NEWS FROM AFGHANISTAN FOR DECEMBER 4, 2012

Photo:  Afghanistan Landscape.  Credit:  CIA World Factbook.

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Combined Force Arrests Taliban Leader in Kandahar Province
From an International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Release

KABUL, Afghanistan, Dec. 4, 2012 - An Afghan and coalition security force arrested a Taliban leader during a security operation in the Maiwand district of Afghanistan's Kandahar province today, military officials reported.

The arrested Taliban leader controlled a group of insurgents operating in the district and facilitated the acquisition and distribution of ammunition and weapons to insurgents, officials said. He also oversaw improvised explosive device and suicide attacks.

The security force also detained three suspected insurgents.

In other Afghanistan operations today:
-- In the Musa Khel district of Khost province, a combined force arrested a Haqqani network leader, detained two other suspects and seized weapons and ammunition. The detained Haqqani leader had attacked Afghan and coalition forces and supplied insurgents with weapons and ammunition.

-- In the Chak-e Wardak district of Wardak province, a combined force killed two insurgents, detained two suspects, and seized weapons, ammunition and several grenades during a search for a Taliban leader who oversees a local group of insurgents and has conducted numerous attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.

-- A combined force arrested a Taliban leader in the Nad-e Ali district of Helmand province. The detained insurgent leader was responsible for the emplacement of IEDs and numerous attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.

In an operation yesterday in the Chahar Burjak district of Nimroz province, a combined force found and destroyed 5,049 pounds of dry opium, 551 pounds of wet opium and 110 pounds of heroin.

In Dec. 2 operations-- In the Kajaki district of Helmand province, a combined force killed several insurgents and found and destroyed 551 pounds of opium and a large quantity of drug-making equipment.

-- In the Shahid-e-Hasa district of Uruzgan province, a combined force killed several insurgents, including Qayum, a local Taliban leader responsible for planning attacks against Afghan and coalition troops. The security force also detained multiple suspects.

-- A combined force killed Maulawi Tayeb, a local Taliban leader, in the Tarin Kowt district of Uruzgan province. Tayeb had planned and conducted attacks against Afghan government officials and was directly involved in numerous IED attacks.

BURKINA FASO PARLIAMENTARY AND LOCAL ELECTIONS

Map:  Burkina Faso.  Credit:  CIA World Factbook. 

FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT

Burkina Faso Parliamentary and Local Elections
Press Statement
Mark C. Toner
Deputy Spokesperson, Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
December 4, 2012


We congratulate the Burkinabe people on their peaceful participation in Sunday’s parliamentary and local elections. Millions of voters across the country successfully cast their votes for more than 6,000 candidates for 127 seats in parliament and thousands of local races. We welcome initial reports that voting was generally peaceful and well-run. We encourage election officials to thoroughly investigate all reports of irregularities and we look forward to the announcement of official results on December 7.


　

Burkina Faso Locator Map.  Credit:  CIA World Factbook.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM CIA WORLD FACTBOOK
Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta) achieved independence from France in 1960. Repeated military coups during the 1970s and 1980s were followed by multiparty elections in the early 1990s. Current President Blaise COMPAORE came to power in a 1987 military coup and has won every election since then. Burkina Faso's high population density and limited natural resources result in poor economic prospects for the majority of its citizens.

HOW WINTER HAS CHANGED

Phto Credit:  NSF/Wikimedia Commons.

FROM: NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

Where Have Our Winters Gone?

December 3, 2012
If you're planning to skate on a frozen lake or river this winter, ski on a snowy slope, or, when spring arrives, depend on snowmelt to refill your water supply, you may need to think twice.

Winter as a "species" may have evolved to be less like the winters we remember. The change has consequences for summer, too, including plants' flowering times.

Scientists will present results on how winter is changing and why it matters at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) conference, taking place in San Francisco from Dec. 3 to 7, 2012.

When Winter Changes: Hydrological, Ecological, and Biogeochemical Responses (Session B21I) takes place on Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012.

Session conveners include Heidi Steltzer of Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colo.; Michael Weintraub of the University of Toledo; Molly Brown of NASA; and Mark Williams of the University of Colorado at Boulder.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) funded much of the research results being presented at the session.

Subjects to be addressed include: hydrological and ecological implications of radiative forcing by dust in snow; phenological and ecological consequences of changes in winter snowpack in the Colorado Rocky Mountains; and when snow melts early: unusual alpine plant life histories during the summer of 2012.

Other presentations will look at insects, fires and climate change: implications for snow cover, water resources and ecosystem recovery in western North America; climate effects on groundwater storage, hydrochemistry and residence time in geologically variable, snowmelt-dominated mountain catchments in Colorado's Front Range; and the response of aboveground plant productivity to earlier snowmelt and summer warming in an arctic ecosystem.

