Seizure of 270 tons of cocaine

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Remarks by Secretary of the Navy
The Honorable Gordon R. England
At the XXI Inter-American Naval Conference
San Diego, Calif.
3 May 2004

Strong Bridges

First, a few "thank-you's" and "welcomes".

Mayor Murphy…if only we could bottle the magic of San
Diego…thanks for the hospitality of this great city.

Admiral Soto Gomez … you grace us with your long tenure in
this gathering of eagles…your strong hands have helped us longer
than anyone and for that, we are indebted to you Sir.

Admiral Clark, thank you for this exciting opportunity to
join you and our neighbors of 19 Navies from South, Central and
North America that are here today.   As oceans surround us, the
bridges we build unite us, and this meeting is one of those very
important bridges.

I understand that in almost every case, the Navy Chief is
here today along with our CNO … that tells me how important this
conference really is.  Thanks to each of you for being here. I
know that most of you have traveled a long way.

	I see several familiar faces, as it was only six months
ago when many of you were at our War College in Newport, Rhode
Island for the International Seapower Symposium.   It is still
striking to me that over 55 Navy, Coast Guard and Marine Chiefs
were present at that meeting.  That attendance, and all of you
here today, speak volumes about our common interests and
friendship.

Admirals Betancourt and Smith…thank you for helping to
represent the U.S. Navy and for helping to organize this
conference.

And a very special thanks for an inspiring leader ….  a
personal friend ….  someone that I have the privilege and honor
to serve with every day…and someone who I greatly respect …. The
CNO of the U.S. Navy …. Admiral Vern Clark.  Bringing people
together for a common goal is one of but many of Admiral Clark's
many virtues.

I suspect that no other group of nations has more in
common than those of the Americas.  We are all countries of
indigenous cultures and immigrants, rich in ethnic and racial
diversity.  Despite our individuality, we have much in common
and we will continue to strengthen the bonds that link us as we
build upon our common interests and goals.

Last week, I was in Europe and met with the NATO and
European Command leadership.  These meetings gave me a better
understanding of the unique challenges the U.S. and our European
allies face in their region.  While there, 10 new countries were
brought into the European Union.  Obviously, that was an
important day for Europe.  Unquestionably, the U.S. has
important historical ties with Europe, and NATO is an important
and enduring institution for us.

I was struck, however, by the relative youth of NATO,
particularly when we compare the beginning of NATO with the
beginning of common institutions in the Americas.  As you are
likely aware, the Organization of American States, the OAS, is
the oldest international organization in the world and traces
its origin to the Congress of Panama.

The OAS was convened by Simon Bolivar in 1826, long before
we had our first Internet, namely, the telegraph, and when all
of our navies were powered by sail as this was still 30 years
before the steam engine.

I also find it of interest that the aims of the OAS are
still the foundation of recent and more modern agreements.  The
aims of the OAS are to strengthen peace and security in the
hemisphere; promote representative democracy; ensure the
peaceful settlement of disputes among members; provide for
common action in the event of aggression; and promote economic,
social, and cultural development.  Although there have been
bumps along the way as in any relationship, we have a long
tradition of shared interests and values.

After more than 40 years in business and government, I've
learned one very important lesson – relations like those
described in the OAS charter are not built between countries,
they are built by and between people - and also by and between
commercial interests.  Linking people is the essence of
civilized, orderly, and prosperous relations among good
neighbors.  While this meeting has many goals and objectives,
none are more important than all of us being here to build and
reinforce personal bonds of friendship and professionalism.  To
all of the distinguished Naval leadership here today, thank you
for being here for your personal commitment being here.

Whether you're from South America or South Africa; from
Eastern Asia or Eastern Europe; or from big countries or small –
civilized societies share one overarching goal --- and that goal
is economic development.  Every person wants to improve their
standard of living and give their sons and daughters a better
life.  Despite all the stresses and strains in everyday life,
economic development is the cornerstone to a safer and better
world.

The other side of that same coin is to build stronger
security, because in all cases security is necessary for
economic development.  In turn, economic development is needed
for long-term security.

It appears to me that the world is beginning to divide
into at least three distinct economic zones.  One of these zones
is certainly the European Union.  As I commented earlier, while
in Europe last week 10 more countries were admitted to the E.U.

As we all know, the EU is a defined political and
commercial zone specifically created to enhance economic
development and to lessen the potential for internal conflict.

The driving philosophy is that by strengthening economic
ties, the stability and prosperity of the region is enhanced.
Entwined commercial interests are like strong fabrics that are
very difficult to tear apart.

Not coincidentally, the security alliance in Europe is
also dramatically changing.   During the same time that 10
countries were joining the E.U., 7 new countries were joining
NATO – many were branches of the former Soviet Union.   The
lesson to date from Europe is clear.  In their construct, there
is a definite linkage between economic development and security.

