”
Mr. Rumsfeld affirms the core focus of US foreign policy in promoting democratic reforms. The first two of the five countries he lists were the direct result of US military intervention, the other 3 are a byproduct and response to US efforts in Afganistan and Iraq. The fruits of American military efforts have spread beyond just the countries with US forces deployed by encouraging a democratic movement through the Middle East and beyond.
War on Terror
Sec. Rumsfeld, while giving a speech on the US focus beyond the War on Terror was quick to point out:
"But that might have suggested that the War on Terror – the struggle against extremism – is over. It is not over. Violent extremists continue to pose a danger to civilized nations, and we need to work together to recognize that the threat is a serious one.
The United States is working with many of the nations represented here in this room in Iraq as well as in Afghanistan, helping their people build countries that will no longer pose a threat to the international order."
The threat of WMD, unstable regimes such as North Korea and terrorist organizations may have been reduced, but by no means eliminated.
“Perhaps the greatest impetus for modernization and cooperation is the specter of lethal threats confronting all free nations. Among them is the toxic combination of dangerous weapons, rogue regimes that seek to export those weapons, and violent extremists determined to destabilize civilized societies and kill men, women, and children.”
Winning the War on Terror is vital for US and our democratic allies national security. Losing focus on this war will only make America more vulnerable to future threats.
Continue reading “Rumsfeld’s Asian Perspective”