ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES NATIONAL DAY

A view of the jungle on St. Vincent, taken from the beach. The rocks in the foreground are the remains of lava flows from a 1979 eruption of La Soufriere volcano.

FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT

St. Vincent and the Grenadines National Day Message

Press Statement
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
October 23, 2012


Map Credit:  CIA World Factbook.

On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I am delighted to send best wishes to the people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines as you celebrate 33 years of independence this October 27. The United States and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have a long and close friendship based on shared values and ties of kinship.

Our shared support for democracy, rule of law, and universal human rights remain as strong as ever. We continue to work together to ensure our region's security and economic stability and our citizens’ health and prosperity through such programs as the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. As you gather with friends and family across your "Land of the Blessed" to celebrate this special day, we wish you all a peaceful Independence Day and a successful year ahead.



Locator Credit:  U.S. CIA World Factbook.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM CIA WORLD FACTBOOK

Resistance by native Caribs prevented colonization on Saint Vincent until 1719. Disputed between France and the United Kingdom for most of the 18th century, the island was ceded to the latter in 1783. Between 1960 and 1962, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines was a separate administrative unit of the Federation of the West Indies. Autonomy was granted in 1969 and independence in 1979.

RECENT U.S. NAVY PHOTOS

FROM: U.S. NAVY
Sailors and Marines assigned to the Enterprise Carrier Strike Group and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 1 depart the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65) for liberty during the ships final scheduled port visit before its upcoming decommissioning. Enterprise is deployed to the U.S. 6th Fleet area of responsibility conducting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts. The U.S. Navy is constantly deployed to preserve peace, protect commerce, and deter aggression through forward presence. Join the conversation on social media using #warfighting. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Scott Pittman (Released) 121019-N-FI736-007

Stores are transferred from the Military Sealift Command fast combat support ship USNS Supply (T-AOE 6), right, to the guided-missile destroyer USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109) during a replenishment at sea. Jason Dunham is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility conducting maritime security operations, theater security cooperation efforts and support missions for Operation Enduring Freedom. The U.S. Navy is constantly deployed to preserve peace, protect commerce, and deter aggression through forward presence. Join the conversation on social media using #warfighting. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Deven B. King (Released) 121013-N-XQ375-240

GOING AFTER A DOWNED BLACK HAWK HELICOPTER IN AFGHANISTAN

Tech. Sgt. Peter Feliciano Jr., 8th Expeditionary Air Mobility Squadron Air Transportation joint inspector, conducts an inspection of a downed UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter in Forward Operating Base Chakhcharan. Feliciano and the JI team prepared the Black Hawk to ensure all hazardous material and cargo were properly secured so it could be loaded and transported in a C-17 Globemaster III and flown out for repairs. (U.S Air Force photo)

FROM: U.S.  AIR FORCE
Airmen deploy in support of downed Black Hawk

by Senior Airman Bryan Swink
379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

10/22/2012 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFNS) -- Two joint inspectors from the 8th Expeditionary Air Mobility Squadron were tasked with an invaluable mission in - to forward deploy to a remote forward operating base in Afghanistan and help with the inspection and movement of a downed UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter.

Tech. Sgt. Peter Feliciano Jr. and Staff Sgt. Micah Hallman, 8th EAMS air transportation joint inspectors, are part of the joint inspection team that rallied up with UH-60 Army counterparts at FOB Chakhcharan Sept. 17. Chakhcharan is a town and district in central Afghanistan, which serves as the capital of Gwhor Province. Chakhcharan is a NATO-controlled FOB that is operated by the Lithuanian Army.

"This FOB is located in a valley surrounded by two villages," said Feliciano. "We knew there was an element of risk involved because this location was no stranger to enemy sniper fire."

After the arrival, the JI team assessed the damaged UH-60. The Black Hawk experienced a hard nose landing, smashing the nose cone and bottom of the cockpit rendering the brakes inoperable.

"The ideal situation would have been to have the aircraft recovered and airlifted out by a (CH-47) Chinook helicopter," said Feliciano, deployed from Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. "But because of the weight of the Black Hawk and the elevation we were currently at, this wouldn't be possible."

The team's next option was to prepare the Black Hawk to ensure all hazardous material and cargo were properly secured to allow it to be loaded in a C-17 Globemaster III to be transported to an airfield and flown out for repairs.

"Even though some structural damage was sustained in the crash, the Black Hawk's struts were mechanically sound, which is important for raising or lowering the helicopter to meet airframe height requirements," said Hallman, deployed from Pope Air Field, N.C.

The JI team assessed the overall status of the UH-60 and deemed it airworthy to be transported on the C-17. The Blackhawk was then prepped and readied for onward movement. The team's quick and efficient work got them in and out of the FOB in a day and a half.

Even though the successful mission was over and they were on their way back to their squadron, a tenant unit to the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, the excitement didn't end for Hallman.

His brother, Army Staff Sgt. Nathan Hallman, is assigned to the Army Corps of Engineers at Kandahar Air Field where Micah traveled through. The two hadn't seen each other in almost a year. They were able to connect and spent a day hanging out and playing pool before Micah returned to the 8th EAMS.

Daily Press Briefing - October 24, 2012

Daily Press Briefing - October 24, 2012

MOUNT SAINT HELENS

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.

Image credit: NASA/JPL/NGA

Remarks at Swearing-in Ceremony for U.S. Ambassador to Poland Steve Mull

Remarks at Swearing-in Ceremony for U.S. Ambassador to Poland Steve Mull

USS COLE BOMBING SUSPECT COMPLAINS TO JUDGE OF ABUSE

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Cole Suspect Tells Judge of Alleged Guard Abuse

By Terri Moon Cronk
American Forces Press Service
FORT MEADE, Md., Oct. 24, 2012 - Alleging threats and aggression from military prison guards, the suspect in the bombing of the USS Cole told a military tribunal judge today such actions were why he did not attend court yesterday at the U.S. naval station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

In the second day of his motions hearing, Abd al Rahim Hussayn Muhammad al-Nashiri told the judge, Army Col. James L. Pohl, that today was the first time in his 10-year incarceration that he was able to speak to someone about the allegations.

"It's very important you hear this. [I] might have threats on me if I leave my cell," Nashiri told the judge through a translator. "In my prison [the guards], say, 'We are taking security measures,' and create new rules, but it has nothing to do with security. That is impossible," he said. "I have a right to tell the judge about it."

Nashiri also told the judge, "If you are [in a line with other prisoners and] you move 1 meter, the guards will chain your hands, legs and belly."

Nashiri said he had a "bad back" and the belly chains hurt him when he has to wear them to court, and the vehicle he was transported in was uncomfortable, and made him ill.

He asked the judge to intervene and tell the guards to "stop [the] aggression."

"I want the world to know I was sentenced to death because I [won't come to] court in chains," he said.

Pohl compelled Nashiri yesterday to appear at today's hearing, so the judge could advise him of his rights to be present or waive attendance at his hearings.

Nashiri was in the courtroom all day for the proceedings.

An alleged al-Qaida member, Nashiri was allegedly under the supervision of Osama bin Laden at the time of the Cole explosion, U.S. officials said.

The Cole was docked for a fuel stop in Aden, Yemen, when a small watercraft approached the ship's port side and exploded. The explosion killed 17 sailors, and 40 more were injured.

