DEFENSE SECRETARY CARTER SAYS U.S. AND U.K. SECURITY TIES STRONG

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT

Right:  U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter and British Defense Secretary Michael C. Fallon brief reporters during a joint news conference at the Pentagon, March 11, 2015. The leaders met beforehand to discuss security and other matters of mutual importance. DoD photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Sean Hurt. 
Carter: U.S., U.K. Maintain Strong Security Ties
By Claudette Roulo
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, March 11, 2015 – The security ties between the United States and the United Kingdom are enduring and exceptional, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said today in a joint news conference with British Defense Secretary Michael C. Fallon.

For 200 years -- since the signing of the Treaty of Ghent, ending the war of 1812 -- service members from the U.S. and the U.K. have flown together, sailed together and fought together, Carter said.

“And our military collaboration in so many different areas -- from Iraq to Afghanistan -- reinforces the fact that our ‘special relationship’ is a cornerstone of both of our nations’ security,” he said.

The news conference was a first for both leaders -- it was Fallon’s first visit to the Pentagon and Carter’s first trip to the briefing room as defense secretary.
During their meeting before the news conference, the two secretaries discussed the “full scope of issues on which the United States and the United Kingdom are leading together around the world,” Carter said.

Multifaceted Partnership

The U.K. is a stalwart member of the global coalition fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Carter said, noting British contributions in the air and on the ground.

“As we continue to support local forces, the United States is fortunate to have our British allies by our side,” he said.

From the beginning of combat operations in Afghanistan, the U.K. was steadfast in its support, Carter said, and it continues that support as the mission evolves by providing hundreds of troops to train, advise and assist Afghan security forces.
“Their efforts will be critical to making sure that our progress there sticks,” Carter said.

In the Baltics, the U.S. and U.K. are working together to reassure their transatlantic allies and deter further Russian aggression, he said.
Support to Ukraine

“The United States has been clear from the outset of the crisis in Ukraine that we support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” Carter said. “And we’ve been very clear that if Russia continues to flout the commitments it made in the September and February Minsk agreements, the costs to Russia will continue to rise -- including and especially through sanctions in coordination with our European allies and partners.”

The United States will continue to support Ukraine’s right to defend itself, he said. The White House announced today that it plans to provide Kiev with an additional $75 million in nonlethal security assistance and more than 200 Humvees, Carter noted.

“This brings U.S. security assistance to Ukraine to a total of nearly $200 million, with the new funds going towards unmanned aerial vehicles for improved surveillance, a variety of radios and other secure communications equipment, counter-mortar radars, military ambulances, first-aid kits and other medical supplies,” he said.

The additional assistance underscores the reassurance mission, Carter said, noting the impending arrival of troops and equipment from the U.S. Army’s 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division to train with regional allies as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve.

“And since Russia’s aggression began last year, the United Kingdom has also stepped up militarily, contributing to NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission and serving as a framework nation for NATO’s Very-high Readiness Joint Task Force,” he said.

NATO Endures

The NATO mission’s importance is demonstrated by alliance members’ commitment, agreed to last year in Wales, to invest two percent of their gross domestic product in defense, Carter said.

“Seventy years after we declared victory in Europe, our NATO allies -- and indeed the world -- still look to both [the U.S. and UK] as leaders,” he said. “And it’s clear that the threats and challenges we face -- whether they manifest through cyberattacks, ISIL’s foreign fighters, or Russian aircraft flying aggressively close to NATO’s airspace -- all of those will continue to demand our leadership.”

Leadership requires investment in innovation and modernized capabilities, in prudent reforms and in the forces necessary to meet national security obligations, Carter said.

“These are investments that both our nations -- and both our defense institutions -- must not only make, but embrace in the months and years to come,” he said.

SECRETARY KERRY MAKES REMARKS WITH GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER STEINMEIER

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Remarks With German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Ben Franklin Room
Washington, DC
March 11, 2015

SECRETARY KERRY: Well, good evening, everybody. It’s a distinct pleasure for me to welcome someone who’s become a really good friend in the course of our diplomatic travels, Frank-Walter Steinmeier of Germany, a man who may spend as many hours as I do in the air, moving around.

We saw each other, literally, just about a week ago in Paris, where we met with our British counterpart, the British foreign secretary, and Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius of France. And there we had a long discussion about a number of issues, most importantly about the Iran negotiations. As everybody knows, this is a P5+1 negotiating process. Our critical partners in this effort are every member – Russia, China, Germany, France, Great Britain – and we are united in our position, all of us, that it is critical to be able to have accountability and certainty with respect to the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program.

We spoke at length in Paris about the areas where we are still witnessing gaps, and we hope very much that over the course of the next days, we can close those gaps. But Germany has been an indispensable partner in this process. The German scientists, German nuclear experts have spent significant time analyzing proposals, helping us to understand options, and have really contributed significantly to our ability to be at a critical moment in these negotiations. And I think we would agree, both of us, that now it is inherent in – it’s really important that Iran make fundamental choices, as we are making fundamental choices, in order to try to prove to the world as effectively as possible that there will be no path to a nuclear weapon and that the world can be certain of the activities that Iran is engaged in.

In many ways – I don’t know if you’ve seen – there’ve been some articles recently that have been written about the indispensable role that Germany is playing in many different areas, and I want to second that. I agree. Germany is Europe’s chief facilitating officer, to quote one of those articles, and German-French leadership has been essential with respect to the effort to try to create a Minsk agreement that has meaning. I personally admire and respect the efforts that Chancellor Merkel made together with President Hollande to take a risk for peace, to take a risk to go to Minsk when nobody knew with certainty what the outcome would be, and to make their best effort to give some diplomatic energy to the effort to bring about peace.

We all have still some outstanding questions regarding that process – all of us, including Germany. We all insist that the withdrawal of heavy weapons needs to take place on both parts, and we all insist that it is critical that Russia cease its support for violations of the integrity of Ukraine and its sovereignty. And it is vital to the ability to be able to guarantee a Europe that is whole and peaceful and free to be able to make certain that this Minsk agreement is, in fact, implemented.

Just today, Frank, we announced an additional round of sanctions with respect to Ukraine on a number of different individuals, on a number of entities, bank, and also on some Yanukovych associates. And so we are all anxious to get to a day when this is de-escalated and when we can see a different prospect for minimizing the possibilities of confrontation.

Finally, let me just say that Germany’s leadership and partnership with respect to Afghanistan has also been critical. As we look at the issue of continued engagement with President Ghani and Afghanistan and the efforts to try to sustain the troop training program that is taking place, Germany is also playing a key role in that. So it is with pleasure that I welcome my counterpart from Germany here. I look forward to reciprocating. We spent a wonderful evening in Berlin, where we had an opportunity to talk into the late hours. I’m afraid it’s already late for our traveling friends – (laughter) – so we’ll have to arrange a different scenario here, but it’s really a pleasure to have you here, Frank. Thank you.

FOREIGN MINISTER STEINMEIER: (Via interpreter.) Thank you, John, for inviting me to Washington. Thank you very much indeed for the time that you are devoting to me at the end of a very long day that you’ve already put behind yourself. I remember our last and latest meeting. We met only at the end of last week in Paris, and I think in the days preceding that weekend, we met at least every week, if not even more often than that, be it in Berlin, Munich, Vienna, Geneva, Brussels, London, or in many other places on this earth. It’s simply necessary in times like these, where we are confronting with a great number of different crises and have to tackle these crises.

But let me also be very clear I have very fond memories of your last visit to Berlin, because we not only had a political exchange, it was also a visit that came about because we celebrated a particular anniversary: the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. And we talked to those people who put their lives at risk in order to bring down the Wall or to climb over the Wall at the time where it was still standing in order to get into the western part of Berlin, and many of them gave their lives in that attempt. We spoke with young people during your visit who haven’t had any experience of the Wall because they were born after the Wall came down. And for me, too, that was a very moving experience, a moving day, the day where you came to Berlin to celebrate with us.

That is a day that reminded us of the great values that both our countries stand up for and for which we are willing to stand up and fight for. I’ve back – I’ve been back in office for roughly a year now, and I’m in a position to look back to, let pass and review the many crises that we’re confronted with, be it Libya or Syria; be it Iraq or African countries, African conflicts. Afghanistan – our job is not quite done yet there. A new mission has begun. All of that illustrates that we need to be in close touch, need to exchange views and coordinate actions, need to talk to each other – not only on occasions like your visit to Berlin or my visit today here in Washington. We’re in regular contact, in touch, be it on the phone or be it directly, trying to coordinate our actions and the next steps.

