FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Friday, August 30, 2013
Three Former Broker-dealer Employees Plead Guilty in Manhattan Federal Court to Bribery of Foreign Officials, Money Laundering and Conspiracy to Obstruct Justice
Three employees of a New York-based U.S. broker-dealer have pleaded guilty for their roles in bribery schemes involving two state economic development banks in Venezuela.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara of the Southern District of New York and Assistant Director in Charge George Venizelos of the New York Office of the FBI made the announcement.
Ernesto Lujan, Jose Alejandro Hurtado and Tomas Alberto Clarke Bethancourt pleaded guilty in New York federal court to conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), to violate the Travel Act and to commit money laundering, as well as substantive counts of these offenses. These charges relate to a scheme to bribe a foreign official named Maria de los Angeles Gonzalez de Hernandez at Banco de Desarrollo Económico y Social de Venezuela (BANDES), a state economic development bank in Venezuela, in exchange for receiving trading business from BANDES. Lujan, Hurtado and Clarke each also pleaded guilty to an additional charge of conspiring to violate the FCPA in connection with a similar scheme to bribe a foreign official employed by Banfoandes (the “Banfoandes Foreign Official”), another state economic development bank in Venezuela, and to conspiring to obstruct an examination by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the New York-based broker-dealer (the “Broker-Dealer”) where all three defendants had worked, to conceal the true facts of the Broker-Dealer’s relationship with BANDES.
Lujan, 50, and Clarke, 43, entered their guilty pleas yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge James C. Francis IV, and Hurtado, 38, pleaded guilty today, also before Judge Francis. The men each pleaded guilty to the same six offenses and face a maximum penalty of five years in prison on each count except money laundering, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Sentencing for Lujan and Clarke is scheduled for Feb. 11, 2014, before U.S. District Judge Paul G. Gardephe. Hurtado is scheduled for sentencing before U.S. District Judge Harold Baer Jr. on March 6, 2014.
According to the informations filed against Lujan, Hurtado and Clarke this week, the criminal complaints previously filed, and statements made during the plea proceedings, Lujan, Clarke and Hurtado worked or were associated with the Broker-Dealer, principally through its Miami offices. In 2008, the Broker-Dealer established a group called the Global Markets Group, which included Lujan, Clarke and Hurtado, and which offered fixed income trading services to institutional clients.
One of the Broker-Dealer’s clients was BANDES, which operated under the direction of the Venezuelan Ministry of Finance. The Venezuelan government had a majority ownership interest in BANDES and provided it with substantial funding. Gonzalez was an official at BANDES and oversaw the development bank’s overseas trading activity. At her direction, BANDES conducted substantial trading through the Broker-Dealer. Most of the trades executed by the Broker-Dealer on behalf of BANDES involved fixed-income investments for which the Broker-Dealer charged the bank a mark-up on purchases and a mark-down on sales.
The Broker-Dealer also conducted business with Banfoandes, another state development bank in Venezuela that, along with its 2009 successor Banco Bicentenario, operated under the direction of the Venezuelan Ministry of Finance. Banfoandes acted as a financial agent of the Venezuelan government in order to promote economic and social development by, among other things, offering credit to low-income Venezuelans. The Banfoandes Foreign Official was responsible for some of Banfoandes’s foreign investments.
Court records state that from early 2009 through 2012, Lujan, Clarke and Hurtado participated in a bribery scheme in which Gonzalez allegedly directed trading business she controlled at BANDES to the Broker-Dealer, and in return, agents and employees of the Broker-Dealer split the revenue the Broker-Dealer generated from this trading business with Gonzalez. During this time period, the Broker-Dealer generated over $60 million in mark-ups and mark-downs from trades with BANDES. Agents and employees of the Broker-Dealer, including Lujan, Clarke and Hurtado, devised a split with Gonzalez of the commissions paid by BANDES to the Broker-Dealer. Emails, account records and other documents collected from the Broker-Dealer and other sources reveal that Gonzalez allegedly received a substantial share of the revenue generated by the Broker-Dealer for BANDES-related trades. Specifically, Gonzalez allegedly received kickbacks and payments from Broker-Dealer agents and employees that were frequently in six-figure amounts.
To further conceal the scheme, the kickbacks to Gonzalez were often paid using intermediary corporations and offshore accounts that she held in Switzerland, among other places. For instance, Lujan, Clarke and Hurtado used accounts they controlled in Switzerland to transfer funds to an account Gonzalez allegedly controlled in Switzerland. Additionally, Hurtado and his spouse received substantial compensation from the Broker-Dealer, portions of which Hurtado transferred to an account allegedly held by Gonzalez in Miami and to an account held by an associate of Gonzalez in Switzerland. Hurtado also sought and allegedly received reimbursement from Gonzalez for the U.S. income taxes he had paid on money that he used to make kickback payments to Gonzalez. Lujan and Clarke also derived substantial profit from their roles in the bribery scheme.