Nashiri also is accused with an attempted attack on the USS The Sullivans in January 2000 and an attack on the French oil tanker Limburg in October 2002.

Nashiri is charged with perfidy, or treachery; murder in violation of the law of war; attempted murder in violation of the law of war; terrorism; conspiracy; intentionally causing serious bodily injury; attacking civilian objects and hazarding a vessel.

If convicted, Nashiri could face the death penalty.

Pohl did not rule on any of the motions argued today, after hurricane warnings closed up the Navy station.

U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE CLINTON'S AND BRAZILIAN FOREIGN MINISTER PATRIOTA'S REMARKS AFTER THEIR MEETING

Brazilia At Night.  Credit:  NASA/CIA World Factbook

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Remarks With Brazilian Foreign Minister Antonio de Aguiar Patriota After Their MeetingRemarks

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Treaty Room
Washington, DC
October 24, 2012

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, hello, everyone. And once again, it is a great delight for me to welcome a colleague and friend here to the State Department. The Foreign Minister and I have had an excellent working relationship. Earlier this year, I traveled to Brazil for the third meeting of the U.S.-Brazil Global Partnership Dialogue as well as the Rio+20 Conference, and I commend the Brazilian Government for its excellent stewardship of the Rio+20 Conference. And today, the Foreign Minister is here for the fourth meeting of the Global Partnership Dialogue.

It is our assessment that this dialogue has strengthened and broadened our relationship and helped us make progress in many areas of shared concern by bringing both our governments and our people closer together. We have not only worked bilaterally but regionally and globally. For example, we have signed Memoranda of Understanding on cooperation in third countries, including in development and food security. We’re working to support greater agricultural development in Honduras.

We are strong supporters of the Brazilian plan, the Scientific Mobility Program, one of President Rousseff’s signature initiatives to send top Brazilian students in science and math to universities abroad. We are similarly focused on implementing President Obama’s initiative, the 100,000 Strong in the Americas, and have welcomed thousands of Brazilian students to the United States and are eager to welcome more. And because social inclusion is critical to both of our societies, we are working together to ensure that we promote social inclusion as part of the missions of our foreign relations as well as, of course, domestically.

We are also working very – in great cooperation in Haiti, and I thank the Minister for the excellent leadership that Brazil has provided for MINUSTAH and so much else that Brazil has done for Haiti.

So there’s a lot that we have covered, and our teams have gone in-depth into. And Antonio, it’s a great pleasure for me to have you here.

FOREIGN MINISTER PATRIOTA: Thank you so much. Let me say how pleased I am to be in Washington for this fourth edition of our Global Partnership Dialogue. We’ve had frequent high-level contacts between Brazil and the United States over the past two years. We were very happy to welcome President Obama last year to Brasilia, and President Dilma was delighted to come to the White House this year. We had two visits by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Brazil: one in the context of the Global Partnership Dialogue and also the Open Government Partnership that we have been working on together; then for Rio+20. And of course, we appreciated greatly the U.S. participation and Secretary Clinton’s statement at the Conference on Sustainable Development.

This is my second time in Washington. We are not only having frequent high-level contacts, but I think the quality of the dialogue has also been improving and more in-depth discussions on issues such as possibilities for cooperation in Africa. This time around, we concentrated on the Middle East and the Far East, and I know that the two Under Secretaries who came with me, they found this extremely useful. So we would like to pursue and institutionalize, as you said, Hillary, this mechanism so that we continue deriving the greatest possible benefit from these discussions.

On the bilateral front, President Dilma, of course, is extremely interested in enhancing our relationship with the United States on science, technology, and innovation. We’re looking forward to two events on innovation in 2013 that come out of this agenda and that will bring in the private sector as well as government officials. We’re very pleased with the advances that we’ve identified in our aviation partnership. There are new initiatives on energy, on sports. If you look at the joint communiqué that we are putting out, it actually is very eloquent on a number of fronts and shows that from April to October there have been many advances. So this is the spirit in which we would like to continue moving forward.

Of course, we’re extremely grateful for the U.S. in their readiness to receive an increasing number of Brazilian students in the sciences. Already 2,400 are studying under the Science Without Borders program. We’d like to take that number to 48,000, and I think we can get there. We can reach this goal.

Let me just mention that on another front, there have been discussions on visas and how to facilitate travel between the two countries. This is a discussion that has started in a new spirit, also under instructions from our leaders, President Obama and President Rousseff, and we are confident that they will continue advancing over the coming years.

Thank you for mentioning Haiti. I think it’s a good example of how Brazil and the United States can work today. And today, we discussed some new ideas for looking at energy in Haiti, food security, trade, business. I am confident that we will also continue cooperating very effectively.

And finally, I think it was very useful for me to have a discussion on the Middle East. We’re, of course, concerned with lack of progress on the peace process between Israel and Palestine. I’ve just come back from the region extremely concerned with the situation in Syria. But I think it’s extremely important that with these discussions we’re having with the United States and a number of – a growing number of countries, among which the Permanent Members of the Security Council, our partners in IBSA, India and South Africa, that we can mobilize international diplomatic strength to resume the peace process and to find a negotiated solution for Syria.

Thank you.

MS. NULAND: We’ll take two today. We’ll start with CNN. Elise Labott, please.

QUESTION: Two per each two people. (Laughter.) Mr. Foreign Minister, it’s nice to see you again. I’m sure you’re following our political campaign with great fanfare, I just want to ask you: We had a debate the other night on foreign policy, and the hemisphere and the continent wasn’t even brought up once. And I’m just wondering, given the robust partnership with Brazil – Brazil’s a rising power – and the cooperation with the region and a lot of other dynamic, growing countries, whether that’s symptomatic of some – of a problem in America that you think this – the American people don’t – aren’t interested in or don’t understand how important this cooperation is.

Secretary Clinton, on Syria, I was wondering if you have any thoughts on the ceasefire, whether you think the government or the rebels will adhere to this. What are you advising the rebels? And whether you think the current Lebanese Government is able to protect the Lebanese sovereignty from getting involved in this Syrian crisis.

And just beg my indulgence, one more – (laughter) – just beg my indulgence. I just want to ask you very quickly about these emails that have surfaced from the State Department on the night of the Benghazi attack. Given the fact that there was some information that an extremist group with links to al-Qaida affiliates was – could have been involved, why wasn’t this more heavily weighed in your assessment in the days after. Thank you. (Laughter.) Thank you.

SECRETARY CLINTON: I may forget one or two of the questions.

FOREIGN MINISTER PATRIOTA: Well, briefly on the debate, of course, well, as the two largest democracies in the Americas, we are firm believers in pluralism, and elections are always an interesting moment for us to identify that. (Laughter.) But yes, it’s true that Latin America was not present, to my knowledge, and Brazil was not mentioned, but I think that the debate concentrated really on problem issues and concerns. And today, Brazil, South America in particular, is more of a region of the world that offers solutions than problems. So we interpret that in this positive light.

At the same time, I think it’s very important to note that the contacts have been frequent, at high-level, the quality of the dialogue between Brazil and the United States is improving continuously, the agenda’s broadening, as Secretary Clinton was saying. So we are confident that whoever wins, and it’s up to the American people to choose, the relationship will continue to thrive, and we will have at our disposal a number of dialogues and mechanisms to continue to enhance this relationship.

