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Skriven 2007-02-21 23:31:18 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0702217) for Wed, 2007 Feb 21
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Vice President's Remarks After a Meeting with Senior United States and
Japanese Military Personnel
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Vice President
February 21, 2007

Vice President's Remarks After a Meeting with Senior United States and
Japanese Military Personnel
Commander Naval Forces Japan Headquarters Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan



1:45 P.M. (Local)

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, I've just held an important meeting and very
useful briefing for me with the senior commanders of the American and
Japanese military forces. The close cooperation among these commanders
reflects the character of our alliance. It's a relationship based on trust,
respect and a deep understanding and commitment to facing security
challenges together. We especially appreciate Japan's contributions to our
efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq. Japan is a great friend to the United
States. Relations between our countries have never been better, and our
alliance has never been more vital. (Applause.)

The U.S. is firmly committed to the defense of our friends in Japan. As the
security environment changes both regionally and globally, both the U.S.
military and the Japanese Self Defense Forces are determined to remain
modern and flexible. At the same time, we're working to enhance our joint
capabilities to meet the dangers we both face, whether they involve weapons
of mass destruction, ballistic missiles or terrorist cells.

This briefing gives me confidence that we are working to improve the
interoperability of our forces -- strategic, operational and tactical. I
want to thank the commanders for their presentations. I'm very pleased with
what I've learned, and I look forward to reporting it to President Bush.

Thank you very much.

END 1:50 P.M. (Local)
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