Text 4907, 192 rader
Skriven 2007-06-28 23:31:00 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0706281) for Thu, 2007 Jun 28
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President Bush Nominates Admiral Michael Mullen and General James
Cartwright to Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
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For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary June 28, 2007

President Bush Nominates Admiral Michael Mullen and General James
Cartwright to Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Roosevelt Room

˙ /news/releases/2007/06/20070628-1.wm.v.html ˙˙Presidential Remarks
˙˙Audio

˙˙˙˙˙ In Focus: Defense

8:47 A.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Thank you all for coming. Mr. Secretary, thank
you for joining us. I am sending to the United States Senate my nomination
of Admiral Mike Mullen to be America's next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff. And I'm sending my nomination of General James Cartwright to be the
next Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Mike Mullen and "Hoss" Cartwright are experienced military officers.
They're highly qualified for these important positions. I thank them for
agreeing to serve their country in these new capacities. We welcome Mike's
wife, Deborah, and sons John and Michael. Thank you all for coming. Thanks
for wearing the uniform. "Hoss's" wife got stuck on an airplane.
(Laughter.) I'm sure she's going to forgive him, and hopefully forgive me.
I thank you all for being here and joining on this -- joining these good
men on this exciting day for them.

America is at war, and we're at war with brutal enemies who have attacked
our nation and who would pursue nuclear weapons; who would use their
control over oil as economic blackmail, and who intend to launch new
attacks on our country. In such times, one of the most important decisions
a President makes is the appointment of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff. The Chairman is our nation's highest-ranking military officer. He is
the principal military advisor to the President, to the Secretary of
Defense, the National Security Council, and the Homeland Security Council.
He is responsible for ensuring that our military forces are ready to meet
any challenge.

Admiral Mike Mullen is uniquely qualified to take on these important
responsibilities. Mike has had an illustrious military career, spanning
nearly four decades. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in
1968. He earned an advanced degree from the Naval Postgraduate School. He
has commanded three ships, a cruiser-destroyer group, and an aircraft
carrier battle group. He served as commander of NATO's Joint Forces Command
in Naples, Italy, with responsibility for Alliance missions in the Balkans,
Iraq, and Mediterranean. He served as Commander of U.S. Naval Forces
Europe.

At the Pentagon, he has served as the Navy's Director of Surface Warfare;
Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Resources, Requirements, and
Assessments; Vice Chief of Naval Operations; and Chief of Naval Operations.
Mike is a man of experience, of vision, and high integrity. He is the right
man to lead America's Armed Forces, and, Mike, I thank you for agreeing to
take on this important assignment.

I'm also nominating an outstanding military officer to serve as Vice
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General "Hoss" Cartwright. He's a
graduate of the University of Iowa, he earned an advanced degree from the
Naval War College. He completed a fellowship at MIT. He's a Marine aviator
who has commanded deployed Marines at all levels. He has broad experience
on the joint staff, having served twice in the Directorate of Force
Structure, Resources, and Assessment.

And since 2004, he's served as head of the U.S. Strategic Command. In that
position, "Hoss" has been in charge of America's nuclear arsenal, missile
defenses, space operations, information operations, global command and
control, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, and our nation's
efforts to combat weapons of mass destruction. These are vital
responsibilities and "Hoss" has met them with honor, skill and integrity.
He has earned my trust and my confidence. He's going to make an outstanding
Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

Upon confirmation by the Senate, Mike Mullen and "Hoss" Cartwright will
succeed two of America's finest military officers -- General Pete Pace and
Admiral Ed Giambastiani. Pete Pace has been at my side most of my
presidency, serving first as my Vice Chairman -- as the Vice Chairman, and
then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. We've been through a lot
together. Pete was with me after the attacks of September the 11th. He
played a key role in planning America's response to that brutal assault on
the American homeland.

With the help of his leadership, our men and women in uniform brought down
brutal dictatorships in Afghanistan and Iraq. They liberated 50 million
people from unspeakable oppression. He's helped lead our military through
unprecedented campaigns. And as he has done so, Pete never took his eye off
the horizon and the threats that still lie ahead. He played a critical role
in transforming our military for challenges of a new century. He made sure
that future benefits -- future generations will benefit from the reforms
that he has set in motion.