That is a good thing, and we will keep up that practice, especially with an eye to the two major conflicts in which both our countries are engaged, trying to develop solutions – Ukraine, that is; Iraq, on the other hand – Iran, on the other hand. The negotiations that took place in Minsk on the 12th of February – this Minsk package, as we call it – and I made that point more than once – may not be perfect, but it may – it is probably the only, perhaps even the last possibility, given the process of escalation, to reduce the level of violence, to initiate a process of de-escalation, and to make sure that the number of casualties we’ve seen on a daily basis is being brought down.

Today, we’re at a point where it’s far too early to pat our shoulders and take pride in what we have achieved. Both of us are far from being happy or satisfied with what we have been able to achieve so far. We have to keep up the pressure on the conflict parties. On the way to Washington, I once again used the opportunity to talk to Sergei Lavrov on the phone in order to make it very clear that wherever the ceasefire is violated, both sides have to try to make sure that the daily violations of the ceasefire come to an end, so as to allow us to enter another stage in the process of implementing the Minsk agreements. To begin that is to prepare the ground for a political settlement. First steps have been taken, but much still needs to be done, especially with an eye to the urgently-required economic stabilization of the country. The country is under enormous pressure. The decisions of the IMF can serve as a first step of providing help and assistance here.

Now, as far as Iran is concerned – and John Kerry made the point earlier – we used the opportunity last week in Paris to talk to our European partners, France and Great Britain, and to harmonize a common approach which hopefully will take us into the final round of negotiations in the search for a solution. For more than a decade, that conflict has been with us. I have been involved with – in this process in different positions, in different functions – as the foreign minister during my first stint; now again. Thus, I may be permitted to say that for the very first time in those 10 years, I’m under the impression that negotiations in the last year have been of a serious nature. Progress has been visible. But again, both of us are convinced that not all impediments have been cleared away, and thus everyone is called upon to continue to – Iran is called upon to continue to negotiate in a spirit – in a serious spirit. And we ask and urge Iran to show and express its readiness to enter into a compromise.

This is not a choice between a good or a bad deal. It’s very clear what we want to see. We want to be very clear in that what we want to see is that it is made impossible for Iran to acquire a nuclear bomb. It has to be made clear – unequivocally clear. It has to be something that can be reviewed, and we want to see that achieved on a long-term basis. Thank you very much.

SECRETARY KERRY: I also forgot to mention that we are providing some $75 million to Ukraine immediately in nonlethal military assistance, including vehicles, MRAPs[1], and so forth. And I’m sure one of the things we’ll discuss tonight is what further assistance might or might not be necessary going forward. So also, vielen dank.

FOREIGN MINISTER STEINMEIER: Vielen dank. Thanks.

TWO MEN RECEIVE 25-YEAR PRISON SENTENCE FOR PROVIDING MATERIAL SUPPORT TO TERRORISTS

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Monday, February 23, 2015
Two Men Who Provided Material Support to Terrorists and Plotted to Kill American Targets in Afghanistan Receive 25-Year Prison Terms

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin, U.S Attorney Stephanie Yonekura of the Central District of California and Assistant Director in Charge David Bowdich of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office announced today that two men with ties to the Inland Empire region of California were each sentenced today to 300 months in federal prison for participating in plots to provide material support to terrorists and to kill American personnel.

The two men sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Virginia A. Phillips are Sohiel Omar Kabir, 37, a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in Afghanistan and who until late 2011, resided in Pomona, California; and Ralph Deleon, 26, of Ontario, a lawful permanent resident and citizen of the Philippines.

Last summer, Kabir and Deleon were convicted by a federal jury for their role in a plot to travel overseas to fight against U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan and elsewhere.  Specifically, the jury convicted Kabir and Deleon of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists and conspiring to murder United States military and government personnel.  The jury also found Kabir guilty of conspiring to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, namely Al-Qa’ida, and conspiring to receive military-type training from Al-Qa’ida.  In addition, the jury convicted defendant Deleon of conspiring to murder, maim, or kindap overseas.        

Two other defendants who were indicted in the case in 2012 – Miguel Alejandro Santana Vidriales and Arifeen David Gojali – previously pleaded guilty and are scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Phillips on March 16, 2015.

“This case demonstrates the need for vigilance and swift action to counter the false allure of violent extremism,” said U.S. Attorney Yonekura.  “When confronted with young Americans who succumbed to the empty promises of violent extremism and sought to assist a terrorist group in killing American soldiers abroad, law enforcement acted swiftly to eliminate the threat.”

“The defendants betrayed the citizens of the United States by supporting terror and conspiring to murder military members serving overseas” said Assistant Director in Charge Bowdich.  “The lengthy prison sentences handed to Mr. Kabir and Mr. DeLeon should send a clear message to those who support terror groups that the FBI and our partners are committed to preventing deadly plots hatched either at home or abroad targeting the United States.”

The evidence presented during last year’s trial showed Kabir introduced Deleon and Santana to radical Islamic ideology in 2010.  Kabir left the United States in the final days of 2011, arriving in Afghanistan in July 2012.  While in Afghanistan, Kabir continued to communicate with Deleon and others, encouraging them to join him in Afghanistan. Kabir told the group that he had contacts with terrorist organizations and that, when they arrived, he and the group would join “the Students” – referring to the Taliban – and later “the Professors” – referring to Al-Qa’ida.

Deleon, Kabir, and others involved in the plot were heavily influenced by the doctrine of now-deceased Al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula spokesman Anwar Al-Awlaki and other advocates of violent jihad, whose teachings they frequently invoked during their planning and preparation in this case.

In September 2012, Deleon recruited Gojali to join the plot to travel overseas to engage in violent jihad.  As part of their planning and preparation, Deleon led Santana and Gojali in training activities in southern California, including participating in paintball activities and traveling to firearms ranges to fire AK-47s and other assault weapons, which they expected to use in future fighting.

The men made plans to rejoin Kabir, who had relocated to Kabul, Afghanistan.  In effort to avoid detection by law enforcement, Deleon and the others planned to cross the border into Mexico by land and from there to travel to the Middle East by air.  In November 2012, Deleon purchased airline tickets for the group.  On Nov. 16, 2012, the FBI arrested Deleon, Santana, and Gojali as they departed a Chino apartment in a car driven by one of Deleon’s associates intending to drive to Mexico.  Kabir was taken into custody by American military personnel in Afghanistan.

The investigation into this terrorism scheme was conducted by the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) in Riverside, California.  The Riverside JTTF is comprised of members from the following agencies: Riverside County Sheriff’s Office; Riverside Police Department; San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department; Beaumont Police Department; Ontario Police Department; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; the U.S. Attorney’s Office; and the FBI.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Allen W. Chiu, Christopher D. Grigg and Susan J. DeWitt of the Central District of California, and Trial Attorneys Annamartine Salick and Josh Parecki of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

DEFENSE SECRETARY CARTER STOPPED IN KANDAHAR TO THANK TROOPS

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT

Right:  U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter talks with troops on Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, Feb. 22, 2015. Carter answered a range of questions and thanked troops for their service. DoD photo by Glenn Fawcett.  

By Cheryl Pellerin
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Feb. 22, 2015 – As part of his first official trip to Afghanistan as defense secretary, Ash Carter made a stop in Kandahar today to thank U.S. troops there for their dedication to the mission and the progress they and their NATO and Afghan allies have achieved.

His visit was to the Train Advise and Assist Command South, or TAAC South, formerly Regional Command South. The command’s area of responsibility includes the provinces of Kandahar, Uruzgan, Zabul and Daykundi.

The U.S. 1st Cavalry Division is what is called the TAAC South framework element, and contributing countries include Romania, Slovakia, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Australia, Jordan and Georgia.

At TAAC South’s Kandahar Airfield headquarters, Carter told the troops that they are his priority.

Thanking the Troops

“You're what I wake up to every morning” he said. “I never forget for one minute that you're here and what you're doing, the sacrifice that being here entails and the risk that it entails for you.”

He thanked the troops personally and on behalf of the Defense Department and the nation.

While in Afghanistan, the secretary will assess progress being made in the country so he can determine future actions and make recommendations to President Barack Obama, he told service members.

The train, advise and assist mission is becoming the heart of the effort in Afghanistan that will make permanent the success that U.S. and coalition troops have sacrificed so much for, Carter said.

