| Veterans
News Flash 
Army
Chief:
National Guard Vital in Long War
By Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill
American Forces Press Service
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, Aug. 28, 2007 - The National
Guard is making a vital contribution to current
wars and will continue to be integral as the U.S.
military enter a period of persistent conflict,
the Army chief of staff said here Aug. 26.
 With the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001,
terrorist attacks fast approaching, Gen. George
W. Casey Jr. counseled citizen-soldiers and -airmen
to reflect on the future.
"We are at war. We are facing a period of protracted
conflict. ... Stop for a minute and think about
what's at stake here," he urged those attending
the National Guard Association of the United States'
129th General Conference. "What's at stake here
in this war is the power and the values of our
civilization.
"What's at stake here is whether terrorism or freedom
charts the future.
"What's at stake here is nothing less than our
way of life."
As they have been since the First Muster of 1636,
the nation's Minutemen are on the front lines. "The
men and women of the Army and Air Guard are out
there every day ... fighting to ensure that the
values and ideals upon which this country is based
aren't forgotten," Casey said.
The comments came during an hour-long speech and
question-and-answer session that included a sobering
global geopolitical assessment.
"There (is) near unanimity among people who think
about the future -- intelligence officials, academics,
think tanks, people within the Department of Defense
-- that the next decades will be ones of persistent
conflict," Casey said. "We're in for a protracted
period of confrontation that is fueled by state
and non-state individual actors who are increasingly
willing to use violence to achieve their political
and ideological bents.
"We're seeing that now, and there is no reason
to believe that that is not going to continue."
Several trends are fueling conflict, he said. These
include:
-- Globalization. "Globalization has had unquestionable
positive impacts on prosperity around the world," Casey
said. "Unfortunately, most of that has been north
of the equator. The people that are not beneficiaries
of the increased prosperity can become recruits
for some of these ideological groups or terrorist
networks."
-- Improved communications. "The same connectivity
and technological advances that are boosting prosperity
also now are being used by terrorist organizations
to export terror around the world," Casey said.
-- Increased energy demand. "The competition for
energy is going to become more intense," Casey
said. "Because of rising middle classes in China
and India, for example, the demand for oil is going
to outstrip the supply and the resources that are
currently being dedicated to look for new (deposits)
and to look for alternatives aren't going to be
able to bridge the gap. We're going to see increased
competition for these different resources and probably
also a switch to cleaner fuels like a move to natural
gas. Almost 60 percent of natural gas reserves
happen to be in three places: Russia, Iran and
Qatar. ... What we're going to see is probably
more dependence on the Middle East."
-- Disasters. "Climate problems and natural disasters
are going to create more difficult problems for
the less-developed countries," Casey said.
-- Population growth. "Analysts are predicting
that some of these less-developed countries --
primarily South America, Africa, the Middle East,
South Asia and Southeast Asia -- are going to almost
double in population in the next 25 years," he
said. "That's going to create a young population
that, again, is more vulnerable to ideological
terrorists."
-- Weapons proliferation. "The increased proliferation
of weapons of mass destruction and their likely
use by terrorist organizations" are looming threats,
Casey said. "Recent intelligence estimates conclude
that al Qaeda is looking for weapons of mass destruction,
and there is no question that they will use them,
most likely against a developed country, if they
find them."
"What I see in the coming decades: You have a propensity
for conflict that will be fueled by these local
trends, and they'll likely be taken advantage of
by these global terrorist organizations," Casey
said.
Previously commander of Multinational Force Iraq,
Casey has been the Army chief of staff since April
10. "How proud I am of the contribution of the
National Guard to this war on terror over the past
almost six years," he said, repeatedly emphasizing
his gratitude to both the Army and the Air National
Guard.
"I've seen firsthand the contributions. ... (The
National Guard) performed extremely well. ... Half
of the Guard and Reserve are combat veterans. ...
You continue to fill the role of citizen, soldier
and patriot: citizens most of the time, soldiers
some of the time, and patriots all the time," he
added.
"What will victory look like?" an audience member
asked.
"Unfortunately, there is not going to be a D-Day
invasion," Casey replied. "This is an ideological
confrontation. Frankly, it's not going to be won
until Muslim moderates achieve success over Muslim
extremists. Our job is to keep Muslim extremist
groups from prevailing in the Middle East as well
as from attacking our country.
"It's not going to be a big battle; it's going
to be an ideological struggle that's going to play
out over the next several decades, not unlike the
Cold War. It'll be something that'll gradually,
over time, get better. But I can't see that you're
going to wake up one morning and say, 'Boy, I'm
glad that's over.' That's not going to be the case
at all."
SOURCE:
VNIS
top
of page |
