SECRETARY OF STATE CLINTON ON SYRIA

The following excerpt is from the U.S. State Department website:
Remarks at Press Availability
Remarks Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State Istanbul, Turkey
April 1, 2012
SECRETARY CLINTON: Good afternoon, everyone. Today, the international community sent a clear and unified message that we will increase pressure on the Assad regime in Syria and assistance to the opposition. Nearly a week has gone by since the regime pledged to implement Kofi Annan’s plan. But rather than pulling back, Assad’s troops have launched new assaults. Rather than allowing access for humanitarian aid, they have tightened their siege. And rather than beginning a political transition, the regime has crushed dozens of peaceful protests. We can only conclude that Assad has decided to add to his long list of broken promises.
So today, we called for an immediate end to the killing in Syria, and we urged the Joint Special Envoy Kofi Annan to set a timetable for next steps. The world will not waiver. Assad must go. And the Syrian people must be free to choose their own path forward.

Today, I also detailed measures that the United States is taking, along with international partners, to ratchet up the pressure on the regime. We will be providing greater humanitarian relief to people in need, and we will support the opposition as it works toward an inclusive democratic transition that preserves the integrity and institutions of the Syrian state. What does that include? It includes additional sanctions on senior regime officials, a new accountability clearinghouse to train Syrian citizens to document atrocities and abuses and to identify perpetrators, and more than $12 million in new humanitarian aid, bringing our total to nearly 25 million.
But the United States is also going beyond humanitarian aid and providing support to the civilian opposition, including (inaudible) and connect to the outside world. And we are discussing with other nations how best to expand this support.

We heard today from the Syrian National Congress about their efforts to unite a wide range of opposition groups around a common vision for a free, democratic, and pluralist Syria that protects the rights and dignity of all citizens. This is a homegrown Syrian vision, and it reflects the values and priorities of the Syrian people. It is a roadmap for saving the state and its institutions from Assad’s death spiral. And it is worthy of support from the international community and from Syrians of every background.

Now, turning this vision into reality will not be easy. We know that. But despite the dangers, the next step has to be to translate it into a political action plan that will win support among all of Syria’s communities, that will help lead a national conversation about how to achieve the future that Syrians want and deserve. That’s how the opposition will build momentum, strip away Assad’s remaining support, and expose the regime’s hypocrisy. Today, the international community reaffirmed our commitment to hasten the day that peace and freedom can come to Syria. It cannot come fast enough, and we grieve for every lost life.

Kofi Annan has given us a plan to begin resolving this crisis. Bashar al-Assad has, so far, refused to honor his pledge. There is no more time for excuses or delays. This is a moment of truth. And the United States is committed to this effort. We think the communique coming out of the meeting today is a very important document, and we commend it to all of you. It represents a considerable advance forward by the international community as represented by the more than 80 nations that attended here today.

The United States is confident that the people of Syria will take control of their own destiny. That’s where we stand. There will be more to say from Kofi Annan in New York tomorrow, but I want to thank Prime Minister Erdogan and the foreign minister, my friend, and the people of Turkey, not only for hosting us, but for being such strong stalwarts in the fight on behalf of the Syrian people.

I was pleased to have the opportunity to meet both with the prime minister and the foreign minister. We not only discussed Syria; we discussed the full range of our other shared interests. And I commended Turkey’s leadership throughout this crisis and its generosity to the Syrians who have fled across the border seeking refuge from the violence. We also discussed Iran and the threat it poses to regional and global security, and I was encouraged to hear Turkey’s announcement that it will significantly reduce crude oil imports from Iran.
Before I take your questions, I’d like to say a few words about Burma. I’ve been following today’s parliamentary bi-elections with great interest. While the results have not yet been announced, the United States congratulates the people who participated, many for the first time, in the campaign and election process. We are committed to supporting these reform efforts. Going forward, it will be critical for authorities to continue working toward an electoral system that meets international standards, that includes transparency, and expeditiously addresses concerns about intimidation and irregularities.

It is too early to know what the progress of recent months means and whether it will be sustained. There are no guarantees about what lies ahead for the people of Burma. But after a day spent responding to a brutal dictator in Syria who would rather destroy his own country than let it move toward freedom, it is heartening to be reminded that even the most repressive regimes can reform and even the most closed societies can open. Our hope for the people of Burma is the same as our hope for the people of Syria and for all people – peace, freedom, justice, and the opportunity to live up to their God-given potential.
And with that, let me thank you and open the floor for questions.
MS. NULAND: (Inaudible) Andrea Mitchell of NBC.

QUESTION: Madam Secretary, you said that there is no more time, that this is a moment of truth. How much time are you prepared to give Kofi Annan, given the fact that there seems to be a widespread belief here in Istanbul, among you and the other leaders, that Assad is playing this for time, ignoring this diplomacy, and making a mockery of it by continuing the brutality?
And what more does the Syrian National Council have to do to persuade you that they should actually be a recognized opposition group rather than just a group that is trying to reach out to others and be more inclusive?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, Andrea, first, it’s been nearly a week since Assad made his promise to Kofi Annan. We will hear firsthand from former Secretary General Annan tomorrow. I don’t want to prejudge it. I want to hear for myself. He’s not only been to Damascus but also to Moscow, Beijing, Tehran, other places, and has reached out and heard from a number of voices. But it is important – and he understands this, he’s an experienced negotiator – that there cannot be process for the sake of process. There has to be a timeline. And if Assad continues, as he has, to fail to end the violence, to institute a ceasefire, to withdraw his troops from the areas that he has been battering, to begin a political transition, to allow humanitarian aid in at least for two hours a day, then it’s unlikely he is going to ever agree, because it is a clear signal that he wants to wait to see whether he has totally suppressed the opposition.
I think he would be mistaken to believe that. My reading is that the opposition is gaining intensity, not losing it. So the timeline is not only for Kofi Annan’s negotiations, but it’s also for Assad, that eventually he has to recognize that he has lost legitimacy and he will not be able to avoid the kind of continuing efforts by the opposition to strike a blow for freedom. And he can either permit his country to descend into civil war, which would be dreadful for everyone, not only inside Syria but in the region, or he can make a different set of decisions. So we want to watch this. But with the announcements of the various actions taken today, I don’t see how those around Assad believe that they are moving away from pressure, because the pressure is actually intensifying.

MS. NULAND: Next –

SECRETARY CLINTON: Oh, quickly on the SNC, I’ve been meeting with them for several months, starting in Geneva, in Tunis, again today in Istanbul. My high-level officials have been in daily contact, meeting with the SNC. I think that they are – as we heard today in their presentation – not only becoming better focused and better organized, but more broadly based, more inclusive.

I met with a young woman who had just escaped from Homs who was bearing witness to the horrible experience that she and others had endured in the siege of Homs, and you could not listen to her without being upset by the story that she had to tell. But the fact that she is part of the Syrian National Congress speaks volumes, because clearly those who could organize it at first were those free to do so, who were on the outside. Now as more people are leaving Syria, escaping to freedom, they are joining the SNC. So the variety and the base of the SNC is broadening, which gives it added legitimacy.

And of course, as you heard today, we are going to be supporting the SNC with direct assistance in areas such as communications. Others are going to be supporting fighters associated with the SNC. So countries are making their own decisions, but the net result is that the SNC is being treated as the umbrella organization representing the opposition, and we think that demonstrates a lot of hard work, not only by the Syrians themselves but by many of us who have been working with them over the last several months.
MS. NULAND: Next question, Hurriyet, (Inaudible).

