THE U.S.-INDIA STRATEGIC DIALOGUE

Photo Credit:  U.S. Library of Congress and Wikimedia.
FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Readout of the U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue
Remarks Robert O. Blake, Jr.
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian AffairsWashington Foreign Press Center
Washington, DC
June 14, 2012
ASSISTANT SECRETARY BLAKE: Well, thank you very much. I appreciate the introduction and thank you all for coming. It’s nice to see a lot of old friends in the crowd today. I’ll provide a readout, not just of the Strategic Dialogue, but really the whole week because we’ve had a great many different dialogues over the course of the last five days. So let me just briefly summarize some of those.

One was the Science and Technology Joint Commission meeting that was chaired by the President’s Science Advisor, John Holdren, as well as India’s Science and Technology Minister Deshmukh. Second was, of course, the Higher Education Dialogue chaired by Secretary Clinton and Minister of Human Resources Development Kapil Sibal. The third were regional consultations that were held earlier today between Foreign Secretary Mathai and Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman, and then also our Global Issues Forum that is probably still going on between, again, Foreign Secretary Mathai and Under Secretary Otero.

And then last but not least was, of course, the Strategic Dialogue itself. You all heard Secretary Clinton and External Affairs Minister Krishna describe the progress that we are making. Secretary Clinton remarked that the strategic fundamentals of our relationship are pushing our two countries into ever closer strategic convergence, and she highlighted progress in five separate areas. Since we’re celebrating Global Economic Statecraft Day today, let me start with the economic piece of it.

The Secretary remarked that bilateral trade between our two countries is up 40 percent since we began our Strategic Dialogue three years ago, and it is on track to exceed what we hope will be a hundred billion dollars this year. In addition, we want to advance our negotiations on the Bilateral Investment Treaty, and of course, we want to continue to do everything we can to reduce barriers to trade and investment in both directions.
The Secretary welcomed the Memorandum of Understanding that was signed between Westinghouse and India’s Nuclear Power Corporation, committing both sides to work towards early works agreements on things like preliminary licensing and site development that will be needed to begin construction work in Gujarat. She also noted that General Electric is also making progress in its talks with NPCIL. The Westinghouse MOU marks a very significant step towards the fulfillment of our landmark civil-nuclear cooperation agreement. The Secretary finally described in this area how we have mobilized more than $1 billion in clean energy finance for projects of various kinds. You’ve all heard me describe in the past how OPIC and Ex-Im and others have extremely large programs in India as a result.

The second major area of cooperation and progress was in the area of science and technology. The Secretary described how our joint commission is working to improve our linkages in sciences, engineering, and data-sharing. And she also welcomed the agreement concluded earlier this week to share the U.S.-India Open Government Platform software that is promoting transparency and accountability, and we’re very pleased to welcome a third-country partner, our first third-country partner, which will be Rwanda, and we hope to, of course, welcome many, many more.

The third area of cooperation was in the area of education and people-to-people ties. And again, the Secretary welcomed the progress that both sides have been making in the Higher Education Dialogue to increase educational exchanges and strengthen ties between our universities with a particular focus on community colleges.

Fourth, on security and defense cooperation, Secretary Clinton highlighted progress in the fight against violent extremism, our growing security cooperation both on the military exercise front but also on our bilateral trade, defense trade, which now exceeds $8 billion.
And finally, in our cooperation in South and East Asia, the United States welcomed India’s contribution towards building a stable, secure, and prosperous Afghanistan, including its more than $2 billion in assistance that it is providing. The Secretary thanked the Indians for hosting on June 28th a very important investment conference that will take place in Delhi to galvanize more international private sector investment for Afghanistan to look ahead to the transition there. She announced our intention to have a U.S.-India-Afghanistan trilateral dialogue. And the U.S. welcomes India’s support for our participation as a dialogue partner in the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation.

We have a lot more information on all of the things that we have talked about and negotiated. You will have all seen the very lengthy joint statement that we put out. And then I also just wanted to call your attention to four different fact sheets that we put out in the areas of energy and climate change, public health and research, science and technology, and security and regional cooperation. So you’ll find a wealth of really terrific information in all of those as well.

So with that, I’d be happy to take some of your questions, including those from our friends in New York who I understand are joining us as well.

MODERATOR: All right. As we move to the question-and-answer session, please wait for the microphone, identify yourself by name and media organization, and we’ll start over here on the right, please.

QUESTION: Thank you. Chidu Rajghatta, the Times of India. Ambassador, about the trilateral on Afghanistan involving Afghanistan, U.S., and India, how do you expect to get around Pakistan? And at any point, was a quadrilateral considered? And why not a quadrilateral?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY BLAKE: Well, I think first of all, we want to start with a trilateral. First off, we start with a bilateral, and so of course we have very good bilateral dialogues with – well, each of us with Afghanistan. We’ve each signed strategic partnership agreements. So there’s a great deal to talk about with respect to Afghanistan. This is certainly not in any way seen as directed against Pakistan. On the contrary, it’s to talk about the situation inside Afghanistan, but also how we continue to support Afghanistan and the very important three transitions that are going to be taking place – not only the security transition, but the political transition, because Afghanistan will be holding very important elections in 2014, and then the equally important economic transition that you’ve heard me talk about a great deal.

So we haven’t really yet talked about the details of this since we’ve just agreed on this trilateral consultation, but we’ll be doing so in the days and weeks ahead.

MODERATOR: All right. Sir, we have a question from New York, so we’ll go ahead and turn the audio over to them. New York, go ahead.

QUESTION: Yes, good afternoon, Assistant Secretary. Thank you first for giving the opportunity to ask a question. And basically, as it has become the threat for not only Bangladesh, also for the regional peace and security, is there any formula for a permanent – I mean, to – for the permanent solution of the Rohingya issues in Myanmar and in Bangladesh borders?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY BLAKE: Is there any permanent formula? Is that what you said?

QUESTION: Yes. I mean any formulas to solve this problem permanently.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY BLAKE: Well, I think we’re focused right now particularly on the Rohingya situation as it affects Burma. As you know, there’s been a lot of ethnic fighting between – inside Burma, and several have sought refuge in Bangladesh. And we have urged our friends in Bangladesh to provide humanitarian access and to honor their international obligations to do so. And we hope they will because, again, I think many of these are fleeing potential violence, many need medical assistance, and many others will need access to shelter and food and water. So Bangladesh has a long history of accommodating the Rohingyas, and we hope that they will continue to do so.

MODERATOR: We have a question here in the front.

QUESTION: Seema Sirohi, Firstpost.com and Gateway House.
Mr. Ambassador, I was wondering if this agreement signed between Westinghouse and NBCIL, does it mean that your issues with the nuclear liability law are resolved? Is there – has that been taken care of? And the other question is --

ASSISTANT SECRETARY BLAKE: Sorry, let me answer that question first, Seema.
QUESTION: Okay.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY BLAKE: No, it doesn’t mean that the issues with respect to liability law are resolved. But I think both of our countries wanted to show that we still share a strong interest in seeing these commercial contracts come to fruition. We do have, still, some concerns about the liability law. But the signing of this MOU and the future conclusion of early works agreements will provide very concrete evidence of our intention to move forward, and particularly from our perspective, the interests of our companies in continuing to work with NPCIL to develop the very promising opportunities in this – what will be a $40 billion sector.
QUESTION: I have another question.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY BLAKE: Please.

QUESTION: On India’s desire to negotiate a totalization agreement with the United States, the minister said that you don’t even want to talk about it. So what’s going on? Why doesn’t the U.S. want to talk about it and be fair on this issue?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY BLAKE: Well, this is a legal question for us as well. There’s a great imbalance in our systems right now, and so there are legal restrictions on what kind of agreements we can enter into with partner countries. But certainly, we have a dialogue with this and we understand the importance of this issue to our Indian friends.
MODERATOR: We’ll take our next question in the back on the left, please.

QUESTION: Aziz Haniffa with India Abroad and Rediff.com. Piggybacking on Chidu’s question on Afghanistan, sometimes you come to regret what you wish for. Earlier, there was a perception by – in India that India was being kept out of the whole process because of pressure from Pakistan, et cetera. Now you guys seem to be going overboard in terms of trilateral commissions and everything else.

Is India going to be left with the baby in the bathwater in terms of responsibilities – because the Taliban is still a major force there – in terms of security also?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY BLAKE: Well, I think, first of all, Aziz, I would take issue with the premise of your question, which is we have not always welcomed the important role that India has played in Afghanistan. I don’t think you’ll ever – if you go back years and years, you’ll not hear criticism from me or any other spokesman talking about India’s role in Afghanistan. And we continue to welcome that across a broad range of what your country is doing, not only in terms of the assistance program that I talked about, the investments that are taking place in things like that Hajigak iron ore facility and deposit, but then also the very important support that India is providing in terms of private sector investment and, more broadly, the whole concept of regional integration. So we very much welcome India’s strong support for Afghanistan in all of these areas, and as Secretary Panetta said during his trip, we also welcome India doing more in terms of training, particularly the ANSF and police training back to Indian facilities in India itself.

As we look ahead to the transition, we are very focused on showing to Afghanistan that there will be strong international community support for all of these transitions that I just mentioned. So you’ve heard me and many, many other people talk about what we are calling the transition dividend, but also the “transformation decade,” as we say, of the next decade, 2014 to 2024, where we hope very much that the international community will continue to be very engaged not just in helping to support the ANSF, but also to provide the economic assistance that Afghanistan will need to develop. And so I think this upcoming conference that’s going to take place in Tokyo on July 8th will be a very important milestone in, again, looking forward to the economic piece of what I just talked about.

QUESTION: But a quick follow-up --

ASSISTANT SECRETARY BLAKE: So we’re certainly not leaving India to – in Afghanistan. We’re all going to be working very closely to help support Afghanistan.

QUESTION: But as a quick follow-up, is there going to be a security dimension too at this conference? Because the Taliban is still a major force. There has no – been no vanquishing of them, you know?
ASSISTANT SECRETARY BLAKE: Right.

QUESTION: And of course, elements of Haqqani and others have been responsible for attacks on the Indian Embassy in Kabul, et cetera.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY BLAKE: Well, there’s not a direct security focus. It’s obviously – there’s an economic focus. But the more success we have in developing private sector investment to developing private sector jobs and sustainable jobs for Afghans, of course, that will help to undermine the appeal of the Taliban. So in that sense, there is a security aspect to it.

