97273. Cohen: Turning Neighbors to Partners

By Linda D. Kozaryn
American Forces Press Service

        WASHINGTON -- The Western Hemisphere has entered a new era 
of serenity and enormous opportunity, Defense Secretary William 
S. Cohen said April 15 in Miami. Where tyranny and fear once 
reigned, freedom and prosperity now prevail, he said.
        "We see a hemisphere of hope and of free people with free 
rein to choose a better destiny," Cohen told delegates at U.S. 
Southern Command's Western Hemisphere Symposium. 
        Instead of disunity, distrust and discord, Latin America and 
Caribbean nations are discovering "a harmony of interests," he 
said. "We see the chains of poverty giving way to the chance of 
prosperity."
        About 200 delegates from 40 nations attended the two-day 
conference. They focused on regional security issues including 
transnational threats, terrorism, narcotrafficiking, destruction 
of the environment and regional disputes.
        All Western Hemisphere nations except Cuba are now 
democracies, and the United States is committed to developing 
strong diplomatic, economic and security partnerships among these 
democratic nations, Cohen said. "We see security partners, not 
security problems; governments chosen by the ballot, not by the 
bullet. We see nations who are sending envoys, not convoys; 
seeking broader pursuits, not border disputes. We see an 
explosion of commerce and trade, not of conflict and terror." 
        The hemisphere is home to some of the world's fastest-
growing markets, he said. Nations are pursuing new trade 
agreements, security partnerships and military operations in the 
cause of peace, safety and humanity, he said. "Peru and Ecuador 
met this week in Brasilia [Brazil] to begin resolving a 55-year-
old border dispute. Argentina, Brazil, Chile and the United 
States, as well as Peru and Ecuador have peacekeeping forces 
serving on the border right now to ensure that peace endures."
        Determined democracies in the region have weathered 
turbulent storms, Cohen said. El Salvador and Nicaragua elected 
two successive governments while their militaries remained 
committed to upholding democratic principles, he said. Guatemala 
signed a peace accord in December and has begun incorporating its 
citizens into the democratic process. "When a coup was attempted 
in Paraguay, its neighbors rose to the occasion and pressured the 
plotters to stand down, and thus preserved a democratic nation in 
their midst."
        The United States has a lesson to share, Cohen said. Being 
open with neighboring nations on defense matters, "builds 
confidence and security, which, in turn, serves peace," he said. 
        As an example of openness between nations, Cohen said he 
will give copies of DoD's Quadrennial Defense Review to his 
democratic counterparts in the hemisphere. The report, due to 
Congress May 15, will cover DoD's future defense strategy, force 
structure and policies. The method of conducting the review may 
be particularly useful to other nations as they reassess and 
reconfigure their national defense, Cohen said. 
        U.S. officials have also distributed copies of the annual 
defense report and budget to regional counterparts. Brazil has 
distributed copies of its report on national dfense policies.
        Another area where the United States can help new 
democracies is teaching about civilian control of the military, 
Cohen said. "The system of civilian-controlled military has 
worked for the United States ever since George Washington hung up 
his uniform and became President Washington."
        In November, the Hempispheric Center for Defense Studies at 
the National Defense University in Washington will offer courses 
and lectures on planning and managing defense resources, forming 
defense policy, armed forces' role in a democracy and the 
dynamics of a civilian-military relationship, Cohen said. Eight 
members of the center's consultative committee are from Latin 
American or Caribbean nations, thereby providing another venue 
for dialogue among defense institutions, he said.
        Other initiatives to further hemispheric ties include 
Panama's offer to host a multinational counterdrug center and 
Argentina's creation of a new peacekeeping training center. The 
United States will share technology so the militaries can fight 
narcotics trafficking, conduct other operations and build these 
military-to-military ties so critically important, Cohen said. 
"Our militaries are training together to serve humanitarian 
disaster relief operations, and they're sharing information about 
how to protect the environment," he said.
        Cohen called on the hemispheric nations to ratify the 
Chemical Weapons Convention. He said 31 nations in the hemisphere 
have signed the Chemical Weapons Convention, but only 12 have 
ratified the treaty. President Clinton is pressing the U.S. 
Senate to ratify the treaty before it goes into effect April 29, 
Cohen said. "If all of the nations of our hemisphere sign and 
ratify this treaty, we not only can make it stronger, we can help 
make our half of the world free of chemical weapons," he said.
        In the future, Cohen said, the United States will intensify 
its focus on building strong partnerships with Western Hemisphere 
nations "in an entire spectrum of areas -- from diplomacy to 
trade to environmental protection, as well as security."
        Defense partnership in the region was first fostered at the 
Defense Ministerial of the Americas in Williamsburg in 1995 and 
at a second ministerial last summer in Argentina. A third 
ministerial is scheduled for this year in Cartagena, Colombia.

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