U.S. AMBASSADOR PASI MAKES REMARKS IN DJIBOUTI

FROM:  STATE DEPARTMENT  
Keynote Address: 2014 Gulf of Aden Regional Counterterrorism Forum
Remarks
Geeta Pasi
U.S. Ambassador to Djibouti
Djibouti, Djibouti
February 3, 2014

Good morning. I’d like to thank the Government of Djibouti for hosting this conference in Djibouti and the U.S. State Department’s Counterterrorism Bureau for funding and organizing the conference. I would also like to thank Ms. Mako Hassan and everyone at ATTA for doing such an outstanding job of getting all the participants here and for helping to facilitate this forum. This forum – and forums like it – are increasingly important as they enable the building of relationships and enhance a shared understanding of best practices as we all work together to achieve our collective goals – a transnational response to a transnational threat.

The Gulf of Aden Regional Counterterrorism Forum, which first convened in Sana’a, Yemen last April, was created out of an understanding of the common threat across the borders of those represented here today. This week’s forum comes at a pivotal time. We’ve made progress with our collective strategic counterterrorism efforts, but a great deal of work remains to be done.

The preeminent security threat to the United States continues to be from al-Qa'ida and its affiliates and adherents around the world. As we work to counter this threat over the long term, the United States is committed to helping build partner nation capabilities and to working with our partners to counter the murderous ideology that continues to incite indiscriminate violence around the world. Defeating a terrorist network requires us to work together to disrupt criminal and terrorist financial networks, strengthen rule of law institutions while respecting human rights, address recruitment, and eliminate the safe havens that protect and facilitate this activity. We need to take on violent extremist ideology and diminish its appeal.

Today, I’d like to describe briefly the global threat environment, honing in on the threats specific to the countries represented here today, and then outline some of the bilateral and regional approaches we are using to meet long-term challenges.

The Global Threat Environment

Through the actions of the United States and others, many senior al-Qai’da leaders have been removed from the battlefield or are facing trial. The ability of AQ’s senior leadership to direct the activities and attacks of its affiliates has diminished, as its leaders focus their energies on evading capture. At the same time, AQ affiliates in this region and elsewhere have grown more independent, have become increasingly active, and are increasingly setting their own goals and specifying their own targets.

As avenues previously open to these and other violent extremist organizations for receiving and sending funds have become more difficult to access, several groups have engaged in kidnapping for ransom and other criminal activities, and thus have also increased their financial independence. Though AQ affiliates still seek to attack targets abroad, they seem more inclined to focus on smaller scale attacks closer to their home base.

Before discussing the Gulf of Aden region, I’d like to mention briefly the tumultuous events of the past three-plus years in the Middle East and North Africa, which have complicated the counterterrorism picture. Arms proliferation in the wake of the revolution in Libya and civil and political strife in Mali presented terrorists with new opportunities to take advantage of regional instability. Foreign fighters from Europe, North Africa, and South Asia have traveled to Syria to join the fight with the Nusrah Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Meanwhile, in West Africa, we are seeing a loosely organized collection of factions known as Boko Haram – some of them with ties to al-Qa’ida in the Maghreb – exploiting the grievances of northern Nigerians to gain recruits and public sympathy. The number and sophistication of Boko Haram’s attacks are increasing, and while the group focuses principally on local Nigerian issues and actors, there is evidence that it is developing financial and training links with other violent extremists in West Africa.

In the Gulf of Aden region, two al-Qa’ida affiliates foster regional instability through their brutal terrorist tactics. These are al-Qa’ida in the Arabian
Peninsula - AQAP – based in Yemen and al-Shabaab based in Somalia.

In Yemen, the fight against AQAP is a work in progress. We commend the Yemeni people on the January 25 conclusion of the National Dialogue Conference and support efforts toward full implementation of the political transition initiative. Yemen illustrates the value of a comprehensive approach to countering terrorism. While Yemeni security forces are increasing their capacity to combat terror and taking actions to mitigate threats, the international community is assisting the Yemeni government’s efforts to address the needs of the Yemeni people by supporting the political transition and delivering humanitarian and economic aid. In this endeavor, the United States is working closely with the Friends of Yemen group, the Gulf Cooperation Council, and the international community.