MODERATOR: We’ll take another question here on the right.

QUESTION: Thank you. This is Lalit Jha from Press Trust of India. Welcome here to the Foreign Press Center.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY BLAKE: Only one question, Lalit. (Laughter.)

QUESTION: This is the fun part. (Laughter.)

QUESTION: Let’s begin with the follow-ups. The two follow-ups I have – (laughter) – on Afghanistan, at what level do you think this dialogue is going to be? And have you spoken to Pakistan or informed Pakistan that this is what you’re going to do, the trilateral consultations between India, Afghanistan, and the U.S.?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY BLAKE: Sorry, let me answer that because I won’t remember them. (Laughter.)
We haven’t yet. As I say, we’re just beginning to think about this and talk to both India and Afghanistan about how we’re going to structure this dialogue. So we haven’t made a decision yet about things like the level. But yes, we did have some contacts with the Government of Pakistan.

QUESTION: On Rohingya, Bangladesh, you know as a poor country it doesn’t have much resources. Is the U.S. willing to help or provide some kind of financial assistance to Bangladesh to take care of the refugees that are coming across the border from Burma?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY BLAKE: Certainly. And normally, the way this works, Lalit, is that UNHCR, the UN High Commission for Refugees, has – is supporting assistance efforts there. They have their own camps, but also they work with NGOs. So we typically respond to an appeal from the UNHCR. So if the UNHCR determines that it needs more resources to help Bangladesh to accommodate these refugees, then I’m sure that we will be more than happy to accommodate that request, because the United States, as you know, is always one of the most generous and early supporters of these kinds of appeals.

So again, Bangladesh will not be facing this problem alone. We understand that these kind of things impose a burden on countries and a cost on countries, so again, we hope very much that they will open their borders and allow people in and that UNHCR and others will be permitted to work very closely with the Bangladeshi authorities to accommodate those new refugees.

QUESTION: And my question: Was China factor discussed during the Strategic Dialogue? Because in the last couple of years, I have seen all the joint statements, but U.S.-China Dialogue didn’t mention to South Asia. And India-U.S. Dialogue, there is some mention to China. In this joint – 14-page joint statement, there’s no reference to China at all. Even the briefing, there has been no reference to China. So was this discussed or have you kept out of it?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY BLAKE: Well, China was discussed. I don’t want to say China was a focus. I mean, we were much more focused on things like Afghanistan and so forth. But as you’ve heard me say before, both India and the United States want a good, strong engagement with China, and we don’t see our strategic partnership as coming in any way at the expense of China. And so, again, I think it was more in that context. And we will continue to look for opportunities to engage bilaterally with China, but also, as you know, we have offered a trilateral dialogue with China as well that we hope that they will agree to.

MODERATOR: All right. We have a few questions on the left. We’ll start in the back.

QUESTION: Thank you. Kitty Wang (ph) with NTD TV. Regarding deepening the defense cooperation with India, did you heard any concern from the Indian part in the dialogue such as increased U.S. military presence there or deployment there?
And also, could you talk a more about your cooperation with India on the cyber security aspect?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY BLAKE: We didn’t hear any complaints, if that’s what you’re asking about, any kind of military presence. Whenever we have a military presence, it’s only at the invitation of the Government of India. And for – typically for our bilateral exercises – as you know, we have the largest program that India has with any country of bilateral military exercises. We certainly welcome those opportunities.

So we talked a little bit about that, but we also talked about how we both want to continue to try to work to expand our defense trade, particularly to take it into new areas like co-production and co-development.

MODERATOR: All right. We’ll take another –

ASSISTANT SECRETARY BLAKE: Sorry. You have one more question? Go ahead.

QUESTION: Yeah. Regarding the cyber security, how will you defend --

ASSISTANT SECRETARY BLAKE: Oh, yes. I mean, we had a good discussion on cyber security. To be honest, I don’t want to get too much into the details of what we talked about for understandable reasons, but, again, I think we see this as a very important new area of cooperation, not just because of our very large IT sectors that each of us have and the growing cooperation in that area in terms of the service industry, but also in terms of the threats that each of us face as well. And so we – again, we have common interest in sharing best practices and again, addressing those. But again, for obvious reasons, we don’t want to go too much into the details of that.

MODERATOR: All right. We’ll stay here on the left.

QUESTION: Thank you. Raghubir Goyal, India Globe and Asia Today. Mr. Secretary, two questions: One, is how much Pakistan was discussed, because Minister spoke about this yesterday at the media conference with the Indian media? He was not very happy the response he got from the U.S. as far as – many terrorists are wanted by India from Pakistan who were involved in Mumbai attacks, and also he spoke about Headley, among others. So response is not very good from Pakistan, and Pakistan is still helping those, Haqqani Network and all that are against India.

And second, my question will be: As far as U.S.-India Business Council and –
ASSISTANT SECRETARY BLAKE: Sorry. Let me answer the first one – question. Well, I didn’t see the Minister’s comments, but let me just say that we had a good conversation. We obviously share India’s concerns about some of the threats that are emanating from Pakistan, from groups like Lashkar-e Tayyiba. And we’re working very hard to – both to encourage Pakistan to take action against those, but also to prevent those kinds of attacks from occurring through our intelligence and other kinds of cooperation.

With respect to your question about David Headley and things like that, that’s really the province of the Department of Justice, and so I’d refer you to them. But as a whole, I would just tell you that there’s been very good information exchange between our two countries on – with respect to Mr. Headley and others. And we are very firmly committed to continuing that information exchange and certainly to sharing any kind of threat information the instant that we get it, because that is – that, of course, is extremely important to the security of India, but also to – an important part of our counterterrorism cooperation.

QUESTION: And second question will be on economy and trade. Since two countries, India and U.S., are the world’s largest and richest democracy, both are moving towards (inaudible) trade, economic, and other issues. But visa is a major issue among those U.S.-India Business Council and 500 Fortune companies doing business or who wants to do business in India and also vice versa, companies from India. One, are you moving forward as far as free trade agreement with India, just like you have with South Korea and other countries? Because since when you are saying that India is the most moving forward partnership now in the future? And finally visa, how far these companies they are seeking and asking more visas and but you are cutting visas rather than giving them more visas to do business in India – to do business in the U.S. Thank you, sir.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY BLAKE: Okay. There are a lot of different questions in that question. So let me try to unpack those a little a bit. (Laughter.) First of all, with respect to visas, you’re – I think you’re referring primarily to H1-B visas and, as you well know, India now receives 65 percent of the worldwide total of H1-B visas. So I think that’s a pretty commendable number and percentage and in terms of the L-1 visas – the so-called intra-company transfer visas – India receives 37 percent of those -- again, 37 of the worldwide total. Congress is the one that determines the caps for H1-B visas, not the United States Government. So – and that cap has remained fairly steady for quite a long time now.

So, again, I think we’re doing everything we can within our own, within the law to give Indian companies fair access to the H1-B system, and I think that they have shown themselves more than capable of taking advantage of all the opportunities, and we continue to welcome those kinds of workers. And the real quibble, if I might say, has been more on the L-1 – the intra-company transferees where the number of – the rate of rejections has gone up slightly. And we have a refusal rate that’s gone up a little bit because we’ve seen a higher level of unqualified applicants and in some cases some fraud. So naturally, we want to make sure that everybody that comes in is a qualified applicant and is coming for the purposes that are stated in the visa application.

So we’re looking at why that refusal rate seems to have gone up a little bit more but – in response to the concerns that have been raised. But again, I’m a strong supporter of all of our consular officers and think they do a superb job.

MODERATOR: All right. I think --

QUESTION: (Inaudible.)

ASSISTANT SECRETARY BLAKE: Oh sorry, FTA. I told you, you can’t ask me more than question at once, I can’t remember.
We’re not currently now working on a Free Trade Agreement with India. As I said earlier, our efforts are focused first on trying to conclude a Bilateral Investment Treaty. We have had a model Bilateral Investment Treaty approved earlier this year, so that then gave us the opportunity to again re-launch negotiations on the bit with India, and we’ve had some good early rounds of discussions and, again, we hope to advance those as rapidly as possible.

MODERATOR: Sir, I know your time is running short. Do we have time for one more question?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY BLAKE: Sure, sure – or a couple more.

QUESTION: I just wanted to come back to the $1 billion question and the visas.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY BLAKE: Sure.

QUESTION: What is the legal justification you mentioned for extracting a billion dollars annually from people who are ostensibly guest workers in terms of social security payments? And what is the moral justification for not returning the money? You say that there is an ongoing dialogue, but the minister actually distinctly said that the U.S. refuses to even talk about this. And this is $1 billion annually from a country that’s not very --

ASSISTANT SECRETARY BLAKE: Well, again, I don’t want to make it sound like we are discriminating against Indians. I mean, these are taxes that are taken out of every single worker in the United States, and that’s – when you come to the United States, that’s one of the things that you agree to do, is that --
QUESTION: (Inaudible.)

ASSISTANT SECRETARY BLAKE: Well, any worker. That’s just part of our system to make sure that taxes and social security and other – are automatically deducted from your paycheck. And so I don’t want to – your question implies that we’re somehow discriminating against Indians. Everybody is subject is to this --

QUESTION: Because – there are totalization agreements with countries like Belgium where the money’s returned. So why not with India?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY BLAKE: Right. But that’s – see, again, there’s an imbalance in our system between – in between what -- your system is configured completely differently from our own. If you want, I could have a chat with you offline, because it’s – it gets into very technical, complicated details. But essentially, for the moment, we’re not in a position to be able to enter into a totalization agreement with India, and we’ve explained the reasons why we can’t do that. But we understand very well their concerns.

MODERATOR: So maybe one final question.

QUESTION: I have two questions. On the sidelines of the SCO meeting, the Chinese vice premier apparently pulled aside Minister Krishna and whispered in his ear that the "real relationship," quote/unquote, is between China and India. And this was with an eye to sort of criticizing the growing U.S.-India relationship. So I was wondering if you’d like to comment on that.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY BLAKE: I don’t have anything to say beyond what I’ve already said on that. So what else?

QUESTION: Okay. The second question is on Iran oil sanctions.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY BLAKE: Sure.

QUESTION: Are we done with this, or is this going to be a recurring demand that we – India keep cutting oil imports, because this is causing unnecessary friction?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY BLAKE: No, no. We’re certainly not done. And again, this is something that we’re asking of all of our partners around the world. This is not something that’s focused on India. But the current exceptions that have been granted apply for a period of 180 days – so for a period of six months.

