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  • 18 hours ago

Former Minister of National Security, Gary Griffith, has weighed in on Prime Minister, Kamla Persad Bissessar's, meeting with the Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine on Tuesday.

Here's more from Dominic Ramroop.




Transcript
00:00After yesterday's meeting between Prime Minister Kamala Passat-Bissetta and General Dan Cain,
00:05Chairman of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff,
00:08the opposition called on the government to be fully transparent.
00:11Former Minister of National Security Gary Griffith agrees that the government needs to be transparent,
00:17but he also thinks that the information should be given on a need-to-know basis.
00:21Yeah, definitely. It is, however. The country needs to know, but there's a need-to-know basis.
00:27So it is not that every single thing that is said, the country has a right to know.
00:32Griffith supports the government's stance regarding the current geopolitical tensions in the region,
00:37but he thinks that the personnel in authority are lacking the requisite training and experience,
00:42which is doing them no favors.
00:44My personal view on it, I think the government, they have been doing an excellent job.
00:48They are going in the right direction in this situation, and I'll explain why.
00:52But what is missing is transparency and communication.
00:55The reason why it is lacking is because the persons who are holding that position of authority,
01:01they do not have that type of training and qualification.
01:04So, for example, you have a Minister of Defence, and in fairness to him,
01:08he's not qualified in understanding that level of security.
01:12So what you will do is always throw to Stand-In Order 27.
01:15If someone asks, and we're still short, one day,
01:18what was the football score between the Defence Force and police in the pro-league,
01:21he'll say Stand-In Order 27 because it will affect national security.
01:24He's going to throw that. When you keep doing that,
01:27it is going to have the country wandering here, hiding something.
01:29With Venezuela hinting at taking action against Trinidad and Tobago through various statements,
01:35Griffith is in support of the U.S. military's presence in the country.
01:39Venezuela have drawn first blood.
01:40They have threatened Trinidad and Tobago.
01:42They have thrown shots across the bow.
01:44They have declared the Prime Minister personal non-grata.
01:47They have stated that they do not want to work with us in the energy sector.
01:50They have stated that we are harboring terrorists,
01:53that we are holding base to destabilize Venezuela,
01:55that they will invade any country.
01:57Everything that they have done is virtually to prime themselves
02:00to do something against Trinidad and Tobago.
02:03So again, to all the haters of the United States,
02:06understand that the value of the United States being here
02:08is going to play a very big part towards the safety and security of Trinidad and Tobago.
02:12The former minister also believes that the U.S.
02:15can also assist the country in other areas.
02:17And if they were to leave, it will have a negative impact.
02:20What we need to do is to start to embrace and accept the fact
02:23that we can utilize the support of the United States,
02:27not just in trying to protect us,
02:28but in providing resources, technology, training, equipment.
02:32If it is that people do not understand,
02:34if the U.S. leave, it is not going to be a blessing.
02:38It is going to affect Trinidad and Tobago.
02:40Dominic Ramroop, TV6 News.
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