Halifax Int'l Security Forum Keynote with Robert M. Gates

Mr. Craig Kennedy: Welcome. My name is Craig Kennedy, Minister MacKay, Secretary Gates, distinguished guests, welcome to the Atlantic Gateway of Canada. Welcome to the first Halifax International Security Forum. We are very pleased to have all of you here with us today. I could go through the list of guests and recognize the important figures that are here from the United States Congress, from German Bundestag, from military of multiple countries, but frankly we are under a little bit of a tight timeline and I think it would probably take a half hour to do it service. I just want to thank all of you for being here. We are very pleased to host what promises to be a world-class event here in Halifax. When you look at the agenda the tough issues that this conference will address, the really first-rate speakers that we have for every panel and the quite extraordinary group of participants that are here that represent not just North America and Europe but really start to underscore the global nature of the Transatlantic partnership with participants from India, Japan, Korea, New Zealand and elsewhere. I want to start by just thanking first the government of Canada for their extraordinary help in every part of the arrangements and especially The Ministry of National Defense. They have been wonderful partners and also [INAUDIBLE] which is our local partner here in Halifax. They have done an extraordinary amount of work in pulling this together. Why Halifax? And why here? Well, as some of you know GMF also does a conference each year in Brussels, the Brussels forum. A number of you have participated. The first year we did it there was a request that we include the foreign minister of Canada who turned out to be quite an extraordinary participant in his probing questions from the audience putting everybody on notice that Canada wanted to play a significant role in the transatlantic relationship. About nine months ago Peter MacKay came to us and asked if we would be willing to try to put together a conference of this sort of the same kind here in Canada and especially here in Halifax. It turns out that there's many transatlantic security conferences but none of them really on this scale are held in North America. So for us it was really an opportunity to do something new to fill what we saw as a gap and also work closely with a political leader that we admire greatly. So now it is my pleasure to introduce the Minister of National Defense and the Minister for Atlantic Gateway Canada, Peter MacKay. Peter. 12 2 The Hon. Peter G. MacKay: Thank you very much, Craig, Secretary Gates, colleagues, Ambassadors and friends welcome to Halifax. And Craig in addition to the endless preparations and work that goes into a conference of this magnitude, has also been speaking to local realtors about buying property here in Nova Scotia so I am particularly grateful for that. Welcome all of you to my home province. It's my great privilege to be here as part of this wonderful, we hope, annual event, the Halifax security forum. And in partnership with the German Marshal Fund who are renowned for bringing together great minds, great thinkers for an open frank discussion and dialogue on the issues of security and beyond that matter to all of us and our fellow citizens. Having grown up in this province and being a cabinet minister responsible for Nova Scotia and cabinet, I have to say it was a very wise decision to meet here in Halifax. In fact, while the GMF hosts the annual Brussels forum every year in spring, which is a terrific event, I had the opportunity to first attend as Craig alluded to in 2006 and I recall distinctly being there and being enraptured with the discussion and yet there was something I must say that stood out that was a little disappointing at that time because the discussion had been framed very much and I say this respectfully to everyone in the room, EU, America, America, EU was the expression I constantly heard in encompassing the discussion broadly. And Javier Solana, who you all know well, was the keynote speaker. And I said to myself then and I'm so happy to see that it's been culminated here that we have to expand that dialogue and expand the parameters beyond geographic descriptions and I was particularly listening closely to Craig's introduction and I heard him say North America. And that is a wonderful change in the dialogue. And we, of course, as Canadians are used to living with a giant neighbor to our south. How could we not be? We also have of course incredibly deep ties to Europe. Canadians are very much aware and in tune with our two founding nations, France and the United Kingdom on the other side of the Atlantic. So when the transatlantic relationship is narrowed down by others to Europe and America it doesn't always ring true to Canadian ears. And so we take great pride in knowing that Canadian's contribution to transatlantic cooperation as a steadfast reliable friend and ally is recognized. This city's contribution, Halifax, the contribution to the relationship here is marked with both pride and tragedy. During the first World War, December 6, 1917 Halifax was devastated by an explosion of the fully loaded French munitions ship, the Mont Blanc and a Norwegian ship [INAUDIBLE] 2000 people lost their lives that day. 9,000 were injured in the greatest man made accidental explosion ever recorded 03 3 and the largest explosion up until Hiroshima. This city's history is also marked by its incredible naval traditions and pride. The Bedford basin just outside this building was choked with ships massing for convoys to supply our allies throughout