22 October 2002
"USA Ready On Several Fronts," by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld
(Op-ed column from USA Today on 10/22/02) (390)
(This column is by Donald Rumsfeld, U.S. Secretary of Defense, first
appeared in USA Today October 22, 2002 and is in the public domain. No
republication restrictions.)
(begin byliner)
USA Ready On Several Fronts
By Donald Rumsfeld
Our central objective in the Global War on Terror is to stop another
9/11 -- or worse, a chemical, biological or even a nuclear 9/11 --
before it happens.
Whether that threat comes from a terrorist regime or a terrorist
network is beside the point. The objective must be to prevent such
attacks if humanly possible.
President Bush made this clear last January, when he told Congress:
"By seeking weapons of mass destruction, these regimes pose a grave
and growing danger. They could provide these arms to terrorists. They
could attack our allies or attempt to blackmail the United States. In
any of these cases, the price of indifference would be catastrophic."
History will judge us all by what we do to deal with these dangers.
We are working with the Afghan government to rebuild the country,
train an Afghan national army and ensure that the country does not
again become a haven for terrorists. At the same time, coalition
forces are active across the globe, putting pressure on the terrorists
by making it harder for them to communicate, raise funds, cross
borders and plan new attacks.
The war on terror is like an iceberg -- 90% of what is happening is
underwater, out of sight, but a great deal is happening.
The question is asked whether it is possible that countries elsewhere
in the world might try to take advantage of the U.S. focus on
Afghanistan and use that as an opportunity to invade neighbors or
cause other mischief. Certainly there is a risk that someone might
underestimate our capabilities, but let there be no doubt: The U.S. is
fully capable of dealing with the important elements of the Global War
on Terror simultaneously.
Last year, we fashioned a new defense strategy, which established that
we will -- and do -- have the capability to near-simultaneously:
-- Defend the U.S. homeland.
-- Undertake a major regional conflict and win decisively -- including
occupying a country and changing its regime.
-- If necessary, swiftly defeat another aggressor in another theater.
-- Simultaneously conduct a number of lesser contingencies -- such as
Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan.
The United States is prepared to meet its responsibilities.
(Donald Rumsfeld is U.S. Secretary of Defense.)
(end byliner)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
