SECRETARY OF DEFENSE PANNETA WANTS TO DEEPEN U.S.-INDIA RELATIONS

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE

Panetta Says U.S.-India Relations Must Deepen, Grow for Peace

By Jim Garamone

DELHI, India, June 6, 2012 - The U.S.-India relationship must deepen and grow to truly provide security for the Asia-Pacific region and the world, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta told the Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses here today.

Panetta met with Indian leaders to explore ways to expand the defense and security relationship between the two natural allies. His speech at the institute, the oldest Indian defense think tank, was to inform opinion-makers of the background behind the new strategic guidance and why it is important to both countries.

The secretary is building on President Barack Obama's statement that the relationship between the United States and India "will be one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century."

The United States is at a turning point, Panetta said, and it is now rebalancing its military forces in the critical Asia-Pacific region. Earlier this week in Singapore, the secretary announced that 60 percent of the U.S. naval fleet would be based in the Asia-Pacific. "In particular, we will expand our military partnerships and our presence in the arc extending from the Western Pacific and East Asia into the Indian Ocean region and South Asia," Panetta said in prepared remarks.

Defense cooperation with India is a linchpin in this strategy, he said. India is one of the largest and most dynamic countries in the region and the world, with one of the most capable militaries. The Indian military has more than 1.3 million members on active service and another 1 million in reserve. In addition, the countries share a set of values.

"We share a commitment to open and free commerce; to open access by all to our shared domains of sea, air, space, and cyberspace; and to resolving disputes without coercion or the use of force, in accordance with international law," Panetta said.

The two nations also share a commitment to abide by international standards and norms -- "rules of the road" -- that promote international peace and stability, the secretary said.

The two countries also face many of the same threats. Panetta listed the challenges coming from violent extremism and terrorism to piracy on the high seas and from the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction to regional instability. "Handling these challenges requires a forward-looking vision for our defense partnership, and a plan for advancing it month-by-month and year-by-year," he said.

The two militaries have built a strong foundation; U.S. and Indian troops from all services routinely exercise together. And Indian forces participate in United Nations missions.

But more should be done. "In particular, I believe our relationship can and should become more strategic, more practical, and more collaborative," Panetta said.

The U.S.-Indian defense cooperation is strategic in that the two nations consult and share views on all major regional and international security developments. "Our defense policy exchanges are now regular, candid and invaluable," he said.

The military exercises and exchanges now underway show the relationship is practical and "our defense relationship is growing ever more collaborative as we seek to do more advanced research and development, share new technologies and enter into joint production of defense articles," the secretary said.

At a strategic level, the United States and India have worked to counter piracy and terrorism. Panetta wants to expand that cooperation. "We can do more to drive the creation of a rules-based order that protects our common interests in new areas like cybersecurity and space," he said. "We need to develop 'rules of the road' in these domains to help confront dangerous activities by states and non-state actors alike."

Within the region, the U.S. vision is a peaceful Indian Ocean supported by growing Indian military capabilities. "America will do its part through the rotational presence of Marines in Australia, littoral combat ships rotating through Singapore and other U.S. military deployments in the region," he said.

China is obviously a factor in the region, and Panetta said both India and the United States must do all they can to strengthen relations with China. "We recognize that China has a critical role to play advancing security and prosperity in this region," he said. "The United States welcomes the rise of a strong, prosperous and a successful China that plays a greater role in global affairs -- and respects and enforces the international norms that have governed this region for six decades."

Pakistan is another regional player that must be kept in mind. The Indians have fought three major wars with Pakistan since 1947. "India and the United States will need to continue to engage Pakistan, overcoming our respective -- and often deep -- differences with Pakistan to make all of South Asia peaceful and prosperous," the secretary said.

On a practical aspect, Panetta wants U.S.-Indian military exercises to become more regular and more complex.

India and the United States may not always agree on every aspect of their relationship, Panetta said. But the two nations share so much in common that they are natural partners.

"Our two nations may not agree on the solution to every challenge facing us, and we both face the challenge of political gridlock at home that sometimes prohibits advancing our broader strategic objectives," he said. "But I am sure that we will continue to draw closer together because we share the same values, the same challenges and threats, and the same vision of a just, stable and peaceful regional order."

MIDWAY WREATH-LAYING CEREMONY AT ARIZONA MEMORIAL

FROM:  U.S. NAVY  
120604-N-XD424-012 PEARL HARBOR (June 4, 2012) Sailors and a Marine stand by Arizona Memorial-dedicated wreaths during a wreath laying ceremony at the memorial at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. The ceremony was held to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Midway. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Dustin W. Sisco/Released) 

Arizona Memorial Hosts Battle Of Midway Wreath-Laying Ceremony 
By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Dustin W. Sisco, Commander, Navy Region Hawaii Public Affairs
PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (NNS) -- In commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Midway, service members and civilians attended a wreath-laying ceremony on the Arizona Memorial on board Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.

The ceremony featured parading of the colors from the Navy and Marine Corps Color Guard and a singing of the national anthem and Hawaii Ponoi from Amanda Carona, historian for the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument, as well as a flyover from an SNJ-5B vintage aircraft.

"It is a great privilege for me to join you to honor those who fought at the Battle of Midway 70 years ago today," said Rear Adm. James Caldwell, guest speaker and commander, Submarine Forces and U.S. Pacific Fleet. "Today, we reflect on and celebrate the accomplishments of one of America's greatest generations; those brave men and women that served our country in a time of war."

The ceremony was held on the Arizona Memorial as recognition for the starting place of the Pacific War.