An Important Country in the World

“We'll never be gone from Afghanistan because Afghanistan is an important country in the world,” he added, “but when our presence here is reduced to something much smaller than today, we want to make sure that the Afghans themselves are able to preserve the environment our forces have created over the last few years, one of relative security and stability.”

Carter told the men and women in uniform that he’d met with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Dr. Abdulla Abdullah in Kabul.

“There's one thing President Ghani said that I want to share with you. He said, ‘Would you please tell your people that I appreciate the sacrifice they have made for my country.’”

Carter said, “Just think about that -- remember that.”

Questions From the Troops

Before giving each service member a coin and having his picture taken with them, Carter took questions from his audience that ranged from cybersecurity to military retirement to downsizing the force. But first he commented on the coins.
“Let me tell you a little bit about the coin. … I'm so new they haven't made coins with my name on them yet, so I'm sorry about that. It's a more generic secretary of defense coin. It may not be as valuable on eBay as an Aston B. Carter coin,” he said to laughter from the audience, “but you can trade up later.”
His first question was about the cyber dimension of building a force of the future.
“Cyber has to be part of building the force of the future -- is in fact part of the force of right now,” the defense secretary said.

Leveraging Technology

One of the reasons the United States has the finest fighting force the world has ever seen is because of the way the nation leverages technology, Carter said, especially information technology.

The field is exploding and it's everywhere in the world, he added, “and that means if we don't change and we don't keep up, we can't keep our position as the best in the world.”

The United States has a substantial lead in cyberspace now, Carter said, “and there’s no reason why we can't keep it.”

“The reason we'll stay the greatest is that we'll keep striving to be at the forefront,” the secretary added. “And in today's world the only way to be excellent is to be open to ideas from the outside. You can't think of everything yourself and you can't do everything yourself.”

Military Retirement System

To a question about the military retirement system, Carter said he’s open to reconsidering the system.

The Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission studied the current system and sent its report to Carter, who said he’s studying it.
“Ultimately under the law I'm required to then tell President Obama what I think about it and I haven't had a chance to do all that yet, and absorb it,” he said.
But Carter added that his starting point is that such a system attracts those who will keep the all-volunteer force healthy in the future and that continues to offer a retirement structure that is attractive and gives recruits appropriate incentives along the way to stay in the military or retire at a time that is best for them and best for the force.

Keeping the All-volunteer Force Healthy

“That’s the criterion that I will principally apply in considering these things,” the secretary added. “It's not about money [or] anything else. It's fundamentally mostly about the health of the force in the future and that's the lens through which I will look at it.”

The military retirement system has financial implications for each individual service member and for the country as a whole, Carter said, but the priority is to make sure the services have the right people.

“Any change we make [should] be one that those already in service don't have to make if they don't want to,” the secretary said, adding that this in line with what the commission recommended.

“I don't want to breach our understanding with you at the time you joined, that's not fair, he told service members.

The services can make alternatives available to those who may join the military in the future, and available to those who are in now, Carter said, “but if we made a deal with you when you first got in, I think we ought to keep that deal.”
Defending the Nation

To a question about downsizing the military at a time when multiple national security challenges face the nation, Carter said he’s adamantly opposed to the budget cuts known as sequestration.

The sequestration process is unwise and unsafe for national security going forward,” he told troops.

“We’ve got to spend enough money on defense to protect our country and protect our interests,” the secretary said. “We just can't have a mindless mechanism that decides what the defense budget is.” The nation, he added, must decide what it needs to protect itself, its interests and its allies, and consider those elements to build a budget.

It’s also imperative, he said, to put every defense dollar to good use.

“My reaction every time somebody says … how are you spending your money? Fair enough. It’s fair enough to be challenged and make sure we're using all that money” in the best possible ways, Carter said.

DEFENSE SECRETARY CARTER MEETS WITH THE AMIR OF KUWAIT

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT

Right:  Defense Secretary Ash Carter, left, meets with the Amir of Kuwait Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah in Kuwait City, Kuwait, Feb. 23, 2015. DoD photo by Glenn Fawcett.  

Carter Thanks Kuwait's Leaders for Strategic Partnership
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Feb. 23, 2015 – In Kuwait, Defense Secretary Ash Carter expressed U.S. appreciation for the strategic partnership between the United States and Kuwait during his meetings with His Highness Amir Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Sheikh Khalid al-Jarrah al-Sabah, Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby said in a statement issued today.

Appreciation for Strategic Partnership

Carter also expressed his thanks for Kuwait's willingness to host U.S. and coalition forces in support of military operations against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Kirby said in the statement.

The leaders also discussed their shared commitment to continue the two nations' close security cooperation during Carter’s leadership of the defense department, Kirby said.

Afghanistan, Middle East Visit

The meetings come at the end of the defense secretary’s first week in office, the admiral said, during which he made it a priority to travel to Afghanistan and the Middle East.

FORMER TALIBAN COMMANDER KILLED BY AIRSTRIKES

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Precision Airstrikes Kill Former Taliban Commander, Associates
By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Feb. 10, 2015 – The Defense Department announced today the deaths of eight individuals, including a former Taliban commander, killed during precision airstrikes in Afghanistan.

Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Adm. John Kirby told Pentagon reporters the airstrikes are a “reminder,” and emphasized using all available methods to dismantle terrorist groups threatening U.S., partner and allied interests.
“Yesterday, U.S. forces in Afghanistan conducted a precision strike in Helmand province,” he said, “resulting in the death of eight individuals, to include Abdul Rauf Khadim, a former Taliban commander.”

“These are both reminders,” Kirby said, “that we’re going to continue to use all the tools at our disposal -- financial, diplomatic, certainly military -- to dismantle al-Shabaab and other groups [and] networks that threaten U.S. interests as well as the interests of our allies and partner nations.”
ISIL Nascent in Afghanistan

Kirby discussed ISIL’s desire to spread to other areas outside of Iraq and Syria.
“We’ve talked about this in the past,” he said, “that this is a group that does want to grow and expand its influence.”

Kirby noted that Army Gen. David M. Rodriguez, commander of U.S. Africa Command, and Army Gen. John F. Campbell, commander of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force, said they “certainly are looking very sharply to see if they’re expanding in other areas outside Iraq and Syria, and we know they have those designs.”

The admiral said he’d describe the group in Afghanistan as “nascent at best.”
“In fact,” Kirby said, “I would say more aspirational than anything else at this point. This guy Khadim -- we assess that he decided to swear allegiance to ISIL probably no more than a couple weeks ago. And he didn’t have a whole lot of depth to any network resources or manpower when he did it.”

Kirby emphasized he was not “diminishing or trying to dismiss” the threat ISIL poses, “but what I’m telling you is, here in this case, it’s nascent and aspirational, and that would be an aggressive characterization right now.”

The admiral noted Khadim, and his associates, were targeted because “we had information that they were planning operations against U.S. and Afghan personnel there in Afghanistan.”

“If they’re going to threaten our interest, our allies, our partners in Afghanistan,” Kirby said, “they’re fair game.”

Recidivism

Additionally, Kirby acknowledged Khadim was a detainee at the Guantanamo detention center before his 2007 release to Afghan authorities in Kabul.
This is a great example, he said, of the long discussion held regarding recidivism.
“We said that they return to the battlefield and to the fight at their own peril,” Kirby said. “Mr. Khadim is proof of that.”

TWO U.S. ARMY SERGEANTS PLEAD GUILTY TO ACCEPTING BRIBES FROM AFGHAN TRUCK DRIVERS

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Two U.S. Army Sergeants Plead Guilty to Taking Bribes While Deployed in Afghanistan

Two sergeants with the U.S. Army have pleaded guilty for accepting bribes from Afghan truck drivers at Forward Operating Base Gardez, Afghanistan (FOB Gardez), in exchange for allowing the drivers to take thousands of gallons of fuel from the base for resale on the black market, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Michael J. Moore of the Middle District of Georgia.

James Edward Norris, 41, of Fort Irwin, California, and Seneca Darnell Hampton, 31, of Fort Benning, Georgia, each pleaded guilty before Chief U.S. District Judge Clay D. Land in the Middle District of Georgia to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery of a public official and one count of money laundering.

During their guilty pleas, Hampton and Norris admitted to conspiring with other soldiers stationed at FOB Gardez to solicit and accept approximately $2,000 per day from local Afghan truck drivers in exchange for permitting the truck drivers to take thousands of gallons of fuel from the base.  Hampton admitted that he concealed the scheme by attributing the increase in fuel usage to colder winter temperatures.