So we’re asking all of our friends and all countries around the world to continue to reduce their imports of oil from Iran and to discontinue transactions with the Central Bank of Iran and that there needs to be continued progress on that. So we hope we’ll see that. And again, I think that as many others have said, these sanctions have had a real impact, and they’ve helped to bring Iran to the negotiating table. And so – and have again helped to dramatically reduce Iranian oil exports from I think a high of 2.5 million barrels to down to a range of 1.2 to 1.8 million barrels a day. So that’s quite significant and it’s, again, it’s just important to keep the pressure on Iran so that they will come and negotiate with in good faith with the P-5+1 and with – and to continue, again, to work very closely with the IAEA and allow the IAEA access to all relevant facilities inside Iran.

MODERATOR: Sir, thank you very much for coming to the Foreign Press Center. This event is now concluded. Thank you all for coming.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY BLAKE: Thank you all. It was great to see you all. Thanks a lot.

U.S.-LITHUANIA RELATIONS

Map Credit:  U.S. Department of State
FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
U.S. Relations With Lithuania
Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs
Fact Sheet
June 6, 2012
U.S.-LITHUANIA RELATIONS
The U.S. and Lithuania share a history as valued allies and strong partners. The United States established diplomatic relations with Lithuania in 1922, following its declaration of independence during World War I. Lithuania was annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940 during World War II. In 1990, Lithuania proclaimed its renewed independence, and international recognition followed. The United States had never recognized the forcible incorporation of Lithuania into the Soviet Union, and it views the present Government of Lithuania as the legal continuation of the interwar republic.

Since Lithuania regained its independence, the United States has worked closely with the country to help it rebuild its democratic institutions and a market economy. The U.S. welcomed Lithuania's accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU) in 2004. As a NATO ally and EU member, Lithuania has become a strong, effective partner committed to democratic principles and values. The country is a strong supporter of U.S. objectives in the area of democracy promotion and has helped the people of other young European nations develop and strengthen civil institutions.

U.S. Assistance to Lithuania
The United States provides no significant foreign assistance to Lithuania.

Bilateral Economic Relations
Lithuania is a relatively small but potentially attractive market for U.S. goods and services. Steps undertaken during the country's accession to the EU and NATO helped improve its legal, tax, and customs systems, which aided economic and commercial sector development. The United States and Lithuania have signed an agreement on bilateral trade and intellectual property protection and a bilateral investment treaty. Lithuania participates in the visa waiver program, which allows nationals of participating countries to travel to the United States for certain business or tourism purposes for stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa.

Lithuania's Membership in International Organizations
Lithuania’s foreign policy is largely informed by what it perceives as an expansionist Russia. Lithuania and the United States belong to a number of the same international organizations, including the United Nations, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and World Trade Organization.

A VOYAGER TO INTERSTELLAR SPACE

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech  

FROM:  NASA

Data from NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft indicate that the venerable deep-space explorer has encountered a region in space where the intensity of charged particles from beyond our solar system has markedly increased. Voyager scientists looking at this rapid rise draw closer to an inevitable but historic conclusion – that humanity's first emissary to interstellar space is on the edge of our solar system.

"The laws of physics say that someday Voyager will become the first human-made object to enter interstellar space, but we still do not know exactly when that someday will be," said Ed Stone, Voyager project scientist at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. "The latest data indicate that we are clearly in a new region where things are changing more quickly. It is very exciting. We are approaching the solar system's frontier."

The data making the 16-hour-38 minute, 11.1-billion-mile (17.8-billion-kilometer), journey from Voyager 1 to antennas of NASA's Deep Space Network on Earth detail the number of charged particles measured by the two High Energy telescopes aboard the 34-year-old spacecraft. These energetic particles were generated when stars in our cosmic neighborhood went supernova.

"From January 2009 to January 2012, there had been a gradual increase of about 25 percent in the amount of galactic cosmic rays Voyager was encountering," said Stone. "More recently, we have seen very rapid escalation in that part of the energy spectrum. Beginning on May 7, the cosmic ray hits have increased five percent in a week and nine percent in a month."

This marked increase is one of a triad of data sets which need to make significant swings of the needle to indicate a new era in space exploration. The second important measure from the spacecraft's two telescopes is the intensity of energetic particles generated inside the heliosphere, the bubble of charged particles the sun blows around itself. While there has been a slow decline in the measurements of these energetic particles, they have not dropped off precipitously, which could be expected when Voyager breaks through the solar boundary.

The final data set that Voyager scientists believe will reveal a major change is the measurement in the direction of the magnetic field lines surrounding the spacecraft. While Voyager is still within the heliosphere, these field lines run east-west. When it passes into interstellar space, the team expects Voyager will find that the magnetic field lines orient in a more north-south direction. Such analysis will take weeks, and the Voyager team is currently crunching the numbers of its latest data set.

"When the Voyagers launched in 1977, the space age was all of 20 years old," said Stone. "Many of us on the team dreamed of reaching interstellar space, but we really had no way of knowing how long a journey it would be -- or if these two vehicles that we invested so much time and energy in would operate long enough to reach it.”

Launched in 1977, Voyager 1 and 2 are in good health. Voyager 2 is more than 9.1 billion miles (14.7 billion kilometers) away from the sun. Both are operating as part of the Voyager Interstellar Mission, an extended mission to explore the solar system outside the neighborhood of the outer planets and beyond. NASA's Voyagers are the two most distant active representatives of humanity and its desire to explore.

The Voyager spacecraft were built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., which continues to operate both. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology. The Voyager missions are a part of the NASA Heliophysics System Observatory, sponsored by the Heliophysics Division of the Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

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HISTORIAN ON CONFEDERATE CIVIL WAR GENERAL STONEWALL JACKSON

Picture:  Stonewall Jackson  From:  Wikimedia.

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE

Historian Describes 'Stonewall' Jackson's Rise to Prominence

By John Valceanu

WASHINGTON, June 17, 2012 - A hundred and fifty years after Confederate Army Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's Valley Campaign, a renowned Civil War historian spoke about it at the Pentagon, describing how a great success can boost a military leader's reputation to the point that it has a major impact on his future operations.

Robert K. Krick delivered a presentation June 15, titled "Stonewall Jackson's Rise to Prominence and the Shenandoah Valley Campaign," as part of a speaker series sponsored by the Historical Office within the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Krick spent four decades as a National Park Service historian and retired as the chief historian at the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park in Virginia. He is the author of 20 books and more than 200 articles on the American Civil War.

During the Valley Campaign, which lasted from late March until early June 1862, Jackson used speed and bold tactics that enabled him to successfully engage much more numerous Union forces and prevent them from reinforcing an offensive against the Confederate capital of Richmond, Va. Jackson drove his 17,000 men to march 646 miles in 48 days in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, defeating Union Armies totaling more than 52,000 men in several battles.

The general's success in the Valley Campaign created an "unbelievable metamorphosis" in his public image, according to Krick. Though Jackson had earned his nickname of "Stonewall" for standing firm at the First Battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861, Krick said that before the Valley Campaign he was known primarily for being "odd" and "eccentric." In fact, some of his subordinates held him in such low esteem in early 1862 that they jointly wrote a letter complaining about him to the secretary of war and the president himself.

At the beginning of the Valley Campaign, Jackson's soldiers were "decidedly uncertain" about his abilities, and some were actually scornful of him, Krick said. The historian described the general as a dour man who held a "generally stern worldview." He was partly deaf, very secretive and had almost no sense of humor. Before the war, he had been a relative failure as a professor of natural philosophy and instructor of artillery at the Virginia Military Institute. Students complained about him, asked for his removal and called him "Tom Fool."

Everything changed for Jackson in that spring of 1862. "By the time the Valley campaign was over, everyone recognized Jackson's genius," Krick said.

Jackson's success in the campaign was sorely needed good news for the Confederacy, Krick said, and it made the general one of the most famous and adored southern military leaders. His new status as a genius boosted the morale of southern troops, who thought he could help lead them to victory, and it demoralized Union forces, who had come to believe he was such a formidable opponent that it would be very difficult to defeat him. This attitude very likely helped Jackson in subsequent military engagements, according to the historian.

"People succeed far more often when they think they will succeed," Krick said. "And they fail far more often when they think they will fail."

The historian noted that Jackson was an old-fashioned, devotedly religious man. He believed in predestination and thought he was "God's instrument on earth" during the conflict. Even when failed terribly during the Seven Days Battles around Richmond from June 25 to July 1 1862, the general's faith in himself did not waver, and neither did Confederate soldiers' faith in his abilities as a commander.

"Jackson's greatest talent on the battlefield was that he had his jaw clenched more tightly than anyone else on either side," Krick said. "He stuck to it."

In an interview with the American Force Press Service conducted after the presentation, Krick reinforced the notion of Jackson's determination as his biggest asset.

"When things got chaotic and foggy and messy, he was more determined than anyone," Krick said. "That really was his number one characteristic."

Krick noted during the interview that Jackson is among the dozen or so most famous American military commanders of all time, despite lacking "that unbelievable capacity to determine what the enemy might to do and make the perfect counterpoint" that Frederick the Great and many other great commanders seemed to have.

"Jackson had very few resources in the valley. All he had was a small army and a lot of determination and will power, and he built that into something more than it was, which then gave him the opportunity on broader fields to do the same thing again," Krick said. "I imagine that's a universal ... human equation. Since the first people started slinging javelins at one another, determination and dedication have been an important feature."

During the interview, Krick said that those qualities would also serve today's battlefield commanders.

"It's hard to imagine there will ever be a human period of stress, turmoil and danger in which iron will, determination, dedication and willingness to stick to it do not succeed in some degree and then persuade the people who have to help you that you can succeed further," he said.

Jackson achieved the rank of lieutenant general in the Confederate Army. He died on May 10, 1863, eight days after being mistakenly shot by Confederate troops during the Battle of Chancellorsville.

TWO MEMBERS OF U.S. ARMY PLEAD GUILTY TO BRIBERY CHARGES RELATED TO FUEL THEFT IN AFGHANISTAN

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Two Members of the U.S. Army Plead Guilty to Bribery Charges Related to Fuel Theft in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON – Two members of the U.S. Army have each pleaded guilty to a bribery charge for their roles in a scheme to steal jet fuel at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Fenty near Jalalabad, Afghanistan, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division announced today.