"Wherever winter occurs, it is likely changing now or projected to change in the future," says Steltzer. "That will affect us all."

Among the session's highlights are talks on snowmelt-dependent water supplies, and mountain ecosystems out of sync.

Windborne dust on high peaks dampens Colorado River runoff

[Presentation B21I-01: Thomas Painter, JPL/UCLA]

"More than 80 percent of sunlight falling on fresh snow is reflected back to space," says atmospheric scientist Tom Painter of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., and the University of California at Los Angeles. "But sprinkle some dark particles on the snow and that number drops dramatically."

The darker dust absorbs sunlight, reducing the amount of reflected light and in turn warming the now "dirty" snow surface.

The result? Dust-on-snow events. That's exactly what's happening in the Colorado River Basin.

When the winds are right and the desert is dry, dust blows eastward from the semi-arid regions of the U.S. Southwest. In a dust-up, Western style, small dark particles fall on the mountains' white snowfields, ultimately affecting the entire Colorado River watershed.

While dust has always blown into these mountains, the expansion of grazing and other disturbances in the western U.S. in the mid- to late-1800s led to a five- to seven-fold increase in dust loading. The snow cover became darker and lasted for shorter and shorter periods.

Lee's Ferry, Ariz., is the dividing line between the upper and lower Colorado River Basins.

There, according to Painter, peak spring runoff from the Colorado River occurs an average of three weeks earlier due to the more recent five-fold increase in such dust.

With this effect, total annual runoff at Lee's Ferry--and the Colorado River Basin as a whole--has been reduced by about five percent per year.

"Earlier melt-out allows for an extra three weeks of snow-free conditions," says Painter. "Increased transfer of water from snow to the atmosphere from the warmer snowpack, and transpired water from the uncovered vegetation during those three weeks of no-snow in the basin's mountains, causes the five-percent loss of water from the system."

"This research lays the foundation for future sound water-resource management of a river that serves 27 million people," says Anjuli Bamzai, program director in NSF's Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences, which funded the research.

Runoff from the Colorado River Basin has decreased by more than 35 billion cubic feet due to airborne dust, according to Painter.

"Lake sediments in the mountains indicate that the increased dust load came after the vast increases in grazing and agriculture in the deserts of the southwest U.S. in the late 1800s."

The snow cover, Painter says, is therefore much darker in spring than it was at that time, and melts away several weeks earlier.

"Runoff comes from the mountains in a more compressed period, which makes water management more difficult than if the water came more slowly out of the mountains."

More focus on reducing dust could be effective, says Painter, "and in turn sustain the mountain reservoir system of snow cover, potentially increase runoff, and counter the regional effects of climate change."

If changes are made in the way desert soils are managed and dust emission is reduced, he says, it could ease tensions over water in the entire Colorado River Basin.

Glacier lilies and broad-tailed hummingbirds out of sync

[Presentation B21I-05: David Inouye, University of Maryland]

The glacier lily, a tall, willowy plant that graces mountain meadows throughout western North America, flowers early in spring, when the first bumblebees and hummingbirds appear.

Or did.

The lily, a plant that grows best on subalpine slopes, is fast becoming a hothouse flower. In Earth's warming temperatures, its first blooms appear some 17 days earlier than they did in the 1970s, ecologist David Inouye of the University of Maryland has found.

The problem is that the glacier lily is no longer synchronized with the arrival of broad-tailed hummingbirds, which depend on the lilies' flowers for nectar.

By the time hummingbirds fly in, says Inouye, many of the flowers have withered away, taking their nectar-laden blooms with them.

"Long-term records of snowmelt and plant-flowering provide a stark interpretation of current events," says Saran Twombly, program director in NSF's Division of Environmental Biology, which funded the research.

"Climate change is disrupting the careful match between organisms and their environments," she says. "The ecological communities of today are dramatically different than those of the past."

Broad-tailed hummingbirds migrate north from Central America every spring to high-mountain breeding sites in the western United States. The birds have only a short mountain summer to raise their young. Male hummingbirds scout for territories before the first flowers bloom.

But the time between the first hummingbird and the first bloom has collapsed by 13 days over the past four decades. In some years, the lilies have already bloomed by the time the first hummingbird lands.

Biologists calculate that if current trends continue, in two decades the hummingbirds will miss the first flowers entirely.

Broad-tailed hummingbirds that breed farther south have fewer challenges.

"In Arizona, for example," says Inouye, "there's no obvious narrowing of the timing between the first arriving males and the first blooms of, in that case, the nectar-containing Indian paintbrush."

Higher latitudes may be more likely to become out of sync ecologically because global warming is happening fastest there.