"It is fitting because this is the place where our nation was thrust in to war," Caldwell said. "It is also a place where the American fighting spirit was reaffirmed, as it has been many times in our history.

The Battle of Midway was a turning point in the Pacific War, crippling Japan's ability to launch further large-scale attacks against the Allied Forces.

"So we continue to serve this great nation. We must pick up the mantle and remember the importance of their service and their sacrifices," said Caldwell.

The wreaths were dedicated from U.S. Pacific Fleet, Marine Forces Pacific Fleet, Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.

Capt. Sal Aguilera, chaplain of Navy Region Hawaii and Naval Surface Group Middle Pacific said, "Knowing that understanding our past will empower us to overcome future challenges, we now rightly commemorate this great naval battle."

APPENDAGE
FROM:  NAVAL HISTORY AND HERITAGE COMMAND
The Battle of Midway, fought near the Central Pacific island of Midway, is considered the decisive battle of the war in the Pacific. Before this battle the Japanese were on the offensive, capturing territory throughout Asia and the Pacific. By their attack, the Japanese had planned to capture Midway to use as an advance base, as well as to entrap and destroy the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Because of communication intelligence successes, the U.S. Pacific Fleet surprised the Japanese forces, sinking the four Japanese carriers, that had attacked Pearl Harbor only six months before, while only losing of one carrier. After Midway, the Americans and their Allies took the offensive in the Pacific.
Source: Naval History and Heritage Command

GEN. JANET WOLFENBARGER BECOMES FIRST FEMALE FOUR-STAR GENERAL IN THE AIR FORCE

FROM:  U.S. AIR FORCE
In the time-honored military tradition signifying assumption of command, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz passes the Air Force Materiel Command guidon, or unit flag, to Gen. Janet Wolfenbarger. Wolfenbarger assumed command of AFMC June 5, 2012, in a ceremony at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. (U.S. Air Force photo/Michelle Gigante)

Wolfenbarger receives fourth star, assumes leadership of AFMC
by Kim Dawley
Air Force Materiel Command Public Affairs

6/5/2012 - WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFNS) -- Gen. Janet Wolfenbarger became the first female four-star general in the Air Force and assumed the top position of Air Force Materiel Command during ceremonies here June 5, 2012.

Wolfenbarger took the reins of the major command responsible for the technology, acquisition, test and sustainment of the service's current and future weapon systems from Gen. Donald Hoffman during a change of command ceremony held at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. Prior to the change of command, Wolfenbarger received her fourth star during a promotion ceremony.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz presided over the ceremony, during which he lauded AFMC's excellence in keeping Air Force weapon systems ready, available and effective, and expressed his confidence that the command is in capable hands with Wolfenbarger.

"We honor Janet Wolfenbarger, an extraordinary public servant and a model Air Force officer," Schwartz said. "Based on her record, Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley and I are entirely confident that she is up to the task of commanding this great organization."

Wolfenbarger thanked Schwartz and Donley for their faith in her ability to lead AFMC and said she was looking forward to once again being part of the AFMC team.

"This opportunity only really exists because the Air Force has embraced a culture of diversity," she said. "This culture has been cultivated over many years, driven by leadership at every level who acknowledge and appreciate the value of contributions from every Airman.

"I promise I will serve in my role as AFMC commander with my absolute best effort," Wolfenbarger continued. "What's more, I have total confidence in the men and women of this command. We will always rise to the occasion and accomplish our difficult mission with determination and enthusiasm."

Schwartz also highlighted Hoffman's dedication to both AFMC's mission and its workforce.

"Don, thank you for presiding over an impressive effort here at AFMC," Schwartz said. "During your tenure, AFMC continued its longstanding excellence in research and development, test and evaluation, acquisition management and logistics support.

"During some of the most challenging and turbulent times for our Air Force, General Hoffman has inspired mission success," he continued. "Don and Jacki, thank you for your combined service to our Air Force, and for your very important contributions to our nation's security."

Hoffman said he would most miss the quality of the people one finds in the Air Force, and the unquestioned level of trust that Airmen exude.

"When you meet someone in the Air Force, you know they've taken an oath to defend the Constitution and a pledge to live by core values of integrity, service and excellence," he said. "Thanks to all of our Airmen, it has been my good fortune to be part of the best Air Force in the world. It was the best when I joined it. It's smaller now, its missions have changed, but it's still the best. And I have total confidence that those who follow me will keep it the best Air Force in the world."

Hoffman, who had served as the commander of AFMC since November 2008, is retiring after 42 years of service.

After serving as the military deputy of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition at the Pentagon for the past eight months, Wolfenbarger becomes the eighth AFMC commander since AFMC stood up on July 1, 1992. She will now lead a workforce of approximately 81,000 people and manage an annual budget of about $60 billion.

THE MAN WHO CHRONICLED LIFE ON MARS DECADES AGO IS DEAD AT AGE 91.

FROM:  U.S. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
"Ray Bradbury and Pogo
June 6th, 2012 by Jennifer Gavin
Ray Bradbury, the towering writer of science fiction, died today at age 91. Talk about an author who will be missed …

In the United States, our lives been steeped in science fiction, from the days of “Buck Rogers” and the cheesy B-movies of the 1950s to the phenomena of “Star Trek,” “The Matrix” and more recent films based on a variety of sci-fi and fantasy works.  Yet, for many decades, the genre was sneered at.

