U.S. OFFICIAL URGES CONTINUANCE OF COUNTERTERRORISM EFFORT

The following excerpt is from a Department of Defense American Forces Press Service e-mail: 

Undersecretary Urges Continuing Counterterrorism Effort

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, March 20, 2012 - As the counterterrorism strategy is succeeding, now is not the time to abandon the fight in Afghanistan, the acting undersecretary of defense for policy told Congress today.

Testifying before the House Armed Services Committee, James N. Miller said the United States is committed to the core objectives of denying safe haven to al-Qaida and preventing the Taliban from overthrowing the Afghan government.

"While we do face serious challenges, our strategy is succeeding," Miller said. "Our counterterrorism efforts against al-Qaida have been extremely successful."

The acting undersecretary stressed that Americans should not underestimate the progress that coalition troops -- including thousands of Americans -- have made in the country. "As a result of the surge launched in 2009, we have broken and reversed Taliban momentum in Afghanistan," he said. "And the Afghan national security forces are increasingly capable and increasingly in the lead."

The Afghans now are in the lead in security for more than 50 percent of the population. Sometime in 2013, the Afghan security forces will have security lead for the entire country, Miller said. "At that time, U.S. and coalition forces will be in a support role, which will take a number of forms," he added.

U.S. and coalition forces will partner with Afghan units, Miller explained, and U.S. forces will have a smaller footprint in the country as the effort switches to an advise-and-assist role. "By the middle of 2014, the [Afghan national security forces] will be responsible for the security of Afghanistan," he said.

Once that happens, Miller said, smaller U.S. and coalition forces will focus on counterterrorism and on training, advising and assisting Afghan forces.

The Afghanistan War has been a tough fight, and it continues, Miller acknowledged. The past several weeks -- with the Quran burning incident and the killings of 16 civilians in Kandahar province -- have been particularly difficult, he said.

"We have also been challenged in recent weeks by attacks by Afghan personnel against U.S. and coalition forces, so-called 'green-on-blue' attacks," he said. "We will have to work through these incidents and challenges."

Miller listed accomplishments in Afghanistan for the representatives. Violence is down in the country, he said. From 2010 to 2011, enemy-initiated attacks in Afghanistan were down 9 percent, and the trend continued this year, with attacks down a further 22 percent from 2011 levels for the same months.

In October 2008, only 140,000 Afghans were serving in the Afghan national security forces. "Today, there are approximately 330,000, and we expect to reach our goal of 352,000 ... ahead of the October 2012 target date," Miller said. Today, almost 90 percent of coalition operations in Afghanistan are carried out in partnership with the Afghan forces, and Afghan forces are in the lead for more than 40 percent of operations, he added.

Miller also discussed talks with the Afghans on the strategic partnership between the United States and Afghanistan.

"This strategic partnership will demonstrate that we learned the lessons from 1989, when our abrupt departure left our friends confused and our enemies emboldened," he said. "Concluding our strategic partnership will send a clear signal that the United States remains willingly committed to Afghan security. Such an assurance must continue beyond our planned transition in 2014."

Miller touched on the problem presented by safe havens for terror groups inside Pakistan.

"Pakistan has legitimate interests that must be understood and must be addressed," he said. "Pakistan also has responsibilities."

Most importantly, Miller added, Pakistan needs to take further steps to ensure that militant and extremist groups cannot find safe haven within its territory.

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SETTLES DISCRIMINATION SUIT WITH MIDGET FOOTBALL LEAGUE

The following excerpt is from the U.S. Justice Department website:  
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced it has reached a settlement with the Mountain Valley, Pa., Midget Football League to ensure that children with disabilities are offered an equal opportunity to play youth football.

The settlement resolves a complaint under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) filed by the mother of a seven-year-old boy with ocular albinism, a condition that results in having little or no pigment in the eyes and often causes extreme sensitivity to sunlight.  According to the complaint, the league refused the mother’s requests to allow the boy to play football with a helmet that has a tinted visor, which would help to block sunlight.  The Justice Department determined that the league violated the ADA by failing to make a reasonable modification of its policies, practices and procedures to permit the boy to use a tinted visor when playing football.

“People with disabilities cannot be denied the full and equal enjoyment of services, privileges and public accommodations, including youth football leagues,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.  “This settlement is another example of the Justice Department’s commitment to ensure equal access for people with disabilities.”

The settlement agreement requires the league to develop and implement a disability rights policy, to train league officials on the requirements of the ADA and to grant requests for reasonable modifications, like the one at issue here.  The league is also required to pay $1,000.00 to the complainant’s family.

The ADA requires public accommodations, like the league, to provide individuals with disabilities equal access to goods, services, privileges, accommodations, facilities, advantages and accommodations.  Public accommodations must also make reasonable modifications to their policies, practices or procedures when the modifications are necessary to afford goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages or accommodations to individuals with disabilities, unless making the modification would cause a fundamental alternation.

NEW REPORTING RULES ON HOW SOME CHEMICALS ARE USED

The following excerpt is from an EPA e-mail:
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed that companies be required to report to EPA all new uses, including in domestic or imported products, of five groups of potentially harmful chemicals. Over the years, these chemicals have been used in a range of consumer products and industrial applications, including paints, printing inks, pigments and dyes in textiles, flame retardants in flexible foams, and plasticizers. This action is part of EPA’s work to ensure chemical safety in order to protect Americans’ health and the environment.

The five chemicals EPA is targeting are polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs), benzidine dyes, a short chain chlorinated paraffin, hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD), and phthalate di-n-pentyl phthalate (DnPP). The agency is also proposing additional testing on the health and environmental effects of PBDEs.

“Although a number of these chemicals are no longer manufactured or used in the U.S. they can still be imported in consumer goods or for use in products. Today’s proposed actions will ensure that EPA has an opportunity to review new uses of the chemicals, whether they are domestically produced or imported, and if warranted, take action to prohibit or limit the activity before human health or environmental effects can occur,” said Jim Jones, EPA’s acting assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. “These actions also signal EPA’s ongoing commitment to the American people that the agency is taking significant steps to make sure that the chemicals manufactured and used in this country are safe.”

The proposed regulatory actions are known as significant new use rules (SNUR) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The proposed rules would require that anyone who intends to manufacture, import, or process any of the chemicals for an activity that is designated as a significant new use to submit a notification to EPA at least 90 days before beginning the activity. This notification means EPA can evaluate the intended new use and take action to prohibit or limit that activity, if warranted. For PBDEs, the agency will also issue simultaneously a proposed test rule under section 4(a) of TSCA that would require manufacturers or processors to conduct testing on health and environmental effects of PBDEs.

EXPORT-IMPORT BANK MAY SOON HAVE IT'S ACCOUNT CLOSED

STATEMENT BY FRED P. HOCHBERG,

CHAIRMAN AND PRESIDENT, EXPORT-IMPORT BANK OF THE UNITED STATES

March 20, 2012

“The Senate’s failure to renew the Export-Import Bank Charter, which expires in 72 days, is a setback for American workers who produce the high-quality goods and services that are in demand around the world.

“Ex-Im Bank increases U.S. jobs, pays for itself and earns money for the U.S. Treasury, and as a result enjoys strong, bipartisan support. However, delays in renewing the Charter threaten over 1,000 export-related jobs that are supported every workday by Ex-Im Bank financing. Not reauthorizing the Bank places American companies at a serious disadvantage against their foreign competitors. We are already hearing that some customers of U.S. exporters are considering switching their purchases to foreign companies due to the uncertain availability of future Ex-Im Bank financing.

“We will continue to work with House and Senate leadership and I am confident that Congress will ultimately approve a four-year reauthorization of our Charter, but I urge them to act promptly before serious damage is done to American competitiveness.”

The above excerpt is from an Export-Import Bank e-mail:

UN AMBASSADOR SUSAN RICE ADDRESSES CONGRESS

The following excerpt is from the U.S. State Department e-mail:
Testimony of Ambassador Susan E. Rice, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, House Subcommittee on Appropriations for State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs, March 20, 2012
Susan E. Rice
U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations
U.S. Mission to the United Nations New York, NY March 20, 2012

AS PREPARED
Chairwoman Granger, Representative Lowey, members of the Committee, thank you for inviting me to testify today. I am deeply grateful for your leadership and continued support for our efforts at the United Nations, especially in this time of fiscal constraint.
On behalf of the Administration, I am pleased to reiterate the request for funds for fiscal year 2013 for three key accounts: $1.57 billion for Contributions to International Organizations (CIO); $2.1 billion for Contributions to International Peacekeeping Activities (CIPA); and $327.3 million for International Organizations and Programs (IO&P). This request includes funding to meet our obligations to international organizations of which the United States is a member as well as our voluntary contributions to various United Nations programs.

Reflecting the fiscal environment, this year’s budget requests for voluntary contributions to major UN agencies largely remain constant and, in most cases have decreased, compared to last year’s request. On the whole, our FY13 request for the IO&P account reflects a 6% decrease from FY12 levels.

