RHINO SMUGGLING RING MEMBERS ARRESTED

Photo Credit:  U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service 

FROM: U.S DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Members of Rhino Smuggling Ring Arrested and Charged
Chinese Business Executive Arrested After Allegedly Offering Bribe

Three people have been charged this week in Newark, Miami and New York City with wildlife smuggling and related charges for their alleged roles in an international rhino horn smuggling ring, the Justice Department announced today. The arrests and charges are the result of "Operation Crash", a nationwide effort led by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) and the Justice Department to investigate and prosecute those involved in the black market trade of endangered rhinoceros horns.

Federal grand juries in Newark, N.J., and Miami have indicted Zhifei Li, in the international smuggling of rhinoceros horns. Shusen Wei, a 44 year old Chinese business executive and an associate of Li, has also been charged with offering to bribe a federal agent in the Li case. Qing Wang was charged today in a related criminal complaint in federal court in the Southern District of New York for his role in smuggling libation cups carved from rhinoceros horns from New York to Li via Hong Kong.

According to the indictment filed in Newark on Feb. 11, 2013, Li, a 28 year-old Chinese national, conspired to smuggle more than 20 raw rhinoceros horns from the United States to Hong Kong in 2011 and 2012. Li wired hundreds of thousands of dollars over at least a year to a co-conspirator in the United States to fund purchases of rhinoceros horns. Li’s co-conspirator smuggled the rhino horns in porcelain vases and mailed them to Hong Kong and China to a person other than Li, in an effort to evade detection by U.S. officials. Li and his co-conspirator bought many of the horns in New Jersey from other members of the conspiracy. Li was arrested in January on charges previously filed in New Jersey.

Li also was indicted on Feb. 12, 2013, in Miami on wildlife trafficking and smuggling charges. According to court records and government statements made in court, shortly after arriving in Florida in January 2013 for the Original Miami Beach Antique Show, Li purchased two endangered black rhinoceros horns from an undercover U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service agent in a Miami Beach hotel room for $59,000. Li asked if the undercover officer could procure additional rhinoceros horns and mail them to his company in Hong Kong.

Also arrested on a related criminal complaint filed in Miami was Shusen Wei, a Chinese business executive, who also was attending the antique show and sharing a hotel room with Li. According to documents filed in court in Miami, Wei was interviewed by agents after Li’s arrest and admitted to knowing about Li’s smuggling activities and to purchasing rhinoceros carvings from Li that apparently had been purchased in and smuggled from the United States. After being served with a grand jury subpoena to appear in New Jersey, Wei left Miami for New York en route to China. Prior to leaving Miami, Wei allegedly asked an undercover informant to invite a FWS special agent out to dinner in Miami and offer her money to assist Li. After a series of recorded phone calls and text messages, Wei was arrested as he attempted to board a flight bound for China at JFK International Airport in New York on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2013, on charges of bribing a federal official. According to documents filed in court, Wei proposed that the undercover informant offer the agent as much as $10,000.

Qing Wang is scheduled to appear in court today to face charges in a criminal complaint in the Southern District of New York for his role in smuggling libation cups carved from rhinoceros horns from New York to Li in Hong Kong. According to documents unsealed today, Wang was one of several that purchased items in the United States for Li. In China, there is a tradition dating back centuries of intricately carved rhinoceros horn cups . Drinking from such a cup was believed to bring good health and such carvings are highly prized by collectors. Wang is alleged to have been smuggling rhinoceros horn cups as well as ivory carvings to Li in Hong Kong.

An indictment or criminal complaint contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

Rhinoceros are an herbivore species of prehistoric origin and one of the largest remaining mega-fauna on earth. They have no known predators other than humans. All species of rhinoceros are protected under United States and international law, and all black rhinoceros species are endangered. Since 1976, trade in rhinoceros horn has been regulated under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), a treaty signed by more than 175 countries around the world to protect fish, wildlife and plants that are or may become imperiled due to the demands of international markets. Nevertheless, the demand for rhinoceros horn and black market prices have skyrocketed in recent years due to the value that some cultures have placed on ornamental carvings, good luck charms or alleged medicinal purposes, leading to a decimation of the global rhinoceros population. As a result, rhino populations have declined by more than 90 percent since 1970. South Africa, for example, has witnessed a rapid escalation in poaching of live animals, rising from 13 in 2007 to more than 618 in 2012.

Operation Crash (named for the term used to describe a herd of rhinoceros) is an ongoing multi-agency effort to detect, deter and prosecute those engaged in the illegal killing of rhinoceros and the unlawful trafficking of rhinoceros horns. The investigation resulting in the charges announced today has been conducted by the Special Investigations Unit of the FWS Office of Law Enforcement, with assistance from the Department of Homeland Security. The Li case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of New Jersey by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen O’Leary. The Wei case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Watts-FitzGerald in the Southern District of Florida. The Wang case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Janis Echenberg in the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of New York. Senior Trial Attorney Richard A. Udell of the Environmental Crimes Section of the U.S. Department of Justice is assisting in and coordinating all of the prosecutions. Additional support has been provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of New York.

MAMMAL DIVERSITY AFTER THE DINOSAURS

Newborn Boston Terrior.  Credit:  Wikimedia Commons.

FROM: NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Placental Mammal Diversity Blossomed After Age of Dinosaurs
Scientists build new 'tree of life' for placentals, visualize common ancestor

Scientists have reconstructed the common ancestor of placental mammals--an extremely diverse group including animals ranging from rodents to whales to humans--using the world's largest dataset of both genetic and physical traits.

In research results published today in the journal Science, the scientists reveal that, contrary to a commonly held theory, placental mammals did not diversify into their present-day lineages until after the extinction event that eliminated non-avian dinosaurs and about 70 percent of all species on Earth, some 65 million years ago.

This finding and the visualization of the placental ancestor, a small, insect-eating animal, was made with the help of a powerful cloud-based and publicly accessible database called MorphoBank.

The Science paper is the result of a multi-year collaborative project funded by the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Assembling the Tree of Life initiative.

"Molecular clock estimates and the fossil record do not agree on the time of origin and diversification of many modern and extinct biotic groups," said H. Richard Lane, program director in NSF's Division of Earth Sciences, which co-funded the research with NSF's Division of Environmental Biology. "Data from the NSF-supported Assembling the Tree of Life initiative have been the key to these conclusions."

Analysis of this massive dataset shows that placental mammals didn't originate during the Mesozoic Era, according to the paper's lead author, Maureen O'Leary of Stony Brook University and the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH).

"Species like rodents and primates did not share the Earth with non-avian dinosaurs but arose from a common ancestor--a small, insect-eating, scampering animal--shortly after the dinosaurs' demise."

There are two major types of data for building evolutionary trees of life: phenomic data, which includes observational traits such as anatomy and behavior, and genomic data encoded by DNA.

Some researchers have argued that integration of both is necessary for robust tree-building because examining only one type of data leaves out significant information.

The evolutionary history of placental mammals, for example, has been interpreted in very different ways depending on the data analyzed.

"This discovery about the diversification of placental mammals is remarkable, highlighting that resolution of the complete tree of life requires data from both molecules and morphology," said Robb Brumfield, program director in NSF's Division of Environmental Biology. "In this case, the inclusion of fossils was a key to understanding timing and branching history deep in the tree."

One leading analysis based on genomic data alone predicted that a number of placental mammal lineages existed in the Late Cretaceous and survived the Cretaceous-Paleogene (KPg) extinction that occurred about 66 million years ago.

Other analyses place the start of placental mammals near this boundary, and still others set their origin after this event.

"There are more than 5,100 living placental species and they exhibit enormous diversity, varying greatly in size, locomotor ability and brain size," said Nancy Simmons of the AMNH and a paper co-author.

