Secretary Lloyd Austin: You can only Win in Urban Warfare by protecting civilians
If you drive them into the arms of the enemy you replace a tactical victory with a strategic defeat.
Here’s a recent speech in which US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin appears to call out Israel’s Dihiya Doctrine of pursuing “unbearable” civilian suffering as a way of putting pressure on the population to turn against militants.
December 2, 2023: Lloyd J Austin III, US Secretary of Defense
Highlights:
You know I learned a thing or two about Urban Warfare from my time fighting in Iraq and leading the campaign to defeat Isis like Hamas Isis was deeply embedded in urban areas and the International Coalition against Isis worked hard to protect civilians and create humanitarian corridors even during the toughest battles and so the lesson is not that you can win in urban con uh Urban Warfare by protecting civilians
The lesson is that you can only win in urban Warfare by protecting civilians. You see in this kind of a fight the center of gravity is the civilian population and if you drive them into the arms of the enemy you replace a tactical Victory with a strategic defeat.
So I have repeatedly made clear to Israel's leaders that protecting Palestinian civilians in Gaza is both a moral responsibility and a strategic imperative and so I personally pushed Israeli leaders to avoid civilian casualties and to shun irresponsible rhetoric and to prevent violence by settlers in the west bank and to dramatically expand access to humanitarian Aid.
So I have repeatedly made clear to Israel's leaders that protecting Palestinian civilians in Gaza is both a moral responsibility and a strategic imperative and so I personally pushed Israeli leaders to avoid civilian casualties and to shun irresponsible rhetoric and to prevent violence by settlers in the west bank and to dramatically expand access to humanitarian Aid.YouTube Transcript: (formatting added to a portion)
[Applause] good morning everyone uh if you would before you take your seats would you please rise for the presentation of the Colors by the Ventura County Naval based color guard and please remain standing for the performance of our national anthem by yman Aaron Dixon from the best ship in the United States Navy the USS Ronald Reagan gentlemen IES parade the colors oh say can you see by the dawn's early light what so proudly we H at the Twilight last gleaming who brought stripes and bright stars through the perous fight or the r parts we watch were so gall streaming and the rocket red glare the bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that our flag was still there oh say does that St bangled bner yet [Music] way or the land of the free and the home of the brave forward March please be seated e if I could have your attention for just a few moments please hard to quiet down the cafeteria if I could have your attention for just a moment that'd be great when accepting the 1980 nomination for president of the Republican National Convention Ronald Reagan described America's unique responsibility as a defender of Freedom he affirmed that the United States has an obligation to ex citizens and to the people of the world never to let those who would destroy Freedom dictate the future course of human life on this planet today those values of freedom and democracy are under attack all around the world ukrainians are defending their freedom against unjustified and unprovoked Russian aggression Israelis are fighting for their survival against brutal forces that are bent on their destruction in the endo Pacific Taiwan and our other friends and allies are increasingly at risk as China seeks to forcibly reshape the region in its authoritarian Vision we recognize the fate of our own Freedom reflected in these Count's struggles and as we seek to defend Freedom abroad we must grapple with serious challenges at home sequestration and Reliance on continuing resolutions hinder effective defense planning and production as well as our ability to serve as the arsenal of democracy being Secretary of Defense has never been an easy job and in this complex and dynamic environment it's especially challenging fortunately America's 28th secretary of defense is an extraordinary man who has dedicated his life to the service of our country before becoming the civilian leader leading the Department of Defense Lloyd Austin had a distinguished 41-year career in the army that included command at the core division Battalion and Brigade levels his Awards include the Silver Star and he served as Vice Chief of Staff of the army and later as commander of the United States Central Command responsible for all military operations in the Middle East in Afghanistan secretary Austin has inspired military offic officers and civilians alike with his unshakable sense of Duty and sacrifice and were fortunate to have his steady leadership guiding our Department of Defense during these tumultuous times last year at the Reagan National Defense form secretary Austin reaffirmed in his keynote address and I quote a basic American truth and the struggle between those fighting to defend democracy and those bent on Imperial aggression the United States stands with the forces of Freedom those struggles have only grown since he delivered those remarks a year ago and so we look forward to hearing more of secretary Austin's vision for how our nation must rise to challenge and defend Freedom ladies and gentlemen would you please join me in welcoming a great American and the 28th United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin [Applause] than well good morning everyone and uh and thanks for that kind introduction I know you said at the outset that uh being Secretary of Defense has never been easy Leon Panetta and Mark esper said it was easier on air watch they don't see what the problem is you know this is my third time