Let me start by underscoring the importance of the United Nations to advancing U.S. interests and upholding the universal values we hold dear.

The world is shrinking. Problems in remote parts of the globe can and do threaten our security interests abroad and ultimately affect us here at home. Nuclear proliferation, terrorism, drug trafficking, refugee flows, gross human rights abuses, manmade and natural disasters, infectious disease, extreme poverty and suffering, environmental degradation - problems that no one nation, no matter how powerful, can address alone. And especially in tough economic times, these are not burdens that the United States should have to bear on our own.

As both Democratic and Republican leaders have long attested, a strong and effective UN is one of the best tools we have to tackle many of the world’s problems. The UN plays an indispensable role in building international coalitions and promoting global burden sharing to meet 21st century challenges. The UN is not the sum of our strategy, but an essential piece of it.

As President Obama has said, “That’s how the international community should work -- more nations; the United States right there at the center of it, but not alone -- everybody stepping up, bearing their responsibilities, carrying the costs of upholding peace and security. That’s what it means to be United Nations.” And as former President Reagan proclaimed, “We are determined that the United Nations shall succeed and serve the cause of peace for humankind.”

Now, the UN is far from perfect, but when it stumbles, it’s often because its members stumble – because big powers block critical actions in the Security Council or spoilers grandstand in the General Assembly. As one of my predecessors, Richard Holbrooke, was fond of saying, “Blaming the UN when things go wrong is like blaming Madison Square Garden when the Knicks play badly.”

In response to the ongoing horrors in Syria, the United States and our partners have engaged in intensive diplomacy at the United Nations to put the world on record in support of an immediate halt to the violence; a negotiated, peaceful solution; and a responsible democratic transition. While Russia and China twice vetoed Security Council action, the United Nations General Assembly and Human Rights Council have repeatedly condemned the carnage the Asad regime is inflicting on its own people and endorsed the Arab League’s proposal for a transition. The Human Rights Council has mandated a Commission of Inquiry that has thoroughly investigated and documented the human rights abuses of the Asad regime. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and senior UN officials have vigorously condemned abuses by the Syrian regime and called for an end to the violence. The United Nations and the Arab League have jointly appointed former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan as their Special Envoy for Syria. The UN has coordinated the delivery of critical humanitarian assistance to afflicted Syrian communities and has provided support to thousands of Syrian refugees and vulnerable populations inside Syria tormented by the regime’s systematic abuses, though the need remains great.

The regime continues to renege on its commitment to implement the League of Arab States’ action plan agreed to in November. It has spurned efforts by its Arab neighbors to mediate a peaceful political solution. It continues to wage a brutal campaign against innocent civilians and there are credible allegations that the regime has committed crimes against humanity.

The United States fully supports the Syrian people's demands for a unified Syria with a democratic, representative, and inclusive government that respects human rights and fundamental freedoms, and we fully support the Arab League's unprecedented initiatives to end this crisis peacefully. In order to provide lifesaving assistance to Syrian civilians in need, we have announced a $12 million initial contribution to scale up humanitarian efforts. To deepen the Asad regime’s isolation, we have imposed sanctions and worked with others to do so as well, such as placing travel bans on senior members of the regime, freezing their assets, boycotting Syrian oil, and considering closing embassies and consulates. And we have encouraged a democratic transition by supporting opposition groups and individuals inside and outside Syria to come together around a common vision for the country’s future where the rights of every citizen are respected and protected.

In Syria, as elsewhere, the United States has led efforts to promote principled action at the UN through persistent diplomacy with our traditional allies, regional partners, and emerging powers. Indeed, this has been the hallmark of the Obama Administration’s engagement at the UN. We work hard to build and sustain the coalitions required to advance our interests and values. And we fulfill our obligations, so that our hand is that much stronger when we demand that others do the same. Our investments at the United Nations have advanced U.S. interests and made the American people more safe and secure.

In Libya, the United States and its allies acted through the United Nations to prevent Qadafhi from massacring his own people. And now the UN is remaining engaged over the long term, helping the people of Libya make the difficult transition to democracy after a brutal dictatorship.
To curtail illicit nuclear weapons programs, the United States led the Security Council in imposing the toughest sanctions ever on Iran and North Korea. As a result, a large number of countries have also imposed additional bilateral sanctions on Iran, and the regime is more isolated than ever before with its leaders facing crippling sanctions. As the President has repeatedly made clear, we will prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and as long as Iran fails to meet its international obligations, the pressure will build.
In Iraq and Afghanistan, the United Nations is providing vital assistance to their political transitions, and to their social and economic development – supporting the process of bringing our service members home responsibly.

After decades of brutal war, the United Nations played a critical role in supporting the creation of the newly independent South Sudan. There are significant challenges ahead in Darfur, Abyei, Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan, so the United States will continue our efforts to support Sudan and South Sudan living side by side in peace.
In Cote d’Ivoire, the UN stood firm in stopping a strongman from stealing an election and ensured that the democratically elected President took office, preventing a return to civil war.

In Haiti, the United Nations has been essential in helping the country recover and rebuild from the devastating earthquake two years ago – a tragedy that claimed thousands of lives, including one hundred and two UN personnel. The United States worked closely with the UN to help the Government of Haiti ensure security and deliver humanitarian relief. Tens of thousands of U.S. forces were able to withdraw from Haiti within a few months as the UN peacekeeping presence was quickly reconstituted.
During last year’s General Assembly, we secured, by the largest margins ever, condemnations of Iran and North Korea – and for the first time ever, Syria – for their mass violations of human rights. In the Human Rights Council, the United States worked to achieve ground-breaking resolutions on freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, discrimination against women, religious tolerance, and investigations into human rights abuses in Syria, Sudan, North Korea, Libya, and Iran.

We have led the fight for women’s rights, forging a broad coalition to establish UN Women, a streamlined entity that replaced multiple UN offices, and that now works to empower women worldwide. We also support the vital work of a Special Representative to tackle the issue of sexual violence in conflict.

We’ve spearheaded important progress throughout the UN system to advance the universal rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons, including landmark victories in the General Assembly and Human Rights Council, and our advocacy on behalf of LGBT non-governmental organizations.

These are just a few examples of how United States leadership at the United Nations is yielding tangible dividends for the American people.

But despite important progress, much remains to be done. UN reform is not a luxury. It is a necessity. That is why we are relentlessly championing greater budget discipline and comprehensive administrative and management reforms that will make the UN more efficient and cost-effective.

In December, we led a successful effort to cut by five percent the size of the UN’s regular budget, the first reduction in 14 years and only the second in the past 50 years.
In addition, by responsibly shutting down peacekeeping missions and showing discipline in establishing new missions, we have contained the growth in recent years of the UN peacekeeping budget, which increased from $2.6 billion to $7.8 billion from 2000 to 2009. The Obama Administration has succeeded in holding peacekeeping budget levels effectively constant for the past three years.

We have also promoted a paperless UN, resulting in a 65% reduction of pages printed in New York over the past two years, saving on an annual basis a pile of paper nearly 50 times the height of the UN building.

To better tackle waste, fraud, and abuse, we have worked to reduce vacancies in the UN inspector-general’s office by nearly half so it can be a strong, independent, and effective watchdog.

Over the past decade, the United States has championed increased transparency throughout the UN system. And last year, we secured a commitment from the heads of all NY-based UN funds and programs to disclose publicly online all internal audit reports, starting this year.

We led efforts in the General Assembly to adopt wide-ranging peacekeeping reforms –including a new global field support strategy - which have already saved an initial $62 million to date and will dramatically improve the performance of 15 peace operations worldwide employing approximately 120,000 military, police, and civilian peacekeepers.

Our UN reform agenda is based on four key pillars:
First, economy: a leaner UN that does more with less. We are working hard to shrink the bureaucracy, bring some private-sector sensibility to the UN, and upgrade the UN’s information technology.

Second, accountability: a cleaner UN with robust oversight mechanisms, ethics enforcement, whistleblower protection, and greater transparency.
Third, integrity: a more credible UN that lives up to its founding principles and values, and does not tolerate individuals or states that bring dishonor to the institution.
Fourth, excellence: an insistence on delivering real results and upholding the highest standards, including a merit-based human resource system that rewards performance, the capacity to respond in real time to unfolding crises, integration of disparate UN programs, and a culture of evaluation for effectiveness.

We have a good partner in Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who has been a leader on these issues, and look forward to working with him and his team in the coming months and years.

There are many challenges ahead – upcoming negotiations on member state assessment rates, divisive politics within the General Assembly, an entrenched bureaucracy that resists change – but with patience and determined engagement, we will continue to succeed.
This brings me to another important priority: ensuring that Israel’s legitimacy is beyond dispute and its security is never in doubt.