Sergeant Regionald Dixon, 30, pleaded guilty yesterday in the District of Hawaii to one count of bribery and Specialist Larry Emmons, 25, pleaded guilty to one count of bribery on June 8, 2012.  Dixon and Emmons, both of Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Leslie Kobayashi.

According to court documents, on or about Jan. 1, 2012, Dixon and another co-conspirator sergeant in the U.S. Army, agreed to participate in a scheme to steal JP8 jet fuel from FOB Fenty.  Specialist Emmons joined the scheme when he returned to FOB Fenty from midtour leave on or about Jan. 22, 2012.

According to court documents, Dixon, Emmons and others surreptitiously filled 3,000-gallon trucks with JP8 jet fuel.  The trucks were owned by an Afghan military trucking contractor and were termed “jingle trucks” for their bright adornments.  When filling the jingle trucks, the defendants and their co-conspirators took steps to conceal their activities, including filling the trucks in clandestine locations and at times of day least likely to arouse suspicion.

Court documents state that Emmons or a co-conspirator created fraudulent transportation movement requests (TMR), military documents that officially authorize the movement of fuel from FOB Fenty to another location, usually another military base in that geographic area.  Emmons and his co-conspirator gave the fraudulent TMRs to the drivers of the jingle trucks, who presented the fraudulent TMRs at the secure departure checkpoint at FOB Fenty to justify their departure with a truckload of JP8 jet fuel.

In return for their official acts in facilitating the theft of fuel from FOB Fenty, Dixon, Emmons and a co-conspirator were paid $6,000 per 3,000-gallon truckload of JP8 jet fuel.
As part of their plea agreements, Dixon and Emmons agreed to forfeit various amounts of cash seized from them or their residences or voluntarily surrendered to federal agents.
At sentencing, scheduled for Oct. 4, 2012, Dixon and Emmons each face up to 15 years in prison.

These cases are being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Mark W. Pletcher of the Fraud Section in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.  The cases were investigated by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction; the Department of the Army, Criminal Investigations Division; the Defense Criminal Investigative Service; the FBI; and the Department of the Air Force, Office of Special Investigations.  Valuable assistance was also provided by the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.

U.S. RELATIONS WITH MOZAMBIQUE

Mozambique Map  From U. S. State Department Website.
FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
U.S. Relations With Mozambique
Bureau of African Affairs
Fact Sheet
June 13, 2012
U.S.-MOZAMBIQUE RELATIONS
Mozambique's independence from Portugal in 1975 was followed by years of civil conflict that ended in 1992. U.S. aid to Mozambique in the post-conflict period supported the peace and reconciliation process. The country has had one ruling political party since 1975. The United States and Mozambique share a commitment to economic development, improved living standards, and good governance for all Mozambicans.

U.S. Assistance to Mozambique
At the end of the civil war in 1992, Mozambique ranked among the least developed countries in the world and despite a strong macroeconomic performance, continues to be so today. The United States is the largest bilateral donor to the country and plays a leading role in donor efforts to assist Mozambique. The United States seeks to strengthen democracy and inclusive governance in Mozambique as well as a continued economic growth that expands opportunity for those most at risk. Poverty reduction and job creation remain high priorities, as do improved healthcare, education, and food security. Our role as the country’s largest bilateral donor continues, with such significant U.S. foreign assistance programs as the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the Feed the Future Initiative, and the President’s Malaria Initiative.

Bilateral Economic Relations
Bilateral trade between the United States and Mozambique rose 68% in 2011 reaching over $US 487 million according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative. A substantial amount of foreign direct investment from Mozambique comes from the United States. The two principal U.S. investors in Mozambique are Anadarko Petroleum and Mozambique Leaf Tobacco Limitada, although interest by other U.S companies is on the rise. A Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) between the two nations came into effect in March, 2005. The U.S. and Mozambique signed a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) in 2005, and the TIFA Council held its first meeting in October, 2006, with the most recent session in January 2012.

Mozambique's Membership in International Organizations
The twin pillars of Mozambique's foreign policy are maintenance of good relations with its neighbors and maintenance and expansion of ties to development partners. Mozambique and the United States belong to a number of the same international organizations, including the United Nations, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and World Trade Organization.

U.S. RELATIONS WITH MONACO

Map Credit:  U.S. State Department.
FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
U.S. Relations With Monaco
BUREAU OF EUROPEAN AND EURASIAN AFFAIRS
Fact Sheet
June 5, 2012

U.S.-MONACO RELATIONS
The United States and Monaco enjoy excellent relations, which both countries seek to maintain and strengthen. Monaco is the second-smallest independent state in the world and is linked closely to France through several treaties and agreements. For more than 150 years, Monaco and the United States have worked together as partners and friends. The two share a strong commitment to international cooperation in addressing some of the world's greatest challenges and opportunities, seeking to promote greater freedom, transparency, and human rights.

The U.S. Ambassador to France is also accredited to Monaco. The U.S. Consul General in Marseille is accredited to Monaco and handles most diplomatic and working-level contacts with Monaco.

U.S. Assistance to Monaco
The United States provides no foreign assistance to Monaco.

Bilateral Economic Relations
The United States and Monaco have a modest amount of bilateral trade in goods. Monaco has full customs integration with France, which collects and rebates Monegasque trade duties. It also participates in the European Union market system through its customs union with France. Monaco has signed a tax information exchange agreement with the United States.

Monaco's Membership in International Organizations
Monaco and the United States belong to a number of the same international organizations, including the United Nations and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Monaco also is an observer to the Organization of American States.

Bilateral Representation
The U.S. Ambassador to Monaco is Charles H. Rivkin, resident in France; other principal embassy officials are listed in the Department's Key Officers List. Day-to-day relations are handled by the Consul General in Marseille.

ESA Portal - Switzerland - Français - Le secteur spatial européen et les futurs lanceurs vus par la jeune génération

ESA Portal - Switzerland - Français - Le secteur spatial européen et les futurs lanceurs vus par la jeune génération

ESA Portal - Czech Republic - Družice a pirátství na širém moři

ESA Portal - Czech Republic - Družice a pirátství na širém moři

AIR FORCE VEHICLE COMES IN FOR LANDNG

FROM:  AIR FORCE SPACE COMMAND
The Air Force's unmanned, reusable space plane landed in the early morning of June 16 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., a successful conclusion to a record-setting test-flight mission that began March 5 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. (U.S. Air Force file photo) 

Air Force space vehicle comes in for a landing
by Tech. Sgt. Julie Weckerlein
Air Force Public Affairs Agency

6/18/2012 - WASHNGTON (AFNS) -- The Air Force's unmanned, reusable space plane landed in the early morning of June 16 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., a successful conclusion to a record-setting test-flight mission that began March 5, 2011, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.

The X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle, one of two such vehicles, spent 469 days in orbit to conduct on-orbit experiments, primarily checkout of the vehicle itself.

"The vehicle was designed for a mission duration of about 270 days," said Lt. Col. Tom McIntyre, the X-37B program manager. "We knew from post-flight assessments from the first mission that OTV-1 could have stayed in orbit longer. So one of the goals of this mission was to see how much farther we could push the on-orbit duration."

Managed by the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, the X-37B program performs risk reduction, experimentation, and concept of operations development for reusable space vehicle technologies. The X-37B mission is the longest space mission only after the NASA Discovery shuttle program.

The 11,000-pound state-of-the-art vehicle, which is about a fourth the size of the shuttle, allows space technology experts to continue sending up experiments, with results returning safely to Earth for study.

"With the retirement of the space shuttle fleet, the X-37B OTV program brings a singular capability to space technology development," McIntyre said. "The return capability allows the Air Force to test new technologies without the same risk commitment faced by other programs"

The vehicle was initially a NASA initiative, but was transferred to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in 2004. When it first launched in 2006, it was lauded for its cutting-edge technologies, such as the auto de-orbit capability, thermal protection tiles, and high-temperature components and seals.

"The X-37B's advanced thermal protection and solar power systems, and environmental modeling and range safety technologies are just some of the technologies being tested," said McIntyre. "Each mission helps us continue to advance the state-of-the-art in these areas."

EPA ISSUES TIPS FOR STAYING COOL THIS SUMMER

FROM:  U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
EPA's Fifteen Hot Tips for a Cool Summer
Save money, water, energy while protecting health and encouraging environmental learning
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released today a list of 15 tips for the summer season, which kicks off June 20th. Whether relaxing at home or off exploring the great outdoors there are many ways people can save money, cut energy costs and continue to protect the health of their families while still enjoying the summer.

Tips for a safe and enjoyable summer:
1. Energy Star savings for your home: The average home spends almost 20 percent of its utility bill on cooling. These cooling bills can be lowered by simply changing out incandescent light bulbs with EPA's Energy Star qualified lighting, which use less energy and produce approximately 75 percent less heat. Raising your thermostat by only two degrees and using your ceiling fan can lower cooling costs by up to 14 percent too. http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=products.es_at_home

2. Increase your gas mileage: Obey the speed limit; go easy on the breaks and avoid hard accelerations; reduce your time idling; and unload unnecessary items in your trunk to reduce weight. If you're not using your removable roof rack take it off to improve your fuel economy. http://www.fueleconomy.gov

3. Prevent skin cancer and be SunWise: Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the U.S. and is the most common cancer among 20 to 30-year-olds. Remember to practice safe sun habits. http://www.epa.gov/sunwise/actionsteps.html

4. Heading to the beach? Check the water: Americans take almost two billion trips to the beach every year. Beaches are a place to play, watch wildlife, fish, and swim. Learn more on how to plan a safe trip to the beach and check out state specific beach advisory and closing notifications. http://water.epa.gov/type/oceb/beaches/whereyoulive_state.cfm

5. Take EPA's apps with you on your smartphone: The AirNow app gives location-specific current air quality information to use to protect your health when planning daily activities and the Ultraviolet (UV) Index app provides daily and hourly forecast of the UV radiation levels from the sun so you can better prevent overexposure to the sun.http://m.epa.gov/apps/index.html

6. Enjoy the outdoors and capture the State of the Environment: Almost 40 years ago, EPA's Documerica project captured thousands of images across the nation as EPA’s work was just beginning. Now it’s your chance to mark the progress and submit environmental photos to EPA's State of the Environment photo project. http://blog.epa.gov/epplocations/about/

7. Protect yourself with insect repellents: Mosquitoes and ticks can carry diseases but you can protect yourself by choosing the right repellent and using it correctly. Read the product label before using; apply just enough to cover exposed skin and clothing; and look for the protection time that meets your needs. Children can use the same repellents as adults unless there is a restriction on the label. http://epa.gov/pesticides/insect/safe.htm