Hampton and Norris admitted that they shipped the bribe money back to the United States in tough boxes.  Norris further admitted that on June 7, 2013, after returning from deployment, he purchased a 2008 Cadillac Escalade with $31,000 cash derived from the bribery scheme.  Hampton further admitted that on May 20, 2013, after returning from deployment, he purchased a 2013 GMC Sierra with $29,000 cash derived from the bribery scheme.

As part of their plea agreements, Hampton and Norris agreed to forfeit the proceeds they received from the bribery scheme and the vehicles they purchased with those proceeds, as well as to pay full restitution.  Sentencing has been scheduled for May 21, 2015.

The case is being investigated by the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the Defense Contract Audit Agency, Investigative Support Division.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney John Keller of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section.

REPORT: THREATS TO EUROPE SETTING STAGE FOR NATO MEETING

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
NATO Report Sets Stage for Defense Ministers Meeting
By Jim Garamone
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Feb. 4, 2015 – Last year was not a good year for European security, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said last week.

Stoltenberg called 2014 “a black year” for Europe as he presented NATO’s Annual Report, which sets the stage for the meeting of the alliance’s defense ministers in Brussels this week.

The secretary general discussed the threats to Europe and the North Atlantic Alliance and what NATO needs to do to counter these threats.

“Violent extremism is at our borders,” Stoltenberg said, “spreading turmoil across North Africa and the Middle East and fueling terrorism in our own streets.”

Russia is following a disturbing pattern, Stoltenberg noted, annexing Crimea, threatening the sovereignty of Ukraine, and continuing its efforts to intimidate its neighbors in disregard of international law.

“So our security environment has fundamentally changed,” he added.
Raising Readiness of NATO Forces

NATO already is moving to defend alliance nations, the secretary general said. “Last year, we held over 200 NATO and national exercises,” he added. “One exercise started every two days -- on the ground, at sea, and in the air. And they will continue. So we are raising the readiness of our forces.”

The exercises also serve to reassure allies, Stoltenberg said. “We are maintaining a continuous presence of our forces, by rotation, in the eastern part of our alliance,” he noted. In addition to reassuring allies, he said, that exercise also deters Russia, showing the entire alliance’s determination to defend member nations.

Stoltenberg stated that defense ministers will decide on the size and the composition of the alliance’s new Spearhead Force. They also will determine how to set up NATO command and control units in six of the Eastern NATO nations, turning the readiness action plan decided upon at the NATO summit in Wales into reality, the secretary general said. “This will be the biggest reinforcement of our collective defense since the end of the Cold War,” he added.

Allied aircraft intercepted more than 400 Russian planes in 2014. More than 150 were intercepted by NATO aircraft participating in the alliance’s Baltic Air Policing Mission.

Prepared to Stand With Afghanistan’s Government

NATO has ended combat operations in Afghanistan, but is prepared to stand with the fledgling Afghan unity government as it faces the threats of the Taliban and other terror groups, Stoltenberg said.

The “352,000 Afghan soldiers and police that we have trained took full charge of their country’s security,” he said. “And we launched a new mission to train, advise and assist them.”

The secretary general also discussed money. Collectively, alliance nations spent $852 billion on defense in 2014. By this measurement alone, the alliance is the strongest in the world, he said.

But there has been a steady decline in European defense spending since 1990, Stoltenberg said, “and the decline continued last year.”

Alliance Must Spend More, Spend Better

Last year, the European allies spent about $250 billion on defense -- a reduction of $7 billion, or about 3 percent. But multiplying threats changed views in European capitals, and the NATO leaders pledged to spend 2 percent of gross domestic product on defense in the future.

“We need to spend more, and we need to spend better, to keep our forces ready to deal with any threat,” Stoltenberg said. “We have seen some steps in the right direction, but there is a long way to go.”

In 2014, the Euro-Atlantic order came under threat, the secretary general said. “But … NATO is adapting and looking forward,” he added. “We stand determined to protect our values and keep our nations safe.”

GEN. DEMPSEY MEETS WITH ITALIAN OFFICIALS OVER SECURITY

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 
Dempsey, Italian Officials to Discuss Security Concerns
By Lisa Ferdinando
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

ROME, Jan. 18, 2015 – The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is in Italy to discuss threats to Italy's southern flank and get the Italian perspective on the country's security issues, ahead of a two-day NATO meeting in Brussels.
The Italians are great military partners who have "stepped up in any number of missions," Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey said in an interview here today.
Dempsey, who arrived in Rome earlier in the day, is to meet Monday with his Italian counterpart, Chief of Defense Adm. Luigi Binelli Mantelli, as well as Minister of Defense Roberta Pinotti.

The talks with this "key ally" come at an important time, Dempsey said.
"There have been approximately 160,000 immigrants from North Africa into Italy, (that) puts a huge burden on them, so they have some real concerns about their southern flank," he said.

Dempsey and European defense officials have expressed concern about the possible flow of foreign fighters, via the southern flank.

Dempsey lauded the Italians for their contributions to global military efforts, including in the United Nations mission in Lebanon, and against terrorists with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL.

Italy's leadership in NATO is critical to global security, particularly in the Mediterranean, according to the chairman, who also underscored the U.S. commitment to strong relations with Italy.

Italy and the U.S. are the top two contributors of on-the-ground trainers and advisors who are enabling the Kurds and Iraqis in the fight against extremists, defense officials noted.

There are more than 4,000 Italian service members serving overseas in Kosovo, Lebanon, Afghanistan, and the Horn of Africa on a number of missions, including peacekeeping, training, and counter-piracy missions, they said.
Allies gather in Brussels Wednesday, Thursday "In my three and a half years (as chairman) this is probably going to be the most important meeting of NATO's military leaders during that period," Dempsey said.

It is of such high importance, he said, because the representatives are "going to talk about the hard work that's been done at the staff level to meet those commitments" that were made in September at the Wales summit.

The NATO Military Committee conference in Brussels on Wednesday and Thursday is expected to include discussion on NATO's southern flank, Afghanistan, and efforts against ISIL.

Dempsey said he is looking forward to also hearing from the Italians about Italy's view on Eastern Europe and "aggressiveness" from Russia.

"The way they see it will determine how they balance their priorities and their resources," he said.

"Our relationship vis-a-vis Russia has changed. I don't think it's irreversibly changed," he said. "I think that in the next year, you'll find NATO in particular working toward determining how to react to that changed relationship."
Dempsey highlighted the importance of U.S.-NATO collaboration and maintaining strong ties with European allies.

"It's all about building relationships so that when things don't turn out the way you hope they will, you have a foundation to build on," he said.

DEFENSE SECRETARY HAGEL SPEAKS ABOUT TRANSITIONS

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

Right:  Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel speaks to Marines and sailors aboard Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif., Jan. 13, 2015. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Melissa Eschenbrenner.  
Hagel Discusses Transitions at Miramar Troop Event

By Jim Garamone
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Jan. 14, 2015 – Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel spoke about transitions with Marines and sailors at the Marine Corps Air Station in Miramar, California, yesterday.

Hagel, who himself transitions upon confirmation of his successor, Dr. Ashton B. Carter, spoke about transition in Afghanistan, transition to the Asia-Pacific region and the dynamic nature of the world that requires a U.S. military that can capably perform during peace or war.

The United States is transitioning around the world, the secretary said. In Afghanistan -- where many of the Marines and sailors served -- the United States is working with Afghans as they assume control of their country. And, U.S. Marines are transitioning back to their maritime roots..

Building Capabilities, Capacities in Asia-Pacific

All service members will participate in the U.S. military’s transition to the Asia-Pacific, Hagel said. A cornerstone of that shift will be to build capabilities and capacities of allies in the region, he said. This will become “more and more a critical component of our own strategic interests as we continue to help our allies build their capabilities,” the secretary said.

The United States will support those countries, “but we can't take on all of the challenges by ourselves,” Hagel said. “They must do it as well.”

The world is a dynamic, ever-changing place, and the American military must be ready, the secretary said. A year ago, he said, no one would have forecast the advance of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant or the Ebola crisis in West Africa or the Russian actions in Ukraine.

Cybersecurity Concerns

Other actions need to be countered as well, the secretary said. Cyberspace remains vulnerable, Hagel said. The cyberattack on Sony Pictures, and the cyberattack on U.S. Central Command public sites are two of the more recent examples of the vulnerability, he said.