Every day, we stand with Israel and oppose hostile efforts to challenge Israel’s legitimacy and security at the UN. We remain vigilant on the Palestinians’ unilateral bid for UN membership. The United States will not hesitate to use its veto when necessary. However, due to our efforts, the Palestinians saw clearly that they had not mustered enough votes to gain the UN Security Council’s support and thus to provoke a U.S. veto. There is no shortcut to statehood. Tough issues can only be solved through direct negotiations between the parties. We have been consistent and clear on this.
When a Security Council resolution on settlements that would have undermined the cause of peace was put to a vote, we vetoed it. Likewise, when the deeply flawed Goldstone Report was released, we insisted on Israel’s right to defend itself and maintained that Israel’s democratic institutions could credibly investigate any possible abuses. We refused to attend meetings in 2009 and 2011 concerning the 2001 Durban Conference, which unfairly singled out Israel. And we always fight against anti-Israel resolutions in the General Assembly, Human Rights Council, UNESCO, and other UN bodies.

We are also fighting for the full and equal participation of Israel throughout the UN system. We championed Israel’s successful bid for the UNDP Executive Board last year and when they took their seat last month, it was hailed by the Israeli Deputy Ambassador as “a milestone in Israel’s integration to the global agenda of the UN.” We have succeeded in winning Israel’s inclusion in key negotiation groups in New York and in Geneva, and are pushing for Israel’s participation where it remains excluded. At the Human Rights Council in Geneva, the disproportionate and biased focus on Israel undermines the credibility and effectiveness of the Council, and we consistently oppose the permanent agenda item devoted to Israel. As President Obama has said, “It should be clear to all that efforts to chip away at Israel’s legitimacy will continue to be met by the unshakeable opposition of the United States.”

Madam Chairwoman, members of the Committee, allow me to draw your attention to one specific matter of great importance – longstanding legislative restrictions on paying our assessed contributions to UN specialized agencies that admit Palestine as a member state. Our participation in these organizations serves a wide range of important American interests, such as promoting human rights, democracy, nonproliferation, global health, international telecommunications, intellectual property rights, and free markets. Withholding U.S. funding only harms U.S. interests.

The World Health Organization assists countries in addressing critical health problems and helps protect Americans from infectious diseases, such as the H1N1 and avian influenza. WHO programs have led to the eradication of smallpox, which saves America millions by eliminating the need for vaccinations, and are working towards the eradication of polio, neonatal tetanus, leprosy, and other preventable illnesses.

The International Atomic Energy Agency protects Americans from the dangers of nuclear proliferation through its essential verification work ensuring that peaceful nuclear programs are not being diverted for weapons purposes. IAEA inspectors have been instrumental in blowing the whistle on illicit activities by Iran and North Korea.

The World Intellectual Property Organization supports American economic growth through the protection of patents and copyrights, and provides a forum for American businesses to raise complaints about the infringement of intellectual property. Last year, American companies, such as Apple, Costco, and Facebook, brought cases before WIPO.

Current U.S. law runs counter to U.S. national security interests by enabling the Palestinians to determine whether the U.S. can continue to fund and lead effectively in key UN specialized agencies that help protect Americans. Cutting off funding for agencies such as WHO, IAEA, and WIPO would deal a blow to our efforts on global health, nuclear nonproliferation, and the protection of the interests of American businesses.
In the case of UNESCO, due to irresponsible Palestinian actions, we have withheld our funding for valuable work that supports key U.S. interests. UNESCO’s contributions include promoting freedom of the press and freedom of expression, providing literacy training and supporting tsunami warning systems. The United States has been a leading supporter and financial contributor to UNESCO’s valuable Holocaust education program, second only to Israel. We have also supported UNESCO’s efforts to empower women and girls through education. As former First Lady and UNESCO honorary Ambassador to the UN literacy decade Laura Bush has argued, “achieving the goal of global literacy requires global participation. It requires continued global leadership at every level – from international organizations like UNESCO to political leadership in each nation.”

We believe our membership and participation in UNESCO is valuable and worth supporting. Therefore, the Administration’s budget request includes funding for the U.S. contribution to UNESCO and a statement of intent to work together with Congress to find a solution that would give the Administration the authority to waive restrictions on paying our financial contributions when doing so is clearly in our national interest.
I also remain concerned about pending legislation that would shift contributions to the UN from assessed to voluntary funding. Treating our commitments and treaty obligations to the UN as an a la carte menu invites others to do the same and, simply put, would leave us paying more of the bill. Similarly, we oppose legislation that would link efforts to reform the UN to withholding dues. Historically, such approaches have backfired by allowing opponents of reform to weaken our ability to prevail in negotiations.
I also respectfully request the Committee provide the authority proposed to pay our assessed peacekeeping dues at the current rate of 27.14 percent.

As we learned in the 1980’s and 1990’s, when the United States is unable to pay our bills, we undermine our leadership at the UN, especially on UN reform. In 2009, the Obama Administration worked with Congress to pay off millions in arrears that accumulated between 2005 and 2008. Being up to date with our commitments has helped us deliver some of the most significant accomplishments on UN reform for American taxpayers in more than a decade. The failure to pay our assessments undermines our credibility and our influence. We alienate our closest allies and partners when we don’t follow through on the policies we together advocate in the Security Council, on priorities such as Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Burma, Libya, Haiti, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Neglecting our commitments leaves us in a position of weakness, not strength, when it comes to championing reforms and achieving the concrete results that make America safer and stronger. Paying our assessments has been the consistent policy of both Republican and Democratic Administrations. Of course, paying our bills in full and on time does not mean giving the UN a free pass. On the contrary, it allows us to pursue reform even more aggressively and successfully.

I will conclude by saying the United States is at the forefront ensuring that the UN lives up to its founding principles, safeguards international security, and delivers assistance to those who need it most. We greatly appreciate the Committee’s longstanding efforts to help meet our commitments throughout the UN system, especially at a time of fiscal belt-tightening. The active and full support of this Committee has been and remains essential to our efforts.

It is an honor to represent the United States at the United Nations. I am grateful for the opportunity to work with wonderful colleagues at the U.S. Mission, the UN, the broader diplomatic community, and the Members of this Congress who share a deep commitment to protecting the innocent, pursuing peace, and defending universal human rights.

I welcome your questions.

SEC. CLINTON, FORMER FIRST LADY LAURA BUSH MAKE REMARKS AT AFGHAN WOMEN'S COUNCIL 10TH ANNIVERSARY LUNCHEON

The following excerpt is from a U.S. State Department e-mail:
Remarks at the U.S.-Afghan Women's Council 10th Anniversary Celebration Luncheon
Remarks Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State Benjamin Franklin Room
Washington, DC
March 21, 2012
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, it’s a great pleasure to welcome all of you to the State Department, to the Benjamin Franklin Room, for the 10th anniversary of the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council. I look around this room and I see so many people who have helped to make the council a powerful engine for change both from Afghanistan and the United States. And I welcome warmly each and every one of you and applaud your commitment to supporting the women of Afghanistan as they strive to build better futures for themselves and their country.

Now, there are many people here who should be and deserve to be recognized because of your contributions here and in Afghanistan. But I will take the moment to acknowledge a few people in particular, starting first and foremost with Laura Bush. Laura Bush did so much to elevate and strengthen this council. Both in ways public and private, she became a passionate advocate for the rights and roles of women in Afghanistan, and she remains one of the strongest advocates today.

We were just talking at the table about some of the perks of being a first lady. (Laughter.) And one of them I learned from Elaine Chao, the former Secretary of Labor here, is that cabinet secretaries do take first ladies’ calls. (Laughter.) And when those calls are about supporting and finding money for and encouraging the women of Afghanistan, very often they were made by Mrs. Bush.

I want to thank the council’s U.S. co-chairs Melanne Verveer, our nation’s first and outstanding Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues; Jack DeGioia, President of Georgetown University, which has provided a home for the council since 2008 under the direction of Dr. Phyllis Magrab, the Director of the Center for Child and Human Development, who is also here. I wish to thank and acknowledge my counterpart and colleague, Afghan Foreign Minister Rassoul, and also the Afghan ambassador to the United States, Ambassador Hakimi. Thank you all for joining us.

I also wish to recognize Vartan Gregorian, the president of the Carnegie Corporation, whom you will hear from in a few minutes. He is an enthusiastic supporter of the council’s work, and I’m very grateful for his personal support of what the council is doing and so many of the initiatives on behalf of our country and our foreign policy.

And finally, I would like to recognize two other groups. Members of Congress who were here early, and I think are still here, let me ask them to stand so they can be recognized. Congresswomen Sheila Jackson Lee, Niki Tsongas, Carolyn Maloney, Donna Edwards, and Susan Davis. (Applause.)

And finally, I want to recognize the 10 Fulbright scholars from Afghanistan. Let me ask the 10 scholars to please stand. (Applause.)

Thanks to all who have joined us from the across the Obama and Bush Administrations, from Congress, the private sector, not-for-profit organizations, and academia: I think the diversity of backgrounds and experiences represented in this room reflects how committed the people of the United States are to the well-being and continued progress of the women of Afghanistan.

