Saturday, May 5, 2012
TRANSCANADA SUBMITS NEW PIPELINE APPLICATION
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
New Pipeline Application Received from TransCanada
Media Note Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC
May 4, 2012
The State Department has received a new application from TransCanada Corp. for a proposed pipeline that would run from the Canadian border to connect to an existing pipeline in Steele City, Nebraska. The new application includes proposed new routes through the state of Nebraska. The Department is committed to conducting a rigorous, transparent and thorough review.
Under Executive Order 13337, it is the Department’s responsibility to determine if granting a permit for the proposed pipeline is in the national interest. We will consider this new application on its merits. Consistent with the Executive Order, this involves consideration of many factors, including energy security, health, environmental, cultural, economic, and foreign policy concerns.
We will begin by hiring an independent third-party contractor to assist the Department, including reviewing the existing Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) from the prior Keystone XL pipeline review process, as well as identifying and assisting with new analysis.
We will cooperate with the state of Nebraska, as well as other relevant State and Federal agencies, throughout the process. Nebraska has stated that their own review of the new route will take six to nine months. Previously when we announced review of alternate routes through Nebraska this past fall, our best estimate on when we would complete the national interest determination was the first quarter of 2013.
We will conduct our review efficiently, using existing analysis as appropriate.
The application will be available on the Keystone XL project website: www.keystonepipeline-xl.state.gov, and a notice that the Department has received the application will run in the Federal Register.
SOUTH KOREAN CORPORATION EXEC. PLEADS GUILTY TO OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE AND SUBMITTING FALSE DOCUMENTS
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Hyosung Corporation Executive Agrees to Plead Guilty to Obstruction of Justice for Submitting False Documents in an ATM Merger Investigation
WASHINGTON – An executive of South Korean-based Hyosung Corporation has agreed to plead guilty and to serve time in a U.S. prison for obstruction of justice charges in connection with an automated teller machine (ATM) merger investigation conducted by the Antitrust Division, the Department of Justice announced today.
According to a two-count felony charge filed today in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., Kyoungwon Pyo, in his role as senior vice president for corporate strategy of Hyosung Corporation, an affiliate of Nautilus Hyosung Holdings Inc. (NHI), altered and directed subordinates to alter numerous existing corporate documents before they were submitted to the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in conjunction with mandatory premerger filings. The department said that Pyo’s actions took place in or about July and August 2008. At the time, the department was investigating Korea-based NHI’s proposed acquisition of Triton Systems of Delaware Inc. NHI abandoned the proposed acquisition of competitor Triton Systems before the Antitrust Division reached a decision determining whether to challenge the transaction.
On Oct. 20, 2011, NHI pleaded guilty and paid a $200,000 criminal fine for its role in the obstruction of justice charges. According to the plea agreement, which is subject to court approval, Pyo has agreed to serve five months in prison.
“Maintaining the integrity of the merger review and investigation process is one of our highest priorities,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Joseph Wayland in charge of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “Senior corporate executives should understand that anyone who attempts to corrupt the process by falsifying materials submitted to the U.S. government will be held accountable for their actions.”
After receiving the premerger filings, the Antitrust Division opened a civil merger investigation of the proposed acquisition. The department said that in or about August and September 2008, Pyo falsified additional documents in response to a document request from the Antitrust Division with the intention of impairing their integrity and availability for use in an official proceeding. The department said that, among other things, the alterations misrepresented and minimized the competitive impact of the proposed acquisition.
The Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended, requires companies contemplating mergers and acquisitions valued above certain thresholds to make filings with the Department of Justice and the FTC. The federal antitrust agencies have authority to investigate and challenge such proposed transactions under Section 7 of the Clayton Act, if the transactions may substantially lessen competition.
NHI was previously charged with obstruction of justice, which carries a maximum criminal fine for a corporation of $500,000 per count. NHI’s agreed-upon criminal fine of $100,000 per count takes into consideration the nature and extent of the company’s disclosure of wrongdoing and its cooperation in the department’s investigation.
Pyo is charged with obstruction of justice, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a criminal fine of $250,000 for individuals.