Ray Bradbury turned that around.
He elevated the form to literature.  He packed it with humanity, and he pointed out – to paraphrase the cartoon character Pogo – that we humans had “met the enemy, and he is us.”

An uncomfortable portion of the world Bradbury created, in novels such as “Fahrenheit 451,” has come to pass.  Every time I see someone shambling down the street, staring blankly into a hand-held device, I visualize those two telescreen figures from the movie version of “Fahrenheit 451” looking down at Julie Christie and saying, “Linda, you’re absolutely fantastic!”

And I visualize her, staring back, vacuously."

NSF AND THE TREE OF LIFE BRANCHES AND EVOLUTION

FROM:  NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
June 4, 2012
A new initiative aims to build a comprehensive tree of life that brings together everything scientists know about how all species are related, from the tiniest bacteria to the tallest tree. Researchers are working to provide the infrastructure and computational tools to enable automatic updating of the tree of life, as well as develop the analytical and visualization tools to study it.

Scientists have been building evolutionary trees for more than 150 years, since Charles Darwin drew the first sketches in his notebook.

Darwin's theory of evolution explained that millions of species are related and gave biologists and paleontologists the enormous challenge of discovering the branching pattern of the tree of life.

But despite significant progress in fleshing out the major branches of the tree of life, today there is still no central place where researchers can go to visualize and analyze the entire tree.

Now, thanks to grants totaling $13 million from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Assembling, Visualizing, and Analyzing the Tree of Life (AVAToL) program, three teams of scientists plan to make that a reality.

"The AVAToL awards are an exciting new direction for an area that's a foundation of much of biology," says Alan Townsend, director of NSF's Division of Environmental Biology. "That's critical to understanding a changing relationship between human society and Earth's biodiversity."

Figuring out how the millions of species on Earth are related to one another isn't just important for pinpointing an antelope's closest kin, or determining if tuna are more closely related to starfish or hagfish.

Information about evolutionary relationships is fundamental to comparative biology research. It helps scientists identify promising new medicines; develop hardier, higher-yielding crops; and fight infectious diseases such as HIV, anthrax and influenza.
If evolutionary trees are so widely used, why has assembling them across all life been so hard to achieve?

It's not for lack of research, or data. Advances in DNA sequencing and evolutionary analysis, discovery of pivotal early fossils, and novel methods and tools have enabled thousands of new evolutionary trees to be published in scientific journals each year.

However, most of these focus on specific, disconnected branches of the tree of life.
Part of the difficulty lies in the sheer enormity of the task. The largest evolutionary trees to date contain roughly 100,000 groups of organisms.

Assembling the branches for all species of animals, plants, fungi and microbes--and the countless more still being named or discovered--will require new computational tools for analyzing large data sets, for combining diverse kinds of data, and for connecting vast numbers of published trees into a synthetic whole.

Another difficulty lies in how scientists typically disseminate their results. A tiny fraction of all evolutionary trees have been published.  Researchers estimate a mere four percent end up in a database in a digital form.

Most of the knowledge is locked up in figures in static journal articles in file formats that may be difficult for other researchers to download, reanalyze or merge with new information.

AVAToL aims to change that.
What makes this program different from previous efforts, scientists say, is its scope: its focus on creating an open, dynamic, evolutionary framework that can be continually refined as new biodiversity data is collected, and its development of computational and visualization tools to scale up tree-based evolutionary analyses.

Researchers will be able to go online and compare their trees to others that have already been published, or download trees for further study.

They'll also be able to expand the tree, filling in the missing branches and placing newly named or discovered species among their relatives.

The goal is to incorporate new trees automatically, so the complete tree can be continuously updated.

In addition to the creation of an updatable tree of life, AVAToL scientists will create new tools for the kinds of research that rely on evolutionary trees and for the collection and analysis of important evolutionary data, including from fossils critical to the placement of many branches in the tree of life.

The three NSF-funded AVAToL projects are:
Automated and Community-Driven Synthesis of the Tree of Life
Principal Investigator: Karen Cranston, Duke University and the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center
This project will produce the first online, comprehensive first-draft tree of all 1.8 million named species, accessible to both the public and scientists.  Assembly of the tree will incorporate previously published results and efforts to develop, test and improve methods of data synthesis. This initial tree of life, called the Open Tree of Life, will not be static. Scientists will develop tools for researchers to update and revise the tree as new data come in.

Arbor: Comparative Analysis Workflows for the Tree of Life
Principal Investigator: Luke Harmon, University of Idaho
Scientists deal with daunting volumes of data.  One of the most basic challenges facing researchers is how to organize that information into a usable format that can inspire new scientific insights. This project team is working to develop a way to visually portray evolutionary data so scientists can see, at a glance, how organisms are related. The team will create software tools that will enable researchers to visualize and analyze data across the tree of life, enabling research in all areas of comparative biology at multiple evolutionary, space and time scales. The results have the potential to transform the way biologists test evolutionary and ecological hypotheses, enabling new research in fields from medicine to public health, from agriculture to ecology to genetics.

Next Generation Phenomics for the Tree of Life
Principal Investigator: Maureen O'Leary, SUNY-Stony Brook
This team of biologists, computer scientists and paleontologists will extend and adapt methods from computer vision, machine learning and natural language processing to enable rapid and automated study of species' phenotypes on a vast scale across the tree of life. The team's goal is to develop large phenomic datasets using new methods, and to provide the scientific community and the public with tools for future such work. Phenomics is an area of biology that measures the physical and biochemical traits of organisms as they change in response to genetic mutations and environmental influences.