As snows continue to melt earlier in spring, bringing earlier flowering, the mountains may come alive with glacier lilies long before hummingbirds can complete their journey north.

Holiday Mailing Options and Deadlines

Holiday Mailing Options and Deadlines

FORMER FAIR FINANCE COMPANY CEO SENTENCED TO 50 YEARS IN PRISON FOR CONDUCTING $200 MILLION FRAUD SCHEME

FROM: U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that on November 30, 2012, Timothy S. Durham, former CEO of Ohio-based Fair Finance Company ("Fair Finance"), was sentenced to 50 years in prison for orchestrating a $200 million scheme that defrauded more than 5,000 investors over almost five years. Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana also sentenced James F. Cochran, Fair Finance’s board chairman, to 25 years in prison, and Rick D. Snow, the firm’s chief financial officer, to a 10-year prison term. According to U.S. Attorney Joseph Hogsett in Indianapolis, Durham’s sentence is the longest white-collar fraud sentence in Indiana history.

On June 20, 2012, a federal jury in Indiana convicted Durham, age 50, of securities fraud, conspiracy and 10 counts of wire fraud. Cochran, age 57, and Snow, age 49, were also found guilty on conspiracy and securities fraud charges for their roles in the Fair Finance scheme.

On March 16, 2011, the Commission filed a civil action against Durham, Cochran and Snow based on the same conduct alleged in the criminal case. The Commission’s action has been stayed pending the outcome of the criminal case.

The Commission’s complaint alleged that Fair Finance had for decades legitimately raised funds by selling interest-bearing certificates to investors and using the proceeds to purchase and service discounted consumer finance contracts. However, after purchasing Fair Finance in 2002, Durham, Cochran and Snow began to deceive investors. Under the guise of loans, Durham and Cochran schemed to divert investor proceeds to themselves and others, including to entities that they controlled.

The Commission alleged that Durham and Cochran knew that neither they nor their related companies had the earnings, collateral or other resources to ensure repayment on the purported loans. As CFO, Snow knew or was reckless in not knowing that neither Durham and Cochran nor their entities could repay the funds they took from Fair Finance.

The complaint further alleged that, by November 2009, Durham, Cochran and their related businesses owed Fair Finance more than $200 million, which accounted for approximately 90 percent of Fair Finance’s total loan portfolio. Durham and Cochran also gave large amounts of money to family members and friends, and misused investor funds to afford mortgages for multiple homes, a $3 million private jet, a $6 million yacht, and classic and exotic cars worth more than $7 million. They also diverted investor money to cover hundreds of thousands of dollars in gambling and travel expenses, credit card bills, and country club dues, and to pay for elaborate parties and other forms of entertainment.

NASA VIDEO: CARBON DIOXIDE'S SEASONS GREETINGS

FROM: NASA

　
Watching Earth Breathe
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring gas in our atmosphere. View the seasonal cycle of carbon dioxide and the increase of carbon dioxide every year due to human activity.

U.S. SECRETARY OF LABOR SOLIS MAKES STATEMENT ON 2012 INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

U.S. Secretary Of Labor Hilda L. Solis

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Statement by Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis on 2012 International Day of Persons with Disabilities

WASHINGTON —December 3, 2012
Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis issued the following statement to mark the 2012 International Day of Persons with Disabilities:

"Today is an important opportunity to celebrate the diversity and innovation that people with disabilities bring to businesses of all sizes in all industries every day. Through their talents and skills, they are contributing to global economic growth and making the United States a stronger nation.

"More countries are coming to recognize the importance of giving all qualified job seekers equal opportunity to compete. However, in both good economic times and in bad, people with disabilities continue to have fewer opportunities in our educational institutions and workplaces than those without disabilities. This must change. We know that there’s a strong business case for why companies should hire people with disabilities. These Americans want to work, and they’re highly capable of success if proper accommodations are made. In fact, there’s a growing body of evidence proving that workers with disabilities often meet or exceed the job performance of those without them.

"Here at home, we’ve made tremendous advances since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in combating discrimination against those who may have a disability. With this progress domestically comes a greater responsibility on the world stage to work with other nations so that they embrace policies to help the world’s 1 billion persons with disabilities access good jobs, educational opportunities and critical medical care.

"Today, I join President Obama in calling on foreign nations to recognize the dignity and extraordinary talents of persons with disabilities everywhere. The Department of Labor is committed to providing our partners at home and abroad with information about the most effective strategies for employing persons with disabilities."

