International Institute for Strategic Studies, Asia security conference

US Department of Defense Speeches, May 31, 2003 by Paul Wolfowitz

Remarks By Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, Singapore, Saturday, May 31, 2003.

Thank you, John. I am delighted that the Shangri-La conference is back for a return engagement and I am delighted to be back again, myself, and very honored to be here sharing the podium with two distinguished Senators like Chuck Hagel and Jack Reed. These two gentlemen, I think, are testimony to the kind of continuity and bi-partisanship that is brought to American foreign policy by those distinguished members of Congress who devote special time and attention to foreign policy and national security matters and I can assure you it is not exactly the top of constituent priorities, so they do it at some political cost, and that's even more appreciated.

This second Asian security conference will build on the success of the first and it is an important vehicle for promoting understanding through dialogue about issues important to the entire international community. I commend all the nations who have taken this opportunity to build the relationships in the region that is so vital to solving the challenges that we face.

As John Chipman noted, I have spent a lot of time working in East Asia over the last 20 years. I still remember when I was moved from being the head of the Policy Planning staff in the State Department, twenty years ago, to becoming Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian Affairs, as head of Policy Planning, I think I spent 80-90% of my time working on Middle-East issues and moving to East Asia was like coming out of a dark, stuffy room into a great breath of fresh air. To be dealing with people who were solving problems instead of creating problems was really quite wonderful. I must say it feels a little bit like deja vu all over again to be back in Asia. It is a good feeling.

One of the messages that I would like to convey this morning, not only on behalf of myself, but on behalf of Secretary Rumsfeld and the President, is three things. First, that the United States understands how important East Asia is; secondly, that we understand that the future security and stability of this region is key to our own security as well. And third, that the United States remains committed to playing its role in promoting East Asian security. We understand how important that commitment is for peace and stability in this important part of the world.

I am also here to have the opportunity to hear from our Asian partners their views about how peace and stability can best be sustained in the Asia-Pacific region. And I would like to give a special thank you to our Singaporean hosts who have played a particularly strong role over the last 10 years in assisting the United States in maintaining its presence in this part of the world and sustaining our commitments.

When I spoke last year, my basic message was that terrorism is everybody's problem. In the 12 months since the last conference, that truth was brought tragically home to this region by the brutal attack in Bali--one of the worst terrorist attacks ever. Along with Indonesia, Australia was hit particularly hard. I believe, as a proportion of its population, hit nearly as hard as we were on September 11.

At a memorial service at Washington National Cathedral last fall that our Australian allies held to remember the countrymen they'd lost, Australian Ambassador Michael Thawley summed up the larger message of the tragedy. He cited Prime Minister Howard, who said, and I am quoting: "Our backyard leads on to the street and off that street there are many other backyards...."

Indeed, as with September 11th, the lesson of Bali was a lesson for every country. Westerners may have been the immediate targets, but the impacts reverberated throughout Indonesia and Southeast Asia. While the terrorists may regard their attacks as a tactical success, I believe they were, in fact, a strategic failure. The attack in Bali galvanized Indonesian resolve to fight terrorists and strengthened international cooperation to go after terrorists in Indonesia. The Indonesian people now understand that the terrorists target them and terrorist actions aim to destabilize their country, hurt their economy and obstruct Indonesia's progress to building democratic institutions.

I must say that we are impressed by the professionalism of the Indonesian authorities, and in particular the Indonesian police, in pursuing the Bali bombers and starting to bring them to justice.

Indeed, looking at the overall global war on terrorism, I can say that we have made some remarkable progress in the last year, and particularly in the last few months, in capturing and killing terrorists and breaking up terrorist networks. Just a few of the most important examples which I'm sure that you are familiar with, but it is worth mentioning. Last June, Omar al Farouq, al Qaeda's Southeast Asia chief was arrested; his interrogation helped reveal the depth of the network in this region. Last August, here in Singapore, 21 people affiliated with Jemaah Islamiya were caught and major attacks were prevented. Last September, key September 11th operative, Ramzi Binalshibh, was arrested in Pakistan. Perhaps most important of all, in March, al Qaeda Operations Chief Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the September 11th attacks, was captured, also in Pakistan. So was Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi, who paid the hijackers. At the end of April, Walid bin Attash, a top al Qaeda operations man, who masterminded the attack on the USS Cole, was captured, again in Pakistan. And paymaster Ali Abd al-Aziz was also arrested.