Q: Admiral, you talked about the Marines’ success in Marja. What can you say about – where does the war go now after Marja? What’s the game plan now in Afghanistan?
ADM. MICHAEL MULLEN: Well, I think Gen. McChrystal’s been pretty clear that the focus will turn to Kandahar, and at the same time, we’re not through Marja. It’s been a very tough operation and will continue to be. But his main effort is really in the South and Kandahar will be next.
Q: Tom – (inaudible) – News. Your Marine commander in Southern Afghanistan, Lawrence Nicholson, he said you talked about now that Marja is kind of through, the difficulty now is reaching the hearts and minds of the people on the ground there. How important is that to winning the overall strategy and campaign in Afghanistan?
ADM. MULLEN: Well, it’s absolutely critical. And in fact, the idea here is that right behind the Marines, the combat forces will roll civilian support from our State Department and other agencies in our country, as well as governance at the local level, the district level, the sub-district level. And those are local Afghan leaders that are ready to take charge – be put in place and take charge.
And so the plan included all of that; that basically, when we got to this point, we were putting those individuals in place. So growing a level of governance so that the Afghan government, and at the local level as well, can actually provide for its people is the next significant step.
We have a huge challenge on the police side. Corruption’s a real issue and so that’s something else that’s obviously being addressed and need – will continue to need to be addressed in this campaign. And we know how important that is, as well.
So we think we know all the pieces. The point is – and the first point was to get in and provide security. And it’s all these other pieces that have to follow.
Q: And do Special Forces – you were just speaking to the Navy SEALs. Do Special Forces play a role in this campaign in Afghanistan or – ?
ADM. MULLEN: The Special Forces have played a big part in the campaign in Afghanistan and will continue to do that. In many ways, we couldn’t do it without them. They have in Iraq and they’re still, actually, focused in Iraq as well on the diminishing but still lethal al-Qaida cells that are in Iraq and they have been extraordinarily effective in Afghanistan, as well.
Q: Sir, Alyssa (ph) – (inaudible) – with NBC-San Diego. Yesterday, you talked a little bit about how for a long-term success in Afghanistan, the military can’t go it alone and you talked about the need for soft power. Can you talk a little bit about what that is and why it’s so important?
ADM. MULLEN: Well, even the very specific – I talk about the civilian capability, capacity that our civilians from the State Department which had rolled in right behind the Marines in Helmand Province, in Marja, specifically. They’ve actually done that for a long period of time and we need to have that. So while the military is a critical and necessary part of this, it’s not going to be enough to win it. So it’s a team effort and we do it with civilians who support us.
And in the end, it’s all focused on the Afghan people. It’s focused on making their lives better. They have to believe that their government’s going to help them to make it better. They have to believe that the corruption is going to go away. So in Marja, specifically, that’s where we are. But we’re going to have to basically have that take throughout the country.
Q: You’re here for the Navy SEALs. A lot of people describe the military in Afghanistan – (inaudible). How confident are you with, today, the level of the force, and is that still growing? (Inaudible.)
ADM. MULLEN: Well, we’re growing the Special Forces across the board, not just in the Navy with the SEALs, but also in the Army and in the Air Force, and actually, even in the Marine Corps as well. And that growth will continue, even as we come under increasing budget pressure, which I think we will in the next few years. But I see that growth continuing.
And there’s only – for Special Forces – I’d emphasize the word, “special.” There’s only a set size of recruiting pool and we can only grow them so fast. And we think – I’m very comfortable that we’re on that slope and we’ll continue to do that. Indeed, they’ve had an enormous impact in these wars, I just said.
And one of the things I just said in there is I think when history is written, we’ll understand a lot more about the enormity of their impact and the criticality. And so we need them in these fights and we will continue to need them in the future, not just for the kinetic side of this, but for the engagement reasons.
One of the things that Special Forces do as well or better than anybody else is the – we call it “foreign internal defense.” But it’s basically training – military training, developing relationships with militaries throughout the world. So I’m confident Special Forces will continue to play a big role, not just now, but also in the future.
And then specifically, what I see here is a much improved model in terms of both the recruiting preparation for this training and then getting – in success out of the training, having somebody graduate. The attrition rate has been reduced significantly since I was here last time. We focused on that and that will make a big difference as well.
Q: Admiral, you had talked and mentioned before Congress as well, on the “don’t ask, don’t tell.” You were very straightforward about what you thought about the policy. Some of your other partners, if you will, on the Joint Chiefs may not share that view. Where do you think this is going now?
ADM. MULLEN: Well, where it is going is right – we’re right – we’re commencing this review that Secretary Gates has directed over the next seven or eight months to be done by – maybe a little longer than that – by the 1st of December. And it’s really to gather objective data and information on what we believe the impact of the force would be, should this policy – should the law be changed. It is a policy, but more important than that, it’s a law and the Congress has to change the law. So that’s where we are.
And I’ve worked with the chiefs a lot before my testimony. But each of us has our own views. You’ve seen some of that. Each of them has said it’s important that we do this review, and then so advised, both the secretary of defense and the president.
Clearly, again, the law has to change. I’ve made my position very clear on where I think this ought to go, but that’s my personal opinion and I’ve made that very clear as well. I was asked about that inside and it oftentimes, as it was in here, gets asked in terms of stress on the force. Now, I think our force is an enormously capable and resilient force. They’ve proven that.
But what I don’t want to see happen is I don’t want to see the force get put in the middle of this debate. There’s a lot of pressures that we’re dealing with. We don’t need – we can do this in a way where that doesn’t matter. So we’ll know a lot more towards the end of the year when this review is done.