According to court records, beginning in or about November 2010, the SEC commenced a periodic examination of the Broker-Dealer, and from November 2010 through March 2011 the SEC’s examination staff made several visits to the Broker-Dealer’s offices in Manhattan. In early 2011, Lujan, Clarke and Hurtado discussed their concern that the SEC was examining the Broker-Dealer’s relationship with BANDES and asking questions regarding certain emails and other information that the SEC examination staff had discovered. Lujan, Clarke and Hurtado agreed that they would take steps to conceal the true facts of the Broker-Dealer’s relationship with BANDES, including deleting emails. Lujan, Clarke and Hurtado then, in fact, deleted emails. Additionally as part of this effort to obstruct the SEC examination, Clarke lied to SEC examination staff in response to an interview question about his relationship to an individual who had received purported foreign associate payments relating to BANDES.
In a related scheme, from 2008 through mid-2009, Lujan, Clarke and Hurtado paid bribes to the Banfoandes Foreign Official, who, in exchange, directed Banfoandes trading business to the Broker-Dealer.
Gonzalez was charged in a criminal complaint and arrested on May 3, 2013, in connection with the BANDES bribery scheme. The charges against Gonzalez are merely accusations, and she is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
This ongoing investigation is being conducted by the FBI, with assistance from the SEC and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.
Assistant Chief James Koukios and Trial Attorneys Maria Gonzalez Calvet and Aisling O’Shea of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Harry A. Chernoff and Jason H. Cowley of the Southern District of New York’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force are in charge of the prosecution. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolina Fornos is responsible for the forfeiture aspects of the case.
Sunday, September 1, 2013
USDA SAYS CHINA'S PROCESSED POULTRY FOOD SAFETY INSPECTION SYSTEM EQUIVALENT TO U.S.
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
FSIS Reaffirms Equivalence of China’s Poultry Processing System
WASHINGTON, August 30, 2013– The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) today re-affirms the equivalence of the food safety inspection system for processed poultry in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), which was originally established in 2006. This will enable the PRC to certify plants to export processed poultry product to the United States.
Additional information on this topic may be found on the FSIS website:
Poultry Processing Inspection System Audit Report for the People’s Republic of China
Frequently Asked Questions
While the PRC received approval to export processed poultry products to the United States, the raw poultry used for these products must originate in the United States or Canada. As of this announcement, no companies in the PRC are certified to export processed poultry to the United States.
FSIS is currently auditing the PRC’s slaughter inspection system. At this time, no chickens raised or slaughtered in the PRC can be shipped to the United States.
FSIS utilizes a comprehensive, three-part system for both establishing initial equivalence and ensuring the ongoing equivalence of countries that export regulated products to the United States. A foreign country’s inspection system must ensure that establishments preparing poultry products for import into the Unites States comply with requirements equivalent to those in the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA) and in FSIS regulations. Once a country’s inspection system is granted equivalence, FSIS conducts periodic verification reviews and audits of exporting establishments. In addition, products undergo re-inspection at U.S. ports-of-entry to check for proper certification, labeling, transportation damage and general condition. Selected shipments are subject to additional re-inspection procedures, including examinations for product defects and laboratory analyses to detect harmful chemical residues or pathogen testing appropriate for the products. FSIS performs increased import re-inspection activities for countries that are beginning to export product to the Unites States.
FSIS Reaffirms Equivalence of China’s Poultry Processing System
WASHINGTON, August 30, 2013– The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) today re-affirms the equivalence of the food safety inspection system for processed poultry in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), which was originally established in 2006. This will enable the PRC to certify plants to export processed poultry product to the United States.
Additional information on this topic may be found on the FSIS website:
Poultry Processing Inspection System Audit Report for the People’s Republic of China
Frequently Asked Questions
While the PRC received approval to export processed poultry products to the United States, the raw poultry used for these products must originate in the United States or Canada. As of this announcement, no companies in the PRC are certified to export processed poultry to the United States.
FSIS is currently auditing the PRC’s slaughter inspection system. At this time, no chickens raised or slaughtered in the PRC can be shipped to the United States.
FSIS utilizes a comprehensive, three-part system for both establishing initial equivalence and ensuring the ongoing equivalence of countries that export regulated products to the United States. A foreign country’s inspection system must ensure that establishments preparing poultry products for import into the Unites States comply with requirements equivalent to those in the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA) and in FSIS regulations. Once a country’s inspection system is granted equivalence, FSIS conducts periodic verification reviews and audits of exporting establishments. In addition, products undergo re-inspection at U.S. ports-of-entry to check for proper certification, labeling, transportation damage and general condition. Selected shipments are subject to additional re-inspection procedures, including examinations for product defects and laboratory analyses to detect harmful chemical residues or pathogen testing appropriate for the products. FSIS performs increased import re-inspection activities for countries that are beginning to export product to the Unites States.
SMART MATERIALS AND THE DESIGN OF EARTHQUAKE-RESISTANT BRIDGES
FROM: NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Strong, elastic 'smart materials' aid design of earthquake-resistant bridges
Bridges are a main component of the transportation infrastructure as we know it today. There are no less than 575,000 highway bridges nationwide, and more than $5 billion are allocated yearly from the federal budget for bridge repairs.