We come to this 10th anniversary from different perspectives and experiences as political leaders or business people, security or development experts, Republicans and Democrats, certainly men and women, but across our differences we wholeheartedly agree that the women of Afghanistan, like the women anywhere, are critical to their nation’s future. They deserve to have their human rights protected regardless of place, religion, culture, or any other circumstance, and they need and deserve our support.
We are meeting at a significant time of year. As you heard from Melanne, yesterday was the Persian New Year and the first day of spring. There is an Afghan proverb: A good year is determined by its spring. I think that is a worthy proverb to keep in mind, and indeed it is a call to action for us to be sure that the spring sets the pace for the kind of good year we hope to see in Afghanistan.

Now, I’m well aware that these past weeks have been especially challenging, so it is all the more important that we come together as partners, friends, and colleagues to celebrate the good things we have accomplished together and to rededicate ourselves to doing more in the months and years ahead.

For just a moment, think about the remarkable gains of this past decade. In 2001, life expectancy for women in Afghanistan was just 44 years of age. Now it is 62 years. Back then, almost no girls went to school. Today, 3 million do. They comprise nearly 40 percent of all primary school enrollments. Nearly 120,000 Afghan girls have graduated from high school, 15,000 are enrolled in universities, and nearly 500 women are on university faculties. Maternal mortality, infant mortality, under-five mortality rates have all declined significantly. More Afghan children are living past their fifth birthday today than at any time in their recent past.

Now, these statistics represent hundreds of thousands of individual success stories and reflect the work of courageous and determined women across the country. Afghan women helped achieve a constitution that enshrines women’s rights. They hold office at the national, provincial, and local levels. They serve on the High Peace Council and in provincial peace councils. They are opening and running businesses of all kinds. They are helping to build an effective and vibrant civil society.

In ways that often go unnoticed and certainly uncelebrated, the women of Afghanistan are hard at work each and every day solving Afghanistan’s problems and serving her people. Now, for many Afghan women, the help they have received from this council has made all the difference. Literacy education, support for women entrepreneurs, basic health services, job training for women judges and diplomats – you could go on and on. This council and the projects it has given risen – it has given rise to have provided concrete and effective support. They’ve translated our feelings and our rhetoric into action.

So this progress is worth cheering, but it’s also worth protecting. Now that we have entered into this period of transition, it’s absolutely critical we protect these gains and expand on them. Not that is not my view or the view of Laura Bush or any of the Americans who are here; that is a view expressed loudly and clearly by Afghan citizens, men and women alike. It is also the view of Afghan leaders, and it is certainly the view of the international community. The women of Afghanistan are a valuable and irreplaceable resource, and their rights must be protected, and their opportunities for them to contribute must be preserved.

Now, of course, that is easy to say and it is much harder to do. I know that many women in Afghanistan and their supporters around the world are closely watching what we and the Afghan Government do to support a potential political reconciliation. Many are worried that in whatever future negotiations that might occur women, their rights, their roles, their concerns will be scarified, and the old days will return. Well, let me say again what I have said before in Kabul, in London, in Bonn, in Munich, in New York, and Washington: The United States cannot and will not let that happen.

Our goal is to get Afghans talking with other Afghans about the future. We’ve said from the start that a reconciliation dialogue must include women as well as ethnic minorities and civil society. One of our redlines is that insurgents who want to reconcile in the end must commit to abide by Afghanistan’s constitution and the rights enshrined in it, most particularly women’s rights.

There are always going to be those, not only in Afghanistan, who want to roll back progress for women and impose second-class citizenship on women, but the Afghan constitution is clear, and the Afghan Government has clearly affirmed it as the law of the land. So we will not waver on this point. Any peace that is attempted to be made by excluding more than half the population is no peace at all. It is a figment that will not last. (Applause.)

So let there be no doubt that even as the U.S. role in Afghanistan changes during the next few years of transition, we will continue to stand with and work closely with Afghan women. And we will be working closely with the international community as well, because we all need to be vigilant and disciplined in our support and in our refusal to accept the erosion of women’s rights and freedoms.

As Mrs. Bush said in her historic radio address in 2001, the fight against terrorism is also a fight for the rights and dignity of women. So we must use every available tool to support that commitment. And to that end, I am pleased to announce that the United States will be sponsoring the creation of an International Center for Afghan Women’s Economic Development to be located at the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul. (Applause.) And after lunch, you can see the blueprints of the center on display in the Thomas Jefferson Room next door.

Now, let me hasten to add that I am aware change of the kind that we are seeking does not come quickly or easily. In fact, it is the work of a generation or more. Yet even within a smaller time horizon, so much is possible. Just think, if you get discouraged by the headlines, of what this council has done in the past 10 years. Just think of all the women for whom your programs made the critical difference. Just think of all the families that are healthier, more prosperous, and secure because of you.

So for the Afghan people, it is the start of a new year and a new season for many, a time of renewal and recommitment. And I think this lunch, in our spring, represents our pledge to continue our work together for the next 10 years and beyond to support the women of Afghanistan as they do build those better futures for themselves and their families and for their nation.

I am so pleased to be able to introduce someone who is part of very small group. (Laughter.) And it’s a group that has made a great contribution in so many ways during the course of our country’s history. When we were entertaining at the White House this past week Prime Minister Cameron, President Obama jokingly referred to the War of 1812 being recognized for the 200th anniversary. And I reminded my British colleagues that it was Dolly Madison who saved the treasures of the White House on the way out the door. (Laughter.) Well, there are some stories which are well known and other stories which have yet to be told, and I hope some stories that never see the light of day. (Laughter.)
But one thing I know for sure, and that is that during a very difficult time in our nation’s history Laura Bush served with great distinction and honor, and it wasn’t only about what she did here at home. It was also about her recognition of the importance of reaching out beyond our borders, a lesson that is still as relevant today as ever. And thank you so much, Laura, for everything you did to make this council a reality. Please join me in welcoming Laura Bush. (Applause.)

MRS. BUSH: Thank you so much. Thank you, all. Thanks, everybody. Thank you, all. Thank you and thank you very much, Secretary Clinton. Thank you for your support for the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council. If we hadn’t – if we didn’t have you right at the very top supporting it, we wouldn’t be celebrating this 10th anniversary, so thank you very, very much. I really appreciate it. (Applause.)

I want to also thank Ambassador Verveer. Thank you for everything you’ve done for this council and for so many other women around the world. And thank you for representing our country so well. I appreciate it a lot. Foreign Minister Rassoul, thank you for joining us today. We’re very happy to see you. And Ambassador and Mrs. Hakimi, thanks so much. It’s great to see you again. And former Ambassador Jawad and Shamim, who were also founding members of the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council, thank you for joining us. And the members of the United States Congress who have come today as well, thank you for continuing to work in your offices for our relationship with Afghanistan and with the women of Afghanistan. Thank you for all of that.

And then of course to all the members of the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council who have joined us today. To Phyllis Magrab and Dr. DeGioia, who have given the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council a home, thank you all for that.

I’m very happy to be here at the State Department for the 10th anniversary of the U.S.–Afghan Women’s Council. After the attacks of September 11th, the spotlight of the world turned on Afghanistan. And I had a really close friend, one of my college friends from Texas, who gave me a phone call and she said that the whole time we’ve been in Washington, she was just thinking thank heaven she wasn’t in my shoes.
But then after that, she was jealous. (Laughter.) She said she was jealous for the first time because I could actually do something. And she wanted so badly to be able to help the people of Afghanistan and especially the women of Afghanistan. What she said was true, and as I learned more about what women in Afghanistan faced, I knew that those of us in the United States needed to reach out to them and to help.

In November 2001, George asked me to give the weekly presidential radio address – I think, actually, a woman advisor of his who’s here suggested it, Karen Hughes – (laughter) – to describe the plight of Afghan women. Many Americans were learning for the very first time about the severe repression and brutality against women that was common in Afghanistan under the Taliban. Girls were forbidden from attending school, women couldn’t leave their homes alone without a male escort, and so they were denied access to doctors when they were sick or the chance to work if they were widows and support their children. And Afghanistan had the highest infant and maternal mortality rates in the world.

The stark contrast between our lives and the lives of women in Afghanistan horrified many American women, and gave birth to strong friendships between American women and our Afghan sisters. Everywhere I went, women stopped me and said, “What can I do? Is there anything I can do?” One woman told me that she would lie in bed at night and try to figure out ways she could help the women of Afghanistan. American women wanted to help, and their response demonstrates the deep compassion of the American people and the desire to support Afghan women help establish – that helped all of us establish one of the most successful public-private partnerships in our country: the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council.
Since its founding in 2002 by Presidents Bush and Karzai, the Council has given Americans, American individual citizens and corporations, a way to partner with Afghan women to help them recover from decades of oppression. Council initiatives have touched nearly every part of Afghan civil society, from education and healthcare to business and government to agriculture.

