ACCESSION NUMBER:296278
FILE ID:POL407
DATE:07/22/93
TITLE:DEFENSE DEPARTMENT REPORT, THURSDAY, JULY 22 (07/22/93)
TEXT:*93072207.POL
DEFENSE DEPARTMENT REPORT, THURSDAY, JULY 22
(Belarus, Yugoslavia, naval exercise, new ships) (660)
NEWS BRIEFING -- Navy Captain Michael Doubleday, the spokesman, discussed
the following topics:
NEW SECURITY RELATIONSHIP WITH BELARUS UNFOLDING
As part of President Clinton's decision to build a new security
partnership with states of the former Soviet Union, Defense Secretary Aspin
committed the United States July 22 to three historic agreements designed
to help the Republic of Belarus give up former Soviet nuclear arsenals, the
spokesman announced.
Clinton ordered the new policy April 23 following his Vancouver summit with
Russian President Yeltsin.
1he Defense Department has a two-part role in implementing the policy,
Doubleday said. The first, he said, is to establish defense and military
contacts with the former Soviet states and take the lead on
de-nuclearization initiatives; the second is to implement a special law
recently passed by Congress. That law provides U.S. money and assistance
to help former Soviet states safely rid themselves of Soviet weapons of
mass destruction. It also charges the Defense Department with ensuring
that materials and technology from the dismantled weapons are not
proliferated, Doubleday said.
Aspin and Belarus Defense Minister Pavel Kozlovskiy signed the three pacts,
under which the United States will provide $59 million "to help ensure
safe, secure dismantlement and destruction of the former Soviet nuclear
weapons on Belarus soil." That brings to $75 million the total of U.S. aid
to Belarus for such purposes, Doubleday said.
The spokesman also said that Aspin will meet with Ukrainian Defense Minister
Kostyantyn Morosov July 26-27 and Russian Defense Minister Pavel Grachyov
sometime in September. He said the meetings are "a key part of this
two-fold role" mandated by the president and Congress.
The meetings will have three goals:
-- to finalize agreements under the special weapons-dismantlement law;
-- to strengthen defense and military relations with the former Soviet
states, including announcing joint initiatives with the defense and
military leaders of each; and,
-- to support the administration's efforts to become a friend and partner of
the former Soviet states as they resolve disputes among themselves.
U.S. PLANES BACK UP U.N. IN YUGOSLAVIA
U.S. aircraft of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) command
are deploying in Italy to provide air cover for the U.N. Protection Force
(UNPROFOR) in the former Yugoslavia, should the secretary general ask such
support of the alliance, Doubleday said.
He said 12 Air Force A-10 ground attack aircraft arrived July 13, six Marine
Corps FA-18 ground attack aircraft arrived July 20 with two more expected
in one or two days, and six transport aircraft have arrived with two more
expected later.
Five other support aircraft also would be part of the prospective operation.
The aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt is in the port of Naples and will
deploy six of its aircraft to the prospective operation next week, said
Doubleday.
AMERICAS CONDUCT NAVAL EXERCISE
The United States Atlantic fleet and forces of eight other republics in
the hemisphere will conduct the 34th in the "Unitas" series of joint
military exercises from July to November, the spokesman announced.
Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela
will participate, he said.
About 2,400 U.S. military personnel from all four armed services and 12,000
from the other republics will take part. Four U.S. naval vessels are
assigned to the exercise, a destroyer, a cruiser, an amphibious assault
ship, and a submarine, he said.
NAVY TO LAUNCH THREE NEW SHIPS
The Navy will commission three new vessels July 24, Doubleday announced.
It will launch: the guided missile destroyer Paul Hamilton at Bath, Maine,
the 10th of 26 vessels in its class; the guided missile cruiser Lake Erie
at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the 24th of 27 vessels in its class; and the
attack submarine Columbus at New London, Connecticut, the 53rd in it class
of vessels, he said.
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