Pete made history as the first Marine to serve as Vice Chairman and
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. I'm going to remember him simply as
one of the best military officers and finest men I've been privileged to
know. I'm grateful for his friendship, his sense of humor and his
character. I also thank him for the life of service and I thank his wife,
Lynne, and his children, as well.

I'm also grateful to Admiral Ed Giambastiani. I just call him Admiral "G."
I appreciated his outstanding leadership as Vice Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs. He's an officer of character and vision, and I appreciate his
insights and his strong military advice.

Prior to his service as Vice Chairman, Admiral "G" helped lead the
transformation of our military as Commander of the U.S. Joint Forces
Command. He helped strengthen the NATO alliance as the first Supreme Allied
Commander, Transformation. Ed has given 37 years of dedicated service to
our country. His work will affect the security of our nation for decades to
come. I thank him for his devotion to duty, I thank his wife, Cindy, and
their children, as well.

Pete Pace and Ed Giambastiani are hard acts to follow. I can think of none
more qualified to follow them than the men whose nominations I am sending
to the United States Senate today. I call on the Senate to quickly confirm
Mike Mullen and "Hoss" Cartwright. I thank these fine officers and their
families for continuing to serve our country.

Thank you all for coming.

ADMIRAL MULLEN: Thank you, Mr. President. I appreciate those kind words and
confidence that you and Secretary Gates have expressed in me. Thank you
also for allowing my wife, Deborah, and my sons, Jack and Michael, to be
with us today. I think we all know that very little can be achieved in life
without the love, support and sacrifice of one's family, and I'm certainly
no exception.

I'm honored to be nominated to serve as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff at this critical time in our history, and I welcome the opportunity
to work with the Senate for confirmation. If confirmed, I look forward to
working closely with you, sir, Secretary Gates, the Congress, and our
outstanding military leaders, including, of course, my fellow nominee,
General "Hoss" Cartwright, as we wrestle with the diverse security
challenges that lie before us.

Clearly, we remain a nation at war against formidable enemies. The way
forward in Iraq and Afghanistan, the path we take now and in the future
will shape the character of the longer, larger struggle against terror. It
cannot be a military path alone, that much is clear. We must continue to
focus on the broad range of America's defense and security commitments
around the world, and on the many instruments of national power needed to
safeguard those commitments.

We must remain faithful -- excuse me, we must remain mindful that we live
in a world made smaller by the speed of change, more dangerous by the
actions of extremists and tyrants, and, yet, more hopeful, more promising,
by the power of partnerships, cooperation and trust.

The men and women of America's Armed Forces understand these complex
challenges, Mr. President, and as you know, are finding new ways to
overcome them each and every day. Our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines,
Coast Guardsmen and their families are the most dedicated, talented and
courageous people with whom I have ever been privileged to serve.
Representing them, serving them, in turn, as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs,
would be my great honor.

Thank you.

GENERAL CARTWRIGHT: Thank you, Mr. President, and Mr. Secretary. I'm both
humbled and honored to move forward and fill this role as the Vice Chair --
Vice Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Family is important to me, also. And I have a son and a daughter that are
currently deployed overseas in separate assignments, and I have a daughter
that's here -- my oldest daughter -- in the local area, with her husband.
But at the center of that is the greatest invention in the world, which is
a grandson that's about three years old and it is my duty to spoil.
(Laughter.) So I do have one other allegiance here, sir -- (laughter) --
and I have a wife that's sitting in Omaha with an airplane that's broken.
(Laughter.)

If confirmed, I will focus all of my effort on the whole of government's
efforts to prevail in this global war on terrorism, and to support our
people in all of their phases of service; and also to try to move forward
and look to the future for the capabilities that we're going to need to
prevail as we move into the future as a nation.

Again, thank you, Mr. President, and thank you, Mr. Secretary.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Thanks.

END 8:58 A.M. EDT
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