The Future of Western Hemisphere Defense Cooperation: A Historic Policy Statement Goes Unnoticed

The Western Hemisphere Defense Policy Statement deserves more attention if it is to increase cooperation amongst the countries in the Americas.
In October 2012, the Department of Defense released a historic document regarding the United States’ vision and policies for the Americas, but few have seen it. Except for The Miami Herald, which published an article written by Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta a few weeks after the 10th Conference of the Defense Ministers of the Americas, no major U.S. news source has recognized the importance of the Western Hemisphere Defense Policy Statement. The Washington Post, The Washington Times, The New York Times, and The Los Angeles Times have all overlooked its significance, as has Latin America except for a few, mostly negative responses. The policy statement is an important document because it provides a framework for how the United States will engage the nations of the Hemisphere given the reality of U.S. fiscal challenges and the nature of the region’s security environment. It deserves more attention.The United States faces a significant fiscal challenge. It will reduce defense spending by hundreds of billions of dollars within the next decade. In January 2012, President Obama released “Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense,” a document that provides strategic guidance for defense priorities given this fiscal reality. The United States recognizes that it cannot deal with today's threats on its own, and emphasizes the imperative for partnerships and capacity building to share the costs and responsibilities necessary to ensure peace and security worldwide. To adapt these aspirations to the Americas, the Pentagon released the Western Hemisphere Defense Policy Statement.According to the policy statement, some nations of the Western Hemisphere have a “growing capability and willingness” to work together and address shared security interests like never before. There is broad consensus that transnational threats such as illicit trafficking, terrorism, and cyber issues demand shared responsibility to adequately address them, and several countries of the Hemisphere have established bilateral, sub-regional, and multilateral defense partnerships that are making contributions to regional and international security. Central American nations, for example, have developed their own regional security strategy in collaboration with the Central American Integration System. Canada, Mexico, and the United States are working trilaterally to address narcotics trafficking and natural disasters through the North American Defense Ministerial process. Nations of the Caribbean are demonstrating collective problem solving to improve citizen security and reduce illicit trafficking through the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative.The United States recognizes that the Hemisphere is changing and that Washington’s involvement in the region must change with it. U.S. engagement must be tailored to individual country and sub-regional needs. Weak judicial systems and ongoing economic inequality undermine social development and inclusion. Law enforcement and military capacities remain uneven across nations. These challenges may hinder the abilities of partnerships to effectively confront sophisticated, non-traditional threats. This is an opportunity for the United States to renew and strengthen defense partnerships, and the policy statement provides the framework for how this can be accomplished.U.S. policy focuses on three goals: strengthening national defense capacity, fostering regional integration and interoperability, and promoting a strong system of defense cooperation. In order to achieve these goals, countries in the region must be open to accepting U.S. support. The United States seeks to strengthen national defense capacity by building mature and professional defense institutions and help nations bridge the gaps between armed forces and law enforcement. It will integrate capacity and enhance interoperability by coordinating hemispheric defense. According to the policy statement, the United States promotes a strong system of defense cooperation by working to “reform and leverage existing institutions to realize greater efficiencies and unity of purpose in addressing those issues that affect each country in the hemisphere.” An underlying theme here is the United States' aspiration to become the partner of choice in the Hemisphere.The apparent absence of a Defense Department plan for strategic communication is a cause for concern, given the policy statement's aspirations to encourage other nations in the Hemisphere to “assert leadership and assume responsibility in pursuit of common interests.” The United States must ensure a widespread reading and understanding of the policy statement’s views and objectives if it hopes to garner support and greater participation among nations of the Hemisphere. Should the Western Hemisphere Defense Policy Statement continue to go unnoticed, the transition from policy statement to policy implementation will be easier said than done.

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