Since this forum last met in Sana’a, Somalia has marked more than one year since the end of its own political transition. The recent formation of a new cabinet in Mogadishu, the peaceful elections and transition of power in Puntland in January, the agreement between the central government and the Interim Jubaland Administration last August, and the ongoing dialogue between Somaliland and Federal Government of Somalia are hopeful signs of a new era in this conflict-stricken country. We remain committed to assisting Somalia in the difficult work to establish good governance and to provide opportunity and security for all Somali people.

The combined efforts of the Somali National Security Forces and AMISOM against al-Shabaab – with strong financial support and training from Western partners –are establishing the security conditions necessary for Somalia’s government to operate. During the past year, al-Shabaab proved time and time again through its suicide attacks and frequent bombings that it does not stand with the Somali people. Its September 2013 siege on the Westgate Mall in Nairobi that targeted civilians – including women and children -- demonstrated again that it remains a threat to the entire region. But we know that al-Shabaab is a fractured organization fighting for relevance in a country that is showing signs of new life. We are confident that the recently authorized AMISOM troop increase will increase the pressure on al-Shabaab and are hopeful that progress by the central government, including increased collaboration with the regions of Somalia and an extension of public services will show all Somalis that a new day has dawned.

I would be remiss not to mention Djibouti, the country in which I have the pleasure of serving as U.S. ambassador. Even though it does not face the same direct threat as Somalia or Yemen, it is in a tough neighborhood and faces many challenges. Djibouti has demonstrated itself as a force for peace and stability in the region and a staunch ally in the fight against terrorism. I want to thank Djibouti for its troop deployment to Somalia as part of AMISOM. Djiboutian troops have played a crucial role in stabilizing areas of Somalia where they are deployed. Given its location along the border with Somalia and just across the Gulf of Aden from Yemen, Djibouti has undertaken efforts to increase training its police and military forces and has increased its emphasis at border control points to screen for potential security threats. In addition, as most of you already know, Djibouti is the host of Camp Lemonnier, which serves as headquarters to approximately 4,000 U.S. troops, including the Combined Joint Task Force for the Horn of Africa. I want to publicly extend thanks to the Government of Djibouti for their strong partnership and leadership. I should also note that we will have the privilege of hearing from the commander of the U.S. Combined Joint Task Force for the Horn of Africa, General Wayne Grigsby, tomorrow during our session on the role of the military in counterterrorism.

What we’re doing

Now that we have examined the changing landscape of terrorism in the world, we have to ask ourselves the question – how do we deal with this changing security environment?

First, we need to keep doing what we know works: continue to use our military, intelligence, and law enforcement assets to go after terrorist groups that threaten our collective security.

At the same time, we need to identify the factors that, despite our successes, are supporting the continued vitality of terrorist organizations and develop the innovative and cross-cutting, rule of law-based strategies that will help cut off that support. Violent extremism is a dynamic, adaptable phenomenon that is highly dependent on local political, social, and economic circumstances. We know that terrorist movements thrive on state failure, political upheaval and poor governance, among other factors. They are opportunistic – adapting quickly to exploit openings presented by political transitions and upheavals.

The United States is focused on two key strategic areas: 1) capacity building, so that countries can do a better job themselves of dealing with the threats within their own borders and regions; and 2) strengthening our work in countering violent extremism – or CVE. The goal of CVE is to deny terrorist groups new recruits, by: providing positive alternatives to communities most at risk of recruitment and radicalization to violence; countering terrorist narratives and the violent extremist worldview; and building the capacity of governments and civil society to counter violent extremism.

Working with our partners, both bilaterally and multilateral is crucial. We cannot do this alone. So, with the goal of building an international counterterrorism architecture for 21st century threats, the United States, together with 28 partner countries and the European Union, launched the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) in 2011. The Forum seeks to counter violent extremism and strengthen civilian institutions that are essential for addressing not only terrorism, but related transnational security threats. It provides a valuable framework for practitioners and policymakers to share expertise, challenges, and good practices on dealing with this shared threat and deliver rule of law-based assistance so partners—particularly in countries in transition to democracy—can simultaneously deal with the threats as they evolve and protect the human rights of their citizens.