SECRETARY CLINTON: That was such a good answer. We don’t need any more. (Laughter.) That was brilliant. That’s right, it is about problems, and I can’t say enough to support the Minister’s positive description of our relationship and really what’s happened in our hemisphere, which has been remarkable.

Regarding Syria, let me begin by expressing thanks to Brazil for their support of the Syrian people. This is an important call by Brazil, which has consistently said the government must stop the ongoing violence and has provided much needed humanitarian support. And, in fact, I think it’s right to say that Brazil is home to one of the largest Syrian diasporas anywhere in the world. So they know better than many what is at stake.

Now we’re looking forward to hearing the details of Special Envoy Brahimi’s report to the UN Security Council today. We have been in close touch with him and his team. We support his call for a ceasefire for the Eid al-Adha holiday so that Syrians could celebrate in peace. We’d like to see the violence come to an end, there’s no doubt about this, and we’d like to see a political transition take hold and begin. We’ve been calling for that for more than a year. We worked very hard in Geneva, as you know, some months ago to come up with a framework for ending the violence and beginning a political transition. And we would like to see the Security Council adopt such a framework, but to include some consequences for all parties in the event that there is not a ceasefire respected or a political transition begun.

Now we are supporting and increasingly, actually, that support for the Syrian opposition through nonlethal assistance and training, including working directly with local councils inside Syria so that they can learn what they need to do to serve their people in areas that they have taken over from the regime. And we are also working extremely hard and closely with a number of likeminded countries to help support a leadership council to come out of meetings beginning in Doha in a few weeks so that we can have a leadership structure that endorses inclusion, democratic process, peaceful political transition, and reassure all Syrians, particularly those who are in minority groups, that there is a path forward if everyone supports it. And that’s of particular concern to us, and I discussed it with Antonio. And we want to make it possible for there to be a credible interlocutor representing the opposition and prevent extremists from hijacking a brave revolution that is meant to fulfill the aspirations of the Syrian people.

Now, you’re right to raise Lebanon because it was a terrible blow to the Lebanese people one more time to see a high-level assassination carried out by a brutal bombing that devastated a neighborhood in Beirut and killed others and injured many more. I spoke with the Prime Minister over the weekend to express our condolences. We were asked for support to provide FBI investigative services, and we will – and are doing so. The Lebanese armed forces has actually performed admirably in restoring order, in going after anyone who is attempting to commit violence or disrupt that order, and urging all parties to remain calm. We don’t want to see a vacuum of legitimate political authority that could then be taken advantage of by the Syrians or by others that could create even greater instability and violence. So we call on all parties in Lebanon to support the process that President Suleiman is leading to choose a responsible, effective government that can address the threats that Syria faces and hold accountable those responsible for last week’s bombing.

So we’re not going to prejudge the outcome of what the Syrians themselves are attempting to do. This must be a Lebanese process. But the Lebanese people deserve so much better. They deserve to live in peace and they deserve to have a government that reflects their aspirations, not acts as proxies and agents for outside forces.

Now finally, on Benghazi, look, I’ve said it and I’ll say it one more time. No one wants to find out what happened more than I do. We are holding ourselves accountable to the American people, because not only they, but our brave diplomats and development experts serving in dangerous places around the world, deserve no less. The independent Accountability Review Board is already hard at work looking at everything – not cherry-picking one story here or one document there – but looking at everything, which I highly recommend as the appropriate approach to something as complex as an attack like this.

Posting something on Facebook is not in and of itself evidence, and I think it just underscores how fluid the reporting was at the time and continued for some time to be. What I keep in mind is that four brave Americans were killed, and we will find out what happened, we will take whatever measures are necessary to fix anything that needs to be fixed, and we will bring those to justice who committed these murders. And I think that that is what we have said, that is what we are doing, and I’m very confident that we will achieve those goals.

MS. NULAND: Last one today, Luis Fernandez (inaudible) from Globo TV, please.

QUESTION: Minister Patriota, Madam Secretary, I would follow the example of my colleague.

SECRETARY CLINTON: (Laughter.) Don’t pick up bad habits, please.

QUESTION: Minister, if I – if you don’t mind, I would ask the question in English and be so – if you could give the answer in Portuguese. This is, as one would assume, the very last time that the two of you meet at these particular posts that you are holding. Are you – is – are you less than happy with the fact that Brazil and the United States do not have a trade agreement? I would like to know as well, when will Americans be able to get into Brazil without a visa and Brazilians get in to the United States without a visa?

Madam Secretary, once Brazil and Turkey brokered a solution to the problem of Iran, and that was an initiative that was met with less than enthusiasm. If Brazil were to broker a solution for the problem in Syria, since there is this partnership established with Turkey and, as you pointed out, Brazil has many Lebanese and Syrians in Brazil, how would the United States Government react to that?

FOREIGN MINISTER PATRIOTA: (In Portuguese.)

I essentially said that the absence of a free trade agreement does not prevent trade between Brazil and the United States from thriving. In fact, the figures have been better than those for countries with which the U.S. does have free trade agreements. The visa situation is being discussed in a constructive way, and even in the absence of an agreement on foregoing visas, the days that are taken for the processing have diminished considerably at U.S. consulates and Brazilian consulates. There are new consulates that the United States has opened in Brazil to help processing, and Brazil has 10 consulates in the United States.

And on Syria, I just mentioned our support for the communiqué of the Geneva Action Group, which we believes continues to provide a good platform for progress through peaceful, non-militarized means.

SECRETARY CLINTON: He’s an all-purpose Foreign Minister. (Laughter.) I’m very grateful to you.

And on your question, we would, of course, welcome Brazilian participation in any effort to bring about the ceasefire, to implement it, to help with the political transition. The Minister and I discussed the ways in which both the United States and Brazil, as large pluralistic democracies, stand as examples for what we hope could come someday in Syria.

So the Minister mentioned the communiqué that came out of Geneva as a result of our meeting there several months ago. I’m in close touch with Special Envoy Brahimi. And we are looking for a way to support his work, and this kind of framework will need the strong support of Brazil, which has a very important voice in trying to resolve this ongoing tragic situation.

Thank you all very much.

Joint Press Conference with Secretary Panetta and Defense Minister Kim in the Pentagon Briefing Room

Joint Press Conference with Secretary Panetta and Defense Minister Kim in the Pentagon Briefing Room

WILL IRAQ BE AN ALLY OF THE UNITED STATES?

Iraq Location Map.  Credit:  CIA World Factbook.
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Too Early to Tell Whether Iraq Effort Created Ally, General Says

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Oct. 24, 2012 - It's still too early to tell whether the U.S. effort in Iraq has created an American ally, the commander of U.S. Army Europe and 7th Army said here yesterday.

Lt. Gen. Mark P. Hertling, who served many tours in Iraq, told the Defense Writers Group that it took years for a democratic government to emerge in West Germany following World War II, and he expects many of the same difficulties happening with Iraq.

"I don't know what's going to happen in Iraq," the general said. "I'm hopeful for increasing positive signs."

The Iraqi government still is fighting a complex insurgency in a very tough environment, the general noted. "My friends in Iraq ... are all very hopeful," he said, "but they also understand the challenges they are encountering."

The most encouraging step to date in Iraq is the potential for the rule of law to develop, Hertling said.

"[Iraqi] security forces are competent, but still feeling their way," he said. "Their politicians are increasingly becoming effective in understanding the representative process, but it certainly can't be compared to our government, or even our government 10 years after the Revolutionary War."

