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Panetta Discusses Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan

By Jim Garamone

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 19, 2011 - Even as deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan draw down, American service members will continue to deploy in the future, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said here today.

In a roundtable meeting at the Pentagon with military media representatives, the secretary also discussed the situations in Iraq and Afghanistan and the U.S. relationship with Pakistan.

Though the United States is withdrawing forces from Iraq and Afghanistan, it is a fair bet that the U.S. military will be called upon to meet new challenges, the secretary said.

"Service members will continue to confront threats in the world," he said. "The likelihood is that we're going to face some other crises. If the Arab Spring has told us anything, it's that we're dealing with an awful lot of turmoil in a complicated part of the world."

Some 46,000 American service members are serving in Iraq, and the United States has not received a formal request for American trainers to remain there after the Dec. 31 deadline set by a 2008 agreement between the two countries for all U.S. forces to be out of Iraq. Panetta said he sees some progress in that regard, as the Iraqis have agreed to discuss within their government a continued U.S. presence. They agreed to name a defense minister and interior minister, the secretary noted, and they agreed to a tougher line with Iran, which has been shipping in weapons and providing training to Iraqi insurgents.

Meanwhile, U.S. forces in Iraq are drawing down, and they are on pace for all to out by the year's end, Panetta said. "The issue then will become what is the kind of training assistance and presence Iraq feels it needs in order to defend itself and secure itself," he said.

The Iraq and Afghanistan missions are similar, the secretary said, in that the mission in both countries is to ensure governance so they can secure and defend themselves and cannot become havens for al-Qaida or other terror groups that might threaten United States.

Iraq has made a lot of progress, he noted, with 650,000 members now serving in its security forces. The level of violence is down, he added, and government officials are trying to work together to sort through very difficult issues.

In Afghanistan, the coalition surge has made a difference and al-Qaida and the Taliban have been weakened, Panetta said. "One of the real questions was [whether we were] going to be able to develop an effective Afghan army and police force," he told the media representatives.

The Afghan army and police have grown in numbers and capability, he said, and seven areas of the country have transitioned to Afghan security control. "The real challenge will be whether or not the central government ... is going to be able to maintain a level of governance that can provide stability for that country," he said.

Pakistan remains a key player in the region, the secretary said. "Pakistan has got to get the clear message that they can't pick and choose among terrorists," the secretary said. "Terrorism represents as much a threat for their country as it does for ours. They've got to take on this responsibility as well."

The Pakistanis are getting better about cooperation since the raid that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, Panetta said. "They have done better about going after some targets we've given them since the bin Laden raid," he said. "At the same time, we have some bumps in the road in terms of relationship."

But the bottom line is that the United States must continue to work with Pakistan, Panetta said. "We have got to continue to put pressure on them, because the bottom line is that we can't ... win in Afghanistan without winning in Pakistan," the secretary said.

Biographies:
Leon E. Panetta

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Panetta: Any Retirement Changes Won't Affect Serving Military

Pentagon Officials Work With OMB
on Budget Guidance
By Lisa Daniel and Jim Garamone

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 19, 2011 - Defense Department officials are working with the Office of Management and Budget on guidance issued yesterday that all agencies' fiscal 2013 budget requests be at least 5 percent less than current appropriations.

Pentagon Press Secretary George Little told reporters today that Defense officials are working with OMB to determine what that will mean for the DOD budget.

"I don't think this is necessarily a sea-change event," he said, adding that Pentagon officials for months have been working toward a goal of cutting $400 billion from the budget over the next 10 years.

The budget for fiscal 2011, which ends Sept. 30, provides $528.9 billion for the base budget and $159 billion for overseas contingency operations.

"As always, we will work with OMB," Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said during a broader interview with American Forces Press Service and other military media representatives today. "They provide all kinds of guidance as we discuss how we approach these issues."

Budget officials are trying to anticipate some of the challenges the government will face in the months ahead. Panetta, who was the OMB director for President Bill Clinton, said his focus remains on the $400 billion – a target in line with $350 billion Congress identified in legislation to raise the debt ceiling and reduce the deficit that President Barack Obama signed Aug. 2.

