Carter in Turkey, Paris

Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter arrived in Turkey on Sunday for "close consultations on a number of core issues," Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said in a Feb. 3 statement. Carter will meet with Minister of National Defense Ismet Yilmaz and other senior defense officials to "help advance mutual defense cooperation, including NATO-led efforts to address the potential missile threat resulting from the conflict in Syria," Little said, and "reaffirm America's strong commitment to Turkey as an ally in confronting international terrorism" in the wake of last Friday's suicide-bomb attack at the U.S. embassy.

On Saturday, Carter spoke at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, stressing the "vital" partnership between DOD and the U.S. defense industry:

So we regard industry as our partners in protecting the country and so as we make this strategic transition, we must do it in a way that ensures that our industry remains strong, technologically vibrant and financially successful. "We don't, I always tell people, we don't make anything in the Pentagon. And so in that sense, our interests in the Pentagon are aligned with long-term investors and we will accordingly promote policies, industrial policies and spur long term innovation, efficiency, profitability and productivity growth. We understand and we expect that the strategic transition upon which we are embarked and many of you are in embarked will cause adjustments in our industry, adjustments to the structure of our industry. This is normal. We understand that and in the main, we will rely upon market forces to make the most economically efficient adjustments in the defense industry.

On Feb. 1, Carter held meetings in Paris with several senior French defense officials, including Minister of Defense Jean-Yves Le Drian. Carter "commended the French for their progress in -- and decisive commitment to -- their operations in Mali," Little said. "He noted the progress of French forces, which have delivered significant blows to terrorist networks in northern Mali. And he provided assurances of continued U.S. support for this important mission."

The Obama administration's $32 million aid proposal for African troops fighting Islamic extremists in Mali could provide urgently needed armored vehicles, communications gear, body armor and other equipment along with training and logistical support, Inside the Pentagon recently reported.

Carter and French officials also discussed Afghanistan and French defense strategy, the future of which will be defined soon in a French government white paper, Little said. "The discussions reinforced the strong U.S.-French defense relationship and military-to-military cooperation between the two allies," he said.