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 His visit to Bahrain, in which he will speak at the Manama
Dialogue security conference, comes at a time of regional unease
over President Barack Obama's policies — ranging from the cautious
U.S. response to Syria's civil war to the six world powers' interim
deal with Iran on its nuclear program.
The ship he toured, the USS Ponce, part of the U.S. Fifth Fleet, is
to be equipped in 2014 with a new laser weapon designed to deter
aircraft and missiles as well as attacks by swarms of small boats
like those used by Iran, on the opposite side of the Gulf.
"Our history in this area is long and proud. Our commitment to our
partners in this area speaks for itself and I will assure our
partners that we're not going anywhere," Hagel told troops aboard
the 40-year-old vessel, recently refitted to be a floating base for
anti-mine warfare and special operations.
"This region is dangerous, it's combustible, it's unstable," Hagel
said. "But having a steady American hand in this region can help our
allies and reassure our allies."
Jon Alterman, director of the Middle East program at the Center for
Strategic and International Studies think tank in Washington, said
Gulf Arab leaders felt U.S. policy was misguided and that when they
wanted to air their concerns, there was no one in the Obama
administration to talk to.
"There's been a deep sense that nobody's listening to them,"
Alterman said. Personal relationships in policymaking are critical
in the Gulf, he said, and many regional leaders do not believe they
have that kind of connection with Obama.
Alterman said Hagel's task would be to listen to the leaders'
concerns, to clearly explain U.S. security moves and to "emphasize
the fact that strategically we have very, very closely-aligned
interests."
Hagel planned to explain U.S. security thinking in a speech on
Saturday to the Manama Dialogue, which is broadly attended by
defense figures in the Middle East.
He met Bahrain's King Hamad al-Khalifa and the two discussed shared
regional security challenges, including Iran's nuclear program.
Hagel also met Saudi Deputy Defence Minister Prince Salman bin
Sultan.
"We are clearly here at a very important time for the region," a
senior U.S. official said on condition of anonymity. "It's a
somewhat tense time ... There (are) a lot of questions about U.S.
policy, about where things are going, particularly in the wake of
the Iran interim agreement." "NUCLEAR TRANSACTION"
U.S. officials said Hagel, who knows most of the region's leaders
from his time in the U.S. Senate, was seen as the best person to
deliver a message of reassurance about America's commitment to Gulf
security.
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"This is a particular region where the relationship between the
defense ministers with the secretary of defense has unique
importance," another senior U.S. official said, noting the "uniquely
insecure environment" and the large amount of defense trade with the
United States.
Since 2007, the United States has sold more than $81 billion worth
of arms to Gulf countries, including some $10 billion announced by
Hagel earlier this year on his first trip to the region as defense
secretary, the official said.
Hagel told troops aboard the USS Ponce that Gulf allies should not
misconstrue the U.S. military's strategic rebalance to Asia as
"retreating from any part of the world".
Iran, which has long vied with Gulf Arabs for regional dominance,
struck an interim deal with the six powers on November 24 under
which it is to limit aspects of its disputed nuclear energy program
in exchange for some relief from sanctions.
Hagel said the deal represented a "very wise opportunity" to see if
Tehran was serious about reaching a comprehensive final accord, to
be negotiated in coming months, ensuring it would never turn uranium
enrichment to making nuclear weapons.
Speaking in Manama, British Foreign Secretary William Hague echoed
Hagel's comments, assuring Gulf allies that the agreement with Iran
"does not for us in the UK imply any diminution in our commitments
to our alliances in the region or to the security of its vital sea
lanes or to the struggle against terrorism."
Hague, who addressed an audience that included Bahrain's Crown
Prince Salman al-Khalifa and other senior Gulf Arab officials, said
engagement with Tehran "should not mean a free pass for Iran on
other issues in the region".
"This is a nuclear transaction, it is not a redefined relationship
as things stand today," Hague said.
(Additional reporting by Yara Bayoumy and William Maclean;
editing
by Andrew Roche)
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