Under the new law, a bipartisan congressional committee will work to identify $1.5 trillion in federal budget savings and make a recommendation to Congress by Nov. 23. If Congress fails to act on the committee's recommendation by Dec. 23, an across-government spending cut of $1.2 trillion over 10 years will go into effect in a process known as "sequestration." Half of those cuts would come from national security spending, including the departments of Defense, Homeland Security and others.

Panetta said he is focused on the $400 billion target as a goal that can be met without endangering defense. "As to other scenarios that OMB may direct, I frankly have said that if we have to go to a sequester scenario where we have to double defense cuts here, that it will be disastrous," he said.

Meanwhile, OMB typically advises agencies of their top-line budget requests in November. The guidance OMB released yesterday advises agencies to prepare for overall budget requests that are 5 percent below their current appropriations, while also identifying discretionary spending reductions that are at least 10 percent below their current levels. The memo qualifies that the guidance should be followed "unless your agency has been given explicit direction otherwise by OMB."

The memo from OMB Director Jack Lew further advises agencies to "double down" on programs that "provide the best opportunity to enhance economic growth," cut or eliminate low-priority and ineffective ones, and consolidate duplicative ones.

By following the guidance, Lew said, "you will provide the president with the information to make the tough choices necessary to meet the hard spending targets in place and the needs of the nation."

Panetta: Any Retirement Changes
Won't Affect Serving Military

By Jim Garamone

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 19, 2011 - In his clearest statement on the subject to date, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said today that if the military retirement system changes, it will not affect serving service members.

"I will not break faith," the secretary said during a roundtable meeting with military media representatives in the Pentagon.

Panetta's predecessor, Robert M. Gates, asked the Defense Business Board to look at the military retirement system and make recommendations. The final report is due later this month, but Panetta said he is familiar with the outlines of the proposal.

"I certainly haven't made any decisions" on retirement, he said.

"People who have come into the service, who have put their lives on the line, who have been deployed to the war zones, who fought for this country, who have been promised certain benefits for that -- I'm not going to break faith with what's been promised to them," Panetta said.

People in the service today will come under the current retirement system, which gives retirees 50 percent of their base pay after 20 years of service.

"Does that stop you from making changes?" Panetta asked. "No, because obviously you can 'grandfather' people in terms of their benefits and then look at what changes you want to put in place for people who become members of the all-volunteer force in the future."

One aspect of the retirement issue is one of fairness, the secretary said. Most service members do not spend 20 years in the military and therefore do not get any retirement benefits when they leave the service.

"They are not vested in any way," Panetta said. "The question that is at least legitimate to ask is, 'Is there a way for those future volunteers to shape this that might give them better protection to be able to have some retirement and take it with them?'"

Health care is another area that has to be dealt with, the secretary said. In fiscal 2001, the DOD health care bill was $19 billion. It is more than $50 billion now, he said, and it soars to the neighborhood of $60 billion in future years. Among proposals Congress is contemplating is an increase in some TRICARE military health plan premium payments.

"I think those recommendations make sense," Panetta said. "Especially with tight budgets, it does make sense that people contribute a bit more with regards to getting that coverage."

The Defense Department -- which is responsible for a large part of the nation's discretionary budget -- will do its part to reduce the budget deficit, the secretary said. But while Defense has a role to play, he added, Congress has to deal with the more than two-thirds of the federal budget that represents the mandatory spending.

"If you are serious about getting the deficit down," Panetta said, "you have to deal with the mandatory side of the budget and taxes."

DOD has a responsibility to look at all aspects of the budget, the secretary said, and officials at the Pentagon are doing that.

"This is not because it is necessarily going to hurt areas," he added, "because frankly, a lot of this can be done through efficiencies, a lot of it can be done looking at the administrative side of the programs: what can we do to make these programs more efficient?"

The secretary said he believes the budget crunch can represent an opportunity to make DOD a more efficient, effective and agile force that still can deal with the threats of the future.

The department also needs to ask how to provide benefits for troops and their families that will be effective at ensuring the nation always has a strong volunteer force, Panetta said.

"That's a debate and discussion that it's important for the Defense Department to have, the White House to have, the Congress to have and the country to have," he said. "[We] need to have that debate about 'How are we going to do this in a way that maintains the best military in the world?'"

The Defense Department will face some tough choices, Panetta acknowledged.
"I think the bottom line is this can be an opportunity to shape something very effective for the future that can still represent the best defense system in the world," he said.