QUESTION: Secretary Clinton, we know that you had bilateral meetings with your Turkish counterpart Davutoglu and Prime Minister Erdogan today here in Istanbul. And we understand you also exchanged information on their recent visit to Tehran. Davutoglu – Foreign Minister Davutoglu in a public statement said that they take Khamenei’s statements as not developing nuclear weapons as a guarantee, this should be taken as a guarantee in Shia tradition. How do you perceive these kind of statements, and are you by any means close to taking them seriously and find them – finding them satisfactory? Thank you.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, I was very interested in what both the foreign minister and the prime minister told me about their visit. They had lengthy discussions with the supreme leader, the president, and other Iranian officials. They were told, as you just repeated, that the supreme leader viewed weapons of mass destruction as religiously prohibited, against Islam, and that he asked the Turkish leaders to really take that into account, take it seriously.

We, of course, would welcome that. Yet, I think it’s important that it be operationalized. That’s what the P-5+1 talks are about. We will be meeting with the Iranians to discuss how you translate what is a stated belief into a plan of action. And if the Iranians are truly committed to that statement of belief as conveyed to the prime minister and the foreign minister, then they should be open to reassuring the international community that it’s not an abstract belief but it is a government policy. And that government policy can be demonstrated in a number of ways, by ending the enrichment of highly enriched uranium to 20 percent, by shipping out such highly enriched uranium out of the country, by opening up to constant inspections and verifications.
So we are certainly open to believing that this is the position, but of course the international community now wants to see actions associated with that statement of belief. And we would welcome that.
But I think the Iranians also have to know that this is not an open-ended discussion. This has to be a very serious action-oriented negotiation, where both sides are highly engaged on a sustainable basis to reach a decision that can be translated into policy that is verified as soon as possible. So if the statement by the supreme leader to the prime minister and the foreign minister provides the context in which the discussions occur, that would be a good starting point.
MS. NULAND: Last question, Wall Street Journal, Jay Solomon.
QUESTION: Madam Secretary, just on Iran again, did Prime Minister Erdogan provide any sort of concrete or did the Iranians through him pass on any concrete kind of agenda as for what the talks would be? And is there any thought of the talks broadening a bit to discuss – I know your concerns that the Iranians are helping the Assad regime crack down on the protestors inside Syria.

And just additionally, in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood now says it is going to seek the presidency in the upcoming elections. Is this something you welcome? Is it a concern? Because it’s something that initially they said they were not going to seek. Thank you.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, Jay, I was having a little bit of trouble hearing you, but I think your first question concerned Turkey’s actions regarding crude oil products from Iran. And we welcomed the announcement that one of the very large private refiners would be cutting their imports 20 percent. We will be consulting between Turkish and American experts as to how that can be operationalized, because it’s a complicated matter. The oil markets are complicated. Having a refinery make that change requires other supplies, and different refineries have different kinds of equipment that has to be taken into account. But we will be consulting with the – with Turkey’s ambassador to the United States, and then we will send a team of experts to follow up. But we certainly welcome that announcement.

With respect to the role that Iran is playing inside Syria, it’s deeply troubling. And I think it’s important to underscore that when I travel in the region – I was in Riyadh yesterday meeting with the Gulf countries, but it goes beyond that into a much broader regional, even global, context – there are three concerns that countries have about Iran.

The first, we’ve discussed, the pursuit of nuclear weapons, which would be incredibly destabilizing and it would intimidate and cause reactions of many kinds by countries that would feel threatened. Secondly, the interference by Iran in the internal affairs of its neighbors, and certainly the role that Iran seems to be playing inside Syria is an example of that. Sometimes it is done directly by Iran, sometimes by proxies for Iran. And thirdly, the export of terrorism. I mean, just think, in the last six, eight months we’ve had Iranian plots disrupted from Thailand to India to Georgia to Mexico and many places in between. This is a country, not a terrorist group. It’s a country, a great civilization. It’s an ancient culture. The people deserve better than to be living under a regime that exports terrorism.

So we are very conscious of the role they’re playing inside Iran; we’re conscious of the role they’re playing in other countries. And this will certainly be a matter for discussion, but our first priority is the nuclear program, because people ask me all the time what keeps me up at night. It’s nuclear weapons, it’s weapons of mass destruction that fall into the hands of irresponsible state actors or terrorist groups. So we have to deal with that, but it’s not only that which concerns the neighbors and others.

And finally, we’re going to watch what the political actors in Egypt do. We’re going to watch their commitment to the rights and the dignity of every Egyptian. We want to see Egypt move forward in a democratic transition. And what that means is that you do not and cannot discriminate against religious minorities, women, political opponents. There has to be a process, starting in an election, that lies down certain principles that will be followed by whoever wins the election. And that is what we hope for the Egyptian people. They’ve sacrificed a lot for their freedom and their democracy, so we will watch what all of the political actors do and hold them accountable for their actions. And we really hope the Egyptian people get what they demonstrated for in Tahrir Square, which is the kind of open, inclusive, pluralistic democracy that really respects the rights and dignity of every single Egyptian.
Thank you.
MS. NULAND: Thank you very much.

TROOPS DRAW STRENGTH FROM EACH OTHER

American Forces Press Service

War Hero: Troops Can Draw Strength From Each Other

By Elaine Sanchez

WASHINGTON, March 30, 2012 - Service members can draw strength from each other rather than attempt to deal with tough times alone, a highly decorated wounded warrior who triumphed over great adversity said here today.

Adversity "is not best dealt with by oneself; it's overcome by the help of others and hard work and the will to get through it," Army Sgt. 1st Class Leroy A. Petry, the Army's most recent Medal of Honor recipient, told an audience of nearly 750 behavioral health experts and military leaders.

Petry discussed his recovery and the people who helped pull him through during the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury's Warrior Resilience Conference. This conference, in its fourth year, is intended to equip service members, units, families and communities with resilience-building techniques and tools.

Petry was wounded May 26, 2008, during an operation to capture an insurgent leader in a compound in Afghanistan's Paktia province, near the Pakistan border. His unit was met with heavy automatic weapons fire when they moved into the area. He and several of his fellow soldiers were wounded and sought cover as an enemy lobbed a grenade at the unit.

Although wounded in both legs by assault-rifle fire, rather than turn away or seek cover, Petry picked up the grenade to throw it back at the enemy. Instead, the grenade detonated, amputating his right hand.

Still, Petry remained calm, put on his own tourniquet and continued to lead.

Last summer, President Barack Obama awarded the country's highest military honor to the Ranger. Petry became only the second living veteran of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to receive the Medal of Honor.

Petry credits his ongoing recovery to the troops, medical personnel and family members around him. He recalled his first night in the hospital. A female soldier, part of an explosive ordnance disposal unit, visited him before even his family arrived. She had lost both of her arms above the elbow during deployment.

Still, "she had the greatest attitude," Petry said, recalling how she played ping-pong without arms.

"I was in awe," he said.

Petry said it was his friends, from all services, who inspired him and helped him through recovery. He joked about the services' competitiveness with each other, such as Army vs. Navy football, but "we come together collectively when needed."

Petry said it's common within wounded warrior units to find fiercely competitive troops. He recalled a story about a service member who topped another service's record in pull-ups.

"That's where you find resilience; it's in your fellow service member pushing you to bring out the best in you," he said. "We need that someone to confide in, that someone to push us, that someone to lean on and carry our backpack when times are tough."

Petry pointed out the difficulties experienced by troops with invisible wounds of war, such as traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress. Society still doesn't understand these issues fully, he said.

The soldier recalled hanging out with his friends during his recovery. Seeing his visible wounds, civilians would approach Petry and thank him for his service and sacrifice, ignoring the soldier by his side whose wounds weren't so evident. Petry would stop the person and explain that the service member next to him deserves equal gratitude.

