FROM: THE WHITE HOUSE
April 13, 2015
Message to Congress -- Protocol Amending the Convention between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Japan
TO THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES:
I transmit herewith, for the advice and consent of the Senate to its ratification, the Protocol Amending the Convention between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Japan for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and a related agreement entered into by an exchange of notes (together the "proposed Protocol"), both signed on January 24, 2013, at Washington, together with correcting notes exchanged March 9 and March 29, 2013. I also transmit for the information of the Senate the report of the Department of State, which includes an overview of the proposed Protocol.
The proposed Protocol was negotiated to bring U.S.-Japan tax treaty relations into closer conformity with current U.S. tax treaty policy. For example, the proposed Protocol provides for an exemption from source-country withholding tax on all cross-border payments of interest, and updates the provisions of the existing Convention with respect to the mutual agreement procedure by incorporating mandatory arbitration of certain cases that the competent authorities of the United States and Japan have been unable to resolve after a reasonable period of time.
I recommend that the Senate give early and favorableconsideration to the proposed Protocol and give its advice and consent to its ratification.
BARACK OBAMA
Monday, April 13, 2015
DOD EXPLAINS EVOLUTION OF 'USE OF FORCE LAW' TO COVER MULTIPLE MILITARY OPERATIONS
FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
General Counsel Charts Use of Force Law’s Evolution
By Jim Garamone
DoD News, Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON, April 13, 2015 – Though the very idea of law sounds immutable and concrete, the law evolves as circumstances change, the Defense Department’s general counsel told the American Society of International Law here April 10.
Stephen W. Preston updated the group on the latest thinking behind the legal framework for military options and on how that thinking has changed.
Preston explained the history behind the authorization for the use of military force that allowed operations against al-Qaida in 2001. The AUMF, as it is commonly abbreviated, was not a traditional declaration of war against a state, he said.
“We had been attacked, instead, by a terrorist organization,” he said. “Yes, the Taliban had allowed [Osama] bin Laden and his organization to operate with impunity within Afghanistan. But it was not Afghanistan that had launched the attack. It was bin Laden and his terrorist organization.
“The authorization for the use of military force that Congress passed aimed to give the president all the statutory authority he needed to fight back against bin Laden, his organization and those who supported him, including the Taliban,” Preston added.
Associated Forces
Congress, the executive branch and the courts agreed in 2011 that the 2001 AUMF covered associated forces, too: al-Qaida, the Taliban and certain other terrorist or insurgent groups in Afghanistan; al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen; and individuals who are part of al-Qaida in Somalia and Libya, the general counsel said.
“In addition, over the past year, we have conducted military operations under the 2001 AUMF against the Nusrah Front and, specifically, those members of al-Qaida referred to as the Khorasan Group in Syria,” he added. “We have also resumed such operations against the group we fought in Iraq when it was known as al-Qaida in Iraq, which is now known as [the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant].”
Putting groups into this category is done only at the highest levels of the U.S. government, Preston said.
He stressed that American actions against ISIL are consistent with international and domestic law. ISIL grew out of al-Qaida in Iraq, and Americans and American interests have been targets of the terror group since 2004, he said.
ISIL’s recent split from al-Qaida does not change the situation in respect to law, Preston told the group. ISIL considers itself to be the true inheritor of bin Laden’s legacy and groups that have pledged loyalty to ISIL, he explained, adding that this alone covers the group under the 2001 AUMF.
Authorization for Force in Iraq
Preston stressed that the president’s authority to fight ISIL is further reinforced by the 2002 authorization for the use of military force against Iraq. “That AUMF authorized the use of force to, among other things, ‘defend the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq,’” he said.
Though the AUMF was directed against Saddam Hussein’s regime, “the statute … has always been understood to authorize the use of force for the related purposes of helping to establish a stable, democratic Iraq and addressing terrorist threats emanating from Iraq,” he said.
For current operations in Iraq, he noted, the Iraqi government requested American help against ISIL. “In Syria, the United States is using force against ISIL in the collective self-defense of Iraq and U.S. national self-defense, and it has notified the U.N. Security Council that it is taking these actions in Syria consistent with Article 51 of the U.N. Charter,” he said. Article 51 allows for self-defense actions.
Though the NATO combat mission in Afghanistan ended in December, the 2001 AUMF remains valid, Preston said.
“Although our presence in that country has been reduced and our mission there is more limited, the fact is that active hostilities continue,” he said. “As a matter of international law, the United States remains in a state of armed conflict against the Taliban, al-Qaida and associated forces, and the 2001 AUMF continues to stand as statutory authority to use military force.”
The roughly 10,000 U.S. service members in Afghanistan have two missions, Preston told the group. The first -- a NATO mission -- is to continue training Afghan security forces. The second is a counterterrorism mission aimed at the remnants of al-Qaida and to prevent an al-Qaida resurgence or external plotting against the homeland or U.S. targets abroad, the general counsel said.
“The use of force by the U.S. military in Afghanistan is now limited to circumstances in which using force is necessary to execute those two missions or to protect our personnel,” he said.
Adapting Law to the ISIL Fight
Preston then turned to current discussions over an AUMF aimed directly at ISIL. President Barack Obama wants ultimately to repeal the 2001 AUMF and to tailor its authorities to better fit the current fight and the strategy going forward, he said. In February, the president submitted draft legislation authorizing use of “the armed forces of the United States as the president determines to be necessary and appropriate against ISIL or associated persons or forces.”
“This raises the question: If the president already has the authority needed to take action against ISIL, why is he seeking a new authorization?” the general counsel asked. “Most obviously and importantly, as the president has said, the world needs to know we are united behind the effort against ISIL, and the men and women of our military deserve our clear and unified support. Enacting the president’s proposed AUMF will show our fighting forces, the American people, our foreign partners and the enemy that the president and Congress are united in their resolve to degrade and defeat ISIL.”
General Counsel Charts Use of Force Law’s Evolution
By Jim Garamone
DoD News, Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON, April 13, 2015 – Though the very idea of law sounds immutable and concrete, the law evolves as circumstances change, the Defense Department’s general counsel told the American Society of International Law here April 10.
Stephen W. Preston updated the group on the latest thinking behind the legal framework for military options and on how that thinking has changed.
Preston explained the history behind the authorization for the use of military force that allowed operations against al-Qaida in 2001. The AUMF, as it is commonly abbreviated, was not a traditional declaration of war against a state, he said.
“We had been attacked, instead, by a terrorist organization,” he said. “Yes, the Taliban had allowed [Osama] bin Laden and his organization to operate with impunity within Afghanistan. But it was not Afghanistan that had launched the attack. It was bin Laden and his terrorist organization.
“The authorization for the use of military force that Congress passed aimed to give the president all the statutory authority he needed to fight back against bin Laden, his organization and those who supported him, including the Taliban,” Preston added.
Associated Forces
Congress, the executive branch and the courts agreed in 2011 that the 2001 AUMF covered associated forces, too: al-Qaida, the Taliban and certain other terrorist or insurgent groups in Afghanistan; al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen; and individuals who are part of al-Qaida in Somalia and Libya, the general counsel said.
“In addition, over the past year, we have conducted military operations under the 2001 AUMF against the Nusrah Front and, specifically, those members of al-Qaida referred to as the Khorasan Group in Syria,” he added. “We have also resumed such operations against the group we fought in Iraq when it was known as al-Qaida in Iraq, which is now known as [the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant].”
Putting groups into this category is done only at the highest levels of the U.S. government, Preston said.
He stressed that American actions against ISIL are consistent with international and domestic law. ISIL grew out of al-Qaida in Iraq, and Americans and American interests have been targets of the terror group since 2004, he said.
ISIL’s recent split from al-Qaida does not change the situation in respect to law, Preston told the group. ISIL considers itself to be the true inheritor of bin Laden’s legacy and groups that have pledged loyalty to ISIL, he explained, adding that this alone covers the group under the 2001 AUMF.
Authorization for Force in Iraq
Preston stressed that the president’s authority to fight ISIL is further reinforced by the 2002 authorization for the use of military force against Iraq. “That AUMF authorized the use of force to, among other things, ‘defend the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq,’” he said.
Though the AUMF was directed against Saddam Hussein’s regime, “the statute … has always been understood to authorize the use of force for the related purposes of helping to establish a stable, democratic Iraq and addressing terrorist threats emanating from Iraq,” he said.
For current operations in Iraq, he noted, the Iraqi government requested American help against ISIL. “In Syria, the United States is using force against ISIL in the collective self-defense of Iraq and U.S. national self-defense, and it has notified the U.N. Security Council that it is taking these actions in Syria consistent with Article 51 of the U.N. Charter,” he said. Article 51 allows for self-defense actions.
Though the NATO combat mission in Afghanistan ended in December, the 2001 AUMF remains valid, Preston said.
“Although our presence in that country has been reduced and our mission there is more limited, the fact is that active hostilities continue,” he said. “As a matter of international law, the United States remains in a state of armed conflict against the Taliban, al-Qaida and associated forces, and the 2001 AUMF continues to stand as statutory authority to use military force.”
The roughly 10,000 U.S. service members in Afghanistan have two missions, Preston told the group. The first -- a NATO mission -- is to continue training Afghan security forces. The second is a counterterrorism mission aimed at the remnants of al-Qaida and to prevent an al-Qaida resurgence or external plotting against the homeland or U.S. targets abroad, the general counsel said.
“The use of force by the U.S. military in Afghanistan is now limited to circumstances in which using force is necessary to execute those two missions or to protect our personnel,” he said.
Adapting Law to the ISIL Fight
Preston then turned to current discussions over an AUMF aimed directly at ISIL. President Barack Obama wants ultimately to repeal the 2001 AUMF and to tailor its authorities to better fit the current fight and the strategy going forward, he said. In February, the president submitted draft legislation authorizing use of “the armed forces of the United States as the president determines to be necessary and appropriate against ISIL or associated persons or forces.”
“This raises the question: If the president already has the authority needed to take action against ISIL, why is he seeking a new authorization?” the general counsel asked. “Most obviously and importantly, as the president has said, the world needs to know we are united behind the effort against ISIL, and the men and women of our military deserve our clear and unified support. Enacting the president’s proposed AUMF will show our fighting forces, the American people, our foreign partners and the enemy that the president and Congress are united in their resolve to degrade and defeat ISIL.”
SPACE FOR RESEACH EXPANDS AT ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS
FROM: NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Research space at academic institutions increased by 4.7 percent in fiscal 2013
Biological and biomedical sciences constitute largest share of research space
Research-performing colleges and universities increased their science and engineering research space 4.7 percent between fiscal 2011 and fiscal 2013, according to a new report from the NSF National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics.
The report details that total research space increased 9.6 million net assignable square feet over this period, from 202.2 million to 211.8 million. The biological and biomedical sciences, along with agricultural and natural resources science, accounted for two-thirds of that total growth.
Biological and biomedical sciences constituted the largest share of research space in fiscal 2013, at 27 percent--just slightly more than they held in 2011.
Net gains in research space for individual fields included the following:
Engineering, 5.7 percent
Physical sciences, 3.7 percent
Health and clinical sciences, 3.5 percent
Mathematics and statistics, 13.3 percent
Net research space in the computer and information sciences fields declined by 14 percent over the two-year period.
Public doctorate-granting institutions accounted for 70.9 percent of science and engineering research space in fiscal 2013, with their private counterparts accounting for 24.4 percent.
New construction for science and engineering research space fell by 17.3 percent when comparing projects started in fiscal 2012-2013 with those started in fiscal 2010-2011. The decrease follows a decade-long trend of decline in new construction for research. But the survey also found that academic institutions are more accurately estimating the amount of research space construction they'll start in upcoming years.
Data for the report were gathered from 588 academic institutions through the Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities. The survey collects data on the amount, construction, repair, renovation and funding of research facilities.
-NSF-
Media Contacts
Rob Margetta, NSF,
Program Contacts
Michael T. Gibbons, NSF
Research space at academic institutions increased by 4.7 percent in fiscal 2013
Biological and biomedical sciences constitute largest share of research space
Research-performing colleges and universities increased their science and engineering research space 4.7 percent between fiscal 2011 and fiscal 2013, according to a new report from the NSF National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics.
The report details that total research space increased 9.6 million net assignable square feet over this period, from 202.2 million to 211.8 million. The biological and biomedical sciences, along with agricultural and natural resources science, accounted for two-thirds of that total growth.
Biological and biomedical sciences constituted the largest share of research space in fiscal 2013, at 27 percent--just slightly more than they held in 2011.
Net gains in research space for individual fields included the following:
Engineering, 5.7 percent
Physical sciences, 3.7 percent
Health and clinical sciences, 3.5 percent
Mathematics and statistics, 13.3 percent
Net research space in the computer and information sciences fields declined by 14 percent over the two-year period.
Public doctorate-granting institutions accounted for 70.9 percent of science and engineering research space in fiscal 2013, with their private counterparts accounting for 24.4 percent.
