Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell explains that the Defense Department budget is usually unaffected by fluctuations of the market as Congress has always supported the Department in passing their budget. (0:41)
Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell says that the U.S. military in Afghanistan is seeking more leverage to go after “kingpins” and “large labs” that use Afghanistan’s huge poppy crop to make heroine. (0:50)
Since the transition to Iraqi control in the Anbar Province three weeks ago, they have been maintaining a low level of violence, said Lt. Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, commander of the Multinational Corps-Iraq, during a live briefing from Iraq to the Pentagon. The United States and Iraqis remain focused on their goals of providing security for the Iraqi people and standing against Sunni and Shiite extremists.
A recently discovered cache of over four hundred pounds of C4 explosive and also penetrator components, are one of several taken that have been taken off the battlefield. The improving Iraqi security forces, Austin said, are getting more and more proficient, but they are not yet ready to take over. There needs to be more focus on their police force, which is not improving as much as their military.
A primary focus area is on the Sons of Iraq program, which “significantly contributed” to the success of the low levels of violence, and now the goal is a successful transition by the Iraqi government by creating full employment possibilities for the SOI. Beginning in October, the Iraqi government will begin paying their salaries, and the plan is that meaningful jobs will be created for them. Austin said he is confident it will go well, and the United States military intends to continue to watch and assist them. He said he is optimistic about the future.
During a trip to Afghanistan, the Secretary of Defense Robert Gates says that the United States has not neglected Afghanistan and lists the troop deployments the U.S. has sent there. (0:33)
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, speaking at a ceremony in Baghdad, praises Gen. David Petraeus as he prepares to leave his post as Multinational Force commander in Iraq to take over the post of Combatant commander for Central Command. (0:27)
While traveling to Baghdad, the Secretary of Defense Robert Gates speaks about the transition of security in Iraq from the surge strategy to more of an overwatch role. Gates says that the U.S. will still be engaged even as Iraqi security forces start to take over responsibility for several provinces. (0:43)
Speaking at the dedication ceremony for the Pentagon September 11 Memorial former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld makes a reference to a poem by Robert Frost. He says that America has been acquainted with the night and that the U.S. will force the dawn. (0:24)
President George W. Bush speaks at a dedication ceremony for the Pentagon September 11 Memorial. He speaks about the U.S. armed forces and says that because of them, there has not been a terrorist attack on American soil in the last 2,557 days. (0:19)
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates speaks at a ceremony to dedicate the Pentagon September 11 Memorial. He says that succeeding generations will not recall as vividly the events of that day and that makes the memorial, which is beneath the same flight path as the highjacked plane of Sept. 11, all the more important. (0:22)
Seven years after the airborne attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center in New York, President Bush, accompanied by former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and the current Secretary of Defense Robert Gates dedicated memorial to the memory of Pentagon employees and passengers aboard American Airlines Flight 77 which crashed into the building on Sept. 11, 2001.
“We claim this hallowed ground for peace and for healing. We claim it in the affirmation of our strongest belief as a people that every life is precious,” said Gates. The memorial is a series of 184 silver metal benches spread out over a flat park of gravel. Beneath each bench a pool of water reflects the luster of the metal bench that stretches over it. For the ceremony each bench was draped in a blue flag, giving the appearance of a covered casket.
Quoting the poet Robert Frost, Rumsfeld spoke of Sept. 11 as a day that the United States “became acquainted with the night.” Rumsfeld was lauded by the other speakers for his quick actions at the Pentagon on Sept. 11. Speaking of those who died that day he said, “Make no mistake, it was because they were Americans that they were killed in this place.”
Rumsfeld also spoke the the resolve of the American people and of the U.S. military, “We have been acquainted with the night, we have taken it’s measure and in the darkest of times we stood together. In defiance our nation has pressed on toward morning…Our nation will force the dawn.”
Admiral Mike Mullen the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff also spoke to the families of those who died in the Pentagon, “We honor the heart wrenching sacrifice, the quite courage of those who called these souls dad, mom, son, daughter, husband, wife, brother, sister, friend.”
Bush spoke about the wars that have followed the attacks on the Pentagon. “Since Sept. 11 our troops have taken the fight to the terrorists abroad so we do not have to face them here at home,” he said. Shortly after the attacks the U.S. began military operations in Afghanistan to unseat the Taliban government which was harboring the al-Qaida terrorist group that planned and executed the attacks. Thanking the men and women of the U.S. armed forces, Bush noted, “There has not been another attack on our soil in 2,557 days.”
With the newly dedicated memorial and the Pentagon behind him, Sec. Gates spoke of the new meaning of the Department of Defense’s main building. “From this time forward the Pentagon will be more than a symbol of government, more than the seat of military power, it will also be a place of remembrance.”