"Everyone is an equal when it comes to injuries," he said.

Petry said this lack of understanding exacts a toll on troops. His close friend, who he knew prior to both of their wounds, suffers from severe TBI and PTS. One night, Petry was having dinner with his family when he got a call. His friend was threatening to commit suicide.

"I dropped everything and ran out to his house," he recalled.

Petry talked with his friend and drove him to see a chaplain. His friend just needed someone to take the time to listen, he said.

"That's the kind of stuff we need to do sometimes for each other," he said.

Petry said people often tell him that they're impressed he's been on seven deployments. But he dismisses that acknowledgement. Some of his friends are on their 15th deployment and still going strong.

"These guys are motivating me," he said.

PENTAGON COMMITTED TO QUALITY CARE OF MILITARY PERSONNEL

The following excerpt is from a American Forces Press e-mail:

Pentagon's Top Doctor Stresses Commitment to Quality Care

By Elaine Sanchez
WASHINGTON, March 29, 2012 - Even in this "belt-tightening era," Defense Department officials remain committed to sustaining efforts that have led to groundbreaking medical advances in areas such as post-traumatic stress disorder, the Pentagon's top health affairs official told an audience of behavioral health experts and military leaders here today.

"The leadership of the military health system -- to include the surgeons general of the Army, Navy and Air Force -- have been steadfast that the core mission of medical readiness responsibilities cannot and will not be compromised," said Dr. Jonathan Woodson, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs and director of the TRICARE Management Activity.

This includes the Pentagon's investment in medical research and development and in the nature of resilience, he added.

Woodson spoke at the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury's Warrior Resilience Conference, which is intended to provide service members, units, families and communities with resilience-building techniques and tools.

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey have made it clear that the department will do its part in the reduction and growth of federal spending, Woodson said, and the health budget is not exempt.

Defense health programs encompass more than $53 billion of DOD's base budget of $525 billion, the doctor noted. "We really now are at 10 percent of the DOD's budget," he said. "We need to make sure those dollars spent are adding value to national defense and to the department."

Woodson warned against the impact of a possible "sequestration." Unless Congress agrees on an alternative by January, this provision of the Budget Control Act would trigger an additional $500 billion in across-the-board defense spending cuts over the next 10 years, which Woodson described as a "meat-ax" approach to cutting costs and programs. "We cannot let that happen, and we're not going to let that happen," he said.

Woodson said he's committed to protecting medical research and development programs, which have made great contributions to medical science. "It's easy in the short term, but painful in the long term to cut research and development budgets," he said. Instead, he explained, DOD needs to put in place a more "agile" structure that identifies best practices across the services and enables rapid information sharing.

This will save money that can be applied to programs such as research and development, he added.

But just having a program isn't enough, Woodson said. It must be effective and easily accessible. Nearly 400 programs designed to aid troops and their families are in place, he said, but there's a lack of metrics to gauge their effectiveness.

"My greatest fear with the meat-ax approach is they'll cut programs that are truly beneficial ... because we don't have a method of analysis that's robust," he said.

Woodson reiterated his commitment to ensuring troops and their families receive the best care possible. "I personally believe we are heading in the right direction on these organizational budgetary decisions," he said. "We will continue to provide exceptional service to all of those we serve."

The resources put forth to better understand how to prevent and treat psychological wounds are vital to service members and their families, who have been challenged as never before -- and vital to long-term national security interests, Woodson said. Nearly 11 years of war have "exacted a toll on service members and their families," he said.

Woodson stressed the importance of leadership and communication in building resilience. "The environment that a leader [creates] in his or her own unit, however small, has an enormously positive affect on resilience," he said.

This environment, he told the audience, should include the means for open communication. "That reaching out for help when feeling overwhelmed by life's stressors can help sustain or restore health," he said. "Seeking help is a sign of strength, and we need to ensure that those who serve know where to turn for help when it's required."

Woodson lauded the attendees for taking steps to understand the nature of resilience and to deepen their understanding of psychological issues. Their efforts will be increasingly important as the nation continues to face numerous and complicated" threats, he noted.

"No nation in history has ever put forward more resources, more research and more military leadership attention ... to help address and understand how to create and sustain a psychologically healthy force," Woodson said.

"The importance of your work and efforts ... is extraordinarily vital to people who serve," he added. "It's vital to extended families and the friends of men and women in uniform, and vital to long-term national security interests."
 

U.S. OFFICIALS WANT THE F-35 FIGHTER EVEN WITH INCREASED COSTS

American Forces Press Service

Officials Reaffirm Pentagon's Commitment to F-35

By Donna Miles and Karen Parrish

WASHINGTON, March 29, 2012 - Estimated costs for the F-35 joint strike fighter have increased over the life of the program, but the Defense Department is working to contain cost growth and remains committed to the fifth-generation fighter, defense officials said today.

Frank Kendall III said during confirmation testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee that cost overruns for the stealth fighter are about $150 billion. Kendall is acting undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, and if confirmed will assume that position officially.

"We are doing everything we can to drive down the cost of the joint strike fighter," Kendall told committee members.

He noted the program is still in testing, with about 20 percent of that process complete.

"We are finding design issues as we go through the test program that we have to correct," he acknowledged. "So there are some cost adjustments associated with that."

Kendall outlined the department's actions to rein in the program's price tag.

"We are attacking the production costs by putting strong incentives on the contractor to control costs, to get the changes that have to be made cut in quickly," he said. Concurrent engineering design is one issue that has raised costs, he told the panel. In that approach, which is intended to develop a finished product faster, a new system may simultaneously be in engineering, production and testing processes, he explained.

"Most programs start production before they have completely finished their developmental tests," he said. "The question is how much."

The joint strike fighter was an "extreme example" of concurrency, he said, pointing out that production was started more than a year before the first flight tests.

Lessons learned during the F-35's development are now being applied to other systems, Kendall said. "What we are doing now is setting up exit criteria so that we don't make that production commitment until we are confident that the design is reasonably stable," he added.

Kendall cautioned, however, that the joint tactical vehicle and ground combat vehicle could experience cost overruns.

Given the design complexity and the urgency common to new defense equipment requirements, "I am not confident that any defense program will not experience overruns," he said.

The department now sets targets early for programs, Kendall said, which should help to force the supplier and the customer to meet target cost caps by making any necessary tradeoffs between cost and capability.

Kendall said he and his team also are working to contain sustainment costs, "which are larger actually than the production costs." Those costs represent the greatest potential cost cuts, he said, and the department will continue to pursue those savings.

"I do think that the strike fighter is getting under control," he added.

Kendall signed an acquisition decision memorandum yesterday on the F-35, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little told reporters today.

Little said in keeping with the Defense Department's better buying power initiative, which requires tracking affordability targets and costs associated with acquisition programs, the memorandum sets the current outlook for F-35 final per-unit costs in 2019, when the fifth-generation fighter is scheduled to reach full production.

In today's dollars, that cost is estimated at $81.4 million per aircraft, which when adjusted for inflation is estimated at $94.9 million in 2019 dollars, Little said.

Overall operating and support costs of the program are estimated at $1.1 trillion, up from last year's estimate of $1 trillion, the press secretary added.

Little noted some of that long-term increase comes from the department's decision, reflected in the 2013 defense budget request, to help in meeting requirements for short-term spending cuts by postponing purchase of some of the fighter aircraft.

"We remain fully committed to the F-35 program," Little said, echoing Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta's remarks March 27 during a visit to Canada's capital of Ottawa. "It's very important to our capabilities [and] to our alliances."