 

JUDGE REMOVED FROM HASAN CASE BECAUSE OF APPEARANCE OF "IMPARTIALITY"

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Military Judge Removed From Hasan Court-martial

From a Fort Hood News Release
FORT HOOD, Texas, Dec. 4, 2012 - Citing the appearance of bias, the highest military appellate court yesterday ordered the removal of Army Col. Gregory Gross as trial judge in the court-martial of an Army psychiatrist accused in a November 2009 shooting spree at a deployment center here.

Maj. Nidal M. Hasan is charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder.

The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, which sits in Washington, D.C., said in its 10-page opinion that because of a variety of factors, a reasonable person "would harbor doubts about the military judge's impartiality." The court did not say that the trial judge was actually biased, officials noted, but instead ordered the removal for the appearance of bias. The court also set aside the six previous contempt convictions against Hasan, who has refused orders from Gross to shave his beard and conform with Army grooming standards in the courtroom, though it did not issue a ruling on whether Hasan has a right to wear his beard under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

A new trial judge will be detailed to the court-martial and will decide on the matter when the case goes back on the record in open court.

U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE PANETTA'S REMARKS AT COOPERATIVE THREAT REDUCTION SYMPOSIUM

FROM: U.S. DELPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
20TH Anniversary Cooperative Threat Reduction Symposium
As Delivered by Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta, Washington, D.C., Monday, December 03, 2012

Thank you. Good afternoon. Senators Nunn and Lugar, distinguished guests, ambassadors and officials from the partner countries, thank you all for being here today.

I am honored to be able to participate in this important symposium marking the 20th anniversary of the Cooperative Threat Reduction program.

Let me thank National Defense University, and Major General Gregg Martin and Dr. John Reichart for their great work in organizing today's conference.

It's been a day to reflect on the successes that have been achieved in nonproliferation over the past two decades through the CTR program.

It's a particular honor to be able to be in the company of Senator Sam Nunn and Senator Richard Lugar, whose leadership made this program possible.

We can say that the course of history changed for the better because these two men helped the nation confront the threat of nuclear proliferation at the end of the Cold War. The world would have been, without question, a far more dangerous and threatening place were it not for these two patriots.

Earlier this afternoon, I was honored to be able to present Senator Nunn and Senator Lugar with the Distinguished Public Service Award, the Department of Defense's highest civilian honor. Sam and Dick, and you have made the world safer and more secure, and you have the profound gratitude of this nation and the global community.

I also want to recognize and thank my Deputy, Ash Carter, who played a critical role in thinking up and working with these two senators on their legislation, also established the Department's CTR program in the early 1990s as an Assistant Secretary of Defense, and continues that effort now in the Pentagon.

Indeed, today, it's also important that we use this opportunity to generate new thinking and new ideas for how best to carry this vital vision into the future.

It's important to have this discussion now because the CTR program is at a critical inflection point. It's evolved from a focus on nuclear infrastructure in the former Soviet Union to encompass a broader range of counter-WMD efforts across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

And despite the successes achieved in the Former Soviet Union, this program remains as critical as ever, and maintains the strong support of the Department of Defense's leadership.

It also has the strong support of our special guest today, who I am honored to serve in his cabinet and am honored to introduce.

President Obama has been a leader in reducing the threat of weapons of mass destruction since he joined the United States Senate and partnered closely with Dick Lugar. As President, he set a visionary agenda to achieve a world without nuclear weapons and has taken practical steps to move the world in that direction. In doing so, he has helped renew America's global leadership and he has helped advance the cause of peace and security in the 21st century. Ladies and Gentlemen, I am honored to introduce our Commander-in-Chief, President Barack Obama.

SEC CHARGES ACCOUNTING FIRMS WITH FAILURE TO PRODUCE AUDIT WORK PAPERS

FROM: U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C., Dec. 3, 2012 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today began administrative proceedings against the China affiliates of each of the Big Four accounting firms and another large U.S. accounting firm for refusing to produce audit work papers and other documents related to China-based companies under investigation by the SEC for potential accounting fraud against U.S. investors.

The SEC charged the following firms with violating the Securities Exchange Act and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which requires foreign public accounting firms to provide the SEC upon request with audit work papers involving any company trading on U.S. markets:
BDO China Dahua Co. Ltd
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Certified Public Accountants Ltd
Ernst & Young Hua Ming LLP
KPMG Huazhen (Special General Partnership)
PricewaterhouseCoopers Zhong Tian CPAs Limited
According to the SEC’s order instituting the proceedings, SEC investigators have been making efforts for the past several months to obtain documents from these firms. The audit materials are being sought as part of SEC investigations into potential wrongdoing by nine China-based companies whose securities are publicly traded in the U.S. The audit firms have refused to cooperate in the investigations.

"Only with access to work papers of foreign public accounting firms can the SEC test the quality of the underlying audits and protect investors from the dangers of accounting fraud," said Robert Khuzami, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. "Firms that conduct audits knowing they cannot comply with laws requiring access to these work papers face serious sanctions."