both World Wars and thousands of our citizens made their way through this port to go on to greater glories and contributions significant to many of your countries. Our government is very proud of Canada's past and present contributions and emphasizes Canada's modern day robust role. And as we look forward to making the Halifax international security forum one of the more significant contributions the place where friends and allies meet to discuss common challenges and bring forward new ideas and how to tackle them together. Standing here on the western shore of the northern Atlantic twenty years after the fall of the Berlin wall where I had the great pleasure to be with my colleague just a short time ago and some seventy years since the out break of the Second World War, we are proud of what we have accomplished together with our allies. Of course in the dark days of 1939 and 1940 and 1941 together met a very small group, Prime Minister Churchill and President Roosevelt met aboard the U.S.S. Augusta not far from this port, not far from this shore August 41 to map out the Atlantic charter. Then only a handful of democratic countries were available and ready to do what was necessary to reverse the occupation of Europe. Transatlanticism was born out of necessity and today after a lot of hard work and smart work and struggle and pain political leaders, soldiers, diplomats and most importantly, regular people, people who have demanded better, have expanded the community of democratic states, shared political values right around the globe. The enlargement of our political community has been paralleled by globalization of trade and capital flows. As I have said today any change in the security environment of the Indian Ocean or the subcontinent is a matter of consequence for all of us. The great success of our friends in Brazil in attracting investors to their rapidly emerging market receives attention around the world. The transatlanticism that was once a concept shared by countries like Canada, United Kingdom and the United States has gone global and today is shared by nations on every continent. The potential for this global transatlanticism is enormous and the best way to harness the potential for greater partnership is to come together, is to listen, be open minded and get to know each other better. In this Halifax forum we are going to take part in a worth while and productive exercise of listening and I hope that it will be as it has always been in a German Marshall forum, a chance where people can speak openly, honestly, among friends. And that everyone here is seeking the same fundamental goals for their country and their region, economic growth, security, political freedom and stability. And, of course, NATO is the cornerstone of international security. And I never get tired of telling people the 20 4 importance of NATO. It is, in fact, of course, the most successful military alliance in the history of the world. As NATO goes through the concept and the exercise of creating new strategic concept over the next months, it is important to keep in mind that this is not your father's NATO or your mother's NATO. This is, in fact, a new security environment with new challenges and today's challenges are, in fact, tough. Some of the challenges that confront us may be similar to those that have come before us but others of course are brand new. Religious extremism, it finds its outlet by exploiting terrorism, continues to be a challenge. The risk of proliferation of nuclear weapons to non-state actors and indeed the quest for nuclear weapons buy states that have no business other than to threaten their neighbors and increase their regional clout. The security risks of climate change including competition for energy resources and the distribution do exist. And NATO, of course, has changed to meet the challenges that it is required to do. It is conducting military operations thousands of miles from its headquarters. It's cooperating with international partners like never before and there are lots more to do. International security cooperation must adjust just as international financial institutions have adjusted and have to do the right thing with respect to the global financial crisis. As we do here before the security crisis equivalent to the economic crisis affects us all. There are current severe gaps in the way in which we manage global security issues, the institutions we work with were designed for another era when security threats were mostly state based and increasingly the nature of the challenges we face will be related to state failures and vulnerabilities in such areas a shipping lanes and cyberspace. International law is similarly largely designed for state centered worlds and it has not kept pace with the global reality of non-state actors that are proliferating, networking and in some cases attacking. An example of where the law is clearly defined is the arctic where the effects of climate change are opening new opportunities for shipping and resource extraction. The UN convention on the law of the sea defines an orderly process for the demarcation of sovereignty claims that reduce the prospect of competition. And that is not the case elsewhere. What we do know is that we have pirates again, not the pirates of movies or bygone eras but pirates that certainly threaten the security of entire continents. Clarity is needed if collective action is to take precedence over competition or conflict. Not only are the actors different but the nature of the conflict of course is much different than it has been in the past. Traditionally military operations in post conflict stabilization have been distinct phrases