The United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Turkey, Israel and Singapore are partners or participants in the aircraft's development program, and the Japanese government announced in December it will buy 42 of the fighters.

"We are taking steps to ensure that we maintain fiscal discipline inside the program," Little said. Panetta has said Kendall and the department's acquisition, technology and logistics team have done an outstanding job working to contain costs for the stealth fighter, he added.

"This is a fifth-generation fighter," Little noted. "It's important for a variety of reasons: to maintain the U.S. military's technological edge, to increase interoperability with our allies, and ... for a range of other purposes."

DEFENSE SECRETARY PANETTA BLAMES CONGRESS FOR FORCED CUTS IN MILITARY BUDGET

American Forces Press Service
Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta answers a sailor's question on board the USS Peleliu in the Pacific Ocean, March 30, 2012. DOD photo by Erin Kirk-Cuomo

Panetta Blasts Congress for Failure to Avert Sequestration
By Donna Miles
WASHINGTON, March 31, 2012 - Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta blasted Congress yesterday for threatening the Defense Department with sequestration he said would be devastating to the force.

"Congress did a stupid thing," he told crewmembers of USS Peleliu during a shipboard visit off the Southern California coast. "What they essentially did was to put a gun to their heads and to the head of the country and basically say that if they did not come up with a plan to reduce the deficit, that this so-called sequester process would go into effect."
That process, the secretary explained, would cut $1.2 trillion in federal spending across the board -- almost $500 billion to come from the defense budget.

The cuts would be implemented across the board, he said, guaranteeing that the force would be hollowed out in the process. "It would guarantee that every area would be cut," Panetta said. "It would guarantee that it would weaken our defense system for the future."
Panetta expressed disappointment that a specially appointed congressional deficit-reduction committee hasn't been able to come up with solutions that will prevent sequestration from triggering in January 2013.

"I'm doing everything possible to tell Congress that it would be irresponsible to let that happen," he told the crew. "But my biggest concern is that Congress has got to find the strength, the courage and the will to get this done."

Panetta said he's pointed to the example of the U.S. military to encourage Congress to do the right thing.

"I told the members of Congress, 'Look, I've got men and women that put their heads, their lives on the line every day to protect this country. I'm just asking you to assume just a little bit of risk here to do what's right for this country and to solve the problems that we face,'" he told the group.

"'If my men in women can do this, then you can do it as well,'" Panetta said he told Congress. "So I'm hoping that ultimately they'll do what's right and that [sequestration] won't happen."

ARMY MEDIC MAKES A DIFFERENCE IN AFGHANISTAN

The photo and following excerpt are from an American Forces Press Service e-mail:
Army Sgt. Richard Davies sits on the bumper of an emergency vehicle at the Forward Operating Base Sharana medical treatment facility in Afghanistan's Paktika province. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Ken Scar
By Army Sgt. Ken Scar
7th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

PAKTIKA PROVINCE, Afghanistan, March 28, 2012 - Army Sgt. Richard Davies wanted to be an infantry sniper since he was 2 years old. It was a dream that stuck with him through the years as he grew up in Longview, Wash.

When he was 19, the Army came calling -- for his younger brother, Spencer.
"Richard was at home, being a 19-year-old, doing nothing," said his mom, Tammy Davies. "[An Army recruiter] called for our other son, Spencer. My husband had answered the phone and said, 'Spencer isn't here right now. Do you want to talk to Richard?'"
That serendipitous phone call was just the push Davies needed to jump into the life he'd always wanted.

But although they were proud of his decision to join the military, his parents pleaded with him not to go in as an infantry soldier.

"My parents talked me out of it at the last second. I was getting ready to join the infantry and they said, 'You're going to go to Iraq and get shot and come back with no education,'" Davies said. "So I fought to become a medic. I went to the recruiter's office and they said they didn't have a slot for that -- but they had plenty of infantry, tanker and forward observer positions. I said, 'OK, just take me home then.'"
Grinning mischievously, he finished the story. "Five minutes later, they said, 'Fine, we have your slot,'" he said.

But being an Army medic is not exactly a job that keeps a soldier out of the line of fire. As a member of Company C, 122nd Aviation Support Battalion, Task Force Blackhawk, Davies has seen the worst of war. Fit and chipper as a star high school quarterback, Davies has a natural exuberance that serves him well in the field.

"I'm out with somebody else every month," he said. "Doing supply routes, route clearances, finding [roadside bombs], helping to revamp aid stations at the little [combat outposts] I go to, working in combat support hospitals. Out where I've been going, we get mortared on almost all the missions. It gets crazy sometimes."

Nine months into his deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, he's seen his share of wounded troops, both U.S. and Afghan.

"He's treated a lot of [Afghan] counterparts for combat casualties," said Army Staff Sgt. Lucas White of Coffeyville, Kan., noncommissioned officer-in-charge of the Sharana medical treatment facility. "You have to be autonomous out here, and be able to make quick and competent decisions. Sergeant Davies performs very, very well."

"The first time you see a casualty, it's kind of rough," Davies said. "But I've been doing it for two years. I have no feeling towards the [blood and guts] any more. The soldiers are strong dudes. They're out there doing their job and get hit. It sucks. The more I can do for them, the better."

White said Davies always is willing to volunteer for the most arduous missions. "He's like a mountain man," he said. "Back home, he'd hike up into the mountains of Washington and stay there for days at a time. He's a hard charger. I hope more NCOs like him come into the Army."

Davies' mother said she wasn't really worried when her son joined the Army. "He has always been very independent," she said. "He once took off for three months and hitchhiked down to Montana, just to do it, and he was fine."
Davies takes great pride in his profession, she added. "Whenever he puts his uniforms on, his regular one or his Class A's, they have to be perfect before he'll go out."
With one deployment to Iraq and three-quarters of his current one behind him, Davies' co-workers marvel at how he perpetuates a positive attitude despite the unavoidably heart-wrenching nature of his job.

"He's a good morale-booster," said Army Spc. Eusebio Cordero, who hails from Bradley Beach, N.J., and is the patient administrator for the Sharana medical treatment facility. "Whenever he comes in, it's like 'Awesome, Sergeant Davies is here!'
"He's totally professional. He always has a smile on his face -- even when he's angry. It's weird," he added, laughing.

"He does tend to laugh a lot," Davies' mother confirmed. "He's always been that kind of person."

The best part of his job is saving lives, Davies said. "When you do that kind of stuff, you know you've [justified] your existence," he added. "You feel like you're doing something way above yourself."

He might get such a thrill from saving lives because he has such a knack for it.
While he's been part of a team of medics that has treated casualties who did not pull through, he said, he's never lost a patient he's had to work on alone.

The worst injury he's treated was to an Afghan soldier wounded on a foot patrol, he said. "He took shrapnel through both his legs, and in his face," Davies said. "He had brain damage. His eyes were staring off in different directions, but I patched him up as best as I could, and a few minutes later he got pupil response. He was talking in about 20 minutes."
Cordero said Davies is a great medic. "He's the guy to go to when you need something done," he added.

Davies said his time as an Army medic will be defined by the soldiers he's saved and also by making his 4-year-old daughter, Delilah, proud.

"I want her to know everything about me so she doesn't think I'm just making up stuff," he said. "People think we come over here and don't do anything, but we're still getting blown up and shot at."

Cordero said Davies is a good father. "He talks about [Delilah] a lot," he said. "If she could know one thing about her dad, I would tell her he saves lives -- he puts the Band-Aids on the boo-boos."