New construction for science and engineering research space fell by 17.3 percent when comparing projects started in fiscal 2012-2013 with those started in fiscal 2010-2011. The decrease follows a decade-long trend of decline in new construction for research. But the survey also found that academic institutions are more accurately estimating the amount of research space construction they'll start in upcoming years.
Data for the report were gathered from 588 academic institutions through the Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities. The survey collects data on the amount, construction, repair, renovation and funding of research facilities.
-NSF-
Media Contacts
Rob Margetta, NSF,
Program Contacts
Michael T. Gibbons, NSF
LABOR DEPARTMENT SAYS SUPPORT OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING VICTIMS IS EXPANDING
FROM: U.S. LABOR DEPARTMENT
US Labor Department expands its support of victims
of human trafficking and other crimes
Department will begin to certify 'T' visas and expand 'U' visa certifications
SEATTLE — U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez today announced that the labor department's Wage and Hour Division will begin to exercise its authority to certify applications for trafficking victims seeking "T" visas. The division will also certify "U" visa requests when it detects three additional qualifying criminal activities in the course of its workplace investigations: extortion, forced labor, and fraud in foreign labor contracting. The announcement was made at a roundtable on new American integration in Seattle hosted by OneAmerica.
"The Labor Department is taking important steps to provide more support for workers who have been exploited significantly because of their immigrant status," said Perez. "These actions will protect workers, and help law enforcement protect our communities and public safety."
These efforts build on the work the department began 2011, when it started to certify U visa applications for victims of five qualifying crimes found in its workplace investigations: involuntary servitude, peonage, trafficking, obstruction of justice and witness tampering. By expanding its U visa certifications to include extortion, forced labor, and fraud in foreign labor contracting and by completing T visa certifications, the department is providing additional support to workers it believes are victims of the relevant crimes and are willing to cooperate with law enforcement.
The Wage and Hour Division enforces several critical federal workplace laws, including the federal minimum wage and overtime laws. Many Wage and Hour investigations take place in industries that employ vulnerable workers so the division is often the first federal agency to make contact with these workers and detect workplace exploitation. Such activities may then be referred to the other appropriate authorities.
These efforts will assist significantly the victims of these crimes who qualify, and who are seeking immigration relief from the Department of Homeland Security and access to the range of victim services they need to recover and rebuild their lives.
US Labor Department expands its support of victims
of human trafficking and other crimes
Department will begin to certify 'T' visas and expand 'U' visa certifications
SEATTLE — U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez today announced that the labor department's Wage and Hour Division will begin to exercise its authority to certify applications for trafficking victims seeking "T" visas. The division will also certify "U" visa requests when it detects three additional qualifying criminal activities in the course of its workplace investigations: extortion, forced labor, and fraud in foreign labor contracting. The announcement was made at a roundtable on new American integration in Seattle hosted by OneAmerica.
"The Labor Department is taking important steps to provide more support for workers who have been exploited significantly because of their immigrant status," said Perez. "These actions will protect workers, and help law enforcement protect our communities and public safety."
These efforts build on the work the department began 2011, when it started to certify U visa applications for victims of five qualifying crimes found in its workplace investigations: involuntary servitude, peonage, trafficking, obstruction of justice and witness tampering. By expanding its U visa certifications to include extortion, forced labor, and fraud in foreign labor contracting and by completing T visa certifications, the department is providing additional support to workers it believes are victims of the relevant crimes and are willing to cooperate with law enforcement.
The Wage and Hour Division enforces several critical federal workplace laws, including the federal minimum wage and overtime laws. Many Wage and Hour investigations take place in industries that employ vulnerable workers so the division is often the first federal agency to make contact with these workers and detect workplace exploitation. Such activities may then be referred to the other appropriate authorities.
These efforts will assist significantly the victims of these crimes who qualify, and who are seeking immigration relief from the Department of Homeland Security and access to the range of victim services they need to recover and rebuild their lives.
CYBERCRIME RING MEMBER RECEIVES 150 MONTH PRISON TERM
FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Thursday, April 9, 2015
Member of Organized Cybercrime Ring Sentenced to 150 Months in Prison for Selling Stolen and Counterfeit Credit Cards
A member of the identity theft and credit card fraud ring known as “Carder.su” was sentenced today to 150 months in federal prison for selling stolen and counterfeit credit cards over the Internet. He was further ordered to pay $50.8 million in restitution.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden of the District of Nevada and Assistant Special Agent in Charge Michael Harris of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations’ (ICE-HSI) Las Vegas Field Office made the announcement. U.S. District Judge Andrew P. Gordon of the District of Nevada imposed the sentence.
“Criminal cyber organizations like Carder.su threaten not just U.S. citizens but people in every corner of the globe,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell. “Managers in Russia seamlessly ran their criminal enterprise online using, among others, a counterfeit card vendor from New Jersey, with whom they communicated through screen name aliases. The success in this case was achieved through equally seamless cooperation with our foreign law enforcement partners and effective use of the RICO statute. As more countries work with us to fight these organizations, we will continue to evolve to meet this growing threat.”
“Mr. Smith’s crimes were very serious and justify a lengthy prison sentence,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “He admitted that he caused a loss of seven to $20 million involving over 250 victims, and that he obstructed justice when he fled to Jamaica while released on bond awaiting trial. We are working closely with our international, federal, state and local law enforcement partners to make sure that the perpetrators of these sorts of crimes are prosecuted no matter where in the world they commit their crimes or attempt to flee.”
“As this sentence demonstrates, cyber-criminals who purposely harm innocent Americans and compromise our financial system and global commerce will be aggressively pursued, investigated and prosecuted,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Harris. “These criminals may believe they can escape detection by fleeing the country and hiding behind their computer screens, but as this case shows, cyberspace is not a refuge from justice.”
Jermaine Smith, aka “SirCharlie57,” aka “Fairbusinessman,” 34, of East Orange, New Jersey, pleaded guilty in October 2014 to one count of participating in a racketeer influenced corrupt organization.
During his guilty plea, Smith admitted that in May 2009 he became associated with the Carder.su organization, a criminal enterprise whose members trafficked in compromised credit card account data and counterfeit identifications, and committed money laundering, narcotics trafficking, and various types of computer crime. Specifically, Smith admitted that he operated as a vendor on the organization’s websites, using the “SirCharlie57” and “Fairbusinessman” nicknames. While acting as a vendor under those online monikers, Smith sold counterfeit credit cards to an undercover special agent. Those counterfeit credit cards were successfully processed for fingerprints, identifying Smith as the true user of the online screennames. In addition to the sale of the counterfeit credit cards, Smith admitted that he possessed over 2,150 stolen credit and debit card account numbers.
While on pretrial release in this case, Smith removed an electronic monitoring device from his person and fled to Jamaica. He was arrested four months later and returned to Nevada.
Fifty-six individuals were charged in four separate indictments in Operation Open Market, which targeted the Carder.su organization. To date, 26 individuals have been convicted and the rest are either fugitives or are pending trial.
The cases were investigated by ICE-HSI and the U.S. Secret Service, and are being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Jonathan Ophardt of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly M. Frayn and Andrew W. Duncan of the District of Nevada.
This prosecution is in connection with the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes.
Thursday, April 9, 2015
Member of Organized Cybercrime Ring Sentenced to 150 Months in Prison for Selling Stolen and Counterfeit Credit Cards
A member of the identity theft and credit card fraud ring known as “Carder.su” was sentenced today to 150 months in federal prison for selling stolen and counterfeit credit cards over the Internet. He was further ordered to pay $50.8 million in restitution.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden of the District of Nevada and Assistant Special Agent in Charge Michael Harris of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations’ (ICE-HSI) Las Vegas Field Office made the announcement. U.S. District Judge Andrew P. Gordon of the District of Nevada imposed the sentence.
“Criminal cyber organizations like Carder.su threaten not just U.S. citizens but people in every corner of the globe,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell. “Managers in Russia seamlessly ran their criminal enterprise online using, among others, a counterfeit card vendor from New Jersey, with whom they communicated through screen name aliases. The success in this case was achieved through equally seamless cooperation with our foreign law enforcement partners and effective use of the RICO statute. As more countries work with us to fight these organizations, we will continue to evolve to meet this growing threat.”
“Mr. Smith’s crimes were very serious and justify a lengthy prison sentence,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “He admitted that he caused a loss of seven to $20 million involving over 250 victims, and that he obstructed justice when he fled to Jamaica while released on bond awaiting trial. We are working closely with our international, federal, state and local law enforcement partners to make sure that the perpetrators of these sorts of crimes are prosecuted no matter where in the world they commit their crimes or attempt to flee.”
“As this sentence demonstrates, cyber-criminals who purposely harm innocent Americans and compromise our financial system and global commerce will be aggressively pursued, investigated and prosecuted,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Harris. “These criminals may believe they can escape detection by fleeing the country and hiding behind their computer screens, but as this case shows, cyberspace is not a refuge from justice.”
Jermaine Smith, aka “SirCharlie57,” aka “Fairbusinessman,” 34, of East Orange, New Jersey, pleaded guilty in October 2014 to one count of participating in a racketeer influenced corrupt organization.
During his guilty plea, Smith admitted that in May 2009 he became associated with the Carder.su organization, a criminal enterprise whose members trafficked in compromised credit card account data and counterfeit identifications, and committed money laundering, narcotics trafficking, and various types of computer crime. Specifically, Smith admitted that he operated as a vendor on the organization’s websites, using the “SirCharlie57” and “Fairbusinessman” nicknames. While acting as a vendor under those online monikers, Smith sold counterfeit credit cards to an undercover special agent. Those counterfeit credit cards were successfully processed for fingerprints, identifying Smith as the true user of the online screennames. In addition to the sale of the counterfeit credit cards, Smith admitted that he possessed over 2,150 stolen credit and debit card account numbers.
While on pretrial release in this case, Smith removed an electronic monitoring device from his person and fled to Jamaica. He was arrested four months later and returned to Nevada.
Fifty-six individuals were charged in four separate indictments in Operation Open Market, which targeted the Carder.su organization. To date, 26 individuals have been convicted and the rest are either fugitives or are pending trial.
The cases were investigated by ICE-HSI and the U.S. Secret Service, and are being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Jonathan Ophardt of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly M. Frayn and Andrew W. Duncan of the District of Nevada.
This prosecution is in connection with the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes.
EX-IM BANK GUARANTEES S $22.4 MILLION LOAN FINANCING SALE OF HELICOPTERS FOR COLOMBIA'S OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY
FROM: U.S. EXPORT-IMPORT BANK
Ex-Im Bank Approves Financing for Sale of American-Made Helicopters for Use in Colombia’s Offshore Oil and Gas Industry
Transaction will support an estimated 200 aerospace-related jobs in Pennsylvania
Washington, D.C. – The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) has approved a $22.4 million loan guarantee to finance the export of U.S.-made AgustaWestland AW139 helicopters to North Pole Investments in Panama for leasing and use in Colombia’s offshore oil and gas industry. The lender is Apple Bank for Savings of New York, N.Y.
According to Ex-Im Bank estimates derived from Departments of Commerce and Labor data and methodology, the Bank’s financing will support an estimated 200 jobs at AgustaWestland’s manufacturing and operations facility in Philadelphia, Pa., and in the company’s U.S. supply chain.
Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg made the announcement today while participating as a member of the U.S. government delegation to the Summit of the Americas conference being held in Panama City.
“We are pleased to finance the exports of these quality, American-made helicopters because of the jobs in Philadelphia that will be sustained as a result,” said Chairman Hochberg. “This transaction will empower AgustaWestland to continue to grow in Latin America while maintaining good-paying aerospace jobs here at home.”
Ex-Im Bank plans to co-finance this asset-backed transaction with Italy's export-credit agency, Servizi Assicurativi del Commercio Estero, S.p.A. (SACE), which is anticipated to provide a guarantee for a portion of the financing covering foreign content. The majority of the export is the U.S. content, which consists of manufacturing activities, assembly, customization, avionics and instrumentation.
North Pole Investments is an aviation lessor headquartered in Panama City. The company leases aircraft mainly to Helistar S.A.S., a civil charter services operator based in Colombia. The AW139 helicopters being financed will be leased to Helistar and will be deployed for offshore oil and gas crew transport in the Colombian Caribbean continental shelf.
AgustaWestland’s manufacturing and operations facility in Philadelphia employs nearly 600 U.S. aerospace and administrative support workers. In February 2008, the company opened a second AW139 assembly line in Philadelphia to meet the growing demand for its helicopters, particularly in expanding markets in the Western Hemisphere.
The transaction is Ex-Im Bank’s fourth financing of exports of U.S.-made AgustaWestland helicopters to Latin America. In August 2009, the Bank assisted in financing the export of AW139 helicopters to the government of Trinidad and Tobago for use in search and rescue operations. In December 2012 and in July 2013, the Bank approved loan guarantees financing AW139 helicopters for export to Omni Taxi Aéreo to meet its transportation contracts with the oil and gas industry in Brazil.
