Former Secretary of the US Navy, Richard V. Spencer joins Ambassador Sheikh Abdulla bin Rashid Al Khalifa for an expert discussion of US force posture within the Middle East, addressing recent happenings and likely forecasts that will shape US military presence and influence the behavior of regional players.
Former Secretary of the US Navy, Richard V. Spencer joins Ambassador Sheikh Abdulla bin Rashid Al Khalifa for an expert discussion of US force posture within the Middle East, addressing recent happenings and likely forecasts that will shape US military presence and influence the behavior of regional players.
Hello. My name is Abdulla R. Al Khalifa, and I have served as ambassador of the kingdom of Bahrain to the United States since 2017. During my time here, I've had fascinating discussions with so many interesting people from all walks of life. As a kid growing up in Bahrain, one of my favorite places to hang out was a neighborhood coffee house. I used to sit there and listen, as folks old and young would gather to talk about the news of the day business deals, government decision marriages, deaths, and the like. So I stopped for a second and pondered to myself. If only we can recreate that coffee house experience, that was so prevalent while growing up in Bahrain, an informal forum where we can discuss what's going on, not necessarily on issues of local interest, but on the subjects that we deal with day in and day out, global diplomacy, national economies and societies, the middle east and the world. And since there's nothing, an ambassador knows how to do better than to talk. It gives me great pleasure to present to you. Bahrain banter. My guests will be current and former senior officials with responsibility for some of the most pressing issues that we face. Our goal is to provide you with a personal behind the scenes look and to what drives the thinking of global decision makers. What are they trying to achieve and what keeps them up at night. So please allow me to bring the, feel, the tone, the vibe of my culture's hospitality to you. As we connect with our guests and explore the days major issues together. Hello everyone. I'm ambassador Abella Al Kalifa. Welcome to the inaugural episode of Bahrain banter. Joining me today is a very special guest that I have the honor of introducing former secretary of the United States, Navy Richard Spencer, not to go on and on with your incredible resume. I just wanna highlight a few points. TEC Spencer earned his economics degree from Roland college in winter park, Florida, and then joined the us min Marine as an aviator where your call sign was chowder. Now that is pretty Bostonian name, but Boston doesn't really play significantly in your background. That is not as much as mine having done my undergrad there. So I'm not exactly sure how that happened, but nonetheless, after the Marines, you move to the private sector, spending time at Goldman Sachs bear Sterns and Merri Lynch amongst several others. Before going back into go as the 76th secretary of the Navy today, Mr. Secretary, and correct me if I'm wrong, you spent most of your time enjoying life, showcasing your marksmanship skills on various birds and advising your successors both in and out of your uniform. Mr. Secretary, thank you so much for being here today with me,
Former Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer:Mr. Ambassador, it's a true pleasure on, on a couple of counts. Um, one, a professional level, uh, we first met, uh, dealing with you, uh, or was, was one of the most, uh, enjoyable education experiences as I had. And we'll get into that a little later, but too, on a friendship level ambassador, it's just a pleasure to be with you. We were out shooting the other day and I might add to those that are listening. Uh, you go hunting with the ambassador, you better get your birds quickly, cuz he'll get them. If you don't
Ambassador Abdulla R. Al Khalifa:<laugh> well, we all know who was poaching, uh, but it's Mr. Secretary. Um, but uh, you have served as a secretary of the Navy and uh, during your tenure, Mr. Secretary was the most pivotal point in the middle east, or if I also may add what were most of the toughest challenges that you had faced in the middle?
Former Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer:What's a, it's a great question. Cuz if you remember, uh, 2017, uh, when first met and, and problem set that presented himself in the region was, uh, the, the increase of Iran, patrol boats, harassing ships, uh, uh, and it caused me, uh, one the opportunity to learn the importance of, of our, our presence in Bahrain, in particular, it's just a critical linchpin geographically in the area to provide peace through presence and reactive force to be. And Bahrain has done so much, uh, for the United States Navy and with the United States Navy and the United States in general. Uh, it was a real eye opener for me and a learning curve, which, uh, really was a pivotal moment for me from that point on, I realized the true importance of our location there. So Mr.
Ambassador Abdulla R. Al Khalifa:Secretary, uh, during November's double I S man, victory of defense Lloyd Austin talked about widening and deepening America's partnership within regional allies. Can you kindly speak to what that means in particular terms?
Former Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer:Most definitely. Mr. Master. Um, very interesting when, um, secretary Jim Mattis called me and asked me to come on board, the, uh, his secretary of the Navy, uh, we had a discussion and one of the most fascinating points that really got me excited about was his line of effort number two, which was to expand, nurture the brilliant, uh, constellation of friends and, and, uh, he assigned each service secretary, various geographic areas. And I was lucky enough to, to pick up parts of the middle east, um, secretary Austin is carrying on the same message and putting more effort to it. And it is absolutely critical because it's a complex world. And if you, uh, uh, read his, uh, his speech that he made at the double I Ws, he quotes Colin Powell by saying we're all connected with a thousand chords and we're all interactive and our threats and risks nowadays, Mr. Ambassador, I truly believe are not geographically bound. They know no borders. If you look at the challenges that, uh, secretary Austin brought up the pandemic, climate change, terrorism and I round as a destabilizing force, those no, no boundaries. It's so much more important nowadays that we work alongside our allies. And when I say alongside, I wanna harp on one more thing that S Terry Austin brought up brought up, which is it's time for the us to have a little humility post Afghanistan. Uh, we really have to make sure that we understand our allies, that we're working alongside our allies, not saying we're here to follow us, cuz we really, truly need to, uh, understand the expertise that our allies have of in the area and their areas of operation, Mrs.