In a relatively short time, the GCTF has made its mark, having already mobilized more than $230 million in member funds and set in motion two international training centers to provide platforms for sustainable training on countering violent extremism and strengthening rule-of-law institutions. It has developed practical guidance for all countries to follow in the areas of rule of law, kidnapping for ransom, and prison de-radicalization and disengagement.

I know that representatives from each of your countries, perhaps even some of you, have participated in activities organized by the Forum’s Horn of Africa Region Working Group, and I expect that you have been able to benefit from the expertise that is shared within and good practices developed through the GCTF. We will discuss some of those best practices during the rest of this week’s meetings. We also hope that your governments will participate in next meeting of the GCTF’s Horn of Africa Working Group in Nairobi on 12-13 March, where the focus will be on strengthening cooperation and capacities in the region on law enforcement and CVE.

On the bilateral front, the U.S. Antiterrorism Assistance (ATA) program continues to engage with each of your countries to build capacity in a wide spectrum of counterterrorism skills, from bomb detection, to crime scene investigation, to border, aviation, and cyber security. ATA, offered courses, seminars, and consultations to roughly 11,000 participants from over 50 countries in 2013, including hundreds of security and law enforcement officials in Djibouti, Somalia, and Yemen.

We have also worked closely with our partners across the globe, including representatives from Djibouti, Somalia and Yemen, to make important progress in safeguarding our shared financial system against those who wish to exploit it. Since 2010, our Counterterrorism Finance Program has trained more than 5,400 key specialists in governments and financial institutions throughout the world. We are proud to be able to partner with you in the struggle to combat terrorist financing.

Through the Terrorist Interdiction Program (TIP), the Department enhances border security capabilities for partner nations at risk of terrorist activity – by providing a computerized screening-list system, the Personal Identification Secure Comparison and Evaluation System (PISCES). As of February 2014, government authorities in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda manage and operate a total of 38 PISCES installations at airports, seaports, and land borders to screen, identify, and deter terrorist travelers. Of these 38 PISCES installations, 35 operate biometric screening, with fingerprints, as part of primary processing. And across the Gulf of Aden, Yemen operates 19 PISCES installations.

To contest the terrorist narrative, President Obama established the Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications (CSCC) in 2010. CSCC’s Digital Outreach Team counters violent extremist propaganda online every day in Arabic, Punjabi, Somali, and Urdu. CSCC’s activities have elicited vigorous responses from violent extremist ideologues, indicating that they view CSCC’s work as a threat to their own messaging efforts.

The shifting terrorism landscape makes local CVE efforts all the more important. In 2013, on the margins of the UN General Assembly, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced the Global Fund for Community Engagement and Resilience – the first-ever public-private global fund to support local, grassroots efforts to counter violent extremism in all of its forms and manifestations. It is anticipated that the Fund will raise more than $200 million over the next 10 years to support local CVE causes.

Looking Forward

Building new partnerships, strengthening existing partnerships, and helping other countries foster collaborative relationships with partner nations are all vital to our counterterrorism efforts. This is one of the reasons we organized this conference. We have seen in many places how regional coalitions and organizations can play a critical role in addressing security challenges and threats. Examples of these partnerships include the international response in northern Mali, the response of AMISOM in Somalia, and regional assistance from the Gulf Cooperation Council states in Yemen.

While the people of the Gulf of Aden region will determine their own course, the United States can provide a wide variety of advice and assistance to civilian institutions, with a particular focus on countries transitioning from emergency counterterrorism laws to a rule-of-law framework. Ultimately, counterterrorism and rule of law goals are closely aligned and reinforce one another. It is important that, in our zeal to protect our citizens, we not weaken their legal rights and protections.

This is one of the reasons we have shaped the agenda for this week’s Forum as we have. We want to focus this week on the rule of law in counterterrorism efforts, including the role of legal frameworks, law enforcement and the military among other issues. We have designed the sessions so that you can hear from experts on each of the topics but also have plenty of time to engage in lively discussion amongst yourselves about how these roles realistically play out in each of your countries. Our goal is for you to build deeper relationships with your colleagues so you can rely on each other in the future, to share experiences and develop new ideas that help us all counter the constantly evolving threats that face us each day.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today. I hope the rest of the Forum is productive.