I joined the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council for my first trip to Afghanistan in 2005, and several of the people who are in the room today were with me on that trip. In Kabul, I met with Afghan women who were just beginning to experience their newfound rights. Their stories encouraged all of us and gave us hope. I returned to Afghanistan two more times, and on each visit I saw progress. On my last trip in 2008, I visited Bamyan Province, the same province where the Taliban had shocked the world by destroying those two towering sixth century Buddhas. And I met with their governor, a woman, Dr. Habiba Sarabi. I visited with a class of women police officers in Bamyan Province, courageous women who were taking the profession that women – of course, they would have never guessed they would have been able to have.

Since then, since returning to Dallas, George and I have hosted Afghan educators and entrepreneurs at the Bush Institute for two conferences on empowering the women and girls of Afghanistan. These women’s – now, Afghanistan is home to more than 200 women-owned businesses, and women constitute 35 percent of the work force. These women’s enterprises range from traditional handicraft and artisan production, to engineering and construction, to financial services and consulting. While the challenges to their success are considerable, a growing number of women are starting their own businesses, supporting their families, and creating jobs for their neighbors. Studies indicate that women reinvest their earnings in their children’s education, in healthcare for their families, and in necessities like food and clothing.

While these signs of progress are encouraging, serious challenges remain. Women’s involvement in Afghanistan’s peace process has been limited. Recent statements made by the Mullahs would severely limit women’s ability to work outside the home. And there are some who still seek to silence women through intimidation and violence. The failure to protect women’s rights and to ensure their security could undermine the significant gains Afghan women have achieved. No one wants to see Afghanistan’s progress reversed or its people returned to the perilous circumstances that marked the Taliban’s rule.
Promoting women’s freedoms is crucial to Afghanistan’s future. To the extent that women are empowered to fully participate in their country, they’ll contribute to the stability and the prosperity of their nation. And that’s why the work of the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council is so important today and in the years ahead.

I want to thank all of the council members and all of our partners for all you’ve done over the last 10 years to empower Afghan women and to help them build better lives for themselves and their families, and thereby build a better and prosperous and stable Afghanistan. We want to see that country’s hard work and their progress sustained. And we want to ensure that women are empowered so Afghanistan can succeed.
So thanks to each and every one of you here today as we mark 10 years of the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council. Congratulations and thanks to everybody who’s done so much over the last 10 years, and best wishes for the next 10. I’ll be right there with you. Thank you so much. (Applause.)

SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you so very much. Now it is my pleasure to introduce my colleague, Afghan Foreign Minister Rassoul, who has been a very strong voice and supporter of the rights of women and the roles that they can and should play in the future of Afghanistan. He traveled here from Kabul to represent the Afghan Government at this celebration.
Foreign Minister. (Applause.)

FOREIGN MINISTER RASSOUL: Honorable Madam Secretary Clinton, Honorable Mrs. Laura Bush, Ambassador Verveer, distinguished member of the U.S.-Afghan Women Council, ladies and gentlemen: Madam Secretary, thank you so much for those gracious words. I am truly delighted to be here once again among good friends, especially from the U.S.-Afghan Women Council. Please allow me to express my gratitude to you, Honorable Madam Secretary and the council, for inviting me to be part of today’s event. I would like also to especially acknowledge you, Honorable Mrs. Bush, for your commitment to the cause of Afghan women and their rights. I am honored to be with all of you as we celebrate the council 10th anniversary.

As always, I am grateful for the continued effort made by U.S.-Afghan Women Council in developing and implementing projects in the field of health, education, illiteracy, entrepreneurship, and political leadership with the aim of improving the lives of Afghan women and children. What you do makes a real difference, and I want to convey the heartfelt appreciation and gratitude of the Afghan people and government who have directly benefited from your assistance and support.

Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to make three quick points in my brief remarks today. First, I want to touch upon some example of the historic – I repeat historic – achievement you have made in Afghanistan in helping Afghan women realize their God-given rights and access opportunities in all walk of lives. As, Madam Secretary, you mentioned, Afghan women make up 28 percent of legislator in Afghan parliament. They occupy one-fourth of the government jobs, including 9 percent of decision-making level ministers, deputy ministers, directors, one governor, a mayor, an ambassador, and other senior diplomats.
Girls make about 40 percent of the nearly 8 million children going to school in Afghanistan today – a figure that was fewer – that was 10 fewer than 1 million in 2,000 girl, no girls at that time. Thirty percent of schoolteachers and 15 percent of university teachers are women.

Afghan women and girls today make 24 percent of doctors and medical workers across the country. Women made up 40 percent of voters in our last presidential elections. We have female pilots, army and police officers, and professional martial artists. Afghan women are at the least 50 percent force behind Afghanistan’s vibrant independent media and active civil society groups, both of which are among the most visible and concrete achievements of the past decade. In fact, there are millions of other Afghan girls and women throughout Afghanistan today who are no longer the oppressed, isolated, hopeless existence they were subjected to during the war and even more brutally under the Taliban regime throughout the 1990s.

Women’s right today are enriched in to democratically adopted constitution of the country and codified into various laws enacted by the Afghan Government in accordance with our constitution and our international obligations.

I am making this last point to underline President Karzai and the Afghanistan commitment, government commitment to the rights of Afghan women under the Afghan Constitutions and Afghanistan’s relevant international obligations.

Where not specified, these numbers and percent that I just referenced by the example were all a big zero in 2001 and there were no legal guarantees for women rights in Afghanistan. So ladies and gentlemen, these gains and the collective change they represent are historic and source of real and genuine pride for all Afghans.

A key question here is what – and more importantly who – made this possible. That’s my second brief point. There is no doubt that we have had these achievement chiefly because the Afghan people want it, support them, and because courageous Afghan women have fought for them.

Honorable Madam Secretary, I want to thank you for most recently acknowledging one of the model of exemplary character and steely courage in the person of Maryam Durani, an elected member of the Kandahar Provincial Council.

But these achievement were also made possible – were also made possible – they were helped and facilitated by the principled and generous support of the international community, people such as you. The leaders in this panel, the countless activists working on the ground in Afghanistan, in your governments of the cause of human rights in Afghanistan. So I want to take this opportunity once again as there are Afghan committed to the rights of Afghan women and their full participation in the social, political, and economic life of my country to say to you, thank you very much for standing with Afghanistan and for standing with the women of Afghanistan.

Ladies and gentlemen, the support and commitment from the world community, especially emanating from the Long-Term Strategic Partnership Dialogue between Afghanistan and the United States, has given new hope to the Afghan women. Our country has made significant progress, and Afghan women now realize that they are achieving a deserving place in society – in society, but our shared job in helping the women of Afghanistan realize their rights is not yet done.

This is my third brief point. Afghan women continue to suffer terrible violence, something our First Lady has forcefully spoken against. There are still far too many Afghan girls who never got the chance to go to school. Maternity mortality is still unacceptable – unacceptably high. Afghan women and Afghan children continue to be among the innocent victim on the ongoing war, something we all need to put an end to.
And of course, there are other challenges that both men and women face in today’s Afghanistan, chief among them the lack of confidence inspiring security. So our gains are fragile and depend upon a smooth and successful transition up to and well beyond 2014. Let me assure you that we will forge ahead with our struggle for peace, security, development, and justice for our citizen, especially our mother and sisters. So as we move forward in our remarkable commitment to protect and further promote the right of Afghan women now and beyond 2014, we will continue to require and count on your tangible, long-term moral and practical support and assistance. Thank you very much for the kind attention. (Applause.)

AMBASSADOR VERVEER: Thank you very much, Foreign Minister Rassoul. And now we come to a part of the program that we’ve tried to keep a secret from Mrs. Bush and Secretary Clinton. And that is not easy. (Laughter.) But hopefully they don’t know about this. So Mrs. Bush, if I could ask you to join us up here in the middle.
Many of us can still recall your historic radio address in 2001 in which you called on all Americans to ensure that dignity and opportunity will be secured for all the women and children of Afghanistan. And you have led by example. You helped inspire the formation of the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council, you’ve worked to mobilize resources to ensure that Afghan women and girls gain skills, opportunities, and particularly the education that they were denied under the years of Taliban repression.

I know a little bit about this firsthand, because back in early 2002 when I was involved with Vital Voices, it was Mrs. Bush who helped support a program that involved providing jobs to Afghan widows to make uniforms for the girls to go back to school. Your commitment took you to Afghanistan several times, occasions in which you launched were the programs and supported America’s continuing engagement. And now, as former First Lady, you continue to write op-eds, sponsor programs through the Bush Institute, and support the initiatives of this council. Your commitment has not waned.
And so for your leadership, dedication, and generosity on behalf of the women and girls of Afghanistan, for continuing to be a driving force for the work of the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council, and for showing us the value of collaboration, the council presents you with this award of appreciation. (Applause.)

