Press conference of the US Secretary of Defense

Q: Mr. Secretary, can you confirm, sir, today, and since you have admitted there are US troops in the area, that US troops are now inside Pakistan finding or hunting for those wanted terrorists, the most wanted terrorists, al Qaeda and Taliban. And if you have spoken with one of them, or their leader?

Secretary: As you know, my policy is to have other countries characterize what it is they’re doing rather than we characterize it for them. And I have really nothing to say except that the borders of Afghanistan, around 360 degrees, tended to be relatively porous over the decades.

Q: Mr. Secretary, I would switch – for a minute to Moscow, the discussions on the nuclear arms reduction, from the US point of view? What is the value of doing that?

Secretary: Well, when the president made his announcement, he indicated that the United States of America was going to do what ha said; namely, bring down strategic offensive nuclear weapons down into the 1,700 to 2,200 level. That was a statement based on our own national security interests. The president of Russia, on a subsequent occasion, announced that they, too, intended to go down to roughly that level. What is taking place between the United States and Russia is the development of a new relationship, a new framework between our two countries.

Q: Did you get the sense from your discussions on this topic in Moscow that it will be accomplished by the time the president leaves?

Secretary: You never know. Something is not over till it’s over.

It is a process; it’s been going along very well. I’ve had numerous meetings with the defense minister of Russia. Secretary of State has had numerous meetings with the foreign minister of Russia. And the US president has had several meetings with the Russian president. And there are more ahead of us. So we just stay on the track. It’s a constructive, useful process. And I enjoyed my stay in Moscow.

Q: Mr. Secretary, in your meetings this afternoon with the Chinese vice-president will you raise the issue of America’s concern and this building’s concern over the shifting of Chinese medium – range missiles to an area where they now threaten Taiwan and apparently a buildup of some size, up to 300 or more, we’re told by press reports?

Secretary: I have not met the vice-president of the People’s Republic of China. He is coming in this afternoon. I look forward to it. And I don’t really think it’s appropriate to discuss what he or I might or might not bring up in this course of the discussion.

Q: Is it a concern to you, sir, that these missiles are being shifted?

Secretary: (Pause). How would you answer that on the eve of a visit? (Laughter) My instinct is to leave it where I left it and not, you know, preview things that might or might not be discussed.

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