8. Water wisely: A large percentage of water we use at home is used outdoors. As much as 30 percent of that outdoor water use can be wasted due to evaporation by watering in the middle of the day. Water in the morning when winds are calm and temperatures are cool. Look for the new WaterSense labeled weather-based irrigation controller that uses local weather data to determine whether your sprinkler system should turn on. http://www.epa.gov/watersense

9. Clean greener: If you're going to wash the car, deck, boat, or RV– be sure to look for the Design for the Environment (DfE) label to quickly identify and choose cleaning products that are safer for families and also help protect the environment. Look for the DfE label on grill cleaners as well. http://www.epa.gov/dfe

10. Improve your indoor air: About 90 percent of people's time is spent indoors. While inside this summer, make sure to free your house of mold, test your home for radon, check your carbon monoxide detector and ask those who smoke to go outdoors. http://www.epa.gov/iaq

11. Check into an Energy Star hotel: On average, America’s 47,000 hotels spend more than $2,000 per available room each year on energy. Look for an Energy Star certified hotel--they perform in the top 25 percent of hotels nationwide, use an average of 35 percent less energy and emit an average of 35 percent less greenhouse gas emissions than peers.http://www.energystar.gov/buildinglist

12. Waste less and remember to recycle: Each year, Americans generate millions of tons of waste in homes and communities but it's easy to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Recycled items such as glass can be used in roadway asphalt (glassphalt) and recovered plastic can be used in carpeting and park benches. Learn what you can do to waste less.http://www.epa.gov/waste/wycd/summer.htm

13. Season firewood: Summer is a great time to season firewood in preparation for fall and winter. Remember to split firewood to the proper size for your wood stove or fireplace, but no larger than 6 inches in diameter; stack firewood to allow air to circulate around it; cover the top of the stack to protect it from the rain; and store your firewood for at least 6 months before using it. http://www.epa.gov/burnwise

14. Looking for a summer project and tired of the heat? Try composting: Composting can be a fun and educational summer project that saves landfill space, helps feed the soil and prevents methane, a potent greenhouse gas.http://www.epa.gov/waste/conserve/rrr/composting/basic.htm

15. Let summer inspire you and submit Six Words for the Planet: Keep the creativity flowing beyond the school year and into the summer by submitting a meaningful story or idea in just six words.

MT. SAINT HELENS AND TOPOGRAPHIC CHANGES

Photo: Mt. St. Helens.  Image credit: NASA/JPL/NGA 
FROM:  NASA
Mount Saint Helens
Mount Saint Helens exemplifies how Earth's topographic form can change greatly even within our lifetimes. The mountain is one of several prominent volcanoes of the Cascade Range that stretches from British Columbia, Canada, southward through Washington, Oregon and into northern California. Mount Adams (left background) and Mount Hood (right background) are also seen in this view, which was created entirely from elevation data produced by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission.

Prior to 1980, Mount Saint Helens had a shape roughly similar to other Cascade peaks, a tall, bold, irregular conic form that rose to 9,677 feet (2,950 meters). However, the explosive eruption of May 18, 1980, caused the upper 1,300 feet (400 meters) of the mountain to collapse, slide and spread northward, covering much of the adjacent terrain (lower left), leaving a crater atop the greatly shortened mountain. Subsequent eruptions built a volcanic dome within the crater, and the high rainfall of this area lead to substantial erosion of the poorly consolidated landslide material.

Eruptions at Mount Saint Helens subsided in 1986, but renewed volcanic activity here and at other Cascade volcanoes is inevitable. Predicting such eruptions still presents challenges, but migration of magma within these volcanoes often produces distinctive seismic activity and minor but measurable topographic changes that can give warning of a potential eruption.

CHECK CASHIERS AND BUSINESSES CHARGED WITH ANTI-MONEY-LAUNDERING VIOLATIONS TOTALING OVER $50 MILLION

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Check Cashers in Brooklyn, Philadelphia and Los Angeles Charged for Alleged Violations of Anti-Money Laundering Laws

WASHINGTON – Seven individuals and four check cashing businesses were charged today in the Eastern District of New York and the Central District of California for their alleged roles in separate schemes to violate the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA).  The defendants allegedly failed to follow reporting and anti-money laundering requirements for transactions totaling more than $50 million.

The enforcement actions were announced today by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Loretta E. Lynch of the Eastern District of New York; U.S. Attorney André Birotte of the Central District of California; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director John Morton; FBI Assistant Directors in Charge Janice K. Fedarcyk and Steven Martinez; Richard Weber, Chief of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); Daniel R. Levinson, Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); and Benjamin M. Lawsky, Superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services.

Four indictments filed under seal on June 12, 2012, and unsealed today, charge the defendants with failure to file currency transaction reports (CTRs) or falsely filing CTRs, as well as failure to have an effective anti-money laundering program, all violations under the BSA.

Two of the indictments, charging three individuals and two check cashing businesses, were returned in Los Angeles and two indictments, charging four individuals and two check cashing businesses were returned in Brooklyn, N.Y.  All seven individual defendants were arrested or surrendered to authorities today.

The BSA is a set of laws and regulations enacted by Congress to address an increase in criminal money laundering through financial institutions, which includes check cashing businesses.  Check cashers enable people to cash checks without having to go to a bank or maintain a bank account.  A check casher will typically charge a fee for this service.

Under the BSA, financial institutions, including check cashers, are required to file a CTR with the Department of Treasury for any transaction involving more than $10,000 in currency.  As part of the CTR, the check casher is required to verify and accurately record the name and address of the individual who conducted the currency transaction, the individual on whose behalf the transaction was conducted, as well as the amount and date of the transaction.  CTRs are important law enforcement tools for uncovering criminal activity.

The BSA also requires financial institutions, including check cashing businesses, to maintain an effective anti-money laundering (AML) program.  The purpose of an AML program is to effectively detect and prevent attempts to facilitate money laundering.  Check-cashing businesses are therefore required to have written policies and procedures regarding CTR filings, records maintenance and responses to law enforcement.
According to the indictments, despite these regulations, check-cashing businesses are a common venue for individuals who want to anonymously cash large numbers of checks to facilitate fraud and money laundering schemes.  According to the indictments, the use of check cashers to launder money is particularly prevalent in the area of health care fraud, where fraudulent health care businesses commonly convert the proceeds of their fraud into cash by presenting checks to check cashers who they know will not ask for proof of the payee’s identity and will either not file CTRs or file false CTRs.

“Today’s indictments put unscrupulous check cashers on notice that we are scrutinizing their conduct,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer.  “They may think that they are flying under the radar, but they are not.  These defendants are charged with filing false currency transaction reports, or not filing them at all, and other serious violations of the Bank Secrecy Act.  We will not tolerate check cashing businesses evading anti-money laundering laws.”

“These indictments send a clear message that we will not tolerate the willful failure of check-cashing businesses to take all steps under the law to prevent their businesses from being used to launder the proceeds of crime,” said U.S. Attorney Lynch.  “We are pleased to be working closely with the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section of the Department of Justice and our federal law enforcement partners in the investigation and prosecution of these important cases.”

“The Bank Secrecy Act provides law enforcement with a powerful tool to detect and prevent crime by requiring financial institutions to document and submit reports on certain currency transactions,” said U.S. Attorney Birotte.  “Those who seek to evade the restrictions of the Bank Secrecy Act – both individuals and financial institutions – will be aggressively pursued by the Department of Justice and its partners in federal, state and local law enforcement.”

According to a superseding indictment filed in the Eastern District of New York, Belair Payroll Services, a check cashing store in Flushing, N.Y.; its owner, Craig Panzera; and two other individuals, Lasha Goletiani and Zhan Petrosyants, are charged for their alleged roles in a scheme to violate the BSA.  Specifically, Goletiani and Petrosyants allegedly caused Belair to file false CTRs and Panzera allegedly caused Belair to fail to have an effective AML program.  In addition, Panzera has been charged with conspiring to commit tax violations with respect to the fees Belair received in connection with the scheme.
As part of the scheme, which lasted from June 2009 through June 2011, Goletiani, 32, and Petrosyants, 30, presented to Belair’s manager and other employees, checks to be cashed at Belair.  The checks were written on accounts of shell corporations that appeared to be health care related, but in fact, the corporations did no legitimate business.  The shell corporations and their corresponding bank accounts on which the checks were written, were established in the names of foreign nationals, many of whom were no longer in the United States.

The indictment alleges that employees at Belair accepted these checks and provided cash in excess of $10,000 to Goletiani or Petrosyants.  Panzera, 46, and others at Belair never obtained any identification documents or information from Goletiani or Petrosyants.  Belair allegedly filed CTRs that falsely stated the checks were cashed by the foreign nationals who set up the shell corporations, and in certain CTRs, Belair allegedly failed to indicate the full amount of cash provided to Goletiani or Petrosyants.  Goletiani and Petrosyants cashed more than $19 million through Belair during the course of the scheme.  The indictment unsealed today supersedes an indictment returned against Goletiani in July 2011, for conspiring to cause Belair to file false CTRs.  Approximately $3.2 million has been seized from Belair’s bank accounts in connection with this conduct.

A second indictment filed in the Eastern District of New York charges Bargain Island, a check cashing business in Philadelphia, and its owner and operator, George Gonchar, 51, with failure to file CTRs and failure to have an effective AML program.  According to the indictment, from October 2009 through October 2010, individuals acting as check couriers brought multiple checks from Brooklyn made payable to various medical services companies, to Bargain Island and presented them to Gonchar for cashing.  On almost all occasions, the checks exceeded, in the aggregate, $10,000.  As alleged in the indictment, Gonchar knew that the check couriers presenting the checks to Bargain Island had no connection to the checks other than acting as couriers.  Despite this knowledge, Gonchar falsely indicated in CTR filings that the checks were cashed on behalf of the couriers themselves or for companies associated with the couriers.  Bargain Island cashed more than $5.8 million in checks from couriers in this manner.

