Pentagon Spokesman's Briefing
DEFENSE DEPARTMENT REGULAR BRIEFING
BRIEFER: REAR ADMIRAL CRAIG QUIGLEY, USN, SPOKESMAN
PENTAGON BRIEFING ROOM, ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA
1:45 P.M. EDT - TUESDAY, MAY 15, 2001
Q: A Rand report commissioned by the Air Force was released today,
making suggestions about U.S. military force posturing and emphasis
toward Asia. It suggested that the U.S. ought to be focusing more of
its resources on Asia and also suggested that Guam be considered for a
buildup of U.S. military strength, as a prepositioning area. To what
extent does this report, that was commissioned by one of the services,
reflect the thinking of the Pentagon now, as you're going through this
review process?
Quigley: Well, I think you find a variety of studies to look at a
variety of topics, in both Rand and the Institute for Defense
Analysis, Center for Naval Analysis, a lot of the federally funded
research and development corporations. They all go into the mix. Their
overarching goal is to examine a question, examine an issue, come up
with good, solid academic, analytic findings that all go into the mix
in the development of policy and acquisition decisions and things of
that sort.
This product, like many others before it, will be considered as part
of that mix. I don't think it represents the singular views of any
individual or organization within DoD, but I don't think that was the
goal. I think the goal was to stimulate thinking and examine the
issues here in the eyes of the research team that put together that
report.
Q: Does the secretary of Defense believe that, just generally
speaking, that the Asia Pacific region should get increased emphasis
in the future?
Quigley: I think we'll probably hear more of that later, once he's
looked into where the strategy focus ought to be. But I don't think
we're quite ready to do that.
Q: Just one more follow-up. Is the U.S. considering any increasing its
military forces or military equipment positioned on Guam?
Quigley: Other than a near-continuous, I guess - which is incumbent
upon all of us to be responsible to do that, to take a look at our
force structure around the world on a continuous basis and make
informed, intelligent recommendations of change where necessary --
other than that, though, I am not aware of any focused effort to take
a look at the force structure on Guam specifically.
Q: In any of the preliminary IDA studies that the secretary has had,
or study that the secretary has seen on Asia, is the thought pretty
much parallel to the Rand report that Asia should take an increased
interest?
Quigley: I won't draw an inference as to any sort of preliminary
discussions or recommendations made to the secretary.
Q: Was this report part of the - or being included in the secretary's
review?
Quigley: No, it preceded that by quite a while. I don't know when it
was originated, but I believe it was some time in 2000, many, many
months ago.
Q: Craig?
Quigley: Tom?
Q: What's your thinking, what's the latest on when that review might
be made public, that type of review, that type of conclusion?
Quigley: Good question. I wish I could give you a good answer. One
thing that the secretary is not enthusiastic about is rushing to a
poor conclusion. He's very much aware that the calendar is not his
friend here and time is passing. But on the other hand, you've got to
be satisfied that you've looked at it as well as you could have in the
limited time available to you. And he is trying to go both ways and be
as quick as he can, but also the end result must be a piece of sound
analysis that stands up to scrutiny and comes to intelligent
recommendations and conclusions. So those are the two often competing
goals that he's trying very hard to bring to a conclusion.
Q: The president is supposed to make a major speech at the Naval
Academy on the 25th, which has been represented as his position on the
future military strategy of the United States. You would assume that
DoD's reviews would go into that.
Quigley: I'm sure the president will speak to a topic of his choosing,
Otto. I'm not sure how to characterize that speech on the 25th.
Q: Did the author of that Rand report, Zalmay Khalilzad, was he one of
the participants in Rumsfeld's review?
Quigley: He was a member of the transition team at the changeover
between the previous and the current administration. But I do not
believe - let me check on that, but I do not believe that he was an
active participant in the studies that were done. [Khalilzad formerly
headed up the DoD transition team, as part of the Bush transition
team. He was later a paid consultant for DoD. He is now working at the
White House.]
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