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27 June 2009
In a speech in Moscow Saturday, the top U.S. military officer called on
Russian officers to forge a new defense relationship with the United
States to help lead the world to a more stable future. Admiral Mike
Mullen spoke to students and teachers at Russia's Academy of the
General Staff.
In a crowded lecture
hall, Admiral Mullen called on more than 100 mid- and senior-level
Russian officers to help move U.S.-Russian military relations to a new
level, and he said the idea has the support of the chief of Russia's
general staff.
"Instead of merely settling for a relationship
defined by differences, we have the opportunity to forge one based on
mutual respect and the realization that our joint leadership must
continue to be a cornerstone of security and stability for the world,"
he said. "It encourages me to know that my counterpart, General of the
Army [Nikolai] Makorov, shares my belief in the power of our present
opportunity."
Admiral Mullen's audience was mainly of colonels
and lieutenant colonels, officers chosen for the prestigious mid-career
training course, many of whom are headed for the rank of general and
senior command posts in the coming decades.
"In this very room
sit the future military leaders who will see the way ahead," he said.
"Now is the time, here is the place, for the armed forces of Russia and
the United States to commit themselves to a new and better
relationship."
The admiral said in spite of differences on some
issues, the U.S. and Russian defense establishments can work together
to fight extremism and terrorism, promote nuclear stability and combat
piracy on the high seas. Those were among the topics he discussed
Friday with top Russian defense leaders, along with differences over
missile defense and the extent of the threat posed by Iran.
"Let
us pledge to each other that, though we may not always see this new
world in quite the same way, we will nevertheless see our way clear to
dialogue and discussion and debate," said Admiral Mullen. "For from
such things come understanding, and from understanding comes
cooperation."
Admiral Mullen and his Russian counterpart will
sign a new military cooperation agreement early next month, during
President Barack Obama's visit to Moscow. That will mark a significant
turnaround from last year, when the United States froze military
relations with Russia after it invaded Georgia. Although differences
remain with the new U.S. administration over Russia's Georgia policy,
President Obama has said he wants to "reset" U.S.-Russian relations.
In
the Saturday speech, Admiral Mullen praised great Russian generals of
the past, and urged the young officers to remember that the Russian
writer Leo Tolstoy called "time and patience" the "strongest of all
warriors." Then he invited their questions, but after a long period of
awkward chatter among themselves, there were none, and the session
adjourned early.
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