U.S. & OHIO REACH SETTLEMENT OVER HAZARDOUS RELEASES IN LOWER ASHTABULA RIVER AND HARBOR
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Thursday, May 3, 2012
U.S. and State of Ohio Reach $5.5 Million Settlement for Damages from Hazardous Releases in Lower Ashtabula River and Harbor
WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice and Ohio Attorney General have reached a proposed settlement of claims for injuries to natural resources caused by past releases and discharges of hazardous substances into the lower Ashtabula River and Harbor in northeast Ohio. The consent decree, valued at approximately $5.5 million, was filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio on behalf of the designated natural resource trustees, including the Department of the Interior, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
“This agreement will compensate the public for precious natural resources that were damaged by hazardous pollutants released into the Ashtabula watershed over more than half a century,” said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice. “The settlement also fosters the restoration of wildlife habitat and recreational resources along the Ashtabula that the people of Ohio will be able to enjoy for many years to come.”
“Completion of these negotiations marks a major milestone in our collective efforts to restore the Ashtabula River,” said Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine. “Careful stewardship of our waterways and natural resources will ensure that they can be enjoyed by our kids and grandkids. The federal and state trustees are to be commended for their diligent efforts.”
“This settlement is the result of close coordination among the natural resource trustees, local community stakeholders, and the responsible parties,” said U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Midwest Regional Director Tom Melius. “This successful collaboration has resulted in a win-win proposition for the Ashtabula River basin community, enabling community enjoyment of the outdoors and wildlife while promoting a healthy community economy.”
The agreement provides for the acquisition of several ecologically-valuable properties along the Ashtabula River, implementation of habitat restoration projects and land use restrictions to protect restoration properties and reimbursement of natural resource damage assessment costs incurred by the natural resource trustees.
“It is important to maintain recreational and economic vitality along the Ashtabula River,” said Ohio EPA Director Scott Nally. “Our Agency will continue to work to restore and protect this great resource that is an essential part of these Northeast Ohio communities.”
Complaints filed by the United States and state of Ohio allege that at various times since the 1940s, numerous industrial facilities in Ashtabula released hazardous pollutants to the river including polychlorinated biphenyls, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, chlorinated solvents and low-level radioactive materials. The released hazardous substances injured natural resources in the Ashtabula River and Harbor, resulting in fish consumption advisories and impaired navigational use of the river. To compensate the public for the value of impaired or lost natural resources, the complainants sought damages from parties that allegedly owned or operated (either directly or through predecessors) facilities where hazardous substances were released and from parties that allegedly arranged for disposal of hazardous substances at one or more of the facilities. Eighteen companies are participating in the settlement. Several federal agencies are also responsible for making payments totaling approximately $768,800.
Dredging projects carried out under the Great Lakes Legacy Act and the Water Resources Development Act removed almost 600,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediments from the lower Ashtabula River between 2006 and 2008. The responsible parties previously contributed approximately $23 million toward the cost of the sediment cleanup, and many of the parties also participated in a cleanup of the Fields Brook superfund site, an alleged source of contamination in the lower Ashtabula River.
With contamination already dredged from the river, the proposed settlement targets habitat enhancement and protection. Under the consent decree, restoration projects approved by the natural resource trustees will be implemented by two groups of responsible parties – a group of four railroad companies and a separate group of 14 companies known as the Ashtabula River Cooperating Group II (ARCG II).
The railroads will implement a restoration project on a 6.4 acre riparian parcel known as the 5½ Slip peninsula, which abuts a fish habitat enhancement project previously constructed as part of the Great Lakes Legacy Act sediment cleanup project. The restoration project will include replacing invasive plant species with a diverse array of native plants; excavating a channel across the peninsula to establish a hydrologic connection between the 5½ Slip and main channel of the Ashtabula River; and establishing an area of emergent wetland habitat along the newly constructed channel. Land use restrictions will be established on the 5 ½ Slip peninsula to protect the character of the restored property.
ARCG II has agreed to develop and implement various restoration projects identified in the consent decree. One of the restoration properties, known as the former CDM property, is a 28-acre riverfront parcel along the northern boundary of Indian Trails Park. The restoration project will include enhancing a six-acre wetland area through invasive species control; planting a diverse array of native vegetation; and installing other improvements, including a canoe launch, boardwalk and small parking area to facilitate public use of the property.