Ex-Im Bank Approves Financing for Sale of American-Made Helicopters for Use in Colombia’s Offshore Oil and Gas Industry
Transaction will support an estimated 200 aerospace-related jobs in Pennsylvania
Washington, D.C. – The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) has approved a $22.4 million loan guarantee to finance the export of U.S.-made AgustaWestland AW139 helicopters to North Pole Investments in Panama for leasing and use in Colombia’s offshore oil and gas industry. The lender is Apple Bank for Savings of New York, N.Y.
According to Ex-Im Bank estimates derived from Departments of Commerce and Labor data and methodology, the Bank’s financing will support an estimated 200 jobs at AgustaWestland’s manufacturing and operations facility in Philadelphia, Pa., and in the company’s U.S. supply chain.
Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg made the announcement today while participating as a member of the U.S. government delegation to the Summit of the Americas conference being held in Panama City.
“We are pleased to finance the exports of these quality, American-made helicopters because of the jobs in Philadelphia that will be sustained as a result,” said Chairman Hochberg. “This transaction will empower AgustaWestland to continue to grow in Latin America while maintaining good-paying aerospace jobs here at home.”
Ex-Im Bank plans to co-finance this asset-backed transaction with Italy's export-credit agency, Servizi Assicurativi del Commercio Estero, S.p.A. (SACE), which is anticipated to provide a guarantee for a portion of the financing covering foreign content. The majority of the export is the U.S. content, which consists of manufacturing activities, assembly, customization, avionics and instrumentation.
North Pole Investments is an aviation lessor headquartered in Panama City. The company leases aircraft mainly to Helistar S.A.S., a civil charter services operator based in Colombia. The AW139 helicopters being financed will be leased to Helistar and will be deployed for offshore oil and gas crew transport in the Colombian Caribbean continental shelf.
AgustaWestland’s manufacturing and operations facility in Philadelphia employs nearly 600 U.S. aerospace and administrative support workers. In February 2008, the company opened a second AW139 assembly line in Philadelphia to meet the growing demand for its helicopters, particularly in expanding markets in the Western Hemisphere.
The transaction is Ex-Im Bank’s fourth financing of exports of U.S.-made AgustaWestland helicopters to Latin America. In August 2009, the Bank assisted in financing the export of AW139 helicopters to the government of Trinidad and Tobago for use in search and rescue operations. In December 2012 and in July 2013, the Bank approved loan guarantees financing AW139 helicopters for export to Omni Taxi Aéreo to meet its transportation contracts with the oil and gas industry in Brazil.
TOM MALINOWSKI MAKES REMARKS ON ISIL ABUSES AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
04/09/2015 03:16 PM EDT
ISIL's Abuses Against Women and Girls in Iraq and Syria
Remarks
Tom Malinowski
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
Swiss Ambassador's Residence
Washington, DC
March 16, 2015
As prepared for delivery
Thank you to our host, Ambassador Dahinden, for holding this very important series of discussions. And to Vital Voices for their partnership in fighting violence against women around the world. Women and girls often suffer the most egregious forms of violence in war. We’ve seen this in the Congo, in Colombia, in Sudan, and we’re seeing it now in Iraq and Syria. The Islamic State, or Daesh as the group is called in the region, has kidnapped thousands of women and girls, some as young as 10 They’ve been separated from their families, sold as sex slaves or forcibly married to Daesh’s fighters.
In my bureau, Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL), we began receiving reports about captive women and girls almost immediately after Daesh’s early-August advance at Mt. Sinjar. Representatives of the Yezidi community in the United States contacted us to share the terrible stories of suffering they were hearing from relatives trapped on the mountain, communicating via mobile phones they were sometimes able to charge using car batteries. As the crisis on Sinjar unfolded, my staff organized meetings with high-level officials at the State Department and the White House for representatives of the Yezidi community in the United States and we heard firsthand their stories and requests for assistance. They talked about hearing children crying for water in the background of phone calls with relatives. One woman described how she had heard a woman being raped by Daesh fighters in the background of a call with another woman.
On August 7, in addition to authorizing operations to protect U.S. personnel, President Obama authorized a humanitarian effort to help save thousands of Iraqi civilians who were trapped on Mount Sinjar without food and water, facing almost certain death. Detailed information—and even GPS coordinates—provided by the Yezidi community in the U.S. on where the people were sheltered on Mount Sinjar helped inform decisions about where to drop aid. Targeted airstrikes helped protect the evacuation route as people were escaping. Our contacts in the Yezidi community also provided us information about where Daesh fighters were advancing or firing on evacuees as they escaped, and we shared this information immediately with the military. During that week, most civilians were able to evacuate from Mount Sinjar
But not everyone in the surrounding area was able to flee. Several thousand women and girls remain captive. We regularly receive blood-chilling reports of girls distributed to fighters as rewards for their commitment, sold in markets in the cities as sex slaves, or held in houses in small groups where they are raped by a daily rotation of Daesh fighters. We have learned that Daesh trafficked hundreds if not thousands of Yezidi women to Syria for its fighters there. We heard reports that a few dozen Christian women and a few hundred Shia women who had been unable to flee, were taken to a similar fate . Just in the last few weeks, an unknown number of women and girls were abducted as part of the roughly 300 Assyrian Christians taken captive from their villages along the Khabour River in northeast Syria. But Daesh’s predatory approach to women isn’t limited to minorities. Local Sunni women in Raqqa have reportedly been pressured into marrying Daesh fighters against their will, and they are subject to the same abusive practices as the others.
Violence of this sort sows terror; it is a war crime, but it is not merely a by-product of war. Daesh uses rape and sexual abuse as a deliberate military strategy. They target women as tools of war, brutalizing them in order to destabilize and destroy communities—to take away their honor and disrupt their ability to reproduce themselves in the next generation. It’s a matter of total possession, total annihilation of a community.
I emphasize this to say that the defeat of Daesh and the defense of human rights, especially the rights of women, go hand-in-hand. We will restore human rights by defeating Daesh, but the reverse is also true: we will defeat Daesh in part by defending the rights of its intended victims. The protection of women in Iraq isn’t just the endpoint; it’s the way we will win; it is a moral imperative and it is a strategic imperative.
I traveled to Iraq in February and I had the opportunity while I was there to meet with survivors, women who had managed to escape Daesh. I had the opportunity—but I chose not to. It seemed to me unnecessary to compound their suffering by asking them to recount it yet again for the benefit of yet another foreign official. Instead I met with senior leaders in the central government and in the Kurdish regional government to make sure they understood that the protection of women is an extremely high priority for us as we plan the liberation of their land from these terrorists. We talked about the challenge of saving women held captive and the need to make sure that it is part of our military strategy moving forward.
Because while we work to destroy Daesh, we are also planning for the day of liberation—to make sure that when these communities are liberated, we find where Iraqi and Syrian women are being held and we have a support system in place to help them heal. We have heard heartening stories of families welcoming their wives and daughters home, but in many cases, there is tremendous stigma and shame associated with sexual assault. Some women have become pregnant as a result of the rapes. Some have been overwhelmed by what happened and taken their own lives. All have been traumatized. Yet, resources for critically-needed services in the aftermath of violence are often scarce, and access is obstructed. Last March, the State Department joined with Vital Voices and the Avon Foundation to launch the Gender-Based Violence Emergency Response and Protection Initiative (GBVI), a public-private partnership that provides medical, psychological, and social support as well as shelter and legal assistance. This support is delivered through reproductive healthcare efforts, the creation of women-friendly spaces, mobile clinics, and outreach workers. In Iraq thus far, the initiative has supported more than 50 Yezidi women and girls who escaped captivity.
We also need to look long-term, to the establishment of a rights-respecting society in which women are not just protected but empowered. I gave a speech in Erbil that was broadcast live on state television in northern Iraq, and I was very clear about this: There is a direct connection between the protection of women and their participation in civil life and governance. When we increase the involvement of women in decision-making roles, we decrease opportunities for the violation of their basic human rights. Kurdish women are on the battlefield, risking their lives to defend themselves and their communities from Daesh. If they take up positions of influence and responsibility during times of war, they must be able to take them up during times of peace too. In Iraq, the U.S. Government is providing training for tens of thousands of Iraqi students on rights awareness, violence prevention, and advocacy initiatives to promote legislation on gender equality. And in a related vein, we support campaigns to educate on the dangers of early and forced marriage across the region.
We entered this conflict first and foremost because Daesh threatens our security. But we will conclude it by saving human lives and by ensuring that women and girls can lead lives of dignity in their families, in their communities, and in their government.
04/09/2015 03:16 PM EDT
ISIL's Abuses Against Women and Girls in Iraq and Syria
Remarks
Tom Malinowski
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
Swiss Ambassador's Residence
Washington, DC
March 16, 2015
As prepared for delivery
Thank you to our host, Ambassador Dahinden, for holding this very important series of discussions. And to Vital Voices for their partnership in fighting violence against women around the world. Women and girls often suffer the most egregious forms of violence in war. We’ve seen this in the Congo, in Colombia, in Sudan, and we’re seeing it now in Iraq and Syria. The Islamic State, or Daesh as the group is called in the region, has kidnapped thousands of women and girls, some as young as 10 They’ve been separated from their families, sold as sex slaves or forcibly married to Daesh’s fighters.
In my bureau, Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL), we began receiving reports about captive women and girls almost immediately after Daesh’s early-August advance at Mt. Sinjar. Representatives of the Yezidi community in the United States contacted us to share the terrible stories of suffering they were hearing from relatives trapped on the mountain, communicating via mobile phones they were sometimes able to charge using car batteries. As the crisis on Sinjar unfolded, my staff organized meetings with high-level officials at the State Department and the White House for representatives of the Yezidi community in the United States and we heard firsthand their stories and requests for assistance. They talked about hearing children crying for water in the background of phone calls with relatives. One woman described how she had heard a woman being raped by Daesh fighters in the background of a call with another woman.
On August 7, in addition to authorizing operations to protect U.S. personnel, President Obama authorized a humanitarian effort to help save thousands of Iraqi civilians who were trapped on Mount Sinjar without food and water, facing almost certain death. Detailed information—and even GPS coordinates—provided by the Yezidi community in the U.S. on where the people were sheltered on Mount Sinjar helped inform decisions about where to drop aid. Targeted airstrikes helped protect the evacuation route as people were escaping. Our contacts in the Yezidi community also provided us information about where Daesh fighters were advancing or firing on evacuees as they escaped, and we shared this information immediately with the military. During that week, most civilians were able to evacuate from Mount Sinjar
But not everyone in the surrounding area was able to flee. Several thousand women and girls remain captive. We regularly receive blood-chilling reports of girls distributed to fighters as rewards for their commitment, sold in markets in the cities as sex slaves, or held in houses in small groups where they are raped by a daily rotation of Daesh fighters. We have learned that Daesh trafficked hundreds if not thousands of Yezidi women to Syria for its fighters there. We heard reports that a few dozen Christian women and a few hundred Shia women who had been unable to flee, were taken to a similar fate . Just in the last few weeks, an unknown number of women and girls were abducted as part of the roughly 300 Assyrian Christians taken captive from their villages along the Khabour River in northeast Syria. But Daesh’s predatory approach to women isn’t limited to minorities. Local Sunni women in Raqqa have reportedly been pressured into marrying Daesh fighters against their will, and they are subject to the same abusive practices as the others.
Violence of this sort sows terror; it is a war crime, but it is not merely a by-product of war. Daesh uses rape and sexual abuse as a deliberate military strategy. They target women as tools of war, brutalizing them in order to destabilize and destroy communities—to take away their honor and disrupt their ability to reproduce themselves in the next generation. It’s a matter of total possession, total annihilation of a community.
I emphasize this to say that the defeat of Daesh and the defense of human rights, especially the rights of women, go hand-in-hand. We will restore human rights by defeating Daesh, but the reverse is also true: we will defeat Daesh in part by defending the rights of its intended victims. The protection of women in Iraq isn’t just the endpoint; it’s the way we will win; it is a moral imperative and it is a strategic imperative.
I traveled to Iraq in February and I had the opportunity while I was there to meet with survivors, women who had managed to escape Daesh. I had the opportunity—but I chose not to. It seemed to me unnecessary to compound their suffering by asking them to recount it yet again for the benefit of yet another foreign official. Instead I met with senior leaders in the central government and in the Kurdish regional government to make sure they understood that the protection of women is an extremely high priority for us as we plan the liberation of their land from these terrorists. We talked about the challenge of saving women held captive and the need to make sure that it is part of our military strategy moving forward.