Over the past couple of decades, increasing seismic activity around the world has been identified as an impending threat to the strength and well-being of our bridges. Earthquakes have caused bridge collapses in the U.S., Japan, Taiwan, China, Chile, Turkey, and elsewhere. Therefore, we need to find ways to minimize seismic effects on bridges, both by improving existing bridges and refining specifications and construction materials for future bridges.
A large majority of bridges are made of steel and concrete. While this combination is convenient and economical, steel-concrete bridges don't hold up as well in strong earthquakes (7.0 magnitude or higher). Conventional reinforced columns rely on the steel and concrete to dissipate energy during strong earthquakes, potentially creating permanent deformation and damage in the column and making the column unusable.
Under earthquake loading, engineers allow for damage in column hinges to dissipate energy and prevent total bridge collapse. While that practice is widely accepted, the effects of hinge damage can interfere with disaster recovery operations and have a major economic impact on the community.
With funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and using NSF's George E. Brown, Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES), civil engineer M. Saiid Saiidi of the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR), and his colleagues have discovered a solution. They've identified several smart materials as alternatives to steel and concrete in bridges.
Shape memory alloys (SMAs) are unique in their ability to endure heavy strain and still return to their original state, either through heating or superelasticity. SMAs demonstrate an ability to re-center bridge columns, which minimizes the permanent tilt columns can experience after an earthquake.
Nickel titanium, or nitinol, the shape memory alloy tested in the UNR project, has a unique ability even amongst SMAs. While the majority of SMAs are only temperature-sensitive, meaning that they require a heat source to return to their original shape, Nitinol is also superelastic. This means that it can absorb the stress imposed by an earthquake and return to its original shape, which makes nitinol a particularly advantageous alternative to steel. In fact, the superelasticity of nickel titanium is between 10 to 30 times the elasticity of normal metals like steel.
Many of us know nickel titanium from our flexible prescription eyeglass frames. The material allows frames to easily return to their original shape after being bent in any direction. Nickel titanium's uses are extremely varied, with applications that range from medicine to heat engines, lifting devices and even novelty toys--and now, earthquake engineering.
To assess the performance of nickel-titanium reinforced concrete bridges, the researchers analyzed three types of bridge columns: traditional steel and concrete, nickel titanium and concrete, and nickel titanium and engineered cementitious composites (ECC), which include cement, sand, water, fiber and chemicals. First, they modeled and tested the columns in OpenSEES, an earthquake simulation program developed at the University of California, Berkeley. Finally, they assembled and tested the columns on the UNR NEES shake table.
To strengthen the concrete and prevent immediate failure in an earthquake, the researchers used the shake tables to test glass and carbon fiber-reinforced polymer composites. Both composites substantially enhanced the reinforcing properties of concrete and the columns resisted strong earthquake forces with minor damage.
The results of both the modeling and shake table tests were extremely promising. The nickel titanium/ECC bridge columns outperformed the traditional steel and concrete bridge columns on all levels, limiting the amount of damage that the bridge would sustain under strong earthquakes.
While the initial cost of a typical bridge made of nickel titanium and ECC would be about 3 percent higher than the cost of a conventional bridge, the bridge's lifetime cost would decrease. Not only would the bridge require less repair, it would also be serviceable in the event of moderate and strong earthquakes. As a result, following a strong earthquake, the bridge would remain open to emergency vehicles and other traffic.
-- Misha Raffiee, California Institute of Technology
About the author: Misha Raffiee is a sophomore undergraduate at the California Institute of Technology, but she began work with UNR on the NSF/NEES 4-Span Bridge Project following her graduation from high school at age 15. As an undergraduate research fellow, Raffiee was given the opportunity to conduct her own complementary research, a feasibility study of copper-based shape memory alloys and ECC. Copper-based SMAs, such as copper-aluminum-beryllium (CuAlBe) are predicted to be more cost-effective than other shape memory alloys, such as nickel titanium. Using computer modeling and testing in the Open System for Earthquake Engineering Simulation with the results from the nickel titanium-reinforced concrete runs, Raffiee was able to assess the performance of a unique CuAlBe and ECC column. She presented her findings at NSF's Young Researcher's Symposium at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and later assisted in presentations of the nickel titanium-reinforced concrete column project at an NSF showcase event held at the United States Senate. Raffiee credits the experience as an NSF/NEES Undergraduate Research Fellow with helping her grow both as a researcher and as a scholar, solidifying her post-graduate aspirations.
Strong, elastic 'smart materials' aid design of earthquake-resistant bridges
Bridges are a main component of the transportation infrastructure as we know it today. There are no less than 575,000 highway bridges nationwide, and more than $5 billion are allocated yearly from the federal budget for bridge repairs.
Over the past couple of decades, increasing seismic activity around the world has been identified as an impending threat to the strength and well-being of our bridges. Earthquakes have caused bridge collapses in the U.S., Japan, Taiwan, China, Chile, Turkey, and elsewhere. Therefore, we need to find ways to minimize seismic effects on bridges, both by improving existing bridges and refining specifications and construction materials for future bridges.