SEC POINTS OUT THREE CHANGES TO SHAREHOLDER VOTING RIGHTS IN 2012

The following excerpt is from the SEC website:
Voting in Annual Shareholder Meetings - What’s New in 2012
03/28/2012
Over the next few months, investors can expect to receive proxy materials for annual shareholder meetings or a related notice advising shareholders how they can access these materials. Shareholder voting typically takes place at the annual shareholder meeting, which most U.S. public companies hold each year between March and June.

There are three new or continuing developments this year:
Shareholder Proposals on Proxy Access. Shareholders may be asked to vote on shareholder proposals to establish procedures to include shareholder director nominations in company proxy materials.
Uninstructed Broker Votes. Restrictions have increased on the circumstances in which brokers may vote on behalf of clients who do not send in voting instructions. That means that brokers will be casting discretionary votes on a narrower range of items this year.

Say-on-pay Votes. Starting last year, most public companies were required to have advisory say-on-pay votes and to choose how often to hold such votes in the future. This year, shareholders will vote again to approve executive compensation at those companies that have chosen to hold annual advisory say-on-pay votes.

Shareholder Proposals on Proxy Access
Typically, the board of directors nominates board candidates, whose names appear in the company’s proxy materials for director elections. Shareholders do not have an automatic right to have their own director nominees included in these proxy materials. Where shareholders do have this ability, the names of director candidates nominated by qualified shareholders appear in the proxy materials alongside the names of the candidates nominated by the board of directors. This process gives shareholders direct access to the proxy materials for nominating directors and is often called “proxy access.”

This year, as a result of amendments to the shareholder proposal rule, eligible shareholders have the right to have proposals that call for the adoption of proxy access procedures included in company proxy materials. (Note that the right to submit shareholder proposals about proxy access procedures is different from the right to nominate director candidates.)Shareholder resolutions on proxy access may either be advisory or binding, and investors have filed both kinds this year. An advisory resolution approved by shareholders leaves the final decision to the company’s board of directors on whether to adopt a proxy access procedure. A binding resolution takes effect once it is approved by shareholders. (Depending on the company, approval may require more than a simple majority of votes.)
Court Decision on Proxy Access Rule

In August 2010, the SEC adopted a new rule that would have required companies to include eligible shareholders’ director nominees in company proxy materials in certain circumstances. The rule was contested in court, however, and in July 2011, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit struck down this rule.

Uninstructed Broker Votes
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) allows brokers to vote on certain items on behalf of their clients, if the broker has received no voting instructions from those clients within 10 days of the annual meeting. These votes are called uninstructed or discretionary broker votes. Brokers are only allowed to cast uninstructed broker votes on “routine” items, and the scope of routine items has narrowed over the years. This year, the NYSE announced that brokers may no longer cast uninstructed votes on certain corporate governance proposals. These include proposals to de-stagger the board of directors (so that all directors are elected annually), adopt majority voting in the election of directors, eliminate supermajority voting requirements, provide for the use of consents, provide rights to call a special meeting, and override certain types of anti-takeover provisions. Previously, the NYSE had permitted a broker to cast uninstructed votes on these proposals if they had the support of the company’s management.

Two other important restrictions on discretionary broker voting have been in effect since 2010. First, brokers can no longer cast uninstructed votes in the election of directors (except for certain mutual funds). Second, brokers are prohibited from voting uninstructed shares on executive compensation matters, including say-on-pay votes.

As the ability of brokers to vote uninstructed shares shrinks, the importance of shareholder voting grows. If shareholders do not vote, they cannot expect their broker to vote for them on an increasing range of issues.
Say-on-pay Votes

The say-on-pay rules took effect last year for most companies with two exceptions. First, smaller reporting companies have until 2013 to comply. The second exception concerns companies that borrowed money under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and have not yet paid it back. TARP companies are required to hold annual say-on-pay votes until they pay back all the money they borrowed from the government, at which time they will become subject to the say-on-pay rules applicable to other companies.
The rules require three non-binding votes on executive compensation:
Say-on-pay Votes. Companies must provide their shareholders with an advisory vote on the compensation of the most highly compensated executives. The votes are non-binding, leaving final decisions on executive compensation to the company and its board of directors. Companies are now required to disclose whether and, if so, how their compensation policies and decisions have taken into account the results of their most recent say-on-pay vote. This disclosure generally appears in the compensation discussion and analysis section of the proxy statement. Shareholders can review this year’s proxy statements to find out how companies have responded to last year’s say-on-pay votes.

Frequency Votes. Companies also were required last year to provide their shareholders with an advisory vote on how often they would like to be presented with the say-on-pay votes—every year, every second year, or every third year. Like say-on-pay votes, frequency votes are non-binding. After each advisory vote on frequency, companies must disclose their decision as to how frequently they will hold advisory say-on-pay votes. Companies would typically provide this disclosure either in a Form 8-K or Form 10-Q, both of which are filed with the SEC. Many companies provide this information shortly after their annual meeting. These forms are publicly available on the Commission’s website
atwww.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/webusers.htm. Companies typically file several 8-Ks in a year. Look for those referring to Item 5.07.

Golden Parachute Arrangements. The term, “golden parachute” generally refers to compensation arrangements and understandings with top executive officers in connection with an acquisition, merger or similar transaction. When companies seek shareholder approval of a merger or acquisition, they are required to provide their shareholders with an advisory vote to approve, in the typical scenario, the disclosed golden parachute compensation arrangements between the target company and its own named executive officers or those of the acquiring company. The company is not required to conduct such a vote, however, if the golden parachute disclosures were included in executive compensation disclosures subject to a prior say-on-pay vote.

U.S. GENERAL MARTIN DEMPSEY VISITS COLOMBIAN TERRORISM SITE

Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey speaks to Colombian troops and engineers at Joint Task Force Vulcano near Tibu, Colombia. The general is visiting the country to reaffirm ties and to find better ways to partner with an important ally. DOD photo by Jim Garamone

The following excerpt is from the American Forces Press Service
Dempsey Visits Latest Site in Colombia's Terrorism Fight
By Jim Garamone
TIBU, Colombia, March 27, 2012 - The markets are all open in this small Colombian town. Some streets are cobbled, some are bricked, some once had macadam and others are just dirt.

Chickens run around in the backyards of houses facing the air strip, and a plane or helicopter landing there attracts curious on-lookers.

They had a lot to look at today as U.S. Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, joined virtually the entire Colombian defense leadership to visit Joint Task Force Vulcano, located just outside town.

The Colombian government established the task force in December. It is the latest effort to defeat the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – known by its Spanish acronym FARC – and other terror groups and criminal gangs.

"It draws all assets of the government together to provide security for the people," said Colombian army Capt. Jose Mojica, a spokesman for the task force.

Dempsey arrived at the base in a Colombian Air Force Mi-17 helicopter along with Colombian Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon Bueno and Gen. Alejandro Navas, commander of the Colombian Armed Forces.

Dempsey thanked the troops and police for their courage in facing groups that threaten not only their country, but the region and the hemisphere.

"I thank you for your courage and for the sacrifices you have suffered over these many years," the general said. "As the chief of our armed forces, I come here today to first of all say 'thank you,' and secondly, how much we admire your courage and democratic values. I commit to continuing to be a good partner with you in this conflict."

Following his comments, Dempsey discussed strategy with the minister and the chief of defense and also Army chief Maj. Gen. Sergio Mantilla Sanmiguel, Navy chief Vice Adm. Roberto Garcia Marquez and Air Force chief Maj. Gen. Tito Saul Pinilla-Pinilla.
Only a couple hundred soldiers were at the task force base. "We have little amount of people here, because the rest are in the field," Mojica said, adding that they patrol continuously.