speaking to the Reagan National Defense Forum as Secretary of Defense so this is starting to be a habit we've got a great delegation here from the Department of Defense including secretary Kendall several combatant commanders General CQ Brown and other members of The Joint chief of staff let's give them all a a round of [Applause] applause it's also great to be joined by representatives and all from our allies and partners and by distinguished members of the United States Congress you know I'm always grateful for support from Congress for our mission and for our truths so while I've got you here let me urge you to pass a full year appropriation that's the single best thing that Congress can do to strengthen our National Defense you know our competitors don't have to operate under continuing resolutions and so doing so erodes both our security and our ability to compete and I also urge you to pass our urgent supplemental budget request to help fund our National Security needs to stand by our partners in danger and to invest in our defense industrial base you know only one country on Earth can provide the kind of leadership that this moment demands in only one country can consistently provide the powerful combination of innovation Ingenuity and idealism and a free Minds free enterprise and Free People and that's the United States of America and so I'd like to talk to you today about some key National Security challenges in about the very American way that the Department of Defense is meeting them and let me be blunt about our mission the US military is here to win our country's Wars and to win them decisively we will always try to deter a conflict but if we have to defend our country we will fight and we will [Applause] win you know watching the news these days reminds me of one of pres President Reagan's jokes today he would say if someone offered us the world on a silver platter most of us would take the platter we're living through challenging times and that includes the major conflicts facing our fellow democracies Israel and Ukraine in bullying and coercion from an increasingly assertive China in a worldwide battle between democracy and autocracy so these are the times when both our friends and our Rivals look to America these are the times when the American people count on their leaders to come together and these are the are the times when Global Security relies on American unity and American strength President Biden calls this an inflection point in world history and with his leadership we have rallied our allies and partners to defend the rules-based international order now I know that that phrase doesn't get everybody's pulse racing but the rules based International order is Central to our long-term security it is the structure of international institutions alliances laws and Norms built with American leadership after the Staggering losses of World War II and those rules help ensure that nothing like World War II can ever happen again they uphold sovereignty and honor borders they help ensure that civilians are protected and not targeted and they help to punish aggression and keep bullies in check since 1945 the rules-based international order has helped to give our country and the entire world an unprecedented period of peace and prosperity but peace is not self-executing order does not preserve itself and sec security does not flower on its own the world built by American leadership can only be maintained by American leadership as President Biden has said American leadership is what holds the world together from Russia to China from Hamas to Iran our Rivals and foes want to divide and weaken the United States and to split us off from our allies and partners so at this hinge in history America must not waver American leadership rallies our allies and partners to uphold our shared security and it inspires ordinary people around the world to work together toward a brighter future but the Troubles of our time will only only grow worse without strong and strength American leadership to defend the rules-based international order that keeps us all safe and if we forfeit our position of responsibility our Rivals and our foes will be glad to fill that vacuum you know in every generation some Americans prefer isolation to engagement and they try to pull up the draw bre they try to kick loose the Cornerstone of American leadership and they try to undermine the security architecture that has produced Decades of prosperity without great power war and you'll hear some people try to Brand an American Retreat from responsibility as bold new leadership so when you hear that make no mistake it is not bold it is not new and it is not leadership as the old saying goes if you think that education is expensive try ignorance and if you think American leadership is expensive consider the price of American Retreat over the long sweep of American History the C C of Courage has always been dwarfed by the cost of cowardice and the cost of abdication has always far outweighed the cost of leadership the world will only become more dangerous if tyrants and terrorists believe that they can get away with wholesale aggression and Mass Slaughter in America will only become less secure if dictators believe that they can wipe a democracy off the map and the United States will only pay a higher price if autocrats and zealots believe that they can force free people to live in fear so you can see that core Insight at work in our approach to three quite different challenges in a Middle East crisis in Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the Strategic challenge from the People's Republic of China on October 7th Hamas terrorists murdered more than 12200 Israelis and at least 35 Americans and took more than 200 hostages it was the deadliest terror attack in Israel's history and the bloodiest day in Jewish history since the end of the Holocaust Hamas