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I am announcing a decision to temporarily increase the active-duty end strength of the Army by up to 22,000. That is a temporary increase from the current authorized end -- permanent end strength of 547,000 to an authorized temporary end strength of 569,000 active-duty soldiers.
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Q ...A couple weeks, now, past the June 30th [2009] handover of control in the cities in Iraq, how do you assess the level of cooperation and the level of tension between U.S. forces and Iraqi forces, particularly in Baghdad? There's been a couple of reports of disagreements or even stand-offs over who gets to do what when. Are you convinced that you have the authority you need to protect the force and that you can operate as you need to?
SEC. GATES: I received a report from General Odierno just today that addressed this issue. And he said that the level of cooperation and collaboration with the Iraqi security forces is going much better than is being portrayed publicly and in the media. So my impression from his reporting, and not just this week but over the last couple of weeks, has been that it's actually, in his view, going quite well.
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Q Mr. Secretary and Admiral, there seems to have been a change, both substantively and rhetorically, coming out of Iraq, where, substantively, lower-level American commanders say that they're being asked to provide route convoy information before they leave, which they worry about for obvious security reasons. And rhetorically, there were comments today, which I was struck by, from the spokesperson for the Iraqi Ministry of Defense, who was describing America's soldiers in Iraq as being under house arrest. He said that: They're getting impatient because we confine them to their bases, which are like big prisons; they're under house arrest. So, two questions. One, substantively: How confident are you that the safety of American troops is being protected, given that you have commanders speaking openly with fears that it is not currently as safe as it could be? But, two, if the Iraqis see our presence there as putting us under house arrest, putting our soldiers into that prison, why are we there?
SEC. GATES: Well, first of all, I think that I certainly have not heard anything from General Odierno that would indicate that our soldiers have been put at increased risk. And second, it is perhaps a measure of our success in Iraq that politics have come to the country.
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Q Senator Gillibrand is talking about adding a -- an amendment to the Defense Authorization Bill that would give an 18- month moratorium on 'don't ask, don't tell.' Do you support that -- such an amendment being added? And some have noted that there's been a change of tone from this building about 'don't ask, don't tell.' Earlier this year you said, 'It's the law; we will implement the law.' Later you said you were looking at ways to bend the law. Why the change in tone?
SEC. GATES: Well, for one thing, we have a new president -- (chuckles) -- who has a different policy, and we will support what his goal is here. I'm not going to speak to specific legislation. I would just say this: that if -- first of all, we -- even as we look for ways to apply the law more humanely and as we look at how we might begin to implement the law, the only thing -- a change in the law, should that happen -- the only thing we have continued to say, and I think certainly I believe, and I think I can speak for the chairman in this, is that if the law does change, then it is important that the implementation be deliberate and careful. This is not something that should be -- in my view, should be done abruptly, because I think that we have a force under great stress in two wars, and to try and do something abruptly, I think, would be a real concern.
Q Have you taken any steps to apply the law more humanely, as you said?
SEC. GATES: We're still looking at that. |
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Name(s:) |
Robert Gates |
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Title: |
Secretary of Defense |
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Agency(ies): |
Department of Defense |
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Url: |
Url Link
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Archive: |
Archive Link
http://archive.is/Ss3sW |
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Q A question for both of you, please. A couple weeks, now, past the June 30th handover of control in the cities in Iraq, how do you assess the level of cooperation and the level of tension between U.S. forces and Iraqi forces, particularly in Baghdad? There's been a couple of reports of disagreements or even stand-offs over who gets to do what when. Are you convinced that you have the authority you need to protect the force and that you can operate as you need to?
[...]
ADM. MULLEN: All discussions I've had with General Odierno, including one midweek last week, about this issue have been very positive. Certainly there are challenges. I would point out the independent effort that the Iraqi forces provided recently in terms of providing security for the visit of many, many Iraqis to a very sacred mosque. And that, as an example -- the -- we continue to clearly work with them. But from the time actually before the 30th of June when we had been pulling out of cities until up to now, it's been positive. There clearly are challenges, but I think the leadership is working its way through each one of those challenges. So I'm encouraged.
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Q Mr. Secretary and Admiral, there seems to have been a change, both substantively and rhetorically, coming out of Iraq, where, substantively, lower-level American commanders say that they're being asked to provide route convoy information before they leave, which they worry about for obvious security reasons. And rhetorically, there were comments today, which I was struck by, from the spokesperson for the Iraqi Ministry of Defense, who was describing America's soldiers in Iraq as being under house arrest. He said that: They're getting impatient because we confine them to their bases, which are like big prisons; they're under house arrest. So, two questions. One, substantively: How confident are you that the safety of American troops is being protected, given that you have commanders speaking openly with fears that it is not currently as safe as it could be? But, two, if the Iraqis see our presence there as putting us under house arrest, putting our soldiers into that prison, why are we there?
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ADM. MULLEN: What I would only add to that is, being -- having been in Kirkuk the other day and spending the better part of the day with the brigade commander there, who has been there over a half a year, his interaction with the security forces, both police as well as the army -- and in addition, he's in a spot where he's looking at the interface between Peshmerga as well as the Iraqi army, as well. And believe me, the idea that he was somehow either handcuffed or unable to do what he's doing -- was -- what he's supposed to do, it just never came up. |
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Name(s:) |
Mike Mullen |
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Title: |
Chair |
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Agency(ies): |
Joint Chiefs of Staff, Department of Defense |
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Url: |
Url Link
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Archive: |
Archive Link
http://archive.is/vXH5F |
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Author: |
John Kruzel |
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Authoring or Creator Agency: |
American Forces Press Service, Department of Defense |
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Title: |
Defense Department Briefing |
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Authoring or Creator Agency: |
CSPAN Video Library |
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