Iraq will continue to have struggles in three main areas, the general said: security forces, rule of law and the primacy of political control. "They are still struggling, and it pains me to watch it," he added.

How Iraq does in the future is something that will haunt U.S. veterans of the Iraq war, the general said. "There was a lot of blood and sweat and tears and hard work put into that country by American soldiers," he said. He noted that as U.S. troops leave bases in Germany they have been in since 1945, many Germans have come to thank them for what they and their predecessors did to save the country.

The current generation worked hard in Iraq, and is not feeling particularly appreciated, Hertling said. "That's unfortunate," he added. "It's something that all of our veterans from Iraq, and eventually our veterans from Afghanistan, will struggle with. They worked hard, they fought hard, and they did what they were trying to do to establish workable solutions in those two countries."

U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT ANSWERS QUESTION REGARDING FBI ROLE IN LEBANON BOMBING INVESTIGATION

Map Of Lebanon.  Credit:  CIA World Fact
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Lebanon - October 19 Bombings
Taken Question
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
October 23, 2012 

QUESTION: How did the request for investigation assistance come through? Did the U.S. offer and Lebanon accept or vice versa? Did the FBI participate in the Hariri investigation?

ANSWER: The FBI will provide technical assistance to the investigation into the attack that killed Brigadier General Al-Hassan and 7 others. The decision to dispatch the FBI team was taken following discussions between the Government of Lebanon and the U.S. Government. The FBI provided technical assistance to the investigation into the 2005 attack that killed former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

U.S. AIR FORCE HISTORY

 

FROM: U.S. AIR FORCE SPACE COMMAND
Maui Ground-based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance achieved intial operating capability on 1 Oct 1982. Photo Credit: U.S. Air Force Space Command.

AFSPC Milestone: Maui's GEODSS system achieved Initial Operating Capability
10/22/2012 - Peterson AFB, Colo. -- Air Force Space Command is celebrating its 30th Anniversary! Here is a significant milestone from the command's history ...

Maui's Ground-based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance (GEODSS) achieved Initial Operating Capability on 1 Oct 1982. The current primary mission of the detachment is to detect, track and identify all tasked space objects within its area of coverage. The unit usually provides data on deep space objects in the orbits from 3,000 to 22,000 miles, although it has a limited near earth detection capability. Satellite information is provided to the Joint Space Operations Center at Vandenberg AFB, California. Additionally, GEODSS provides Space Object Identification (SOI) to the National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC) at Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio.

World Polio Day

World Polio Day

PORTRAIT OF A MACHINE GUNNER SERVING IN AFGHANISTAN

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Army Spc. Patrick Serna, a 23-year-old native of Corcoran, Calif., is on his first deployment to Afghanistan. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Michael Sword

Face of Defense: Son Inspires Machine Gunner's Service
By Army Sgt. Michael Sword
Combined Joint Task Force 1 Afghanistan

LOGAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan, Oct. 22, 2012 - Army Spc. Patrick Serna left his hometown of Corcoran, Calif., for only one reason: his son, Mason.

"I knew that if I could join, I could pay bills, go to college and I'll be able to support him in the long run," said Serna, a machine gunner for B Battery, 4th Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, Task Force 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team.

When Serna, 23, walked into the recruiter's office, he already was leaning toward a job in combat arms.

"I had that mindset that 'I need to go to the Army, be crazy and fight the war,' but, there were no infantry spots open," he said. "So I picked this [specialty] because they shoot cannons and it sounds fun."

As a cannon crewmember, Serna originally learned to be part of a team in charge of firing the battalion's large artillery pieces. But here, B Battery is in the role of a maneuver unit, and Serna finds himself patrolling the mountains with the nearly 30-pound M240B machine gun in hand.

"I'll do what I have to for all our guys to get back," he said.

No matter what he's doing, Serna said, he continues to enjoy it.

"I want to excel as much as I can in the Army and get what I can get out of it," he said. "My recruiter told me, 'If you're going to be combat arms, make sure you go to college,' so I'm going to do as much college as I can."

Growing up, Serna moved up and down the West Coast, so he's no stranger to being in a new location. But being so far from home, and especially his son, makes life in Afghanistan a little more difficult.

"It sucks being away from him now, but in the long run, it will be better for us," he said.

When he returns to Bamberg, Germany, the home of B Battery, Serna plans to re-enlist. He said he hopes to end up somewhere closer to home, but even if not, he plans on continuing his military career as a paratrooper.

"Probably my favorite thing about the Army is doing things you can't just do back home," he said. "You can't jump out of planes anywhere else for free."

What the label says

What the label says

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATOR DAN TANGHERLINI'S REMARKS REGARDING NEW NOAA CENTER

FROM: U.S. GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
 
Tangherlini Says New NOAA Center Represents Government’s Commitment to Sustainable Practices
Remarks by
Dan Tangherlini
U.S. General Services Administration
Opening of the NOAA Center for Weather and Climate Prediction
University of Maryland, College Park
October 15, 2012

Ladies and Gentlemen, on behalf of everyone who has worked on this project at GSA, it is a pleasure to be here today. We all know how important it is to know the weather when you walk out the door in the morning, but I don’t think that I realized just how important it is to understand the effects of weather until I worked for the DC Department of Transportation.

In that kind of an environment, an accurate forecast is about more than whether or not you need an umbrella. It’s about deciding whether or not 40,000 children can get to school, some of whom rely on those schools not just for learning, but for food as well. It’s about understanding if it’s safe to send hundreds of thousands of commuters out on our roads and public transit systems.

No matter where you work, whether it is in government or in business, good data is the foundation of good decision making. And understanding the weather and the full range of its potential impact is essential information to individuals who manage some of our most important services.

This brand new, almost 270,000 square foot center will enable NOAA to provide exactly that kind of data. By consolidating 3 NOAA offices and bringing more than 800 meteorologists, scientists, data managers and other NOAA employees together in this state of the art facility, they will be able to provide the entire nation with short range and long range weather, climate, and hydrological forecasts.

At GSA, our mission is to provide federal agencies the support they need to fulfill their responsibilities to the American people at the maximum possible value. This facility gives NOAA the resources they need to do their jobs to the best of their ability. And with sustainable features such as "green roofs" bio-retention areas, recycled construction materials, highly energy efficient windows and motion based lighting systems, and a storm water cistern to collect water for irrigation, it provides value to both this agency and the taxpayers. We can all be proud of this "green crown jewel" of the M-Square Research and Technology Park. It represents this government’s commitment to sustainable practices by making the most efficient and effective use possible of natural as well as fiscal resources, which is why it is under consideration by the EPA as an "Energy Star" building.

This project would not have been possible without the dedicated work of some men and women here at GSA and I would be remiss if I did not take a moment to recognize their contributions. I want to thank Jim Dunn, the project manager; Calvin Myint, the Director of the Triangle Service Center; Martha Gates; the former Director of the Triangle Service Center, who is now retired, but handled a large amount of the work that went into this project; Mark Stadsklev; the project contracting officer; and everyone else from GSA who worked so hard to make this project a reality.

This is a great day for GSA, NOAA, and the University of Maryland. To Dr. Lubchenco and everyone at NOAA, and to Dr. Loh and everyone at the University of Maryland, congratulations on this new facility. I know you’ll put it to good use.

SBA-BACKED LOANS REACHED $923 MILLION IN FY2012

Photo: Cargo Ship. Credit: Wikimedia.