The Defense Department’s people are key to success, Hagel said. The secretary urged Marines and sailors in the audience to take care of each other.

“We don’t take care of each other just on the battlefield,” Hagel said. “We’ve got to take care of each other in dorms, in bars, on bases, at parties. You take care of each other, you trust each other, and you have to rely on each other, again, not just in war, but this is a family, and we let each other down if we don’t do that.”
The secretary thanked the service members for what they do for the United States every day. He also thanked the families.

“Again, I want to thank you for what you do for this country, what you’ve done for our country, what you will do for this country,” Hagel said. “It’s been a privilege to be your secretary of defense.”

AFGHANISTAN: COMBAT MISSION ENDS BUT, ASSISTANCE CONTINUES

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT

℠2014 - U.S. forces will continue to assist counterparts in Afghanistan.

U.S. CONTRACTOR'S FORMER EMPLOYEE INDICTED FOR BRIBERY

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Former Employee of U.S. Contractor in Afghanistan Indicted for Bribery
A former employee of a U.S. contractor was indicted today in the Eastern District of Texas for allegedly soliciting and accepting bribes in exchange for his influence in awarding U.S. government-funded contracts in Afghanistan, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney John Malcolm Bales of the Eastern District of Texas.

George E. Green, 57, of Carrollton, Texas, was charged with conspiracy to structure financial transactions to avoid currency transaction reporting requirements, wire fraud and receipt of bribes in connection with a program receiving federal funds.

According to the indictment, Green was the former director of contracts, procurement and grants for International Relief and Development Inc. (IRD), and was part of a cooperative agreement between IRD and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) that sought to promote long-term agricultural development in specific areas in Afghanistan.

The indictment alleges that while working for IRD in Afghanistan, Green solicited and received bribes totaling $66,000 from a representative of an Afghan firm that contracted with IRD.  Some of those bribe payments were allegedly wired directly to an Italian automobile dealer for Green’s benefit.  After returning to Texas, Green allegedly attempted to conceal the bribe proceeds by engaging in a conspiracy to structure cash deposits into his bank and credit card accounts to avoid mandatory cash reporting requirements.  Additionally, even after leaving IRD, Green allegedly continued to solicit bribes from the Afghan firm by falsely claiming that he still had the ability to influence the contracting process.

The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

This case is being investigated by the Office of Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), FBI and USAID Office of Inspector General.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Mark H. Dubester on detail to the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section from SIGAR and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin McClendon of the Eastern District of Texas.

U.S. CONDEMNS TALIBAN ATTACKS ON SCHOOL IN PAKISTAN

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 
U.S. Stands With Pakistanis, Afghans Against Taliban
By Jim Garamone
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16, 2014 – The United States condemns the deadly Taliban attack on a Pakistani school and remains committed to bringing stability to the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby said today, emphasizing that the end of the NATO combat mission does not mean an end to U.S. involvement in the region.

The attack on the school in Peshawar is the latest manifestation of the savagery of the Taliban, Kirby said, noting that Pakistan remains a front-line state in the battle against terrorism and extremists and has suffered major casualties in the struggle against the Taliban. While U.S.-Pakistani relations have been rocky at times over the past decade, both countries share the fight, the admiral said, and added that today’s terrorist attack will not change that.

“I think we have certainly made it clear to Pakistan that we’re willing to help in the wake of this attack should they want or need any,” the admiral said. “There’s been no request for U.S. assistance. But we’ve certainly made it obvious that we’re willing to assist in any way we can.”

The attack on the school killed more than 140 children and teachers.
Across the border in Afghanistan the mission will change, Kirby said, but American and partner nations will continue their commitment to Afghan stability.

With Afghan forces now in charge of security, reporters asked Kirby whether they would be able to defend against an attack like the one in Pakistan. “The Afghan national security forces are very capable,” Kirby said. “They are already leading security operations in their country, and for all intents and purposes, are … conducting all the combat missions inside Afghanistan.”

Afghan forces secured both national elections this year and while there has been an upsurge in violence in Kabul, Afghan forces have handled the situations well, he noted. Officials expected the recent spate of Taliban attacks inside the capital as the NATO mission transitions. Kirby said the attacks are a Taliban tactic to “divert attention from the fact that real progress has been made and that Afghanistan is a more safe and secure environment than it was even just six months ago.”

Afghanistan is still a dangerous place, the admiral said, but no one is walking away from it.

DOD VIDEO: SECRETARY HAGEL ON DELAY IN WITHDRAWING TROOPS FROM AFGHANISTAN

DOD VIDEO: REGIONAL COMMAND EAST CLOSES OPERATIONS IN AFGHANISTAN

U.S. MARINES AND U.K. SERVICE MEMBERS LEAVE HELMAND BASES IN HANDS OF AFGHAN FORCES

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT

Left:  Marines and sailors with Marine Expeditionary Brigade Afghanistan load onto a KC-130 aircraft at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan’s Helmand province, Oct. 27, 2014. The Marine Corps ended its mission in Helmand province the day prior. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. John Jackson.  

Marines, Brits Turn Over Helmand Bases to Afghan Forces
By Marine Corps 1st Lt. Skye Martin
Regional Command Southwest

HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan, Oct. 27, 2014 – U.S. Marines and service members from the United Kingdom left Regional Command Southwest in Afghanistan’s Helmand province today, turning their facilities over to the Afghan security forces.

The lift-off followed a ceremony held at the former command post of Marine Expeditionary Brigade Afghanistan at Camp Leatherneck, signifying the transfer of Camps Bastion and Leatherneck to the control of the Afghan National Army’s 215th Corps.

Regional Command Southwest is the first of the International Security Assistance Force commands to transfer authority to the Afghan national security forces as ISAF moves toward the Resolute Support mission that begins in 2015.
During the past year, Bosnia, Estonia, Denmark, Georgia, Jordan and Tonga ended their operations in Regional Command Southwest.
‘A very, very tough area’

Army Gen. John F. Campbell, ISAF commander, acknowledged that Helmand has been a “very, very tough area,” and he expressed confidence in the Afghan forces. “We feel very confident with the Afghan security forces as they continue to grow in their capacity and they continue to work better between the police and the army," he said.

Above:  U.S. Marine Corps and British Royal Air Force helicopters fly in formation after departing Camp Bastion in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, Oct. 27, 2014. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. John Jackson.

Army Lt. Gen. Joseph Anderson, commander of ISAF Joint Command, echoed that confidence. "We lift off confident in the Afghans’ ability to secure the region,” he said. “The mission has been complex, difficult and dangerous. Everyone has made tremendous sacrifices, but those sacrifices have not been in vain."

Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Daniel D. Yoo, commander of Marine Expeditionary Brigade Afghanistan, said today’s transfer is a sign of progress. “It's not about the coalition,” he said. “It is really about the Afghans and what they have achieved over the last 13 years. What they have done here is truly significant.”
The Marines, sailors and British service members flew to Kandahar Airfield after the ceremony and will return home in the coming weeks.

U.S. ANNOUNCES EXTRADITION OF HAROON ASWAT FROM THE U.K. IN ORDER TO FACE TERRORISM CHARGES

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Haroon Aswat Extradited from the United Kingdom to the Southern District of New York to Face Terrorism Charges

Assistant Attorney General for National Security  John Carlin, United States Attorney Preet Bharara for the Southern District of New York, Assistant Director-in-Charge George Venizelos of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Commissioner William J. Bratton of the New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the extradition of Haroon Aswat from the United Kingdom to face charges of conspiring to provide and providing material support to al Qaeda and terrorists for attempting to establish a terrorist training camp in the United States.

Aswat was arrested in Zambia in July 2005, and in August 2005, Aswat was deported from Zambia to the United Kingdom, where he was arrested pursuant to a provisional warrant that was issued in response to a request by the U.S. government in connection with this case.  On Sept. 4, 2014, the United Kingdom ordered Aswat extradited to the United States on the charges described below.  In coordination with British authorities, Aswat was extradited from the United Kingdom to the Southern District of New York on Oct. 21, 2014.  Aswat will make his first court appearance later today before U.S. District Judge Katherine B. Forrest.