A third indictment filed in the Central District of California charges G&A Check Cashing, a check cashing business in Los Angeles; its general manager, Karen Gasparian, 31; and an employee and designated compliance officer, Humberto Sanchez, 53, with BSA violations.  The indictment alleges that two separate cooperating witnesses presented bundles of checks totaling more than $10,000 to Gasparian and Sanchez at G&A.  The checks were written on accounts for businesses that purported to be health care businesses.  G&A deposited the checks into its operating accounts over a period of several days, and then provided cash, in excess of $10,000 to the cooperating witnesses.  Neither Gasparian nor Sanchez filed CTRs on these transactions even though they were well aware of the requirement to do so.  More than $100,000 in checks were cashed in this manner over the course of 10 transactions, yet no CTRs were ever filed.  This practice extended beyond the cooperating witnesses.  From 2006 through 2012, G&A conducted approximately 800 transactions that were each in excess of $10,000 and paid out more than $20 million in cash on those transactions without ever filing a CTR.

A fourth indictment filed in the Central District of California charges AAA Cash Advance, a check cashing business in Los Angeles, and its manager, Diana Brigitt, 35, with violations of the BSA.  From August 2010 through February 2012, Brigitt, on behalf of AAA, allegedly repeatedly cashed bundles of checks totaling more than $10,000 without filing any CTRs.  The checks were presented by a cooperating witness and were written on accounts that appeared to be for health care businesses.  More than $100,000 in checks were cashed in this manner over eight transactions, yet no CTRs were ever filed.  From January 2008 through February 2012, AAA’s banks reported that AAA had withdrawn approximately $5 million in cash, yet during this same time period, AAA filed only seven CTRs on transactions greater than $10,000.

“This complex financial investigation, conducted by Homeland Security Investigation’s (HSI) El Dorado Task Force and our law enforcement partners, is indicative of the lengths that criminal enterprises go in an effort to conceal their illicit conduct,” said ICE Director John Morton.  “These individuals permitted the cashing of over $19 million in checks with a blatant disregard for the legal safeguards intended to prevent criminals access to our financial system. HSI is determined to expose these vulnerabilities and to shutdown money laundering operations that threaten our nation’s security.”

“Money laundering is at the foundation of so many criminal schemes, which is why the FBI and our partners place a high priority on policing it,” said FBI Assistant Director Fedarcyk.  “By cracking down on money laundering, we put teeth in the truism that crime doesn’t pay.”

“The charges exemplify the increasingly complex schemes devised to evade anti-money laundering laws,” said FBI Assistant Director Martinez.  “The FBI and our trusted partners are resolute in our commitment to match and counter those efforts with the resources and long-term focus necessary to decipher these schemes that cost taxpayers hundreds of millions annually in the Los Angeles area.”

“From coast to coast the IRS will take every step necessary to ferret out those who attempt to avoid their reporting obligations under the law,” Chief Weber of IRS-CI.  “This joint effort continues to demonstrate our efforts to ensure that the financial services industry will not be used for personal financial gain and will be operated in a fair and honest manner to promote the public interest.”

“Anti-money laundering laws are an important tool in the fight against health care fraud, as check cashers are often used to convert ill-gotten Medicare proceeds,” said Inspector General Levinson.

“These vital investigations show the need for constant vigilance against dirty check cashers,” said Superintendent Lawsky.  “We will use all our enforcement tools to stamp out the use of check cashers to facilitate crime such as health care fraud.  We will continue to work with all our law enforcement partners on these important investigations.”

The cases announced today are being prosecuted by Money Laundering and Bank Integrity Unit Trial Attorneys Matthew Haslinger, Matthew Klecka and Claiborne Porter and Forfeiture Unit Trial Attorney Jeanette Gunderson from the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Kleinberg of the Eastern District of New York and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Kirman of the Central District of California.  The department acknowledges the invaluable assistance of the Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

The Money Laundering and Bank Integrity Unit investigates and prosecutes complex, multi-district and international criminal cases involving financial institutions and individuals who violate the money laundering statutes, the Bank Secrecy Act and other related statutes.  The unit’s prosecutions generally focus on three types of violators: financial institutions, including their officers, managers and employees, whose actions threaten the integrity of the individual institution or the wider financial system; professional money launderers and gatekeepers who provide their services to serious criminal organizations; and individuals and entities engaged in using the latest and most sophisticated money laundering techniques and tools.

The cases are being investigated by agents from the ICE-HSI, FBI, IRS-CI, HHS-OIG and the New York State Department of Financial Services.

An indictment is merely a charge and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

SPAIN: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT PROFILE

Map From:  U.S. State Department Website:  
PROFILE
Geography 
Area: 504,750 sq. km. (194,884 sq. mi.), including the Balearic and Canary Islands; about the size of Arizona and Utah combined.

Cities (2010 census): Capital--Madrid (3.3 million). Other cities--Barcelona (1.6 million), Valencia (809,267), Seville (704,198), Malaga (568,507), Zaragoza 675,121), Bilbao (353,187).
Terrain: High plateaus, lowland areas such as narrow coastal plains, and mountainous regions.

Climate: Temperate. Summers are hot in the interior and more moderate and cloudy along the coast; winters are cold in interior and partly cloudy and cool along the coast.
Time zone: Spanish mainland and Balearic Isles--local time is 1 hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) in winter and 2 hours ahead in summer. Canary Islands are on GMT.

People
Nationality: Noun--Spaniard(s). Adjective--Spanish.
Population (National Institute of Statistics (INE), January 1, 2011): 47,190,493.
Ethnic groups: Distinct ethnic groups within Spain include the Basques, Catalans, and Galicians.
Religion: Predominantly Roman Catholic (approx. 75%); Protestant and Islamic faiths also have a significant presence.

Languages: Spanish (official) 74%, Catalan-Valencian 17%, Galician 7%, Basque 2%.
Education: Years compulsory--to age 16. Literacy (INE, third quarter 2008)--97.6%.
Work force (third quarter 2011): 18.156 million.
Unemployment rate (third quarter 2011): 21.52%.

Government 
Type: Constitutional monarchy (Juan Carlos I proclaimed King November 22, 1975).
Constitution: 1978.
Branches: Executive--president of government nominated by monarch, subject to approval by democratically elected Congress of Deputies. Legislative--bicameral Cortes: a 350-seat Congress of Deputies (elected by the d'Hondt system of proportional representation) and a Senate. Four senators are elected in each of 47 peninsular provinces, 16 are elected from the three island provinces, and Ceuta and Melilla elect two each; this accounts for 208 senators. The parliaments of the 17 autonomous regions also elect one senator as well as one additional senator for every 1 million inhabitants within their territory (about 20 senators). Judicial--Constitutional Tribunal has jurisdiction over constitutional issues. Supreme Tribunal heads system comprising territorial, provincial, regional, and municipal courts.

Subdivisions: 47 peninsular and three island provinces; two enclaves on the Mediterranean coast of Morocco (Ceuta and Melilla) and three island groups along that coast--Alhucemas, Penon de Velez de la Gomera, and the Chafarinas Islands.

Political parties: Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE), Popular Party (PP), and the United Left (IU) coalition. Key regional parties are the Convergence and Union (CIU) in Catalonia and the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) in the Basque country.

Economy
GDP (2011): $1.487 trillion (€1.068 trillion); seventh-largest economy in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Per capita GDP (2011): $31,508 (€22,635).
GDP annual growth rate (2011): 0.7%.
Natural resources: Coal, lignite, iron ore, uranium, mercury, pyrites, fluorspar, gypsum, zinc, lead, tungsten, copper, kaolin, hydroelectric power.
Agriculture and fisheries (2.3% of GDP, 2011): Products--grains, vegetables, citrus and deciduous fruits, wine, olives and olive oil, sunflowers, livestock and poultry, dairy products, seafood.
Industry (11.7% of GDP, 2011): Types--processed foods, textiles, footwear, petrochemicals, steel, automobiles, consumer goods, electronics.
Services (2011): 66.91% of GDP.
Trade (2011): Exports--$293.8 billion (€211.1 billion): automobiles, fruits, minerals, metals, clothing, footwear, textiles. Major markets--EU 66.7%, U.S. 4.4%. Imports--$361.2 billion (€259.5 billion): petroleum, oilseeds, aircraft, grains, chemicals, machinery, transportation equipment, fish, consumer goods. Major sources--EU 52.8%, U.S. 4%.
Average exchange rate (2011): 1 euro=U.S. $1.392.

PEOPLE 
Spain's population density, lower than that of most European countries, is roughly equivalent to New England's. In recent years, following a longstanding pattern in the rest of Europe, rural populations are moving to cities. Urban areas are also experiencing a significant increase in immigrant populations, chiefly from North Africa, South America, and Eastern Europe.

Spain has no official religion. The constitution of 1978 disestablished the Roman Catholic Church as the official state religion, while recognizing the role it plays in Spanish society. According to the National Institute of Statistics (April 2010), 73.2% of the population are Catholic, 2.3% belong to another religion, 14.6% are agnostic, and 7.6% are atheists.

Educational System 
About 70% of Spain's student population attends public schools or universities. The remainder attends private schools or universities, the great majority of which are operated by the Catholic Church. Compulsory education begins with primary school or general basic education for ages 6-14. It is free in public schools and in many private schools, most of which receive government subsidies. Following graduation, students attend either a secondary school offering a general high school diploma or a school of professional education (corresponding to grades 9-12 in the United States) offering a vocational training program. The Spanish university system offers degree and post-graduate programs in all fields--law, sciences, humanities, and medicine--and the superior technical schools offer programs in engineering and architecture.

HISTORY
The Iberian Peninsula has been settled for millennia. Some of Europe's most impressive Paleolithic cultural sites are located in Spain, including the famous caves at Altamira that contain spectacular paintings dating from about 15,000 to 25,000 years ago. Beginning in the ninth century BC, Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, and Celts entered the Iberian Peninsula. The Romans followed in the second century BC and laid the groundwork for Spain's present language, religion, and laws. Although the Visigoths arrived in the fifth century AD, the last Roman strongholds along the southern coast did not fall until the seventh century AD. In 711, North African Moors sailed across the straits, swept into Andalusia, and within a few years, pushed the Visigoths up the peninsula to the Cantabrian Mountains. The Reconquest--efforts to drive out the Moors--lasted until 1492. By 1512, the unification of present-day Spain was complete.

During the 16th century, Spain became the most powerful nation in Europe, due to the immense wealth derived from its presence in the Americas. But a series of long, costly wars and revolts, capped by the English defeat of the "Invincible Armada" in 1588, began a steady decline of Spanish power in Europe. Controversy over succession to the throne consumed the country during the 18th century, leading to an occupation by France during the Napoleonic era in the early 1800s and a series of armed conflicts throughout much of the 19th century.

