GeoStrategy direct w/e 18-Dec-13
"The U.S. military will remain the most powerful in the world, and we will honor our commitments, and the United States is not retreating, not retreating from any part of the world."
The United States has drafted plans to sell weapons to the Gulf Cooperation Council's regional force.
Officials said the Defense Department has offered to fulfill the requirements of the GCC's Peninsula Shield, meant to protect the six Gulf Arab states from external threats. They said the Pentagon envisioned block sales of major platforms, particularly in the area of ballistic missile defense and counter-insurgency.
"We would like to expand our security cooperation with partners in the region by working in a coordinated way with the GCC, including through the sales of U.S. defense articles through the GCC as an organization," Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said.
In an address to the Manama Dialogue on Dec. 7, Hagel marked the first senior U.S. official that addressed arms sales to the GCC as a military coalition. Until now, Washington has sold hundreds of billions of dollars to individual GCC states, mostly Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Officials said the Pentagon and State Department have long urged GCC operations of such assets as BMD batteries, command and control and coast guard. But they said individual GCC states balked amid concerns that Saudi Arabia would dominate the U.S.-supplied arms buildup.
"This is a natural next step in improving U.S.-GCC collaboration, and it will enable the GCC to acquire critical military capabilities, including items for ballistic missile defense, maritime security, and counterterrorism," Hagel said.
Officials said the GCC must establish an air and missile defense operations center that would coordinate the range of U.S. assets. So far, such countries as Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have ordered the PAC-3 and Theater High-Altitude Area Defense systems against the threat from neighboring Iran.
"The United States continues to believe that a multilateral approach is the best answer for missile defense," Hagel said.
The Pentagon plan includes deeming the GCC an entity eligible for the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program. The GCC was also urged to hold regular meetings with the Pentagon to assess threats to regional security.
"Nations are stronger, not weaker, when they work together against common threats," Hagel said. "Closer cooperation between the GCC and the United States is in all of our countries’ interests."
Hagel has sought to allay GCC fears that the United States was moving toward a rapproachment with Iran. He said the administration of President Barack Obama was committed to maintaining a major U.S. military presence in the Gulf despite the sharp cuts in the American defense budget. The secretary cited a $580 million program to expand the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet in Bahrain.
"The U.S. military will remain the most powerful in the world, and we will honor our commitments, and the United States is not retreating, not retreating from any part of the world," Hagel said.
"The U.S. military will remain the most powerful in the world, and we will honor our commitments, and the United States is not retreating, not retreating from any part of the world."
The United States has drafted plans to sell weapons to the Gulf Cooperation Council's regional force.
Officials said the Defense Department has offered to fulfill the requirements of the GCC's Peninsula Shield, meant to protect the six Gulf Arab states from external threats. They said the Pentagon envisioned block sales of major platforms, particularly in the area of ballistic missile defense and counter-insurgency.
"We would like to expand our security cooperation with partners in the region by working in a coordinated way with the GCC, including through the sales of U.S. defense articles through the GCC as an organization," Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said.
In an address to the Manama Dialogue on Dec. 7, Hagel marked the first senior U.S. official that addressed arms sales to the GCC as a military coalition. Until now, Washington has sold hundreds of billions of dollars to individual GCC states, mostly Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Officials said the Pentagon and State Department have long urged GCC operations of such assets as BMD batteries, command and control and coast guard. But they said individual GCC states balked amid concerns that Saudi Arabia would dominate the U.S.-supplied arms buildup.
"This is a natural next step in improving U.S.-GCC collaboration, and it will enable the GCC to acquire critical military capabilities, including items for ballistic missile defense, maritime security, and counterterrorism," Hagel said.
Officials said the GCC must establish an air and missile defense operations center that would coordinate the range of U.S. assets. So far, such countries as Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have ordered the PAC-3 and Theater High-Altitude Area Defense systems against the threat from neighboring Iran.
"The United States continues to believe that a multilateral approach is the best answer for missile defense," Hagel said.
The Pentagon plan includes deeming the GCC an entity eligible for the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program. The GCC was also urged to hold regular meetings with the Pentagon to assess threats to regional security.
"Nations are stronger, not weaker, when they work together against common threats," Hagel said. "Closer cooperation between the GCC and the United States is in all of our countries’ interests."
Hagel has sought to allay GCC fears that the United States was moving toward a rapproachment with Iran. He said the administration of President Barack Obama was committed to maintaining a major U.S. military presence in the Gulf despite the sharp cuts in the American defense budget. The secretary cited a $580 million program to expand the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet in Bahrain.
"The U.S. military will remain the most powerful in the world, and we will honor our commitments, and the United States is not retreating, not retreating from any part of the world," Hagel said.
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