The impoverished area is three kilometers from the Venezuela border, which U.S. officials, speaking on background, said is porous and suffers from corruption. The area is a prime shipping point for cocaine and the FARC and other terror groups use the proceeds to fuel their fight, they said.

If money stays in the village, it is well hidden. Whole families ride on small motorbikes with a father driving, mother on the back, and a small child wedged between them.
Before Joint Task Force Vulcano stood up, there were a small number of troops in the region. Now there are more than 10,000, Mojica said. The forces are composed of three mobile brigades and a geographic brigade. A fourth brigade is getting ready to deploy to the area.
This is all part of an ambitious Colombian strategy to cut the FARC by half in two years. U.S. Embassy officials said there are about 8,000 FARC members now. Colombian officials spoke of the plan as the end game for the rebellion against the government after 48 years of intermittent war.

The Colombian military is a leader in counterinsurgency strategy and have incorporated civil affairs efforts into almost every operation. Health care is a big draw, especially for the underserved people in the countryside. One of the first operations the task force set up was a health care program, including a health fair for the people of Tibu.

The FARC had warned towns people to stay away from the health effort, and task force commanders were worried the people would be too afraid to show up, Mojica said. But by 6 a.m., 250 people already were line, he said.

The FARC and their criminal allies are not taking the challenge lying down. The group attacked a police station outside Tibu just after Dempsey left the area. First reports indicated two police were dead and three were wounded.

HEAD OF U.S. CYBER COMMAND TOLD SENATE PRIVATE-SECTOR COOPERATION NEEDED

The following excerpt is from an American Forces Press Service e-mail:

DOD Needs Industry's Help to Catch Cyber Attacks, Commander Says

By Lisa Daniel
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, March 27, 2012 - The Defense Department needs private-sector cooperation in reporting computer network attacks in real time to stop what has been the "greatest transfer of wealth in history" that U.S. companies lose to foreign hackers, the head of U.S. Cyber Command told a Senate committee today.

Army Gen. Keith B. Alexander, who also is the National Security Agency director, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that he supports legislation that would require private companies to report attacks, and added that such reporting needs to happen before an attack is complete.

"We need to see the attack," he said. "If we can't see the attack, we can't stop it. We have to have the ability to work with industry -- our partners -- so that when they are attacked, they can share that with us immediately."

Many cyber defense bills have stalled in Congress over concerns about privacy, overregulation and the military's role in cyber protection, Alexander and the senators noted.

The general compared the current situation, where DOD computers receive some 6 million threatening probes each day, to a missile being fired into U.S. airspace with no radars to see it. "Today, we're in the forensics mode," he said. "When an attack occurs, we're told about it after the fact."

Alexander added, though, that industry should be monitoring their own systems with help from Cyber Command and the Department of Homeland Security. "I do not believe we want the NSA or Cyber Command or the military in our networks, watching it," he said.

Alexander explained the federal partnership of U.S. cyber security as one in which Homeland Security leads in creating the infrastructure to protect U.S. interests, Cyber Command defends against attacks, FBI conducts criminal investigations, and the intelligence community gathers overseas information that could indicate attacks.

"Cyber is a team sport," he said. "It is increasingly critical to our national and economic security. ... The theft of intellectual property is astounding."

The Defense Department's request of $3.4 billion for Cyber Command in fiscal 2013 is one of the few areas of growth in the DOD budget, senators noted. The command has made progress toward its goals of making cyber space safer, maintaining freedom of movement there, and defending the vital interests of the United States and its allies, Alexander said. The command also is working toward paring down the department's 15,000 separate networks, he said.

Cyber threats from nations -- with the most originating in China -- and non-state actors is growing, Alexander said.

"It is increasingly likely, as we move forward, that any attack on the U.S. will include a cyber attack," he said. "These are threats the nation cannot ignore. What we see ... underscores the imperative to act now."

SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY CLINTON AND SAUDI ARABIAN FOREIGN MINISTER SAUD AL-FAISAL

The following excerpt is from a U.S. State Department e-mail:
Remarks With Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal
Remarks Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State Gulf Cooperation Council Secretariat
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
March 31, 2012
FOREIGN MINISTER SAUD: (In Arabic.)
SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you very much, Your Highness. It’s wonderful to be back here in Riyadh. And I thank you for your warm hospitality, and I also wish to thank the secretary general and the GCC for the work that went into preparing this meeting and the hospitality you have provided us.
I was delighted yesterday to have the opportunity to visit with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, His Majesty, King Abdullah. And I want to thank him again, publicly and personally, for his leadership and hospitality.

The partnership between our two countries goes back more than six decades, and today we are working together on a wide range of common concerns, both bilaterally and multilaterally. For example, both the United States and Saudi Arabia share an interest in ensuring that energy markets foster economic growth. And we recognize and appreciate the leadership shown by the kingdom. We are working together to promote prosperity in both our countries and globally.

In today’s inaugural session of the Strategic Cooperation Forum, I underscored the rock-solid commitment of the United States to the people and nations of the Gulf. And I thanked my colleagues for the GCC’s many positive contributions to regional and global security, particularly the GCC’s leadership in bringing about a peaceful transition within Yemen. We hope this forum will become a permanent addition to our ongoing bilateral discussions that exist between the United States and each nation that is a member of the GCC. We believe this forum offer opportunities to deepen and further our multilateral cooperation on shared challenges, including terrorism, nuclear proliferation, and piracy, as well as broader economic and strategic ties.

Among other things, it should help the American and GCC militaries pursue in concert a set of practical steps, such as improving interoperability, cooperating on maritime security, furthering ballistic missile defense for the region, and coordinating responses to crises. Let me turn to a few of the specific challenges facing the region that we discussed.
I will start with Iran, which continues to threaten its neighbors and undermine regional security, including through its support for the Assad regime’s murderous campaign in Syria, threats against the freedom of navigation in the region, and interference in Yemen. The entire world was outraged by reports that Iran was plotting to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States and by allegations of Iranian involvement in recent terrorist attacks in India, Georgia, and Thailand.

Of course, the most pressing concern is over Iran’s nuclear activities. The international community’s dual-track approach has dramatically increased pressure on Iran through crippling sanctions and isolation, while at the same time leaving open the door if Iran can show it is serious about responding to these legitimate international concerns. It soon will be clear whether Iran’s leaders are prepared to have a serious, credible discussion about their nuclear program, whether they are ready to start building the basis of a resolution to this very serious problem. It is up to Iran’s leaders to make the right choice. We will see whether they will intend to do so starting with the P-5+1 negotiations in Istanbul, April 13th-14th. What is certain, however, is that Iran’s window to seek and obtain a peaceful resolution will not remain open forever.

Turning to Syria, tomorrow leaders from more than 60 nations will gather in Istanbul for the second meeting of the Friends of the Syrian People. We heard this week from Kofi Annan, the special representative of both the United Nations and the Arab League, that the Assad regime had accepted his initial six-point plan, which calls for the regime to immediately pull back its forces and silence its heavy weapons, respect daily humanitarian ceasefires, and stop interfering with peaceful demonstrations and international monitoring.
But the Syrian Government is staying true to form, unfortunately, making a deal and then refusing to implement it. As of today, regime forces continue to shell civilians, lay siege to neighborhoods, and even target places of worship. So today, my fellow ministers and I agreed on the need for the killing to stop immediately and urged the joint special envoy to set a timeline for next steps. We look forward to hearing his views on the way forward when he addresses the Security Council on Monday.