Because while we work to destroy Daesh, we are also planning for the day of liberation—to make sure that when these communities are liberated, we find where Iraqi and Syrian women are being held and we have a support system in place to help them heal. We have heard heartening stories of families welcoming their wives and daughters home, but in many cases, there is tremendous stigma and shame associated with sexual assault. Some women have become pregnant as a result of the rapes. Some have been overwhelmed by what happened and taken their own lives. All have been traumatized. Yet, resources for critically-needed services in the aftermath of violence are often scarce, and access is obstructed. Last March, the State Department joined with Vital Voices and the Avon Foundation to launch the Gender-Based Violence Emergency Response and Protection Initiative (GBVI), a public-private partnership that provides medical, psychological, and social support as well as shelter and legal assistance. This support is delivered through reproductive healthcare efforts, the creation of women-friendly spaces, mobile clinics, and outreach workers. In Iraq thus far, the initiative has supported more than 50 Yezidi women and girls who escaped captivity.
We also need to look long-term, to the establishment of a rights-respecting society in which women are not just protected but empowered. I gave a speech in Erbil that was broadcast live on state television in northern Iraq, and I was very clear about this: There is a direct connection between the protection of women and their participation in civil life and governance. When we increase the involvement of women in decision-making roles, we decrease opportunities for the violation of their basic human rights. Kurdish women are on the battlefield, risking their lives to defend themselves and their communities from Daesh. If they take up positions of influence and responsibility during times of war, they must be able to take them up during times of peace too. In Iraq, the U.S. Government is providing training for tens of thousands of Iraqi students on rights awareness, violence prevention, and advocacy initiatives to promote legislation on gender equality. And in a related vein, we support campaigns to educate on the dangers of early and forced marriage across the region.
We entered this conflict first and foremost because Daesh threatens our security. But we will conclude it by saving human lives and by ensuring that women and girls can lead lives of dignity in their families, in their communities, and in their government.
Sunday, April 12, 2015
AIRSTRIKES CONTINUING IN IRAQ, SYRIA
FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Military Airstrikes Continue in Iraq, Syria
DoD News, Defense Media Activity
SOUTHWEST ASIA, April 11, 2015 – U.S. and coalition military forces have continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.
Officials reported details of the latest strikes, which took place between 8 a.m. yesterday and 8 a.m. today, local time, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.
Airstrikes in Syria
Bomber, fighter and attack aircraft conducted eight airstrikes in Syria:
— Near Kobani, six airstrikes struck a tactical ISIL unit and destroyed four ISIL fighting positions and three ISIL vehicles.
-- Near Al Hasakah, two airstrikes struck a large and a tactical ISIL unit and destroyed four vehicles.
Airstrikes in Iraq
Fighter, attack and remotely piloted aircraft conducted nine airstrikes in Iraq, approved by the Iraqi Ministry of Defense:
-- Near Mosul, two airstrikes struck one ISIL tactical unit and one ISIL rocket fire team and destroyed one excavator.
-- Near Bayji, two airstrikes destroyed seven ISIL excavators and one ISIL vehicle.
-- Near Sinjar, an airstrike struck one tactical unit, destroyed three buildings and three fighting positions.
-- Near Hit, an airstrike struck a checkpoint.
-- Near Asad, an airstrike struck an ISIL tactical unit and a fighting position.
-- Near Huwayjah, an airstrike struck an ISIL tactical unit.
-- Near Bayji, an airstrike destroyed an ISIL vehicle.
Part of Operation Inherent Resolve
The strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to eliminate the ISIL terrorist group and the threat they pose to Iraq, Syria, the region, and the wider international community. The destruction of ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq further limits the terrorist group's ability to project terror and conduct operations, officials said.
Coalition nations conducting airstrikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations conducting airstrikes in Syria include the United States, Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Military Airstrikes Continue in Iraq, Syria
DoD News, Defense Media Activity
SOUTHWEST ASIA, April 11, 2015 – U.S. and coalition military forces have continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.
Officials reported details of the latest strikes, which took place between 8 a.m. yesterday and 8 a.m. today, local time, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.
Airstrikes in Syria
Bomber, fighter and attack aircraft conducted eight airstrikes in Syria:
— Near Kobani, six airstrikes struck a tactical ISIL unit and destroyed four ISIL fighting positions and three ISIL vehicles.
-- Near Al Hasakah, two airstrikes struck a large and a tactical ISIL unit and destroyed four vehicles.
Airstrikes in Iraq
Fighter, attack and remotely piloted aircraft conducted nine airstrikes in Iraq, approved by the Iraqi Ministry of Defense:
-- Near Mosul, two airstrikes struck one ISIL tactical unit and one ISIL rocket fire team and destroyed one excavator.
-- Near Bayji, two airstrikes destroyed seven ISIL excavators and one ISIL vehicle.
-- Near Sinjar, an airstrike struck one tactical unit, destroyed three buildings and three fighting positions.
-- Near Hit, an airstrike struck a checkpoint.
-- Near Asad, an airstrike struck an ISIL tactical unit and a fighting position.
-- Near Huwayjah, an airstrike struck an ISIL tactical unit.
-- Near Bayji, an airstrike destroyed an ISIL vehicle.
Part of Operation Inherent Resolve
The strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to eliminate the ISIL terrorist group and the threat they pose to Iraq, Syria, the region, and the wider international community. The destruction of ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq further limits the terrorist group's ability to project terror and conduct operations, officials said.
Coalition nations conducting airstrikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations conducting airstrikes in Syria include the United States, Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARKS WITH MOROCCAN FOREIGN MINISTER MEZOUAR
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Remarks With Moroccan Foreign Minister Salaheddine Mezouar
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
April 9, 2015
SECRETARY KERRY: Well, good morning, everybody. I’m very pleased to welcome my friend, the Foreign Minister Salaheddine Mezouar, and his delegation for the third session of the Strategic Dialogue between the United States and Morocco.
A year ago, the foreign minister hosted me and my delegation in Morocco, in Rabat, and we had a wonderful, wonderful visit there. As everybody knows, Moroccans have an extraordinarily rich culture that is shown in many ways, and I’m happy to say one of the ways is in treating guests to a delicious meal that is actually seven or eight meals disguised as one. Their hospitality is truly spectacular. And I very, very much hope to work with our superb representative in Rabat, Ambassador Dwight Bush, in order to see if I can have a chance to visit again, which we have talked about, and which I very much hope to do.
The U.S.-Moroccan Dialogue is grounded in a very longstanding friendship, and it’s real. It extends back to 1777, when Morocco recognized the independence of the United States. And we have initiated this particular dialogue because we feel that our leaders want to make certain that people understand that we have to do much more than just celebrate our history, we have to build the future. And that’s what we’re working on doing. By working together, we can help shape a future in which our citizens will be safer, they’ll be more prosperous, and where builders, not destroyers, will be strengthened and be the people who really define and write the history and meet the expectations of our people.
There can be no question that our meeting today is timely. The amount of time that we have to talk literally flew by, and we scratched the surface of many of the challenges that we face. And I thank my friend, Salaheddine, for his wisdom, for the breadth of his vision that he brings to the table in the challenges – in meeting the challenges that we face together.
Events in Africa and in the Middle East have presented all of us with a new mix of challenge. It’s different than it has been. It’s fast moving. There’s more sectarianism than any of us want, many times disguised in religion – not representing real religion but disguised in ways that are calculated to affect the minds of people and, unfortunately, set them on a course of violence and destruction.
Our delegations really look forward to reviewing today all of the aspects of this regional situation that we face together. There’s no one country that’s going to solve this. It’s going to take all of us working effectively together and it’s also going to take time. But we know that we have a very firm foundation on which to build.
Morocco is a major non-NATO ally of the United States and is the only country in Africa with which we have a free trade agreement, for example. It has successfully completed a productive compact with the Millennium Challenge Corporation and it recently hosted a well-attended Global Entrepreneurial Summit. And in July, it will serve as a venue for an important international meeting on climate change.
So Morocco is doing more than its fair share of contributing to the global dialogue on the issues of the day. And today our working groups are going to focus on four areas, including security cooperation. And here, my government commends Morocco for serving as co-chair of the Global Counterterrorism Forum’s campaign to prevent the recruitment of foreign terrorist fighters. Morocco is also a member of the anti-Daesh coalition. And since that coalition came together, it is a fact that Daesh has been pushed back significantly, and the result of that is that it is becoming increasingly dependent on its ability to be able to attract foreign fighters. And that means that we have to redouble our own efforts to persuade – and if necessary, prevent – young people from making the fatal mistake of signing up. And Morocco is a leader in our efforts to do that.
Also this year, Morocco will host African Lion, which is an annual military exercise that will continue next month. It includes several of our European and African partners. And in this era, it is essential that our armed forces experience working together, so that if a humanitarian or any other kind of emergency arises, we will be able to respond effectively before it is too late. Interoperability is a critical concept in the context of today’s challenges.
Other security-related topics that we’ll be covering today include the unrest in Libya, where we spent a fair amount of time talking a few minutes ago, where Morocco has supported and hosted UN negotiations and is undertaking a major leadership role in helping to find a path forward. And I was encouraged today in the comments of the foreign minister about the approach that is unfolding over the course of these next weeks.
Morocco is also taking steps to reform its justice sector, to professionalize its police force, to promote the rule of law, and strengthen its border security and its counterterrorist capabilities. The United States strongly backs all of these initiatives, and we will do everything that we can to be helpful as Morocco pursues success in each of those sectors.
A second area of discussion today concerns our growing economic and energy ties. Our free trade agreement is now almost a decade old, and it has already yielded very positive results for both sides. But we want to do better; we want to do more. We know we can. And so we’re going to talk this morning about how to ensure that the free trade agreement benefits grow in a balanced and more expansive way.
We’ll also talk about increasing our business-to-business contacts, intensifying two-way investment, and Morocco’s plan to generate at least 40 percent of its electricity from renewable sources of energy.
In Morocco, as elsewhere, young people are the key to the future. The average age in Morocco is increasing now, but unemployment rates for those people who are 15 to 24 years old and not in school still remain high. It’s a challenge. It’s a challenge everywhere, by the way. And we hope that the government’s efforts to grow the economy, coupled with a $38 million agreement through USAID, will provide the nation’s youth with the confidence and the skills that they need to make the critical leap from school to paycheck, to a good job for the long-term future.
A third focus of our dialogue concerns the value of education and people-to-people contacts. Morocco has embarked on a program of comprehensive education reforms, designed to lift the standards and provide greater opportunity to young people, to women and girls particularly. And here again, the United States is helping through a $25 million USAID grant to improve achievement at the primary school level. We’re also excited about the J. Christopher Stevens Virtual Exchange Initiative that was launched by the United States and Moroccan students this spring.
Our fourth area for discussion will highlight public institutions and civil society. The international turbulence of recent years shows how absolutely vital it is to be able to provide a peaceful outlet for political expression and to maintain governing structures that are sustained by the full support of their national populations. Morocco has the potential to be a model – the model, if you will.
But as we know from our own experience in the United States, building resilient and robust democratic institutions is a long-term job. We’re still working at it. We have our own challenges, and we know that. And so we talk with appropriate humility about any other country’s challenge, but we’re all in this together and we all have to draw from each other’s experiences and work together. Accordingly, we welcome Morocco’s effort to strengthen political parties and to give space to civil society in advance of the national elections.
We also respect His Majesty King Mohammed VI’s spiritual authority as a faith leader and his consistent and vocal opposition to any use of religion to justify violence against innocent persons.
In closing, let me just say that the foreign minister and I and our teams have a lot to discuss, as you can tell. And I very much look forward to having this discussion over the course of the day in the warmth and friendship that really does define this relationship. So I’m very pleased to yield my – the floor to my colleague and my friend, Foreign Minister Mezouar. Thank you. (Applause.)
FOREIGN MINISTER MEZOUAR: (Via interpreter.) Thank you, John, and dear friend. First of all, I would like to thank you for your kind words, for your hospitality, and for making your teams available. They worked hard. I would like to congratulate them.
And as you said, dear friend, we are two friendly countries and we have been longstanding friends, and this friendship in our context today is a fundamental basis to move ahead. It’s the fundamental basis that will allow us to face the transformations of today’s worlds with all of its complexities. And I think that our meeting of today as part of the strategic dialogue is the best message that we could convey together to say there aren’t just problems, but there’s also some progress being made. Humanity advances via crises, but also thanks to ability to ensure that progress may also be made.
I applaud – I salute the excellent relationship that we share, and this relationship that allows us doing meetings such as this one, but also doing very brief meetings that this relationship allows us to deal very quickly on the various topics, because you have the same assessments, the same analyses, but above all, we are members of the same bloc, the bloc of freedom, the camp of peace, that of democracy – the bloc of universal values, the bloc that defends the most disenfranchised, and also the bloc of solidarity. I think that these are the values that we share, and they allow us to always work with great peace of mind, to work together on the fundamental topics.