FROM: U.S. SMALL BUSINESS ASSOCIATION

– SBA-backed loans to exporters continued to grow in FY2012, reaching more than $923 million, which supported $1.7 billion in small business exports.

"Giving small businesses the tools they need to export their goods and services and create jobs is an important part of our core mission," said SBA Administrator Karen Mills. "Exporting is creating opportunities for small businesses to create good-paying jobs and provide economic benefits to local communities nationwide."

SBA has recently revamped its International Trade Loan which has seen an upsurge of 106 percent in loans guaranteed and 207 percent in dollar volume. The loan allows small manufacturers to expand their facilities or buy equipment to manufacture products sold internationally, either directly or indirectly through an Export Trading Company or an Export Management Company.

SBA is promoting this "indirect export" model of using an export intermediary, along with other export-related services, training and counseling, through a series of export conferences and matchmaking events hosted by the SBA that began in 2010. As part of that series, the SBA, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, and the National Small Business Association today jointly sponsored an Export Matchmaker Trade Fair – Missouri Edition. More than 150 business representatives from 16 states and four countries registered to participate, with half of the attendees from the St. Louis metropolitan area.

The event today featured workshops on international trade topics that will help small business owners learn how to export, expand their operations and create jobs. A matchmaking trade show helped small business manufacturers match up with Export Management Companies and Export Trading Companies specializing in exporting U.S. goods and services.

Since 2009, SBA has guaranteed 6,100 loans to small business exporters for over $3.1 billion and supported more than $6 billion in exports.

Internet Address:


http://www.sba.gov/news

　

RECENT U.S. NAVY PHOTOS

FROM:  U.S. NAVY
An F/A-18 Hornet flies by the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower(CVN 69) while conducting an air power demonstration. Dwight D. Eisenhower is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility conducting maritime security operations, theater security cooperation efforts and support missions as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. America's Sailors are Warfighters, a fast and flexible force deployed worldwide. Join the conversation on social media using #warfighting. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Darien G. Kenney (Released) 121019-N-NU634-131

Lt. Cmdr. Ryan Beaty, assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), conducts aerial refueling with an Air Force KC-10A Extender during combat operations. Dwight D. Eisenhower is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility conducting maritime security operations, theater security cooperation efforts and support missions for Operation Enduring Freedom. America's Sailors are Warfighters, a fast and flexible force deployed worldwide. Join the conversation on social media using #warfighting. U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Greg Linderman (Released) 121011-N-DO750-001

SOYUZ ROCKET TRAVELS TO THE LAUNCH PAD IN KAZAKHSTAN

 

FROM: NASA

Rocket Rollout

The Soyuz rocket is rolled out to the launch pad by train, on Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Launch of the Soyuz rocket is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 23. The rocket will send Expedition 33/34 Flight Engineer Kevin Ford of NASA, Soyuz Commander Oleg Novitskiy and Flight Engineer Engineer Evgeny Tarelkin of ROSCOSMOS on a five-month mission aboard the International Space Station.

Image Credit-NASA-Bill Ingalls

U.S. DEPARMENT OF DEFENSE ON FORCE STRUCTURE CHANGES

Photo Credit:  U.S. Navy

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Army, DOD Must Adjust to Budget, Force Structure Changes

By Amaani Lyle
American Forces Press Service


WASHINGTON, Oct. 23, 2012 - The Army will continue to customize its mission objectives based on budget and force structure changes, a senior defense official said here yesterday during the 2012 Association of the U.S. Army's annual conference.

Todd Harvey, director of force development for the Office of the Secretary of Defense, said a defense strategy drafted in January to meet severe spending cuts over the next decade reflected DOD's analysis of the preceding decade.

"We saw a transformation of a number of operations and activities that we had been engaged in over the past 10 years, [leading] us to believe we could begin shifting our focus to broader vistas," he said.

In addition to drawing down operations in Iraq, DOD steadily fostered the Afghan security lead transition as the fracturing of al-Qaida's central control and leadership of terrorist operations persisted, Harvey said.

Although the potential to examine future challenges emerged, Harvey said, the partial list of what was to come was "daunting."

"The variety, complexity and types of challenges we expected to face were remaining at least constant, and in some cases, even increasing," he said.

Harvey cited upheavals in North Africa and the Middle East and the "volatile" standoff with Iran, in which economic sanctions created an increasingly unpredictable situation, as examples. He also explained that a "shrouded leadership transition" in North Korea created its own dynamic of potential unpredictability, while al-Qaida local franchises mushroomed throughout the world.

Harvey also noted China's increasing devotion to economic and military resources as the nation continued determining how it will interact among its closest neighbors and with the United States.

This changing geopolitical landscape and the rise of asymmetric capabilities such as weapons of mass destruction and cyber issues are not entirely new, but their concurrence has potential to create particularly volatile situations for the United States, he said. Meanwhile, he added, Middle Eastern and North African upheavals continue to provide opportunities for local radicals to establish a foothold.

"As government-controlled stockpiles of sensitive technologies and capabilities began to decline, those systems become available to radicals and other disruptive forces," Harvey said.
With such potentially pendulous swings and a high degree of unpredictability, the Army and the Defense Department must adjust their strategies to best prime for future missions, Harvey added.

But what to cut isn't always cut and dried, officials discovered in determining how to absorb the spending cuts, Harvey said. "There really wasn't anything that we had been doing that we felt secure enough to risk at adequate levels ... to throw something overboard," he explained. Even in the realm of humanitarian assistance, he added, a senior leader might struggle with the decision to cut such a mission, opting instead to preserve the option to react to earthquakes, floods and other disasters.

Harvey noted that Pentagon officials have discovered no "free lunch" in functional missions or regional engagement.

"The force needs to be agile, versatile and ready to perform a range of missions," he said.

These demands pose unique challenges for each of the services, Harvey added, particularly the Army, in light of force structure constraints.

"The challenges are as broad as they've ever been," he said, adding that the Army will continue to seek the right balance among investments in force structure, readiness and modernization.

"We're trying to stretch a shrinking force across as least as much mission as we've had to date," he said.

NEWS FROM AFGHANISTAN FOR OCTOBER 23, 2012

Photo:  Afghanistan.  Credit:  U.S. Army

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Combined Force Arrests Taliban Fighter
From an International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Release

KABUL, Afghanistan, Oct. 23, 2012 - An Afghan and coalition security force arrested a Taliban fighter in Afghanistan's Kunduz province today, military officials reported.

The arrested insurgent fighter is suspected of organizing and executing attacks against Afghan and coalition forces throughout Kunduz province.

During the operation, the security force also detained two other suspected insurgents.

In other operations today:
-- A combined force detained a number of insurgents during a search for a Taliban facilitator in Helmand province. The facilitator coordinates and assists in improvised explosive device attacks in central Helmand province.

-- In Kandahar province, a combined force detained a number of insurgents during a search for a Taliban leader responsible for conducting IED attacks against Afghan and coalition forces throughout Kandahar province.

In operations yesterday:
-- Afghan special police, enabled by coalition forces, arrested several suspected insurgents while executing an Afghan search warrant in Balkh province. After searching the immediate area the combined force found and seized several weapons and IED-making materials.

-- Combined forces in Wardak province killed Taliban leader Ghulam Ali, a Taliban leader directly responsible for coordinating attacks against Afghan and coalition forces, facilitating the transfer of weapons throughout Wardak province, and developing Taliban network attack plans with other Taliban leaders.