According to the allegations contained in the Indictment, statements made at related court proceedings, and evidence presented at prior trials:

In late 1999, Aswat, along with co-defendants Mustafa Kamel Mustafa, aka Abu Hamza (Abu Hamza), Ouassama Kassir, and Earnest James Ujaama, attempted to create a terrorist training camp in the United States to support al Qaeda, which has been designated by the United States Secretary of State as a foreign terrorist organization.  Aswat conspired with Abu Hamza, Kassir and Ujaama to establish the terrorist training camp on a rural parcel of property located in Bly, Oregon.  The purpose of the Bly, Oregon, camp was for Muslims to receive various types of training – including military-style jihad training – in preparation to fight jihad in Afghanistan.  As used by the conspirators in this case, the term “jihad” meant defending Islam against purported enemies through violence and armed aggression, including, if necessary, by using murder to expel non-believers from Muslim holy lands.

In a letter faxed from Ujaama, in the United States, to Abu Hamza, in the United Kingdom, the property in Bly was described as a place that “looks just like Afghanistan,” and the letter noted that the men at Bly were “stock-piling weapons and ammunition.”  In late 1999, after transmission of the faxed letter, Abu Hamza directed Aswat and Kassir, both of whom resided in London, England, and attended Abu Hamza’s mosque there, to travel to Oregon to assist in establishing the camp.  On Nov. 26, 1999, Aswat and Kassir arrived in New York, and then traveled to Bly.

Aswat and Kassir traveled to Bly for the purpose of training men to fight jihad.  Kassir told witnesses that he supported Usama Bin Laden and al Qaeda, and that he had previously received jihad training in Pakistan.  Kassir also possessed a compact disc that contained instructions on how to make bombs and poisons.  After leaving Bly, Aswat and Kassir traveled to Seattle, Washington, where they resided at a mosque for approximately two months.  While in Seattle, Kassir, in Aswat’s presence, provided men from the mosque with additional terrorist training lessons – including instructions on different types of weapons, how to construct a homemade silencer for a firearm, how to assemble and disassemble an AK-47, and how an AK-47 could be altered to be fully automatic and to launch a grenade.  On another occasion, with Aswat sitting by his side, Kassir announced to the men in Seattle that he had come to the United States for martyrdom and to destroy, and he informed his audience that some of them could die or get hurt.

In September 2002, special agents from the FBI recovered a ledger, among other items, from an al Qaeda safe house in Karachi, Pakistan.  The ledger listed a number of individuals associated with al Qaeda, including Aswat. The al Qaeda safe house was used by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, al Qaeda’s chief operational planner and the alleged planner of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.

On May 12, 2009, after a four-week jury trial in the Southern District of New York, Kassir was found guilty of charges relating to his efforts to establish the terrorist training camp in Bly, and his operation of several terrorist websites.  On Sept. 15, 2009, U.S. District Judge John F. Keenan sentenced Kassir to life in prison.

On May 19, 2014, after a four-week jury trial in the Southern District of New York, Abu Hamza was found guilty of charges relating to his role in the conspiracy to establish the terrorist training camp in Bly, as well as his role in a hostage-taking in Yemen in 1998 that resulted in four deaths, and his support of violent jihad in Afghanistan in 2000 and 2001.  Abu Hamza is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 9, 2015, before U.S. District Judge Katherine B. Forrest.

U.S. Attorney Bharara praised the outstanding efforts of the FBI’s Manhattan-based Joint Terrorism Task Force, which principally consists of agents and detectives of the FBI and the NYPD, the United States Marshals Service, and the Metropolitan Police Department of London, England.  U.S. Attorney Bharara also thanked the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Security Division and Office of International Affairs, and the United States Department of State for their ongoing assistance.

This case is being handled by the Office’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys John P. Cronan and Ian McGinley are in charge of the prosecution.

The allegations contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARKS WITH AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER ABBOT

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 

Remarks With Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott Before Their Meeting

Remarks

John Kerry

Secretary of State

Jakarta, Indonesia

October 20, 2014

PRIME MINISTER ABBOTT: Well, John, look, it's terrific to have yourself here to talk and to share (inaudible) very important issues, from the situation in the Middle East to the situation (inaudible) to all the other areas where the United States and Australia have a very, very close relationship. I appreciate the tremendous leadership the United States shows with the world. I'm grateful for (inaudible) today, because I think it's (inaudible) and that you can be here to help honor the incoming Indonesian President. Australia has had a long, strong relationship with Indonesia. Prime Minister Howard attended the inauguration of President (inaudible) back in 2004. And I hope the tradition that's now been established of Australian prime ministers attending the inaugurations of Indonesian presidents, and perhaps a similar tradition (inaudible) established (inaudible) secretaries of state.

But it's good to be with you, and I'm looking forward to (inaudible).

SECRETARY KERRY: Well, thank you, Prime Minister. It's a privilege to (inaudible), and I appreciate enormously your taking a moment to share (inaudible), and I bring you President Obama's strong greetings and great gratitude of him and all of (inaudible) Australians major stepping up with respect to the coalition. As we said when Secretary Hagel and I were in Sydney, we couldn't have a stronger partner, and we're very, very grateful for Australia's consistent willingness to step up and stand for values, as well as (inaudible) that are important to us.

We couldn't agree more about the inauguration today, the meaning of this, not just in Indonesia, but in the region. It's very, very important, obviously: you're here and, while the President couldn't come, he was very anxious to make sure we were represented at a high level here.

I do want to say that your efforts with respect to foreign fighters, which you regrettably have to experience even at a lower level, brings home to everybody how important it is for this to be a global coalition, and for all of us to understand the stakes. We were well served in the last couple of days as the Iraqis themselves chose a minister of interior and a minister of defense. That's particularly helpful for the planning and implementing of our efforts.

So, I look forward to talk with to you about that, about Iran (inaudible), Afghanistan, the DPRK, the South China Sea. There are a lot of issues for us to chat about. So again, it's good to be with you, and thank you so much for (inaudible).

SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARKS WITH CHINESE STATE COUNCILOR JIECHI

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 

Remarks With Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi Before Their Meeting

Remarks

John Kerry

Secretary of State

Taj Hotel

Boston, Massachusetts

October 18, 2014

SECRETARY KERRY: Good morning, everybody. I just want to say a couple things. First, my great pleasure to welcome the State Councilor of China Yang Jiechi to Boston. We have a great deal that we will be talking about and already began last night with a very informal and pleasant dinner. But there are many issues that China and the United States are cooperating on, even as we have some differences that we try to manage effectively. But right now, particularly on Ebola, on Afghanistan, on the Democratic Republic of North – of Korea, the North Korea nuclear situation, on Iran particularly, and on ISIL and counterterrorism, and on climate change. There are many areas where we are working hard.

So we look forward to some good discussions today. And on another note, I might just report we had a very positive step forward in Iraq today with the selection of a minister of the interior and a minister of defense. These were critical positions to be filled in order to assist with the organizing effort with respect to ISIL. So we’re very pleased. We congratulate Prime Minister Abadi and we look forward to working with them as we continue to grow the coalition and move forward.

So thank you for being here, State Councilor.

STATE COUNCILOR YANG: Well, friends from (inaudible), it’s a great pleasure to see you here today. (Inaudible) invitation of Secretary John Kerry, I have the great pleasure to visit this beautiful city of Boston. And the purpose of my visit to Boston and then to Washington is really to pave the ground for President Obama’s visit to China in November and also for participation of the President in the APEC informal leadership meeting to be hosted by China.

I think the Sunnylands meeting between President Xi Jinping and President Obama was very successful. Two countries have decided to work to build this new model of major country relationship between China and the United States. Since then, much progress has been made in our relationship. Lately, the Secretary himself went to China to participate in the S&ED discussion with the Chinese side. We believe that we should continue to work together to deepen our mutual trust and to put our efforts to the major areas of cooperation while on the basis of mutual respect we can properly handle any kind of difference between us.

I think the Asia Pacific region is a very important region. We need to work together to build up even more cooperation between China and the United States in the area because this is the area which has experienced robust economic development, and I’m sure that the APEC meeting will go further to bring about more connectivity, innovative development, and to shape a greater future for the region.

There are also quite a few issues in the world, as the Secretary State has mentioned. I believe that in terms of climate change, Ebola, and we have to address the (inaudible) issues and so on, so forth, China and the United States have a lot to discuss today and beyond.

I would like to thank the Secretary for his warm hospitality. I’m sure that our discussion will be both constructive and productive. I’m sure that China-U.S. relationship will be on the way up.

Thank you very much.

SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARKS AT U.S.-ASEAN BUSINESS COUNCIL GALA RECEPTION

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 

Remarks at the U.S-ASEAN Business Council 30th Anniversary Gala Reception

Remarks

John Kerry

Secretary of State

Four Seasons Hotel

Washington, DC

October 2, 2014

SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you so much, Evan. Thank you. Wow, thank you. I didn’t know I was going to be interrupting cocktails. (Laughter.) I feel entirely guilty. It’s okay if you don’t eat, but not drinking is really serious. (Laughter.)
Thank you very, very much. It’s sort of complicated to parachute in like this and then race off. And I think I’m hearing music accompanying my speech, which is interesting. (Laughter.) Beg your pardon?

PARTICIPANT: The heavenly choir.

SECRETARY KERRY: Beg your pardon?

PARTICIPANT: The heavenly choir.

SECRETARY KERRY: That’s fine by me, so long as it’s not calling me somewhere. (Laughter.)

But I’m really grateful. Evan, thank you so much for a very generous introduction. And I know I’m all that stands between all of you and dinner, so I will be – try to be respectful of that. On the other hand, this is an important gathering for an important effort, and I want to be very clear to everybody about why that is. Let me start by thanking the U.S.-ASEAN Business Council. I want to congratulate you on an extraordinary 30 years. To get an understanding of why this organization has been so successful, you only have to look to your right, look to your left, look at the leadership of the businesses of that are represented here. I just came from a small reception of a number of the folks who’re sponsoring it. But Evan, Alex Feldman, the president, CEO, others – US-ABC has some of the best and brightest businesses that are participating in – not just this evening, but in the ongoing enterprise of ASEAN efforts. And I thank all of you for your partnership over the years.

It’s also a pleasure to be among a lot of familiar faces. I was walking around, and from where I’m standing there’s – a whole bunch of the State Department is here. (Laughter.) Fair warning, I don’t care how much champagne you drink tonight, you’ve just got to be at work tomorrow morning. (Laughter.) Let me just quickly take this opportunity, if I can, to embarrass somebody who’s in the audience tonight, and he’s one of the most important people on my team. And I’m talking about Assistant Secretary for East Asia and Pacific Danny Russel, who’s standing right over here. (Applause.) When I first became Secretary, President Obama and I sat down to talk about his priorities, among them the Asia rebalance. And we realized that we really needed somebody who had the respect of people in the region and knew the region intimately and had the relationships which are a critical part of any kind of effort in East Asia, as all of you know. And there was never a doubt in President Obama’s mind or my mind who that person had to be. He had worked very closely with Danny in the White House – the President had – and Danny was actually one of the architects of the rebalance.

So before too long, I got to know Danny a lot better. I’d only known him parenthetically. But I’ll tell you, there are few people who understand the region better than he does. He lives it and he breathes it. It’s a mantle that he wears on his shoulders and carries with him all the time, and he loves it. And a year or two ago, just to prove this, I was walking through the White House one day and I passed the Situation Room and I saw Danny sitting across from Henry Kissinger. So I pop my head in and I say, “Henry, you’re giving Danny a briefing on Asia. That’s great.” And he turned to me and said, “No, John. Danny’s the one briefing me.” (Laughter.) Very, very – and it’s true, actually. That’s Danny, and there’s nobody better to drive our policy forward.

I’m also very, very delighted that tonight there are so many members of the diplomatic corps who are here. Thank you all for coming. I met with a number of the ambassadors just as I walked in and others – our ASEAN partner nations – are here in the audience. And I had an opportunity just the other day in New York at this massive speed dating exercise we get involved in in New York called UNGA, the UN General Assembly. So I met with all of the foreign ministers from the region there. We had a session in the evening, several hours. And I also met with our terrific U.S. Ambassador to ASEAN Nina Hachigian, and I think she’s here somewhere. Nina, why don’t you raise your hand? There she is. Our new ambassador right here, folks. (Applause.) She’s got a brother she’s marrying off, and the minute she got rid of him she’s heading out there, right? All right.

As I told everybody on Friday, ASEAN really is front and center in the region’s multilateral architecture, and we want it to remain there. ASEAN is central to upholding the rules-based system throughout the Asia Pacific and is the best way to ensure that countries big and small are going to have a voice as we work together to address the challenges that maritime security present, climate change presents, food security presents, not to mention just working our way through the complicated differentials between countries and barriers, non-tariff barriers, the different impediments to doing business. And it’s critical, because this group actually is creating significant economic opportunities, and the members who are here are helping to foster a very different playing field, which is critical. And I thank all of you for your partnership in that effort.

Lastly, I’m particularly excited to be among a lot of America’s elite business leaders heading up some of the most innovative and exciting businesses in the world. And that includes our own Assistant Secretary for Economic and Business Affairs Charlie Rivkin, who I saw somewhere. There he is right there. We actually had to call Charlie back from Paris where he had been serving as ambassador for a number of years so he could focus fulltime with me on advancing our economic agenda. And the reason we picked Charlie to lead our efforts and to promote American business abroad is very simple: Not a lot of assistant secretaries have been CEO of a billion-dollar company and a U.S. ambassador at the same time overseeing a bilateral relationship that clears one billion in business transactions every day. I might add that diplomacy is also in his blood, because his father, William Rivkin, was one of our finest ambassadors. He served in Luxembourg and Senegal. And Charlie has proven himself more than worthy of his father’s legacy, and we couldn’t be happier than to have him part of our team. So Charlie, thank you for taking on this job. (Applause.)

And the team includes Under Secretary Cathy Novelli, who also came from the private sector, from Apple; and Ambassador David Thorne, who became an ambassador from the private sector; and Scott Nathan, who has been a finance – who’s been engaged in finance, in funds – very, very successful in Boston, and who has joined our team. So we have a team that understands your challenges. They understand what it means to try to start a business, grow a business, open more opportunities, and get your decisions rapidly and get government out of the way as you try to do that, except to the degree that government can help you move forward.

So with so much focus on the challenges that are confronting us today, from ISIL to Ebola to Ukraine to Iran to Syria, and you can run the list, Afghanistan, it can be easy to miss the fact that there are also unprecedented opportunities staring us in the face at this moment, particularly when it comes to business and economic growth. And each and every business leader in this room would tell you that few regions in the world are as ripe for those opportunities as Southeast Asia.

Many of you have been involved initiative his region for decades. US-ABC includes some of the very first American businesses to open up shop in the ASEAN states. So you know better than anybody how dramatic the region’s transformation has been. I will personally never forget my first visit back to Vietnam as a civilian and as a senator in 1991. And I watched with great excitement because I was down in the south of Vietnam in prior years, never in the north. The north we looked at with great sort of trepidation, except for the pilots who obviously flew over it.

And as I flew into Hanoi, I looked down and I could see all kinds of craters from bombs that had been dropped. This is in 1991. And I noticed the streets as I drove in along the river, it was a very narrow road. The main highway had not yet been built. There was some construction going on. The streets were filled, chock-a-block full of bicycles, bicycles, and bicycles. No cars. Very few cars. There were few motorcycles, very few tall buildings. Not a stoplight worked in the entire city when I set foot there, not one stoplight. And it was just a massive constant mesh of bikes that somehow made it across and made it through.

And it was a place that had literally been frozen in time. I was back in Vietnam last year for maybe my 20-something trip over the last 30 years. And I’m sure many of you have experienced this as well. It just stuns you how far things have moved in this span of time.

The energy in Vietnam today is absolutely remarkable, and the transformation is nothing short of amazing. In the years since we lifted the embargo and normalized relations, Vietnam has become a modern nation and an important partner of the United States. And when you talk to the young people in Vietnam, you can feel the enthusiasm for the potential of the future: 65 percent under the age of 35.

This isn’t just Vietnam’s story. This dynamism, energy, transformation – similar stories can be told throughout Southeast Asia. I was at the Malaysian entrepreneurial fair that they had last year, summit, and it was just stunning: 15,000 kids cheering like at a rock concert, excited about entrepreneurial activity and possibilities. And the year – in 1984 – that was the year that the US-ABC was founded – the annual GDP of the 10 countries that are now ASEAN was about $220 billion in today’s dollars. Today, that GDP has grown more than 10 times over to more than $2.4 trillion.

Now, it’s not a coincidence that President Obama and the Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker and U.S. Trade Represent Mike Froman and I have all individually made a trip to one or more of the ASEAN states just within the past six months. Roughly $100 billion of exports to Southeast Asia every year, and every year that supports millions of jobs both there in the region as well as right here on our own shores.