Enormous phenomic datasets, many with images, will foster public interest in biodiversity and the fossil record. Phenotypic data allow scientists to reconstruct the evolutionary history of fossil species, in turn crucial for an understanding of the history of life. This project will leverage recent advances in image analysis and natural language processing to develop novel approaches to rapidly advance the collection and analysis of phenotypic data for the tree of life.

TEXAS RESIDENT GOES TO PRISON FOR SCHEME TO DEFRAUD THE EXPORT-IMPORT BANK

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Texas Resident Sentenced to 15 Months in Prison for Scheme to Defraud the U.S. Export-import Bank
WASHINGTON – A Fabens, Texas, resident was sentenced today to 15 months in prison for his role in a scheme to defraud the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) of more than $690,624.

The sentence was announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Robert Pitman of the Western District of Texas; Osvaldo L. Gratacos, Inspector General of the Ex-Im Bank; and Acting Special Agent in Charge Dennis A. Ulrich of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) in El Paso, Texas.
Hector Cuevas, 42, was also sentenced by Judge Kathleen Cardone in U.S. District Court in El Paso to three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $553,148 in restitution and $690,624 in forfeiture.  Cuevas pleaded guilty on Oct. 13, 2011, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy.  Cuevas admitted that he participated in a scheme to defraud the Ex-Im Bank of more than $690,624.

According to court documents, Cuevas was the owner of CT Implement Inc., a farm equipment sales company in Fabens that purported to be in the business of exporting U.S. agricultural equipment to Mexico.  During his plea hearing, Cuevas admitted that he helped others prepare and submit false applications, financial records and export documents to two lending banks to assist co-conspirators in Mexico in obtaining two Ex-Im insured loans purportedly for the purchase of equipment from Cuevas’ company.  Once the loans were approved, Cuevas admitted that he acted as a money launderer by illegally transferring Ex-Im Bank insured proceeds to both borrowers and others in Mexico.  Both loans defaulted and caused Ex-Im Bank to pay claims totaling $583,430 to the lending banks.

Ex-Im Bank is an independent federal agency that helps create and maintain U.S. jobs by filling gaps in private export financing.  Ex-Im Bank provides a variety of financing mechanisms to help foreign buyers purchase U.S. goods and services.

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Patrick Donley and William Bowne of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Spitzer of the Western District of Texas, El Paso Office.  The case was investigated by the Ex-Im Bank Office of Inspector General and ICE-HSI El Paso.  The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) also provided valuable assistance and financial analysis in this investigation.

DEATH OF AL-QAIDA SECOND-IN-COMMAND CONFIRMED BY WHITE HOUSE

Photo:  9-11 Memorial at Pentagon.  Credit:  U.S. Navy.

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE

White House Confirms Death of Al-Qaida's Second-in-Command

By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.

WASHINGTON, June 6, 2012 - The U.S. government has confirmed the death of Abu Yahya al-Libi, the second in command of al-Qaida, a senior White House spokesman said yesterday.

"I can tell you that our intelligence community has intelligence that leads them to believe that al-Qaida's No. 2 leader, al-Libi, is dead," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said.

Carney didn't provide details on how or where al-Libi was killed but he said the deceased terrorist had "served as al-Qaida's general manager" overseeing the group's day-to-day operations in the tribal areas of Pakistan and managing regional outreach.

"I can simply say that he was the No. 2 leader in al-Qaida, and this is the second time in less than a year that the No. 2 leader of al-Qaida has been removed from the battlefield," he said.

Al-Libi was deputy to Ayman al-Zawahiri, who assumed leadership of the terrorist network after Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, was killed during an assault by U.S. Navy SEALs on a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan in May of last year.

"[Al-Libi's] death is part of the degradation that has been taking place to core al-Qaida during the past several years," Carney said. "[This] degradation has depleted the ranks to such an extent that there is now no clear successor to take on the breadth of his responsibilities."

Carney noted the loss of al-Libi adds pressure to al-Zawahiri to effectively manage the group. "We believe al-Libi's death is a major blow to core al-Qaida, removing the No. 2 leader for the second time in less than a year and further damaging the group's morale and cohesion, and bringing it closer to its ultimate demise than ever before," he said.

Carney added that al-Libi's death represents another serious blow to al-Qaida in the wake of the demise of bin Laden, in what is an ongoing effort to disrupt, dismantle and defeat a foe that brought terror and death to the United States on 9/11, and has perpetrated acts of terrorism against innocent civilians around the globe.

F-22 FLIGHTS REMAIN NEAR POTENTIAL DESPITE HYPOXIA-LIKE SYMPTONS CONCERN

Photo:  F-22 Raptor.  Credit:  U.S. Air Force.

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE

New Flight Restrictions Haven't Curbed F-22 Operations

By Claudette Roulo

WASHINGTON, June 5, 2012 - Safety measures put in place last month on F-22 Raptor flights have had no impact on operations, Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. John Kirby told reporters today.

Kirby and Pentagon Press Secretary George Little last month announced restrictions to F-22 flight operations after 12 pilots reported hypoxia-like symptoms.

In response, Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta directed the retrofitting of automatic backup oxygen systems in the Raptor.

The Air Force is investigating the issue and providing monthly reports to Panetta.

In addition, all F-22 flights were ordered to remain near potential landing locations to enable quick recovery and landing should a pilot encounter problems during flight, Little said last month.

There are no plans to ground the aircraft, but Kirby said the Defense Department remains prepared for all possibilities.

"It's a safety-of-flight issue," he said. "Secretary Panetta understands that, and he's not taking any options off the table with respect to the future of the aircraft."