"Given this diversity, it's of great interest to know when and how this clade first began evolving and diversifying."

The new study combines genomic and phenomic data in a simultaneous analysis for a more complete picture of the tree of life.

"Despite the considerable contributions of DNA sequence data to the study of species relationships, phenomic data have a major role in the direct reconstruction of trees," said Michael Novacek, a paleontologist at the AMNH and paper co-author.

"Such data include features preserved in fossils where DNA recovery may be impossible. The mammalian record is notably enriched with well-preserved fossils, and we don't want to build trees without using the direct evidence these fossils contribute."

"Discovering the tree of life is like piecing together a crime scene," said O'Leary.

"It's a story that happened in the past that you can't repeat. Just like with a crime scene, the new tools of DNA add important information, but so do other physical clues like a body or, in the scientific realm, fossils and anatomy. Combining all the evidence produces the most informed reconstruction of a past event."

The tree of life produced in this study shows that placental mammals arose rapidly after the KPg extinction, with the original ancestor speciating 200,000-400,000 years after the event.

"This is about 36 million years later than the prediction based on purely genetic data," said Marcelo Weksler, also a co-author and a researcher at the National Museum of Brazil.

The finding also contradicts a genomics-based model called the "Cretaceous-Terrestrial Revolution" that argues that the impetus for placental mammal speciation was the fragmentation of supercontinent Gondwana during the Jurassic and Cretaceous, millions of years earlier than the KPg event.

"The new tree indicates that the fragmentation of Gondwana came well before the origin of placental mammals and is an unrelated event," said John Wible of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and paper co-author.

As part of the study, researchers used MorphoBank, an initiative funded primarily by NSF, with additional support from Stony Brook University, the American Museum of Natural History and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to record phenomic traits for 86 placental mammal species, of which 40 were fossil species.

The resulting dataset has more than 4,500 traits detailing characteristics such as the presence or absence of wings, teeth, certain bones, type of hair cover and structures found in the brain, as well as more than 12,000 supporting images, all publicly available online.

The dataset is 10 times larger than what has previously been used for studies of mammal relationships.

Because phenomic datasets are built on physical objects like fossils that are limited in number and take time to excavate, prepare and analyze, evolutionary trees based on anatomy usually don't exceed several hundred traits.

Large-scale collection of such data for tree-building is now being called "phylophenomics."

"Cyberinfrastructure for organizing molecular biology has historically outstripped infrastructure for phenomic data, but new technologies like MorphoBank allow scientists working with phenomic data to produce larger and more complex projects, and to enrich these databases with images, references and comments," said Andrea Cirranello, paper co-author and researcher at Stony Brook University and the AMNH.

The team reconstructed the anatomy of the placental common ancestor by mapping traits onto the tree most strongly supported by the combined phenomic and genomic data and comparing the features in placental mammals with those seen in their closest relatives.

This method, known as optimization, allowed the researchers to determine what features first appeared in the common ancestor of placental mammals, and also what traits were retained unchanged from more distant ancestors.

The researchers conclude that the common ancestor had features such as a two-horned uterus, a brain with a convoluted cerebral cortex and a placenta in which the maternal blood came in close contact with the membranes surrounding the fetus, as in humans.

In addition, the study reveals that a branch of the placental mammal tree called Afrotheria, whose living members include animals -- ranging from elephants to aardvarks-- that live in Africa today, did not originate on that continent but rather in the Americas.

"Determining how these animals first made it to Africa is now an important research question, along with many others that can be addressed using MorphoBank and the phylophenomic tree produced in this study," said co-author Fernando Perini of Minas Gerais Federal University in Brazil.

Added co-author Mary Silcox, an anthropologist at the University of Toronto Scarborough, "this project exposes a way forward to collect data on other phenomic systems and other species."

-NSF-

PRESIDENT OBAMA SAYS 34,000 TROOPS TO BE CUT FROM AFGHANISTAN

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Obama Announces 34,000 Cut to U.S. Force in Afghanistan
By Karen Parrish
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12, 2013 - U.S. troops in Afghanistan will decrease by 34,000 over the coming year, President Barack Obama announced tonight in his annual State of the Union address.

"After a decade of grinding war, our brave men and women in uniform are coming home," he said early in his remarks to a joint session of Congress. Later in the speech, the commander in chief outlined his plan for troops in Afghanistan, now numbering about 66,000.

"Already, we have brought home 33,000 of our brave servicemen and women," he said. "This spring, our forces will move into a support role, while Afghan security forces take the lead. Tonight, I can announce that over the next year, another 34,000 American troops will come home from Afghanistan. This drawdown will continue. And by the end of next year, our war in Afghanistan will be over."

The president credited "the troops and civilians who sacrifice every day to protect us. Because of them, we can say with confidence that America will complete its mission in Afghanistan, and achieve our objective of defeating the core of al-Qaida."

America's commitment to a unified and sovereign Afghanistan will endure beyond 2014, Obama said, but the nature of that commitment will change.

"We're negotiating an agreement with the Afghan government that focuses on two missions: training and equipping Afghan forces so that the country does not again slip into chaos, and counter-terrorism efforts that allow us to pursue the remnants of al Qaeda and their affiliates," he noted.

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta, in a statement, said he welcomes the commander in chief's announcement. The figure was based, he said, on Marine Corps Gen. John Allen's strategic recommendation of a phased approach to decreasing the force, now numbering about 62,000.

Allen turned over command of NATO's International Security Assistance Force and U.S. forces in Afghanistan to Marine Corps Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr. during a Feb. 10 ceremony in Kabul, Afghanistan.

The secretary said in his statement that in consultations with the president and his national security team, "I strongly supported General Allen's recommendation and I believe the president's decision puts us on the right path to succeed in Afghanistan."

Panetta said he is confident Dunford will have the combat power he needs to protect coalition forces, continue building up Afghan forces, and "achieve the goal of this campaign to deny al Qaeda a safe haven to attack our homeland."

Panetta noted the United States, NATO and the Afghan government agreed in Lisbon in 2010, and affirmed in Chicago in 2012, that Afghanistan will assume full responsibility for its security by the end of 2014.

"We are on track for that goal," he said, "and we will maintain a long-term commitment to Afghanistan including through the continued training and equipping of Afghan forces and counter-terrorism operations against al Qaeda and their affiliates."

The American people should never forget 9/11 is the reason their men and women are fighting in Afghanistan, Panetta said.

"After more than a decade of great sacrifice and hard-fought progress, we are now on a path to an Afghanistan that cannot be used as a launching pad for attacks against our nation," the secretary said.

"Our troops on the ground will continue to be in a tough fight, and they will continue to face real challenges, but our fundamental goal is now within sight," he concluded. "Thanks to their continued dedication and sacrifice, I believe we will prevail."

YELLOWSTONE ECOSYSTEM: NATURAL RELATIONSHIPS

Photo:  Yellowstone Beaver.  Credit: National Park Service.

FROM: NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Yellowstone Ecosystem Needs Wolves and Willows, Elk and...Beavers?
Scientists plot crucial links among Yellowstone plant and animal species

Wolves and Yellowstone. In the public mind, and in nature, the two are inextricably linked.

Now, it turns out, they aren't alone on the ecological dance floor.

Elk and willows play a critical role in wolves' success in the Yellowstone ecosystem, willows serving as browse for elk--and elk as food for wolves.

But there's another species involved, one that's instrumental to these well-choreographed steps: the beaver.

"Beavers are the missing piece in this ecosystem," says ecologist Tom Hobbs of Colorado State University (CSU) in Fort Collins.

No wolves, no beavers

The loss of wolves caused far-reaching changes in the Yellowstone ecosystem: more elk and fewer willows. With no willows to slow stream flow, creeks flowed faster and faster. Beavers prefer slow-moving waters, so they disappeared with the willows.