A large majority of bridges are made of steel and concrete. While this combination is convenient and economical, steel-concrete bridges don't hold up as well in strong earthquakes (7.0 magnitude or higher). Conventional reinforced columns rely on the steel and concrete to dissipate energy during strong earthquakes, potentially creating permanent deformation and damage in the column and making the column unusable.
Under earthquake loading, engineers allow for damage in column hinges to dissipate energy and prevent total bridge collapse. While that practice is widely accepted, the effects of hinge damage can interfere with disaster recovery operations and have a major economic impact on the community.
With funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and using NSF's George E. Brown, Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES), civil engineer M. Saiid Saiidi of the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR), and his colleagues have discovered a solution. They've identified several smart materials as alternatives to steel and concrete in bridges.
Shape memory alloys (SMAs) are unique in their ability to endure heavy strain and still return to their original state, either through heating or superelasticity. SMAs demonstrate an ability to re-center bridge columns, which minimizes the permanent tilt columns can experience after an earthquake.
Nickel titanium, or nitinol, the shape memory alloy tested in the UNR project, has a unique ability even amongst SMAs. While the majority of SMAs are only temperature-sensitive, meaning that they require a heat source to return to their original shape, Nitinol is also superelastic. This means that it can absorb the stress imposed by an earthquake and return to its original shape, which makes nitinol a particularly advantageous alternative to steel. In fact, the superelasticity of nickel titanium is between 10 to 30 times the elasticity of normal metals like steel.
Many of us know nickel titanium from our flexible prescription eyeglass frames. The material allows frames to easily return to their original shape after being bent in any direction. Nickel titanium's uses are extremely varied, with applications that range from medicine to heat engines, lifting devices and even novelty toys--and now, earthquake engineering.
To assess the performance of nickel-titanium reinforced concrete bridges, the researchers analyzed three types of bridge columns: traditional steel and concrete, nickel titanium and concrete, and nickel titanium and engineered cementitious composites (ECC), which include cement, sand, water, fiber and chemicals. First, they modeled and tested the columns in OpenSEES, an earthquake simulation program developed at the University of California, Berkeley. Finally, they assembled and tested the columns on the UNR NEES shake table.
To strengthen the concrete and prevent immediate failure in an earthquake, the researchers used the shake tables to test glass and carbon fiber-reinforced polymer composites. Both composites substantially enhanced the reinforcing properties of concrete and the columns resisted strong earthquake forces with minor damage.
The results of both the modeling and shake table tests were extremely promising. The nickel titanium/ECC bridge columns outperformed the traditional steel and concrete bridge columns on all levels, limiting the amount of damage that the bridge would sustain under strong earthquakes.
While the initial cost of a typical bridge made of nickel titanium and ECC would be about 3 percent higher than the cost of a conventional bridge, the bridge's lifetime cost would decrease. Not only would the bridge require less repair, it would also be serviceable in the event of moderate and strong earthquakes. As a result, following a strong earthquake, the bridge would remain open to emergency vehicles and other traffic.
-- Misha Raffiee, California Institute of Technology
About the author: Misha Raffiee is a sophomore undergraduate at the California Institute of Technology, but she began work with UNR on the NSF/NEES 4-Span Bridge Project following her graduation from high school at age 15. As an undergraduate research fellow, Raffiee was given the opportunity to conduct her own complementary research, a feasibility study of copper-based shape memory alloys and ECC. Copper-based SMAs, such as copper-aluminum-beryllium (CuAlBe) are predicted to be more cost-effective than other shape memory alloys, such as nickel titanium. Using computer modeling and testing in the Open System for Earthquake Engineering Simulation with the results from the nickel titanium-reinforced concrete runs, Raffiee was able to assess the performance of a unique CuAlBe and ECC column. She presented her findings at NSF's Young Researcher's Symposium at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and later assisted in presentations of the nickel titanium-reinforced concrete column project at an NSF showcase event held at the United States Senate. Raffiee credits the experience as an NSF/NEES Undergraduate Research Fellow with helping her grow both as a researcher and as a scholar, solidifying her post-graduate aspirations.
Saturday, August 31, 2013
PRESIDENT OBAMA'S REMARKS REGARDING SYRIA'S USE OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS
FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Obama: Strike Syrian Regime, But Have Congressional Debate, Vote
By Karen Parrish
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 31, 2013 - President Barack Obama said today he supports a U.S. military strike against Syrian regime targets in response to the regime's use of chemical weapons against its own people, but he called on Congress to debate and vote on how America should react to "the worst chemical weapons attack of the 21st century."
At the White House Rose Garden, Obama spoke of the Aug. 21 attack on Damascus suburbs that, he noted, killed more than 1,000 people, including several hundred children -- "young girls and boys gassed to death by their own government."
"Ten days ago, the world watched in horror as men, women and children were massacred in Syria," the commander in chief said. " ... Yesterday, the United States presented a powerful case that the Syrian government was responsible for this attack on its own people."
The president said U.S. intelligence reports "show the Assad regime and its forces preparing to use chemical weapons, launching rockets into highly populated suburbs of Damascus, and acknowledging that a chemical weapons attack took place. And all of this corroborates what the world can plainly see: hospitals overflowing with victims; terrible images of the dead."