Five other ARCG II restoration properties identified in the decree contain high natural resource value, including rare fen habitat, old growth forest and areas that provide ideal habitat and foraging for various threatened or endangered species. These properties occupy more than 200 acres and include 3.4 miles of river frontage. Some adjoin or are close to park areas held by the Ashtabula Township Park Commission. Collectively, these properties will preserve a natural corridor along an urbanized stretch of river.
In addition to restoration properties already acquired by ARCG II, the proposed settlement allows trustees to identify additional properties for possible acquisition and restoration. ARCG II agreed to spend up to $1.45 million to acquire and restore additional properties.
The trustees will approve all restoration work. The restoration properties will ultimately be transferred to park districts, non-profit organizations or other institutions acceptable to the trustees. The properties also will be subject to environmental covenants that establish land use restrictions designed to preserve the natural resource value of the properties.
ENGINE TEST PRODUCES CYCLONE
SECRETARY OF LABOR HILDA L. SOLIS STATEMENT ON UNEMPLOYMENT NUMBERS
Statement by Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis on April employment numbers
WASHINGTON — Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis issued the following statement on the April 2012 Employment Situation report released today:
"Our nation's labor market added 130,000 private sector jobs in the month of April, while the unemployment rate fell to 8.1 percent, its lowest level in three years.
"Over the last four months, we've added an average of 207,000 private sector jobs. Significantly, the labor market added 53,000 more private sector jobs in February and March than previously had been reported.
"I would characterize our growth as durable and steady. For 26 straight months, we have added private sector jobs. The national unemployment rate has fallen a full point in the last eight months. Layoffs are continuing to come down and are now back to 2006 levels.
"In April, our largest gains — 62,000 new jobs — were in good-paying business and professional services careers, meaning more architects, engineers, computer programmers and consultants are finding jobs. Also, we added another 19,000 manufacturing jobs in April. After losing millions of good manufacturing jobs in the years before and during the deep recession, the economy has added 485,000 manufacturing jobs in the past 26 months.
"We've now created more than 4.2 million private sector jobs under this administration. We are seeing a resilient U.S. labor market continuing to recover from the deepest recession since the Great Depression. But there are still too many unemployed workers who still need assistance to get retrained to get back to work.
"We're on the right path, and we know our recovery would be even stronger if Congress hadn't blocked almost every single proposed investment in the American Jobs Act. The president believes we should be doing more to help state and local governments hire back teachers, policemen, firefighters and construction crews. And he believes we should be doing more to cut taxes on small businesses that are the engine of economic growth.
"Going forward, we have a choice to make. We can either make investments in things like education, transportation and new sources of energy — investments that have always been essential to America's businesses and to creating good middle class jobs. Or we give more tax breaks to wealthy Americans who don't need them and didn't ask for them.
"Prosperity has never just trickled down from a wealthy few. Prosperity has always grown from the heart of a strong middle class. That's why the president laid out a blueprint for an economy that's built to last, based on investments that put America in control of its energy future, improve education and skills for our workers, and support small business and American manufacturing, so we can make more things the world buys."
THE ROAD TO MISSILE COOPERATION WITH RUSSIA
FROM: U.S. DEPARMENT OF STATE
Missile Defense: Road to Cooperation
Remarks Ellen Tauscher
Special Envoy for Strategic Stability and Missile Defense Missile Defense Conference in Russia
Moscow, Russia
May 3, 2012
It is a pleasure to be here today at this important conference on Missile Defense and to present the views of the United States on how cooperation can help establish a new security environment in Europe.
Let me start by thanking Minister Serdyukov (Ser-dyoo-koff) for inviting me to participate today in this conference. I also want to acknowledge my colleagues, Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov and Deputy Defense Minister Antonov, with whom I have had the privilege of working with over the last three years. Together we have worked cooperatively to improve the national security of both the United States and Russia.
That cooperation is the key point that I want to emphasize at the start of this speech. The United States and Russia are working closely together on a range of issues. We are working together to stop the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and reduce global nuclear stockpiles—that includes implementing the New START Treaty, which has been in force for more than a year now. We are working together to move materials to and from Afghanistan. We are working together on counter-narcotic and counter-terrorism operations. And, the United States has worked hard to secure Russia’s entry into the World Trade Organization.
The most recent report of the Bilateral Presidential Commission, established by Presidents Obama and Medvedev, highlights what our two governments are doing to broaden and deepen our cooperation and to advance our common interests. The photo on the report’s cover is actually a joint U.S.-Russian inspection mission under the Antarctic Treaty; the U.S. team is led by the Department of State. We’re not just working together in the capitals of the world, we’re actually working together at the ends of the world, too.