"Putting wolves back isn't enough to reverse the extensive changes caused by their long absence," Hobbs and other scientists discovered in a decade-long research project.

The ecologists published results of their study this week in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. In addition to Hobbs, co-authors are Kristin Marshall, formerly of CSU and now of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and David Cooper of CSU. Marshall is the paper's lead author.

"This research illustrates the value of long-term ecological experiments to understanding how species interactions cascade through food webs to determine ecosystem resilience," says Alan Tessier, program director in the National Science Foundation (NSF)'s Division of Environmental Biology, which funded the research.

"The results have immediate practical applications in restoring and protecting ecosystems such as that of Yellowstone."

Wolves aren't enough

Scientists had thought that the return of the wolf, leading to a cutback on elk numbers and willow-browsing, was central to restoring the Yellowstone ecosystem. "But Yellowstone also needs beavers," says Hobbs.

That's why bringing back wolves didn't work to quickly restore the ecosystem, the researchers believe.

Wolves hunted elk and brought down numbers of these ungulates. But removing elk-browsing wasn't enough for the willows. They needed the sluggish streams created by beavers. But the beavers were gone.

Streams: the missing link

Once, beavers had been abundant anywhere streams flowed through Yellowstone. And that was almost everywhere.

In the past, dams made by beavers were ubiquitous features of Yellowstone's stream network. A third of mainstream reaches show evidence of sediment deposition as a result of beaver dams, a process that's happened for millennia. That sediment offered willows a place to take root.

In the spring of 1921, scientist Edward Warren of the Roosevelt Wild Life Forest Experiment Station in Syracuse, N. Y., conducted a study of beavers in Yellowstone. Warren found beavers and their ponds scattered throughout the park.

Near the Elk Creek Bench Colony, for example, Warren spotted "a group of beaver ponds which present interesting features," he stated in a report published in the 1920s.

"The water supply is a small brook originating from springs in a boggy tract of several acres. The brook flows through a flat depression in a ridge, and it is in the swampy, springy ground just below the woods that most of the ponds are located."

It's a rare if not non-existent sight in Yellowstone today, especially on the park's northern range where Hobbs' team conducted its research.

"Excessive browsing of willows [by elk after wolves were gone] was implicated in the disappearance of beavers from streams during the twentieth century," Marshall, Hobbs and Cooper write in their paper. "The loss of beaver ponds from the stream network...compressed the area of bare, moist substrate needed for willow establishment."

Yellowstone ecosystem questions: answered by beavers?

Restoring an ecologically complete ecosystem in Yellowstone requires the return of willows--and with them, beavers.

There's a clear threshold for ecosystem recovery. Willow stands must be more than six feet tall, the scientists found. That height is important, says Marshall. Then willows are beyond the reach of browsing elk, and can serve as seed sources for new young willows.

Once willows have returned, beavers will gnaw down a certain number of them to build dams. The dams will further slow stream flow, allowing yet more willows to grow.

The results offer new insights on the role of wolf-driven trophic cascades in the Yellowstone ecosystem, says Hobbs.

Trophic cascades like that in Yellowstone occur when predators--or the lack thereof--in an ecosystem change the abundance or alter traits of their prey, in turn affecting the next lower trophic level.

"The reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone has contributed to improvements in the park's ecology, but clearly that ecology is a complicated one," says Marshall. "The take-home message is that we have to be careful not to remove predators in the first place."

First Meeting of the U.S. Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (USEITI) Advisory Committee

First Meeting of the U.S. Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (USEITI) Advisory Committee

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dempsey to honor former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dempsey to honor former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton

Open for Questions: The State of the Union and the Economy | The White House

Open for Questions: The State of the Union and the Economy | The White House

Press Briefing by Secretary Panetta from the Pentagon

Press Briefing by Secretary Panetta from the Pentagon

CONGRESSMAN DAVE CAMP PUSHES THROUGH "NO BUDGET NO PAY ACT" FOR CONGRESS

FROM: CONGRESSMAN DAVE CAMP'S WEBSITE

Last week, the President signed into law the "No Budget No Pay Act," authored by Congressman Dave Camp (R-Midland) and Congresswoman Candice Miller (R-Harrison Twp.). The Act’s purpose is simple: if Members of Congress don’t do their jobs to produce a federal budget, they don’t get paid.

For the last two years the House of Representatives has passed a federal budget. However, the Senate has failed to do so for four years in a row – more than 1,300 days have passed without any budget from the Senate. It is time for both chambers of Congress – the House of Representatives and the Senate – to make the tough choices necessary to get Washington spending under control. If employees don’t do their jobs, their employer won’t pay them. It’s time for Congress to start living by that same simple rule.

BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM HAS A POSITIVE TEST

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE,
Aegis Missile Defense System Intercepts Target in Test
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Feb. 13, 2013 - The Missile Defense Agency and sailors aboard the USS Lake Erie conducted a successful flight test of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense system today, resulting in the intercept of a medium-range ballistic missile target over the Pacific Ocean by a Standard Missile-3 Block IA guided missile.

At 4:10 a.m. EST, a unitary medium-range ballistic missile target was launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii. The target flew northwest toward a broad area of the Pacific Ocean.

The in-orbit Space Tracking and Surveillance System-Demonstrators, or STSS-D, detected and tracked the target, and forwarded track data to the USS Lake Erie. The ship, equipped with the second-generation Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense weapon system, used "Launch on Remote" doctrine to engage the target.

The ship developed a fire control solution from the STSS-D track and launched the SM-3 Block IA guided missile about five minutes after target launch. The SM-3 maneuvered to a point in space and released its kinetic warhead. The warhead acquired the target re-entry vehicle, diverted into its path, and, using only the force of a direct impact, engaged and destroyed the target.

Initial indications are that all components performed as designed, officials said. Program officials will assess and evaluate system performance based upon telemetry and other data obtained during the test, they added.

Today's event, designated Flight Test Standard Missile-20, or FTM-20, was a demonstration of the ability of space-based assets to provide mid-course fire control quality data to an Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense ship, extending the battle space, providing the ability for longer-range intercepts and defense of larger areas, officials said.

FTM-20 is the 24th successful intercept in 30 flight test attempts for the Aegis BMD program since flight testing began in 2002. Across all Ballistic Missile Defense System programs, this is the 58th successful hit-to-kill intercept in 73 flight tests since 2001.

Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense is the sea-based component of the Missile Defense Agency's Ballistic Missile Defense System. The Aegis BMD engagement capability defeats short- to intermediate-range, unitary and separating, midcourse-phase ballistic missile threats with the SM-3, as well as short-range ballistic missiles in the terminal phase with the SM-2 Block IV missile.

The MDA and the Navy cooperatively manage the Aegis BMD program.

NEWS FROM AFGHANISTAN FOR FEBRUARY 13, 2013

Partoling Afghanistan.  Credit:  U.S. Army.

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Combined Force Kills Taliban Leader in Nangarhar Province
From an International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Release

KABUL, Afghanistan, Feb. 13, 2013 - A combined Afghan and coalition force killed a Taliban leader in the Khugyani district of Afghanistan's Nangarhar province today, military officials reported.

Mojib, also known as Mansoor, conducted direct-fire attacks against Afghan government officials and Afghan and coalition forces. He was directly associated with Taliban senior leadership operating in Khugyani district and procured rocket-propelled grenades to be used in an attack on a coalition aircraft, officials said.

The security force seized assault rifles with associated gear as well as several grenades and a pistol in the operation.

Also today, a combined force in Khost province's Terayzai district arrested a Haqqani network leader who is accused of conducting attacks and kidnappings.

The security force also detained two suspected insurgents and seized grenades, an assault rifle with associated ammunition, an Afghan army uniform and two Afghan army identification cards in the operation.

