New Secretary of Defense’s Surprise Afghanistan Visit Was to Invigorate Troops & Declare Determination

Published in People
(China) on 10 July 2011
by Lao Ren (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Yipeng Xie. Edited by Gillian Palmer.
On July 9, the new U.S. Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta, paid an unannounced visit to Afghanistan. This was his first visit to Kabul since he assumed the post on July 1. Panetta claimed that he held an optimistic attitude about defeating al-Qaida and that the U.S. army’s victory in this battle is approaching.

After heading the Central Intelligence Agency for two and a half years, Panetta started his administration of the Pentagon at the beginning of the month. On the road to Kabul, he told reporters, “I think now is the moment following what happened with bin Laden.” He said he believes the U.S. is “...within reach of strategically defeating al-Qaida.” He also said, “It is time to put maximum pressure on them because I do believe that if we continue this effort that we really can cripple al-Qaida as a threat to this country.”

The Secretary of Defense stated, “Having gotten bin Laden, we’ve now identified some of the key leadership within al-Qaida, both in Pakistan as well as in Yemen and other areas.” He also said, “There are 10 to 20 key leaders among Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb in North Africa.” He also believed that Ayman al-Zawahiri, bin Laden’s second in command and now the leader of the group, still resides in Pakistan's tribal region. He mentioned U.S.-born Anwar al-Awlaki, a top figure in al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, who, he believed, lives in Yemen.

Discussing the troop withdrawal with Afghanistan’s president

On the same day Panetta arrived in Kabul, he conducted a talk with Afghanistan’s President Karzai. Both discussed details of July’s troop withdrawal. Panetta also exchanged views with Karzai about constructing Afghanistan’s own security force. The U.S. has had a stressful relationship with Karzai for many years. Afghanistan strongly complained about the U.S. army’s air raids, which had caused numerous deaths. Panetta revealed that during his career as the director of the CIA, he had built good relations with President Karzai and hoped to start to construct a “much better relationship.”

This is the first visit to Kabul since Panetta left the CIA. The major goal of this visit is to meet with the Commanding General of the Multi-National Force, David Petraeus, to discuss the military situation in Afghanistan and problems faced by the U.S. and NATO armed forces. General Petraeus will return to the U.S. soon to fill Panetta’s previous position as director of the CIA. Panetta said that he was optimistic that a new U.S. military and civilian leadership team in Afghanistan could mark a new beginning in the nations’ partnership.

Panetta will also meet with U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry, who will leave his post at the end of this month. These personnel alterations follow a crucial declaration from the White House. The White House claimed that the U.S. military would withdraw from Afghanistan step by step, and by the end of this year 10,000 soldiers would withdraw from Afganistan.

Concern that the military budget cut will “drain U.S. army”

The economic decline has exerted pressure on Obama’s government, which decided to cut the military budget. The budget cut is also one of the reasons for the U.S. army’s withdrawal. However, on the plane to Afghanistan, Panetta stated that the budget cuts would not harm the defense ability. He said he didn’t think he could choose only either the financial responsibility or the maintenance of national defense. He thought the government could save the money and maintain a powerful national defense at the same time.

The new secretary of defense agreed with the previous secretary, Robert Gates, that overdoing the budget cuts might “drain the U.S. army.” President Obama requires cutting $400 billion from defense expenditure. Previous Secretary of Defense Gates left this challenge to Panetta. The U.S. government is still facing deficit at this point. Currently the monthly military expenditure in Afghanistan is $10 billion.

American Enterprise Institute senior strategic analyst Gary Schmitt said, “Panetta’s biggest challenge will be to manage cutbacks in the Pentagon’s huge budget.” He also said, “If the administration has its way and there are hundreds of billions of dollars more in cuts, this is going to require significant downsizing of the U.S. military and force structure.”*

*Editor’s Note: These quotations, accurately translated, could not be verified.