Cooperation on missile defense would also facilitate improved relations between the United States and Russia. In fact, it could be a game-changer for those relations. It has the potential to enhance the national security of both the United States and Russia, as well as build a genuine strategic partnership. It presents an opportunity to put aside the vestiges of Cold War thinking and move away from Mutually Assured Destruction toward Mutually Assured Stability.
As we think about the path forward, I want to reiterate a point that Madelyn Creedon just made and that Admiral Hendrickson will make later today. Phases 3 and 4 of the European Phased Adaptive Approach (as well as Phases 1 and 2, for that matter) will not undermine Russia’s strategic nuclear deterrent. Nothing we do with respect to our missile defense plans will undercut Russia’s national security. It would not be in our interest to do so, would be expensive and technically extremely difficult.
I urge you to pay close attention to the detailed technical arguments that Madelyn and Randy make about why our system cannot do what the Russian Ministry of Defense says it can do. Russia’s analysis makes incorrect assumptions about the capabilities of our systems. It is these differences and misperceptions that are at the root of this issue. If we cannot agree on those perceptions and assumptions, then we need to figure out a path forward to bridge that gap between our two positions. And that is where cooperation comes into play.
Let’s set aside those misperceptions and look at areas in which we could cooperate, which would provide Russia insight into U.S. and NATO plans and programs that will refute the assumptions used in its models.
Sharing of sensor data, working on developing common pre-planned responses, conducting a joint analysis of missile defense systems, and working together on missile defense exercises will allow Russia to see how we do missile defense. Russia has observed our intercept tests in the past and the invitation to observe a future test still stands. By cooperating with us on missile defense, you will be able to see that the European Phased Adaptive Approach is directed against regional threats. Limited regional threats from outside of Europe… not Russia.
Right now, there are six years until Phase 3 of the EPAA becomes operational in 2018. During those six years, we will be testing an Aegis BMD site in Hawaii (that sounds to me like a nice place to visit). We will be developing and testing the SM-3 Block IIA and IIB interceptors. We will also be working with our NATO Allies to ensure how to best protect NATO European populations and territory. Beginning cooperation now will give Russia a chance to see… with their own eyes… what we are doing. And it will give us time to demonstrate how our missile defense systems operate.
I realize it takes time to build confidence. During that time, if you don’t like what you have learned from your experiences working side-by-side with us, then walk away. At least this way, you will be able to make decisions based on data you have collected and observed directly rather than on assumptions and perceptions developed from afar.
As it is, Russia today is in a position of strength that should allow you to explore cooperation. Our missile defense systems are not directed against Russia’s sophisticated nuclear deterrent force. We do not seek an arms race with Russia; we seek cooperation that can help convince you that your national security and strategic stability is not threatened. While Russia talks about countermeasures as a hedge against our defensive system, we hope that instead, through cooperation and transparency, Russia will conclude such development is unnecessary. So join us now, in the missile defense tent.
One of the best ways to build that confidence would be to work with us on NATO-Russia missile defense Centers where we can share sensor data and develop coordinated pre-planned responses and reach agreement on our collective approach to the projected threat. This will give us collectively a common understanding and foundation. Furthermore, we have seen the positive benefit this cooperation could have on missile defense effectiveness at the recent NATO-Russia Council Theater Missile Defense Computer Aided Exercise.
While we undertake this missile defense cooperation, our two governments could do even more to prevent the proliferation of ballistic missile technology. We already cooperate in the Missile Technology Control Regime and in the Proliferation Security Initiative. We are working together in the UN to counter Iran and North Korea’s efforts to develop nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. Just last month, we worked together in the UN Security Council to strongly condemn the DPRK’s missile launch and placed additional sanctions on transfers of nuclear and ballistic missile technology to and from North Korea. Working together on missile defense would also send a strong message to proliferators that Russia, NATO and the United States are working to counter their efforts.
Should the regional ballistic missile threats be reduced, our missile defense system can adapt accordingly. That is why it is called the Phased Adaptive Approach. It can and will be adapted to changes in the threat.
But let me be clear. While we can work cooperatively together, we cannot agree to the pre-conditions outlined by the Russian Government. We are committed to deploying effective missile defenses to protect the U.S. homeland and our Allies and partners around the world from the proliferation of ballistic missiles.