Obama called the attack "an assault on human dignity" that also presents a serious danger to U.S. national security and "risks making a mockery of the global prohibition on the use of chemical weapons."
Syria is currently embroiled in a bitter civil war pitting President Bashar Assad and his regime against the rebel opposition. The situation presents a danger to U.S. friends and partners on Syria's borders, Obama said, such as Israel, Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon and Iraq.
The Syrian regime's use of chemical weapons could lead to their escalated use in the region, he said, or their proliferation to terrorist groups intent on harming the United States.
"In a world with many dangers, this menace must be confronted," the president said.
Obama said after careful deliberation, he has decided "that the U.S. should take military action against Syrian regime targets." Such an intervention would be limited in scope and duration and would not place U.S. boots on the ground inside Syria, he said.
"I'm confident we can hold the Assad regime accountable for their use of chemical weapons, deter this kind of behavior, and degrade their capacity to carry it out," he said.
Obama said the United States has military assets in the Middle East, and he noted that Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, "has informed me that we are prepared to strike whenever we choose."
Dempsey has also advised "that our capacity to execute this mission is not time-sensitive," the president said.
"It will be effective tomorrow, or next week, or one month from now," Obama said. "And I'm prepared to give that order."
Obama added, however, that as president of "the world's oldest constitutional democracy," he has also decided that as leader of a representational government, "I will seek authorization for the use of force from the American people's representatives in Congress."
He said he has spoken with U.S. Senate and House leaders, "and they've agreed to schedule a debate and then a vote as soon as Congress comes back into session."
The president said his administration stands ready to inform Congress "what happened in Syria and why it has such profound implications for America's national security."
He added that he is confident that action need not wait on United Nations inspectors.
"I'm comfortable going forward without the approval of a United Nations Security Council that, so far, has been completely paralyzed and unwilling to hold Assad accountable," Obama said.
As a consequence, he added, many people "have advised against taking this decision to Congress, and undoubtedly, they were impacted by what we saw happen in the United Kingdom this week when the Parliament of our closest ally failed to pass a resolution with a similar goal, even as the Prime Minister supported taking action.
"And undoubtedly," he continued, "they were impacted by what we saw happen in the United Kingdom this week when the parliament of our closest ally failed to pass a resolution with a similar goal, even as the prime minister supported taking action."
Yet, any U.S. military actions against the Syrian regime will be more effective if they follow a debate in Congress and a vote, Obama said.
"We should have this debate, because the issues are too big for business as usual," he said.
A government that considers even limited military force faces a grave decision, Obama acknowledged.
"I respect the views of those who call for caution, particularly as our country emerges from a time of war that I was elected in part to end," he said. "But if we really do want to turn away from taking appropriate action in the face of such an unspeakable outrage, then we must acknowledge the costs of doing nothing."
The president said his question to Congress and the global community is this: "What message will we send if a dictator can gas hundreds of children to death in plain sight and pay no price? What's the purpose of the international system that we've built if a prohibition on the use of chemical weapons that has been agreed to by the governments of 98 percent of the world's people and approved overwhelmingly by the Congress of the United States is not enforced?"
He continued, "... We cannot raise our children in a world where we will not follow through on the things we say, the accords we sign, the values that define us."
The president said his message to the world is that "an atrocity committed with chemical weapons is not simply investigated, it must be confronted."
Obama said he knows Americans are weary of war.
"We've ended one war in Iraq," he said. "We're ending another in Afghanistan. And the American people have the good sense to know we cannot resolve the underlying conflict in Syria with our military. In that part of the world, there are ancient sectarian differences, and the hopes of the Arab Spring have unleashed forces of change that are going to take many years to resolve. And that's why we're not contemplating putting our troops in the middle of someone else's war."
The United States will continue to support the Syrian people through pressure on the Assad regime, commitment to the opposition, care for the displaced, and pursuit of a political resolution "that achieves a government that respects the dignity of its people," Obama said.
American values dictate that the nation "cannot and must not turn a blind eye to what happened in Damascus," he said.
"So to all members of Congress of both parties, I ask you to take this vote for our national security," Obama said. "... I've told you what I believe, that our security and our values demand that we cannot turn away from the massacre of countless civilians with chemical weapons.
"I'm ready to act in the face of this outrage," he added. "Today I'm asking Congress to send a message to the world that we are ready to move forward together as one nation."
Obama: Strike Syrian Regime, But Have Congressional Debate, Vote
By Karen Parrish
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 31, 2013 - President Barack Obama said today he supports a U.S. military strike against Syrian regime targets in response to the regime's use of chemical weapons against its own people, but he called on Congress to debate and vote on how America should react to "the worst chemical weapons attack of the 21st century."
At the White House Rose Garden, Obama spoke of the Aug. 21 attack on Damascus suburbs that, he noted, killed more than 1,000 people, including several hundred children -- "young girls and boys gassed to death by their own government."
"Ten days ago, the world watched in horror as men, women and children were massacred in Syria," the commander in chief said. " ... Yesterday, the United States presented a powerful case that the Syrian government was responsible for this attack on its own people."
