General
Peter Pace, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs, visited Saudi
Arabia this week for discussions with the Kingdom's leaders about
cooperation in military affairs. The Chairman, the first US
Marine Corps officer to hold the position when sworn in last
September, is the principal military advisor to the President, the
Secretary of Defense and the National Security Council.
During the March 22-23, 2006 stay in the Kingdom he held talks
with Saudi government and military leaders including King
Abdullah; Crown
Prince Sultan, Minister of Defense and Aviation; Prince Khalid bin-Sultan bin Abdul Aziz
Al-Saud, Assistant Minister of Defense and Aviation; and Gen. Salih
Al-Muhayya, Chief of the General Staff.
In an article for
American Forces Press Service, Jim Garamone provides an overview
of General Pace's visit to the Kingdom. It
is presented here for your consideration.
Pace Confers with Saudi Leaders on Cooperation With U.S.
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
RIYADH,
Saudi Arabia,
March 23, 2006
�
The top U.S. general met with Saudi Arabian leaders here yesterday
and discussed cooperation between the United States and the
kingdom.
In his first official visit as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, Marine Gen. Peter Pace praised Saudi King Abdullah for his
"open and candid" discussions.
Pace arrived here from Pakistan yesterday and met with Abdullah
for more than an hour. He also met with Crown Prince Sultan, who
also is minister of defense and aviation; Prince Khalid, assistant
minister; and Chief of the General Staff Gen. Salih Al-Muhayya.
"I told each of them that I have come to listen to them and
to learn about ways that we can be a good partner to them to the
benefit of both our countries," Pace said during an
interview.
Pace said he spoke about opportunities for the two countries to
train together in air, land and sea exercises. The Saudis also
spoke about the U.S. foreign military sales program and equipment
they are interested in buying.
"We talked about the region and the situations in.. ..Iraq
and Afghanistan and how they view (them)," Pace said. "I
asked them their opinions on what the next step ought to be."
The
Saudi leaders made it clear to the general that they want
America's long-term commitment to the region. They welcome U.S.
commitment "to the stability of the region and working with
regional leaders to strike the right balance between force size
and ability to reinforce," Pace said.
Pace said he discussed each of the countries of the region with
respect to relationships, opportunities to strengthen
relationships, and "concerns about particular countries
should they continue down the paths they are on."
Pace explained that the Saudis are seeking to modernize their
forces in a way that keeps them interoperable with U.S. forces.
They are interested in buying new U.S. equipment and expanded
military exercise program. The U.S. and Saudi militaries have
exercised in the past, but U.S. commitments in Iraq and
Afghanistan have cut the number, he said. The two countries now
are looking for ways to exercise together to maintain
interoperability.
The United States and the kingdom have a close relationship on
such issues as the Middle East peace process and shared interests
in the Persian Gulf. Security ties between Saudi Arabia and the
U.S. continue to be important. The first U.S. military training
mission here began in 1953. American servicemembers and
contractors currently provide training and support in the use of
weapons and other security-related services to the Saudi armed
forces.
Still, Pace acknowledged that the United States and Saudi
Arabia don't see eye to eye on every issue. As with any close
ally, Pace said, there are "maybe 10 percent" of courses
of action that an ally may want the United States to do that are
not in U.S. national interests. The reverse is probably also true:
10 percent of options the United States wants an ally to do, they
may deem are not in their interests.
"That leaves a large percentage of things that we can
cooperate on," Pace said. "(This trip) is an effort to
find ways to better cooperate."
[American Forces Information
Service News Articles provided by US Dept. of
Defense]
