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Chilton: Attacks may occur during transition

LOS ANGELES — The military’s top strategic officer warned Friday that terrorists or other nations may try to take advantage of the transition period between the administrations of President George W. Bush and President-elect Barack Obama to strike or otherwise threaten the U.S., but he said the Defense Department is being vigilant against that possibility.

“At every transition, there comes risk,” said Air Force Gen. Kevin Chilton, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, speaking at the Air Force Association’s Global Warfare Symposium in Los Angeles. “It’s not a risk of who gets elected; it’s just a risk of change [and] how our adversaries around the world look at our vulnerability during that time period.”

Obama takes office on Jan. 20, but it could take months for him to assemble his entire team and for them to hit their stride. Rumors have swirled recently around Washington that Obama might retain Defense Secretary Robert Gates for a time to ensure continuity in national security issues.

Chilton, one of the military’s 10 combatant commanders, pointed to several examples of international incidents or attacks against the U.S. that have occurred shortly after a presidential transition: President John F. Kennedy’s confrontation with the Soviet Union regarding Cuba that began in 1961, the first World Trade Center bombing and the conflict in Mogadishu, Somalia, shortly after President Bill Clinton took office in 1993, and the Sept. 11 attacks under Bush in 2001.

“This may be all coincidence, but I don’t think so,” Chilton said. “Nor does our chairman [of the Joint Chiefs] or our secretary of defense accept that it’s pure coincidence.”

But Chilton also said the Pentagon is focused on dissuading potential enemies from any such action.

“There is an increased focus in the Department like I have not seen … before,” he said. “[We are] making sure we are ready, and we are focused, and we are doing everything we can to facilitate the transition to a new administration and at the same time send signals to potential adversaries that we are ready, and you better not step out of line.”

As commander of StratCom, Chilton is charged with overseeing nuclear weapons, space operations, cyber operations, missile warning and counter-weapons of mass destruction, among other areas.