U.S., South Africa Score High on Defense Cooperation
23 June 2006
South African Deputy Defense Minister George sums up bi-national meetings
Washington -- U.S. defense officials and their South African counterparts found common ground during discussions at the Pentagon and at an annual Defense Commission meeting held at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, says South African Deputy Defense Minister Mluleki George.
George, who led his country's defense team on a June 10-17 visit to the United States, spoke to the Washington File at a reception commemorating the 30th anniversary of the June 16, 1976, Soweto student uprising; an act that galvanized political opposition as well as public opinion abroad about the oppressive apartheid regime in South Africa.
The event was co-sponsored by the South African Embassy and the Discovery Channel and held at the cable broadcaster's headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland.
George, who served five years at the notorious Robben Island prison for his anti-apartheid activities in the 1970s, lauded the Soweto students, a number of whom were shot and killed during their protest against being forced to study in the Afrikaans language. He said their sacrifice "spread like wildfire, capturing the attention and imagination of the world."
Of his weeklong series of meetings with U.S. defense officials, George said, "We had very productive talks that firmed up the already cooperative relationship of our two militaries."
Before going to New York, George said, he and his delegation met with U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England at the Pentagon. "We discussed issues of mutual interest between the defense departments of South Africa and the United States and committed ourselves to working together on a partnership that can help us develop our [armed] forces, especially in the area of peacekeeping," George said.
At the Pentagon the two sides also discussed fighting terrorism and South Africa's role as a regional power in Africa, George said.
The South African defense official said he and his delegation also met with officials of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), "who discussed the partnership we have with the U.S. government to help us fight AIDS among our military."
At West Point, George said the meeting of the Defense Commission, hosted by Deputy Secretary England, covered a number of topics, including the partnership program linking U.S. state National Guard units with African nations -- the New York National Guard is partnered with the South African military; a white paper on defense presented by the South Africans; and the U.S. Defense Department’s Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) released earlier this year.
Following the conference, George said, "We set up a program [agenda] for our defense committees to work on in preparation for our next meeting, set for Durban on February 11, 2007."
South African troops have participated recently in operations in Burundi, Cote d'Ivoire, Comoros Islands, Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo. Asked if South Africa planned to expand its military's peacekeeping efforts, -- George said, "We are committed to the AU [African Union] and SADC [Southern African Development Community]."
"In our discussions with Deputy Secretary England, we explored ways [that] America could help build up our capacity, especially in terms of resources. We were not talking about putting [U.S.] soldiers on the ground [in Africa] but airlift and other things. They [Americans] committed themselves to look at that and also agreed that it was something that would include the AU and SADC."
The Quadrennial Defense Review, which outlines U.S. military action programs for the next four years, noted the AU had an important role, especially in improving governance and expanding civil society in Africa. (See related article.)
"The [Defense] Department supports the African Union's development of a humanitarian crisis intervention capability, which is a good example of an international organization stepping up to the challenge of regional stabilization missions," according to the QDR.
U.S.-SOUTH AFRICA BILATERAL RELATIONS
On bilateral relations with South Africa, a State Department document stated, "South Africa's military will continue to be an important leader in conflict resolution and peacekeeping in Africa."
As an example of U.S.-South African cooperation, the document cites South Africa's participation in the African Contingency Operations Training and Assistance (ACOTA) program -- a multimillion dollar initiative aimed at enhancing the peacekeeping capabilities of African militaries.
In addition, under the U.S. Defense Department's International Military Education Training (IMET) program, the document said, "The United States will expand connections with South Africa's current and future military leaders and support their interest in strengthening military-to-military relations and continue their lead participation in regional contingency planning and requirements."
The document also notes that for most of 2005, the U.S. government "authorized the export of defense articles and services valued at $51,075,846 for South Africa."
In 2007, South Africa also will become eligible to receive "Excess Defense Articles (EDA) on a grant basis…[which] will be used to support South Africa's contributions to regional peacekeeping efforts and improve their coastal and border security capabilities," according to the State Department.
The Quadrennial Defense Report (PDF, 113 pages) is available on the Department of Defense Web site.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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