DHS | Department of Homeland Security | Secretary Ridge Announces New Initiatives For Port Security
For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary June 12, 2003
NEWARK, NJ - U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge, during an event at Port Elizabeth, New Jersey highlighting the Department's efforts to secure our nation's ports, announced new port security initiatives and investments to provide increased international cooperation, greater use of technology, and additional funds for port security facility enhancements.
"The port security measures we are putting in place - both here at home and abroad - are about building on our capabilities and strengthening each layer of defense. Through information sharing with our international partners; several different levels of inspection; review of intelligence information on the crew, cargo and vessel long before they reach our shores; state-of-the-art technology; and, of course, vigilance at every turn, we are able to screen and board 100 percent of high-risk vessels coming into our ports," said Secretary Ridge.
The measures announced today further build on a comprehensive port security strategy and range of enhancements directed by the President following September 11, 2001. Today's announcements, outlined below, include the second phase of the Container Security Initiative (CSI), $170 million in port security grants, and $58 million in funding for Operation Safe Commerce.
Enhancing Container Security - Phase 2
The Container Security Initiative, an existing Department of Homeland Security program incorporating side by side teamwork with foreign port authorities to identify, target, and search high-risk cargo, will now be expanded to strategic locations beyond the initial 20 major ports to include areas of the Middle East such as Dubai as well as Turkey and Malaysia.
"The Container Security Initiative has emerged as a formidable tool for protecting us from the threat of terrorism," said Secretary Ridge. "Now that we have almost achieved our goal for CSI at nearly all of the top 20 ports, we will be expanding CSI to other ports that ship substantial amounts of cargo to the United States and that have the infrastructure and technology in place to participate in the program."
The top 20 ports account for 68 percent of all cargo containers arriving at U.S. seaports. Governments representing 19 of these ports have agreed to implement CSI during the first phase including an agreement with the government of Thailand for the Port of Laem Chabang that was signed by Secretary Ridge and Thailand's Foreign Minister on June 11. Phase 2 of CSI will enable the Department to extend port security protection from 68 percent of container traffic to more than 80 percent -- casting the safety net of CSI far and wide.
Helping Secure Our Port Facilities - Port Security Grants Programs
Secretary Ridge announced the Department's commitment to enhancing security at our nation's key ports and facilities though $170 million dollars in port security grants.
The Port Security Grant Program funds security planning and projects to improve dockside and perimeter security. The latest round of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) grants have been awarded to 199 state and local governments, and private companies for $170 million (Attachment A). These new awards will contribute to important security upgrades like new patrol boats in the harbor, surveillance equipment at roads and bridges, and the construction of new command and control facilities. TSA, the United States Coast Guard and the Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration evaluated the Port Security Grant applications and selected grant award recipients. In 2002, $92 million was awarded in the first round of Port Security grants.
In addition to the $170 million, the Department of Homeland Security also provided $75 million in port security grants for specific projects from the FY '03 supplemental budget. The funds will be distributed by the Office for Domestic Preparedness to cover recent infrastructure security protective measures, security enhancements, training, exercises, equipment, planning, and information sharing (Attachment B).
Using Technology and Teamwork - Operation Safe Commerce
As part of the Department's effort to secure cargo as it moves though the port, Secretary Ridge announced $58 million in funding for Operation Safe Commerce, a pilot program in coordination with the Department of Transportation that brings together private business, ports, local, state, and federal representatives to analyze current security procedures for cargo entering the country. The program's objective is to prompt research and development for emerging technology to monitor the movement and ensure the security and integrity of containers through the supply chain. The ports of Seattle and Tacoma, Los Angeles and Long Beach, and the Port Authority of New York/New Jersey are participating in the pilot program.
TAKING CHARGE — U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, 1st Armored Division commander, addresses his staff as a group for the last time on June 9, at Baghdad International Airport, before taking over the top U.S military position in Iraq as the V Corps Commander. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Shama Parker.
NATO Ministers Okay Sweeping Command Changes
By Jim Garamone - American Forces Press Service
BRUSSELS, Belgium, June 12, 2003 – NATO defense ministers approved the most extensive command structure revision in the history of the alliance today.