The president said U.S. intelligence reports "show the Assad regime and its forces preparing to use chemical weapons, launching rockets into highly populated suburbs of Damascus, and acknowledging that a chemical weapons attack took place. And all of this corroborates what the world can plainly see: hospitals overflowing with victims; terrible images of the dead."
Obama called the attack "an assault on human dignity" that also presents a serious danger to U.S. national security and "risks making a mockery of the global prohibition on the use of chemical weapons."
Syria is currently embroiled in a bitter civil war pitting President Bashar Assad and his regime against the rebel opposition. The situation presents a danger to U.S. friends and partners on Syria's borders, Obama said, such as Israel, Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon and Iraq.
The Syrian regime's use of chemical weapons could lead to their escalated use in the region, he said, or their proliferation to terrorist groups intent on harming the United States.
"In a world with many dangers, this menace must be confronted," the president said.
Obama said after careful deliberation, he has decided "that the U.S. should take military action against Syrian regime targets." Such an intervention would be limited in scope and duration and would not place U.S. boots on the ground inside Syria, he said.
"I'm confident we can hold the Assad regime accountable for their use of chemical weapons, deter this kind of behavior, and degrade their capacity to carry it out," he said.
Obama said the United States has military assets in the Middle East, and he noted that Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, "has informed me that we are prepared to strike whenever we choose."
Dempsey has also advised "that our capacity to execute this mission is not time-sensitive," the president said.
"It will be effective tomorrow, or next week, or one month from now," Obama said. "And I'm prepared to give that order."
Obama added, however, that as president of "the world's oldest constitutional democracy," he has also decided that as leader of a representational government, "I will seek authorization for the use of force from the American people's representatives in Congress."
He said he has spoken with U.S. Senate and House leaders, "and they've agreed to schedule a debate and then a vote as soon as Congress comes back into session."
The president said his administration stands ready to inform Congress "what happened in Syria and why it has such profound implications for America's national security."
He added that he is confident that action need not wait on United Nations inspectors.
"I'm comfortable going forward without the approval of a United Nations Security Council that, so far, has been completely paralyzed and unwilling to hold Assad accountable," Obama said.
As a consequence, he added, many people "have advised against taking this decision to Congress, and undoubtedly, they were impacted by what we saw happen in the United Kingdom this week when the Parliament of our closest ally failed to pass a resolution with a similar goal, even as the Prime Minister supported taking action.
"And undoubtedly," he continued, "they were impacted by what we saw happen in the United Kingdom this week when the parliament of our closest ally failed to pass a resolution with a similar goal, even as the prime minister supported taking action."
Yet, any U.S. military actions against the Syrian regime will be more effective if they follow a debate in Congress and a vote, Obama said.
"We should have this debate, because the issues are too big for business as usual," he said.
A government that considers even limited military force faces a grave decision, Obama acknowledged.
"I respect the views of those who call for caution, particularly as our country emerges from a time of war that I was elected in part to end," he said. "But if we really do want to turn away from taking appropriate action in the face of such an unspeakable outrage, then we must acknowledge the costs of doing nothing."
The president said his question to Congress and the global community is this: "What message will we send if a dictator can gas hundreds of children to death in plain sight and pay no price? What's the purpose of the international system that we've built if a prohibition on the use of chemical weapons that has been agreed to by the governments of 98 percent of the world's people and approved overwhelmingly by the Congress of the United States is not enforced?"
He continued, "... We cannot raise our children in a world where we will not follow through on the things we say, the accords we sign, the values that define us."
The president said his message to the world is that "an atrocity committed with chemical weapons is not simply investigated, it must be confronted."
Obama said he knows Americans are weary of war.
"We've ended one war in Iraq," he said. "We're ending another in Afghanistan. And the American people have the good sense to know we cannot resolve the underlying conflict in Syria with our military. In that part of the world, there are ancient sectarian differences, and the hopes of the Arab Spring have unleashed forces of change that are going to take many years to resolve. And that's why we're not contemplating putting our troops in the middle of someone else's war."
The United States will continue to support the Syrian people through pressure on the Assad regime, commitment to the opposition, care for the displaced, and pursuit of a political resolution "that achieves a government that respects the dignity of its people," Obama said.
American values dictate that the nation "cannot and must not turn a blind eye to what happened in Damascus," he said.
"So to all members of Congress of both parties, I ask you to take this vote for our national security," Obama said. "... I've told you what I believe, that our security and our values demand that we cannot turn away from the massacre of countless civilians with chemical weapons.
"I'm ready to act in the face of this outrage," he added. "Today I'm asking Congress to send a message to the world that we are ready to move forward together as one nation."
DOD SAYS NEW ARCHITECTURE-SHARING CAN INCREASE BANDWIDTH, SECURITY AND SAVE MONEY
FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Shared IT Architecture Leads to Cost Savings
By Claudette Roulo
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 28, 2013 - A new architecture-sharing and modernization agreement among the Air Force, the Army and the Defense Information Systems Agency will increase bandwidth and network security and avoid more than $1 billion in future costs.