We met a year ago in Morocco, and of course, we were delighted to host you. Yes indeed, we shared some good meals, but we shared other meals, and namely our shared vision of what we wanted to be, of what we wanted to do. Morocco is a country, as you observed – is a country which is moving ahead. It’s a country which has built its model – its model of development, which is based on values, on institutions which are solid and strong. This is a country which has a history, and this history makes it stronger. This history helps us also via the reforms process that are continuing. Reforms never stop and they can never stop, because the world is moving. Societies are moving, are changing. And since the world and societies are moving and changing, well, reforms must also continue to move and change just like a society must continue to move and advance.
So Morocco does indeed appear to be this harbor of peace in a disrupted, disturbed, and ailing region of the world. We share our experiences with others, we provide our contribution, we engaged in the fight against ignorance, against extremism, because there is no war of religions, there’s no war of civilizations, but there’s a fight against ignorance. And that means that what we are engaged in together has meaning, because it’s the world as we see it, it’s societies as we perceive them, which are the engines of our actions, which are the engines of our relationships.
So I’m happy that today, once again, of the opportunity of this third strategic dialogue, that we’re able to notice that our relationship is vivacious. The advantages of these meetings that allows us to be constantly creative. They allow us to be constantly – say to yourselves we must ensure that this exceptional relationship, that this quality of relationship, it has to be supplied, it has to be complete – constantly fed, supplied; otherwise it will stagnate and it will regress.
So we are engaged in a virtuous, positive logic between our two countries. And here I would like to pay greater tribute to Ambassador Bush, who is doing a wonderful job. And also I would like to pay tribute to your teams at the State Department, who are also doing wonderful work to bring people together, to come up with imaginative things to create. I wish – would be remiss if I failed to pay tribute to our own ambassador, who is also working hard to ensure that constantly this exceptional relationship be preserved, sustained.
We talked about problems in our region. Here I would like to say two or three messages. The first message about Libya: Libya, as you know, the dialogue is taking place in Morocco, in serenity, in a state – atmosphere of responsibility. The Libyan people want peace; they want stability. The various components of the dialogue have been determined. There is a real awareness. The Libyans are capable of making peace. The Libyans are capable of getting along and the Libyans are capable of building a future within a framework of stability, as part of a modern society, an open society, with institutions that will allow them to deploy their wonderful energy. They do have that energy that will allow them to move ahead in the construction of their country, but also in the construction of the region.
Libyans need to be supported. We are engaged in a phase where the fundamental principles of the agreement have been accepted. Today, we must give this momentum and we must say and affirm that they are capable of making peace. They are capable of moving towards a political solution that will help them to overcome the difficulties that they have today.
So this is an opportunity to applaud the efforts of Bernardino Leon, who is working with great tact, with great engagement, but also applaud the various factions, the various protagonists who are engaged in the dialogue. And I am convinced that next week’s meeting will make it possible to move towards a definitive solution.
And why – I would also like to mention Yemen. We must, above all, understand that it is no longer possible to allow that in countries affected by this type of instability that legitimacy be swept aside by anyone. We must bring order back and respect. There was a dialogue and this dialogue was supposed to lead to the organization of a national unity government that would lead to new elections and representation. When units or factions start believing that, given they have a few militaries or some assets, they can destabilize states, the message that has to be retained is that – that has to be conveyed that this is fundamental. It has to be firm. It is no longer allowed that any minority, that any faction, should be able to destabilize the foundations of a state, because destabilizing the foundations of a state will bring us back to situations of insecurity, instability, always difficult to solve and which generally profit – benefit to those who know but we never think about.
So Morocco is determined, vis-a-vis values and principles. Morocco is engaged in the fight against extremism but also engaged in the fight against any type of destabilization which would lead to anarchy. So Morocco is engaged in the commission and it’s also engaged in this coalition for Yemen on the basis of values but also based on a value – on a vision of the dynamic to which the Middle East region must join, generally speaking.
I would also wish to emphasize the fact that the fight against extremism and the determination with which the coalition is acting is starting to produce results. These results are encouraging. This also encourages the Government of Iraq, which is responsible – its officials and its army – to come up with a solution that will make it possible to eradicate all forms of extremism and to fight against terrorism. So these are all – as many actions of the international community. And thanks to your leadership, dear friend, and we are all determined towards this action.
But I would also bring your attention to another aspect that should not be overlooked, that should not be forgotten. I would like to applaud your tenacity on the Israeli-Palestinian issue and on peace in this region. With determination, you led difficult negotiations. I think that this process is not over. With – this process must continue. The statement of Mr. Netanyahu is placing the international community in front of its real responsibilities, but we must never forget that peace in the Middle East will never take place as long as peace and stability in that region of the world, and especially as part of Israeli-Palestinian conflict has not been achieved.
His Majesty, the King is engaged via the committee accords to constantly provide this indispensable support to the Palestinians and particularly to the holy sites. These sites have to be protected. This is part of the heritage of humanity. They have to be protected for mankind. And Morocco, which is also engaged in this process of resumption of the dialogue, of discussion with the Quartet that had been designed by the Arab League, which had its meeting last Monday, in order to explain that we need a resumption of the process and the dialogue on the basis of engagements of the international community on behalf of the solution of two states, as it was defined – namely, the process that you have conducted yourself. Morocco will host the Summit of the Arab League next year in Morocco, and some very important topics will be on the agenda. And of course, Morocco is engaged in peace and in the rapprochement and the dialogue. This is fundamental because this period, this timeframe that we’re experiencing is sensitive, it’s explosive, and Morocco, thanks to the momentum, His Majesty, the King, is assuming the role of leadership, which is its own.
Morocco is also progressing on some various issues. You talked about them. There are two topics about which we have made some real progress – the issue of women, first of all, which was a struggle, a momentum. And thanks to His Majesty, there was this momentum. And this liberation that was conducted created for this amazing energy and skills in Morocco, and also the issue of youth. And this is an issue, of course, that we have not been working just since today. Morocco has always integrated – as part of its vision of development of society and of economic and social development, we integrate the training and the education of the youth as part of a strategy of development which is our own, and this is yielding good results, but we must continue to work even harder.
And this was part of the Global Entrepreneurial Summit that we were – had the pleasure of hosting, and you had the – gave us the honor of attending this. And this was a wonderful opportunity to show the amazing pool of talent that Morocco has in terms of creativity, of unyielding all of this power, and these means that will allow the youth to take its role and play its responsibility in the development of society. And of course, Morocco remains available to provide this expertise, this experience, as part of the upcoming summit which will take place in Nairobi, I believe, in July.
So Morocco is advancing with great serenity. Reforms are important, but in greater serenity they are done, the better it is. And it is acknowledged, appropriated by society. It is acknowledged by the political forces and the components of society. Morocco is advancing. We know we have to conduct reforms. We are conducting reforms and we’re expanding the field of liberation and of energies, and that makes the strength of our country. The strength of our country comes on the fact that we are liberating energies, and we have a leadership, because this leadership is modern. This leadership is progressive. This leadership is democratic. This leadership believes in human values.
His Majesty plays this role of leadership, but also, given the fact that we were able to build for more than a half century a momentum of political diversity and of political dialogue and of political representation, which this all allows us, indeed, to manage our differences with political alternative, with a democracy, with serenity and responsibility – and all of these things are things that we share with you, because the world also needs examples. Our relationship is an example because it is serene, it is responsible, because it looks to the future. And we all – Morocco is also an example that we share with other countries. And the stability of the region is fundamental. Previously, we mentioned the issue of the Sahara – Moroccan Sahara, and we emphasized on the fact that Morocco is a country that always looks to the future to build the future. Morocco provided concrete responses and concrete solutions via the autonomy proposal. This proposal is a proposal which moves towards integration but also towards the facilitation of the construction of the Maghreb space, and this on behalf of the populations, on behalf of the various countries.
So Morocco is a player that always looks at things positively. We have turned the page of the 25th century – we’re on the 21st century, and the 21st century has its own logic, and this logic says we must always be in a positive momentum, provide positive contributions, seek solutions, overcome the static systems of history which disrupt populations, which disrupt relations between countries. So Morocco wants to move ahead.
And we would like to thank you for the role that you play, the – your engagement on behalf of this virtuous dynamic that we want to move towards in this region with respect to the resolution of a problem which has been invented for 40 years, and which affects our territorial integrity. So these always many subjects which are important that we share, but I – once again, I would like to say I do know that you have a plane to catch. I would like to thank you for your friendship, for your availability towards Morocco. We’ll have – we have opportunities to meet once in a while in always various different locations, but these are very special moments, and we wanted to share them intensely with you on behalf of our relationship, on behalf of the friendship which unites our people here. I would like to pay tribute to the entire team which is here today, the three groups which are working, which are – the four groups, pardon me – four groups which are moving ahead with determination to provide content and to strengthen the economic component that is a momentum that has its own progression.
I would just like to conclude with one point which is important to us and that we share with you – Africa. Africa is the continent that we have to invest in. Morocco is engaging, it’s providing its experience, its expertise. We are providing our investments. We are providing human development. Morocco is providing this dimension of religious moderation which is fundamental today as part of the relationship and the stability and the stabilization of societies. We are engaged and will continue to be engaged.
When His Majesty, the King met President Obama, decided that this would be a thrust of the partnership between our countries, will provide it with more and more contact by engaging ourselves. We do know that the issue of energy is important, therefore our shared expertise should help towards, move in this dimension the issue of food security and the stabilization of populations, human development – really just development, but also investments. Morocco is the first investor, African investor in west – in Central Africa. So we are the largest African investor, which means that Morocco is engaged in this dynamic of development stabilization of Africa, which is a wonderful continent, which is a continent which has huge potential, and also needs to know that it has friends and friends that are – have wanted well, and since – we have good wishes for this continent and we’ll continue to work towards that.
Thank you once again, dear John. Thank you to all of you. (Applause.)
SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you very much, Salaheddine, very eloquent comments. And I want the record to show that even when he was being serious, he was talking about (inaudible). (Laughter.) Thank you. (Applause.)
FOREIGN MINISTER MEZOUAR: Thank you. (Applause.)
QUESTION: Can we get (inaudible)? Will Cuba be removed from the state sponsors of terror list?
SECRETARY KERRY: I can’t, I’m sorry. I can’t. I’ve got to run now.
Remarks With Moroccan Foreign Minister Salaheddine Mezouar
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
April 9, 2015
SECRETARY KERRY: Well, good morning, everybody. I’m very pleased to welcome my friend, the Foreign Minister Salaheddine Mezouar, and his delegation for the third session of the Strategic Dialogue between the United States and Morocco.
A year ago, the foreign minister hosted me and my delegation in Morocco, in Rabat, and we had a wonderful, wonderful visit there. As everybody knows, Moroccans have an extraordinarily rich culture that is shown in many ways, and I’m happy to say one of the ways is in treating guests to a delicious meal that is actually seven or eight meals disguised as one. Their hospitality is truly spectacular. And I very, very much hope to work with our superb representative in Rabat, Ambassador Dwight Bush, in order to see if I can have a chance to visit again, which we have talked about, and which I very much hope to do.
The U.S.-Moroccan Dialogue is grounded in a very longstanding friendship, and it’s real. It extends back to 1777, when Morocco recognized the independence of the United States. And we have initiated this particular dialogue because we feel that our leaders want to make certain that people understand that we have to do much more than just celebrate our history, we have to build the future. And that’s what we’re working on doing. By working together, we can help shape a future in which our citizens will be safer, they’ll be more prosperous, and where builders, not destroyers, will be strengthened and be the people who really define and write the history and meet the expectations of our people.
There can be no question that our meeting today is timely. The amount of time that we have to talk literally flew by, and we scratched the surface of many of the challenges that we face. And I thank my friend, Salaheddine, for his wisdom, for the breadth of his vision that he brings to the table in the challenges – in meeting the challenges that we face together.
Events in Africa and in the Middle East have presented all of us with a new mix of challenge. It’s different than it has been. It’s fast moving. There’s more sectarianism than any of us want, many times disguised in religion – not representing real religion but disguised in ways that are calculated to affect the minds of people and, unfortunately, set them on a course of violence and destruction.
Our delegations really look forward to reviewing today all of the aspects of this regional situation that we face together. There’s no one country that’s going to solve this. It’s going to take all of us working effectively together and it’s also going to take time. But we know that we have a very firm foundation on which to build.
Morocco is a major non-NATO ally of the United States and is the only country in Africa with which we have a free trade agreement, for example. It has successfully completed a productive compact with the Millennium Challenge Corporation and it recently hosted a well-attended Global Entrepreneurial Summit. And in July, it will serve as a venue for an important international meeting on climate change.
So Morocco is doing more than its fair share of contributing to the global dialogue on the issues of the day. And today our working groups are going to focus on four areas, including security cooperation. And here, my government commends Morocco for serving as co-chair of the Global Counterterrorism Forum’s campaign to prevent the recruitment of foreign terrorist fighters. Morocco is also a member of the anti-Daesh coalition. And since that coalition came together, it is a fact that Daesh has been pushed back significantly, and the result of that is that it is becoming increasingly dependent on its ability to be able to attract foreign fighters. And that means that we have to redouble our own efforts to persuade – and if necessary, prevent – young people from making the fatal mistake of signing up. And Morocco is a leader in our efforts to do that.