We will not agree to limitations on the capabilities and numbers of our missile defense systems. We cannot agree to a legally binding guarantee with a set of “military-technical criteria,” which would, in effect, limit our ability to develop and deploy future missile defense systems against regional threats such as Iran and North Korea.
We cannot accept limitations on where we deploy our Aegis ships. These are multi-mission ships that are used for a variety of missions around the world, not just for missile defense.
The United States and NATO also cannot agree to Russia’s proposal for “sectoral” missile defense. Just as Russia must ensure the defense of its own territory, NATO must ensure the defense of its own territory.
We are able to agree to a political statement that our missile defenses are not directed at Russia. I have been saying this for many, many months now. Such a political statement would publicly proclaim our intent to cooperate and chart the direction for cooperation.
The United States has also been transparent about our missile defense programs. We have provided Russia with a number of ideas and approaches for transparency. We are also committed to discussing other approaches to building confidence between our two countries. For example, we have also invited Russia to observe one of our Aegis SM-3 missile defense flight tests. Russia could operate in international waters and observe our missile defense test. This would provide Russia the opportunity to see for itself what we are saying about our system.
Russia is a major global power. European security is central to Russia’s security, as it is to the security of the United States and our European allies. Missile defense is the big new idea in European security. We don’t see any other comparable initiative with such potential to transform our relationship. If we can work together on European missile defense, and make this a subject for cooperation rather than competition, that would be a game-changer for our security relationship. We understand that there are risks involved, and it takes courage to move away from familiar ways. We believe those risks are manageable. We can begin now, and if the benefits we see are not realized, cooperation can be terminated at any time.
In a little over two weeks, President Putin and President Obama will meet in Washington. This is an important opportunity for the leaders of our two countries to chart the path forward on missile defense cooperation.
I continue to hope that my Russian colleagues see this as an opportunity that they should take sooner rather than later. I hope that they recognize we have no capability or intent to undermine strategic stability; that our objective is not about winning public relations points; and that cooperation is a much better approach than sticking to the previous patterns of competition.
The United States seeks genuine cooperation. Our objective is to create lasting cooperation and change outdated thinking. This is too important an opportunity to let it pass by.
So we will keep working to see if we can come up with a plan for cooperation. We will continue to press in the Foreign Affairs, Defense and Joint Staff channels, and we will keep moving forward in the run up to the May meeting of our two Presidents and we will keep going long after May.
And I hope, that someday soon, we can begin this important, gamechanging cooperation.
Thank you again for the opportunity to present the United States’ position on cooperation at this conference today. I look forward to continuing the discussion.
GUANTANAMO BAY ARRAIGNMENT
FROM: AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE
Lawyers, Onlookers Prepare for Guantanamo Bay Arraignment
By Karen Parrish
NAVAL STATION GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba, May 4, 2012 - Two planeloads of people arrived here today to participate in or watch court proceedings against five detainees who allegedly conspired in the 9/11 attacks on the United States that killed nearly 3,000 people.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is accused of obtaining approval and funding from the late al-Qaida chieftain Osama bin Laden for the attacks, overseeing the entire operation and training the hijackers in all aspects of the operation in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Charges were referred April 4 in the case of the United States vs. Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin Attash, Ramzi Binalshibh, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi. Tomorrow's arraignment is the next step in the military commissions process.
Overall charges allege that the five accused are responsible for the planning and execution of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pa., resulting in the deaths of 2,976 people.
The defendants will hear the charges against them and have the opportunity to enter a plea. The judge may then entertain motions from the defense or prosecution. The five detainees are charged with terrorism, hijacking aircraft, conspiracy, murder in violation of the law of war, attacking civilians, attacking civilian objects, intentionally causing serious bodily injury, and destruction of property in violation of the law of war.
The Office of Military Commissions sent 91 people here, including prosecution and defense teams. A dozen family members of 9/11 victims also traveled here with military escorts. Representatives of human rights groups and other organizations sent a total of 11 people, and nearly 60 media representatives rounded out today's new arrivals here.
Motions filed this week include a defense notice of intent to disclose classified information, and a motion and supplemental motion filed by the American Civil Liberties Union for public access to proceedings and records.