Meanwhile, in Istanbul, the international community will be discussing additional measures to increase pressure on the regime, provide humanitarian assistance, despite the obstacles by the regime, and look for ways to advance an inclusive, democratic, orderly transition that addresses the aspirations of the Syrian people and preserves the integrity and institutions of the Syrian state. I’ll have much more to say about this tomorrow, but I want to acknowledge the leadership of Saudi Arabia and the other members of the GCC during this crisis. They have been strong advocates for the Syrian people, and I applaud their efforts.
Finally, I want to emphasize a security concern that is one that is reflected in the great movements for change across this region. We have to continue working people-to-people. We have to continue finding ways to respond to the legitimate aspirations that civil society represents. And the United States will be reaching out to all of the member nations and the people of these nations to find ways that peacefully recognize those aspirations.

So again, let me thank the foreign minister for his hospitality and his partnership and our continuing close and important consultations. Thank you, sir.

QUESTION: Your Highness, Ms. Clinton, welcome to Riyadh. We’re expecting that --

PARTICIPANT: (Inaudible.)

QUESTION: What?

PARTICIPANT: (Inaudible.)

MODERATOR: We’ll start with Jill Dougherty of CNN. Jill.

QUESTION: Thank you very much. Thank you. I would like to ask a question of both of you about this issue of arming the Syrian opposition. Mr. Foreign Minister, the – Saudi Arabia has said that it does support this idea. We have not heard as much of it in recent days, so I wanted to ask you again: Does Saudi Arabia still support the idea of arming the opposition? And how do you guarantee that those weapons will not get into the hands of terrorists or al-Qaida?

Secretary Clinton, is there any type of flexibility in the U.S. approach to that issue of arming? And just one other question: In terms of this political solution, ultimately, should President Assad decide – if he decides to accept some type political transition, is there any possibility or would it be acceptable to the United States or to Saudi Arabia that he remain in control or power in some fashion or another, or must he completely leave the scene? Thank you.

FOREIGN MINISTER SAUD: Well, I think the first part of the question was terrorism. If we believe the propaganda of Syria, there is no real war in Syria. It’s only terrorists making trouble there, and they’re fighting terrorists. Today, they announced that they had finished the uprising in Syria, and yet the cannons continue to fire and tanks continue to move. We are living in a world where truth and falsehood have become mixed. But (inaudible) tell you that what is happening in Syria is a tragedy of tremendous consequence.

So – and this is happening because the Syrians (inaudible). The Syrian Government in Syria have decided that they can resolve everything and control the demonstrations and keep everybody contained by military force. And unless the world, instead of taking decisions to (inaudible) help the Syrians themselves – we didn’t start the fight for them, (inaudible) telling them to fight. But they are fighting because they don’t see any way out. And the killing goes on. So do we let the killing go on, or do we help them at least to get – to defend themselves? Nobody is looking for harmings here.

I think the administration there is doing all it can to do that, and they don’t need any help. The people that need help are the Syrian people who are fighting for their livelihood and for their freedom. And that – yes, indeed, we support the arming of the nationalists.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, Jill, we had a good exchange on Syria, both in a pre-meeting with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar, and during the GCC Strategic Cooperation Forum in preparation for the meeting tomorrow in Istanbul. And, as you just heard from the foreign minister, King Abdullah has been an outspoken critic of the Assad rule by bloodshed and is committed to assisting the Syrian people. We want to see the Syrian regime fulfill the obligations that it has already made, most recently to Kofi Annan, to end the violence and implement the Annan plan and allow a democratic transition.

Our focus tomorrow will be on four points. First, to intensify the pressure we bring through sanctions. Several of the Gulf countries have been quite advanced in imposing sanctions. We want to see broader international enforced sanctions. Second, getting the humanitarian assistance to those in need. Third, we have to continue working to strengthen the opposition’s unity and democratic vision so that it can represent an alternative to the Assad regime and participate fully in a transition process. They, frankly, have a lot of trouble communicating with one another and communicating from outside Syria into Syria. So we’re all working very hard to assist them. And fourth, we want to discuss how to help the Syrian people prepare to hold those responsible who have been committing these terrible acts of violence.

How we help the Syrian opposition is something we are focused on. We are moving to consider all of our options, and we are talking seriously about providing non-lethal support. We think it’s important to coordinate with our partners in the GCC and beyond. So discussions will continue in Istanbul, and we’ll have more to say after the meeting tomorrow.

QUESTION: I’m sorry. Assad’s staying in power?

SECRETARY CLINTON: We’re going to have more to say tomorrow. But our position is he has to go, that there would be unlikely to be any kind of negotiations with him still in place. But at this point, we want to hear from the opposition, what they’re willing to do, what kinds of steps they would be supportive of.
FOREIGN MINISTER SAUD: I doubt that we are going to really (inaudible).

QUESTION: (Inaudible) from (inaudible). My question will be for both of you. And once again, welcome to Riyadh.

You mentioned Iran so many times in your word, and we know the effect of it. They are supporting Syria; they’re supporting Houthis in Yemen. We know (inaudible) in Iraq, et cetera. Is that going to – or would that impact (inaudible) the missile defense system project for the Gulf – is it going to be (inaudible)? And also, you mentioned helping Yemen or supporting Yemen. How would that be? Thank you.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, we believe strongly that, in addition to our bilateral military cooperation between the United States and every member nation of the GCC, we can do even more to defend the Gulf through cooperation on ballistic missile defense. We began that conversation in this forum today. Admiral Fox, the commander of the Fifth Fleet, made a presentation outlining some of the challenges that we face when it comes to ballistic missile defense. But we are committed to defending the Gulf nations and we want it to be as effective as possible.

So just – without getting into a lot of technical discussion, sometimes to defend one nation effectively you might need a radar system in a neighboring nation, because of the – everything from the curvature of the earth to wind patterns, so that were a missile to be launched, you might get a better view more quickly from a neighboring nation, even though the missile could be headed toward a second nation. So we want to begin expert discussions with our friends about what we can do to enhance ballistic missile defense. There are some aspects of a ballistic missile defense system that are already available, some of which have already been deployed in the Gulf. But it’s the cooperation – it’s what they call interoperability that we now need to really roll up our sleeves and get to work on.

With respect to Yemen, the leadership of the GCC has been commendable. Saudi Arabia and its partners in the GCC laid the groundwork for the peaceful transition of power. And we now think that Yemen has a chance to unite around a different leadership. The road ahead is a long one, but I know that Saudi Arabia and other members, the United States, we are all committed to assisting. And it’s not just on the political front. We want to help the people of Yemen. They are in great need of development assistance and other forms of help so that they can begin to realize the benefits of a new government that wishes to try to help them.
FOREIGN MINISTER SAUD: (Inaudible) for me? Well, you can see how the diplomacy has not moved as fast as American diplomacy. American diplomacy now can speak military lingo when we do not. We don’t understand. We’re going to request your experts. (Laughter.)

But for (inaudible), I think it’s a country that need help. It’s a country – and old country of long civilization. And it has the (inaudible) power and the ability if they can stop the fighting that happened between (inaudible) fighting that (inaudible), a fact of life in Yemen. And they have agreed to appoint a new president, with 75 percent, I believe. I may be mistaken in the number. (Inaudible), which means that most civilians support it.

This fact alone makes this incumbent on the leadership in Yemen to come up with a program (inaudible) for the Yemeni people to unite them, to bring them together, (inaudible) military, and have the people support the program of the government. If that happens, I think we are very free to talk about development projects and development of Yemen. I haven’t visited any country (inaudible) are not willing to assist in that field. And so in that case, I think the resources (inaudible) for development are there for the taking, if they can establish stability in Yemen.

MODERATOR: Next question, Brad Clapper, AP, please.

