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Hagel Seeks to Assure Gulf Allies of U.S. Commitment
Hagel Seeks to Assure Gulf Allies of U.S. Commitment
(about 9 hours later)
MANAMA, Bahrain — Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, attempting to calm Persian Gulf allies nervous over an interim nuclear deal with Iran, declared on Friday that the American military would not reduce its high-level of deployments here designed to deter Iran’s regional ambitions.
MANAMA, Bahrain — Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, opening a week of travels meant to reassure Persian Gulf allies nervous about an interim nuclear deal with Iran, vowed Friday that the Pentagon would not reduce its military deployments to the region or its focus on countering shared security threats.
In an announcement optically framed to convey the message, Mr. Hagel spoke from the deck of a Navy vessel that serves as a floating staging base for Special Operations strike teams, minesweeping helicopters and remotely piloted surveillance aircraft. All are configured to focus on Iran, directly across the water from the dock at the American naval base in Bahrain where the defense secretary spoke.
His message is simple: American military pressure will continue even as diplomacy is given a chance, as Iran and Western powers work against a six-month deadline on a comprehensive agreement.
Mr. Hagel said negotiations with Iran to freeze part of its nuclear capabilities in exchange for an initial easing of crippling economic sanctions “represents a very wise opportunity.” He said the six-month deadline for progress would allow the world “to see if the Iranians are serious about following through with commitments.”
In an announcement framed to convey that message, Mr. Hagel first spoke on Friday from the deck of a Navy vessel that serves as a floating staging base for Special Operations strike teams, minesweeping helicopters and remotely piloted surveillance aircraft. “We are not going to change any of our military posture in this area or any part of the world during that six-month period,” Mr. Hagel said.
Even with that glimmer of opportunity, Mr. Hagel underscored that the American military’s ability to watch Iran, and take action if required, would be undiminished.
During his visit here, he plans to offer a blunt guarantee to those who worry that Iran may use the time to hide or bury what is suspected to be its nuclear infrastructure to avoid attack and destruction. “No target is beyond our reach,” Mr. Hagel is quoted as saying in an address he is scheduled to deliver on Saturday.
“We are not going to change any of our military posture in this area or any part of the world during that six- month period,” Mr. Hagel said. “We will keep the same kind of strong assets, the same exercises, the same partnerships, the same focus on our strategic interests that we had before.”
Mr. Hagel will urge regional allies to move beyond buying armaments only as individual nations and embrace purchases of weapons systems as part of the Gulf Cooperation Council. The United States has for years urged the council to cast aside rivalries and evolve into something more akin to NATO, with its mutual security arrangements.
That statement was designed to comfort nations in the region that worry that the interim deal is giving away too much without going far enough to eliminate what they believed are Iran’s military ambitions for its nuclear program. They also fear that the focus by the United States and Europe on a nuclear accord with Iran may blind them to other areas where Iran asserts influence across the region, both economically and through a shadowy network of militant activists.
The leaders of several Persian Gulf allies have expressed concerns, both private and in public, that the interim deal with Iran gives away too much without going far enough to eliminate what they fear are Tehran’s military ambitions in its nuclear program. They also fear that the focus by the United States and Europe on a nuclear accord with Iran may blind them to other areas where Iran asserts influence across the region, both economically and through a shadowy network of militant activists.
During Mr. Hagel’s visit to the American Fifth Fleet headquarters here, Pentagon and military officials said that, in the days since the interim accord was reached, there had been no changes in Iran’s behavior.
At the same time, American officials must counter a perception here that the region will receive less attention from the Obama administration as it fulfills a pledge to devote more military resources to Asia.
American allies in the region are not worrying only over Washington’s commitments concerning Iran. Mr. Hagel also must counter a perception here that the region will receive less attention from the Obama administration as it fulfills a pledge to devote more military resources to Asia.
That apprehensions were noted by Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, commander of all American forces in the region, who said allies feared that a comprehensive nuclear deal with Iran might allow the United States to “then turn away from the Middle East” but leave Iran’s missile abilities intact, as well as its ability to mine oil tanker lanes and work through its militant terror networks.
Mr. Hagel cited the overhaul of the vessel Ponce, which provided the platform for his speech to American military personnel and, with it, his signals to Iran and other Gulf nations.
“Because we recognize there is some anxiety here, it is important to reassure our allies that we are committed to protecting our interests and helping our allies,” General Austin said in an interview. “Our footprint here is a substantial footprint.”
The Ponce and the other 40 warships and support vessels in the Fifth Fleet serve as a physical reaffirmation of “our commitments to our partners here,” Mr. Hagel said.
On the deck where he spoke, an array of surveillance and reconnaissance drones, including the ScanEagle, stood atop launchers. By next summer, the Ponce will be the first ship in the Navy to go to sea with a prototype laser designed to burn holes in the Iranian fast-attack boats that have occasionally harassed American warships. The laser also could be used to blind Iran’s own remotely piloted surveillance aircraft.
The Ponce is one of the Navy’s oldest transports, its keel cast in 1966, but it was converted last year into a staging base for operations by all armed services deployed in the Persian Gulf.
It has served as a launching pad for helicopters, a home to underwater diver teams and a service station providing fuel and maintenance for minesweeping ships.
The Ponce also can be a mobile base for Special Operations forces to carry out operations such as hostage rescues, counterterrorism, reconnaissance, sabotage and direct strikes.