A trial date has not been set, and defense officials have said a trial is not likely to begin for at least several months.
A trial date has not been set, and defense officials have said a trial is not likely to begin for at least several months.
If convicted following trial, the defendants could be sentenced to death. In accordance with the Military Commissions Act of 2009, each of the accused has been provided learned counsel with specialized knowledge and experience in death penalty cases. As the act also stipulates, military commissions cannot admit into evidence statements obtained through cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
The accused are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, officials emphasized.
COUNTER NARCOTICS PROGRAMS IN AFGHANISTAN
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs' Counter narcotics Programs in Afghanistan
Fact Sheet
Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
May 4, 2012
Public Information: The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) supports the Ministry of Counter Narcotics (MCN) Counternarcotics Public Information Program (CNPI) through the Colombo Plan Drug Advisory Program (CPDAP), as well as through grants to media companies, non-governmental organizations, and Afghan government organizations. Since January 2011, the CNPI program has raised awareness about the harms of the drug trade through 411 provincial outreach activities reaching an estimated 107,135 people across Afghanistan. The CNPI program has supported a nationwide media outreach program, including 5,098 radio and TV spots and 64,466 print materials over the past year. In 2011, the Preventative Drug Education program was implemented in 300 schools and reached over 60,000 boys and girls. In April of 2012, the Ministry of Education agreed upon an elementary school curriculum.
Demand Reduction: INL-sponsored drug treatment centers provide residential, outpatient, and home-based assistance to more than 10,000 addicts per year, including services for women, children and adolescents. INL is the largest international donor to addiction prevention and treatment services in Afghanistan, funding 29 in-patient drug treatment centers. INL routinely conducts independent, science-based outcome evaluations of its major drug treatment initiatives. Over 500 mullahs have been trained on the problems of drug addiction and how to conduct community shuras on the dangers of drug consumption, cultivation, and trafficking. With INL support, mullahs have opened outreach centers in their mosques and are now a major source of referral of addicts into treatment.
Supply Reduction: The MCN’s Good Performers Initiative (GPI) provides development assistance to provinces that meet annual counternarcotics goals. In 2011, 22 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces received GPI awards totaling $19.2 million for achieving poppy free status, reducing poppy cultivation by more than 10 percent, and/or demonstrating other exemplary counternarcotics progress. The MCN’s Governor Led Eradication (GLE) program provides funding to Governors who undertake Afghan-led eradication. During 2011, 18 provinces participated in the GLE program (up from 10 in 2010), resulting in a more than 65 percent increase in nationwide eradication from the previous year.
Interdiction: INL, DEA, and DOD partner to build the capacity of the Counternarcotics Police of Afghanistan (CNPA), the Sensitive Investigative Unit (SIU), National Interdiction Unit (NIU), and the Technical Investigative Unit (TIU). NIU and SIU officers are now able to request and then execute their own warrants. Evidence gathered by the TIU through court-ordered surveillance operations increased the number of large-scale drug trafficking and related corruption cases brought to the Criminal Justice Task Force. In 2011, these specialized units were a critical piece in the interdiction of over ten metric tons of heroin and 82 metric tons of opium in Afghanistan.
Counternarcotics Justice: INL supports Department of Justice mentoring and operations at the Criminal Justice Task Force and the Counter Narcotics Justice Center (CNJC), which investigates and tries counternarcotics cases. Overall, the CNJC has a conviction rate of over 90 percent (712 primary court convictions in 2011, the most recent year for which statistics are available, including 35 government officials), with all those convicted serving jail time.
International and Regional Cooperation: INL supports multilateral and bilateral efforts to study and improve Afghan-led and regional counternarcotics efforts, including through the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Colombo Plan. With INL funding, UNODC and the Afghan government publish the annual Opium Cultivation Survey as an authoritative resource on illicit cultivation in Afghanistan. INL is also a strong supporter of regional law enforcement and policy coordination efforts through the UNODC’s Paris Pact Initiative.
Counternarcotics Capacity Building: INL’s efforts to build capacity at the MCN began in 2010, with results including an infusion of Afghan and expatriate mentors and action officers. Additional materiel and capacity building assistance are in process, including information technology assistance and a vehicle acquisition that will enable MCN’s provincial offices better to perform their core functions. A key element of MCN’s mandate is the development of a National Drug Control Strategy, a rewrite of which is in the final stages of development.