"Right now the aircraft is performing very well in an operational setting and ... we're just going to continue to watch this as we move forward," Kirby said.

U.S. NAVAL SHIP FROM ANOTHER CENTURY COMMEMORATES BATTLE OF MIDWAY

FROM:  U.S. NAVY
USS Constitution gets underway for her first turnaround cruise of 2012. The underway commemorated the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Midway and recognized members of the Wounded Warrior Project. Constitution is the world's oldest commissioned warship afloat. She defended the sea lanes against threat from 1797 to 1855, much like the mission of today's Navy. U.S. Navy photo by Seaman Michael Achterling (Released) 120604-N-BJ178-118

NATO CENTRAL ASIAN NATIONS HAVE APPROVED AFGHANISTAN ROUTES

Photo Credit:  U.S. Navy
FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE
NATO: Central Asian Nations Approve Afghanistan Exit Routes
By Cheryl Pellerin
WASHINGTON, June 5, 2012 - NATO has reached agreements with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan to allow troops and equipment to transit these Central Asian nations to and from Afghanistan, NATO's secretary general said yesterday.

"These agreements will give us a range of new options and the robust and flexible transport network we need. I thank all three partner countries for their support," Rasmussen told reporters during his monthly briefing from NATO headquarters in Brussels.

"NATO will continue to actively engage with Afghanistan's neighbors," he added, "to build wider support for the country's stability."

During a briefing at the Pentagon today, spokesman Navy Capt. John Kirby said the United States also has bilateral agreements with the three nations through the Northern Distribution Network, to move goods in and out of Afghanistan.

"We are very appreciative for those arrangements and continue to use them," Kirby added.
Such ground routes are needed to supply the war in Afghanistan and will be critical as the combat role of NATO's International Security Assistance Force comes to an end in 2014, and troops and equipment begin to make their way home.

Shorter routes through Pakistan have been closed since November, after a cross-border incident involving NATO troops in Afghanistan mistakenly killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.  Defense Department and NATO officials have said that negotiations are underway with Pakistan to reopen the routes.

Kirby said defense officials "do believe having the ground gates open at Chaman and the Torkham gates [on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan] for the flow of coalition traffic in and out of Afghanistan remains valuable."

He added, "And we continue to be in discussions with our Pakistani counterparts about trying to get those gates open and, in general, trying to improve the relationship with Pakistan writ large."

In Brussels, Rasmussen said he invited Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari to last month's NATO summit in Chicago, during which "President Zardari confirmed that it is his clear intention, it is the intention of Pakistan, to engage positively in finding solutions to the conflict in Afghanistan."

The secretary general declined to comment on details of the negotiations with Pakistan, adding, "I'll just reiterate that I still hope that a solution can be found in the very near future."

At the same time, he said, "we actually concluded a number of very important transit agreements at the Chicago summit and of course that will contribute in a very positive way to our operation in Afghanistan as we gradually wind down our combat operation towards the end of 2014."

NATO already has a reverse transit arrangement with Russia, Rasmussen added, "and the fact that we have now concluded ... three concrete transit arrangements with Central Asian countries at the Chicago summit will make the use of the Russian transit arrangement even more effective."

The secretary general also declined to comment on details of the Central Asian transit agreements but said, " ... We have concluded agreements that are of mutual satisfaction of the involved partners."

U.S. AIR FORCE TRAINING AT STANFORD, ENGLAND

FROM:  U.S. AIR FORCE
STANFORD TRAINING AREA, England – Senior Airman Steven Trimble, 820th Base Defense Squadron close precision engagement team member, scouts an area during Regiment-hosted sniper training Feb. 28. The lush environment and rainy weather conditions of England provided a new element to the training atmosphere as the team learned to utilize the foliage and fog to discreetly stake out the village and observe their targets. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Cory D. Payne) (Released)

DEFENSE SECRETARY PANETTA EXPLAINS NEW U.S.DEFENSE FOCUS TO INDIAN LEADERS

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE

Panetta Explains New Strategic Guidance to Indian Leaders

By Jim Garamone

NEW DELHI, June 5, 2012 - Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta met with Indian leaders today to explain how the U.S. strategic guidance will shift American focus to the Asia-Pacific region.

Panetta landed at a military airport and immediately went into meetings with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and National Security Advisor Shivshankar Memon.

Panetta discussed U.S. military initiatives to rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region and the importance the United States places on India, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said. A senior defense official said the U.S. has excellent military-to-military relations with India and would like to build on the success of the last decade. In 2011, the United States participated in more than 50 exercises with the Indian military. This is in addition to a robust exchange program and multilateral operations.

India, in fact, is the only country specifically mentioned as a key partner in DOD's strategic guidance issued in January.

The secretary underscored the link India provides between eastern and western Asia and how the United States views the country as a provider of security from the Indian Ocean to Afghanistan and beyond, Little said in a written statement following the meetings.

The leaders also discussed the U.S.-India defense relationship including shared security challenges.

U.S. officials say Panetta was very encouraged by the Indian government's support for resuming the recovery of remains of Americans lost over northeastern India during World War II.

DOD believes there are about 400 unaccounted-for service members from some 90 aircraft crashes in the area during the war. The airmen were flying "The Hump" -- an air bridge over the Himalayas to China, a region that is home to some of the world's worst weather.   "This is a critical step toward bringing home our service members lost during World War II," Panetta said. "The United States and India, working together, can help provide comfort to the families of Americans who were lost during the war."

