Wolfowitz: Thank
you very much, Vice Chairman Lee. Thank
you for bringing together such a
distinguished audience on such short
notice. I know from speaking to your
chairman’s brother, sitting next to me
at lunch, that the chairman is in Kuwait, or
he would be here with us. I’m
glad he’s in Kuwait and I hope
there’s good business for Korean
businesses in Kuwait in [inaudible]
rebuilding Iraq. I wanted very much to
have a chance to speak to the business
community because I know that perhaps nowhere
in the world are our security relations as
important to the business and economic
environment as they are here in Korea.
So I think it’s very important to have
a chance to discuss our thinking about
security issues for a business audience, and
I appreciate your giving me that
opportunity.
Ladies and gentlemen,
this October, the people of the Republic of
Korea and the people of the United States
will celebrate together the 50th
anniversary of the signing of the ROK-U.S.
Mutual Defense Treaty. The anniversary
and the relationship it represents are
unique, and we celebrate them. The
alliance we honor has changed the course of
history – and changed it for the
better. Substantial blood, treasure,
and mutual commitment have been invested in
this alliance by the citizens of our two
countries. We must do everything
possible to maintain its strength and its
health for the sake of future generations of
Koreans and Americans. Today I’d
like to discuss America’s commitment to
the security of Korea and reiterate the firm
intention of the United States to continue
doing our part in protecting this
extraordinary alliance.
Our alliance is a
remarkable and unqualified success. It
has stood its ground and defended this nation
for half a century as Korea emerged from a
massively destructive war and went on to
prosper, both economically and
politically. Korea is now the
world’s 12th largest
economy, with a thriving democracy that is
the envy of the world. As Korea’s
ally, the United States is proud of your
success, and proud of the role that our
alliance together has played in guaranteeing
the security that was necessary for that
success. I come to you today as a
longstanding believer in the importance of
U.S.-Korean friendship and as someone
who’s been working for almost 30 years
to preserve and strengthen our
alliance. We admire the accomplishments
of the Korean people in building a prosperous
and democratic country, often in the face of
great adversity. For your sake, but
equally for the sake of our country, we want
that success to be sustained in future
decades.
As Korea has prospered
economically and politically, your military
has kept pace as well. Your military
has evolved dramatically over just the last
10 years. Returning to government
service after an absence of eight years, I
was extremely impressed by the progress that
Korea’s defense establishment has made,
by the maturity of Korea’s military
capabilities, and by the confidence with
which your military forces are fulfilling
their mission.
Underlining
Korea’s new importance in world
affairs, your leaders have been willing to
commit Republic of Korea forces where it
really counts, on the ground, to ensure
peace, when and where needed. In recent
years, Korean forces have stood guard, not
only here at home, but they have deployed
internationally to keep the peace in East
Timor, and more recently to assist in
reconstruction in Afghanistan. As we sit here
this afternoon, Korean troops have just
arrived in Iraq and are working to help build
a new and free Iraq. In fact, the Korean
commitment to dispatch a construction
battalion and a medical unit to serve in Iraq
is another contribution to building a better
world. The mass graves that are being
uncovered in Iraq every day bear witness to
the fact that Saddam Hussein is responsible
for the deaths of more Muslims than any other
individual ever. The Iraqi people deserve
something far better than that. We are
pleased that Korea, whose own history
represents a victory of democracy over
aggression and tyranny, will be part of the
coalition that gives the Iraqi people that
chance. President Roh’s decision to
lead the Korean nation to support freedom in
Iraq, so soon after taking office,
demonstrates real leadership.
President Roh and his
national security team understand the
importance of Korea placing its military
capabilities in difficult locations where
they are needed to assist peoples and nations
in need of help. That action further enhances
Korea’s international prestige and
standing. These are noble actions on the part
of the government and the citizens of Korea.
All of you here today should be justly proud
that your armed forces have risen to the
challenge. We welcome Korean troops as our
brothers in arms in company with other
like-minded nations who are willing to step
up today’s security challenges; the
challenges of fighting terrorism and building
a better world beyond the war on terror, a
world that the terrorists seek to obstruct
and destroy. We are there together in
Afghanistan and in Iraq because we share the
same values. It is not a coincidence that
many of the same nations with which Korea is
serving today came to the assistance of your
country 50 years ago. In a sense, it is now
Korea’s turn and we are pleased that
you have risen to the challenge.