massacred innocent innocent civilians inside Israel's border it murdered a 74 year- old Canadian Israeli Peace activist and grandmother who used to drive sick Palestinians from Gaza into Israel for medical treatment it kidnapped Toddlers and Holocaust Survivors and so just six days after the Hamas attack I flew to Israel to underscore our solidarity in our resolve and to make it crystal clear that America's commitment to Israel security is Ironclad and so we have rushed us security assistance to Israel to help it help it defend its people and its territory and to help ensure that Hamas can never again commit the atrocities that we saw on October 7th us leadership has helped in the release of dozens of hostages and we will continue to do everything that we can to help secure the release of every man every woman and every child seized by Hamas including American [Applause] citizens we also rapidly reinforced our Force posture in the Middle East and that strengthens our regional deterrence better protects our forces and helps defend Israel and our presence now includes two carrier strike groups an amphibious ready group a Marine Expeditionary Unit a guided missile submarine integrated air defense and missile defense forces and more fighter aircraft and bombers but as we are working to stabilize the region Iran is Raising tensions and after attacks against us personnel and and Syria our forces repeatedly struck facilities in Iraq and Eastern Syria used by Iran's irgc and by militias affiliated with Iran we will not tolerate attacks on American personel and so these attacks must stop and until they do we will do what we need to do to protect our troops and to impose cost on those who attack them
[Applause] now Israel is in a hard fight against a cruel enemy in one of the most densely populated areas on Earth but
democracies like ours are stronger and more secure when we uphold the Law of War so we will continue to press Israel to protect civilians and to ensure robust the the robust flow of humanitarian Aid. First and foremost that's the right thing to do but it's also a good strategy.
You know I learned a thing or two about Urban Warfare from my time fighting in Iraq and leading the campaign to defeat Isis like Hamas Isis was deeply embedded in urban areas and the International Coalition against Isis worked hard to protect civilians and create humanitarian corridors even during the toughest battles and so the lesson is not that you can win in urban con uh Urban Warfare by protecting civilians
The lesson is that you can only win in urban Warfare by protecting civilians. You see in this kind of a fight the center of gravity is the civilian population and if you drive them into the arms of the enemy you replace a tactical Victory with a strategic defeat.
So I have repeatedly made clear to Israel's leaders that protecting Palestinian civilians in Gaza is both a moral responsibility and a strategic imperative and so I personally pushed Israeli leaders to avoid civilian casualties and to shun irresponsible rhetoric and to prevent violence by settlers in the west bank and to dramatically expand access to humanitarian Aid.
This week a US Air Force c17 airlifted more than 54,000 pounds of un un Med medical supplies and warm clothing and food to the people of Gaza and we expect more such flights in the days ahead and so two things are true any state has a duty to respond to a terrorist attack like October 7 and every state has a duty to protect civilians during armed conflict and so that's crucial as Israel Works to dismantle the Hamas terrorist infrastructure in Gaza it will also be crucial for our work with allies and partners after the conflict ends now it would compound this tragedy if all that awaited Israelis and Palestinians at the end of this awful war was more insecurity more rage and more despair Israelis and Palestinians have both paid too bitter a price to just go back to October 6th
So like every us Administration since the Six Day War in 1967 we believe that Israelis and Palestinians must find a way to share the land that they both call home and that means a path towards two states living side by side in Mutual Security
Now we understand all the difficulties but a two-state solution Remains the only viable way out of this tragic conflict that has ever been proposed and without a horizon of Hope the Israeli Palestinian conflict will remain an engine of instability and insecurity and human suffering ladies and gentlemen the United States will remain Israel's closest friend in the world our support for Israel's security is non-negotiable and it never will [Applause] be
Now in both Israel and Ukraine democracies are fighting ruthless foes who are out to annihilate them and we will not let Hamas or Putin win and we will not let our enemies divide or weaken us so as we surge support into Israel we remain focused on Ukraine and we remain fully able to project power to uphold our commitments and direct resources to multiple theaters the United States is the most powerful country on Earth and we can walk and chew gum at the same time now I was just back in ke last week and I had great discussions with president zalinski and the minister of defense umov and general zusy and I got to meet some of the Brave Ukrainian troops who have taken back more than half of the territory grabbed by Russia since it's unpro unprovoked an unjustified invasion in February of 2022 since then our the United States and our allies and partners have worked to get many key weapon systems including himars and Patriots and Abrams tanks and more into the hands of trained Ukrainian operators and so 21 months into Putin's failed campaign of Conquest the Russian military has been badly weakened above all that's because of Ukraine's incredibly Brave troops but Ukraine's achievements also flow from bipartisan us leadership and from the Coalition of some 50 countries