Also this year, Morocco will host African Lion, which is an annual military exercise that will continue next month. It includes several of our European and African partners. And in this era, it is essential that our armed forces experience working together, so that if a humanitarian or any other kind of emergency arises, we will be able to respond effectively before it is too late. Interoperability is a critical concept in the context of today’s challenges.
Other security-related topics that we’ll be covering today include the unrest in Libya, where we spent a fair amount of time talking a few minutes ago, where Morocco has supported and hosted UN negotiations and is undertaking a major leadership role in helping to find a path forward. And I was encouraged today in the comments of the foreign minister about the approach that is unfolding over the course of these next weeks.
Morocco is also taking steps to reform its justice sector, to professionalize its police force, to promote the rule of law, and strengthen its border security and its counterterrorist capabilities. The United States strongly backs all of these initiatives, and we will do everything that we can to be helpful as Morocco pursues success in each of those sectors.
A second area of discussion today concerns our growing economic and energy ties. Our free trade agreement is now almost a decade old, and it has already yielded very positive results for both sides. But we want to do better; we want to do more. We know we can. And so we’re going to talk this morning about how to ensure that the free trade agreement benefits grow in a balanced and more expansive way.
We’ll also talk about increasing our business-to-business contacts, intensifying two-way investment, and Morocco’s plan to generate at least 40 percent of its electricity from renewable sources of energy.
In Morocco, as elsewhere, young people are the key to the future. The average age in Morocco is increasing now, but unemployment rates for those people who are 15 to 24 years old and not in school still remain high. It’s a challenge. It’s a challenge everywhere, by the way. And we hope that the government’s efforts to grow the economy, coupled with a $38 million agreement through USAID, will provide the nation’s youth with the confidence and the skills that they need to make the critical leap from school to paycheck, to a good job for the long-term future.
A third focus of our dialogue concerns the value of education and people-to-people contacts. Morocco has embarked on a program of comprehensive education reforms, designed to lift the standards and provide greater opportunity to young people, to women and girls particularly. And here again, the United States is helping through a $25 million USAID grant to improve achievement at the primary school level. We’re also excited about the J. Christopher Stevens Virtual Exchange Initiative that was launched by the United States and Moroccan students this spring.
Our fourth area for discussion will highlight public institutions and civil society. The international turbulence of recent years shows how absolutely vital it is to be able to provide a peaceful outlet for political expression and to maintain governing structures that are sustained by the full support of their national populations. Morocco has the potential to be a model – the model, if you will.
But as we know from our own experience in the United States, building resilient and robust democratic institutions is a long-term job. We’re still working at it. We have our own challenges, and we know that. And so we talk with appropriate humility about any other country’s challenge, but we’re all in this together and we all have to draw from each other’s experiences and work together. Accordingly, we welcome Morocco’s effort to strengthen political parties and to give space to civil society in advance of the national elections.
We also respect His Majesty King Mohammed VI’s spiritual authority as a faith leader and his consistent and vocal opposition to any use of religion to justify violence against innocent persons.
In closing, let me just say that the foreign minister and I and our teams have a lot to discuss, as you can tell. And I very much look forward to having this discussion over the course of the day in the warmth and friendship that really does define this relationship. So I’m very pleased to yield my – the floor to my colleague and my friend, Foreign Minister Mezouar. Thank you. (Applause.)
FOREIGN MINISTER MEZOUAR: (Via interpreter.) Thank you, John, and dear friend. First of all, I would like to thank you for your kind words, for your hospitality, and for making your teams available. They worked hard. I would like to congratulate them.
And as you said, dear friend, we are two friendly countries and we have been longstanding friends, and this friendship in our context today is a fundamental basis to move ahead. It’s the fundamental basis that will allow us to face the transformations of today’s worlds with all of its complexities. And I think that our meeting of today as part of the strategic dialogue is the best message that we could convey together to say there aren’t just problems, but there’s also some progress being made. Humanity advances via crises, but also thanks to ability to ensure that progress may also be made.
I applaud – I salute the excellent relationship that we share, and this relationship that allows us doing meetings such as this one, but also doing very brief meetings that this relationship allows us to deal very quickly on the various topics, because you have the same assessments, the same analyses, but above all, we are members of the same bloc, the bloc of freedom, the camp of peace, that of democracy – the bloc of universal values, the bloc that defends the most disenfranchised, and also the bloc of solidarity. I think that these are the values that we share, and they allow us to always work with great peace of mind, to work together on the fundamental topics.
We met a year ago in Morocco, and of course, we were delighted to host you. Yes indeed, we shared some good meals, but we shared other meals, and namely our shared vision of what we wanted to be, of what we wanted to do. Morocco is a country, as you observed – is a country which is moving ahead. It’s a country which has built its model – its model of development, which is based on values, on institutions which are solid and strong. This is a country which has a history, and this history makes it stronger. This history helps us also via the reforms process that are continuing. Reforms never stop and they can never stop, because the world is moving. Societies are moving, are changing. And since the world and societies are moving and changing, well, reforms must also continue to move and change just like a society must continue to move and advance.
So Morocco does indeed appear to be this harbor of peace in a disrupted, disturbed, and ailing region of the world. We share our experiences with others, we provide our contribution, we engaged in the fight against ignorance, against extremism, because there is no war of religions, there’s no war of civilizations, but there’s a fight against ignorance. And that means that what we are engaged in together has meaning, because it’s the world as we see it, it’s societies as we perceive them, which are the engines of our actions, which are the engines of our relationships.
So I’m happy that today, once again, of the opportunity of this third strategic dialogue, that we’re able to notice that our relationship is vivacious. The advantages of these meetings that allows us to be constantly creative. They allow us to be constantly – say to yourselves we must ensure that this exceptional relationship, that this quality of relationship, it has to be supplied, it has to be complete – constantly fed, supplied; otherwise it will stagnate and it will regress.
So we are engaged in a virtuous, positive logic between our two countries. And here I would like to pay greater tribute to Ambassador Bush, who is doing a wonderful job. And also I would like to pay tribute to your teams at the State Department, who are also doing wonderful work to bring people together, to come up with imaginative things to create. I wish – would be remiss if I failed to pay tribute to our own ambassador, who is also working hard to ensure that constantly this exceptional relationship be preserved, sustained.
We talked about problems in our region. Here I would like to say two or three messages. The first message about Libya: Libya, as you know, the dialogue is taking place in Morocco, in serenity, in a state – atmosphere of responsibility. The Libyan people want peace; they want stability. The various components of the dialogue have been determined. There is a real awareness. The Libyans are capable of making peace. The Libyans are capable of getting along and the Libyans are capable of building a future within a framework of stability, as part of a modern society, an open society, with institutions that will allow them to deploy their wonderful energy. They do have that energy that will allow them to move ahead in the construction of their country, but also in the construction of the region.
Libyans need to be supported. We are engaged in a phase where the fundamental principles of the agreement have been accepted. Today, we must give this momentum and we must say and affirm that they are capable of making peace. They are capable of moving towards a political solution that will help them to overcome the difficulties that they have today.
So this is an opportunity to applaud the efforts of Bernardino Leon, who is working with great tact, with great engagement, but also applaud the various factions, the various protagonists who are engaged in the dialogue. And I am convinced that next week’s meeting will make it possible to move towards a definitive solution.
And why – I would also like to mention Yemen. We must, above all, understand that it is no longer possible to allow that in countries affected by this type of instability that legitimacy be swept aside by anyone. We must bring order back and respect. There was a dialogue and this dialogue was supposed to lead to the organization of a national unity government that would lead to new elections and representation. When units or factions start believing that, given they have a few militaries or some assets, they can destabilize states, the message that has to be retained is that – that has to be conveyed that this is fundamental. It has to be firm. It is no longer allowed that any minority, that any faction, should be able to destabilize the foundations of a state, because destabilizing the foundations of a state will bring us back to situations of insecurity, instability, always difficult to solve and which generally profit – benefit to those who know but we never think about.
So Morocco is determined, vis-a-vis values and principles. Morocco is engaged in the fight against extremism but also engaged in the fight against any type of destabilization which would lead to anarchy. So Morocco is engaged in the commission and it’s also engaged in this coalition for Yemen on the basis of values but also based on a value – on a vision of the dynamic to which the Middle East region must join, generally speaking.
I would also wish to emphasize the fact that the fight against extremism and the determination with which the coalition is acting is starting to produce results. These results are encouraging. This also encourages the Government of Iraq, which is responsible – its officials and its army – to come up with a solution that will make it possible to eradicate all forms of extremism and to fight against terrorism. So these are all – as many actions of the international community. And thanks to your leadership, dear friend, and we are all determined towards this action.
But I would also bring your attention to another aspect that should not be overlooked, that should not be forgotten. I would like to applaud your tenacity on the Israeli-Palestinian issue and on peace in this region. With determination, you led difficult negotiations. I think that this process is not over. With – this process must continue. The statement of Mr. Netanyahu is placing the international community in front of its real responsibilities, but we must never forget that peace in the Middle East will never take place as long as peace and stability in that region of the world, and especially as part of Israeli-Palestinian conflict has not been achieved.
His Majesty, the King is engaged via the committee accords to constantly provide this indispensable support to the Palestinians and particularly to the holy sites. These sites have to be protected. This is part of the heritage of humanity. They have to be protected for mankind. And Morocco, which is also engaged in this process of resumption of the dialogue, of discussion with the Quartet that had been designed by the Arab League, which had its meeting last Monday, in order to explain that we need a resumption of the process and the dialogue on the basis of engagements of the international community on behalf of the solution of two states, as it was defined – namely, the process that you have conducted yourself. Morocco will host the Summit of the Arab League next year in Morocco, and some very important topics will be on the agenda. And of course, Morocco is engaged in peace and in the rapprochement and the dialogue. This is fundamental because this period, this timeframe that we’re experiencing is sensitive, it’s explosive, and Morocco, thanks to the momentum, His Majesty, the King, is assuming the role of leadership, which is its own.
Morocco is also progressing on some various issues. You talked about them. There are two topics about which we have made some real progress – the issue of women, first of all, which was a struggle, a momentum. And thanks to His Majesty, there was this momentum. And this liberation that was conducted created for this amazing energy and skills in Morocco, and also the issue of youth. And this is an issue, of course, that we have not been working just since today. Morocco has always integrated – as part of its vision of development of society and of economic and social development, we integrate the training and the education of the youth as part of a strategy of development which is our own, and this is yielding good results, but we must continue to work even harder.
And this was part of the Global Entrepreneurial Summit that we were – had the pleasure of hosting, and you had the – gave us the honor of attending this. And this was a wonderful opportunity to show the amazing pool of talent that Morocco has in terms of creativity, of unyielding all of this power, and these means that will allow the youth to take its role and play its responsibility in the development of society. And of course, Morocco remains available to provide this expertise, this experience, as part of the upcoming summit which will take place in Nairobi, I believe, in July.
So Morocco is advancing with great serenity. Reforms are important, but in greater serenity they are done, the better it is. And it is acknowledged, appropriated by society. It is acknowledged by the political forces and the components of society. Morocco is advancing. We know we have to conduct reforms. We are conducting reforms and we’re expanding the field of liberation and of energies, and that makes the strength of our country. The strength of our country comes on the fact that we are liberating energies, and we have a leadership, because this leadership is modern. This leadership is progressive. This leadership is democratic. This leadership believes in human values.
His Majesty plays this role of leadership, but also, given the fact that we were able to build for more than a half century a momentum of political diversity and of political dialogue and of political representation, which this all allows us, indeed, to manage our differences with political alternative, with a democracy, with serenity and responsibility – and all of these things are things that we share with you, because the world also needs examples. Our relationship is an example because it is serene, it is responsible, because it looks to the future. And we all – Morocco is also an example that we share with other countries. And the stability of the region is fundamental. Previously, we mentioned the issue of the Sahara – Moroccan Sahara, and we emphasized on the fact that Morocco is a country that always looks to the future to build the future. Morocco provided concrete responses and concrete solutions via the autonomy proposal. This proposal is a proposal which moves towards integration but also towards the facilitation of the construction of the Maghreb space, and this on behalf of the populations, on behalf of the various countries.
So Morocco is a player that always looks at things positively. We have turned the page of the 25th century – we’re on the 21st century, and the 21st century has its own logic, and this logic says we must always be in a positive momentum, provide positive contributions, seek solutions, overcome the static systems of history which disrupt populations, which disrupt relations between countries. So Morocco wants to move ahead.