separate from peace treaty or armorists, we need to take a new attack, a new framework for the use of military force because in fact military 12 5 is only part of the answer. In today's more complex environment the simultaneous applications of all elements of national power, military and civilian are of course required. This framework needs to take into account military cooperation, development, economic investment and political security working in an integrated fashion or what we in Canada call a whole of government approach. And we need to do so quickly to develop these new approaches in operating as well as in training, doctrine in policy and in planning. And NATO cohesion has always rested on an understanding of equitable burden sharing. However, the nature of transatlantic and transnational threats is such that it is disproportionate shared of the burden of what falls in some cases on a relatively small number of nations. And within the transatlantic community trends in defense spending demographics suggests that unless this is addressed seriously this problem will only worsen. I returned from Afghanistan just this past week and it was another trip where I can tell you I was left feeling very inspired and somewhat in awe of the degree to which we it rely on a few to defend the many and the sacrifices of those men and women by all our countries is a sobering reminder of the cost of service. I similarly just a few short moments ago came from a very stirring ceremony to award sacrifice metals to Canadian soldiers wounded in action or to those who had lost loved ones to family members. Again it speaks to the degree of commitment of citizens in our country to provide the security and environment that we all need to enjoy a peaceful way of life. So whether through NATO or through our own service of military, political or economic activity we know that we can accomplish more working together. Admissions around the world through allegiances and alliances of democracies that have in fact, taken on the burden in the past, we share a great burden. But let there be no doubt NATO will be judged by what it does not in Afghanistan today but in the months immediately to follow. And this is more than just about strategic concept, its about strategic truth. Meanwhile as new types of threats emerge, new and emerging powers will arise along with new risks and old challenges of traditional state rivalries, just as they have continued since the creation of the nations state itself. New centers of regional gravity will expand, greater international influence that traditionally accompanies growing prosperity and its already happening. There are opportunities, there are risks inherent in what strategists regularly refer to as the future multi polar world and the opportunities are plain to see, new markets have the new potential to create new wealth. And the risks are less evident but theyre there and their serious. If the world's new centers are run by authoritarian business friendly governments that draw neighbors toward them they will eventually present a fundamental challenge to the principles that everyone in this room believes in. And so the world's new centers are run by democratic business friendly governments that draw neighbors toward them, we will all benefit from that approach. 04 6 The United States, of course, has a unique role as a country with the largest gravitational pull. It must always understand its special place and take its leadership role seriously as it does. But smaller countries in the transatlantic alliance have important roles to play as well. The transatlanticism that was defined in the dark days of the Second World War ultimately brought peace and stability and wealth to Europe and to much of the world. Canada is proud of the role that it played and continues to play. But if the collective we, those that hold and defend the values of freedom and democracy are to play a role in shaping the worlds future beyond European borders then we have to do a better job. And it starts with listening, exchanging ideas and coming together as we have today. And just as Canada won't get used to hearing EU, America, I'm sure that the time will come that many countries, too, will want to join us in this dialogue. The Transatlantic alliance at its very core is an alliance of values. That is something to cherish, to be proud of and to defend. It was born from necessity from the dark days as I said, the Second World War, and global transatlantic partnership is born from common sense. In the simplest terms the threat that we will confront in the next decade or two will demand new ideas, new strategies, new partnerships and its my hope that the Halifax international security forum will be a venue from which we can come together in the future to make sure that we get it right. I'm proud to be a part of this committee, this hosting committee for you in Halifax. I'm proud to be standing in the city of Halifax with all of you. You are most welcome, and I am proud and particular and honored to introduce my friend and a friend to Canada and a friend to all of us, for his second time in Nova Scotia please welcome Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates. The Hon. Robert M. Gates: Thank you, Peter. It's an honor to be here for the first Halifax international security forum. When minister MacKay invited me to this gathering some months ago I was all too pleased to accept and not just because the accommodations are a little more plush than at the former military base in Corn Wallace where we held the RC south meeting last November. I must tell you, you can't tell it today but it can get very cold in this part of the