MR. DEGIOIA: Well, it’s been an honor to be here today as we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council and the enduring contribution of two extraordinary leaders, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and honorary advisor of the council Mrs. Laura Bush. We are inspired by the depth of your commitment to the empowerment and success of women and children in Afghanistan and around the world. We’re grateful for the actions you have taken, both during your time in the White House as our First Ladies and in your current work to ensure significant progress and ever-expanding impact.

And I also wish to thank our partners at the United States State Department for their continued commitment and collaboration, as well as Abbott Laboratories and Goldman Sachs for their dedicated efforts to enable our work. Georgetown University has been deeply engaged in the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council from the time of its founding, participating in the critical work of partnering with the U.S. and Afghan Governments, the private sector, and NGOs to develop and implement initiatives in support of Afghan women and children.
Since 2008, we’ve had the privilege of giving the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council a home at Georgetown University’s Center for Child and Human Development under the leadership of Dr. Phyllis Magrab. As we mark the 10th year anniversary of the council, we will continue to expand on this decade of dedicated work, deepening our commitment to creating broader opportunities for Afghan women and children. And the council will have a special role to play in the areas of humanitarian support and local capacity building, especially during this period of transition.

At Georgetown, we look forward to drawing on the diverse resources of our community to ensure the continued growth and success of the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council, especially in these critical areas.

We also had the opportunity in December to host Secretary Clinton as she announced the U.S. National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security at Georgetown and to discuss our efforts to establish an initiative for Women, Peace, Security, and Development within our School of Foreign Service under the direction of our dean, Carol Lancaster. Now it’s a pleasure for me at this moment to now be a part of presenting another award, and that is to invite Phyllis Magrab, our vice chair of the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council and director of the Center for Child and Human Development to join me in presenting the Caring for Children Lifetime Achievement Award.

Now, the Caring for Children Award is given by Georgetown University through its Center for Child and Human Development to honor an individual who’s made a distinguished contribution to improving the quality of life for vulnerable children and their families. And today it is our pleasure to honor Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton for her deep and enduring commitment to this end.

Secretary Clinton has been making significant contributions through her work for decades, beginning with her important scholarly article in the 1973 edition of the Harvard Education Review on Children and the Law. Since that time, she has been dedicated to creating policies and programs to benefit the most vulnerable children and their families. Her accomplishments have been wide-ranging, but for a special reason I wish to highlight the Arkansas home instruction program for preschool youth that she championed when she was First Lady of Arkansas.

This program sent teachers into the homes of underserved families to train parents in school-preparedness and literacy. And through the program, parents learned the importance of talking to and reading to their children. In highlighting this work and recognizing Secretary Clinton’s commitment to the mothers and children of Afghanistan, the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council has just launched the Mothers As First Teachers initiative, originated and led by council member Jill Iscol and supported by a group of generous donors and implemented by the early learning team at Georgetown’s Center for Child and Human Development. The initiative will develop materials to support mothers as the first teachers of their children, which will be used in the women’s resource centers and the women’s gardens of Afghanistan. It’s in this context, that with great pleasure, we offer this award to an ever more dedicated friend of women and children across the globe, Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton. (Applause.)

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, it is so wonderful and surprising – (laughter) – to thank you all for that very meaningful award, but more than that, for launching this program, Mothers As First Teachers, in Afghanistan. And I thank Jill Iscol and all who have made this possible. It’s an absolutely fabulous initiative, and I’ll look forward to hearing how the implementation goes.

Let me now introduce someone who’s been a great leader for so many years in the world of academia and philanthropy, someone who has really seen over the horizon and understands the long-term challenges that we all face in trying to make change in the world that is sustainable. Please join me in welcoming Dr. Vartan Gregorian. (Applause.)

DR. GREGORIAN: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Mrs. Laura Bush, your Excellency Zalmai Rassoul – foreign minister of Afghanistan, distinguished diplomats, Ambassador Melanne Verveer, members of the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council, esteemed guests, ladies and gentlemen, today is first day of spring, hence first day of new year, Nowruz, New Year’s Day in Afghanistan, Iran, and Tajikistan. I wish all of you happy new year. (In Farsi.)

From my childhood days in Iran, I still remember the poetic expression, (in Farsi). May every day of yours be a nowruz, and your nowruz be a glorious one. I am always honored to be in the presence of two great friends, former First Ladies, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush, a fellow librarian and educator. (Laughter.)

I am great admirer of theirs. With vigor and passion, tenacity and conviction, they have done so much for so long to advance the cause of education, of women’s rights and opportunities. They are invested in hope. They have invested in human potential to expand human opportunities without racial, ethnic, and political borders, boundaries.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton continues to work tirelessly to advance peace and human rights in general, and women rights in particular, not only here but throughout the world. In their fight on behalf of women, Hillary Clinton has a formidable secret weapon: Ambassador Melanne Verveer. (Laughter.) She is an amazing force, free spirit, free nature, master tactician, manager, and naturally tireless on behalf of women. I’m delighted to be here. (Applause.)

As an historian who is very familiar with Afghanistan, I’m well acquainted with the efforts of the Afghans to modernize their country while maintaining its independence and sovereignty. I’m also aware of the quest of Afghan women to receive education, secure opportunities, become equal citizens, and thus contribute to their country’s advancement. Mr. Towdy, a noted expert on Islam, in his comments here on the Qu’ran, has reminded us – he is Tunisian great scholar – that God created a couple, did not create men first, women second. He created a couple at the same time. So there’s no way half of the couple can be inferior to the other entire couple. (Laughter.) (Applause.)

I’m also here in my capacity as president of Carnegie Corporation to tell you that we have supported the cause of secure, peaceful, and economically vibrant Afghanistan where the talent of its people and its rich multiethnic society can prosper. Beginning with a grant in 2003 to the United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan for support for the Kabul Public Library and the repatriation of Afghan memory in the form of books and archival materials from libraries and universities abroad, we have invested in a wide range of projects in Afghanistan.

From the work of organizations such as the Center for International Cooperation at New York University to help the UN build sustainable peace, to the Institute of State Effectiveness on the ground effort to complement the achievements of National Solidarity Program, to Lichtenstein Institute for Self Determination at Princeton University track two dialogue that have engaged the leaders of experts to Afghanistan and the region, to the work of West Virginia-based Future Generations to link grassroots development with national and international assistance efforts, our grantees have been committed to advancing solutions by, for, and with Afghans and for Afghanistan.

Most recently, we support the International Task Force of Afghanistan organized by Century Foundation and chaired by former Under Secretary of State of Political Affairs, a Carnegie Corporation trustee, Tom Pickering, and former UN Special Representative for Afghanistan and Foreign Minister of Algeria Lakhdar Brahimi to map out with Afghan leaders and others the requirements for a negotiated settlement to the conflict in Afghanistan that also engages its neighbors.

Building of this legacy, and not to belabor more – Kumalaya, remind me, that time is now of the essence – (laughter) – I’d like to announce today the Carnegie Corporation has decided in honor of our first two ladies but also especially in honor of work that council is doing, to grant $1 million scholarship for Afghan women who study in Afghan universities. Thank you very much. (Applause.)

Furthermore, I am delighted to tell you that my colleague and friend, Allan Goodman, head of Institute of International Education – again, founded by Carnegie Corporation 1919 – has decided that they will administer the grant in order not to impose any difficulties in expediting this matter.

So thank you very much for having me here. Delighted. (Applause.)

SECRETARY CLINTON: Oh, Micah, that’s great. That is so great.

CYBERSPACE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT

The following excerpt is from the Department of Defense American Forces Press Service
DOD Reviews Cyberspace Rules of Engagement
By Cheryl Pellerin
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, March 20, 2012 - Whether by land, sea or air, Defense Department leaders have long crafted rules of engagement to determine how, where and when they can attack the enemy. They expect soon to complete the same for their newest domain: cyberspace, the assistant secretary of defense for global strategic affairs said today.

"We are working closely with the Joint Staff on the implementation of a transitional command-and-control model for cyberspace operations" while reviewing existing rules of engagement, Madelyn R. Creedon told the House Armed Services Committee's subcommittee on emerging threats and capabilities.

Teresa M. Takai, DOD's chief information officer, and Army Gen. Keith Alexander, commander of U.S. Cyber Command, joined Creedon at the hearing.
"This interim framework," Creedon told the panel, "will standardize existing organizational structures and command relationships across the department for the application of the full spectrum of cyberspace capabilities."

Describing DOD's strategies for operating in cyberspace, Creedon said the department maintains more than 15,000 network enclaves and 7 million computing devices in installations around the globe.

"DOD continues to develop effective strategies for ensuring the United States is prepared for all cyber contingencies along the entire spectrum," she added, "from peace to crisis to war."

In times of fiscal constraint, Creedon said, DOD also is taking advantage of efficiencies provided by information technology advances.
"The department has been working around the clock, often in close cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies," she said, to protect the nation from cyber threats that include the theft of intellectual property, as well as damage to the defense industrial base, the economy and national security.