The United States has information on 16 known crash sites and continues to develop information on others.

Planting Trees for a Cleaner Chesapeake Bay

Planting Trees for a Cleaner Chesapeake Bay

REMERBERANCE OF WWI VETERANS AT ST. MIHIEL CEMETERY

FROM:  U.S. AIR FORCE
THIAUCOURT, France -- The Ramstein Air Base, Germany, Honor Guard colors detail advances to position during the Memorial Day event at the St. Mihiel American Cemetery May 27, 2012. The 40.5-acre World War I cemetery, about 24 miles southwest of Metz, France, contains the graves of 4,153 of U.S. military dead. It is the third largest of the eight World War I American military cemetery memorials in Europe. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Francesca Popp)

MORGAN STANLEY ORDERED TO PAY $5 MILLION FOR UNLAWFUL TRADES

FROM:  U.S. COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION
CFTC Orders Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC to Pay $5 Million Civil Monetary Penalty for Unlawful Noncompetitive Trades
Morgan Stanley had inadequate supervisory systems and controls to detect and deter the unlawful conduct that occurred repeatedly over 18-months
Washington, DC – The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today issued an order filing and settling charges that, over an 18-month period, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC (Morgan Stanley), a registered futures commission merchant (FCM), unlawfully executed, processed, and reported numerous off-exchange futures trades to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) as exchanges for related positions (EFRPs). The CFTC order requires Morgan Stanley to pay a $5 million civil monetary penalty and to cease and desist from further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations, as charged.

According to the CFTC order, because the futures trades were executed noncompetitively and not in accordance with exchange rules governing EFRPs, they constituted “fictitious sales” and resulted in the reporting of non-bona fide prices, in violation of the CEA and CFTC regulations. The order also finds that Morgan Stanley had related supervisory and recordkeeping violations.

The commodity futures trading laws generally require that futures trades be executed on a futures exchange. The laws allow for exceptions to that requirement, such as when the futures trade is part of an EFRP, which is where parties exchange futures contracts for a related cash or over-the-counter (OTC) derivative position, such as an option or a swap. As long as the legal requirements are met, parties are permitted to execute EFRPs away from an exchange but then must report their EFRPs to an exchange after execution.
“The laws requiring that futures trades be executed on an exchange serve important price discovery and transparency principles,” said David Meister, Director of the CFTC’s Division of Enforcement. “As today’s action should demonstrate, when an FCM reports that it properly conducted an off-exchange futures trade as part of an EFRP, that report had better be accurate. In all cases, firms must have appropriate systems and controls in place designed to detect and prevent the conduct described in the order.”
According to the CFTC’s order, from at least April 18, 2008 through October 29, 2009, Morgan Stanley noncompetitively executed numerous futures trades and improperly reported them as EFRPs, since they did not have the required corresponding cash or OTC derivative positions.

The order finds that Morgan Stanley’s supervisory systems and internal controls were not adequate to detect and deter the noncompetitive trading of futures contracts improperly designated as EFRPs. For example, although Morgan Stanley’s Futures Operations department had the responsibility to report EFRPs to the CME and CBOT, that department was not required to verify that the EFRPs had the required corresponding related cash or OTC derivative positions, nor was any other operations department required to do so. The order further finds that Morgan Stanley failed to ensure that its employees involved in the execution, handling and processing of EFRPs understood the requirements for executing bona fide EFRPs. Moreover, the order finds that Morgan Stanley lacked sufficient surveillance systems to identify trades improperly designated as EFRPs. The order also finds that Morgan Stanley failed to designate the trades as EFRPs on all orders, records, and memoranda pertaining to EFRPs, as required.

The order recognizes Morgan Stanley’s significant cooperation in the Division of Enforcement’s investigation of this matter.

In a related proceeding, the CME Group is issuing a notice of disciplinary action against Morgan Stanley today. The CFTC thanks the CME Group for its assistance.
CFTC Division of Enforcement staff members responsible for this case are Brian G. Mulherin, Timothy M. Kirby, Brandon T. Tasco, Gretchen L. Lowe, and Vincent A. McGonagle.

SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE TO APPOINT SOCIALLY-DISADVANTAGED FARMERS AS VOTING MEMBERS OF COUNTY COMMITTEES

Photo:  Angus Cow.  Credit:  USDA
FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Intends to Appoint Socially-Disadvantaged Farmers as Voting Members of County Committees

WASHINGTON, June 4, 2012—Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that he intends to appoint voting members from socially disadvantaged (SDA) communities to serve on county committees in county jurisdictions that lack fair SDA representation.USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), which works collaboratively with county committees, published an interim rule today in the Federal Register that is open for public comment for 60 days.

County committees have served as a direct link between the farm community and USDA for more than 75 years, helping to deliver FSA farm programs at the local level. Eligible farmers serving on committees provide feedback to USDA on the types of FSA agricultural programs that best serve the needs of local producers.

“As we continue to build a USDA that is responsive to the needs of an evolving, 21st century agricultural economy, we must ensure a strong and sustainable future for these important committees,” said Vilsack. “Appointing new voting members to committees that lack representation will help ensure that county committees continue to play a vital and relevant role in delivering important federal farm programs to citizens of rural communities across our nation.”

County committees were formed in the 1930s to oversee federal farm programs, a tool for grassroots engagement whereby locally elected committees give farmers effective self-government authority. That authority continues today, making farmers primary stewards of farm programs passed by Congress, including administration and outreach to all farmers and ranchers in their area.