QUESTION: Yes. Madam Secretary, given the deep skepticism you and many other international leaders have about Iran’s intentions, what steps would you talk about today with your Arab allies in the event that the talks in two weeks time aren’t successful?

And secondly, if I may, you talked about the good cooperation the U.S. and the Gulf countries have, but only just recently one of the countries present here today essentially delivered a slap in the face to U.S. democracy-building efforts. What does that say about the limits of U.S. cooperation? And are you disappointed by that step?

SECRETARY CLINTON: With respect to Iran, we had an opportunity to discuss the P-5+1 negotiations – what we expect, what we are intending to present when the meetings begin. We’re going in with one objective: to resolve the international community’s concerns about Iran’s nuclear program. And I had a chance to talk with our friends here about how we are approaching these talks. I also reiterated what the President has said, that our policy is one of prevention, not containment.

We are determined to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. The President has made clear there is still time for diplomacy to work, provided Iran comes to the talks prepared for serious negotiations. And we enter into these talks with a sober perspective on Iran’s intentions and its behavior. It is incumbent upon Iran to demonstrate, by its actions, that it is a willing partner and to participate in these negotiations with an effort to obtain concrete results. We will know more when the discussions begin. But I want to underscore that there is not an open-ended opportunity for Iran. These discussions have to be viewed with great seriousness from their very beginning.

With regard to your second questions, we obviously had numerous discussions on every issue with our friends in the Gulf – sometimes we agree, sometimes we disagree. But our overriding interests to cooperate, particularly in the security arena, the anti-terrorism arena, are ones that are paramount. And so when we have questions about decisions that are made, we raise them, we discuss them, and often times we can resolve them.

QUESTION: But do you have no direct comment about the NDI?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, you didn’t ask me a direct question. (Laughter.) You were beating around the bush, so I beat around the bush. (Laughter.)

QUESTION: Fair enough.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Look, I think that we very much regret it. The foreign minister and I discussed it today. We are, as you know, anyone who’s visited the United States, strong believers in a vibrant civil society, and both NDI and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation Office play a key role in supporting NGOs and civil society across the region, and I expect our discussions on this issue to continue.

QUESTION: (In Arabic.)

FOREIGN MINISTER SAUD: (In Arabic.)

QUESTION: (In Arabic.)

FOREIGN MINISTER SAUD: (In Arabic.)
QUESTION: (In Arabic.)
FOREIGN MINISTER SAUD: (In Arabic.)

QUESTION: (In Arabic.)

FOREIGN MINISTER SAUD: (In Arabic.)

QUESTION: (In Arabic.)

FOREIGN MINISTER SAUD: (In Arabic.)

PARTICIPANT: Okay. We’ll have more question then.

QUESTION: (In Arabic.)

SECRETARY CLINTON: With respect to your last question, I want to just amplify Prince Saud’s remarks. We are all unified on our goal. Our goal is to see the end of the bloodshed and the end of the Assad regime, which has perpetrated this bloodshed. In order to achieve that goal, it is not enough just for a few countries to be involved. We need many more countries to work with us. And some will be able to do certain things, and others will do other things.

So when we talk about assistance, we are talking about a broad range of assistance. Not every country will do the same. The meeting tomorrow in Istanbul will be focused on what countries are able to do, and we will be exploring that further. But our goals are exactly the same, and we are committed to those goals, but we have to be united. And we also need a united opposition, which has been difficult to achieve. They’re making progress. Many countries, including my own, have been trying to help them. But until they are unified, it is hard to provide the kind of assistance that they need in order to be successful.
So we are all on the same path together, and it may not go as fast as we would like, because every day that goes by where innocent people are murdered is a terrible indictment of this regime. But we are committed and we will make progress together.

FOREIGN MINISTER SAUD: (In Arabic.)

SECRETARY CLINTON: Onto Istanbul. (Laughter.) I think you’ll get there before I go.

AIRSPACE GUARD IN AFGHANISTAN

The following excerpt is from the Department of Defense Armed With Science website:

By Staff Sgt. Heather Skinkle
451st Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

The massive golf-ball looking object perched on the tee-like tower at Kandahar Airfield isn’t just a useless landmark; instead the information obtained from it helps provide higher headquarters and tactical commanders pertinent information about Afghanistan’s air space.

The 73rd Expeditionary Air Control Squadron members here perform many functions to disseminate this vital air picture information to the U.S. Air Force and other services and coalition partners even in the most austere conditions.

“Even in the middle of nowhere we can set up our mission and connect communications for the aircraft and battlefield commanders,” said Maj. Richard Grecula, 73 EACS commander. “Having an assortment of Air Force specialties within the squadron keeps the radio, radar, and datalink systems properly maintained.”

Senior Airman Andrew Dahn, 73rd EACS ground radar systems journeyman, performs daily maintenance checks on the squadron’s primary and secondary radar.

“My job is to keep the radar running and well maintained because the data collected from it helps provide the air picture for the entire area of responsibility,” said Dahn.

It isn’t just malfunctioning equipment the squadron worries about, but also weather conditions. The radar’s data can be obscured by dirt, pollution, and even birds.

“We call it anomalous propagation,” said Dahn. “It’s when things in the air can get in the way of a proper track of a correlated target.”

When the environmental conditions are off, or the radar is not working properly, the radar needs to be fixed quickly, but providing an air picture to Afghanistan is still possible.

“We troubleshoot, isolate, fix or replace the nonfunctioning component as fast as we can because, while we don’t lose the air picture completely because of our secondary radar, we want to provide central command with as complete of an air picture as possible,” said Dahn.

The secondary radar tracks aircraft by the transponder signal and identifies it as a friendly aircraft, he said.

“We are similar to air traffic controllers but instead of keeping planes away from each other we bring planes to the fight,” said Grecula.

Besides the radar technicians, another important aspect to providing the information are the interface control technicians who are responsible for restructuring and distributing the datalinks to complete the air mission. Radios, phones, internet and datalinks form the network that relays classified secret information all over.

“We provide the tactical data air picture to all the different players and that allows them to see the aircraft around their nearby air space,” said Senior Airman Jazmine Gordon, 73rd EACS interface control technician. “These entities, like other services or coalition partners, each send radar information to us, and we compile it into a total air picture and send it out to everyone again in a continuous 24-hour loop.”

Like the radar technicians they have a contingency plan for when a link doesn’t work.

“If there are problems with one organization’s link then we reroute them through other channels and fix their thread,” said Gordon. “We call it changing the link architecture.”

Squadron members may provide invaluable information to the rest of the AOR, but they still make time for helping out around the squadron and the rest of Kandahar Airfield.

“We are here to support Kandahar Airfield and the wing missions,” said Technical Sgt. Christopher Hall, 73rd EACS digital systems noncommissioned officer in charge.

The civil engineering element helps with flood mitigation, the security forces element practices force protection drills, and others members have completed the combat life saver course here, said Hall.

Squadron members also try and make life easier for other service members at KAF and elsewhere.

Hall said he and his team worked with Marines here to upload a links server from their Sharepoint site so Marines at another deployed location could access drivers to complete a software install for a defense server.

Squadron members continue going the extra mile and help co-workers back at home station too.

“We sometimes provide light support, research and advice,” said Hall.

All in all, squadron members work closely with each other, other military partners in the AOR, and at home which helps them avoid a fishbowl perspective.

“Working with everyone and being so integrated we really see a larger perspective of how everyone works together,” said Gordon.

Hall said that the squadron members showing such fine team work isn’t surprising because most members seem to be committed to a standard of excellence.

“We aim to make this deployment our finest hour,” said Hall.