PRESIDENT OBAMA, FBI DIRECTOR COMEY MAKE REMARKS REGARDING COMEY'S NEW POSITION

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE 
Remarks by the President and FBI Director James Comey
12:34 P.M. EDT

 THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  Thank you, FBI.  (Applause.) Thank you so much.  Please, everybody, be seated -- those of you who have seats.  (Laughter.)

Well, good afternoon, everybody.  I am so proud to be here and to stand once again with so many dedicated men and women of the FBI.  You are the best of the best.  Day in and day out, you work tirelessly to confront the most dangerous threats our nation faces.  You serve with courage; you serve with integrity.  You protect Americans at home and abroad.  You lock up criminals.  You secure the homeland against the threat of terrorism.  Without a lot of fanfare, without seeking the spotlight, you do your jobs, all the while upholding our most cherished values and the rule of law.

Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity:  That’s your motto.  And today, we’re here to welcome a remarkable new leader for this remarkable institution, one who lives those principles out every single day:  Mr. Jim Comey.

Before I get to Jim, I want to thank all the predecessors who are here today.  We are grateful for your service.  I have to give a special shout-out to Bob Mueller, who served longer than he was supposed to, but he was such an extraordinary leader through some of the most difficult times that we've had in national security.  And I consider him a friend and I'm so grateful for him and Ann being here today.  Thank you very much.  (Applause.)

Now, Jim has dedicated his life to defending our laws -- to making sure that all Americans can trust our justice system to protect their rights and their well-being.  He’s the grandson of a beat cop.  He’s the prosecutor who helped bring down the Gambinos.  He’s the relentless attorney who fought to stem the bloody tide of gun violence, rub out white-collar crime, deliver justice to terrorists.  It’s just about impossible to find a matter of justice he has not tackled, and it’s hard to imagine somebody who is not more uniquely qualified to lead a bureau that covers all of it -- traditional threats like violent and organized crime to the constantly changing threats like terrorism and cyber-security.  So he’s got the resume.

But, of course, Jim is also a famously cool character -- the calmest in the room during a crisis.  Here’s what a fellow former prosecutor said about him.  He said, “You know that Rudyard Kipling line -- ‘If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs’-- that’s Jim.”

There’s also a story from the time during his prosecution of the Gambino crime family.  One of the defendants was an alleged hit man named Lorenzo.  And during the trial, Jim won an award from the New York City Bar Association.  When the court convened the next morning, everybody was buzzing about it, and suddenly, a note was passed down from the defendant’s table, across the aisle to the prosecutor’s table.  It was handed to Jim, and it read:  “Dear Jim, congratulations on your award.  No one deserves it more than you.  You’re a true professional.  Sincerely, Lorenzo.”  (Laughter.)  

“Sincerely, Lorenzo.”  Now, we don't know how sincere he was.  (Laughter.)  We don't know whether this was a veiled threat, or a plea for leniency, or an honest compliment.  But I think it is fair to say that Jim has won the respect of folks across the spectrum -- including Lorenzo.  (Laughter.)  

He’s the perfect leader for an organization whose walls are graced by the words of a legendary former director:  “The most effective weapon against crime is cooperation.”  Jim has worked with many of the more than 35,000 men and women of the FBI over the course of his long and distinguished career.  And it’s his admiration and respect for all of you, individually, his recognition of the hard work that you do every day -- sometimes under extraordinarily difficult circumstances -- not just the folks out in the field, but also folks working the back rooms, doing the hard work, out of sight -- his recognition that your mission is important is what compelled him to answer the call to serve his country again.

The FBI joins forces with our intelligence, our military, and homeland security professionals to break up all manner of threats -- from taking down drug rings to stopping those who prey on children, to breaking up al Qaeda cells to disrupting their activities, thwarting their plots.  And your mission keeps expanding because the nature of the threats are always changing.

Unfortunately, the resources allotted to that mission has been reduced by sequestration.  I’ll keep fighting for those resources because our country asks and expects a lot from you, and we should make sure you’ve got the resources you need to do the job.  Especially when many of your colleagues put their lives on the line on a daily basis, all to serve and protect our fellow citizens -- the least we can do is make sure you’ve got the resources for it and that your operations are not disrupted because of politics in this town.  (Applause.)

