U.S.- Gulf Cooperation Council Conference on the Cooperative Defense Initiative and Consequence Management

 

 

Senior military and government officials from the nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the United States met at a conference in Manama, Bahrain hosted by U.S. Central Command and the Government of Bahrain to address a series of issues related to the Cooperative Defense Initiative (CDI) with a special focus on consequence management and approaches to cooperation between the GCC and United States in these areas. Entitled "Exercie Eagle Resolve 2000" and organized by IFPA affiliate National Security Planning Associates(NSPA), the meeting featured speakers including His Excellency Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, crown prince of Bahrain and commander in chief of the Bahrain Defense Force, General Anthony C. Zinni, USMC, commander in chief, U.S. Central Command, and U.S. ambassador to Bahrain Johnny Young. Convened at Le Royal Meridien Hotel, May 7-9, 2000, the meeting encompassed panel presentations, open discussion, and technical/field demonstrations.

 

The goal of "Exercise Eagle Resolve 2000" was to bring the senior military leadership of the GCC and the United States together to promote greater awareness of the emerging regional security environment and to foster cooperative efforts in, the CDI program, consequence management, and related activities. "Exercise Eagle Resolve" is the second in a series of planned meetings. The first Eagle Resolve meeting was convened in April 1999 at U.S. Central Command in Florida. An Eagle Resolve 2000 summary report was produced for dissemination to selected U.S. and GCC officials.

 

Over the course of the three-day event, presentations were made by Dr. Edward L. Warner III, assistant secretary of defense for strategy and threat reduction, U.S. Department of Defense; Dr. Jay Davis, director, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency; Brigadier General John F. Sattler, USMC, deputy director for operations, Combating Terrorism, J-34, the Joint Staff; Ms. Alina Romanowski, deputy assistant secretary of defense for Near Eastern andSouth Asian affairs, U.S. Department of Defense; Brigadier Rashed A. Al-Khalifa, assistant chief of staff for operations, Bahrain Defense Force; Dr. David Martin, deputy for strategic relations, the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization; Major General (Dr.) Ali bin Abdullah Al-Khalifa, director of medical services, Bahrain Defense Force Medical Services; Ms. Lisa Gordon-Hagerty, director, U.S/ National Security Council; Rear Admiral Michael L. Cowan, USN, chief of staff, health affairs, U.S. Department of Defense; Colonel Yousif Bahzad, director of training, Bahrain Defense Force; Colonel Abullatif R. Al-Zayani, director, planning and organization, Bahrain Defense Force; and Mr. Sam Brinkley, WMD policy advisor, Office of the Coordinator, Counter-Terrorism, U.S. State Department.

 

Ambassador Michael Sheehan, coordinator, counter-terrorism, U.S. Department of State, provided a keynote luncheon address. Apart from General Zinni, other US Central Command representatives making presentations included Brigadier Keith B. Alexander, USA, director, J-2, and Major General James E. Sandstrom, USAF, J-3. Additional U.S. and GCC participants encompassed several GCC chiefs of defense staff and service chiefs, U.S. Central Command component commanders, U.S. ambassadors from the GCC states, and other GCC-U.S. subject matter experts.