An administrative law judge will schedule a hearing and determine the appropriate remedial sanction against the firms. The order requires the administrative law judge to issue an initial decision no later than 300 days from the date of service of the order.

The SEC has launched an initiative to address concerns arising from reverse mergers and foreign issuers. Through the work of a Cross Border Working Group, the agency has deregistered the securities of nearly 50 companies and filed fraud cases against more than 40 foreign issuers and executives. The SEC’s Enforcement Division has taken a series of actions against China-based audit firms. Earlier this year, the SEC announced an enforcement action against Shanghai-based Deloitte Touche Tomatsu for refusing to produce documents for an SEC investigation into one of its China-based clients. That proceeding is ongoing. The SEC previously filed a subpoena enforcement action in federal court against the firm for failing to produce documents in response to a subpoena pertaining to its longtime client Longtop Financial Technologies Limited. In the separate administrative proceeding against Longtop, an administrative law judge found that Longtop was delinquent in its reporting obligations and ordered Longtop’s securities registration to be revoked.

"U.S. investors should be able to rely on the quality of audited financial statements," said Kara Brockmeyer, co-head of the SEC’s Cross Border Working Group. "Our Working Group’s actions demonstrate how the SEC is proactively identifying emerging risks to protect U.S. investors from accounting fraud."

This enforcement action was coordinated by the Cross Border Working Group and involved investigative teams in SEC offices in Washington D.C., Boston, New York, Fort Worth, and Los Angeles.

NEWS FROM ISS FOR DECEMBER 3, 2012

FROM:  NASA

 

U.S. ANNOUNCES $3.43 MILLION IN ASSISTANCE TO COMBAT ILLICIT FIREARMS IN CARIBBEAN REGION

Map:  Trinadad And Tobago.  Credit:  CIA World Factbook.

 FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

United States Launches Initiative to Combat Illicit Firearms Trafficking in Caribbean Region

Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
December 3, 2012　

The United States will announce a $3.43 million assistance program to combat illicit trafficking in firearms as part of the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI). This announcement at the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) headquarters will occur on the margin of the Third Caribbean-United States Security Cooperation Dialogue in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago on December 4-5, 2012. IMPACS is an institution of CARICOM created to support member states' national security initiatives through regional cooperation and coordination within the context of a Regional Crime and Security Strategy. This initiative, funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Export Control and Related Border Security (EXBS) Program, will combat illicit firearms trafficking in the region through capacity building measures in collaboration with all members of CARICOM and the Dominican Republic.

The U.S. Department of State has partnered with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to spearhead this initiative comprised of the following agenda which will: 1.) provide two Regional Firearms Advisors in the Caribbean to render on-site assistance; 2.) establish a forensic training program; 3.) provide expert legal, regulatory and parliamentary assistance; and 4.) develop an exchange program that permits Caribbean law enforcement officials to work alongside ATF counterparts in the United States.

The U.S. Department of State has also provided $1 million to the United Nations Regional Center for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) to assist fourteen Caribbean States in the development of National Action Plans on Stockpile Management and Firearms Destruction, specialized training for law enforcement officials, and recommendations on legal reforms, and updates to national firearms acts.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Liliana Ayalde will participate in the ceremony on December 4. Other notable participants include CARICOM Council of Ministers for National Security and Law Enforcement (CONSLE) Chairman and Bahamian Minister of National Security Dr. Bernard Nottage, Interim Executive Director for CARICOM IMPACS Francis Forbes, and ATF Deputy Assistant Director John Torres.

FEMA PHOTOS: HURRICANE SANDY CLEANUP CONTINUES IN MARYLAND

FROM: U.S. FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY
Crisfield, Md., Dec. 1, 2012 -- Alex Johnston uses a mini excavator to cleanup downed trees in Crisfield, Md. as cleanup continues after Hurricane Sandy came through the area. FEMA and county officials were assessing the effects from Hurricane Sandy in Crisfield, Md., and in the surrounding Somerset County. Frank Niemeir/FEMA

Crisfield, Md., Dec. 1, 2012 -- Neil Stevens clean debris from an apartment complex that had been flooded in Crisfield, Md., as cleanup continues after Hurricane Sandy came through the area. FEMA and county officials were assessing the effects from Hurricane Sandy in Crisfield, Md. and in the surrounding Somerset County. Frank Niemeir/FEMA

U.S. PRESIDENT OBAMA WARNS SYSRIA NOT TO USE WMDS

President Barack Obama thanks Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, center right, and former Sen. Sam Nunn of Georgia, center, for their work to help in denuclearizing countries after the fall of the Soviet Union at the National Defense University in Washington D.C., Dec. 3, 2012. Prior to the president's speech, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta, left, presented Nunn and Lugar with the Defense Civilian Service Award, the highest award the Defense Department can give a civilian. DOD photo by Erin Kirk-Cuomo

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Obama Warns Syria Against Using Chemical, Biological Weapons
By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3, 2012 - President Barack Obama today warned Syria's Bashar Assad regime that the use of chemical biological weapons would be "unacceptable."