"As [the Defense Department] continues to move aggressively towards [the Joint Information Environment], this partnership is an important step forward," said Teresa M. Takai, DOD's chief information officer.
Due to force structure changes, the Army was left with excess information technology capacity, said Richard Breakiron, network capacity domain manager for the Army's chief information office. At the same time, the Air Force was seeking to modernize its IT architecture to meet the requirements of the future joint information environment.
By partnering and taking advantage of the Army's upgrade to faster multiprotocol label switching routers and regional security stacks, the Air Force was able to identify about $1.2 billion in cost avoidance. The Army expects to reduce its IT budget by $785 million between fiscal years 2015 and 2019 by consolidating hundreds of network security stacks into 15 joint regional security stacks, which the Air Force will also use.
"It's great to have strong partners as we move toward JIE," said Gen. William L. Shelton, Air Force Space Command commander. "I especially appreciate the tremendous spirit of cooperation that has emerged between the Army, Air Force, and DISA teams."
MPLS routers are an industry-standard technology for speeding and managing network traffic flow. The upgraded routers will increase the backbone bandwidth to 100 gigabytes per second, said Mike Krieger, the Army's deputy chief information officer. At Army installations, network speeds will rise to 10 gigabytes per second, he said. To put that in perspective, Fort Hood, Texas, currently operates at 650 megabytes per second, Krieger said.
Regional security stacks are designed to improve command and control and situational awareness and are essential to enabling a single security architecture in the joint information environment, said Krieger. The move will tremendously increase the network security posture and reduce costs, he added.
"More and more, we're saying that some of the service-delivery capability can be managed at the enterprise level, greatly improving efficiency, effectiveness and security," Breakiron said. But, he noted, to perform these enterprise functions off of the local installation, the IT backbone must be much more robust, because users are relying on it for much more service capability.
The new, larger-capacity routers will help the Air Force and Army converge their enterprise network backbones and gain cost savings in other areas, he said.
"As we do our investment in MPLS, it now allows us to do not only [Voice over Internet Protocol], it allows us to do unified capabilities and it allows us to put much more of this capability up at the enterprise level," Brig Gen Kevin Wooton, Air Force Space Command director of communication, said.
Together, MPLS routers and the regional security stack construct improve performance and security, said Air Force Lt. Gen. Ronnie D. Hawkins Jr., DISA director.
"It creates a network that is fundamentally more defensible and more efficient," Hawkins said. He added that the move is a major step in building the Joint Information Environment architecture.
The Army and DISA plan to implement the joint MPLS transport cloud and JRSS consolidation in fiscal years 2013 and 2014 to support operations in Southwest Asia and the continental United States.
The Air Force and the Army will have access to data from JRSSs that are owned and operated by DISA as a joint capability. Army and Air Force cyber components will continue to execute cyber defense on their networks.
"As we modernize the DOD network, the Army is committed to a joint solution that helps achieve the joint information environment," said Lt. Gen. Susan S. Lawrence, the Army's chief information officer.
Shared IT Architecture Leads to Cost Savings
By Claudette Roulo
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 28, 2013 - A new architecture-sharing and modernization agreement among the Air Force, the Army and the Defense Information Systems Agency will increase bandwidth and network security and avoid more than $1 billion in future costs.
"As [the Defense Department] continues to move aggressively towards [the Joint Information Environment], this partnership is an important step forward," said Teresa M. Takai, DOD's chief information officer.
Due to force structure changes, the Army was left with excess information technology capacity, said Richard Breakiron, network capacity domain manager for the Army's chief information office. At the same time, the Air Force was seeking to modernize its IT architecture to meet the requirements of the future joint information environment.
By partnering and taking advantage of the Army's upgrade to faster multiprotocol label switching routers and regional security stacks, the Air Force was able to identify about $1.2 billion in cost avoidance. The Army expects to reduce its IT budget by $785 million between fiscal years 2015 and 2019 by consolidating hundreds of network security stacks into 15 joint regional security stacks, which the Air Force will also use.
"It's great to have strong partners as we move toward JIE," said Gen. William L. Shelton, Air Force Space Command commander. "I especially appreciate the tremendous spirit of cooperation that has emerged between the Army, Air Force, and DISA teams."
MPLS routers are an industry-standard technology for speeding and managing network traffic flow. The upgraded routers will increase the backbone bandwidth to 100 gigabytes per second, said Mike Krieger, the Army's deputy chief information officer. At Army installations, network speeds will rise to 10 gigabytes per second, he said. To put that in perspective, Fort Hood, Texas, currently operates at 650 megabytes per second, Krieger said.
Regional security stacks are designed to improve command and control and situational awareness and are essential to enabling a single security architecture in the joint information environment, said Krieger. The move will tremendously increase the network security posture and reduce costs, he added.
"More and more, we're saying that some of the service-delivery capability can be managed at the enterprise level, greatly improving efficiency, effectiveness and security," Breakiron said. But, he noted, to perform these enterprise functions off of the local installation, the IT backbone must be much more robust, because users are relying on it for much more service capability.
The new, larger-capacity routers will help the Air Force and Army converge their enterprise network backbones and gain cost savings in other areas, he said.