-- Afghan special police, enabled by coalition forces, killed two enemy fighters and seized weapons, ammunition and narcotics in Uruzgan province.

-- Combined forces killed two insurgents in Logar province conducting a mortar attack against Forward Operating Base Shank.

-- A combined force in Paktia province killed Haqqani network leader Niaz Mohammad, who was responsible for planning and participating in ambush attacks against Afghan and coalition forces in the area.

In an Oct. 21 operation, Taliban leader Qasim was killed in Kandahar province. He was responsible for the acquisition and distribution of weapons and ammunition for attacks against Afghan and coalition forces based in the area. An Oct. 20 coalition operation killed a senior Taliban leader and a number of associated insurgents in Uruzgan province.

　

　

　


　

A WELL TRAINED SPACECRAFT

DVIDS - Video - AUSA Speech - Gen. Ray Odierno

DVIDS - Video - AUSA Speech - Gen. Ray Odierno

ALASKA AIR NATIONAL GUARD RESCUE MISSIONS IN ALASKA

FROM: U.S. AIR FORCE
An Alaska Air National Guard HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter flies over Alaska during a winter training mission. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Sean Mitchell)

Alaska National Guard conducts three search-and-rescues in three days
by Maj. Guy Hayes
Alaska Air National Guard
10/19/2012 - CAMP DENALI, Alaska (AFNS) -- The 11th Air Force Rescue Coordination Center is working around the clock to lead search-and-rescue efforts, calling in multiple agencies, including the Alaska Air National Guard, to assist in three separate missions since Oct. 14.

The first mission the RCC opened was in response to an overdue Super Cub that was last seen early morning Oct. 13 at the Soldotna Airport. The pilot was flying his aircraft from Soldotna to Wolf Lake, near Wasilla, but never made it to his destination, according to officials.

The RCC tasked the Kenai Civil Air Patrol on Oct. 14 to search the departure area around Soldotna, but Civil Air Patrol members were unable to locate his aircraft. Since then, the Alaska Air National Guard and Civil Air Patrol units from Anchorage, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Birchwood and Seward have joined in the search efforts, flying grid patterns over the pilot's flight path to look for signs of his aircraft.

The search has focused on three areas: the pilot's last known point in Soldotna, the destination at Wolf Lake and the flight path in between the two points. The RCC has also coordinated efforts with the Alaska State Troopers to follow leads that may help with the search. Weather conditions have hampered search efforts, but Civil Air Patrol units from Anchorage, Elmendorf and Birchwood are still searching.

The RCC was notified of a second mission by Alaska State Troopers Oct. 15 at 8 p.m. The request was for medical assistance to treat a man with a gunshot wound to the chest at Hiline Lake.

According to the RCC officials, Alaska State Troopers were unable to execute the mission with its helicopter because there was no crew available. LifeMed Alaska, an air ambulance provider, declined the mission because the weather was below its standards for flying.

The RCC alerted the Alaska National Guard's 210th and 212th Rescue Squadrons, and following a situation brief, they launched an HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter at 9:25 p.m. with two Alaska State Troopers onboard because of the unknown circumstances surrounding the incident and remote nature of the location.

Arriving on scene at 10:07 p.m., the Guardian Angels performed life saving measures to treat the man. They continued these efforts as they loaded him onto the Pave Hawk and throughout the flight to an Anchorage hospital.

They arrived at the hospital at 11:30 p.m. where he was released to medical personnel.

During the same timeframe, RCC officials said they were contacted again by the Federal Aviation Administration to search for an overdue pilot flying a C-1A twin-engine cargo aircraft. The pilot was reported overdue by co-workers after he was scheduled to deliver supplies from Wasilla to Nixon Fork Mine.

The same 210th Rescue Squadron flight crew that had just finished the rescue at Hiline Lake was tasked and began their search at 1 a.m. Oct. 16, searching along the expected flight path using night-vision goggles.

With no flight plan filed by the pilot, RCC officials said the crew was unable to find any sign of the aircraft and returned to Elmendorf after two hours of searching.

At 8 a.m. Oct. 16, the Alaska Air National Guard's 211th Rescue Squadron was tasked by the RCC to continue the search with an HC-130 aircraft. According to RCC officials, the equipment onboard the HC-130 has advanced electronic search equipment that allows it to pick up weak electronic signals and hone in on them.

After hours of searching, the Alaska guardsmen on the HC-130 located a crash site in the vicinity of Skwentna. After circling over the suspected location, the crew obtained visual identification of the plane that matched the description of the aircraft.


The RCC immediately tasked the Alaska Air National Guard's 210th Rescue Squadron with 212th Rescue Squadron Guardian Angels onboard to respond to the crash site. Once on scene, the Guardian Angels were lowered from the HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter via hoist into a wooded area that contained the site.

Guardsmen identified the single occupant pilot, who was deceased, officials said. The RCC transferred control of the mission to Alaska State Troopers and the National Transportation Safety Board.

Both aircraft reported overdue are equipped with older 121.5 MHz beacons. According to RCC officials, if the pilots had installed the newer 406 MHz beacon, their ability to locate the aircraft would be much faster because they could use satellites to hone in on their location.

DVIDS - Video - Amphibious Assault Ship America (LHA 6) Christening

DVIDS - Video - Amphibious Assault Ship America (LHA 6) Christening

U.S. GEN. CARTER F. HAM TALKS ABOUT MANAGING CHANGE TO CADETS

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Ham Urges Cadets to Manage Change, Stay with Bedrock Values

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Oct. 22, 2012 - The U.S. military is a learning and growing entity, and young officers must be flexible enough to lead their organizations, the commander of U.S. Africa Command told ROTC cadets here today.

Army Gen. Carter F. Ham spoke at the Association of the U.S. Army's ROTC luncheon at the Renaissance Hotel.

Ham, who is the senior ROTC graduate in the Army today, compared what he faced when he entered the Army in 1974 with what today's ROTC graduates will face. He noted that when he entered the Army, the draft had just ended and the enemy was the Soviet Union.

"We focused everything we did on that one single, but very dangerous and predictable threat," he said. "The Army that you will lead is very different from that."

The threat environment is unpredictable, Ham said, and that will create more challenges for young officers coming into the force. "The good news is, the soldiers and noncommissioned officers that you will lead are tremendously experienced in this environment," the general told the cadets. "They are combat tested. They are culturally savvy. And they have demonstrated their ability to perform a wide range of tasks across the spectrum of conflict."

The very excellence of the rank and file in the Army today means the service needs officers who are "imaginative, agile, adaptive, and can think critically and creatively," he said.

But while the methods will change, Ham said, young officers can stand on the bedrock of 237 years of Army history and values. "Loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage are values that don't change," he said. "They are the foundation upon which you and your leadership and professional knowledge will be built upon."

The U.S. military has to be ready to confront a range of threats and issues, and the government has not been very good at predicting where the next threat is coming from, Ham said.

"But we do know the security environment is going to be increasingly complex," he said. "The world in which we live is ever so connected, and events go global instantly. So we may not know precisely what threats will emerge, but as an Army, as individuals, we must be prepared to respond across the spectrum of conflict to address those threats."