In Afghanistan operations yesterday:

-- Afghan and coalition forces called in a precision airstrike in Helmand province's Nad-e Ali district that killed a Taliban leader responsible for attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. He also helped insurgents obtain heavy weapons. A post-strike assessment determined no civilians were harmed and no property was damaged in the operation.

-- A combined force called in a precision strike that killed two insurgents in Kunar province's Ghaziabad district. A post-operation assessment determined no civilians were harmed and no civilian property was damaged in the operation.

-- In Kandahar province's Maiwand district, a combined force arrested a Taliban facilitator believed responsible for coordinating and conducting insurgent operations.

Remarks With Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh After Their Meeting

Remarks With Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh After Their Meeting

LANDSAT DATA CONTINUITY MISSION PRELAUNCH

FROM: NASA
Landsat Data Continuity Mission Prelaunch
The United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket with the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) spacecraft onboard is seen on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

The Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) mission is a collaboration between NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey that will continue the Landsat program's 40-year data record of monitoring the Earth's landscapes from space. The spacecraft launched Feb. 11.

Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

MAN GETS 30 MONTHS IN PRISON FOR SMUGGLING KICKBACK PROCEEDS FROM AFGHANISTAN

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Former Department of Defense Contractor Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison for Smuggling Kickback Proceeds from Afghanistan to the United States

Former employee of a Department of Defense contracting company at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, was sentenced today to serve 30 months in prison for attempting to smuggle $150,000 in kickback proceeds he received for steering U.S. government subcontracts to an Afghan company, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom of the District of Kansas.

Donald Gene Garst, 51, of Topeka, Kan., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Julie A. Robinson in Topeka. In addition to his prison term, Garst was sentenced to serve one year of supervised release and was ordered to pay a fine of $52,117. The department previously forfeited the $150,000 Garst had attempted to smuggle into the United States.

Garst pleaded guilty on Nov. 9, 2012, to a one-count information charging him with bulk cash smuggling. According to court documents, Garst was employed by a private U.S. company that was contracted by the U.S. government and its armed forces at Bagram Airfield from January 2009 to May 2011. Garst was involved in identifying, evaluating and monitoring subcontracts awarded to Afghan companies by his employer, and he used his position to meet executives of an Afghan construction company called Somo Logistics. Garst then entered into an agreement with the Afghans under which he would receive kickback payments on a contract-by-contract basis in return for treating Somo Logisitcs favorably in the contracting process.

In December 2010, Garst accepted a kickback for $60,000 on the first subcontract awarded to Somo Logistics. The subcontract was for the term lease of heavy equipment meant to be used for construction on Bagram Airfield. Garst hand-carried approximately $20,000 of the kickback proceeds into the United States, and he received the remainder via a series of structured wire transfers from Somo Logistics executives.

In May 2011, Garst accepted a $150,000 kickback for a second subcontract for the lease of heavy construction equipment. Garst shipped the $150,000 in cash to the United States, and his failure to declare the value of the shipment was discovered by law enforcement.

Garst had further agreed to receive $400,000 on a third subcontract, but his scheme was discovered by law enforcement before he could receive that payment.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Maag and Trial Attorney Wade Weems of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. The case was investigated by Special Agents with the Army Criminal Investigations Division and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, with assistance from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction and the FBI.

TPC - Videos

TPC - Videos: Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says Commander in Chief Barack Obama's decision to bring 34,000 troops back from Afghanistan was based on reccomendations from former ISAF Comamnder Gen John Allen.

European Space Agency United Kingdom (EN) Update

European Space Agency United Kingdom (EN) Update

FROM RUSSIA WITH CARGO

FROM: NASA
Russian Cargo Ship Heads to Station

The ISS Progress 50 resupply ship launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 9:41 a.m. EST (8:41 p.m. Kazakhstan time) Monday on an accelerated, four-orbit journey to rendezvous with the International Space Station.

GENERAL ODIERNO TELLS SENATE COMMITTEE THAT SEQUESTRATION WOULD HARM MILITARY READINESS

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Odierno: Sequestration Would Impact Army Readiness
By Cody Starken
Army News Service

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12, 2013 - Furloughs, budget cuts and curtailment of training would significantly impact Army readiness if the billions of dollars in spending cuts triggered by sequestration are allowed to take place March 1, Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Ray Odierno told lawmakers Tuesday.

Odierno, along with other senior defense and military leaders testified on the impact of sequestration before the Senate Armed Services Committee. "The fiscal outlook that the Army faces in fiscal year 13 is dire, and to my knowledge, unprecedented," Odierno said.

Since 2008, the total Army budget will have been reduced by 37 percent. If sequestration is enacted, it will be greater than 45 percent. This reduces the ability to reset the force, and delays modernization programs the Army currently funds, he said.

"We simply cannot take the readiness of our force for granted. If we do not have the resources to train and equip the force, our soldiers, our young men and women, are the ones who will pay the price, potentially with their lives," Odierno said.

The Army will also have constraints on military training and readiness, Odierno said. Even though current military personnel are spared, civilian employees will be affected through layoffs and furloughs. An Army-wide hiring freeze is already in effect, and about 3,100 temporary and term employees have been terminated.

Sequestration will mean curtailing training of 80 percent of ground forces, affecting basic war-fighting skills. It could also introduce a critical shortfall in areas such as aviation, intelligence and engineering, Odierno said.

Local business will be affected as well. "In the Army, we are going to have to reduce purchase orders from 3,000 small companies," said Odierno. "From an Army perspective, it will hit the small companies" an impact that he predicted would be devastating.

Gen. Frank Grass, chief of the Army National Guard told lawmakers "In the area of personnel: a government, civilian, and military-technician hiring freeze compounded by a 22-day furlough will limit our ability to train and maintain our National Guard forces."

Those testifying Tuesday urged lawmakers to prevent sequestration from occurring.

"I know what it takes to prepare this nation's sons and daughters for war. I know what it takes to grow leaders in our Army. I know what is required to send Soldiers into combat, and I've seen the consequences when they are sent unprepared," said Odierno.

U.S. EXPORT-IMPORT BANK TO FINACE EXPORT OF AIRCRAFT TO RUSSIA

Peter And Paul Fortress.  Credit:  CIA World Factbook.

FROM: U.S. EXPORT-IMPORT BANK
Ex-Im Approves more than $500 million to Finance Export of U.S. Aircraft to Russia

Washington, D.C. – The board of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) voted to guarantee a loan of more than $500 million provided by Apple Bank for Savings to OJSC VEB Leasing (VEBL) of Moscow for the export of a fleet of Boeing 777 aircraft to Russia to be operated by Aeroflot Russian Airlines (Aeroflot).


Boeing delivered the first of the aircraft earlier this month.

Ex-Im Bank’s financing will support approximately 3,200 U.S. jobs, according to Bank estimates derived from Departments of Commerce and Labor data and methodology.

"The transaction showcases once again the wealth of opportunities for U.S. exporters in Russia," said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg. "Moreover, the aircraft sale will support thousands of high-paying American jobs and provide Aeroflot with a top-of-the-line product."

VEBL, a subsidiary and leasing arm of the state-owned Vnesheconombank Group (VEB), will lease the aircraft to Aeroflot. It is the largest leasing company in the Russian Federation both in terms of its existing lease portfolio and new business volume. In line with VEB’s mandate, VEBL aims to increase the competiveness and diversification of the Russian economy and promote investment activity in key industries. Its portfolio is diversified over a number of different sectors, including, aviation, rail, sea and river vessels, heavy machinery, and automobiles.

"Aircraft financing is one of the main business activities of Vnesheconombank," said Vnesheconombank Deputy Chairman and Member of the Board Alexander S. Ivanov. "With this transaction we are happy to step into a promising and mutually beneficial partnership with Ex-Im Bank in this field."