"As we do our investment in MPLS, it now allows us to do not only [Voice over Internet Protocol], it allows us to do unified capabilities and it allows us to put much more of this capability up at the enterprise level," Brig Gen Kevin Wooton, Air Force Space Command director of communication, said.
Together, MPLS routers and the regional security stack construct improve performance and security, said Air Force Lt. Gen. Ronnie D. Hawkins Jr., DISA director.
"It creates a network that is fundamentally more defensible and more efficient," Hawkins said. He added that the move is a major step in building the Joint Information Environment architecture.
The Army and DISA plan to implement the joint MPLS transport cloud and JRSS consolidation in fiscal years 2013 and 2014 to support operations in Southwest Asia and the continental United States.
The Air Force and the Army will have access to data from JRSSs that are owned and operated by DISA as a joint capability. Army and Air Force cyber components will continue to execute cyber defense on their networks.
"As we modernize the DOD network, the Army is committed to a joint solution that helps achieve the joint information environment," said Lt. Gen. Susan S. Lawrence, the Army's chief information officer.
SOLDIER PLEADS GUILTY TO BRIBERY
FROM: DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Army Soldier Pleads Guilty in Kentucky to Bribery Charges for Facilitating Thefts of Fuel in Afghanistan
U.S. Army Sergeant Kevin Bilal Abdullah pleaded guilty today to bribery charges for his role in the theft of fuel at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Fenty, near Jalalabad, Afghanistan.
The guilty plea was announced by Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky David J. Hale.
Abdullah, 30, of Fort Campbell, Ky., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Thomas B. Russell in the Western District of Kentucky to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and one substantive count of bribery.
According to court documents, in approximately May and June 2010, Abdullah was involved in overseeing the delivery of fuel from FOB Fenty to other military bases. As part of this process, documents generally described as “transportation movement requests” (TMRs or mission sheets) were created to authorize the movement of fuel.
According to court documents, Abdullah created fraudulent TMRs that purported to authorize the transport of fuel from FOB Fenty to other military bases, even though no legitimate fuel transportation was required. After the trucks were filled with fuel, the fraudulent TMRs were used by the drivers of the fuel trucks at FOB Fenty’s departure checkpoint in order to justify the trucks’ departures from FOB Fenty. In truth, the fuel was simply stolen.
Abdullah pleaded guilty to receiving payments from a representative of the trucking company in exchange for facilitating the theft of approximately 25 truckloads of fuel. According to court documents, the loss to the United States as a result of the theft was in excess of $400,000.
Abdullah’s plea is the third guilty plea arising from this investigation of fuel thefts at FOB Fenty. On Aug. 3, 2012, Jonathan Hightower, a civilian employee of a military contractor who had conspired with Abdullah, pleaded guilty to similar charges. On Oct. 10, 2012, Christopher Weaver also pleaded guilty to fuel theft charges. A fourth individual, Stephanie Charboneau, was indicted April 9, 2013, and is pending trial on fuel theft-related charges.
This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Mark H. Dubester of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky. This case was investigated by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction; Department of the Army, Criminal Investigations Division; Defense Criminal Investigative Service; and FBI.
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Army Soldier Pleads Guilty in Kentucky to Bribery Charges for Facilitating Thefts of Fuel in Afghanistan
U.S. Army Sergeant Kevin Bilal Abdullah pleaded guilty today to bribery charges for his role in the theft of fuel at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Fenty, near Jalalabad, Afghanistan.
The guilty plea was announced by Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky David J. Hale.
Abdullah, 30, of Fort Campbell, Ky., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Thomas B. Russell in the Western District of Kentucky to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and one substantive count of bribery.
According to court documents, in approximately May and June 2010, Abdullah was involved in overseeing the delivery of fuel from FOB Fenty to other military bases. As part of this process, documents generally described as “transportation movement requests” (TMRs or mission sheets) were created to authorize the movement of fuel.
According to court documents, Abdullah created fraudulent TMRs that purported to authorize the transport of fuel from FOB Fenty to other military bases, even though no legitimate fuel transportation was required. After the trucks were filled with fuel, the fraudulent TMRs were used by the drivers of the fuel trucks at FOB Fenty’s departure checkpoint in order to justify the trucks’ departures from FOB Fenty. In truth, the fuel was simply stolen.
Abdullah pleaded guilty to receiving payments from a representative of the trucking company in exchange for facilitating the theft of approximately 25 truckloads of fuel. According to court documents, the loss to the United States as a result of the theft was in excess of $400,000.
Abdullah’s plea is the third guilty plea arising from this investigation of fuel thefts at FOB Fenty. On Aug. 3, 2012, Jonathan Hightower, a civilian employee of a military contractor who had conspired with Abdullah, pleaded guilty to similar charges. On Oct. 10, 2012, Christopher Weaver also pleaded guilty to fuel theft charges. A fourth individual, Stephanie Charboneau, was indicted April 9, 2013, and is pending trial on fuel theft-related charges.
This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Mark H. Dubester of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky. This case was investigated by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction; Department of the Army, Criminal Investigations Division; Defense Criminal Investigative Service; and FBI.
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