Cohen Cites Major Defense Challenges

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 11, 2001 - Russia, China, asymmetric
warfare, and weapons of mass destruction are issues likely
to confront incoming Bush administration national security
officials, Defense Secretary William S. Cohen said Jan. 10
at the National Press Club here.

Cohen cited the Oct. 12 terrorist bombing of the destroyer
USS Cole in Aden, Yemen, as an example of how enemies can
use relatively low-tech weapons to strike American targets
with devastating effect. The attack killed 17 sailors and
wounded 39.

"[Asymmetric warfare] is a major challenge which is going
to continue to confront the new administration and all of
us for many years to come," Cohen said during his Press
Club luncheon speech. "This is the kind of grave new world
that we're going to face - indirect, but highly lethal,
attacks on our forces and our citizens, not always from
nations but from individuals and even independent groups."

Cohen said he had briefed President-elect George W. Bush
and his national security team at the Pentagon that morning
on overall strategic military policies, the state of DoD
and "areas we have to continue to focus on." With Bush were
Vice President-elect Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary-
designee Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of State-designee Colin
Powell and Adviser for National Security nominee
Condoleezza Rice.

Russia, Cohen said, "is going to pose a major challenge for
the new administration, and I think we can look to Russia
with both hope, but also with concern." While U.S. and
Russian soldiers are now successfully serving side-by-side
on peacekeeping duty in the Balkans, he noted, it is
unknown whether Russia can completely leave behind the
autocratic policies of its former Soviet rulers and make
the leap to a truly democratic government.

"It is unclear whether Russia is going to make the
transition to free minds and markets. At times, it seems to
me that President [Vladimir] Putin is intent on pursuing
democracy almost by degree," Cohen said. He also noted that
a recent study predicts Russia will experience economic,
military and social strains in the near future.

Cohen also noted Russian concerns over a proposed U.S.
National Missile Defense system.

"A limited national defense system, designed to protect the
American people from a limited type of an attack,
nonetheless is seen and viewed by the Russians as being
somehow undercutting their own strategic nuclear
deterrent," he said. "And so they continue to oppose it. ...
This is an issue that no doubt will be of major concern" to
the new administration.

The People's Republic of China is another important U.S.
defense concern, Cohen said, especially in regard to the
relationship between China and Taiwan. China maintains that
Taiwan, an island off the Chinese coast, is its province.
The situation has existed since 1949. The U.S. government
supports "One China" policy, however it is also pledged to
defend Taiwan from any Chinese reunification efforts using
military means.

The periodic "saber-rattling" by Chinese officials over the
status of Taiwan seems to have eased somewhat. Cohen noted
that People's Republic of China President Jiang Zemin said
to him during a visit to China last year: "We don't intend
to use force against Taiwan. We reserve the right to do so,
but we don't intend to."

Cohen expressed hope that issues of concern between China
and Taiwan can be peacefully solved.

"I believe that if we can in fact cause both sides to lower
the rhetoric, to seek ways in which they may engage -
commercially, to be sure, but politically - quietly, they
can bridge those differences. That is the message I gave to
the Chinese leadership when I was there," Cohen said.

On asymmetric warfare, Cohen noted that shortly after the
Cole bombing, he directed a special commission to
investigate the incident, specifically the systems in place
to prevent such occurrences. In its report released Jan. 9,
the commission recommended that the U.S. military boost its
intelligence-gathering capabilities to help deter such
terrorist acts, and adopt more uniform anti-terrorism
policies and force-protection training for in-transit units
and personnel.

There are other asymmetric threats, he added, to include
cyber or computer warfare. "There are a number of nations
who now have dedicated professional cells who are honing
their skills in terms of trying to be in a position to shut
down our transportation systems, our energy systems, our
financial systems, our banking systems and our
communications systems."

"We're going to continue to see the spread of nuclear,
biological, and chemical weapons," he said. Cohen added
that more than two dozen nations - to include Iraq, Iran,
and North Korea - either have, or are in the process of
acquiring, nuclear, biological and chemical weapons of mass
destruction, and the long-range missile systems to deliver
them.

To help address these and other pressing national security
issues, Cohen announced that he and President Clinton and
Congress have worked to increase the defense budget in
recent years, and that current projections call for $227
billion more for defense over the next six years.

"We have doubled the amount that I requested just 18 or so
months ago, and that tells you something about the
commitment of this country to a strong national security
system," Cohen said.