Speaking to at the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Symposium at the National Defense University here, Obama addressed concerns of the use of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons in Syria.

"Today, I want to make it absolutely clear to Assad and those under his command [that] the world is watching," he said. "The use of chemical weapons is, and would be, totally unacceptable. And if you make the tragic mistake of using these weapons, there where be consequences, and you will be held accountable."

The president said it has been critical to continue investing in threat reduction programs over the past four years of his administration.

"We simply cannot allow the 21st century to be darkened by the worst weapons of the 20th century," Obama said. "And even as we make some very tough fiscal choices, we're going to keep investing in these programs, because our national security depends on it."

The president noted even after the destruction of thousands of missiles, elimination of bombers and submarines and deactivation of warheads, much work remains to be done.

"There's still much too much material -- nuclear, chemical, biological -- being stored without enough protection," he said. "There are still terrorists and criminal gangs doing everything they can to get their hands on it."

If these criminals get these weapons, they will use them, potentially killing hundreds of thousands of innocent people and perhaps triggering a global crisis, the president said.

"[This is] why I continue to believe that nuclear terrorism remains one of the greatest threats to global security," he added. "[And] why working to prevent nuclear terrorism is going to remain one of my top national security priorities as long as I have the privilege of being president of the United States."

The president emphasized that the United States must sustain efforts across the government to strengthen threat reduction programs such as the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, which he called "one of our most important national security programs."

"[This is] why we haven't just sustained programs like Nunn-Lugar over the past four years," Obama said. "We've worked with all of you to strengthen it, expanding it to some 80 nations, far beyond the old Soviet Union - moving ahead with the destruction of chemical weapons - partnering with others, countries from Africa to Asia and global health organizations to prevent the spread of deadly diseases and bioterrorism."

The work ahead will not be easy, Obama said. "It took decades and extraordinary sums of money to build those arsenals," he explained. "It's going to take decades and continued investments to dismantle them."

Obama also said while this painstaking work rarely makes headlines, it is "absolutely vital to our national security and to our global interests."

"Missile by missile, warhead by warhead, shell by shell, we're putting a bygone era behind us," he said. "Inspired by Sam Nunn and Dick Lugar, we're moving closer to the future we seek -- a future where these weapons never threaten our children again, [and] a future where we know the security and peace of a world without nuclear weapons."

The president also told the audience that the United States will continue to support the "legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people" by engaging with the opposition and providing them with humanitarian aid and by working for a transition to a Syria that's free of the Assad regime.

NASA VIDEO: MOON PHASE AND LIBRATION 2013

FROM: NASA

Moon Phase & Libration 2013: Additional Graphics
This visualization shows the phase and libration of the Moon throughout the year 2013, at hourly intervals. Each frame represents one hour. In addition, this version of the visualization shows additional relevant information, including the Moon's orbit position, subsolar and subearth points, distance from the Earth, and more.


 

Be Tobacco Free

Be Tobacco Free

AFRICOM COMMANDER WORRIES ABOUT COLLABORATGING EXTREMIST

Army General Carter F. Ham

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Collaborating Extremist Groups Worry Africom Commander

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Dec. 3, 2012 – Extremist groups collaborating in Africa pose a threat beyond the region that extends to Europe and the United States, U.S. Africa Command’s top military officer said here today.

Countering violent extremists is a growing challenge for Africom, Army Gen. Carter F. Ham told an audience at George Washington University.

The al-Qaida affiliated terror group al-Shabab is active in Somalia, though it is being dealt with, Ham said, and lawlessness in Libya is attracting another terror group, al-Qaida in the Islamic Mahgreb. That group continues to operate in northern Mali, which Ham calls a "haven" for terrorists.

In Nigeria, the militant group Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for a series of terrorist attacks in recent months. Ham emphasized that these groups and others signal the importance of Africa Command in countering extremists on the continent.

But although those individual organizations are "dangerous and important," Ham said, his biggest worry is a growing linkage and network of collaboration and synchronization among them. That, he added, "poses the greatest threat to regional stability more broadly across Africa, into Europe and the United States as well."