Now the good news is things like courage, leadership, judgment, and compassion -- those resources are, potentially, at least, inexhaustible.  That's why it’s critical that we seek out the best people to serve -- folks who have earned the public trust; who have excellent judgment, even in the most difficult circumstances; those who possess not just a keen knowledge of the law, but also a moral compass that they -- and we -- can always count on.

And that’s who we’ve got in Jim Comey.  I’ll tell you I interviewed a number of extraordinary candidates for this job, all with sterling credentials.  But what gave me confidence that this was the right man for the job wasn’t his degrees and it wasn’t his resume; it was in talking to him and seeing his amazing family, a sense that this somebody who knows what’s right and what’s wrong, and is willing to act on that basis every single day.  And that’s why I’m so grateful that he’s signed up to serve again.

I will spare you yet another joke about how today, no one stands taller.  (Laughter.)  I simply want to thank Jim for accepting this role.  I want to thank Patrice and the five remarkable children that they’ve got -- because jobs like this are a team effort, as you well know.

And I want to thank most all the men and women of the FBI.  I’m proud of your work.  I’m grateful for your service.  I’m absolutely confident that this agency will continue to flourish with Jim at the helm.  And if he gets lost in the building, I want you guys to help him out.  (Laughter.)  Because I guarantee you that he’s going to have your back, make sure you’ve got his back as well.

Thank you very much, everybody.  God bless you.  (Applause.)

MR. JOYCE:  And now, ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor to introduce the seventh Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation -- James B. Comey.  (Applause.)

MR. COMEY:  Thank you, Sean.  Thank you, Mr. President.  Thank you so much for gracing us with your presence, for honoring us, and for speaking so eloquently about the mission of the FBI and its great people.

Thank you also to my friends and family who are gathered here today.  My entire life is literally represented in this crowd, and it is a pretty picture.  These are the people that I have known and loved literally my entire life and from whom I have learned so much.
I’m especially grateful that my dad and my sister and my brothers could be here today.  I wish so much that Mom could be here to enjoy this amazing day.  I can still hear ringing in my entire teenage years her voice as she snapped open the shades every single morning and said, “Rise and shine and show the world what you’re made of.”  I found it less inspiring at the time -- (laughter) -- but it made us who we are.  And I’ll never forget that.

And to my five troops and my amazing bride, who talked me into being interviewed for this job -- of course, with the caveat that she’d be okay because the President would never pick me.  (Laughter.)  I got to tell you, this is your last chance to talk to him about it.  (Laughter.)

Mr. President, I am so grateful for this honor and this opportunity to serve with the men and women of the FBI.  They are standing all around this great courtyard, and standing on duty all around this country and around this world at this moment.  I know already that this is the best job I have ever had and will ever have.

That’s because I have a front row seat to watch the work of a remarkable group of people who serve this country, folks from all walks of life who joined the FBI for the same reason -- they were teachers and soldiers, and police officers and scholars, and software engineers, and people from all walks of life who wanted to do good for a living.  They wanted jobs with moral content, and so they joined this great organization.

I thought about them as I stood in this courtyard just a week ago and showed a visiting foreign leader the statue that overlooks this ceremony.  It’s an artist’s depiction of the words from our shield that the President mentioned:  Fidelity, Bravery, and Integrity. And as I thought about that statue and those words and this ceremony, I thought I would take just a couple of minutes and tell you what those words mean and why I think they belong on our shield.

First, fidelity.  The dictionary defines fidelity as a strict and continuing faithfulness to an obligation, trust, or duty.  To my mind, that word on our shield reminds us that the FBI must abide two obligations at the same time.  First, the FBI must be independent of all political forces or interests in this country.  In a real sense, it must stand apart from other institutions in American life.  But, second, at the same time, it must be part of the United States Department of Justice, and constrained by the rule of law and the checks and balances built into our brilliant design by our nation’s founders.