I have just come from
an excellent meeting with President Roh at
the Blue House. He is an impressive man and I
can tell you first hand that his recent visit
to Washington, DC was an unqualified success,
a success that has strengthened the close
relationship between our two countries. I
mentioned to President Roh that yesterday I
had the honor and the pleasure to meet with
American soldiers, airmen, and Marines who
are serving us all here in Korea. We are
immensely proud of these young Americans who
volunteered to serve their country, the
United States of America, and through that
service, these young Americans are enabling
us to honor both the spirit and the letter of
our commitment to you and to this great
alliance.
These strong, smart,
dedicated, and disciplined Americans who have
come to Korea, have come to Korea to ensure
the peace. They know why they are here and
they know what is expected of them by America
and by Korea. They are prepared to do the
hard work and take the real risks to defend
our common security. We are lucky to have
their service and they are proud to be here
with you and I know that you understand and
that you value their commitment just as much
as we do.
As Korea’s
overall posture in the world has evolved and
as Korea has stepped forward to meet
international security needs, the nature of
international conflict and security
structures has changed also. In recent years,
the pace of this change has accelerated and,
in so changing, has presented us with new
challenges, new opportunities, and new
dynamics. To preserve the foundation of our
alliance, to improve the integration of our
forces, and to enhance the deterrence value
of our military posture here on the
peninsula, we need to make adjustments. We
need to do so together and to do so
carefully. We need to make sure we get it
right and we get it right together. We are
aware of the importance of preserving the
foundation of 50 years of successful
deterrence and we are aware that everything
we do should enhance, not diminish, the
credibility of our deterrent.
The commitment that we
should examine together the needs for change
and determine an improved structure for our
alliance was made this past December when our
two Defense Ministers met in Washington, DC.
At that time, we agreed that it was
appropriate, particularly with the
50th anniversary of our alliance
approaching, to take stock of how we evolve
the alliance to best meet the challenges and
opportunities of the next decade. This review
in Korea is part of a process of taking a
fundamental look at the U.S. military posture
worldwide, including in the United States
itself. Today we face a very different threat
than the one we faced historically. Our
forces have very different kinds of
capabilities, dramatically improved
capabilities, capabilities we’ve never
had before, and it is appropriate to look at
how those forces are postured, how we can get
the greatest effectiveness out of them, with
the same basic commitment to stability and
deterrence that we’ve had all
along.
The main drivers for
this posture review are fairly
straightforward. First, we have developed and
battle tested and the world has seen an
entirely new capability for long-range,
high-precision targeting, which exponentially
increases our war fighting capabilities.
Second, we have learned to organize ourselves
with intelligence collection systems and new
approaches to information management in
completely new ways. Our ability to integrate
our forces into joint operations has provided
another exponential increase in military
effectiveness. Third, to adapt to a world in
which potential threats have become more
unpredictable, we place a great premium on
mobility, on the ability to move great
distances rapidly, and to use temporary
basing solutions as needed.
Subsequent to the
meeting of our two defense ministers last
December, we have fought and won a war in
Iraq. New lessons were learned there. New
capabilities were tested and refined. Those
experiences and those capabilities can be
added to our review of alliance planning
efforts. So far, we have met twice to begin
our dialogue about the future of the
alliance. We plan to meet as often as
necessary to complete the process. Our goal
is to reach a mutual understanding no later
than the end of this year, so that we can
implement the agreed changes to both forces
next year. While change is often difficult,
change is also positive. We are determined
that the changes we make will enhance the
quality of our alliance with the Republic of
Korea, will strengthen deterrence on the
Korean peninsula, and will reinforce
stability in Northeast Asia more
generally.
As we discuss in Korea
how best to transform both our forces, U.S.
and Korean, to ensure the continuing
effectiveness of our alliance, we are guided
by two principal considerations. First,
deterrence remains a key objective of our
common defense posture. To strengthen
deterrence, we need to take advantage of new
technology to counter North Korean asymmetric
advantages. Second, the changes we make
should help to sustain a strong alliance over
the long run, by reducing unnecessary burdens
on both sides and ensuring that the alliance
will remain relevant far into the future. As
our discussions progress here in Korea in the
coming weeks and months, and as we work out
the details of our new force structure for
both our countries, we will be making firm
commitments to incorporate these new
capabilities promptly and as they become
available here in Korea. In fact, as General
LaPorte explained publicly last week, the
U.S. plans to enhance more than 150
capabilities, representing a substantial
investment over the next four years in the
ROK-U.S. alliance. As this process unfolds,
we are confident that Korea will make
comparable and complementary investments to
improve its own capabilities. I might note,
in this regard, I’m impressed at the
statistic that says Korea is the most wired
country in the world. We’d like to see
your military become the most wired military
in the world.
