Admiral William J. Fallon, right, head of U.S. Pacific Command, and U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia, Joseph A. Mussomeli, left, walk out after a press conference at the Embassy headquarters in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday, July 18, 2006. The United States is not interested in selling military hardware and weapons to Cambodia but will provide training to its military personnel to make them more professional and 'respectful' to their own people, a senior commander of the U.S. military said Tuesday. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)July 18, 2006
By Ker Munthit
Associated Press
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — The United States is not seeking to sell military hardware and weapons to Cambodia but will help train its military personnel to be more professional and “respectful” to their own people, a senior U.S. military commander said Tuesday.
Adm. William J. Fallon, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, made his comments at a press conference during a two-day visit aimed at re-establishing military assistance links cut off by Washington nearly a decade ago.
The United States halted military assistance to Cambodia following a 1997 coup in which Hun Sen grabbed full power after ousting his co-premier, Prince Norodom Ranariddh. Hun Sen remains prime minister.
In August last year, President George W. Bush waived the ban, citing a pact exempting Americans in Cambodia from prosecution by the Netherlands-based International Criminal Court.
Fallon said the U.S. military could help train Cambodian military personnel “to be good leaders, to act responsibly and to be respectful of the people that they’re trying to serve.”
Such assistance would enable them to “better understand how to do their business, how to treat people,” so that the “people will have their confidence in their military,” he said Tuesday.
Human rights groups have often cited members of the Cambodian military for human rights violations against civilians.
“The interest we have is not in selling hardware to the Cambodians at all,” Fallon said. “It’s in trying to provide those things in a way of professional training and assistance that will enable them to become a more professional organization.”
“There may be some equipment, not weapons, that might be of some use. We were asked to look for things like trucks, things like that that we might be able to find, and I’ll go back and look for that,” he said.
Fallon was to hold talks with Hun Sen late Tuesday.
He had met with Gen. Tea Banh, Cambodia’s defense minister, and Gen. Ke Kim Yan, the military’s commander in chief, who told him training is their priority need from the United States.
Fallon said that a team of U.S. military officials would be sent to Cambodia to assess training needs.
The U.S. Pacific Command is a unified command from the Pacific to the Indian Ocean, which includes about 300,000 military personnel from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps.
Adm. William J. Fallon, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, made his comments at a press conference during a two-day visit aimed at re-establishing military assistance links cut off by Washington nearly a decade ago.
The United States halted military assistance to Cambodia following a 1997 coup in which Hun Sen grabbed full power after ousting his co-premier, Prince Norodom Ranariddh. Hun Sen remains prime minister.
In August last year, President George W. Bush waived the ban, citing a pact exempting Americans in Cambodia from prosecution by the Netherlands-based International Criminal Court.
Fallon said the U.S. military could help train Cambodian military personnel “to be good leaders, to act responsibly and to be respectful of the people that they’re trying to serve.”
Such assistance would enable them to “better understand how to do their business, how to treat people,” so that the “people will have their confidence in their military,” he said Tuesday.
Human rights groups have often cited members of the Cambodian military for human rights violations against civilians.
“The interest we have is not in selling hardware to the Cambodians at all,” Fallon said. “It’s in trying to provide those things in a way of professional training and assistance that will enable them to become a more professional organization.”
“There may be some equipment, not weapons, that might be of some use. We were asked to look for things like trucks, things like that that we might be able to find, and I’ll go back and look for that,” he said.
Fallon was to hold talks with Hun Sen late Tuesday.
He had met with Gen. Tea Banh, Cambodia’s defense minister, and Gen. Ke Kim Yan, the military’s commander in chief, who told him training is their priority need from the United States.
Fallon said that a team of U.S. military officials would be sent to Cambodia to assess training needs.
The U.S. Pacific Command is a unified command from the Pacific to the Indian Ocean, which includes about 300,000 military personnel from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps.
6 comments:
Get ready Phnom Penh! It's about time that you learn something valuable and useful!
There are no such thing as training in military. Most Army Generals will tell you that "brain washing" is the only training in the military!ahahaha
Now think about this! AH HUN SEN army had been indoctrinated in Communist ideology for more than 30 years and how the hell anybody can brain wash them from thinking about communist! AH HUN SEN army had their brain so fuck up with communist ideology that it had become a disease in the brain! With all the advancement in modern medical technology and I have yet to see any cure for the disease in the brain. I think the only way out is to commit suicide and AH HUN SEN will be the first one!ahahahah
Let's us hope that may be enough American in Cambodia will cause a heart attack for him and then die! hoose hoo!
hahaha!
please a better language event you adress to the Monster or Evil HunSen.
To: 2:21PM
Oh? excuse me my dear Sir! I reason that better language for better people and bad language for Monster or Evil! As you had seen, I had carefully chose my language for all special occasion. So please tell me how do you choose your language?
Well, at least majority of the populations are welcoming the coming of American influence of Cambodia, unlike the time of Lon Nol where only certain small percentage.
The assistant of the military training is a welcome for start. Cambodia cannot yet afford the American made weapons and that is why American has no desires to sell them. For now, Cambodia has no major threat externally and should just settle for a less modern weapons of its military defense, but when Cambodia can afford the big gun, fast jet and fast ship, America will be more than happy to sell it weapons to Cambodia.
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