Aeroflot, also of Moscow, is the flag carrier and largest airline of the Russian Federation. The company, which dates back to 1923, boasts one of the youngest fleets in Europe and is a member of the SkyTeam Alliance, which was founded by Delta Air Lines, Aeroméxico, Air France, and Korean Air. The new acquisition of the aircraft will contribute to the airline’s fleet renewal and route-network expansion. Additionally, the Aeroflot aircraft will share routes and flights with other members of the SkyTeam Alliance as part of the Alliance’s codeshare agreement.

"Boeing is very pleased that Aeroflot becomes Russia’s first airline to add the 777-300ER to its fleet," said Marty Bentrott, Boeing Commercial Airplanes sales vice president for the Middle East, Russian and Central Asia. "Russia is an important and growing market for aviation and aircraft financing. Ex-Im Bank's innovative financing structuring in this transaction facilitates Aeroflot selecting U.S.-built airplanes to help it succeed, while supporting U.S. exports and sustaining good-paying, high-skilled American aviation manufacturing jobs."

The 2013 State of the Union Address | The White House

The 2013 State of the Union Address | The White House

VIETNAM: 40 YEARS SINCE THE HOMECOMING

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Operation Homecoming for Vietnam POWs Marks 40 Years
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12, 2013 - Forty years ago today, a C-141A Starlifter transport jet with a distinctive red cross on its tail lifted off from Hanoi, North Vietnam, and the first flight of 40 U.S. prisoners of war began their journey home through Operation Homecoming.

By the day's end, three C-141A aircraft would lift off from Hanoi, as well as a C-9A aircraft from Saigon, South Vietnam. In a steady flow of flights through late March 1973 under terms set through the Paris Peace Accords, 591 POWs returned to American soil.

Americans were spellbound as they watched news clips of the POWs being carried in stretchers or walking tentatively toward U.S. officers at the awaiting aircraft for the first flight from Hanoi's Gia Lam Airport.

The POWs ranged from privates first class to colonels, all wearing new gray uniforms issued by the North Vietnamese just before their release.

Air Force Tech. Sgt. James R. Cook, who suffered severe wounds when he bailed out of his stricken aircraft over North Vietnam in December 1972, saluted the U.S. colors from his stretcher as he was carried aboard the aircraft. Also on the first flight was Navy Cmdr. Everett Alvarez Jr., the first American pilot to be shot down in North Vietnam and, by the war's end, the longest-held POW there. He spent eight-and-a-half years in captivity.

Celebration broke out aboard the first aircraft -- nicknamed the "Hanoi Taxi" -- as it lifted skyward and the POWs experienced their first taste of freedom.

Historian Andrew H. Lipps captured the magnitude of the moment in his account, "Operation Homecoming: The Return of American POWs from Vietnam."

"Imagine you're imprisoned in a cage; imagine the cage surrounded by the smell of feces; imagine the rotted food you eat is so infested with insects that to eat only a few is a blessing; imagine knowing your life could be taken by one of your captors on a whim at any moment; imagine you are subjected to mental and physical torture designed to break not bones but instead spirit on a daily basis. That was being a prisoner of North Vietnam," Lipps wrote.

"Then imagine one day, after seemingly endless disappointment, you are given a change of clothes and lined up to watch an American plane land to return you home. That was Operation Homecoming."

Aeromedical teams assigned to each aircraft tended to the former POWs during the two-and-a-half hour flight to Clark Air Base in the Philippines, the first stop on their trip home. Meanwhile, many of the POWs joked and smoked American cigarettes as they caught up on all they'd missed while in captivity: fashion trends and the women's liberation movement, among them.

"Everything seemed like heaven," recalled Air Force Capt. Larry Chesley, who, after being shot down over North Vietnam, spent seven years in the notorious "Hanoi Hilton" and other POW prisons. "When the doors of that C-141 closed, there were tears in the eyes of every man aboard," he said.

Air Force Maj. Gen. Ed Mechenbier, the last Vietnam POW to serve in the Air Force, recalled the emotion of his own journey out of North Vietnam on Feb. 18, 1973. "When we got airborne and the frailty of being a POW turned into the reality of freedom, we yelled, cried and cheered," he said.

The POWs arrived to a hero's welcome at Clark Air Base, where Navy Adm. Noel Gayler, commander of U.S. Forces Pacific, led their greeting party. Joining him were Air Force Lt. Gen. William G. Moore Jr., who commanded 13th Air Force and the homecoming operation at Clark, and Roger Shields, deputy assistant secretary of defense for POW/MIA affairs.

Speaking to the crowd that lined the tarmac to welcome the aircraft, returning POW Navy Capt. Jeremiah Denton -- who would go on to earn the rank of rear admiral and later was elected to the U.S. Senate, representing Alabama -- elicited cheers as he thanked all who had worked for their release and proclaimed, "God bless America."

Air Force Lt. Col. Carlyle "Smitty" Harris, who spent almost eight years as a POW after being shot down over North Vietnam, joined the many other POWs who echoed that sentiment. "My only message is, 'God bless America,'" he said, dismissing assertions in the media that the POWs had been directed to say it.

"With six, seven or eight years to think about the really important things in life, a belief in God and country was strengthened in every POW with whom I had contact," he said. "Firsthand exposure to a system which made a mockery of religion and where men are unable to know truth made us all appreciate some of the most basic values in 'God bless America.'"

Air Force Col. Robinson Risner, the senior Air Force officer at the infamous "Hanoi Hilton" honored today by a statue in his likeness at the U.S. Air Force Academy, choked back emotion as he arrived on the second C-141 flight from Hanoi.

"Thank you all for bringing us home to freedom again," he told the crowd.

After receiving medical exams and feasting on steak, ice cream and other American food, the former POWs received new uniforms for their follow-on flights home. Their aircraft made stops in Hawaii and California. The first group of 20 former POWs arrived at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., on Feb. 14, 1973.

News clips of the arrival reveal the deep emotion of the freed POWs as they arrived on the U.S. mainland. Navy Capt. James Stockdale, who went on to become a vice admiral and vice presidential candidate, was the first man to limp off the aircraft.

Stockdale paused to thank his countrymen for the loyalty they had showed him and his fellow POWs. "The men who follow me down that ramp know what loyalty means because they have been living with loyalty, living on loyalty, the past several years -- loyalty to each other, loyalty to the military, loyalty to our commander-in-chief," he said.

Of the 591 POWs liberated during Operation Homecoming, 325 served in the Air Force, 138 in the Navy; 77 in the Army and 26 in the Marine Corps. Twenty-five of the POWs were civilian employees of U.S. government agencies.

In addition, 69 POWs the Viet Cong had held in South Vietnam left aboard flights from Loc Ninh. Nine other POWs were released from Laos, and three from China.

Forty years after their release, two of the former POWs serve in Congress: Sen. John McCain of Arizona and Rep. Sam Johnson of Texas.

A dinner and ceremony being planned for late May at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library in California will honor the POWs, recreating the dinner the president hosted for them at the White House in 1973.

ANTARTICA: OPERATION DEEP FREEZE

Military Sealift Command-chartered container ship MV Ocean Giant, prepares to leave Port Hueneme, Calif., with nearly 7 million pounds of supplies, vehicles and electronic equipment and parts, Jan. 17, 2013. The ship is slated to begin offloading at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, as part of Operation Deep Freeze's support to the National Science Foundation. U.S. Navy photo

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Supply Ships Arrive in Antarctica for Operation Deep Freeze
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Feb. 8, 2013 - A hulking Military Sealift Command-chartered tanker ship is expected to begin offloading millions of gallons of fuel in Antarctica today as part of the Defense Department's Operation Deep Freeze mission, which supplies the National Science Foundation at one of the world's most remote scientific outposts.