Africom stood up Oct. 1, 2008, and is the newest geographic command. Ham said the command’s mission is to advance the national security interests of the United States in Africa. "We think we do that best by strengthening the defense capabilities of African nations so they are increasingly capable of providing not only for their own security, but contributing to regional security and stability as well," he said.

Africa Command has taken direct action on the continent, as demonstrated last year by the U.S. effort in the skies over Libya to protect civilians there from forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi. "But we think we are at our best when we are supporting and enabling African nations and African regional organizations to achieve their ends," the general added.

That African officials are best able to confront and surmount African challenges is a mantra for Africom, Ham said, noting that his command is best known on the continent for training African forces and providing enabling technologies.

The defense strategic guidance announced earlier this year gave pause to many on the continent, Ham acknowledged, because of its focus on the Asia-Pacific region. "There was, by my count, one mention of the word Africa" in the document, he said. But he noted the guidance includes more than the Asia-Pacific focus.

"The focus on the Pacific makes sense, but rather than focus on the geographic priorities, take a look at the mission sets that are outlined in the strategic defense guidance," he said. At the top of the list is countering extremist organizations. Next is maintaining global access, followed by building partner capacity. U.S. forces must be ready to contribute to humanitarian and disaster relief missions and to prevent and respond to mass atrocities, the general said.

"All these, sadly, are necessary in Africa," he added.

Remarks by Deputy Secretary Carter at the Cooperative Threat Reduction Symposium at National Defense University, Washington, D.C.

Remarks by Deputy Secretary Carter at the Cooperative Threat Reduction Symposium at National Defense University, Washington, D.C.

U.S. SECRETARY CLINTON AND CZECH REPUBLIC PRIME MINISTER SCHWARZENBERG REMARKS

A-10 Thunderbolt IIs from the 81st Fighter Squadron line up for takeoff in support of a close air support mission during Ramstein Rover 2012 at Namest Air Base, Czech Republic, Sept. 10, 2012. RARO 12 is a NATO partnership-building exercise involving more than 16 nations. Participating in exercises like RARO 12 ensures effective employment of airpower in support of alliance or coalition forces while mitigating risks to civilians in contingency operations. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Natasha Stannard)

FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Remarks With Czech Republic Prime Minister Karel Schwarzenberg
Remarks
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Czernin Palace
Prague, Czech Republic
December 3, 2012

MODERATOR: (In Czech.)

FOREIGN MINISTER SCHWARZENBERG: (In Czech.)

SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you, my friend. It is such a pleasure to be back in one of the most beautiful cities in the world and to meet with one of our strongest allies, partners, and friends on the continent.

As the minister said, our friendship dates back to the earliest days of the Czech Republic. It is based on a mutual respect and shared interests founded on three pillars – security cooperation; economic, civil-nuclear, science, and technology cooperation; and cooperation based on our shared values, particularly in the promotion of democracy and human rights around the world.

For many years, we thought primarily in a bilateral way about what we could do together with the Czech Republic. But our partnership has grown far beyond that, and today, we collaborate on global security issues, democratic transitions in the Middle East and North Africa, and so much else. So as the minister said, we covered a lot of issues today, and let me just touch on a few of the highlights.

First, our collaboration on security: In Afghanistan, hundreds of Czech troops stand with Americans and other allied nations to helped the Afghan people build a stable future for their country. We will work together to manage the drawdown on the end of combat operations in 2014 and then to support the Afghan National Security Forces beyond that, and we appreciate greatly the Czech Republic’s commitment to those.

We also are highly impressed by the new multinational training center for helicopter pilots that the Czech Republic is developing, one of the first projects in the smart defense program that NATO adopted earlier this year. And in NATO and beyond, the Czech Republic plays a key role in chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear response. And it is expanding that leadership, for example, with a conference on the challenges posed by Syria’s weapons stockpile that was recently hosted here in Prague.

In Syria, the Czech Republic serves as the United States protecting power, which is essential for our shared effort to help the Syrian people bring an end to their suffering and the beginning of a new democratic transition. More broadly, the Czech Republic has reached out to help countries that can benefit from the very valuable experiences of this country’s transition.

We also want to emphasize greater cooperation on energy. The United States has made energy a priority in our diplomacy. We began the U.S.-EU energy dialogue because this has a major impact on everything from security to climate change. Czech and American scientists are already collaborating extensively in this field, including our effort to develop the first joint civil-nuclear center that the United States will have with a NATO ally.

And as I conveyed to the minister, the Obama Administration strongly supports Westinghouse’s bid to help expand the Temelin Nuclear Power Plant. Given how long term and strategic this investment is, the Czech people deserve the best value, the most tested and trustworthy technology, an outstanding safety record, responsible and accountable management, and job opportunities for Czech companies and workers. Westinghouse offers all of these things.