And we would like to thank you for the role that you play, the – your engagement on behalf of this virtuous dynamic that we want to move towards in this region with respect to the resolution of a problem which has been invented for 40 years, and which affects our territorial integrity. So these always many subjects which are important that we share, but I – once again, I would like to say I do know that you have a plane to catch. I would like to thank you for your friendship, for your availability towards Morocco. We’ll have – we have opportunities to meet once in a while in always various different locations, but these are very special moments, and we wanted to share them intensely with you on behalf of our relationship, on behalf of the friendship which unites our people here. I would like to pay tribute to the entire team which is here today, the three groups which are working, which are – the four groups, pardon me – four groups which are moving ahead with determination to provide content and to strengthen the economic component that is a momentum that has its own progression.
I would just like to conclude with one point which is important to us and that we share with you – Africa. Africa is the continent that we have to invest in. Morocco is engaging, it’s providing its experience, its expertise. We are providing our investments. We are providing human development. Morocco is providing this dimension of religious moderation which is fundamental today as part of the relationship and the stability and the stabilization of societies. We are engaged and will continue to be engaged.
When His Majesty, the King met President Obama, decided that this would be a thrust of the partnership between our countries, will provide it with more and more contact by engaging ourselves. We do know that the issue of energy is important, therefore our shared expertise should help towards, move in this dimension the issue of food security and the stabilization of populations, human development – really just development, but also investments. Morocco is the first investor, African investor in west – in Central Africa. So we are the largest African investor, which means that Morocco is engaged in this dynamic of development stabilization of Africa, which is a wonderful continent, which is a continent which has huge potential, and also needs to know that it has friends and friends that are – have wanted well, and since – we have good wishes for this continent and we’ll continue to work towards that.
Thank you once again, dear John. Thank you to all of you. (Applause.)
SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you very much, Salaheddine, very eloquent comments. And I want the record to show that even when he was being serious, he was talking about (inaudible). (Laughter.) Thank you. (Applause.)
FOREIGN MINISTER MEZOUAR: Thank you. (Applause.)
QUESTION: Can we get (inaudible)? Will Cuba be removed from the state sponsors of terror list?
SECRETARY KERRY: I can’t, I’m sorry. I can’t. I’ve got to run now.
U.S.-SOUTH KOREA ALLIANCE SOLID
Right: Defense Secretary Ash Carter meets with South Korean Minister of Defense Han Min-Koo on Pyeongtaek Naval Base, South Korea, April 10, 2015. DoD photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Sean Hurt.
Carter, South Korea’s Han Solidify Alliance
By Terri Moon Cronk
DoD News, Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON, April 10, 2015 – The U.S.-South Korea alliance has a global reach based on mutual trust and common values, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said in a joint press conference after meeting with South Korean Minister of Defense Han Min-Koo today.
As Carter begins to wrap up his first official visit to the region as defense secretary, he met with his military counterpart in Seoul.
“We've worked together [with South Korea] to counter [the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant], combat Ebola and help rebuild Afghanistan,” Carter said.
“The gains for our national, regional and global security have been impressive, and I thank the Republic of Korea for all it’s doing to ensure peace and security around the world,” the secretary added.
Defense Secretary Reaffirms Resolve, Support
Carter reaffirmed the United States' resolve and support for the alliance and the defense of the Republic of Korea, and he emphasized America's unwavering commitment to its rebalancing strategy in the Asia-Pacific region.
“In light of this, I assessed that the U.S. strategy to rebalance toward the Asia-Pacific will contribute to promoting the peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia,” Han said.
The defense leaders reaffirmed their countries’ commitments to the strong alliance and to deepening their collaboration in the years ahead, Carter noted, adding there is particular emphasis on new domains such as space and cyberspace.
North Korea Threats Pivotal to Talks
North Korea’s threats were also key to the leaders’ talk. Carter said they made a candid assessment of the growing North Korean nuclear weapon of mass destruction and ballistic missile threats, “which continue to put at risk the peace and security of the Korean Peninsula, the region, and the U.S. homeland,” he said.
And as North Korea again demonstrated with its recent missile launches, the country is intent on continued provocation, Carter said.
Han added, “Secretary Carter and I reaffirmed that we will continue to work together on reinforcing the alliance's comprehensive capabilities in response to North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile threats.”
Carter and Han also agree on the importance of trilateral information sharing to deter North Korea nuclear missile provocations, Han said.
South Korea, U.S., Japan Cooperation
“[Carter] concurred that Korea, the United States, and Japan should cooperate closely to contribute to peace and stability in Northeast Asia and the world,” the South Korean leader said.
“On the peninsula, deterrence and readiness are at a premium,” Carter said. “So, we're investing in advanced capabilities to make sure that our top, new investments are tailored to this dynamic security environment and can play a role in … assuring security here.”
To that end, he said, the United States is beginning to rotationally deploy Army brigade combat teams to Korea, providing a more ready set of forces for the peninsula.
“And we're working hard to ensure interoperability with our Korean allies, including thorough training and exercises, like Key Resolve and Foal Eagle,” Carter noted.
The defense leaders also talked about their decision to adopt a conditions-based approach to the transition of wartime operational control, Carter pointed out.
The secretary called it a significant alliance decision, and said both he and Han remain committed to the objectives their nations established at the last security consultative meeting in October 2014.
Looking at America's lasting presence in the Asia-Pacific region, Carter said, “As secretary of defense, I'm personally committed to overseeing the next phase of our rebalance to the region, which will deepen and diversify our engagement throughout the Asia Pacific.”
WHITE HOUSE FACT SHEET ON MEETING WITH CENTRAL AMERICA INTEGRATION SYSTEM MEMBERS
FROM: THE WHITE HOUSE CENTRAL AMERICA
April 10, 2015
FACT SHEET: U.S. Cooperation with Central America; Meeting with Members of the Central America Integration System (SICA)
At the 2015 Summit of the Americas in Panama, President Obama met with the leaders of Central America Integration System (SICA) member states and the SICA Secretary General on April 10 to underscore the strong U.S. commitment to, and partnership with, Central America. The U.S. Strategy for Engagement in Central America promotes the goal of an economically integrated region that provides economic opportunities to its people, enjoys more accountable, transparent, and effective public institutions, and ensures a safe environment for its citizens.
President Obama requested $1 billion from the U.S. Congress for Fiscal Year 2016 in support of the U.S. Strategy for Engagement in Central America in all seven Central American nations. While the United States will prioritize assistance to the Northern Triangle – El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras – our strategy is region-wide. Central America’s prosperity and security, its opportunities and challenges, are inextricably linked and have a direct impact on the rest of the hemisphere.
Eleven years have passed since the August 2004 signing of the Dominican Republic-Central America - United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR), when our countries committed to promote economic growth, expand trade and investment opportunities, and strengthen both regional integration and competitiveness of the parties, yielding positive results for the seven partners of this trading bloc.
Higher and sustained growth is required to create opportunity and reduce poverty. Despite the economic challenges faced by the world economy in recent years, the intra-regional trade among Central American countries and the Dominican Republic increased from US$6.3 billion in 2010 to more than US$8 billion by 2014. U.S goods exports to Central America and the Dominican Republic in 2014 were $31.3 billion, up 99 percent from 2004; U.S. good imports from Central America and the Dominican Republic totaled $28.4 billion in 2014, up 60 percent over that same period. These increased trade flows are promising, and stronger economic growth is possible with greater economic integration.
At the meeting with SICA Heads of State, President Obama encouraged his counterparts to pursue regional integration, promote trade facilitation, and approach security as a region. He also noted that sustainable economic growth is more likely when a country enjoys transparent, accountable democratic institutions and a strong commitment to citizen security.
Promoting Regional Economic Integration and Growth
Central America’s place at the geographic crossroads of this hemisphere is a tremendous economic asset. In order to make the most of this advantage, Central American nations should continue to work together to integrate and grow their economies by reducing tariffs, investing in infrastructure and border facilities, streamlining customs procedures, and partnering with each other on issues such as energy. The region is the focal point of the Connecting the Americas 2022 initiative, which will help attract investment in clean energy and reduce energy costs by interconnecting the region’s electricity markets. The United States has just launched a $20 million facility to drive private sector investment into clean energy projects in the Caribbean and Central America. The Facility will provide early-stage funding to catalyze larger private sector investment in clean energy projects. The United States will also partner with Central American and Caribbean countries in a task force to evaluate our progress on energy cooperation and identify concrete steps to advance energy sector reform, regional integration, and clean energy development.
Countries should accelerate actions such as improved access to and quality of education, vocational training opportunities, and small business development models to encourage entrepreneurship and ensure growth that is broad-based and equitable. By improving public financial management, governments also will be better equipped to make key public investments, provide critical public services, improve fiscal transparency and over time decrease the need for international donor support. Deeper regional integration can also help build resilience against destabilizing events such as natural disasters, for example through pooled efforts to insure against risk.
Cooperating on Violence Prevention and Combating Crime
U.S. engagement on security complements the efforts of host nations and like-minded donors to reduce levels of crime and violence, strengthen rule of law institutions, and help address the root causes of insecurity that impede broader economic development and social inclusion. Our programs in Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala amplify local government efforts to promote crime prevention and police capacity-building in the most adversely affected communities. We are similarly united in our efforts to combat transnational organized, crime, including by providing support to improve land border and maritime interdiction throughout the region, and cooperating with partner nations to investigate and prosecute those who conduct human smuggling operations exploiting the desperation of parents and children making the dangerous journey north. In Panama, the Regional Border Management Academy conducts training of border officials, while in Costa Rica, our assistance to prisons, border police training, and support for nationwide use of data-driven policing is positioning them as a regional model.
In November 2014, the U.S. Department of State announced its in-country refugee processing program in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. The program is part of the Obama Administration’s response to last summer’s influx of unaccompanied children and families fleeing to the United States from Central America and will work to provide a safe, legal, and orderly alternative to the dangerous journey that some children are currently undertaking to the United States. The new program allows parents from those nations, who are lawfully present in the United States, to submit an application to have their children join them in the United States if they qualify for refugee status or humanitarian parole.
Sustaining Economic and Security Gains through Accountable Governance
The enabling environment for sustained growth, stability and prosperity for the region will require good governance, including support for democratic values, strengthening of criminal justice and other legal institutions to combat impunity and promote the rule of law, and advancing rights and protections for civil society and the media. The private sector, small business owners, and international investors want confidence in the security of their investment and assurances that business dealings are fair and legal. Institutions must establish a pattern of transparency, accountability, effectiveness, and independence.
April 10, 2015
FACT SHEET: U.S. Cooperation with Central America; Meeting with Members of the Central America Integration System (SICA)
At the 2015 Summit of the Americas in Panama, President Obama met with the leaders of Central America Integration System (SICA) member states and the SICA Secretary General on April 10 to underscore the strong U.S. commitment to, and partnership with, Central America. The U.S. Strategy for Engagement in Central America promotes the goal of an economically integrated region that provides economic opportunities to its people, enjoys more accountable, transparent, and effective public institutions, and ensures a safe environment for its citizens.
President Obama requested $1 billion from the U.S. Congress for Fiscal Year 2016 in support of the U.S. Strategy for Engagement in Central America in all seven Central American nations. While the United States will prioritize assistance to the Northern Triangle – El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras – our strategy is region-wide. Central America’s prosperity and security, its opportunities and challenges, are inextricably linked and have a direct impact on the rest of the hemisphere.
Eleven years have passed since the August 2004 signing of the Dominican Republic-Central America - United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR), when our countries committed to promote economic growth, expand trade and investment opportunities, and strengthen both regional integration and competitiveness of the parties, yielding positive results for the seven partners of this trading bloc.
Higher and sustained growth is required to create opportunity and reduce poverty. Despite the economic challenges faced by the world economy in recent years, the intra-regional trade among Central American countries and the Dominican Republic increased from US$6.3 billion in 2010 to more than US$8 billion by 2014. U.S goods exports to Central America and the Dominican Republic in 2014 were $31.3 billion, up 99 percent from 2004; U.S. good imports from Central America and the Dominican Republic totaled $28.4 billion in 2014, up 60 percent over that same period. These increased trade flows are promising, and stronger economic growth is possible with greater economic integration.
At the meeting with SICA Heads of State, President Obama encouraged his counterparts to pursue regional integration, promote trade facilitation, and approach security as a region. He also noted that sustainable economic growth is more likely when a country enjoys transparent, accountable democratic institutions and a strong commitment to citizen security.
Promoting Regional Economic Integration and Growth
Central America’s place at the geographic crossroads of this hemisphere is a tremendous economic asset. In order to make the most of this advantage, Central American nations should continue to work together to integrate and grow their economies by reducing tariffs, investing in infrastructure and border facilities, streamlining customs procedures, and partnering with each other on issues such as energy. The region is the focal point of the Connecting the Americas 2022 initiative, which will help attract investment in clean energy and reduce energy costs by interconnecting the region’s electricity markets. The United States has just launched a $20 million facility to drive private sector investment into clean energy projects in the Caribbean and Central America. The Facility will provide early-stage funding to catalyze larger private sector investment in clean energy projects. The United States will also partner with Central American and Caribbean countries in a task force to evaluate our progress on energy cooperation and identify concrete steps to advance energy sector reform, regional integration, and clean energy development.
