From Section 4:
The United States will continue to work toward a secure and democratic Western Hemisphere by developing regional defense partnerships that address domestic and transnational threats such as narco-terrorist organizations, illicit trafficking, radical populism, and social unrest. The United States will look for opportunities to enhance our defense relationships with Brazil and Mexico, which play a critical role in maintaining peace and prosperity in the region. Expanded defense-related cooperation can help lift our countries' bilateral relationships into a broad partnership that reflects our many shared interests.There is also a brief mention of Colombia in section 2:
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Our defense objectives within the Western Hemisphere do not require a robust forward presence. We will retain a limited footprint while seeking to improve relationships with regional states and militaries in pursuit of common hemispheric security goals. Our defense posture in Latin America will support interagency capabilities to address critical issues including illicit trafficking, coastal security, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. In North America, the United States will maintain the defense posture required for mission assurance, consequence management, defense support of civil authorities, strategic dispersal, and homeland defense. The United States will therefore:
- Provide an alternative port to dock East Coast aircraft carriers to mitigate the risk of a manmade or natural disaster.
- Seek to develop new cooperative partnerships and bolster current partnerships with key Latin American states, particularly in the maritime domain, and encourage Latin American states to work more closely together on multilateral security initiatives.
Efforts that use smaller numbers of U.S. forces and emphasize host-nation leadership before incipient levels of violence are able to grow are, in fact, preferable to large-scale counterinsurgency campaigns. For example, in the Philippines...
...This model is being applied elsewhere to good effect: U.S. forces are working in the Horn of Africa, Colombia, Pakistan, and elsewhere to provide training, equipment, and advice to their host-country counterparts on how to better seek out and dismantle terrorist and insurgent networks while providing security to populations that have been intimidated by violent elements in their midst. As U.S. forces draw down in Iraq and make progress toward building stability in Afghanistan, more U.S. forces will be available for building the capacity of foreign security forces in other parts of the globe.No comments today.