world this time of the year. A special thanks to the German Marshall Fund for putting this event together. The Marshal Fund since its inception nearly four decades ago has been an important source of expertise on the transatlantic relationship. The importance of these bonds was reinforced to me ten days ago when I addressed the Reagan library's 20th anniversary celebration and the fall of the Berlin wall. That celebration and the life and freedom of firming events we commemorated were a reminder of the long standing cultural, political and security bonds 20 7 between the two continents and more importantly a reminder of what can be achieved when we stand together to advance common interests and confront common threats. As this conference is the first of its kind in North America I'd like to address some of the security and defense issues that are especially pressing to this continent and in the western hemisphere writ large. At the summit of the Americas in April President Obama urged a new sense of partnership to fulfill the promise of prosperity security and justice for the people of this hemisphere. He called for a sustained engagement based on mutual respect, common interests and shared values, a message that I would like to amplify today. This engagement and this partnership are so necessary because the emerging security challenges we face are increasingly interconnected. And the nontraditional threats require a collective approach. These challenges from narco-trafficking to natural disasters require an uncommon degree of coordination among the national security, homeland defense and criminal justice agencies of our governments. As these threats do not fit into the neat, discrete boxes of 20th century organization charts. In the next few minutes I will discuss some of those security challenges, highlighting promising areas of cooperation and offering some thoughts on the way ahead particularly as relating to human rights and the role of our militaries. In all of these areas the United States aspires to be a partner of choice in the Americas, a friend of every nation and every person seeking a future of security, dignity and freedom. A starting point for this discussion is the long standing relationship between the United States and Canada, the subject of my meeting this afternoon with Minister MacKay. I know that Afghanistan is on everyone's mind, with the president soon to announce his decisions on the way ahead for the United States and our partners. In Afghanistan the Canadian military has more than distinguished itself in battle in some of the most dangerous parts of the country. Canada has been a major contributor to the international military coalition with more than 2800 troops currently deployed plus a strong commitment to support future development and governments efforts. It was Canadian soldiers along with our British, Dutch, Danish and [INAUDIBLE] allies who largely held the line in the south before U.S. reinforcements arrived in strength earlier this year. With more than 130 fallen heroes among the highest of coalition members on a per capita basis the Canadian Army has certainly paid the price and bore a heavy burden in Afghanistan. We call on our other allies and friends to do what they can on behalf of this noble and necessary campaign, an effort that will as I said last week require more commitment, more sacrifice and more patience from the community of free nations. The formal defense ties between the United States and Canada date back to 1940 when President Roosevelt and Prime Minister King signed the 12 8 Ogdensburg declaration and established the permanent joint board on defense, an arrangement of lasting value to this day. Last year I was pleased to join Minister MacKay in Colorado Springs for the 50th anniversary of the founding of the North American aerospace defense command. Festivities that marked the half century of shared commitment by the United States and Canada to protect our continent. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union and especially since the attacks of November 11th [INAUDIBLE] has evolved from focusing almost exclusively on protecting a nuclear first strike to confronting an array of diffused threats to our homeland from land, air and sea. In 2006 the United States and Canada signed an expansion on the Norad agreement to include a maritime warning mission. Last December we signed a new emergency management cooperation agreement and the U.S. military prepared as needed to provide support to security efforts for the 2010 winter Olympics in Vancouver. We have also been encouraged to see Canada taking a more active security role across the hemisphere and globally as well. Canada has provided police training in Mexico to combat the drug cartels. Canada has helped build the capacity of Jamaica's counter terrorism operations for a unit of the Jamaican defense force that thwarted an airline hijacking in April without any casualties. Canada has demonstrated hemispheric leadership hosting the 2008 conference of defense ministers of the Americas in Bing, a gathering which in addition to fostering dialogue among neighbors on defense and security matters created a region wide working group to improve cooperation for disaster assistance. And internationally last year a Canadian Admiral led combined task force 150, a multi national fleet comprised of about a dozen war ships that patrol the waters off the port of Africa for pirates and terrorists. Canada and the U.S. are both arctic nations. An item on our bilateral agenda today and a subject of a panel at this conference. We share an interest in developing more ice breaking ships for mobility and improving