Under the plan, the number of NATO headquarters will drop from 20 to 11 and will place the alliance firmly on the road to counter the threats of the 21st century, NATO officials said.
U.S. officials are pleased with the changes. A senior defense official speaking on background said this will leave NATO forces better organized to conduct joint combined operations. There will be two new strategic commands: Allied Command-Europe will become Allied Command- Operations; Allied Command-Atlantic changes to Allied Command-Transformation.
U.S. Navy Adm. Edmund P. Giambastiani Jr. has been nominated as the Supreme Allied Commander-Transformation, which will be headquartered in Norfolk, Va. U.S. Marine Corps Gen. James Jones will remain Supreme Allied Commander-Europe; his headquarters will remain the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, but his NATO command will be Allied Command-Operations. Jones' geographic area of operations will also expand.
Below the supreme allied command level will be three joint force commands: Naples, Italy; Brunssum, the Netherlands; and Lisbon, Portugal.
Under the Brunssum headquarters will be three component commanders: the Component Commander-Air will be at Ramstein; CC-Maritime at Northwood, England; and CC-Land at Heidelberg, Germany.
Under the Naples command, the CC-Air will be in Izmir, Turkey; CC-Maritime in Naples; and CC-Land in Madrid, Spain. The Lisbon command will be primarily maritime and will add other components if needed.
Giambastiani also heads U.S. Joint Forces Command, also headquartered in Norfolk. That command leads the U.S. military's push toward transformation and officials expect a lot of synergy from the grouping of the NATO and U.S. commands.
Officials said Allied Command-Transformation will have a significant European footprint. NATO will establish a Joint Warfare Center in Stavanger, Norway. The alliance will also build a Joint Force Training Center in Bydgoscz, Poland. An element of the command will be located here as liaison to the Allied Command-Operations.
Officials said there are also prospects for countries to develop centers of excellence in areas such as maritime capabilities and chemical and biological warfare defense capabilities.
NATO officials said the change mirrors developments in the U.S. military.
U.S. officials said the changes finally configure NATO to fight the war on terror and not on its old nemesis, the Soviet Union.
The NATO command structure was originally set up to provide defense for Western Europe in the event of an attack by the Soviet Union. Heavy infantry and armor units were the formations of choice to counter a Soviet land attack. These formations were based near the area they were to defend.
The United States, for example, had 300,000 service members permanently based in Europe at the height of the Cold War. Yearly, the U.S. military practiced deploying heavy divisions from the United States to Europe.
This command structure was fine as long as there was one known enemy poised on the border of Western Europe, officials said.
But times changed. The Soviet Union imploded and the Warsaw Pact broke up. "The NATO command arrangement survived longer than the Soviet Union," quipped one NATO official.
The emphasis is now on creating lethal and highly deployable forces that can be sustained in remote areas. During the Warsaw NATO meeting in 2001, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld proposed creating a NATO Reaction Force. NATO leaders officially adopted the idea at the Prague Summit in November 2002.
Deployability will challenge the NATO members. Allies must invest in strategic and tactical airlift capabilities, said U.S. officials. Fast-sealift capabilities must also be developed and acquired. American officials said they have seen encouraging signs that the NATO allies are investing in these capabilities.
Allies will not need the mass armies of the past, and personnel are expensive. U.S. officials said the allies can finance many needed capabilities enhancements by shifting funds from personnel costs.
Spain Pledges Troops to Polish Division
By Jim Garamone American Forces Press Service
BRUSSELS, Belgium, June 12, 2003 – Spain today pledged 1,100 troops to the Polish-led division that will become part of the coalition force in Iraq.
At the NATO defense ministerial, Spanish Defense Minister Federico Trillo-Figueroa y Martínez-Conde confirmed his country would provide the military aid.
NATO has already agreed to help Poland with the force. The alliance will not have any permanent presence in Iraq, but will aid Poland in supporting roles. These include help with force generation, communications, logistics and movements, said NATO officials.
Poland volunteered to form the division. A Polish brigade will be the nucleus for the division, which could ultimately number between 7,000 and 9,000 soldiers, according to Polish officials.
Ukraine has also volunteered to contribute 1,700 troops, and Hungary will provide 500, along with 800 from Honduras and El Salvador. Several other countries have also volunteered smaller numbers.