The 19th century saw the revolt and independence of most of Spain's colonies in the Western Hemisphere; three wars over the succession issue; the brief ousting of the monarchy and establishment of the First Republic (1873-74); and, finally, the Spanish-American War (1898), in which Spain lost Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines to the United States. A period of dictatorial rule (1923-31) ended with the establishment of the Second Republic. It was dominated by increasing political polarization, culminating in the leftist Popular Front electoral victory in 1936. Pressures from all sides, coupled with growing and unchecked violence, led to the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in July 1936.

Following the victory of his nationalist forces in 1939, General Francisco Franco ruled a nation exhausted politically and economically. Spain was officially neutral during World War II but followed a pro-Axis policy. Therefore, the victorious Allies isolated Spain at the beginning of the postwar period. The country signed the Mutual Defense Assistance Agreement with the U.S. on September 26, 1953 and joined the United Nations in 1955. In 1959, under an International Monetary Fund (IMF) stabilization plan, the country began liberalizing trade and capital flows, particularly foreign direct investment.

Despite the success of economic liberalization, Spain remained for years the most closed economy in Western Europe--judged by the small measure of foreign trade to economic activity--and the pace of reform slackened during the 1960s as the state remained committed to "guiding" the economy. Nevertheless, in the 1960s and 1970s, Spain was transformed into a modern industrial economy with a thriving tourism sector. Its economic expansion led to improved income distribution and helped develop a large middle class. Social changes brought about by economic prosperity and the inflow of new ideas helped set the stage for Spain's transition to democracy during the latter half of the 1970s.

Upon the death of General Franco in November 1975, Franco's personally-designated heir Prince Juan Carlos de Borbon y Borbon assumed the titles of king and chief of state. Dissatisfied with the slow pace of post-Franco liberalization, he replaced Franco's last prime minister with Adolfo Suarez in July 1976. Suarez entered office promising that elections would be held within 1 year, and his government moved to enact a series of laws to liberalize the new regime. Spain's first elections since 1936 to the Cortes (Parliament) were held on June 15, 1977. Prime Minister Suarez's Union of the Democratic Center (UCD), a moderate center-right coalition, won 34% of the vote and the largest bloc of seats in the Cortes.

Under Suarez, the new Cortes set about drafting a democratic constitution that was overwhelmingly approved by voters in a national referendum in December 1978.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS 
Parliamentary democracy was restored following the 1975 death of General Franco, who had ruled since the end of the civil war in 1939. The 1978 constitution established Spain as a parliamentary monarchy, with the prime minister responsible to the bicameral Cortes (Congress of Deputies and Senate) elected every 4 years. On February 23, 1981, rebel elements among the security forces seized the Cortes and tried to impose a military-backed government. However, the great majority of the military forces remained loyal to King Juan Carlos, who used his personal authority to put down the bloodless coup attempt.

In October 1982, the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE), led by Felipe Gonzalez, swept both the Congress of Deputies and Senate, winning an absolute majority. Gonzalez and the PSOE ruled for the next 13 years. During that period, Spain joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Community.

In March 1996, Jose Maria Aznar's Popular Party (PP) won a plurality of votes. Aznar moved to decentralize powers to the regions and liberalize the economy, with a program of privatization, labor market reform, and measures designed to increase competition in selected markets. During Aznar's first term, Spain fully integrated into European institutions, qualifying for the European Monetary Union, and participated, along with the United States and other NATO allies, in military operations in the former Yugoslavia. President Aznar and the PP won reelection in March 2000, obtaining absolute majorities in both houses of parliament.

After the terrorist attacks on the U.S. on September 11, 2001, President Aznar became a key ally in the fight against terrorism. Spain backed the military action against the Taliban in Afghanistan and took a leadership role within the European Union (EU) in pushing for increased international cooperation on terrorism. The Aznar government, with a rotating seat on the UN Security Council, supported the intervention in Iraq.

Spanish parliamentary elections on March 14, 2004 came only 3 days after a devastating terrorist attack on Madrid commuter rail lines that killed 191 and wounded over 1,400. With large voter turnout, PSOE won the election and its leader, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, took office on April 17, 2004. Carrying out campaign promises, the Zapatero government immediately withdrew Spanish forces from Iraq but continued to support Iraq reconstruction efforts. The Zapatero government supported coalition efforts in Afghanistan, including increasing Spanish troop strength in Afghanistan by 50% in February 2010 as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) troop surge, bringing Spain to its current commitment of 1,500 troops. The Zapatero administration also provided assets, including use of the Moron air base and Rota naval base, in support of Operation Unified Protector in Libya in 2011.

In 2010 Spain’s real estate bubble, the main driver of economic growth for more than a decade, started to collapse. Zapatero's administration was slow to recognize the extent of the problem and did not take aggressive measures until mid-2010, by which time his popularity had plummeted. In May 2011, Zapatero’s PSOE party suffered a heavy defeat in regional elections, losing the majority of regional and municipal governments to the PP. Bowing to PP pressure, Zapatero called for early national elections, moving them up from March 2012 to November 2011. In the November 20 elections, the PP won 187 parliamentary seats, the most ever for a PP government, giving it an absolute parliamentary majority. The PP's Mariano Rajoy became the president of the government (prime minister).

Local Government
The 1978 constitution authorized the creation of regional autonomous governments. By 1985, 17 regions covering all of peninsular Spain, the Canaries, and the Balearic Islands had negotiated autonomy statutes with the central government. In 1979, the first autonomous elections were held in the Basque and Catalan regions, which have the strongest regional traditions by virtue of their history and separate languages. Since then, autonomous governments have been created in the remainder of the 17 regions. Successive central governments have continued to devolve powers to the regional governments, especially health care, education, and other social programs.

Terrorism 
The Government of Spain is involved in a long-running campaign against Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA), a terrorist organization founded in 1959 and dedicated to promoting Basque independence. ETA targets Spanish security forces, military personnel, Spanish Government officials, politicians of the Popular Party and the Socialist Party (PSOE), and business people and civilian institutions that do not support ETA. The group has carried out numerous bombings against Spanish Government facilities and economic targets, including a car bomb assassination attempt on then-opposition leader Aznar in 1995 in which his armored car was destroyed but he was unhurt. The Spanish Government attributes over 800 deaths to ETA terrorism since its campaign of violence began. In recent years, the government has had more success in controlling ETA, due in part to increased security cooperation with French authorities.

In November 1999, ETA ended a cease-fire it declared in September 1998. Following the end of that cease-fire, ETA conducted a campaign of violence and has been blamed for the deaths of some 50 Spanish citizens and officials. Each attack has been followed by massive anti-ETA demonstrations around the country, clearly demonstrating that the majority of Spaniards, including the majority of Spain's Basque populace, have no tolerance for continued ETA violence. In March 2006, ETA declared another cease-fire, which it ended in June 2007 as a number of bombings and assassinations continued. In December 2007, two undercover Spanish police officers were killed in Capbreton, in France's southwestern region, by suspected ETA gunmen. Days before Spain's general elections in March 2008, former councilman Isaias Carrasco was murdered outside of his home by an ETA gunman. It was seen by many as a political move by ETA to try and influence the elections. Ignacio Uria Mendizabal, head of the Altuna y Uria company, was assassinated on December 3, 2008. The company was involved in the construction of a high-speed rail network in the region, a project opposed by ETA.

In 2009, ETA marked its 50th anniversary with a series of high-profile and deadly bombings. On July 29, ETA detonated an explosive-laden, stolen van outside a Civil Guard barracks in Burgos. The blast injured more than 60 Civil Guards, spouses, and children. The following day, ETA murdered two Civil Guards in Mallorca with a car bomb. ETA had claimed its first victim of the year weeks earlier when it used a car bomb on June 19 to assassinate a national police officer in the Basque Region.

Also in 2009, the Basque regional government underwent a change of administration. The Socialist Party, under Patxi Lopez's regional leadership, assumed power as the first non-Basque nationalist government to administer the Basque country since the restoration of democracy in Spain 3 decades earlier. Lopez's administration implemented a more unequivocal counterterrorism policy to confront ETA. Meanwhile, Spain was pleased to see that the European Court of Human Rights in June upheld Spain's 2003 ban on the political party Batasuna for its ties to ETA.

The Spanish Government pursues a vigorous counterterrorist policy and has worked closely with its international allies to foil several suspected ETA attacks. In May 2008, Francisco Javier Lopez Pena, the political-military head of ETA, was arrested in Bordeaux. In November 2008, French authorities arrested reputed ETA military chief Miguel De Garikoitz Aspiazu Rubina, alias "Txeroki", closely followed by the arrest of his successor on December 8, 2008. These arrests struck a severe blow to the leadership of ETA. France and Spain have stepped up cooperation to crack down on ETA since a special accord was signed in January 2008 allowing Spanish agents to operate in southwestern France. Arrests by security forces have continued to decimate ETA, with 375 arrests since January 2008 (including 244 in Spain and 115 in France). These arrests have included those of key leaders, such as a March 11, 2011 raid in which ETA leader Alejandro Zobran Arriola and three other suspects were arrested by French police in a remote village near the Belgian border. ETA declared a permanent cease-fire in October 2010 and again in January 2011, followed by a “definitive cessation of armed activity,” but has yet to disarm or disband.

Radical Islamic terrorists are known to operate cells in Spain. On March 11, 2004, only 3 days before national elections, 10 bombs were detonated on crowded commuter trains during rush hour. Three were deactivated by security forces and one was found unexploded. Evidence quickly surfaced that jihadist terrorists were responsible for the attack that killed 191 people. Spanish investigative services and the judicial system have aggressively sought to arrest and prosecute suspected Al Qaeda-linked members and actively cooperate with foreign governments to diminish the transnational terrorist threat. A Spanish court convicted 18 individuals in September 2005 for their role in supporting Al Qaeda, and Spanish police disrupted numerous Islamist extremist cells operating in the country. The trial against 29 people for their alleged participation in the Madrid March 11, 2004 terrorist attack started in February 2007. One of the 29 was absolved during the trial. The prosecutor asked for sentences as high as 30,000 years of jail for some of them. In October 2007 three of the suspects were convicted of murder for their roles in the 2004 attack and received over 42,000 years in prison. Overall, 21 of 28 defendants were found guilty of some offense for their role in the bombings. In July 2008 the Spanish Supreme Court announced the acquittal on appeal of four of the 21 convicted defendants. The Supreme Court also upheld the lower court's acquittal of the suspected mastermind of the attacks, agreeing with the lower court's decision that because he had already been sentenced in Italy for belonging to a terrorist organization he could not be tried for the same crime twice. In a separate case, the Supreme Court overturned 14 of the 20 convictions, and reduced four other sentences, of a cell sentenced in February 2008 for plotting to truck-bomb the National Court.