The next decade will see dynamic change, and young officers coming in today must survive and prosper managing that change, the general said. The combatant commands will change, and young officers must understand the roles and missions of these commands, Ham said. Language training and cultural training will become more important, he added.

"My crystal ball is a little bit fuzzy, and I don't know what the future holds," Ham said, "but I do know that wherever you are going to operate as Army officers, it is going to be inside somebody else's culture, and the more we understand about that, the better off we'll be."

Young soldiers today will be working even more closely with sailors, Marines and airmen in joint operations, and the ability to work with civilian agencies and international partners also will be an important asset for young officers, Ham noted.

"We have a hard time predicting what will happen," he said, "but we can identify the attributes that will be necessary for success."

U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT DAILY BRIEFING

http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFYzDlKeLL_IMEm7XBQrYQa1f17Zg

THE USS COLE PROCEEDINGS

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFESNE
Motions to Resume for Suspect in USS Cole Attack

By Terri Moon Cronk
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Oct. 22, 2012 - U.S. military commission proceedings against a suspect in the October 2000 USS Cole bombing and other alleged terrorist attacks are scheduled to resume in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, tomorrow.

Alleged al-Qaida member and Saudi-born Abd al Rahim Hussayn Muhammad al-Nashiri, 46, is accused of being the mastermind behind the bombing of the Navy warship, defense officials said.

Charges against Nashiri also stem from an attempted attack on the USS The Sullivans in January 2000, and an attack on the French-flagged oil tanker Limburg in October 2002.

Nashiri is charged with perfidy, or treachery; murder in violation of the law of war; attempted murder in violation of the law of war; terrorism; conspiracy; intentionally causing serious bodily injury; attacking civilian objects and hazarding a vessel.

The Cole was in Aden, Yemen, for a routine fuel stop when a small watercraft approached the ship's port side and exploded. The bombing killed 17 sailors and wounded 40 others. U.S. officials allege Nashiri was under the supervision of Osama bin Laden, and that bin Laden personally approved the attacks.

The judge, Army Col. James L. Pohl, is expected to hear up to 18 motions from the defense and three from the prosecution over the next three days. The majority of motions from the defense involve disclosure from prosecutors, appearances by expert witnesses and dismissal of the trial, officials said.

The U.S. prosecution's motions concern Nashiri's presence in the courtroom, reducing the amount of the proceedings that are closed as compelled by the defense, and disclosure of the defendant's mental health records.

If convicted, Nashiri could receive the death penalty.






 

FORMER MORTAGAGE CO. OFFICERS PLEAD GUILTY IN $27 MILLION FRAUD SCHEME

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Friday, October 19, 2012

Former Officers of American Mortgage Specialists Inc. Plead Guilty in North Dakota to Conspiracy in $27 Million Fraud Against Bnc National Bank

Two Additional Employees Charged for Roles in Scheme
WASHINGTON – Two former officers of Arizona-based residential mortgage loan originator American Mortgage Specialists Inc. (AMS) pleaded guilty today for their roles in a $27 million scheme to defraud North Dakota-based BNC National Bank, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon of the District of North Dakota; Christy Romero, Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP); and Steve A. Linick, Inspector General of the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General (FHFA-OIG).

Scott N. Powers, the CEO of AMS, and David E. McMaster, an AMS vice president, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Daniel L. Hovland in the District of North Dakota to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud affecting a financial institution.

Powers and McMaster were charged in a criminal information unsealed on Oct. 2, 2012, in the District of North Dakota. Lauretta Horton, the former director of accounting at AMS, and David Kaufman, an outside auditor, were also charged in separate informations unsealed on Oct. 2, 2012, for their roles in this scheme. Both Horton and Kaufman are scheduled to appear this afternoon before Magistrate Judge Charles S. Miller Jr. for arraignment.

"At the height of the financial crisis, Scott Powers, David McMaster and their alleged co-conspirators enacted a scheme to systematically defraud BNC Bank," said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. "When their mortgage lending company became unsustainable, they turned to fraud. By deliberately misleading BNC about its assets and activities, Powers and McMaster threatened the viability of BNC and put its employees and customers at risk. Today’s guilty pleas demonstrate our commitment to holding individuals accountable for illegal conduct contributing to the housing crisis."

"This prosecution is proof that illegal conduct related to the mortgage crisis impacted banks all across the country and even here in North Dakota," said U.S. Attorney Purdon. "Through close collaboration with our federal investigative partners and the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, we were able to secure today’s guilty pleas and begin to correct this wrongdoing."

"Powers, McMaster and their alleged co-conspirator took advantage of BNC National Bank receiving $20 million in TARP funds to defraud BNC out of more than $27 million in a scheme engineered to cover their losses from the downturn in the housing market," said Special Inspector General Romero. "They used BNC as their personal piggy bank, and the bank was unable to pay millions of dollars in TARP dividend payments owed to American taxpayers. Fraud against TARP banks equals fraud against taxpayers, and SIGTARP and our law enforcement partners will hold perpetrators of TARP fraud accountable for their crimes."

"Such fraudulent activity at any time is unacceptable, but it’s particularly egregious when conducted by those who are supposed to ensure the integrity of the mortgage industry," said Inspector General Linick. "My office is committed to holding accountable those who engage in fraudulent activities, and we are proud to have worked on this case with our law enforcement partners."

According to court documents, Powers and McMaster conspired from October 2007 to April 2010 to defraud BNC by making false representations regarding the financial and operational well being of AMS in order to obtain funding from BNC and personal benefits for themselves. AMS was in the business of originating residential real estate mortgage loans to borrowers and then selling the loans to institutional investors.

In 2006, AMS entered into a loan participation agreement with BNC whereby BNC provided funding for the loans issued by AMS. Powers and McMaster pleaded guilty to causing AMS to delay sending "pay down" emails, which would notify BNC when specific loans were sold. By delaying the sending of pay down emails, Powers and McMaster were able to use funds from newly-sold loans to make payments for earlier-sold loans and inflate the dollar amount in the pay down emails for the earlier-sold loans.

According to their plea documents, Powers and McMaster also caused false financial information about AMS to be sent to BNC, overstating AMS’s cash-on-hand and disguising delinquent tax payments being made to the Internal Revenue Service as marketing and advertising expenses. As part of their plea agreements, Powers and McMaster have agreed to forfeit $28,564,470, which includes proceeds from the fraud.

Horton was charged in a one count information for conspiring to provide fraudulent financial information to BNC. According to court documents, Horton inflated asset items and altered other financial information in the AMS balance sheet provided to BNC to falsely reflect that AMS had substantial liquid assets when, in fact, it did not. Horton also allegedly concealed payments that AMS was making to the IRS for a delinquency in unpaid payroll taxes by disguising them as marketing and advertising expenses.

Kaufman, a certified public accountant who audited the annual financial statements of AMS, was charged in a one count information for allegedly obstructing the grand jury investigation into the AMS fraud. According to court documents, Kaufman lied to federal agents during the criminal investigation and obstructed the grand jury investigation when he denied that he had a conversation with an AMS executive in which Kaufman explained to the AMS executive that he had combined two expenses in the financial statements in order to conceal the true nature and extent of AMS’s financial condition from BNC.

Although BNC’s holding company had received approximately $20 million under the TARP and had injected approximately $17 million of the TARP funds into BNC, BNC incurred losses exceeding the millions received from TARP. BNC then did not make its required TARP dividends to the Department of Treasury for nearly two years.