Mutually agreed
parallel investments by the Korean-U.S.
partnership will amply demonstrate that our
nations have the will to do what is necessary
to ensure deterrence, security, and
stability. A necessary part of this
enhancement of our deterrence involves our
basing structure, where we locate our forces
to gain maximum advantage from the new
capabilities we are pledging to bring to
Korea. This requirement to organize and
position ourselves to best utilize our
capabilities exists throughout the world in
every location where we base or operate
forces and changing those arrangements is not
unique to Korea. The future of the alliance
necessarily requires a force structure that
is sustainable over the long run. The
American people must be convinced that we
have a long-term plan for our presence in
Korea.
Just as the Korean
citizens are the ultimate judge of the use of
Korean forces, the citizens of the United
States will best support the commitment of
their sons and daughters to Korea’s
defense only if they are confident that our
plans are sound and are regularly updated.
Whatever changes we make, no one should doubt
our fundamental commitment to the security of
Korea. America has stood with you for more
than 50 years. American lives are on the line
alongside your own. Ten years ago, our two
countries agreed on some important changes to
our defense posture on the peninsula,
including the removal of tactical nuclear
weapons. Those changes did not weaken
deterrence. Indeed, our deterrent today
is stronger than ever, but it can get
stronger still.
This is a time to move
beyond outmoded concepts or catch phrases
such as the term “trip wire.” It
is wrong to think that the trip wire for our
commitment in Korea has anything to do with
how many U.S. troops are arranged in any
particular location on the peninsula. Our
response to aggression will be one with
yours, united, immediate, and devastatingly
effective. The real trip wire is the letter
and spirit of our mutual defense treaty,
backed up by the substance of our alliance
and our strong military forces.
As I stand before you
today, to pledge our best efforts to preserve
and protect our alliance, I am moved to
recall that in a few days another anniversary
of a sad event will be upon us, the deaths of
two young girls. Last year, on June 13, a
tragic accident devastated two families and
created doubt and anger about our military
presence here in Korea. I join with other
Americans, including President Bush and
Secretary Rumsfeld, to offer my deepest
personal condolences to the families of those
two schoolgirls. I assure you the U.S.
military has not forgotten these two
beautiful young girls. In remembering their
lives and regretting their tragic deaths, we
must work together to prevent such tragedies
from happening. In the past year, U.S. Forces
Korea and your government have worked hard to
develop new procedures to prevent a
recurrence of such a tragic event and this
past Friday, our two countries signed an
agreement to implement new safety
measures.
In conclusion, I have
tried today to explain the purpose of this
study of the Future of the Alliance. Its
focus is improved deterrence based on the
phased and carefully coordinated introduction
of enhanced capabilities by both the United
States and the Republic of Korea. We need to
shape and enhance and align our forces in a
manner that best utilizes the increased
deterrent power we can bring to bear on this
peninsula and into the region. Our actions
will enhance our continued presence on the
peninsula and help to keep this alliance
strong for another half century.
In closing, may I thank
KCCI for giving me this opportunity and this
wonderful venue to speak to the leadership of
Korea’s business community and to speak
to the Korean people. We need your support to
properly enhance our alliance and I know we
can count on you. Let no one doubt the
firmness of our resolve or the commitment we
have pledged to the future of the U.S.-ROK
alliance. Bound by a common goal of peace and
the principles of freedom that we cherish, we
will continue to build prosperity and
strength and security on this peninsula and
throughout Northeast Asia. A line from an
ancient Korean verse captures the essence of
our partnership, “Waters rising from
deep springs never fail in drought.
Forming a river they flow on to the
sea.” Our partnership is nourished by
freedom’s deep springs, which do indeed
form a river that will lead both our
countries to peace and prosperity.
Thank you very
much.
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