MT Maersk Peary, which left Europe in December, is scheduled to begin discharging more than 6 million gallons of diesel and jet fuel and gasoline at McMurdo Station, Sarah Burford, a Military Sealift Command spokeswoman, told American Forces Press Service.

A container ship that left California in January, MV Ocean Giant, then will deliver nearly 7 million pounds of frozen and dry food, building supplies, vehicles, electronic equipment and parts, and other supplies. Sailors from Navy Cargo Handling Battalion 1 are preparing to work around the clock for eight days to offload the supplies at a 500-foot-long ice pier that juts into the Antarctic Ocean, Burford said.

The deliveries represent 100 percent of the fuel and about 80 percent of the supplies the researchers and support personnel in Antarctica will need to survive and work over the course of a year, she said.

Air Mobility Command augments this support, airlifting passengers, perishable goods and time-sensitive materials in and out of Antarctica, and between sites within the continent, explained Air Force Col. Howard McArthur, U.S. Transportation Command's West Division operations chief.

For this year's Operation Deep Freeze mission, C-17 Globemaster III and ski-equipped LC-130 Hercules aircraft began air support missions in the fall.

The air and surface deliveries, conducted by Transcom in support of U.S. Pacific Command, are part of a historic Defense Department mission in one of the world's coldest, windiest, highest and most inhospitable environments.

Operation Deep Freeze has been supporting the National Science Foundation, which manages the U.S. Antarctic Program, for almost 60 years. It's an extension of a mission the Navy started almost 200 years ago. In 1839, Navy Capt. Charles Wilkes led the first U.S. naval expedition into Antarctic waters. Navy Adm. Richard E. Byrd followed in his footsteps, establishing naval outposts on the Antarctic coast in 1929, and later that year, he made the first flight over the South Pole.

In 1946, Byrd organized the Navy's Operation Highjump, which included more than 4,000 people and numerous ships and other craft operating in the Ross Sea.

In 1955, the Navy conducted the first Operation Deep Freeze.

Today, Joint Task Force Support Forces Antarctica, led by Pacific Air Forces at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, brings together active, reserve and National Guard assets from the Air Force, Navy, Army and Coast Guard, as well as Defense Department civilians. This year's task force includes C-17 support from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.; LC-130 support from the New York Air National Guard; sealift support from the Coast Guard and Military Sealift Command; engineering and aviation services from Navy Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command and cargo handling from the Navy.

Together, this team provides the aircraft, shops and logistical expertise needed to support research in what may well be the most isolated and challenging part of the globe, officials said. They coordinate strategic intertheater airlift, tactical deep field support, aeromedical evacuation support, search and rescue response, sealift, seaport access, bulk fuel supply, port cargo handling and transportation requirements.

Last year alone, they delivered more than 3,250 passengers, 10,000 short tons of cargo and 5 million gallons of fuel in support of the National Science Foundation, Transcom officials reported.

Although the mission takes place during the Antarctic summer, harsh and unpredictable weather has always been a challenge, McArthur said. Ships typically must arrive between January and March, and require an icebreaker to cut a channel through a thick ice shelf for them to reach McMurdo Station.

Surprisingly, bitter cold isn't always the biggest operational hurdle.

"During the past couple of years, the warmer temperatures have actually been more of a challenge than the cooler temperatures," McArthur said. It made the ice pier too unstable to support dry cargo operations last year, requiring soldiers from the 331st Transportation Company to build a floating dock. This year, volcanic dirt that blew onto the ice runway during a December storm absorbed solar energy, causing extensive snow melt, McArthur said.

"But they are working around that and providing the support that is needed," he said, calling it an example of Transcom's commitment to deliver for its customers -- in this case, interagency partners at the National Science Foundation.

"Whether it is in the Antarctic or some other location in the world, we stand ready to provide flexible support ... and ensure that the mission is executed," he said.

Demanding, unpredictable conditions require planning and teamwork, said Tom Broad, the team lead for Military Sealift Command Pacific's sealift pre-positioning and special missions.

"We can't always know what will happen," Broad said. "Because of this, we really have to function as a team, not just within the Navy, but with all the other organizations who participate in this mission, to ensure that we get the critical cargo onto the ice, and on time, to support the people who live and work there."

That's what makes Operation Deep Freeze so important to the U.S. Antarctic Program, said Army Capt. Sylvester Moore, commander of Military Sealift Command Pacific.

"Without this resupply mission, all operations in Antarctica would end, and the scientific community would lose the opportunity to conduct research and study not only the continent of Antarctica, but its impact on our global climate," he said.

(Sarah Burford of Military Sealift Command contributed to this article.)

U.S. AND ALGERIA MEET REGARDING COOPERATION TO STOP NUCLEAR SMUGGLING

A beach used by tourists west of Algiers. Credit: CIA World Factbook.

FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
United States and Algeria Consult to Prevent Nuclear Smuggling and Strengthen Strategic Trade Controls
Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
February 12, 2013　

Officials from the United States and Algeria met in Algiers February 10-11, 2013, to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation to counter nuclear smuggling, and border security. These discussions furthered a first round of bilateral consultations initiated in January 2012 to explore ways and means to advance capabilities to prevent, detect, and respond to nuclear and radiological material smuggling incidents, consistent with the Work Plan adopted by members of the 2010 Nuclear Security Summit, held in Washington, D.C.

At the two-day meeting, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Nonproliferation Programs Simon Limage and Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director General for Political Affairs and International Security Taous Feroukhi reaffirmed their readiness to cooperate more closely to prevent terrorists and other criminals from acquiring black market nuclear material. Recognizing the importance of a coordinated whole-of-government response to nuclear smuggling, meeting participants included representatives from several ministries within the Government of Algeria, and representatives from the U.S. Government interagency.

During the meeting in Algiers, both sides exchanged views and shared information on current smuggling threats and trends, and discussed best practices in the areas of border security, and nuclear detection, nuclear forensics, law enforcement, and other tools to prevent, detect, and respond to incidents of nuclear smuggling.

Officials from the United States presented an overview of best practices in border security, and strategic trade controls through cooperation with the Department of State’s Export Control and Related Border Security program aimed at joining efforts to prevent the proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) and illicit transfers of conventional weapons including MANPADS and related criminal activities by strengthening national control systems over the export, import, transit, and transshipment of strategic items.

These discussions pave the way for future cooperation between the United States and Algeria to strengthen national, international and regional capabilities to counter illicit trafficking of nuclear and radioactive materials.

RESEARCHERS SAY KID'S WEIGHT LINKED TO TIME AT DINNER TABLE

Credit:  NIH

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEATLH AND HUMAN SERVICES

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Researchers say families who spend a bit longer together at the dinner table tend to have kids with a bit better weight. Barbara Fiese of the University of Illinois saw it in data on low-income families.

In the study, researchers observed 200 family mealtimes. They say the difference was only three or four minutes – families with healthier-weight children spent about 20 minutes at the table. But Fiese says the minutes add up, and family time may reduce mindless eating, when the calories go in without people really thinking about them:

"They mean that families are sort of keeping track of what their kids are doing. They’re also monitoring what they’re eating."

The study in the journal Economics and Human Biology was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION UPDATE VIDEO FOR FEB. 12, 2013

FROM: NASA
The International Space Station update video for Feb. 12, 2013.

Finding a Lasting Solution to Instability in The Democratic Republic of the Congo

Finding a Lasting Solution to Instability in The Democratic Republic of the Congo

RECENT U.S. NAVY PHOTOS

FROM: U.S. NAVY
The aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) and the French navy destroyer FS Chevalier Paul (D621) transit the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. John C. Stennis 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. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kenneth Abbate (Released) 130209-N-OY799-296

130211-N-MO201-012 SOUDA BAY, Greece (Feb. 11, 2013) The guided-missile frigate USS Nicholas (FFG 47) departs Souda harbor following a port visit. Nicholas is homeported at Naval Station Norfolk and deployed conducting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of responsibility. (U.S. Navy photo by Paul Farley/Released)

U.S. State Department Daily Press Briefing - February 12, 2013

Daily Press Briefing - February 12, 2013

PRESIDENT OBAMA CONDEMNS NORTH KOREAN NUCLEAR TEST

Korean War Photo.  Credit:  U.S. DOD.