There is a tension reflected in those two aspects of fidelity, those two values that I see in that word, and I think that tension is reflected in the 10-year term that I’ve just begun.  The term is 10 years to ensure independence.  But it is a fixed term of years to ensure that power does not become concentrated in one person and unconstrained.  The need for reflection and restraint of power is what led Louis Freeh to order that all new agent classes visit the Holocaust Museum here in Washington so they could see and feel and hear in a palpable way the consequences of abuse of power on a massive almost unimaginable scale.  Bob Mueller continued that practice.  And I will again, when we have agents graduating from Quantico.

The balance reflected in my term is also a product of lessons hard learned from the history of this great institution.  Our first half-century or so was a time of great progress and achievement for this country, and for the Bureau.  But it also saw abuse and overreach -- most famously with respect to Martin Luther King and others, who were viewed as internal security threats.

As I think about the unique balance represented by fidelity to independence on the one hand, and the rule of law on the other, I think it also makes sense for me to offer those in training a reminder closer to our own history.  I’m going to direct that all new agents and analysts also visit the Martin Luther King Memorial here in Washington.  I think it will serve as a different kind of lesson -- (applause) -- one more personal to the Bureau, of the dangers in becoming untethered to oversight and accountability.

 That word fidelity belongs on our shield.

 Next, bravery.  We have perpetrated a myth in our society that being brave means not being afraid, but that’s wrong.  Mark Twain once said that bravery “is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.”  If you’ve ever talked to a special agent that you know well and you ask he or she about a dangerous encounter they were involved in, they’ll almost always give you the same answer, “yeah, I did it, but I was scared to heck the whole time.”  But that’s the essence of bravery.

Only a crazy person wouldn't fear approaching a car with tinted windows during a late-night car stop, or pounding up a flight of stairs to execute a search warrant, or fast-roping from a helicopter down into hostile fire.  Real agents, like real people, feel that fear in the pit of their stomachs.  But you know the difference between them and most folks?  They do it anyway, and they volunteer to do that for a living.

What makes the bravery of the men and women of the FBI so special is that they know exactly what they're in for.  They spend weeks and weeks in an academy learning just how hard and dangerous this work is.  Then they raise their right hands and take an oath, and do that work anyway.  They have seen the Wall of Honor -- that I hope so much my friends and guests and family will get to see inside this building -- with pictures and links to the lives of those who gave the last full measure of devotion for their country as FBI employees.

Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman said this:  "I would define true courage to be a perfect sensibility of the measure of danger and a mental willingness to endure it."

I called a special agent a few weeks ago after he had been shot during an arrest.  I knew before I called him that he had already been injured severely twice in his Bureau career, once in a terrorist bombing and once in a helicopter crash.  Yet when I got him on the phone, I got the strong sense he couldn’t wait to get me off the phone.  He was embarrassed by my call.  “Mr. Director, it was a through and through wound.  No big deal.”  He was more worried about his Bureau car, which he had left at the scene of the shooting.  (Laughter.)  He felt okay, though, because his wife -- also a special agent -- was going to go get the car, so everything was fine.  (Laughter.)

The men and women of this organization understand perfectly the danger they're in every day and choose to endure it because they believe in this mission.  That's why bravery belongs on our shield.

And, finally, integrity.  Integrity is derived from the Latin word "integer," meaning whole.  A person of integrity is complete, undivided.  Sincerity, decency, trustworthy are synonyms of integrity.  It's on our shield because it is the quality that makes possible all the good that we do.  Because everything we do requires that we be believed, whether that's promising a source that we will protect her, telling a jury what we saw or heard, or telling a congressional oversight committee or the American people what we are doing with our power and our authorities.  We must be believed.

Without integrity, all is lost.  We cannot do the good that all of these amazing people signed up to do.  The FBI's reputation for integrity is a gift given to every new employee by those who went before.  But it is a gift that must be protected and earned every single day.  We protect that gift by making mistakes and admitting them, by making promises and keeping them, and by realizing that nothing -- no case, no source, no fear of embarrassment -- is worth jeopardizing the gift of integrity.  Integrity must be on the FBI shield.

So, you see, those three words -- Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity -- capture the essence of the FBI and its people.  And they also explain why I am here.  I wanted to be here to work alongside those people, to represent them, to help them accomplish their mission, and to just be their colleague.

It is an honor and a challenge beyond description.  I will do my absolute best to be worthy of it.  Thank you very much. (Applause.)