Posted on 06/04/2007 10:19:17 PM PDT by familyop
SINGAPORE — Declining to say whether the U.S. and its partners are winning the war on terror, Defense Secretary Robert Gates called Saturday for more focus on combating poverty and other underlying causes of extremism.
‘‘I think we are still early in this contest,’’ Gates said in a question-and-answer session with attendees of a conference on Asian security, an annual gathering that took on an unusual dimension with the participation of a senior Chinese general who offered a pointed defense of his country’s military buildup.
In a speech to the gathering known as the Shangri-la Dialogue, Gates called on Asian nations to contribute more to the war on terrorism and to ensure that Afghanistan not be allowed to slip back into chaos. He touched only lightly on China, whose military buildup had been a central focus of previous conferences.
And while Gates mentioned the Iraq war and warned of security risks posed by the nuclear ambitions of North Korean and Iran, he focused more on broader themes of terrorism and U.S. commitments in Asia.
‘‘In particular, the challenge posed by terrorists inspired by radical ideologies cannot be overcome by any one nation — no matter how wealthy or powerful,’’ he said, alluding to U.S. efforts to build a lasting coalition.
A member of the audience later asked Gates whether he thought the United States is winning the terror war.
He cited areas of progress, including the elimination in late 2001 of Afghanistan as a haven for al-Qaida. But he also said the Islamic extremists have managed since then to expand their recruiting grounds.
‘‘On the negative side of the ledger, I think we have not made enough progress in trying to address some of the root causes of terrorism in some of these societies, whether it is economic deprivation or despotism that leads to alienation,’’ he said.
He called for more ‘‘creative thinking’’ to address the root causes of Islamic extremism, but he added that even those efforts will not be the complete answer to winning what he called a long war on terrorism.
‘‘One of the disturbing things about many of the terrorists that have been caught is that these are not ignorant, poor people,’’ he said. ‘‘These are educated people, often from professional families. So dealing with poverty and those issues is not going to eliminate the problem, but it certainly can reduce the pool of people prepared to give their lives for this cause.’’
As former CIA, Gates knows his audience and tailored his remarks accordingly.
Hmm, how many parts of the world have both of this and no terrorists? Those Christian terrorists are such a constant problem....
Military action in Iran not in anyones interest, says Gates
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1843874/posts
Gates: Diplomacy With Iran Is ‘Working’
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1819662/posts
Commander’s veto sank Gulf buildup (Admiral Fallon opposes military move against Iran?)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1834992/posts
Top US War Boss: We Can’t Ignore Iran [No other way but “arrangement” with Iran.]
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1840806/posts
(Adm. Fallon)
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