domain awareness to support search and rescue in light of increased tourism up north. Even as the U.S. resets relations with Russia we will work with Canada to ensure that increased Russian activity in the Arctic does not lead to miscalculation or unnecessary friction. I should also use this occasion to say that the United States still remembers warmly the prompt and generous Canadian response to Hurricane Katrina, a package consisting of war ships, helicopters, 900 troops including combat engineers and thousands of pounds of relief supplies, which brings me to the first of several shared security challenges we face in this hemisphere, the threat from natural hazards. Katrina was the most devastating of a number of natural calamities that have hit the region in recent years. As our neighbors from the north and south came to the aid of the U.S. during those dark days the resources of the U.S. military are available, when the people of this hemisphere 04 9 are struck by natural disasters when the response of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps and Haiti after Hurricane Ike last year, the work by U.S. Army and Air Force personnel providing life saving aid just last week after devastating flooding and mud slides hit El Salvador. The melting of the polar ice cap in the Arctic plus the frequency and intensity of weather events in this hemisphere with the corresponding need for military humanitarian assistance missions calls for a greater attention to the security implications of climate change. For the first time our quadrennial defense review at the direction of the U.S. Congress will examine the U.S. Armed Forces ability to respond to the impact of global warming. We also know that the unprecedented freedom of movement in this hemisphere while providing enormous economic benefit also allows more opportunities for dangerous criminal elements to exploit gaps and weakness in governments and sovereignty within and between our nations. This situation creates an alarming potential nexus between the traditional source of narcotraffickers and the traditional surge of narco- traffickers and the emerging threats posed by international terrorist networks. The same means and routes used to transport drugs could also be used for dangerous weapons and materials. Drug runners, for example, still use low flying aircraft but they are also building homemade semi-submersible vessels that can carry tons of cargo and are very difficult to detect in open waters. In Columbia the FARC showed how an outlaw group can use ungoverned space to rearm and retrain while funding operations shoot a narcotics trade. But the progress Columbia has made in recent years with U.S. assistance also shows that it is possible to govern and ultimately defeat these threats and to do so in a way that is consistent with respect for human rights and the rule of law. In all when it comes to interdiction and law enforcement we cannot expect to make headway on narcotics without a multi-facetted, multi-national comprehensive approach to the problem. We need to work together to fortify judicial institutions and the rule of law. In this way these nations will be better prepared to counter these pernicious threats. In concert with other U.S. government agencies, the NGO community, Canada and other nations, we can assist in providing the breathing room needed for Western Hemisphere democracies to develop their fullest economic and political potential. The role of the Department of Defense, and it is a limited role, is to protect and monitor trafficking while providing the training and equipment that allows our partners in the region to pursue drug gangs and stimey the flow of illegal narcotics. The United States for its part is committed to reducing its demand for illegal drugs and also to stopping the flow of illegal guns and cash across our southern border. Toward this end The President has made it a priority to ratify the illegal trafficking and firearms convention. To deal with the narcotics trade 10 and other challenges in addition to our bilateral assistance efforts, we are also looking to encourage more collaboration among other nations that traditionally have not worked together on security matters. The U.S. government and our Caribbean partners are organizing the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, a multi-national effort to combat illicit trafficking with other international partners invited to participate as observers. Some $45 million has been directed to build upon best practices and develop new modes of cooperation in the Caribbean. One area of focus will be counter narcotics as drug gangs under increasing pressure in Mexico may seek to route more of their product through the Caribbean. U.S. Southern Command hosts the annual Tradewinds Exercise with a number of Caribbean militaries, the goal being to improve regional coordination in areas such as search and rescue and drug interdiction. An example of what can be achieved, recently Mexico, Colombia and Guatemala working together with the U.S. Joint Interagency Taskforce South detected, monitored and then captured a semi submersible craft that was carrying several tons of drugs. We are encouraging partners from outside the region to participate, many with a keen interest in stemming the flow of drugs to their own countries to participate in these efforts. The United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands and Spain, for example, have liaison officers at the Joint Interagency Taskforce South and participated in Operation [INAUDIBLE] Royale and Operation [INAUDIBLE] Venture. The Department of Defense is prepared to provide military assistance when needed