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Obama Condemns North Korean Nuclear Test
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12, 2013 - President Barack Obama today strongly condemned the latest North Korean nuclear test, saying it undermines regional stability in an important part of the world.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a statement shortly after midnight EST announcing that a "seismic event" had taken place, and later issued a second statement saying North Korea probably conducted an underground nuclear test near Punggye. The explosion yield was approximately several kilotons and the analysis of the event continues, the second statement said.

This is North Korea's third and largest nuclear test.

"This is a highly provocative act that, following its Dec. 12 ballistic missile launch, undermines regional stability, violates North Korea's obligations under numerous United Nations Security Council resolutions, contravenes its commitments under the Sept. 19, 2005, Joint Statement of the Six-Party Talks and increases the risk of proliferation," Obama said in a written statement. The Six-Party Talks include North Korea, South Korea, Russia, China, Japan and the United States.

North Korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs constitute a threat to U.S. national security and to international peace and security, Obama said.

"The United States remains vigilant in the face of North Korean provocations and steadfast in our defense commitments to allies in the region," he added.

North Korean exploded its first nuclear device in October 2006, and conducted its second test in 2009.

"These provocations do not make North Korea more secure," Obama said in his statement. "Far from achieving its stated goal of becoming a strong and prosperous nation, North Korea has instead increasingly isolated and impoverished its people through its ill-advised pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery."

The U.N. Security Council is conducting an emergency session in New York to consider responses. "We will strengthen close coordination with allies and partners and work with our Six-Party partners, the United Nations Security Council, and other U.N. member states to pursue firm action," Obama said.

On Capitol Hill today, Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter expressed the hope that China would join in condemning the test.

"There's nothing more provocative than what the North Koreans did," Carter said during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, where he's testifying on the effects of looming defense spending cuts.

"It is very dangerous," he added. "We will take action to condemn and get the rest of the international community to condemn, particularly looking to China to join in that condemnation. They have a pivotal role in influencing the future here. That is an extremely dangerous situation."

European Space Agency United Kingdom (EN) Update: Space Tech And Counterfeit Foods

European Space Agency United Kingdom (EN) Update

President Obama Awards the Medal of Honor | The White House

President Obama Awards the Medal of Honor | The White House

NEWS FROM AFGHANISTAN FOR FEBRUARY 12, 2013

Credit:  U.S. Navy.

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Coalition, Afghan Forces Arrest Weapons Distributor
From an International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Release

KABUL, Afghanistan, Feb. 12, 2013 - A combined Afghan and coalition security force arrested an Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan leader in the Khanabad district of Afghanistan's Kunduz province today, military officials reported.

The leader allegedly facilitates distribution of weapons and assists in improvised explosive device operations in the district, officials said, adding that he oversees the acquisition, transfer and delivery of IED materials and explosives to insurgents.

Another suspected insurgent also was detained, and the security force seized firearms and ammunition in the operation.

In other Afghanistan operations today:

-- A combined force in Ghazni province's Andar district arrested a Taliban leader who allegedly has directly led attacks against Afghan and coalition forces and also has logistical and command responsibilities. He was engaged in the arms trade involving weapons, rocket-propelled grenades and IEDs. The security force also detained another suspected insurgent and seized a heavy machine gun with ammunition and some assault rifle ammunition.

-- In Nangarhar province's Khugyani district, a combined force detained three insurgents while searching for a Taliban leader believed to be responsible for planning and conducting attacks on Afghan and coalition forces. The security force also seized several assault rifles with associated equipment and ammunition.

In operations yesterday:

-- A precision strike in Kandahar province's Maiwand district killed a Taliban leader and facilitator who organized attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.

-- Also in Kandahar's Maiwand district, a combined force arrested a Taliban leader believed to be directly responsible for the coordination of complex attacks. His subordinate fighters were linked to several attacks on Afghan and coalition forces in the district, officials said. The security force also detained three suspected insurgents.

AFGHAN ELECTIONS SEEN AS IMPORTANT BY NATO OFFICIAL

Afghanistan.  Credit:  CIA World Factbook.

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Official Stresses Importance of 2014 Afghan Elections

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11, 2013 - The Afghan presidential elections now set for April 2014 are looming ever larger as a milestone for measuring progress in the country, NATO officials in Afghanistan said yesterday.

How the Afghan forces protect voting and how the Afghan people accept the results will be key to the long-term success of the country, said a senior International Security Assistance Force official speaking on background.

Things are looking up in Afghanistan, the official said, but there are many hurdles to overcome. Only 22 months remain in the ISAF mandate. By spring, Afghan forces will be leading security operations throughout the country. By the end of 2014, Afghan forces will shoulder the security burden themselves as the NATO mission ends.

The Taliban are also looking forward, the official said. "There will be a '13 fighting season," he said. The Taliban will be up against 352,000 members of the Afghan security forces. That force has grown in capability as it has grown in size, the official said.

There will be negotiations and talks between the Taliban and the international community. "From my vantage point I think it's a delaying tactic," he said. "They've gone through 12 years of war and they are 22 months away from a very small presence."

He said Afghan Taliban leaders in Quetta, Pakistan, are looking at three key things over the next two years. First, how good are the Afghan security forces? Second, what will be the U.S. and NATO investment in the country after 2015? And the third are the April 5, 2014, elections.

"[The elections] are probably the most critical thing that will happen in the next 22 months," he said. Afghans will go to the polls to elect a new president and provincial councils. The last election, in 2009, was marred by allegations of vote fraud. It is supremely important that these new elections go well and that Afghans accept the outcome, the official said.

The official spoke about the changes in Afghanistan since the surge of U.S. and NATO forces ended. The surge did what it was supposed to do, he said, buy time for Afghans to field their forces. Now Afghan soldiers and police are in the lead in security through most of the country and have grown in size and capabilities.

This is a long way from January 2009, the official noted, when the entire Afghanistan campaign looked like a failure. "In January 2009, Kandahar was at risk [and] the central Helmand Valley was at risk," he said. "There were a number of attacks into Kabul."

Then-ISAF commander Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal's assessment was that the actual campaign was at risk and asked for additional troops. "Take where we were in 2009 and jump to the end of the surge ... in September 2012," the official said. "As I see the battlespace, I can honestly say that you have a less capable, less popular and less of an existential threat when you look at the insurgency. But you still have a threat."

And the threat will remain in January 2015, but the Afghans should be able to manage it.

Like Afghanistan itself, statistics that look at violence in the country are complex. "When people look at statistics, they say that you have virtually inconsequential changes from '11 to '12," he said. "If you just look at those numbers without the context there is so much you miss."

Last year was about holding the gains that the surge made possible, he said. The Afghans moved to the lead as the United States pulled 23,000 personnel out of the country in September 2012. Afghan forces held the ground and actually expanded their control in the area west of Kandahar and in the Helmand River Valley, the official said.

Another piece of the statistics equation is where the violence was happening. "What we were able to do in 2012 was slowly start separating the insurgency from the major population centers," he said.

The violence in 2012 happened increasingly in sparsely settled rural areas, the official said, noting that in surveys, Afghans report they feel safer and believe the Taliban is not coming back.

Violence is still a problem and the official said 17 districts out of the 402 in the nation are where 50 percent of the violence occurs. Put another way, 80 percent of the attacks occur where 20 percent of the population live. The worst districts are in northern Helmand.