that we forged as President Biden has said face with a threat to the peace and stability of the world and to democratic values that we hold deer to Freedom itself we do things that we do we did what we always do the United States stepped up and I'm proud that our allies and partners have stepped up along with us but we still need urgently need bipartisan support in Congress to pass a supplemental to rush security assistance to our partners in Ukraine in Israel and elsewhere meanwhile as we rally the world to defend Ukraine Putin has been forced to scr for support from the likes of Iran in North Korea and you know it was chilling to see a delegation from a Hamas openly visit Moscow to meet with senior Russian officials just weeks after the October 7th Massacre and so it's no surprise that Iran is fueling conflict in both Gaza and Ukraine by giving arms to Hamas and drones to Putin now despite his isolation Putin believes that he can Outlast the ukrainians but he is wrong the Kremlin is waging an unjust war of Imperial aggression but Ukraine is fighting a a defensive War for National survival and you can feel that urgency on the ground and that gives Ukraine a huge strategic advantage of a just cause now Putin also thinks that he can Outlast us he believes that our Coalition will Splinter that our willpower will fade and our democracy will just get distracted but once again Putin is wrong and we must continue to be clear to the American people about the stakes in Ukraine Ukraine matters profoundly to America and to the entire world and it matters for four key reasons first Putin's War poses a stark and direct threat to Security in Europe and Beyond second Putin's aggression is a clear challenge to our NATO allies third the kremlin's deliberate cruelty is an attack on our shared values of democracy and decency and finally Putin's war is a frontal assault on the international rules-based order so the outcome of this struggle will define global security for decades to come and we don't have the option of sitting it out so President Biden has laid down a clear objective the United States seeks a free and Sovereign Ukraine that can defend itself today deter more Russian aggression in the future and so we are working together with our allies and partners to help Ukraine build a future force that can ward off more Russian malice in the years to come because if we don't stand up to the kremlin's naked aggression today if we don't deter other would be aggress aggressors we will only embolden them and we will invite more Bloodshed and more chaos Russia's invasion of Ukraine offers a grim preview of a world of tyranny and turmoil that should make us all shudder and that's important far beyond Europe our national defense strategy describes the People's Republic of China as America most consequential strategic competitor and the pacing challenge for the Department of Defense the PRC is the our only rival with the intent and increasingly the capacity to reshape the international order the the PRC hopes that the United States will stumble and become isolated abroad and divided at home but together we can prevent that fate and we've made extraordinary progress along with our allies and partners in meeting the CH China Challenge and forging a more secure Indo Pacific in this decisive decade 2023 will be remembered as a decisive year for implementing us defense strategy in Asia and so we're making our Force Poss in the Indo Pacific far more distributed mobile and resilient we're helping our friends build up their own capabilities to defend themselves and we're working with allies and partners like never be before you know I've made four trips to the Indo Pacific this year and with each trip we've made even more progress in Manila this February we announced the expansion of of our enhanced defense cooperation agreement with the Philippines to allow us access to four more Philippine facilities in New Delhi this summer we unveiled a new road map for defense industrial cooperation with India now that strategy is already driving our work together on key defense platforms we also rolled out a major deal to build aircraft engines in India and when I was back in India last month we announced our intent to co-produce armored vehicles with India our first time with any foreign partner in May I visited Tokyo to further modernize our alliance with Japan as Japan doubles its defense budget in July I became the first Secretary of Defense to visit Papa New Guinea and we made even more history by agreeing to to a defense cooperation agreement between our two countries when I visited seou a couple of weeks ago we chartered a bold future for our alliance with the Republic of Korea by signing a new tailored deterrent strategy and along with our partners in Tokyo and soou we made strides in trilateral cooperation with with our two great allies in in Northeast Asia I also flew to Brisbane in July for the US Australia ministerial ministerial consultations which showed that our unbreakable Alliance is even stronger than ever and finally we're deepening our historic Aus partnership with two of our closest allies Australia and the United Kingdom and so yesterday I hosted secretary shops of the UK and Deputy Prime Minister Mars of Australia here in California for our second Aus defense ministers meeting and through Aus our three democracies are helping Australia acquire a conventionally armed nuclear powered submarine and were forging deeper Partnerships among our indust defense industrial bases and our Innovation ecosystem now all of this Builds on a blunt military reality and that reality is that allies and partners help us project power and share the burden of our common security but don't just take it from me take it from President Reagan who said that our security ultimately rests on the confidence and cohesion of of our alliance system yet our strength abroad is