The department hit a "significant milestone" last July with the release of its first strategy for operating in cyberspace, Creedon said. The document builds on President Barack Obama's International Strategy for Cyberspace and the DOD Quadrennial Defense Review, and guides the department's military, business and intelligence activities in cyberspace in support of national interests, she said.

The DOD works closely with colleagues in the departments of Homeland Security, Justice, State, Treasury, Commerce and other agencies, she added, and pursues bilateral and multilateral engagements to enhance security and develop norms of behavior in cyberspace.

Takai told the panel that DOD's $37 billion information technology budget request for fiscal year 2013 includes a range of IT investments, including $3.4 billion for cyber security efforts to protect information, information systems and networks against known cyber vulnerabilities.

It also includes $182 million for Cyber Command for cyber network defense, cryptographic systems, communications security, network resiliency, workforce development, and development of cyber security standards and technologies department-wide.
Among efforts to improve effectiveness and efficiency, Takai explained, "is consolidation of the department's IT infrastructure, networks, computing services, data centers, application and data services, while simultaneously improving the ability to defend that infrastructure against growing cyber threats."

Her office is leading the implementation of the initiatives, the chief information officer added, "but it is important that we work closely with the services, Joint Staff and U.S. Cyber Command to more aggressively modernize our overall information systems."
A pillar of that modernization is a move to a single, joint network architecture, Takai said, allowing DOD and Cyber Command better visibility into network activity and better defense against cyber attacks.

Individually, she said, the services and agencies have taken action to better position the information enterprise and security posture.

The department has made significant progress in several areas, Takai said. One effort involved deploying a modular system called a host-based security system that enhances situational awareness of the network and improves the ability to detect, diagnose and react to cyber intrusions.

"We've also taken the lead in assessing the risk of the global supply chain to our critical information and communications technology," Takai added, and has instituted a successful defense industrial base cyber security and information assurance program.
Alexander said cyber defense requires contributions not only from DOD, but from Homeland Security, the FBI, and the Defense Information Systems Agency -- "all key partners in helping us do our cyber mission."

Cyber space is becoming more dangerous, he added.

"The intelligence community's worldwide threat brief to Congress in January raised cyber threats to just behind terrorism and [nuclear] proliferation in its list of the biggest challenges facing the nation."

The task of assuring cyberspace access, the general said, "has drawn the attention of our nation's most senior leaders over the last year and their decisions have helped to clarify what we can and must do about developments that greatly concern us."
Cyber Command is specifically charged with directing the security, operation and defense of DOD's information systems, he added, "but our work and actions are affected by threats well outside DOD networks ... threats the nation cannot afford to ignore."
Dangers are not something new in cyberspace.

"Nation-state actors in cyberspace are riding a tide of criminality," the general said. "Several nations have turned their resources and power against us and foreign businesses and enterprises, even those that manage critical infrastructure in this country, and others."
For the panel, Alexander described five key areas Cyber Command is working on:
-- Building the enterprise and training the force;
--Developing a defensible architecture;
--Getting authorities needed to operate in cyberspace;

--Setting the teamwork properly across U.S. government agencies; and
--Creating a concept of operations for operating in cyberspace.
"I think we're making progress," Alexander said, "but ... the risks that face our country are growing faster than our progress and we have to work hard on that."

JUPITER JET STREAMS

This photo and excerpt are from the Department of Defense Armed with Science website:  
Following the path of one of Jupiter's jet streams, a line of V-shaped chevrons travels west to east just above Jupiter's Great Red Spot. Most of the planet is unfolded here in a single, flat map made on December 11 and 12, 2000, when NASA's Cassini spacecraft flew past Jupiter. At the left, the chevrons run into another storm called the South Equatorial Disturbance (SED). Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

New movies of Jupiter are the first to catch an invisible wave shaking up one of the giant planet’s jet streams, an interaction that also takes place in Earth’s atmosphere and influences the weather.

The movies, made from images taken by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft when it flew by Jupiter in 2000, are part of an in-depth study conducted by a team of scientists and amateur astronomers led by Amy Simon-Miller at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., and published in the April 2012 issue of Icarus.

“This is the first time anyone has actually seen direct wave motion in one of Jupiter’s jet streams,” says Simon-Miller, the paper’s lead author. “And by comparing this type of interaction in Earth’s atmosphere to what happens on a planet as radically different as Jupiter, we can learn a lot about both planets.”
Like Earth, Jupiter has several fast-moving jet streams that circle the globe. Earth’s strongest and best known jet streams are those near the north and south poles; as these winds blow west to east, they take the scenic route, wandering north and south. What sets these jet streams on their meandering paths — and sometimes makes them blast Florida and other warm places with frigid air — are their encounters with slow-moving waves in Earth’s atmosphere, called Rossby waves.

The photo at left of Jupiter is from the NASA website: 

PRESIDENT OBAMA WANTS UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN AMERICANS AND IRANIANS

Obama Calls for Understanding Between Iranians, Americans

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, March 20, 2012 - As Iran and other nations celebrate Nowruz -- the Persian New Year -- President Barack Obama called for understanding between Americans and Iranians.

The president noted the tensions between the Iranian government and the rest of the world over the government's nuclear program.

"To the people of Iran, this holiday comes at a time of continued tension between our two countries," the president said in a video message on the holiday. "But as people gather with their families, do good deeds, and welcome a new season, we are also reminded of the common humanity that we share."

The president maintained no reasons exist for the United States and Iran to be divided. "Here in the United States, Iranian-Americans prosper and contribute greatly to our culture," he said. He noted that the Iranian film "A Separation" won this year's Academy Award for best foreign language film.

The U.S. and Iranian navies have taken on the danger of piracy together, and U.S. sailors have rescued Iranian citizens who had been taken hostage, Obama said. "And from Facebook to Twitter -- from cell phones to the Internet -- our people use the same tools to talk to one another, and to enrich our lives," he added.

But the Iranian people are denied the basic freedom to access the information that they want, Obama said. "Instead, the Iranian government jams satellite signals to shut down television and radio broadcasts," he said. "It censors the Internet to control what the Iranian people can see and say. The regime monitors computers and cell phones for the sole purpose of protecting its own power."

The Iranian government has increased controls to the extent that its citizens cannot communicate freely with their loved ones within Iran, or beyond its borders. "Technologies that should empower citizens are being used to repress them," the president said.

This "electronic curtain" has stopped the free flow of ideas both ways, Obama noted. "I want the Iranian people to know that America seeks a dialogue to hear your views and understand your aspirations," he added.

The president announced the creation of a "virtual embassy" for the Iranian people. "Even as we've imposed sanctions on the Iranian government, today my administration is issuing new guidelines to make it easier for American businesses to provide software and services into Iran that will make it easier for the Iranian people to use the Internet," he said.

Suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away, the president said.

"The Iranian people are the heirs to a great and ancient civilization," he said. "Like people everywhere, they have the universal right to think and speak for themselves. The Iranian government has a responsibility to respect these rights, just as it has a responsibility to meet its obligations with regard to its nuclear program."

The president reiterated that if the Iranian government pursues a responsible path, it will be welcomed once more among the community of nations, and the Iranian people will have greater opportunities to prosper.

ATTORNEY GENERAL'S SPEECH ON SAFE SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES

The following excerpt is from the Department of Justice website:
Attorney General Eric Holder Speaks at the White House Lgbt Conference on Safe Schools & Communities  Arlington, Texas ~ Tuesday, March 20, 2012
As prepared for delivery
Thank you, Dr. [Alejandro] del Carmen, for your kind words – and for welcoming me to this beautiful campus.   I also want to thank President [James] Spaniolo – and the entire University of Texas community – for hosting this important conference.

It is a pleasure to be here in Arlington this morning, and a privilege to join so many law enforcement officials, educators, nonprofit and religious organizations, community groups, and Administration leaders – including representatives from the Departments of Justice and Education, and my good friend, Valerie Jarrett – in discussing the remarkable work that’s being done to ensure the safety of our schools and communities – and to develop strategies for carrying these efforts into the future.

Today’s conference marks the third in a series of regional events – hosted by the White House, and sponsored by federal agencies – that have helped shine a light on some of the unique challenges that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals currently face – from specific health concerns, to an increased risk of homelessness.

Today, as we focus on ways to protect our fellow citizens – and, especially, our students – from discrimination and hate-fueled violence, I’m grateful to be joined by several key leaders in this work, including U.S. Attorney Sarah Saldana, of the Northern District of Texas; and Judy Shepard – a courageous advocate who has turned her family’s tragedy into a national call to action.

Because of advocates like Judy – and the many allies and community leaders in this room – when it comes to protecting the rights and interests of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans, we’ve established a record of progress that we can all be proud of.   And we’ve created a sense of momentum that, today, we stand poised to build upon.

This morning, I’m proud to join you in affirming a simple truth, and renewing this Administration’s commitment – as well as my own – to an essential idea:   that no one deserves to be bullied, harassed, or victimized because of who they are, how they worship, or who they love.