The Haqqani network specializes in high-profile attacks, the official said. "If there is an attack in Kabul it gets the press ... It gives the impression that Kabul is under siege, which is not the case."

Afghan forces have responded quickly and professionally to attacks in the capital, another sign of their continued maturation, he said, but high-profile attacks are going to happen, and they are going to get through.

There were 18 high-profile attacks in Kabul in 2011 and nine in 2012. While there were just nine attacks, the official said, there were "hundreds of threats." And while Afghan capabilities are improving, he added, "even the best goalie in professional soccer is going to get scored on."

Afghan forces are not going to let the Taliban have the rural areas, the official said. The Afghan Local Police -- now with some 20,000 members -- are becoming a security net for the people. "The ALP becomes a hold force for you," the official said. "You have police who live and work in the rural areas."

The official sees three tiers to the threat to Afghanistan. The first tier is tactical -- the 20,000 to 30,000 mostly local insurgents in the country.

The next level is the operational cadre -- the leadership, the shadow government and the Taliban in Pakistan, he said. These men can recruit, train and supply fighters. The leaders in Pakistan are problematic for ISAF, the official said. "We've heard that the Pakistanis are changing their strategic calculus, but there is 'what you say' and 'what you do,'" he said. "I'm waiting for the 'what you do' to see how that works."

The third threat is not the insurgency, the official said, but the degree of corruption and criminality that exists within the government.

"If you can get some rule of law and move forward, then you can pull the carpet out from under the insurgency," he said. Putting in place a legal system and service infrastructure will be a key outgrowth of the April 2014 elections, the official noted.

The world will be watching those elections as well. After 2015, there are 28 NATO nations and eight partner nations that have already said they will invest in Afghanistan. "And all will be watching the elections," the official said.

ILLEGAL TRADE IN BLACK CORAL LANDS FORMER CEO A MONTH IN JAIL, CONFIMEMENT AND A FINE

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Former Jewelry Company Executive Sentenced in U.s.v.i. to Pay $1.1 Million in Fines and Community Service for Illegal Trade of Protected Black Coral

Ashu Bhandari, the former president and CEO of GEM Manufacturing LLC, a U.S. Virgin Islands-based company, was sentenced Thursday in federal court in St. Thomas, U.S.V.I., for felony customs violations for his role in a scheme to illegally import protected black coral into the United States, the Department of Justice announced. Bhandari is the last defendant to be sentenced as the result of a far reaching investigation into the illegal trade in black coral. The scheme cost Bhandari’s company, GEM Manufacturing, millions of dollars in financial penalties and sent two of his trading partners to prison.

At today’s hearing, the court imposed a criminal fine of $918,950 and sentenced Bhandari to one month in jail, to be followed by one month of home confinement and one year of supervised release, during which Bhandari would be required to complete 300 hours of community service and be banned from any business venture involving coral or coral products. In addition to the fine, Bhandari will be required to pay $229,687 to the University of the Virgin Islands to be used for community service projects designed to research and protect black corals. The court recognized that Bhandari’s sentence was based, in part, on his cooperation with federal investigators in related illicit coral trafficking cases.

On Nov. 7, 2012, Ashu Bhandari pleaded guilty to one felony count of false classification of goods for his efforts to conceal his illegal importation of internationally protected black coral in 2009. GEM was in the business of manufacturing high-end jewelry and sculpture products that utilize black coral. During his term as CEO, Bhandari was responsible for ensuring the continued supply of raw black coral for the company. Black corals are considered important habitat for the deep sea marine environment and are protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Each of the species of black coral is listed in Appendix II of CITES and is subject to strict trade regulations.

Bhandari admitted that by 2008, he learned that GEM’s Taiwanese suppliers of black coral could not obtain legitimate CITES certificates. In spite of this knowledge, Bhandari made a "business decision to go forward" with the Taiwanese suppliers. The Taiwanese suppliers would label the coral shipments as "plastic" in order to fool customs authorities in Hong Kong and the United States. Bhandari admitted that by 2009 he knew that the shipments he arranged on behalf of GEM were coming into St. Thomas falsely labeled.

"Mr. Bhandari actively participated in an illegal scheme to traffic in protected black coral, a trade that has helped deplete a world resource that serves as essential habitat for marine biodiversity," said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division at the Department of Justice. "As this case clearly shows, the Department of Justice will continue to aggressively prosecute those who violate U.S. law by illegally trafficking in protected species."

"The effective stewardship of our natural resources by vigorously enforcing environmental laws is a priority of the Department of Justice," said Ronald W. Sharpe, U.S. Attorney for the District of the Virgin Islands. "This prosecution, like many cases involving the investigation and prosecution of those who set out to exploit our precious natural resources, was complex, time consuming and required the expertise of multiple law enforcement agencies. The dedication and cooperative efforts of the various law enforcement agencies involved in the successful prosecution of this matter are to be commended."

"This investigation is the culmination of a three year joint investigation led by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Office of Law Enforcement in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and U.S. Customs and Border Protection," said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Resident Agent in Charge David Pharo. "This investigation serves as a great example of multiple agencies, working together to stem the tide of exploitation of internationally protected species originating in marine environments. This investigation demonstrates our commitment to combat illegal international wildlife trafficking and bring justice to those that exploit protected marine resources for personal gain no matter where they are located."

"Illegal importation and exportation of commercial quantities of CITES-protected corals is one of our Division's high priorities," said Otha Easley, Acting Special Agent in Charge for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Law Enforcement's Southeast Division. "Effective enforcement of CITES helps ensure that collection of these species is sustainable and that their survival in the wild is assured."

"This sentence sends a clear message to black coral traffickers that we and our federal law enforcement partners are in the business of preventing illegal wildlife trade," said Angel Melendez, Acting Special Agent in charge of HSI San Juan and U.S.V.I. "We will continue to identify and apprehend those who exploit protected species for commercial gain."

Black coral is a precious coral that can be polished to a high sheen, worked into artistic sculptures and used in inlaid jewelry. Black coral is typically found in deep waters and many species have long life spans and are slow-growing. Using deep sea submersibles, scientists have observed that fish and invertebrates tend to accumulate around the black coral colonies. Thus, black coral communities serve important habitat functions in the mesophotic and deepwater zones. In the last few decades, pressures from overharvesting, due in part to the wider availability of scuba gear and the introduction of invasive species have threatened this group of coral. Recent seizures of illegal black coral around the world have led many to believe that black coral poaching is on the rise.

On Oct. 26, 2011, in the related case of U.S. v. GEM Manufacturing LLC, Case No. 2011-19 (D. Virgin Islands), GEM was sentenced to criminal financial penalties and forfeitures exceeding $4.47 million and three and a half years of probation that included a 10-point compliance plan that incorporated an auditing, tracking and inventory control program. GEM was also banned from doing business with its former coral supplier, Peng Chia Enterprise Co. Ltd. and its management team of Ivan and Gloria Chu. Ashu Bhandari was the individual known as "Co-conspirator X" in the related case of U.S. v. Gloria and Ivan Chu, Case No. 2010-003 (D. Virgin Islands). In January 2010, federal agents arrested the Chus as part of a sting operation in Las Vegas. The Chus were subsequently indicted in 2010 for illegally providing black coral to GEM. On June 23, 2010, Ivan Chu was sentenced to serve 30 months in prison and pay a $12,500 fine. Gloria Chu was sentenced to serve 20 months in prison and pay a $12,500 fine.

The case, developed as a result of Operation "Black Gold", was investigated by agents of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and NOAA with support from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Analysis of coral samples by the FWS’s National Forensics Laboratory in Ashland, Ore., was critical to the investigation. The case was prosecuted by Christopher Hale of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section, Environment and Natural Resources Division and Nelson Jones of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the U.S. Virgin Islands.