Another developing economic zone is Asia with China being
the engine for other countries in the region.

Unlike the E.U., this zone is developing solely on shared
economic interests as regional countries provide China with raw
materials, components, finished goods and also are joint
consumers.  My expectation is that this economic zone will
continue to develop in scope and competitiveness.

A third economic zone is the Americas. In my judgment we
have not reached our full potential.

 Yesterday's Sunday edition of the Washington Post may be
revealing.   There were only two articles concerning all of
South and Central America.  One article dealt with the upcoming
elections in Panama and one was an article of religious interest
in Uruguay.

Noteworthy in the article on Panama was a quote from a
potential voter about one of the candidates.  This potential
voter said: "He knows our jobs and salaries depend on trade."

Because security, prosperity and democracy are inter-
linked, the United States is working on a broad front, largely
through the OAS, to pursue these goals.

For example the United States gives high priority to a
free trade area of the Americas, to promote investment and
trade, and thereby bolster democracy and political stability in
the region.

There is still unfinished business in the task of
establishing the rule of law and effective institutions in our
region.  Some economic stagnation still threaten people's
confidence in the democratic path.  But the countries of the
western hemisphere must meet this challenge, and in the OAS
democratic charter they have affirmed the people's right to
democracy and the government's obligation to promote and defend
it.

It is important that these initiatives go forward so our
hemisphere can compete with other economic zones in the evolving
world economic alignment.  The navies of the Americas will play
a crucial role.

Make no mistake, I know as an engineer that there are no
simple, elegant solutions to complex problems, but that's where
Navies come in.  Navies do amazing things because of what they
have in common.  First of all, they sail on the great commons –
the oceans, seas and coastal waters of the world.  Any mariner
in distress knows that help can come from anybody's flag,
regardless of their political differences.

Navies help deter aggression, they thwart piracy which is
a growing danger around the world, and - if violence does break
out – naval services in the form of Sailors and Marines are
usually the first force to the fight.

In addition to all that, Navies contribute to a safer and
better world by facilitating, promoting and protecting free
trade.   Every country in this room shares a common
characteristic – a coastline.  Some of us have several.  The
water that surrounds us is referred to as the "great commons"
because of our common interests in trade and security.  When you
view the world from a naval perspective, it is easy to see the
inextricable link between security and economic development.

I know you won't confuse me with Sir Winston, but when
Prime Minister Churchill would sign a letter or cable to
President Franklin Roosevelt, he would often refer to himself,
as "that naval person".  Now I better understand why he liked
that moniker.

As another "naval person", I can envision 10 strategic
objectives for our Navies that can enrich the development,
stability and security of the hemisphere.  As maritime nations
and neighbors I suggest that we jointly consider the following
10 objectives:

1. Continue to improve military capabilities and
   interoperability.
2. Promote combined approaches in the war on
   terrorism.
3. Ensure access to and use of supporting facilities
   and infrastructure.
4. Promote efforts to counter the proliferation of
   CBRN and their delivery systems.
5. Promote effectively structured militaries.
6. Be on guard to stop the spread of disease in our
   hemisphere.   HIV/AIDS is the scourge of too
   any countries, the downfall of economies, and we
   must stop such an occurrence here.  Also, malaria
   has not been stopped.  Working together by
   sharing medical technology and promoting
   effective education programs, we can help
   ourselves and also help the rest of the world.
7. Stop piracy wherever and whenever it occurs.
8. Eliminate the flow of illegal drugs.
9. Promote the control of illegal immigration.
10. Promote an environment for shared
    commercial interests to thrive.

Let me speak for a moment about the subject of terrorism
based on my experience in this matter as the Secretary of the
Navy and also from my time as Deputy Secretary of Homeland
Security.

  All Americans and people throughout the Americas will never
forget where they were or what they were doing on 9/11, 2001.
The world trade center was aptly named, for on that tragic day,
219 citizens from 35 countries, were killed – in addition to
over 2000 Americans.

As we saw on 9/11 and recently in Madrid, security and
prosperity were also victims of terror.  The attack in Spain
saddened us all, for the Spanish spirit runs deep in our
countries.  Some of this country's most beautiful missions start
right here in San Diego and dot the coast of California … thanks
to our Spanish forefathers.   San Antonio is near my own home in
Texas.

Make no mistake; terrorists don't care about nationality
or the religion of their victims.  Today in Iraq and in Saudi
Arabia, radical Muslims kill innocent Muslims.  Terrorists are
blind to innocent women and children.  Using any means, they
threaten our security and our economies.

It is estimated that the world economy lost trillions of
dollars as a result of that attack  on 9-11 as well as the lives
of nearly 3000 world citizens – innocent men, women and
children.