In January 2008, Spanish authorities in Barcelona arrested 14 people believed to be connected to a Pakistani terrorist cell allegedly sympathetic to Al Qaeda. The group, potentially linked to Islamic terrorist activities, was believed to be on the verge of a terrorist bombing campaign against Barcelona's transportation network and possibly other targets in Europe. An informant working for the French intelligence services notified Spanish authorities of the pending attack. Spanish security forces have arrested 85 suspected violent extremists since April 2008.

Principal Government Officials
Chief of State, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces--King Juan Carlos I
President of the Government (Prime Minister)--Mariano Rajoy
Minister of Foreign Affairs--Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo
Ambassador to the United States--D. Jorge Dezcallar

Spain maintains an embassy in the United States at 2375 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037 (tel. 202-452-0100) and nine consulates in U.S. cities.

ECONOMY 
Spain's accession to the European Community--now European Union (EU)--in January 1986 required the country to open its economy to trade and investment, modernize its industrial base, improve infrastructure, and revise economic legislation to conform to EU guidelines.

These measures helped the economy grow rapidly over the next 2 decades. Unemployment fell from 23% in 1986 to a low point of 8% in mid-2007. The adoption of the euro in 2002 greatly reduced interest rates, spurring a housing boom that further fueled growth. The strong euro also encouraged Spanish firms to invest in the United States, where several Spanish firms have significant investments in banking, insurance, wind and solar power, biofuels, road construction, food, and other sectors. The end of the housing boom in 2007 and the international financial crisis led to a recession that began in the second quarter of 2008. Housing sales and construction declined dramatically, and the unemployment rate reached almost 23% by the end of 2011.

GDP growth for 2010 was -0.1%. The Spanish economy grew by 0.8% in the third quarter of 2011, Analysts predict that fourth-quarter growth was negative and that the economy will re-enter recession in the first quarter of 2012. The 2011 budget deficit is expected to be around 8% of GDP, but the new administration has already introduced serious cuts in order to reach the 2012 target of a 4.4% deficit. Spain’s debt to GDP ratio remains comparatively low (around 65% of GDP) due to budget surpluses maintained prior to 2008. The new government has pledged to implement rapid labor market reforms and complete the restructuring of the financial sector in an effort to stimulate growth and create employment.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
After the return of democracy following the death of General Franco in 1975, Spain's foreign policy priorities were to break out of the diplomatic isolation of the Franco years and expand diplomatic relations, enter the European Community, and define security relations with the West. As a member of NATO since 1982, Spain has established itself as a major participant in multilateral international security activities. Spain assumed the EU presidency in January 2010 and finished its term in June 2010. While the EU has steadily become a more important part of Spain’s foreign policy, in light of the European-wide financial crisis, President Rajoy has announced that the EU is his top foreign policy priority. Even on many international issues beyond Western Europe, Spain prefers to coordinate its efforts with its EU partners through the European political cooperation mechanism.

Spain has maintained its special identification with Latin America. Its policy emphasizes the concept of Hispanidad, a mixture of linguistic, religious, ethnic, cultural, and historical ties binding Spanish-speaking America to Spain. Spain has been an effective example of transition from authoritarianism to democracy, as shown in the many trips that Spain's King and prime ministers have made to the region. Spain maintains economic and technical cooperation programs and cultural exchanges with Latin America, both bilaterally and within the EU. President Rajoy has made it clear that Latin America will remain a top foreign policy priority, especially its trade and economic development.

Spain also continues to focus attention on North Africa, especially on Morocco, a source of much of Spain's large influx of legal and illegal immigrants over the past 10 years. This concern is dictated by geographic proximity and long historical contacts and more recently by immigration trends, as well as by the two Spanish enclave cities of Ceuta and Melilla on the northern coast of Africa. While Spain's departure from its former colony of Western Sahara ended direct Spanish participation in Morocco, it maintains an interest in the peaceful resolution of the conflict brought about there by decolonization. These issues were highlighted by a crisis in 2002, when Spanish forces evicted a small contingent of Moroccans from a tiny islet off Morocco's coast following that nation's attempt to assert sovereignty over the island.

Meanwhile, Spain has gradually begun to broaden its contacts with Sub-Saharan Africa. It has a particular interest in its former colony of Equatorial Guinea, where it maintains a large aid program.

In relations with the Arab world, Spain has sought to promote European-Mediterranean dialogue. Spain strongly supports the EU's Union for the Mediterranean (formerly called the Barcelona Process) to expand dialogue and trade between Europe and the nations of North Africa and the Middle East, including Israel. Barcelona serves as the headquarters of the Union for the Mediterranean, which was proposed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007.

Spain has been successful in managing its relations with its three European neighbors, France, Andorra, and Portugal. The accession of Spain and Portugal to the EU has helped ease some of their periodic trade frictions by putting these into an EU context. Franco-Spanish bilateral cooperation is enhanced by joint action against Basque ETA terrorism. Ties with the United Kingdom are generally good, although the question of Gibraltar remains a sensitive issue.

U.S.-SPANISH RELATIONS
Spain and the United States have a long history of official relations and are closely associated in many fields. In addition to U.S. and Spanish cooperation in NATO, defense and security relations between the two countries are regulated by the Mutual Defense Assistance Agreement signed on September 26, 1953 and the 1989 Agreement on Defense Cooperation, revised in 2003. Under this agreement, Spain authorized the United States to use certain facilities at Spanish military installations. In May 2011, Spain announced its intention to allow four U.S. ballistic missile defense-capable destroyers to be stationed at a base southern Spain. Parliamentary approval is expected in the first quarter of calendar year 2012.

The two countries also cooperate in several other important areas. The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Spanish National Institute for Aerospace Technology (INTA) jointly operate the Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex in support of Earth orbital and solar system exploration missions. The Madrid Complex is one of the three largest tracking and data acquisition complexes comprising NASA's Deep Space Network.

An agreement on cultural and educational cooperation was signed on June 7, 1989. A new element, support by both the public and private sectors, gave a different dimension to the programs carried out by the joint committee for cultural and educational cooperation. These joint committee activities complement the binational Fulbright program for graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and visiting professors, which is among the largest in the world and celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2008. Besides assisting in these exchange endeavors, the U.S. Embassy also conducts a program of educational, professional, and cultural exchanges, as well as hosting high-level official visits between officials from Spain and the United States.

Spain and the U.S. are strong allies in the fight against terrorism.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND UNDERSTANDING INFERENCES

Icon Credit:  lcb.
FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE ARMED WITH SCIENCE
DEEP EXPLORATION AND FILTERING TEXT  
Written on JUNE 8, 2012 AT 7:10 AM by JTOZER
Are You Inferring What I think You’re Inferring?
Much of the operationally-relevant information relied on in support of DoD missions may be implicit rather than explicitly expressed, and in many cases, information is deliberately obfuscated and important activities and objects are only indirectly referenced.”

In short, sometimes the meaning in messages just isn’t clear.  Ironic, isn’t it?
That can be a problem, though, especially on the ground where accurate and timely intelligence can affect the success or failure of a mission.

Through various and sundry means, DoD collects vast sets of data in the form of messages, documents, notes and the like, both on and off the battlefield. Thoroughly and efficiently processing this data to extract valuable content is a challenge based on volume alone, but the problem is magnified when important information within those files is deliberately masked by its authors.

So, what is there to do when you have commanders and warfighters on the front line depending on analysts to help them build informed plans?
Why, you use technology, of course.

DARPA is developing a new type of automated, deep natural-language understanding technology which they say may hold a solution for more efficiently processing text information.  A mumbo-jumbo decomplicator?
Go on…
When processed at its most basic level without ingrained cultural filters, language offers the key to understanding connections in text that might not be readily apparent to humans.  A “just the facts” approach is more effective than the “the give us the whole story” angle,
so to speak.  Also, it’s fun to talk like a 1940s detective.
But how do you do that?  Not the detective talk, sweetheart, I mean the dialing-it-down.  Getting to the root of the story.  The meat and potatoes of the whole shebang (okay, I’ll stop).

In short, DEFT.  At length…it makes more sense.
DARPA created the Deep Exploration and Filtering of Text (DEFT) program to harness the power of language. Sophisticated artificial intelligence of this nature has the potential to enable defense analysts to efficiently investigate documents so they can discover implicitly expressed, actionable information contained within them.
Letting the technology do the dirty work, eh? (last one I swear).

Actually that’s a smart idea.  But that implies that the system will be capable of understanding the thought that goes behind human communication, right?  How is an AI going to know what we mean by our vague platitudes or double entendres?  Will it know what I mean when I type LOL?

“DEFT is attempting to create technology to make reliable inferences based on basic text,” said Bonnie Dorr, DARPA program manager for DEFT.  “We want the ability to mitigate ambiguity in text by stripping away filters that can cloud meaning and by rejecting false information.  To be successful, the technology needs to look beyond what is explicitly expressed in text to infer what is actually meant.”

The development of an automated solution may rely on contributions from the linguistics and computer science fields in the areas of artificial intelligence, computational linguistics, machine learning, natural-language understanding, discourse and dialogue analysis, and others.

They could have used this in Star Trek, you know.  Something complicated would happen and then one of the characters would have to sum it up in a simple metaphor.  With DEFT, they could have taken all those pithy one-liners out.  Imagine all the time and energy they could have saved while the warp core breached.  Again.

DEFT will build on existing DARPA programs and ongoing academic re
search into deep language understanding and artificial intelligence to address remaining capability gaps related to inference, causal relationships and anomaly detection.

“Much of the basic research needed for DEFT has been accomplished, but now has to be scaled, applied and integrated through the development of new technology,” Dorr said.
As information is processed, DEFT also aims to integrate individual facts into large domain models for assessment, planning and prediction. If successful, DEFT will allow analysts to move from limited, linear processing of insurmountable quantities of data to a nuanced, strategic exploration of available information.

So, by reading between the overly-complicated lines, DEFT might actually be able to glean useful information from what would otherwise be muddled and confusing messages.  I wonder if they can turn this technology into a teenage-text filter so I can weed through the bizarre pseudo-cavemen texts I get from my cousin.  Then I’ll finally know what “IDK, TTYL8R” means.