Countries should accelerate actions such as improved access to and quality of education, vocational training opportunities, and small business development models to encourage entrepreneurship and ensure growth that is broad-based and equitable. By improving public financial management, governments also will be better equipped to make key public investments, provide critical public services, improve fiscal transparency and over time decrease the need for international donor support. Deeper regional integration can also help build resilience against destabilizing events such as natural disasters, for example through pooled efforts to insure against risk.
Cooperating on Violence Prevention and Combating Crime
U.S. engagement on security complements the efforts of host nations and like-minded donors to reduce levels of crime and violence, strengthen rule of law institutions, and help address the root causes of insecurity that impede broader economic development and social inclusion. Our programs in Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala amplify local government efforts to promote crime prevention and police capacity-building in the most adversely affected communities. We are similarly united in our efforts to combat transnational organized, crime, including by providing support to improve land border and maritime interdiction throughout the region, and cooperating with partner nations to investigate and prosecute those who conduct human smuggling operations exploiting the desperation of parents and children making the dangerous journey north. In Panama, the Regional Border Management Academy conducts training of border officials, while in Costa Rica, our assistance to prisons, border police training, and support for nationwide use of data-driven policing is positioning them as a regional model.
In November 2014, the U.S. Department of State announced its in-country refugee processing program in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. The program is part of the Obama Administration’s response to last summer’s influx of unaccompanied children and families fleeing to the United States from Central America and will work to provide a safe, legal, and orderly alternative to the dangerous journey that some children are currently undertaking to the United States. The new program allows parents from those nations, who are lawfully present in the United States, to submit an application to have their children join them in the United States if they qualify for refugee status or humanitarian parole.
Sustaining Economic and Security Gains through Accountable Governance
The enabling environment for sustained growth, stability and prosperity for the region will require good governance, including support for democratic values, strengthening of criminal justice and other legal institutions to combat impunity and promote the rule of law, and advancing rights and protections for civil society and the media. The private sector, small business owners, and international investors want confidence in the security of their investment and assurances that business dealings are fair and legal. Institutions must establish a pattern of transparency, accountability, effectiveness, and independence.
VA ANNOUNCES POTENTIAL EXPOSURES AT FORT MCCLELLAN ARMY INSTALLATION
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
Potential Exposure at Fort McClellan
Fort McClellan was an Army installation in Alabama that opened in 1917.
Some members of the U.S. Army Chemical Corp School, Army Combat Development Command Chemical/Biological/Radiological Agency, Army Military Police School and Women's Army Corps, among others, may have been exposed to one or more of several hazardous materials, likely at low levels, during their service at Fort McClellan. Potential exposures could have included, but are not limited to, the following:
Radioactive compounds (cesium-137 and cobalt-60) used in decontamination training activities in isolated locations on base.
Chemical warfare agents (mustard gas and nerve agents) used in decontamination testing activities in isolated locations on base.
Airborne polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from the Monsanto plant in the neighboring town.
Although exposures to high levels of these compounds have been shown to cause a variety of adverse health effects in humans and laboratory animals, there is no evidence of exposures of this magnitude having occurred at Fort McClellan.
PCBs and the Monsanto chemical plant
From 1929 to 1971, an off-post Monsanto chemical plant operated south of Fort McClellan in Anniston. PCBs from the plant entered into the environment, and the surrounding community was exposed.
In 2013, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) completed an assessment of the potential health risks caused by airborne PCBs in Anniston and concluded that the concentrations found were "not expected to result in an increased cancer risk or other harmful health effects in people living in the neighborhoods outside the perimeter of the former PCB manufacturing facility."
Fort McClellan today
Fort McClellan closed in 1999 as part of the Army Base Closure and Realignment Committee (BRAC) program. The BRAC legislation required the environmental cleanup of Fort McClellan prior to its transfer to the public domain. Oversight of parts of the base have since been transferred to the Alabama Army National Guard, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Justice, and the Department of the Interior, as well as to the community of Anniston, where the re-development and re-use of the land is overseen by the McClellan Development Authority.
Veteran health care and compensation benefits
Veterans who are experiencing health issues that they associate with their service while at Fort McClellan should see their primary care provider or contact their local Environmental Health Coordinator.
Potential Exposure at Fort McClellan
Fort McClellan was an Army installation in Alabama that opened in 1917.
Some members of the U.S. Army Chemical Corp School, Army Combat Development Command Chemical/Biological/Radiological Agency, Army Military Police School and Women's Army Corps, among others, may have been exposed to one or more of several hazardous materials, likely at low levels, during their service at Fort McClellan. Potential exposures could have included, but are not limited to, the following:
Radioactive compounds (cesium-137 and cobalt-60) used in decontamination training activities in isolated locations on base.
Chemical warfare agents (mustard gas and nerve agents) used in decontamination testing activities in isolated locations on base.
Airborne polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from the Monsanto plant in the neighboring town.
Although exposures to high levels of these compounds have been shown to cause a variety of adverse health effects in humans and laboratory animals, there is no evidence of exposures of this magnitude having occurred at Fort McClellan.
PCBs and the Monsanto chemical plant
From 1929 to 1971, an off-post Monsanto chemical plant operated south of Fort McClellan in Anniston. PCBs from the plant entered into the environment, and the surrounding community was exposed.
In 2013, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) completed an assessment of the potential health risks caused by airborne PCBs in Anniston and concluded that the concentrations found were "not expected to result in an increased cancer risk or other harmful health effects in people living in the neighborhoods outside the perimeter of the former PCB manufacturing facility."
Fort McClellan today
Fort McClellan closed in 1999 as part of the Army Base Closure and Realignment Committee (BRAC) program. The BRAC legislation required the environmental cleanup of Fort McClellan prior to its transfer to the public domain. Oversight of parts of the base have since been transferred to the Alabama Army National Guard, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Justice, and the Department of the Interior, as well as to the community of Anniston, where the re-development and re-use of the land is overseen by the McClellan Development Authority.
Veteran health care and compensation benefits
Veterans who are experiencing health issues that they associate with their service while at Fort McClellan should see their primary care provider or contact their local Environmental Health Coordinator.
WHITE HOUSE FACT SHEET ON U.S.-CARICOM SUMMIT
FROM: THE WHITE HOUSE
April 09, 2015
FACT SHEET: U.S.-CARICOM Summit – Deepening Energy Cooperation
Today, President Obama met with Caribbean leaders in a U.S.-CARICOM Summit in Kingston, Jamaica. President Obama reaffirmed the importance of our relationship with the region, and the United States’ commitment to partner with Caribbean countries to advance economic development, security, and good governance. Leaders discussed a broad range of issues, from our important trade and investment linkages to security cooperation.
The leaders’ discussion focused on the importance of improving energy security, reducing energy costs, and fighting climate change. This follows robust engagement on these issues over the last year, including the White House Caribbean Energy Security Summit hosted by the Vice President in January 2015 and the launch of the Caribbean Energy Security Initiative (CESI) coordinated by the Department of State. The United States is deepening this collaboration through the following initiatives:
Clean Energy Finance Facility for the Caribbean and Central American (CEFF-CCA): The United States will launch a $20 million facility to encourage investment in clean energy projects. The facility will provide early-stage funding to catalyze greater private and public sector investment in clean energy projects. It will draw on the expertise of the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) in coordination with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Department of State.
Energy Security Task Force: The United States will partner with Caribbean and Central American countries in a task force to evaluate progress in our cooperation and identify concrete steps to advance energy sector reform, regional integration, and clean energy development.
Clean Energy Finance: In January, OPIC formed a dedicated financing and insurance team to advance development of the Caribbean renewable energy sector. OPIC is in advanced talks to finance a 20 MW solar farm in Jamaica, and has already committed financing to Jamaica’s largest private-sector wind farm, a 36 MW facility in Malvern, St. Elizabeth Parish. OPIC is actively looking for opportunities to support solar and wind energy projects in Jamaica and throughout the broader Caribbean region.
Clean Energy Technology Collaboration: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Jamaica’s Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy, and Mining signed a statement of intent today to advance our shared interest in sustainable energy. Areas for potential cooperation include energy conservation and efficiency, energy infrastructure, micro grids and energy storage, fuel diversification, and energy policy.
Clean Energy Economy Transition: The Department of Energy assembled U.S. and Caribbean stakeholder working groups to look at opportunities ranging from clean energy, efficiency, diversifying electricity generation, clean transportation and energy education, at the Caribbean Clean Energy Technology Symposium, held in St. Thomas in March. The working groups will report on progress at the 2016 Symposium to be hosted by Jamaica. Also, the Department of Energy will launch a new Energy Scenario Planning Tool¸ building on its Energy Transitions: Island Playbook, to help island communities plan clean energy projects that are most likely to attract investment, capitalize on local resources, and meet energy needs.
Greening Tourism: The tourism industry is the largest energy user in the Caribbean. The Department of Energy, with its Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and OPIC are undertaking the Caribbean Hotel Energy Efficiency and Renewables (CHEER) initiative, which supports projects to improve energy and water efficiency as well as the exchange of best practices in the hotel and tourism industry. USAID is launching a complementary project focused on the Eastern Caribbean that will develop new financing tools for energy efficiency and renewables.
Jamaica Clean Energy Program: USAID is working with the Government of Jamaica and the private sector on a new integrated Clean Energy Program to establish the pre-conditions for clean energy development, optimize renewable energy integration, and accelerate private-sector clean energy investment.
April 09, 2015
FACT SHEET: U.S.-CARICOM Summit – Deepening Energy Cooperation
Today, President Obama met with Caribbean leaders in a U.S.-CARICOM Summit in Kingston, Jamaica. President Obama reaffirmed the importance of our relationship with the region, and the United States’ commitment to partner with Caribbean countries to advance economic development, security, and good governance. Leaders discussed a broad range of issues, from our important trade and investment linkages to security cooperation.
The leaders’ discussion focused on the importance of improving energy security, reducing energy costs, and fighting climate change. This follows robust engagement on these issues over the last year, including the White House Caribbean Energy Security Summit hosted by the Vice President in January 2015 and the launch of the Caribbean Energy Security Initiative (CESI) coordinated by the Department of State. The United States is deepening this collaboration through the following initiatives:
Clean Energy Finance Facility for the Caribbean and Central American (CEFF-CCA): The United States will launch a $20 million facility to encourage investment in clean energy projects. The facility will provide early-stage funding to catalyze greater private and public sector investment in clean energy projects. It will draw on the expertise of the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) in coordination with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Department of State.
Energy Security Task Force: The United States will partner with Caribbean and Central American countries in a task force to evaluate progress in our cooperation and identify concrete steps to advance energy sector reform, regional integration, and clean energy development.
Clean Energy Finance: In January, OPIC formed a dedicated financing and insurance team to advance development of the Caribbean renewable energy sector. OPIC is in advanced talks to finance a 20 MW solar farm in Jamaica, and has already committed financing to Jamaica’s largest private-sector wind farm, a 36 MW facility in Malvern, St. Elizabeth Parish. OPIC is actively looking for opportunities to support solar and wind energy projects in Jamaica and throughout the broader Caribbean region.
Clean Energy Technology Collaboration: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Jamaica’s Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy, and Mining signed a statement of intent today to advance our shared interest in sustainable energy. Areas for potential cooperation include energy conservation and efficiency, energy infrastructure, micro grids and energy storage, fuel diversification, and energy policy.
Clean Energy Economy Transition: The Department of Energy assembled U.S. and Caribbean stakeholder working groups to look at opportunities ranging from clean energy, efficiency, diversifying electricity generation, clean transportation and energy education, at the Caribbean Clean Energy Technology Symposium, held in St. Thomas in March. The working groups will report on progress at the 2016 Symposium to be hosted by Jamaica. Also, the Department of Energy will launch a new Energy Scenario Planning Tool¸ building on its Energy Transitions: Island Playbook, to help island communities plan clean energy projects that are most likely to attract investment, capitalize on local resources, and meet energy needs.
Greening Tourism: The tourism industry is the largest energy user in the Caribbean. The Department of Energy, with its Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and OPIC are undertaking the Caribbean Hotel Energy Efficiency and Renewables (CHEER) initiative, which supports projects to improve energy and water efficiency as well as the exchange of best practices in the hotel and tourism industry. USAID is launching a complementary project focused on the Eastern Caribbean that will develop new financing tools for energy efficiency and renewables.
Jamaica Clean Energy Program: USAID is working with the Government of Jamaica and the private sector on a new integrated Clean Energy Program to establish the pre-conditions for clean energy development, optimize renewable energy integration, and accelerate private-sector clean energy investment.
Saturday, April 11, 2015
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