THE USNS CESAR CHAVEZ DRY CARGO/AMMUNITION SHIP WILL BE CHRISTENED MAY 5, 2012
WASHINGTON (May 12, 2011) A photo illustration of the Military Sealift Command dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS Cesar Chavez (T-AKE 14). Chavez served in the Navy from 1944-1946 and became a civil rights activist and a leader in the American labor movement. Cesar Chavez will serve as a combat logistics force ship delivering ammunition, food, fuel and other dry cargo to U.S. and allied ships at sea. (U.S. Navy photo illustration by Mass Communication Specialist Jay M. Chu/Released)
Navy to Christen USNS Cesar Chavez
By Department of Defense Public Affairs
WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The Navy will christen and launch the dry cargo/ammunition ship the USNS Cesar Chavez, Saturday, May 5, 2012, during a 7:30 p.m. PDT ceremony at the General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard in San Diego.
The ship is named to honor prominent civil rights activist Cesar Chavez, who served in the Navy during World War II.
Juan M. Garcia III, assistant secretary of the Navy for manpower and reserve affairs, will deliver the ceremony's principal address. Serving as the ship's sponsor is Helen Fabela Chavez, widow of the ship's namesake. The ceremony will include the Navy's time-honored tradition of the sponsor breaking a bottle of champagne across the bow to formally christen the ship.
Continuing the Lewis and Clark class T-AKE tradition of honoring legendary pioneers and explorers, the Navy's newest underway replenishment ship recognizes Mexican-American civil rights activist Cesar Chavez (1927-1993), who served in the Navy during World War II. Chavez later went on to become a leader in the American Labor Movement and co-found the National Farm Workers Association, which became the United Farm Workers.
Designated T-AKE 14, Cesar Chavez is the final of the Lewis and Clark dry cargo/ammunition ships, all of which will be operated by the U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command. To help the Navy maintain a worldwide forward presence by delivering ammunition, food, fuel, and other supplies to U.S. and allied ships at sea, T-AKEs are serving as combat logistics force (CLF) ships. In support of the enhanced maritime prepositioning ship squadron concept of operations, two T-AKEs are being allocated to the maritime prepositioning squadrons to provide sea-based logistics support to Marine Corps units afloat and ashore.
As part of MSC, T-AKE 14 is designated as a united states naval ship and will be crewed by civil service mariners. This is the first Navy ship named after Chavez. For CLF missions, the T-AKEs' crews include a small department of sailors.
Like the other dry cargo/ammunition ships, T-AKE 14 is designed to operate independently for extended periods at sea and can carry two helicopters and their crews. The ship is 689 feet in length, has an overall beam of 106 feet, has a navigational draft of 30 feet, displaces approximately 42,000 tons and is capable of reaching a speed of 20 knots using a single-shaft, diesel-electric propulsion system.
2010 CHILE ECOLOGICAL EFFECTS
FROM: NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
First-of-its-Kind Study Reveals Surprising Ecological Effects of 2010 Chile Earthquake
Long-forgotten coastal habitats reappeared, species unseen for years returned
May 2, 2012
The reappearance of long-forgotten habitats and the resurgence of species unseen for years may not be among the expected effects of a natural disaster.
Yet that's exactly what researchers found in a study of the sandy beaches of south central Chile, after an 8.8-magnitude earthquake and devastating tsunami in 2010.
Their study also revealed a preview of the problems wrought by sea level rise--a major symptom of climate change.
In a scientific first, researchers from Southern University of Chile and the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) were able to document the before-and-after ecological impacts of such cataclysmic occurrences.
A paper appearing today in the journal PLoS ONE details the surprising results of their study, pointing to the potential effects of natural disasters on sandy beaches worldwide.
The study is said to be the first-ever quantification of earthquake and tsunami effects on sandy beach ecosystems along a tectonically active coastal zone.
"So often you think of earthquakes as causing total devastation, and adding a tsunami on top of that is a major catastrophe for coastal ecosystems," said Jenny Dugan, a biologist at UCSB.
"As expected, we saw high mortality of intertidal life on beaches and rocky shores, but the ecological recovery at some of our sandy beach sites was remarkable.
"Plants are coming back in places where there haven't been plants, as far as we know, for a very long time. The earthquake created sandy beach habitat where it had been lost. This is not the initial ecological response you might expect from a major earthquake and tsunami."