and where appropriate. The progress on complex security challenges requires a commitment of resources and political will from our partners, as well. Working with Mexico and Central America supported by funds appropriated by Congress, the merit and initiative it seeks to support efforts to counter drug trafficking organizations. We're truly grateful for the support we've received from Congress enabling these efforts. We think first of Mexico's northern border but Mexicos southern border is equally challenging. Efforts to help our Central American and Caribbean partners to counter drug trafficking organizations will focus on improving their ability to monitor and to react to violations of their maritime domains. Before closing I would like to make two further points. First, I believe that it is not only possible but it is imperative that we take on these shared threats in a way that is respectful of human rights and human dignity. Violent crime represents a major threat to security in much of the Western Hemisphere. The police forces in a number of countries are overwhelmed and often outgunned creating a culture of insecurity. Some countries have assigned law enforcement responsibilities to their military forces. Strong human rights 11 programs are vital when conducting military responses in such complex environments. It is clear even to this veteran of CIA and Cold War that security gains will be illusory if they lack the public legitimacy that comes with respect for human rights and the rule of law. The U.S. Military has faced some of these issues in Iraq and Afghanistan in the treatment of detainees and in the protection of civilians. We have much to learn from each other in the human rights realm. As I mentioned earlier Columbia has recognized the need to observe these norms in its campaign against the FARC and despite setbacks has shown increased determination to root out human rights violations. And even as Mexico battles ruthless drug lords committing unspeakable crimes, the Mexican government is working to address rights concerns through training programs in its armed forces. The United States has made it a point to integrate human rights instruction into our joint training and education in programs such as The Western Hemispheric Institute for Security Cooperation and The Defense Institute for International Legal Studies. The second and related point pertains to the role of the U.S. Military. I am addressing these issues as Secretary of Defense it is imperative to keep front and center that the military is in the supporting, not a lead role in dealing with most of the problems I've described this afternoon. The work of U.S. regional combat and commands in security operation in building the defense capacity of partners remains essential. To be sure there are certain capabilities, manpower, logistics, technology, that only the military can provide. Indeed, many years ago U.N. Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold said in reference to peacekeeping that it is not a soldier's job but sometimes only a soldier can do it. Nonetheless, there is some discomfort among civilian NGOs and agencies about what is seen as an increasing role by the U.S. military in development, humanitarian assistance and, in some cases, public diplomacy. On a number of occasions I have emphasized the importance of rebuilding and modernizing the civilian instruments of U.S. national security apparatus and I have warned against a creeping militarization by default of some aspects of our foreign policy if the deficiencies arent addressed. President Obama and Secretary Clinton have committed to achieving a better balance between defense capabilities on the one hand and civilian development and diplomacy capacity on the other. This shift applies to homeland security capabilities, as well, such as the Coast Guard and Borer Patrol. For much of the Western Hemisphere the issue is more the proper role on authorities in the military relative to law enforcement, politics and civil society. These are difficult matters and I believe that gatherings such as this one can go a long way towards gaining a better understanding of these issues to benefit the people of this region. In working through these issues and in confronting the range of vexing security challenges that this century has presented us, the nations of this 12 hemisphere should know along with our transatlantic partners that the United States is committed in President Obama's words to a new chapter in engagement, one that is comprehensive, sustained and reflective of the aspirations of the people of the Americas. I thank the German Marshall Fund for the opportunity to speak today and I look forward to taking a couple of questions. Thank you. Mr. Craig Kennedy: I think we have time for one or two questions. Who wants to ask the first one? Right over her Audience: Thank you so much. My name is [INAUDIBLE] from Harvard. Thank you so much, Mr. MacKay for setting this important forum. I think it is a great remark that it is a North American forum. Maybe next year it will be America's forum. My question goes to Secretary Gates. Secretary Gates, you started with mention of fall of the Berlin Wall which started a new era. So far we can still see the residue of the Berlin Wall mentality of the decision making in both countries, in United States and Russia, a country which you mentioned once in your presentation. You also mentioned that there are a lot of nontraditional threats which require cooperative efforts. [INAUDIBLE] To which extent do you think Russia might or could become an ally of the United States and the collective west in attacking those threats? Thank you very much.