Secretarial appointments would add SDA voting members to county jurisdictional areas where representation is lacking, according to a statistical review conducted by USDA. The appointments will supplement the existing election process where currently there are 7,700 elected county committee members representing 2,244 county jurisdictions.

“We are proud of the great diversity that makes up our rural communities,” said FSA Administrator Bruce Nelson, “and appointing voting members to committees that lack representation is an important step in helping to maintain a robust county committee system for all producers.”

Authority to appoint voting SDA members was granted in the 2002 Farm Bill passed by Congress. The interim rule allows the Secretary of Agriculture to ensure fair representation on county committees by appointing a voting member in areas identified under-representing the diversity of area producers. Each year, USDA will conduct a fresh statistical analysis, and appointments with voting authority will continue to occur in areas identified under-representing the diversity of area producers.

A copy of this interim rule is on display in today’s Federal Register. To submit comments, use any of the following methods:

The Obama Administration, with Agriculture Secretary Vilsack’s leadership, has worked tirelessly to strengthen rural America, implement the Farm Bill, maintain a strong farm safety net, and create opportunities for America’s farmers and ranchers. U.S. agriculture is currently experiencing one of its most productive periods in American history thanks to the productivity, resiliency, and resourcefulness of our producers. A strong farm safety net is important to sustain the success of American agriculture. For example, in response to tighter financial markets, USDA has expanded the availability of farm credit, helping struggling farmers refinance loans. In the past 3 years, USDA provided 103,000 loans to family farmers totaling $14.6 billion. Over 50 percent of the loans went to beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers.

NEWS FROM THE AFGHANISTAN FRONT

Photo:  Helicopter Flying Over Afghanistan.  Credit:  U.S. Air Force

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE

Afghan-led, Coalition-supported Force Detains Taliban Leader

Compiled from International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Releases

WASHINGTON, June 5, 2012 - An Afghan-led, coalition-supported security force detained a Taliban leader and several suspected insurgents in the Kandahar district of Afghanistan's Kandahar province today, military officials reported.

The leader directed the placement of improvised explosive devices and coordinated the delivery of weapons and explosives to insurgents throughout the district, officials said.

The security force also confiscated several AK-47 rifles and other weapons.

In other Afghanistan operations today:

-- A combined force detained a Taliban leader and two suspects in the Zharay district of Kandahar province. The detained insurgent leader was responsible for attacks against Afghan and coalition forces and transported explosives and weapons to insurgents throughout the province.

-- A combined force detained several suspects during a search for a Haqqani leader in the Khost district of Khost province. The Haqqani leader is suspected of planning the attack against Forward Operating Base Salerno on June 1. He is also an explosives expert suspected of building the vehicle-born IEDs that the insurgents detonated at the Salerno gate.

-- A combined force detained several suspects during a search for a Haqqani leader in the Pul-e 'Alam district of Logar province. The Haqqani leader supplies insurgent fighters with weapons and executes attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.

In Afghanistan operations yesterday:

-- In the Waygal district of Nuristan province, a combined force called in an airstrike that killed several insurgents.

-- A combined force requested airstrike killed two Taliban leaders in the Wali Muhammad Shahid Khugyani district of Ghazni province. One deceased insurgent was the senior Taliban leader in the Wali Muhammad Shahid Khugyani and Ghazni districts. He led an improvised explosive device cell and conducted attacks against coalition and Afghan forces throughout the region. The second deceased Taliban leader directed the placement of IED's against coalition and Afghan forces throughout the district.

USS ENTERPRISE COMMEMORATES 70TH ANNIVERSARY OF BATTLE OF MIDWAY

Sailors and Marines aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65) participate in a memorial ceremony commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Midway. The previous USS Enterprise, CV-6, played a key role in the battle. Enterprise is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility conducting maritime security operations, theater security cooperation efforts and support missions as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. U.S. Navy photo by Chief Intelligence Specialist Daniel B. Mayfield (Released) 120604-N-ZZ999-044

BRIEFING FROM THE PENTAGON JUNE 5, 2012

Photo:  Pentagon.  Credit:  U.S. Department of Defense.
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Presenter: Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Media Operations Capt. John Kirby June 05, 2012
OD News Briefing with Capt. Kirby from the Pentagon
            CAPTAIN JOHN KIRBY:  Afternoon, everybody.
            First, as you -- just a couple of thoughts here.  First, as you know, Secretary Panetta continues his trip to the Asia-Pacific region this week.  Today he arrived in New Delhi, and he paid calls on both Prime Minister Singh and National Security Advisor Menon.  We provided you all a readout of those meetings, both of which the secretary appreciated.  And he continues to believe these meetings are valuable to helping us continue to improve the military relationship that we enjoy with India.