7月9日,新近宣誓就职的美国国防部长帕内塔在阿富汗进行一次事先未曾宣布的访问。这是他自7月1日接任国防部长以来对喀布尔的首次访问。帕内塔说,他对击败“基地”组织持乐观态度,美军对阿富汗武装叛乱分子的战斗是胜利在望的。

  帕内塔在领导美国中情局两年半之后,于月初掌管了五角大楼。他在前往喀布尔的路上,对随行记者说,如果美国加大压力,“基地”组织就不再能实施重大的行动。在今年5月2日成功击毙本·拉登的突袭行动之后,帕内塔说,美国比以往任何时候都更加接近于在战略上打败“基地”组织,大大削弱了这个恐怖组织发动大规模袭击的能力。帕内塔说:“我认为,在本·拉登被击毙之后,现在就是向基地组织施加最大压力的时候。因为我确信,如果我们继续这一努力,我们就真的可以重创基地组织。”

  这位美国国防部长说,在击毙本·拉登的突袭行动中获得的情报,加上美国多年来收集的其他情报,使美国可以对在巴基斯坦、也门、索马里以及北非的10~20名恐怖分子头目进行积极有效的搜捕行动。帕内塔还表示,他相信“基地”组织的新领导人扎瓦赫里还在巴基斯坦的部落地区藏身。帕内塔还提到了美国出生的激进穆斯林教士奥拉基,据信他目前居住在也门。

  与阿富汗总统商讨撤军事宜

  帕内塔在抵达阿富汗首都喀布尔当天,与阿富汗总统卡尔扎伊举行了会谈。双方就美国从今年7月份开始撤出美军的具体细节进行了商讨。帕内塔还就建立阿富汗当地自己的保安力量问题与卡尔扎伊进行了磋商。美国与卡尔扎伊的紧张关系已经持续多年。这位阿富汗总统强烈抱怨联军的空袭造成阿富汗的平民伤亡。帕内塔表示,在他担任中央情报局局长一职的几年期间,与卡尔扎伊建立了良好的关系,并且希望可以开始建立“更好的关系”。

  这是帕内塔离开中央情报局以来对喀布尔进行的第一次访问,他此访的重点是与美国和北约在阿富汗的军事指挥官彼得雷乌斯将军会面,讨论当前阿富汗的军事形势以及美国与北约盟军面临的问题。彼得雷乌斯将军本人不久将返回美国,接替帕内塔担任中情局局长。帕内塔说,他感到乐观的是,美国在阿富汗的新的军事和文职领导班子会标志着两国伙伴关系的一个新开端。

  此外,帕内塔还将会见美国驻阿富汗大使艾肯伯里,这位大使到本月底时也将离任。这些人事变动是紧随着白宫做出的一项重要宣布而来的。白宫宣布说,美国军队将开始分阶段从阿富汗撤出,今年年底之前要撤军1万人。

  担心裁减军费“挖空美军”

  美国的经济下滑导致奥巴马政府受到压力,要求减少军事开支。这是美国从阿富汗撤军的原因之一。但是,帕内塔在前往阿富汗的专机上说,他认为可以在不降低美国军事能力的情况下削减军费。帕内塔说:“我不认为在履行财政责任和保持强大国防这两个问题上只能选择一个。我认为,我们可以同时做到既节约经费又保持一支强大的国防武装。”

  这位新国防部长接着表示认同他的前任盖茨部长的观点,盖茨担心过度削减开支可能会“挖空美军”。奥巴马总统要求把防务预算进一步削减4000亿美元。已经离任的前国防部长盖茨把这一难题留给了帕内塔。美国政府目前继续面临财政赤字的局面。目前阿富汗的战事每个月的开销就多达100亿美元。

  美国企业研究所的资深战略分析人士史密特说,帕内塔将面临的最主要的挑战,是削减五角大楼的开支。他说:“假如白宫方面的计划得以实现的话,那么,政府开支还要面临数百亿美元的消减,这就意味着,军队无论是在架构上,还是在人员上,都将面临大幅度的消减。”★
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