Ambassador Abdulla R. Al Khalifa:Actually just building on that same point. Um, we all witnessed the, uh, unveiling of the global posture review a couple of days ago and in, it was a recommendation to further analyze and I quote additional posture requirements and quote for the middle east. Now, what does that look like? And what are the implications for us allies like Bahrain, Bahrain and other countries in the middle east?
Former Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer:I, I wanna again, quote, uh, secretary Austin in his, uh, comments that he made at the double I doubles, which was, uh, we are fully committed, uh, to be a presence, uh, in the middle east specifically, uh, when it comes to the Navy Bahrain, um, we're not going anywhere. Uh, it's too important. A region. There are many interests for our, the United States and our friends and allies, and also, uh, for the stability of the whole era and continues to prove that it is just a critic part of the whole equation when it comes to, um, you know, our posture review, it's all services and it's all the resources within the department of defense. Um, but when it comes to the Navy, remember by definition, we are the deployed force. We are always deployed, uh, as we proudly like to say, we're the first to fight, but we're the first to be there in presence also. So the beauty of the United States Navy and Marine Corps team is that we can flex, we can bring resources into an area when they're needed and we can also redeploy them the various different areas. Now I will tell you as, as wouldn't be a surprise to anyone that right now, the Indo-Pacific is the theater of focus, but one, we certainly are not leaving the middle east whatsoever, but we have this beauty to flex in between depending upon what resources are needed.
Ambassador Abdulla R. Al Khalifa:Also just building on, um, the USS presence in the reach and, and the continuation of that. How important is interoperability between, uh, courses in that specific theater?
Former Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer:It, it, it is critical because, uh, it goes back to what I said earlier about having friends and allies to work alongside the interoperability. Not only speaks to when I look at it as secretary than the Navy internal to the United States, IE, let's take Bahrain. Um, working with the coast guard hand in hand, it's one of the theaters where we are just joined at the hip and have a seamless relationship in providing security, uh, security structure in the area. But then we also have our interoperability with our allies such as yourselves, uh, and that is really up a learning curve over the past 10 to 15 years. That is very, very impressive. We are doing more and more together as allies, and that is this dedication that the us has to our allies, not only, uh, uh, you know, coming and being piece through presence with the United States gray ship, but now we're turning around and tackling risks alongside our allies with their ships. And that is critical
Ambassador Abdulla R. Al Khalifa:Moving on, uh, a different direction. Uh, Mr. Secretary, and I know you've been to Bahrain a number of times, um, just talking about the us Naval presence overseas, how important is it and what defines a successful installation in your view?
Former Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer:Well, it's a, it's a great question because I think we just led into it before we are a deployed force. And the fact that, uh, we are deployed means that we need, uh, logistical footprints around the world. Um, but those logistical footprints, which we might call bases, uh, have so much more, uh, a complexity than simply a logistical port. We become a neighbor, become part of the community that we're in. And when it comes to Bahrain, what your country has done for the United States Navy for our sailors and for our dependence is absolutely fantastic. If you remember, when you and I first met, uh, one of the first things we tackled was increasing the number of dependents, uh, on the base. And there are many things that we had to attack tackle, which was security, uh, let alone the ability for the infrastructure. And, and we tackled that. And, and that just goes to show, I believe your commitment to the relationship in my eyes. It was a need that we had for the quality of life for our sailors. Uh, you answered it. Uh, and I truly believe, I, I think I'm safe in saying that we're a pretty good neighbor there also, and, and we enjoy being there. Thank you. Absolutely.
Ambassador Abdulla R. Al Khalifa:The, um, feeling is mutual, Mr. Secretary. I do remember that, uh, beautiful lunch that we had had together, uh, when you had invited me over. And I remember, uh, Mrs. Actually you walking into the kitchen and thanking everyone that put that together. It just talks volumes to, um, the person that you are a person that I, uh, am grateful to know, uh, person, um, that reflects the, the values, uh, what we have seen in the United States. And so, um, we're very thankful for that friendship and we're, uh, thankful for the relationship that Bahrain has built with the United States. Any final comments? Uh,
Former Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer:I just, um, I just hope, and, and the hope doesn't have to be that strong because it's so obvious that that our relationship with you just continues to strengthen and go forward because, uh, you know, this relationship is so critical for peace and stability in the area. Uh, I can't underscore that. And you look at what you all have done. The relationship with Israel, what is going on in the area really is heartening. On the other side, there are risks. Uh, we have, uh, Iran there, which, which really was dude does wanna upset the apple cart and all of us have to keep our eyes on it, cuz we're all gonna be dealing with that together, but I can sleep at night because I know we have the relationship with you,
Ambassador Abdulla R. Al Khalifa:Mr. Secretary, thank you for blessing us and for honoring us with this, uh, participation. Uh, I know that our friendship will go for many years and I wish you the best of luck
Former Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer:As we say in Wyoming ambassador right back at you.