Recently, the four star general in charge of all U.S. military operations
south of the United States in this hemisphere has started to visit with greater
frequency. The last time he was here was back on August 10th of 2005 when he
came on the invitation of Commander of the BDF Lloyd Gillett. Today he is here
again this time for the 7th Central American Security Conference. Craddock along
with 7 other military commanders from the region are in Belize to discuss security.
Alfonso Noble found out why Belize has become such a special destination for
the SOUTHCOM boss.
Alfonso Noble Reporting,
A mere photo op tells very little of the vast power that these 8 men hold. They
are after all the region's top military men who under the auspices of Belize
and the U.S. are here to discuss the region's security. In opening the conference
Minister of National Security Cordel Hyde set the stage urging betterment for
those most in need, the poor.
Hon. Cordel Hyde, Minister of Defense
"We do not start to focus and expend our resources and initiatives on
projects that deliver the goods for the marginalized and the disadvantaged,
and away from the white elephant special interests, if governments do not ensure
clean water for every child, school for every child, medicine for the sick and
an end to extreme and senseless poverty, then our jobs security officials become
that much more difficult and our result becomes that much more inevitable. If
democracy alone was able to deliver prosperity, then Belize would be awash in
excess because we have always embraced democratic principles. We need to make
it work for all our peoples, not only some. We need to make sure that we deliver
on the promise of democracy so that uncomfortable ideologies cannot find fertile
ground to plant their seeds. But let me stop preaching. In the meantime Belize
continues to play the roles of a bridge, landmass, between the Central American,
North American, and Caribbean regions. And while it has only just been confirmed
that we have oil in commercial quantities, and while that might serve to heighten
the profile and importance of our country, the immediate challenge before the
government is to ensure that the people of Belize benefit from this historically
important but troublesome commodity."
General John Craddock, SOUTHCOM Commander
"I would say obviously that any commodity as valuable in the world market
as oil, wherever it is discovered, will play some importance in security of
the nation, of the region, either directly or indirectly. The fact of the matter
is when resources are found and can be extracted and produced such as oil which
is a great commodity and with the record prices today, there has to be a couple
of things. One is that it has to increase the importance of a nation that owns
that resource and it has to attract investments and foreign direct investment
is the lifeblood of economic growth. So it think it is a positive indication,
I think it will indirectly affect security because as investment increases,
revenues increase and then as revenues increase, governments can invest more
back into the social services for its people and also balance that with the
security requirements to allow us opportunity and gives nations choices they
may not otherwise have."
Alfonso Noble,
So are you more interested in Belize now?
General John Craddock,
"We are always interested in our neighbors here because its important
that their security is certain. I don't know that it is more but we will continue
to be interested."
And because of that interest that the U.S. has in Belize, Hyde says Belize is
reciprocating and taking its position as a partner in global security.
Hon. Cordel Hyde,
"We recognize that terrorism is a threat to democratic values and to
international peace and security. We are steadfast in our commitment to fight
it. As such we have decided to develop a counter-terrorism platoon as our contribution
to the global war on terrorism. We have also decided to develop a light engineer
company available at a moment's notice for deployment nationally and regionally
as a response to natural disasters. As a country we take seriously our responsibility
to regional and hemispheric security."
And while Belize takes its role seriously Craddock says that this yearly Central
American security conference is a platform for resolving regional security concerns.
Brig. Gen. Lloyd Gillett, BDF
"I think in terms of public security drug smuggling has been the thing
that's fed the other areas of crimes; arm smuggling, violent crimes have increased
significantly, the amount of money passing through also creates corruption which
is very bad for the justice system, for the political system. And so I think
they are feeding each other but the source of it is probably the money coming
from drug trafficking."
General John Craddock,
"The dialogue that we will entertain here in this exchange of ideas
will allow us to explore regional situations to regional problems that include
crime, illicit trafficking, illegal migrants, and often times national disasters.
The ideas that are generated here in this forum will serve as the blueprint
for future security preparations between all countries present here and in think
the participation of the countries present here at this conference reflects
their commitment to protect their region, their borders, and their citizens
from the threats today and the potential threats tomorrow."
The conference will run up until Thursday of this week.
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