rooted in our strength at home and in our ability to stay ahead of coming challenges and that's why we pushed so hard to invest in Innovation and in our defense industrial base and above all in our people you know I had a great visit yesterday uh at our defense Innovation unit in Silicon Valley diu focuses on fielding and scaling commercial technology across the military it is directly plugged in the Silicon Valley working with Venture Venture Capital firms and Tech innovators who are often doing business with DOD for the first time and it will help us deliver thousands of gamechanging capabilities at speed and at scale when we sharpen our Tech Edge we expand our military Edge and that's why we're making such major investments in Innovation and we're giving the American taxpayer extraordinary value even while our spending on National Defense as a percentage of GDP remains about half of what it was during the last decade deade of the Cold War the Department's budget request includes $145 billion for R&D and $170 billion for procurement now those are the largest such investments in US history we're also making major invest investments in combin all domain command combined joint all domain command and control and those investments will make us even better at joining operations and combat integration to remain Nimble we've also created the Office of strategic Capital which will help attract and scale private capital in our in our critical Technologies we're also making unprecedented use of the multi-year procurement authorities provided by Congress to deliver critical Munitions at affordable cost this includes the Naval Strike missile the maritime strike sm6 missile and the long range anti-ship missile now Ukraine's High burn rate for artillery has hammered home the need to invest even more in Munitions so compared to the defense budget from just 5 years ago we're putting nearly 50% more money into mun misss and during this Administration America's production of artillery shells won't just increase it won't just double it will quadruple meanwhile we've launched what the Army calls the most ambitious modernization effort in nearly 40 years for our defense industrial base and so some $50 billion dollar of our supplemental budget request would flow through our defense industrial base and that will create or support tens of thousands of good American jobs in more than 30 states that includes making missiles in Arizona in vehicles in Wisconsin in in Indiana in artillery shells in Pennsylvania Ohio and Texas and that all means greater Prosperity at home and greater security around the globe and it brings me to one final strategic advantage that no competitor can match and that is nearly 3.4 million American Patriots who protect our country every day either by serving in uniform or as civilians of the Department our people rise to every Challenge and I am determined to do right by them and their families so this year we secured a 4.6% pay raise for our troops and civilian workers which was the largest in two decades we increased our basic allowance for housing this year by an average 12 12.1% the largest percentage increase in 15 years we're working to provide Universal prek at our DOD schools offering flexible savings accounts to make child care more affordable and giving 12 weeks of paid parental leave to service members we're making it easier for our outstanding military spouses to flourish in their own careers including new Ben new benefits and new ways to help agencies and companies retain military spouses when their families are ordered to move abroad we are one team and we don't have one single teammate to spare and so we will not tolerate sexual assault or sexual harassment in the US Military and by the end of this month independent military prosecutors will tackle cases of sexual assault domestic violence and other serious crimes and we're driving hard to reduce the tragedy of suicide in our ranks by improving the delivery of mental health care and ending the old stigmas of seeking help and we do all of this for one simple reason our people are the greatest strategic asset that we have the US military is the most lethal fighting force in human history and we're going to keep it that way ladies and gentlemen we are the United States of America and it's not enough just to pursue our natural national interests we must also live our national values as PR President Reagan said our foreign policy should be to show by Example The greatness of our system and the strength of American ideals and we must ensure as President Biden has said that America remains a beacon to the world and we will not let that Beacon flicker or fade and so in this uncertain hour at this time of testing the world looks to America again and we must not give our friends our rivals or our foes any reason to doubt America's resolve you know in times like these extraordinary people can show extraordinary courage Ordinary People can show extraordinary courage and that's exactly what I saw in Kei I saw a proud bustling City in the heart of Mainland Europe and it is in the gun sites because of one man's huis and fury but the Ukrainian people have met Putin's assault with Defiance resilience wit and yes even Grace you can see it in the eyes of the troops fighting to drive out the Russian Invaders you can see it in the determination of the citizens of Kei Ukraine reminds the world of the moral power of a free people fighting to defend their Sovereign territory their democracy in their future and As Americans we must do no less so let us come together to make our Union more perfect and our country more secure cure in our world more just let us come together to Rally the nations of Good Will to the cause of human freedom and let us come together to meet this moment thank you and may God continue to bless United States of America
Lindsey Graham disagrees with Secretary Austin: