SINGAPORE: U.S. DEPUTY DEFENCE SECRETARY PAUL WOLFOWITZ SAYS AMERICA IS LOOKING AT ITS DEFENCE POSTURE WORLDWIDE.

Record ID: 222926

  • Title: SINGAPORE: U.S. DEPUTY DEFENCE SECRETARY PAUL WOLFOWITZ SAYS AMERICA IS LOOKING AT ITS DEFENCE POSTURE WORLDWIDE.
  • Date: 30th May 2003
  • Summary: (U4) SINGAPORE (MAY 30, 2003) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. GV: ENTRANCE OF SHANGRI LA HOTEL 0.04 2. GV/MV: SECURITY, SNIFFER DOGS (2 SHOTS) 0.14 3. MV: DEPUTY U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY PAUL WOLFOWITZ AT MICROPHONE 0.19 4. MCU: (SOUNDBITE) (English) WOLFOWITZ SAYING: "We are in the process of taking a fundamental look at our military posture worldwide, including the United States, we're facing a very different threat than the one we have faced historically, our forces have very different kinds of capabilities, dramatically different kinds of capabilities than they've had before, and it's appropriate to look at how those forces are postured, how we can get the most effectiveness out of them, within this region the same basic commitments to stability and deterrence that we've had all along, but there are things in that story, including the speculation that we might take our marines out of Okinawa and move them to Australia that simply have no foundation." 0.58 5. MCU: CAMERA OPERATOR 1.00 6. MCU: (SOUNDBITE) (English) WOLFOWITZ SAYING: "We have from the beginning had three concerns, one was weapons of mass destruction, a second was terrorism, and the third -- and all three of these by the way were in Secretary Powell's presentation to the U.N., and the third was the abuse of the Iraqi people by its own government. And in a sense there was a fourth overriding one, which was the connection between those first two, between weapons of mass destruction and terrorism, all three of those have been there, they've always been part of the rationale, and I think it's been very clear." 1.31 7. MV: WOLFOWITZ AT MICROPHONE 1.34 8. ,CU: (SOUNDBITE) (English) WOLFOWITZ SAYING: "I think it is important in our belief that ultimately the solution in Aceh has to be a political one and we're disappointed that the talks broke down, but we still think that ultimately there has to be some kind of a political solution to that problem." 1.51 9. GV: SECURITY OUTSIDE HOTEL 1.55 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 14th June 2003 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: SINGAPORE
  • Country: Singapore
  • Reuters ID: LVA4PMMUKBMPVDR90TSYMUFX4R2I
  • Story Text: Deputy U.S. Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz has said
    speculation the United States was considering moving troops from the
    Japanese island of Okinawa to Australia was wrong, but that
    Washington was looking at how its forces are positioned in the region.



    He told reporters on the sidelines of a security
    conference in Singapore on Friday (May 30) the U.S.

    administration was in the process of taking a fundamental look
    at its military posture worldwide.

    "We are in the process of taking a fundamental look at
    our military posture
    worldwide, including the United States... but there are things
    in that
    story, including the speculation that we might take our
    marines out of Okinawa
    and move them to Australia that simply have no foundation," he
    said.

    The Los Angeles Times reported on Thursday (May 29) that
    the United States was considering the possible removal of
    15,000 of the 20,000 U.S. Marines from Okinawa as part of a
    broad realignment of troops in Asia.

    The newspaper said the United States was considering
    increasing its military presence in Singapore and Malaysia,
    seeking agreements to base warships in Vietnam and ground
    troops in the Philippines.

    Wolfowitz reiterated Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's
    denial that the Iraq
    war was waged under a false pretext even though U.S. search
    teams have failed
    to find the chemical and biological weapons cited as
    justification for the invasion.

    "We have from the beginning had three concerns, one was
    weapons of mass
    destruction, a second was terrorism, and the third -- and all
    three of these
    by the way were in Secretary Powell's presentation to the
    U.N., and the third
    was the abuse of the Iraqi people by its own government. And
    in a sense
    there was a fourth overriding one, which was the connection
    between those
    first two, between weapons of mass destruction and terrorism,
    all three
    of those have been there, they've always been part of the
    rationale, and I think
    it's been very clear," he said.

    He also said that ultimately a political situation was the
    only way to solve the conflict in Aceh.

    The Indonesian military recently launched an offensive in
    the province aimed at crushing rebels of the Free Aceh
    Movement (GAM) who have fought for independence there since
    1976.


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