Their findings owe a debt to serendipity.
The researchers were knee-deep in a study supported by FONDECYT in Chile and the U.S. National Science Foundation's (NSF) Santa Barbara Coastal Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) site of how sandy beaches in Santa Barbara and south central Chile respond, ecologically, to man-made armoring such as seawalls and rocky revetments.
By late January, 2010, they had surveyed nine beaches in Chile.
The earthquake hit in February.
Recognizing a unique opportunity, the scientists changed gears and within days were back on the beaches to reassess their study sites in the catastrophe's aftermath.
They've returned many times since, documenting the ecological recovery and long-term effects of the earthquake and tsunami on these coastlines, in both natural and human-altered settings.
"It was fortunate that these scientists had a research program in the right place--and at the right time--to allow them to determine the responses of coastal species to natural catastrophic events," said David Garrison, program director for NSF's coastal and ocean LTER sites.
The magnitude and direction of land-level change resulting from the earthquake and exacerbated by the tsunami brought great effects, namely the drowning, widening and flattening of beaches.
The drowned beach areas suffered mortality of intertidal life; the widened beaches quickly saw the return of biota that had vanished due to the effects of coastal armoring.
"With the study in California and Chile, we knew that building coastal defense structures, such as seawalls, decreases beach area, and that a seawall results in the decline of intertidal diversity," said lead paper author Eduardo Jaramillo of the Universidad Austral de Chile.
"But after the earthquake, where significant continental uplift occurred, the beach area that had been lost due to coastal armoring has now been restored," said Jaramillo. "And the re-colonization of the mobile beach fauna was underway just weeks afterward."
The findings show that the interactions of extreme events with armored beaches can produce surprising ecological outcomes. They also suggest that landscape alteration, including armoring, can leave lasting footprints in coastal ecosystems.
"When someone builds a seawall, beach habitat is covered up with the wall itself, and over time sand is lost in front of the wall until the beach eventually drowns," said Dugan.
"The semi-dry and damp sand zones of the upper and mid-intertidal are lost first, leaving only the wet lower beach zones. This causes the beach to lose diversity, including birds, and to lose ecological function."
Sandy beaches represent about 80 percent of the open coastlines globally, said Jaramillo.
"Beaches are very good barriers against sea level rise. They're important for recreation--and for conservation."
THE LAST F-22 RAPTOR
FROM: U.S. AIR FORCEA crowd that included Air Force leadership, senators and congressional representatives, executives and plant personnel from the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Corporation attended a ceremony dedicating the delivery of the final F-22 Raptor in Marietta, Ga., May 2, 2012. (U.S. Air Force photo/Don Peek)
Air Force accepts final F-22 Raptor
by Airman 1st Class Elizabeth Gaston
94th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
5/3/2012 - MARIETTA, Ga. (AFNS) -- Senior Air Force officials attended a ceremony here May 2 commemorating the delivery of the final F-22 Raptor to the service.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz was joined by Sen. Johnny Isakson of Georgia and other industry, Air Force and civilian leaders as they were welcomed to Dobbins Air Reserve Base and the Lockheed Martin Marietta plant for the event.
The final delivery completes the Air Force's fleet of 195 F-22s. The Raptor is a key component of the Global Strike Task Force and is unmatched by any fighter aircraft due to its speed, stealth and maneuverability, according to Air Force officials.
During his remarks at the ceremony, Schwartz said the delivery represents an important element in the Air Force's overall modernization effort.
"Thank you to all of the partners in industry and government that made this occasion a reality," the general said. "I especially want to pay tribute to the line workers and engineers whose technical expertise, attention to detail and commitment to our nation's defense transformed an innovative notion into America's first 5th generation fighter aircraft."
When it was time to unveil the final F-22, the hangar doors rose and cheers from the assembled guests and workers erupted.
Robert Stevens, Lockheed Martin chairman and chief executive officer, said the very existence of the F-22 has altered the strategic landscape forever.
"It is also fair to say that, along the way, the F-22 has had a fair number of challenges and a fair number of critics," Stevens said. "But let's not fail to take note today of the number of nations, who rank among either competitors or adversaries, who are frantically trying to replicate what you have done."
The final F-22, tail number 4195, will be flown to its new unit at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson near Anchorage, Alaska.
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