The United States wants to continue to support investments that produce tangible benefits for Americans and Czechs alike. Temelin is a perfect example, but in fact, the United States is the largest non-European foreign direct investor in the republic, and we hope to make that even bigger. Also, our work together on civil-nuclear power will spur greater cooperation between our scientists and academics and businesses on basic research and innovation.

So again, let me express my appreciation to the minister for hosting us today and to the Czech Republic for being a steadfast ally and partner. The American people have a great deal of affection and respect for how far the Czech Republic has come in the past two decades. And we will continue to support continuing progress and prosperity and our shared values that are rooted in our common experience and history. Thank you very much, Minister.

FOREIGN MINISTER SCHWARZENBERG: Thank you.

MODERATOR: (In Czech.)

QUESTION: Madam Secretary, a question on civil-nuclear cooperation. What importance do you attach to the Westinghouse bid in the Czech Republic with regards to the energy independence and security of this country?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, let me begin by saying that energy security and energy diversification are top issues for our foreign policies around the world. This is not just about Europe and it is certainly not just about the Czech Republic.

When it comes to civil-nuclear energy, the Czech Republic leads Central Europe both in terms of your commitment to nuclear safety and security here at home and your support for nonproliferation in the international nuclear framework. It was certainly no accident that President Obama came to Prague early in his first term to speak about the global nonproliferation agenda. And through our joint declaration on cooperation in research and development and a series of cooperative ventures that were announced last fall, we already have Americans working with their Czech counterparts to improve the efficiency of reactors and reprocessing of spent fuel, to share best practices among nuclear security experts, and we’re working to stand up a joint center for civil-nuclear cooperation in Prague.

So as I said in my opening remarks, we certainly discussed these issues. We are encouraging the Czech Republic to diversify its energy sources and suppliers in ways that are economically sustainable and environmentally sound, which is an important message for all of our European partners. And we are not shy about pressing the case for Westinghouse to expand the Temelin Nuclear Power Plant because we believe that company offers the best option for the project in terms of technology and safety. It would clearly enhance Czech energy security and further the nuclear cooperation between our two countries and it would create jobs and economic opportunity for Czechs and Americans. It will ensure that the new facility would be built to the highest international standards, using a model that has already been approved by the EU and the International Energy Agency regulators. So we clearly hope that Westinghouse will receive the utmost consideration as this process moves forward.

MODERATOR: (In Czech), New York Times.

QUESTION: Michael Gordon, New York Times. Madam Secretary, there have been reports in recent days of increased activity at Syria’s chemical weapon sites. What is the nature of this activity? Is there a basis for concern? And what would – President Obama has said that the use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime would cross a redline, but he hasn’t made entirely explicit what he would do about it. If the United States saw that Syria was preparing to use chemical weapons, would it intervene militarily to stop it? If it had begun to use chemical weapons, would it again use force to prevent it from continuing to attack its civilians?

And a question for the Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic: Your country has expertise in this area. In a post-Assad environment, if the Syrian leader was to be deposed, would your nation send its expertise and its units to Syria to help dismantle the chemical arsenal?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, Michael, those are a lot of questions, but they’re important questions and ones that are very much in on the minds of our Administration and likeminded countries around the world, including the Czech Republic. Because as I alluded to earlier, the Czech Republic is widely viewed as having some of the most extensive expertise and experience with chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear matters. And they have already been consulting about what can be and should be done, both at this time and post the inevitable fall of the Assad regime.

We have made our views very clear. This is a redline for the United States. I’m not going to telegraph in any specifics what we would do in the event of credible evidence that the Assad regime has resorted to using chemical weapons against their own people. But suffice it to say, we are certainly planning to take action if that eventuality were to occur.

So we once again issue a very strong warning to the Assad regime that their behavior is reprehensible. Their actions against their own people have been tragic. But there is no doubt that there is a line between even the horrors that they have already inflicted on the Syrian people and moving to what would be an internationally condemned step of utilizing their chemical weapons.

So in talking to the Foreign Minister about this matter, we are certainly united in our warning and condemnation, and will stand with the international community in a united way should there be any evidence that the Assad regime has ignored international opinion on this important matter.

FOREIGN MINISTER SCHWARZENBERG: Just to answer your question, there are some of our people for the moment in Jordan cooperating with the neighboring Jordan forces, and evidently some American friends came here too training for event, we hope, won’t – never happen. Of course, the situation in Syria itself is rather chaotic and we can’t even exclude the case as it, by chance, one of the rebel groups would get hold of these arms. And that, of course, would be a danger as well. So this chaotic situation of a civil war is, with the existence of these kind of arms in the country, highly dangerous.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you.

MODERATOR: (In Czech.)

SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you, my friend

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