Force-generation conferences will occur over the next few weeks to figure out in what particular areas that NATO will be able to support the Poles, officials said.
U.S. officials are pleased both with Poland's decision to form the division and with NATO's offer of support.
"We are enthusiastic about NATO's decision to help the Poles," said a senior DoD official speaking on background. "It's a big step for NATO. It's a strong commitment to a new ally who is stepping up to very important responsibilities and it will be viewed as very helpful to the coalition. It's a winner all around as far as we're concerned."
Poland joined NATO in 1999. Its troops have supported operations in the Balkans and in Afghanistan, providing important support in the war against global terrorism.
NATO officials said they will study the Polish deployment experience in Iraq carefully with an eye toward what lessons it would have for the NATO Reaction Force.
The reaction force will ultimately consist of 20,000 service members from NATO countries. It will be able to deploy out of the European area in days rather than months, it will be light and lethal, and NATO will be able to sustain the force in place for up to a year.
NATO defense ministers approved a concept of operations for the NATO Response Force during the defense planning committee meeting today. A senior defense official said there is strong enthusiasm for the force, which has translated into its accelerated development. He said plans now call for an early capability by this fall and initial operational capability in fall 2004.
The NATO Reaction Force will also be a focal point for another important NATO initiative to develop new capabilities for the alliance. The official said the capabilities needed to create the reaction force represent the high-priority capabilities that nations need to invest in. He pointed specifically to strategic airlift and sealift as particularly important aspects.
NATO also must invest in secure communications technologies and precision-guided weapons.
U.S. Iraq Operation Snags Pro-Saddam Suspects, Weapons, Ammo
By Gerry J. Gilmore - American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, June 12, 2003 – Operation Peninsula Strike, a U.S. military effort to eliminate Saddam-regime loyalists remaining in Iraq, has "bagged" nearly 400 suspects, according to U.S. Central Command press releases.
The operation began June 9, according to Central Command, when Task Force Ironhorse soldiers conducted a series of raids to eliminate Baath Party regime loyalists, paramilitary groups – such as Fedayeen Saddam – and other pro-Saddam groups.
By the second day, Operation Peninsula Strike had rounded up 397 suspects, according to Central Command, and had collected "numerous" weapons and ammunition.
By June 12, 59 of the 397 detainees had been released, having been deemed as too young or old or having little value for obtaining intelligence, according to the command.
The raids were mounted against subversive elements located on a peninsula along the Tigris River, northeast of Balad, Iraq.
The U.S. Army's 4th Infantry Division is leading the strike force, which is comprised of Army infantry, armor, artillery, aviation and engineer elements, and U.S. Air Force aircraft and personnel, according to CENTCOM.
In related news, two more Saddam supporters on Central Command's "Iraqi Top 55" officials' list are in coalition custody, according to Central Command. They are:
Latif Nusayyif al-Jasim al Dulaymi, No. 18 on the Top 55 list. He's a former member of the deposed regime's Revolutionary Command Council, a Central Baath Party member and Deputy Secretary of the Baath Military Bureau.
Brig. Gen. Husayn al-Awadi, the former Baath Party Regional Chair, Ninawa Governorate, and Chemical Corps officer. He is No. 53 on the "Top 55" list. U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has noted in recent days that pro- Saddam paramilitary units such as Fedayeen Saddam, Baathists and other subversive groups remaining in Iraq are responsible for a recent spate of sometimes fatal attacks on U.S. troops serving in Iraq.
Those groups, Rumsfeld pointed out June 10 at Fort Sao Juliao, Portugal, while on a four-day European trip, "are the ones that are periodically attacking coalition forces, sometimes successfully."
However, "the United States is adding forces in Iraq," Rumsfeld said in Portugal, while "altering the mix of our forces so that their increased presence will be seen and felt in the country."
The defense secretary also noted that discussions are now ongoing with 41 countries for more Iraq peacekeeping assistance. And "additional countries are already putting forces into Iraq," he said.
Attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq won't cease within the next two or three months, Rumsfeld pointed out, noting "it will take time to root out the remnants of the Saddam Hussein regime."
However, "we intend to do it," Rumsfeld told reporters.