At issue is not the 3,000 lives lost in New York or the
200+ lives lost in the train attack in Madrid.   After all, in
the U.S. alone we endure 40,000 lives lost each year in
automobile accidents.   We still drive cars.

Train accidents sometimes claim a large loss of life.  So
why have we, and the world, responded with such collective
unity, force, and purpose to these terrorists attacks.

The reason as, we all know is that the 3,000 loss could
have been, or could be 30,000 …   300,000 …  of even 3,000,000
if the terrorists had Weapons of Mass Destruction.   The same is
true with the attack in Madrid or other terrorist attacks in the
World.

Does anyone doubt this potential outcome unless we wage a
war of determination and resolve?

Unfortunately, the war on radical Islamic fundamentalist
terror will be long, costly and unavoidable.  This is not a
conflict of our choosing and a conflict unlike any other that
has threatened our hemisphere.  Radical Islam provides a
powerful critique of the existing order but it hasn't and can't
generate a successful alternative state.   Certainly no modern
society will revert to the human mental, emotional and physical
conditions of long past generations that the terrorists seem to
espouse.

For us, formulating a counterinsurgency strategy will
first require a recognition of the nature of the enemy.  Is al
Qaida a snake that that can be beheaded or a virulent mold?

Lee Harris wrote an insightful book on the subject titled
Civilization and Its Enemies, which I commend to all of you, but
let me summarize his premise: All of us must understand that if
we approach international terrorism by making assumptions based
on past experiences, treating al-Qaida as traditional enemies,
we will be making a fatal error.

Harris uses a very enlightening analogy that you will
readily recognize to make his point. In 1519, Montezuma II was
ruler of the great Aztec Empire in Mexico. There, he encountered
an ambitious Spanish conquistador by the name of Hernan Cortes,
the first white man ever seen in Mexico. "Nothing in Montezuma's
world could [have] possibly provided him with a key to
deciphering correctly Cortes' motives."

Instead, he relied upon his past experiences to guide him
in his approach to this strange visitor. Unfortunately, those
experiences included an Aztec legend that foretold of the coming
of a white-skinned god. We all know the sad end to the story.

Montezuma tried to fit Cortes, who amounted to an unknown
square peg, into an Aztec round hole with fatal consequences. He
could not grasp what drove the Spaniard because Cortes' eventual
violent response wasn't in Montezuma's realm of consciousness or
experience. Montezuma's enemy was totally unknown.

For some, al-Qaida is much like Cortes. They try to
ascribe traditional motives to these terrorists that fit neatly
into the political vernacular and worldview of our times and
their belief system.

They accept Clausewitz's definition that "war is the
extension of politics" and they believe that the terrorism of
al-Qaida is just politics as usual – though a more violent
strain.  It isn't.  Most politics is usually grounded in some
sense of reality.

  Harris' view is that the fantasy ideology that drives al-
Qaida is rooted in a collective delusion of grandeur. The
terrorists see themselves on a holy mission that they believe is
divinely ordained. They have no real objectives other than
reviving ancient glory and vanquishing infidels…us!

This is not revolution in the traditional sense. It's not
one political group seeking to overthrow another political group
or even perceived occupiers in a particular state.
Nor is this about conquest. Al-Qaida hasn't even demanded
that we turn Baghdad over to them… much less Buffalo, New York.
And it isn't about money either.

In the old world of Clausewitz, in traditional strategy
and warfare, one or more of these objectives would be in play.
But they're not.

   The objective seems to be little more than a radical
religious fantasy in which violent acts substitute for symbols
and rituals, martyrdom equates with heroism and heaven. Suicide
bombers are a perfect example of this fantasy ideology taken to
its extreme end.

   In this post-September 11 world, we must conclude that we are
not dealing with rational political enemies in the traditional
sense but rather enemies with decidedly non-political but very
malignant and violent fantasies. How does this translate to our
discussions at this conference and to our future combined
actions.

It translates into an enemy who doesn't care about land or
conquest. He doesn't care about military targets.  He doesn't
care about killing the innocent civilians – in fact he prefers
killing the innocent because indiscriminate, random violence is
at the heart of terror. And he finds religious significance in
his acts.

What we must accept is that terrorists cannot be reasoned
with, persuaded, or appeased. Negotiating with them is not an
option. Changing the way we live or what we believe is not an
option nor would it stop them from living out their fantasy.
Ending their reign of terror, with military force if need be, is
the only solution open to us and to the world.

No one understands that fact better than President Bush.
Some weeks ago, on Meet the Press, Tim Russert pressed the
President about his decision to invade Iraq in light of the
failure to find stockpiles of WMD.

I want to read to you the President's response. The
Commander-in-Chief told said, "I don't think America can stand
by and hope for the best from a madman. And I believe it is
essential… that when we see a threat, we deal with those threats
before they become imminent. It's too late if they become
imminent. It's too late in this new kind of war."

