FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Dempsey Arrives in Poland Following Afghan Meetings
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
WARSAW, Poland, July 23, 2013 - Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, arrived here today following a successful trip to Afghanistan.
Army Lt. Gen. Mieczyslaw Gocul, the chief of the General Staff of the Polish armed forces, met Dempsey at the plane.
Dempsey will meet with Polish leaders today and will visit with American airmen training with the Polish armed forces tomorrow.
The chairman presented Gocul with a photo taken yesterday, when he met with Polish members of the International Security Assistance Force in the Afghan capital of Kabul.
In Kabul, Dempsey met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, with whom he discussed the bilateral security agreement between the United States and Afghanistan. The talks were productive, with the Afghan president's office issuing a statement following the meeting. "Afghans are ready to sign a security pact with the U.S., on the condition that it leads to peace and stability in the country, the strengthening of Afghan forces, and a united and sovereign Afghanistan," the statement said.
Karzai had broken off talks with the United States on the issue.
Dempsey told a media roundtable at ISAF headquarters that he would like to see the pact signed before October. NATO and partner nations then will negotiate a similar pact with the Afghans. The agreement will govern how the U.S. operates in Afghanistan once the ISAF mandate expires at the end of 2014.
The follow-on agreement would continue the development of Afghan security forces. Dempsey called those forces "the best guarantor of future security in Afghanistan."
NATO has named the follow-on operation Resolute Support.
Showing posts with label ARMY GEN. DEMPSEY. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ARMY GEN. DEMPSEY. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Saturday, June 29, 2013
U.S. BUILDING UP PARTNERS IN SYRIAN REGION TO PREVENT SPREAD OF VIOLENCE
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Capacity-building Central to Syria Strategy
By Claudette Roulo
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, June 26, 2013 - In an effort to help prevent the violence in Syria from spreading to its neighbors, the Defense Department is focusing on building partner capacity in the region, Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said today during a joint Pentagon news conference with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.
"Militarily, what we're doing is assisting our partners in the region, the neighbors of Syria, to ensure that they're prepared to account for the potential spillover effects," Dempsey said.
As part of these efforts, the U.S. will leave some Patriot missile batteries and some F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft in Jordan and is working with its Iraqi counterparts, the Lebanese armed forces, and Turkey through NATO, the chairman said.
"And we've made a recommendation that, as we look at the challenges faced by the Lebanese armed forces, the Iraqi security forces with a re-emerging Al-Qaida in Iraq, and the Jordanians, that we would work with them to help them build additional capability," he added.
The assistance would take the form of training teams or accelerated foreign military sales of equipment, the chairman said.
"This is about building their capability, not ours," he added.
These actions are in addition to the recent decision to provide military aid to opponents of the Assad regime, Dempsey said.
The defense secretary acknowledged that delivering the military aid raises a number of challenges.
"The opposition represents many different groups," Hagel said. "And we will always be and have to be assured that assistance we give to the Syrian military council gets to the right people, and that isn't a decision that can be answered quickly. It's a constant process of assessment."
One option under consideration, a no-fly zone, would be difficult to impose, the chairman told reporters.
"My concern has been that ensuring that Syria's airplanes don't fly addresses about 10 percent of the problem, in terms of the casualties that are taken in Syria," Dempsey said.
"The Syrian air defense system is sophisticated and it's dense," he noted, adding that implementing a no-fly zone is essentially an act of war.
"I'd like to understand the plan to make peace before we start a war," Dempsey said. But, he added, if the decision is made to impose a no-fly zone, "We'll make it happen."
Capacity-building Central to Syria Strategy
By Claudette Roulo
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, June 26, 2013 - In an effort to help prevent the violence in Syria from spreading to its neighbors, the Defense Department is focusing on building partner capacity in the region, Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said today during a joint Pentagon news conference with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.
"Militarily, what we're doing is assisting our partners in the region, the neighbors of Syria, to ensure that they're prepared to account for the potential spillover effects," Dempsey said.
As part of these efforts, the U.S. will leave some Patriot missile batteries and some F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft in Jordan and is working with its Iraqi counterparts, the Lebanese armed forces, and Turkey through NATO, the chairman said.
"And we've made a recommendation that, as we look at the challenges faced by the Lebanese armed forces, the Iraqi security forces with a re-emerging Al-Qaida in Iraq, and the Jordanians, that we would work with them to help them build additional capability," he added.
The assistance would take the form of training teams or accelerated foreign military sales of equipment, the chairman said.
"This is about building their capability, not ours," he added.
These actions are in addition to the recent decision to provide military aid to opponents of the Assad regime, Dempsey said.
The defense secretary acknowledged that delivering the military aid raises a number of challenges.
"The opposition represents many different groups," Hagel said. "And we will always be and have to be assured that assistance we give to the Syrian military council gets to the right people, and that isn't a decision that can be answered quickly. It's a constant process of assessment."
One option under consideration, a no-fly zone, would be difficult to impose, the chairman told reporters.
"My concern has been that ensuring that Syria's airplanes don't fly addresses about 10 percent of the problem, in terms of the casualties that are taken in Syria," Dempsey said.
"The Syrian air defense system is sophisticated and it's dense," he noted, adding that implementing a no-fly zone is essentially an act of war.
"I'd like to understand the plan to make peace before we start a war," Dempsey said. But, he added, if the decision is made to impose a no-fly zone, "We'll make it happen."
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