Ashton B. Carter was unanimously approved to be the new Secretary of Defense with a bipartisan 25-0 vote by the Senate Armed Services Committee today on Capitol Hill.The nomination now goes to the full Senate for a vote.Dr.Carter was Deputy Secretary of Defense from 2011-13,and had held two other high level Pentagon posts before that.He is a physicist by training and was a Rhodes Scholar who received his doctorate from Oxford University.He never served in the military,yet commands a lot of respect for his longtime dedication to civil service,national security expertise and forthright manner.
At his confirmation hearing before the Committee last week,Dr.Carter provided a summary of his views on the global challenges he is certain to face.Not only is our civilian infrastructure subject to cyber attack right now,but we have to be concerned about our military.One problem is the defence of our networks in DOD.That is not where it should be,if our forces should be engaged with an enemy.We're not anywhere near where we should be as a country.If people would understand how vulnerable we are in cyber space,they would clamour for more.
I certainly hope that we defeat ISIL quickly,but that won't be a lasting defeat.This is a movement that changes and morphs as it moves around the world.I think we need to be thinking about terrorism generally as a continuing threat to national security.They may not be thinking in the ISIL way;they may have something else-or nothing-on their minds.As you know,there are aberrant people out there.
You have to be thinking about the quality,not just the quantity of ships.I certainly think we are the paramount Navy in the world.That's one of the things that makes us a global power.I have a strong interest of maintaining not just the quality,but the quantity of ships as well.
The campaign in Afghanistan has been close to my heart.I've been there a number of times.If I'm confirmed and I ascertain,as the years go by,that we need to change the plan,I will recommend those changes to the President.Our end with regard to ISIL needs to be their lasting defeat.It's important that we have those on the ground there that make sure that once they are defeated,they stay defeated.I very much incline in the direction of supplying defensive arms to Ukraine.
I think that we have two immediate dangers in the Middle East.One is ISIL;and the other is Iran.We're in the early stage of building the force that will keep ISIL defeated.The issue looming over this is the role of Iran in the whole region.
I think it's important to retake territory with local forces on the ground as soon as e can sustain ISIL's defeat.It's important to get that territory back soon,because we don't want them to settle in,or for the people to settle in under their terrible regime.
The issues in the Middle East and Ukraine have developed since we formulated the rebalance to the Asia-Pacific.It is,in my eyes,to continue the pivotal American stability role in that region that has allowed the South Korean miracle.While ISIL and Ukraine are terribly important in their own regard,we have to remember that one-half the population and half the economy of the world is in that region.We're adding ships,electronic warfare,a new bomber-we're buying new capabilities that aren't necessarily useful in Europe or the Middle East;but are in the Asia-Pacific.
I have a long history with the nuclear enterprise.Continuing quality and excellence in the nuclear enterprise is very important,and I am committed to that.
If I am confirmed,I will be confronting some of the most challenging national security problems in a very long time.I would say the world continues to pose challenges to the international order,and the US is indispensable to the solution of these challenges.I'm familiar with what we're doing in the Baltics.We are rotating forces in there to serve as a warning and a tripwire.If we are going to have the greatest military in the world.we can't move in 15-year increments.I think we are in a time where the number and severity of the risks is unlike anything I have ever seen in my life,Dr.Ashton B. Carter told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Chuck Hagel will remain in the post until the full Senate approves his successor.
Update:Dr.Carter was confirmed by the full Senate with a 95-3 vote on 12 February.
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