The President knows all too well that today's terrorists
have traded the political objectives that underpinned the IRA
and other terrorist organizations in the past, for a deep-seeded
hatred of the West….and our Western values like liberty and
equality. And he understands that tracking terrorists who
operate in the shadows through transnational networks makes
perfect intelligence nearly impossible.

In this post-9/11 world, this President, and the next
President one and the one after that will need to make decisions
on a different timeline, one that acknowledges the realities of
terror and the existence of madmen. So will each of the leaders
here today.

   As I commented to you in Newport last October, I share
Admiral Clark's view of this new world when he asserts:
?	That terrorism is a world problem
?	That naval powers must unite for one fight
?	And that sea power 21 can help transform the way we act.

Permit me to also once again complement the CNO's view with
my own view.  In September 2002 a new National Security Strategy
for the United States was published, with three key themes –
generally referred to as the "Bush Doctrine."

These three themes are:
1.	We will take the fight to the enemy – pre-
emptively if we have to.

2.	We will fight this war with our world partners –
but we will act alone if necessary.

3.	We will use all means --diplomatic and economic
to fight terror – but we will use military
methods if that is the final option.

These three big "ifs" are often the only part of the
strategy highlighted by the press and analysts, but I would
emphasize the three main themes themselves to you.

This very conference attests to our preference to fight
together instead of going it alone.  We prefer a doctrine of
collective action – broad based to include all means ….
military, economic and diplomatic.

The President in the national security strategy wrote,
"history will judge harshly those who saw this coming danger but
failed to act.  In the new world we have entered, the only path
to peace and security is the path of action."

This strategy recognizes the first imperative of all of
our governments…to protect our citizens and create conditions
for them to prosper.  It reaffirms that security and economic
development are eternally interdependent.

Security is necessary for economic development, but, in
the long term, economic development is needed for security …. In
all cases, security comes first, and that is the fundamental
objective of the Bush Doctrine.  Peace and prosperity are not
ordained …. But earned.

This fight against terrorism takes many forms.  The
engagement activity most often capturing the public attention is
the counterdrug operation.  Training is conducted by national
forces of our Latin and South American coalition partners
alongside U.S. military and federal law enforcement agencies.

Together with military forces from a number of countries
in the region, the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard team monitors,
detects, searches and seizes illicit narcotics in the region.

The Colombia – U.S. cooperation with the war on narco-
terrorists made significant strides in 2003 including the
seizure of 270 tons of cocaine with an estimated street value of
over $US 8 billion.    Throughout the Americas drugs mean big
money, corruption and violence. Drugs destroy countless lives
and fund terrorism.   Within the western hemisphere, we have a
coalition of solidarity to fight the illegal narcotics trade and
eliminate the funneling of funds and assets to the narco-
terrorists.  We need to do more.  Wherever drugs can be smuggled
so can illegal weapons …and with great damage.

The same vulnerability exists with illegal immigration.
Illegal immigrants themselves merely seeking work are not the
security issue but the channels that smuggle illegal immigrants
can also smuggle people that would do us great harm.

We therefore desire increased Navy-to-Navy
interoperability to accomplish the missions of anti-terrorism,
counter-drugs, and anti-illegal immigration with our friends and
allies throughout the Americas.

We need to build or strengthen our channels of
communication.  The rapid and accurate flow of information is
the foundation of actionable intelligence.

We then need to link our terrorist-related intelligence
with the appropriate law enforcement and immigration agencies.

Preventing the use of the sea to transfer arms, or to move
WMD components, or drugs is an endless challenge.  Just as we
use the seas to defend our interests, our adversaries use it to
attempt to advance theirs.

In the Americas, medical assistance and humanitarian
relief can also be sea-based.

Because Navies tie nations together, the world will always
turn to you to keep the lines of communication and commerce
open.  Can you imagine the impact on globalization if the
Panama Canal was closed for just a matter of a few days?

President Bush is right.   It will take the international
community working together to defeat terrorism.

It will also take the international Navies, many
represented here today, to make this objective possible.

This war against terrorism will be a thousand fights
across the globe and across the years.  Together, our Navies can
help to defeat terrorism.  But equally important, Navies foster,
facilitate, and protect the free flow of commerce.  And
remember, security plus economic development equals stability
and prosperity for our citizens and a better world for our sons
and daughters.

In closing, I would like again to thank all of you for
giving me the opportunity to speak here today and to thank all
the Navy chiefs and representatives for your commitment to
securing freedom and liberty throughout the world.

I am proud to stand with each of you for freedom and
liberty for all peoples throughout this hemisphere as well as
the world.

Thank you for the privilege and honor to be with you
today.
			- usn -

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