Now, I don’t need to convince you probably – most of the leaders here – of these enormous opportunities. But for the folks who are tuning in tonight to understand what this is about, I want them to understand that enormous business opportunities exist throughout ASEAN, and all of you here are already the choir, so I don’t need to preach further.

I don’t need to remind you also that our embassies are there to help you, and I want you to understand that, from the ambassadors on down. We have a number of the ambassadors here tonight representing the countries of ASEAN. I know many of your businesses work with our ambassadors every single day. We’ve worked to bring about a billion dollars in business deals throughout the ASEAN region, including the largest – in billions, multiple billions – which we have been working towards, including the largest single commercial aircraft sale in Boeing’s history to Indonesia’s Lion Air. And our then-ambassador Scot Marciel played a critical role in helping Boeing to secure that deal which ultimately is worth almost $23 billion.

So what we need to focus on today is how do we make sure this growth continues. As you sit around your tables tonight, as you enjoy this dinner, as you think about the next years, think about that, because it’s not a given. There are still many places in the region where steep tariffs and unclear rules of the road breed uncertainty and stifle the flow of goods and ideas. And that will tampen down the capacity to keep on keeping on what we’re doing.

There are places where businesses don’t have access to the financing that they need to get off the ground, where infrastructure challenges like crumbling roads and inadequate internet and inconsistent power grids prevent businesses from reaching markets. Now, we can’t – I certainly can’t and I don’t know anybody here who can – just wave a magic wand and address all of these challenges tomorrow. But there are steps that we can take together in order to help bring about a more prosperous future for both the United States and our ASEAN partners, and I’ll be very, very quick.

First and foremost, as any business leader would agree, freer markets create more opportunity, more competition, more growth, more dynamism, and more innovation. And we need to do more to open up trade and investment in every corner of the globe, and particularly in that region. Every one of you knows the enormous difference that the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement – one that includes a number of ASEAN countries – could make. Just this afternoon, I hosted a lunch with Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, and we spoke at length about the potential of this agreement and how urgently we need to get it off the ground, and he agreed. The TPP is a state-of-the-art, 21st century trade agreement that will connect more than 40 percent of the global GDP and one-third of global trade, and it raises the standards. It brings everybody up, not a race to the bottom. It’s consistent with our shared economic interests and our shared strategic interests, and it’s rooted in our shared values.

And it’s about promoting stability in this dynamic region and also establishing a fair and transparent framework that enables countries throughout the region to deepen their economic integration and grow in harmony. We need to make it happen, folks, and we can’t do it without you. We need you to help make the case for TPP with the Congress and with the American people, and we need you to make the phone calls and set up the meetings and do all you can to get Capitol Hill on board. And this is a battle we need to prepare for and it’s a battle we absolutely need to win.

Second, we need to make sure that the leaders of the future are getting the training and the education that they need in order to thrive in a growing economy. About 65 percent, as I said, of the population of ASEAN region is under the age of 35, and these young people are innovative, creative, and they’re eager to contribute their ideas, energy, to improve not only their own lives but the lives of others in their communities and their country. I’ve seen this firsthand in Malaysia and the Philippines and Indonesia on every trip I’ve taken to Southeast Asia. And that’s why we are investing in programs like President Obama’s Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative, the YSEALI, as it’s known. Through YSEALI, every year we bring young men and women from Southeast Asia to universities in the United States where they can receive training, deepen their knowledge about regional issues and experience and perspectives. This year’s YSEALI class includes women like Sovan Srun from Cambodia. She’s an aspiring social entrepreneur who coauthored a handbook for high school graduates to plan for their career paths, in hopes that she will help her community become more self-sufficient and less dependent on foreign aid. She’s a remarkable young woman, and we need to make sure that others like Sovan have the opportunities they need to make the mark on their communities and that their energy is harnessed in a completely positive way.

Third – and this is especially important – we need to do more at the State Department to make sure that the U.S. Government and the U.S. business community are working with one another, not against one another. I tell every Foreign Service officer that they are, each and every one of them, an economic officer, no kidding. That’s how we have to think. And we need to show the world that the State Department means business, literally. We’re planning to do this by expanding what we call detail opportunities with the private sector. Department employees spend a year working with our private sector partners so they can get a better understanding of the business world and what’s needed from government for when they return. And we’re developing similar programs that will bring folks from the private sector to the State Department on detail as well so the bureaucracy can benefit from their entrepreneurial world view.

But all of us in government and business alike have to keep in mind that the true measure of our success is going to be whether our economies continue – is not whether they continue to grow, but it’s how they grow. If we make the correct choices in the months and years to come, U.S. trade and investment has the potential to create shared prosperity up and down the food chain: growth that’s sustainable and environmentally friendly, wealth that lifts up communities and creates opportunity, and enormous amounts of jobs for the United States and for all of our partner nations. And on top of that, if we commit high standards when it comes to business practices, we absolutely encourage this race to the top, which I think every one of you understands with globalization is at risk. So we need a race to the top from companies all around the world, and I think that’s a race that we can win.

So all of us at the State Department know well that in the 21st century a nation’s interests and the well-being of its people are advanced not just by troops and diplomats but also by entrepreneurs and executives in ways that are really quite significantly different from prior centuries. It is happening by virtue of the businesses that they build and the workers that they employ and the students that they train, and ultimately, the shared prosperity that they create. I say it all the time. I said it in the first days of my nomination to be Secretary. I said it in my opening statement to the committee: Economic policy is foreign policy, and foreign policy is economic policy. And the fact is that American businesses are some of the best ambassadors our country has. Just think about it. US-ABC businesses collectively represent more than 6 trillion in annual revenue. Your businesses support more than 13 million employees worldwide, and you do it all the time while wearing America’s jersey, so to speak.

And I underscore this: The reason we are so grateful to have such a capable and influential group of ambassadors throughout America’s business community is not simply because you do well, but also because you do good. And that’s particularly true in the ASEAN states. I’ve seen it firsthand in the factories I’ve been into, in the people I’ve talked to and the businesses they work for. American businesses have been the number one investor in ASEAN economies for decades. In fact, U.S. investments are larger than Chinese investments, Japanese investments, and Korean investments combined.

And it’s not just about the quantity of our investments; it’s about the quality. When we invest in countries, we actually do it differently. When businesses from some countries enter new markets, they bring in their own workers, their own tradesmen. We, on the other hand, hire local employees. And guess what – we train them as well. Some businesses in the world recklessly pollute the environment, knowing full well that it’ll be difficult to hold them accountable. But so many of our businesses make a point of investing in clean energy and environmental solutions in order to accompany their facilities abroad. And businesses that come in from other nations have been known to promote corruption instead of working to stop it, not held to account by our Foreign Corrupt Businesses Act. But we take every step we can to end corrupt practices abroad or elsewhere, because we know that when we eliminate corruption we’re able to build the long-term relationships that will withstand the test of time and make the environment safer for new businesses to be able to invest in.

So we do all of this because business doing right is part of the American brand. It’s part of our what our companies stand for and it’s part of the proposition of how we attract more investment to follow. What I’m talking about is more than agreeing to abide by a set of principles or guidelines. It’s really rolling up your sleeves and taking action to integrate responsible investment and objective corporate management decision making.

Now, there are a lot of other things that we could go on to say. I’m going to – I said I wouldn’t – I’ve gone on longer than I meant to. But I want to just emphasize to everybody here that the real excitement that comes with this is watching these countries go through these amazing transformations. I am nothing less than stunned by what has happened, the transformation taking place. I have absolute confidence, and as we go forward in these next years the differences between our nations, even as we respect cultures and history, but differences will evaporate in the way that people have fears and that they suspect people from abroad. There’ll be a unity because everything in the world is different today. Today’s kids all have smartphones; they all talk to each other. They’re talking to everybody in the world all the time about everything. And it changes everything in life. Politics is different. Building consensus is different. Getting your market share is different. Holding onto it is different. We’re living in a very, very different time, and nowhere are the possibilities more evident than in the transformations taking place throughout Southeast Asia.

So I think you all are onto something, and I profoundly say congratulations to ABC. We’re going to be in Burma. The President and I are going to be there a month from now. We’re looking forward to being in China, likewise, in November for the APEC conference. We’ll be there for the East Asia Summit. We are front and center and present because we’ve been a Pacific nation all of our history and we will never turn away from that.

So I thank those of you who have been the pioneers. I thank those of you who are on the front lines today. I say congratulations to all of you. Celebrate well tonight and tomorrow we all get back to work and continue on the road. Thank you all very, very much. (Applause.)