Fortunately, in this country, equal opportunity – and, in particular, equal justice under law – are anything but novel concepts.   They are written into our founding documents, etched into our collective past, and woven throughout American history.   Over the centuries, they have led patriots, pioneers, and visionaries not just to dream of a more perfect union, but to help make it a reality.   As a result – especially in recent decades – we’ve made historic strides in the long march toward justice and equal opportunity for all citizens.   And I am proud to say that our nation’s Department of Justice has never been more committed to advancing this work.

Nowhere is this commitment stronger than in the ongoing efforts of our Civil Rights Division.  For over half a century, the Division has fought to expand opportunity and access, to safeguard the fundamental infrastructure of our democracy, and to protect the most vulnerable members of our society.   Since the Division was created – in 1957 – preventing, investigating and prosecuting hate-fueled crimes and violence has been at the very heart of its mission.   And, since the beginning of this Administration, we’ve taken this work to a new level.
In fact, over the last fiscal year, the Justice Department set new records in the number of hate crimes cases filed and the number of defendants charged and convicted of these crimes.   And we worked tirelessly to enforce the landmark Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act – a historic measure which President Obama signed into law in 2009.   Many of us fought for years to get this bill to the President’s desk.   And few have worked harder or advocated more effectively than Judy Shepard, and her husband Dennis.

More than a decade ago, when I served as Deputy Attorney General, I testified in support of this critical legislation – and I made sure that one of my first trips to Capitol Hill as Attorney General was to support its passage.   This legislation has proved to be a powerful tool.   It provides federal prosecutors with new resources and authorities to seek justice on behalf of all those who are victimized on the basis of their race, ethnicity, , religion, national origin – and, for the first time ever – their sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.   Since it was enacted, the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section has worked closely with the FBI’s Civil Rights Unit and U.S. Attorneys’ offices across the country – including here in Texas – to ensure the smooth implementation of this important law.   We’re collaborating with federal, state, and local law enforcement officials to ensure clear understanding of its provisions.   And we’ve trained thousands of law enforcement officers and community stakeholders – including many who attended a conference right here in Arlington last November.

Already, these efforts have yielded significant results.   Seven cases have been indicted under Shepard-Byrd, 24 defendants have been charged, and 8 have been convicted.   As we speak, Justice Department investigators are examining a number of open matters under every part of the new law – including the provisions protecting those victimized because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.   Regrettably, these open matters include the incident last week in Northeast Dallas, where two gay men were attacked with baseball bats.  When incidents like this occur, we want to hear about them.   And we will do everything in our power to ensure that justice is served.

But the full measure of our success cannot be taken from the number of federal prosecutions alone.   We must also consider the robust cooperation that’s taking place between federal, state and local authorities – including in cases where defendants have been prosecuted under state and local hate crimes statutes.

For example, Justice Department officials closely monitored the recent prosecution of a defendant from Shreveport, Louisiana, who used a pool cue to attack a gay man in a local club –shouting anti-gay threats just before the attack took place.   It turned out that the state penalties provided for such offenses were more than double what federal statutes would have allowed.  And, as a result – after the defendant pled guilty to aggravated assault and a hate crime under Louisiana state law – he was sentenced to 23 years in prison.

Regardless of whether we use state or federal laws to obtain tough sentences like this one, there’s no doubt that rigorous enforcement will help to safeguard the rights of the LGBT community, to protect individuals from violence and intimidation, and to achieve justice for the victims of these despicable acts.   But – although hate crimes prosecutions are essential – they are only one part of the Administration’s broad strategy of community engagement and empowerment.

That’s why the Department is working – in close cooperation with our state and local partners – to help prevent these crimes before they occur, and to encourage greater reporting when they do.   It’s why we’ve joined forces with other federal agencies, like the Department of Education, to intervene in communities and school systems where discrimination, bullying, and harassment have been reported.   And it’s why we’re reaching out to our nation’s young people through educational programs that teach tolerance and understanding.

At the center of this comprehensive approach is the work of the Community Relations Service – or CRS – a component of the Justice Department that helps government leaders, community groups, and public and private organizations to develop mediation and conciliation services in response to hate crimes.   CRS never imposes solutions to local problems – and it’s not their job to investigate, prosecute, or assign blame.  But – when they receive requests from students, school officials, or law enforcement officers – they work closely and confidentially with local stakeholders to address conflict, foster respect, and build safe and productive environments for LGBT students and others who report concerns.

In CRS, and across the entire Justice Department, we are committed to using every tool in our arsenal – and every strategy at our disposal – to foster healthy learning environments for our nation’s young people.

In the Civil Rights Division, these tools include critical enforcement mechanisms – as in the case of an openly gay California middle school student named Seth Walsh, whose mother found him unconscious and barely clinging to life one day in September 2010.

Seth hanged himself from a tree in the family’s backyard after suffering verbal, physical, and sexual harassment at school for more than two school years.   A subsequent investigation by the Departments of Justice and Education found that his peers had targeted him because he did not conform to gender stereotypes.   The investigation found that Seth was physically threatened and verbally harassed on a near daily basis.   He was mocked for wearing clothing that was not sufficiently masculine, told that he should “get surgery” to become a female, called “sissy” and “girl,” and referred to as the “girlfriend” of other male students.   Although the local school district had been notified of the harassment numerous times, the district failed to adequately investigate or respond, and chose to simply look the other way.

After more than a week on life support, Seth Walsh was declared brain dead, and passed away surrounded by his family.   He was just 13 years old.

Our investigation determined that the school district’s failure to address and prevent this kind of harassment violates Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, along with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.   Last summer, the Departments of Justice and Education reached a settlement with the school district, requiring it to take a variety of steps – including revising its policies; providing mandatory training for all students, administrators, teachers, counselors, and other staff; and implementing ways to track and respond to harassment – to ensure that such behavior doesn’t happen again.

Of course, there are no steps we can take to undo the suffering that drove Seth Walsh to take his own life.   And there are no words that can erase the shattering grief that followed his suicide.  But I believe we owe it to Seth and other students like him to respond to such tragedies not just with shock and outrage – but with resolve.   We have an obligation to protect young people who are targeted just because they’re perceived as “different” – and to make sure they know that we’re working with schools and communities to address bigotry before it becomes fuel for violence.   That those who have been targeted by their classmates are not alone.   That we will not stand for bullying or harassment in any form.   And that – as so many, from celebrities like Lady Gaga, to elected officials, including President Obama, have already said – it gets better.

This is more than just a slogan for a popular public awareness campaign.   It’s a commitment – one we’re backing up with robust action.   For example, exactly two weeks ago – in Anoka-Hennepin, Minnesota’s largest school district – the Departments of Justice and Education, six courageous student plaintiffs, and district officials came together to resolve harassment allegations and lay out a blueprint for sustainable reform.   The consent decree they agreed upon is designed to provide immediate help to students who feel unsafe or afraid in all of the district’s schools.   And it’s my hope that this successful outcome – arising from the willing engagement of every party involved – can serve as a model for other school systems that struggle to address harassment and build nurturing environments for their students.

I’d like to thank all of the investigators and attorneys who were involved – especially those who have joined us here today – for their excellent work on this case.   But I also want to note that – despite the progress that these efforts represent – as far as the Justice Department, and the entire Administration, is concerned, they are only the beginning.

To ensure our continued progress, as Valerie just stated, the Administration strongly supports the goals of the Student Non-Discrimination Act.   And for individuals and communities in need of help, there are a range of Justice Department components currently working to provide assistance and direct resources so that our students are protected – and able to learn without fear of discrimination, harassment, and bullying.

Studies being conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Institute of Justice will help shed light on victimization in the LGBT community and the effectiveness of the criminal justice system’s response.   LGBT-focused training programs and grants administered by the Office for Victims of Crime and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention have already supported outreach campaigns, victim service providers, and survivors of intimate partner violence and sexual assault.   The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services – or COPS – is currently offering resources to help prevent cyber bullying, foster trust between at-risk young people and law enforcement officials, and bring a wide variety of partners together to improve disciplinary practices in school systems.   The Office on Violence Against Women is funding important work being done in our schools to prevent and combat dating violence that includes same-sex relationships.   And, as many of you know, the Department of Justice fully supports the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act – and we are pleased that the bill proposed by Senator Leahy explicitly includes LGBT individuals.

Although we can all be proud that our nation is on a trajectory of progress, we must also be ready to seize the moment before us.   Today presents an important opportunity for each person in this room to rededicate ourselves to our common cause – of insisting that this country lives up to its highest ideals of fairness and equal opportunity.

In the months and years to come, let us strive to reinforce and quicken the momentum we’ve created.   Let us build upon our hard-fought victories.   And let us ensure that ‘equal justice under law’ is not simply an aspiration, but a guarantee for all time – and for all Americans.

In this work, I feel privileged to count you as partners.   I am grateful for your efforts.   And I look forward to the progress that we can – and must – achieve together.

Thank you.