At sentencing, scheduled for April 15, 2013, Powers and McMaster face a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison.

The investigation was conducted by agents assigned to the Offices of the Inspector General of SIGTARP and of FHFA. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Clare Hochhalter of the District of North Dakota and by Trial Attorney Robert A. Zink and Senior Litigation Counsel Jack B. Patrick of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section with the assistance of Trial Attorney Jeannette Gunderson of the Criminal Division’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section.

This case is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. Attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.

The charges and allegations contained in the informations are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

To D or not to D

To D or not to D

TWO FORMER HOSPITAL EMPLOYEES SENTENCED TO SERVE TIME IN PRISON

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

WASHINGTON — Two former high-ranking employees of facilities operations at New York Presbyterian Hospital (NYPH) were sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, in Manhattan, by Judge George B. Daniels today for their participation in two separate conspiracies involving kickbacks, the Department of Justice announced today.

Santo Saglimbeni, a former vice president of facilities operations at NYPH, was sentenced to serve 48 months in prison and ordered to pay a $250,000 criminal fine. Emilio "Tony" Figueroa, a former director of facilities operations at NYPH, was sentenced to serve 36 months in prison and ordered to pay a $25,000 criminal fine. Saglimbeni and Figueroa were ordered to jointly and severally pay $603,982 in total restitution to NYPH. Judge Daniels also entered a preliminary order of forfeiture for $2.3 million, which included certain bank accounts into which the kickback money from one of the schemes was deposited, as well as a parcel of land purchased with a portion of the kickback money, in Southampton, N.Y.

"Today's sentences are consistent with the serious nature of the crimes for which the individuals were convicted," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Joseph Wayland in charge of the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division. "The division remains committed to holding accountable corrupt purchasing officials who undermine the competitive bidding process for their personal gain."

On Feb. 2, 2012, after a four-week trial, Saglimbeni and Figueroa, along with Michael Yaron and two companies owned by him—Cambridge Environmental & Construction Corp., doing business as National Environmental Associates (Cambridge/NEA), and Oxford Construction & Development Corp.; Moshe Buchnik, the president of an asbestos abatement company doing business at NYPH; and Artech Corp., a sham company Saglimbeni created in the name of his mother, were each convicted of conspiracy to defraud NYPH. Additionally, Yaron, Cambridge/NEA, Oxford, Buchnik, Saglimbeni and Artech were also convicted of a wire fraud violation.

According to evidence presented at trial, the scheme to defraud NYPH centered on Saglimbeni, who with the assistance of Figueroa, awarded asbestos abatement, air monitoring and general construction contracts to Yaron, Buchnik and their companies in return for more than $2.3 million in kickbacks paid to Saglimbeni. A portion of those kickbacks were funneled by Yaron to Saglimbeni through Artech.

On July 31, 2012, Saglimbeni and Figueroa each pleaded guilty to additional mail fraud conspiracy and mail fraud violations. These charges were part of the same indictment but had been severed and were scheduled for a separate trial. According to the superseding indictment, the fraud scheme also centered on Saglimbeni, who with the assistance of Figueroa, awarded heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) contracts to an HVAC vendor in return for kickbacks in the form of cash goods and services paid to Saglimbeni and Figueroa.

On July 10, 2012, Yaron, Buchnik and the three companies were sentenced for their respective roles in the scheme. Yaron was sentenced to serve 60 months in prison and ordered to pay a $500,000 criminal fine. Buchnik was sentenced to serve 48 months in prison and ordered to pay a $500,000 criminal fine. Yaron's companies, Cambridge/NEA and Oxford Construction, were each sentenced to pay a $1 million criminal fine. Artech was also sentenced to pay a $1 million criminal fine. Including Saglimbeni and Figueroa, 15 individuals and six companies have been convicted or pleaded guilty as a result of this investigation and have been sentenced to pay a total of more than $4 million in criminal fines and to serve more than 16 years in prison.

This antitrust investigation of bid rigging, fraud, bribery and tax-related offenses relating to the award of contracts by the facilities operations department of NYPH was conducted by the Antitrust Division's New York Field Office with the assistance of the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation's New York Field Office. The Office of International Affairs in the Justice Department's Criminal Division also provided assistance.

U.S. PACOM COMMANDER RETURNS FROM VISITING FRIENDS



Navy Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III, commander of U.S. Pacific Command, with Thailand's Chief of Defense Force Gen. Thanasak Patimaprakorn in Bangkok, Oct. 15, 2012. U.S. Pacific Command photo by Army Staff Sgt. Carl N. Hudson

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
U.S. Partners Encourage Pacom Commander

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Oct. 18, 2012 - Upon returning to U.S. Pacific Command headquarters in Hawaii after visiting three Asia-Pacific nations, the top U.S. commander in the region said he's encouraged by their willingness to partner more closely with the United States in what he called a foundation of the U.S. strategy there.

Navy Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III has returned to Camp H.M. Smith after visiting senior officials in Bangladesh, India and Thailand. During every engagement, the admiral explained why, as it draws down its forces in Afghanistan, the United States is increasingly turning its attention to the Asia-Pacific.

Locklear recognized the region's large populations, large militaries and new and growing economic powerhouses during an Oct. 16 discussion with reporters in Bangkok.

The relative peace the region has enjoyed for almost seven decades has enabled national economies to prosper, he noted. "The goal is to continue that," he said, promoting security and stability through enhanced regional cooperation.

It's a whole-of-government approach, he said, that includes not just military, but also includes economic, diplomatic and information initiatives.

"The end state, we hope, is a continuation of a collective security environment where all nations are able to participate," Locklear said. He cited the range of operations that could include countering terrorism, providing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, stemming the flow of transnational threats such as drugs and human trafficking, and enhancing cybersecurity, among others.

Ultimately, Locklear said, U.S. rebalance toward the Asia-Pacific region involves "building partnerships and ability to work together on these security issues that will impact the region in the future."

That begins with the historic U.S. allies in the region, including Thailand, he said.

During his visit there, Locklear met with Chief of Defense Force Gen. Thanasak Patimaprakorn, Permanent Secretary for Defense Thanongsak Apirakyothin and other leaders to discuss ways to strengthen the U.S.-Thailand military-to-military relationship.

But the rebalance also involves building capacity among new regional partners and encouraging others to forge new relationships with the United States, he said.

Asked by a reporter, Locklear said he hopes these relationships are seen as "productive, in the eyes of China" and that Chinese leaders recognize that the U.S. rebalance is not meant to threaten or exclude China or any other country.

"This is not about a single nation," the admiral said. "It is about this issue of: How do you foresee a future were you have all countries participating in a security environment that leads to peace and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region. And you can't leave any one country out of that."

Locklear underscored the point. "The importance of the rebalance is looking at, How do you bring everyone, including China, into a security relationship that allows peace and prosperity, even through trying, difficult times where countries may disagree on this issue or that issue without it leading to military confrontation," he said.

He recognized areas in which China and the United States already are beginning to forge a military-to-military relationship. Their navies recently participated in joint counterpiracy operations, he noted, and leaders are exploring other areas in which they could work together, including health and medicine and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

In addition, the United States has invited China to participate in the next Rim of the Pacific naval exercise, in 2014. Twenty-two nations participated in this year's RIMPAC. "We hope that in 2014, the People's Liberation Army navy will find a way to send a ship and be full partners in that," Locklear said. "This is the best way forward."