            You may also have seen that we reached agreement today with India to resume activities related to the recovery of remains of U.S. airmen lost in World War II.  We believe there's about 400 unaccounted-for service members from some 90 wartime crashes in northeastern India, and we have information on about 16 of known crash sites and continue to develop information about others.  As the secretary noted, the return of our fallen heroes remains a top priority for the department.  This agreement reached with India today is a critical first step to providing some comfort to the families of those American airmen, and we are grateful for the government -- to the government of India for their cooperation and understanding.
            With that, Bob.
            Q:  John, what can you say about the U.S. government's degree of confidence in having killed al-Libi in the airstrike yesterday?
            CAPT. KIRBY:  Yeah, as you know, Bob, we don't talk about the specific of the counterterrorism operations, so I'm not going to be able to confirm those press reports.  But this is a very dangerous individual, and for him to no longer be walking the earth would be a good thing for everybody.  I think the leadership development program of al-Qaida is -- has some health risks and hazards that we think are good.
            Q:  (Off mic) -- drone attacks took place?
            CAPT. KIRBY:  No, as I said, we don't discuss the specifics of counterterrorism operations.  So I'm not going -- I'm not going to speak to specifics of operations.
            Q:  But can -- could you say if al-Libi, the al-Qaida number two in Pakistan, is one of the United States' targets?
            CAPT. KIRBY:  Senior leaders of al-Qaida period, no matter where they are, by virtue of what they choose to do for a living, are threats to our security, the security of the American people, and the security of our friends and allies around the world.  They remain threats, and the president, the secretary of defense have made it very clear that we're going to deal with those threats wherever they are.
            Q:  So not responding specifically to this operation yesterday or anything that happened in the incidents yesterday, do you have any indication Abu Yahya al-Libi (ph) is less alive today than he was -- (inaudible)?
            CAPT. KIRBY:  I have nothing for you on that today.
            Spence.
            Q:  On India, the secretary asked the Indians to step up their involvement in Afghanistan.  How is that not potentially provocative to the Pakistanis at a time when the department is trying to get greater Pakistani cooperation on a range of Afghanistan-related issues?  And to what degree do the benefits of that deeper Indian cooperation outweigh those potential costs?
            CAPT. KIRBY:  I think the reports have been slightly exaggerated; I don't believe the secretary asked them to impress them to do more rather than expressed how much he appreciated the work they were doing to help provide support in Afghanistan and some of the things that they were -- that they have expressed interest in continuing to do in Afghanistan, but also in the region.  And so I think it was really more a statement of appreciation for everything they've done and the hope that they'll continue to stay involved as a leader in the region.
            And they're -- you know, this is a -- it's a vital part of the world, and our engagement in the region is not about bilateral relations only with any one particular country.  We've long said that security in Afghanistan is a -- is tied very closely to our relationship with Pakistan, as it is also with our relationship with other countries in the region, including India.  India is a global power, and they are meeting their responsibilities and we welcome that.
            Q:  So to clarify, did the secretary or did the secretary not ask the Indians for a deeper involvement in training the Afghan army and police?
            CAPT. KIRBY:  I think he expressed gratitude for what they have done and -- that his fervent hope that they'll continue to stay engaged in the region and in particular in helping Afghanistan as it moves forward.
            Tony.
            Q:  I'm going to shift gears to the F-22.  On May 15th, you and George Little came up here and announced the flight limitation.  Fast-forward three and half weeks later, where does that -- is there any new information you can impart about how close the Air Force is to divining a cause for the oxygen issue?
            CAPT. KIRBY:  Well, I know that -- I don't have anything new to announce today, but I do know that their work continues.  They're working on this very, very hard.  We expect that they will be briefing the secretary, giving him an update, in the very near future.  But I wouldn't want to get ahead of that.  And I certainly would refer you to Air Force on any specifics.  Right now I don't have anything new to announce but -- other than to tell you that we do know that there has been a lot of work in the intervening weeks.  And again, they're preparing to update the secretary soon.
            Q:  What's the -- what's OSD's position on grounding the fleet if at some point a cause is not determined and it's still hanging out there -- as in an engineering problem that needs to be solved, using your words?
            CAPT. KIRBY:  Right.  And I think the secretary -- the secretary takes this issue very, very seriously.  It's a safety-of-flight issue.  He understands that.  And he's not taking any options off the table with respect to the future of the aircraft.
            Right now he doesn't believe that grounding the fleet is the prudent course.  And he endorsed the way forward that the Air Force is pursuing, and also, as we announced, imposed some flight restrictions.  I think he wants to see how that's going and he wants to get updated from Air Force leadership, find out what they've learned before we take any more decisions moving forward.
  But no options with respect to this program are off the table right now.  Again, it's a safety-of-flight issue that he takes very, very seriously.
            Q:  (Inaudible) -- national weapons program in case -- if it is forced into combat would these limitations -- not cripple, but curtail its combat effectiveness?
            CAPT. KIRBY: Well, it's on an operational deployment, as you know, in the Middle East region right now, and we haven't discerned any operational impact as a result of the flight limitations that have been placed on it.  So right now the aircraft is performing very well in an operational setting, and again, we're just going to continue to watch this as we move forward.
            Yes, sir.
            Q:  Japan has a new defense minister.  Has the secretary spoken to him on the phone?
            CAPT. KIRBY:  Not to my knowledge, they have not communicated, no.
            Q:  Captain, may I ask you something on Mexico?  Recently -- well, as you know, in the current situation the most reliable institution and the most respected institution in Mexico is the army, the Mexican army.  They are struggling against the drug cartels.  Mexico and U.S. have been working closer in this relationship between militaries.  But however, now there are allegations of corruption against four high-rank generals of the army.
            Do you have any concern about these allegations?  Do you think some -- how can harm the current relationship and the work of the -- of the -- of both countries against the organized crime?
            CAPT. KIRBY:  I don't have anything -- I've not heard anything about these allegations.  So this is the first I'm hearing that there are allegations against senior officers in the Mexican army.  So I wouldn't be able to comment on that specifically, except to say that we do value our relationship with the Mexican armed forces and we take very seriously our commitment across the interagency in the United States, not just in the Defense Department, to try to help stem the issue of narcotics flow and narco-violence and terrorism that has occurred inside Mexico -- again, to the degree the Mexicans want support.  I mean, we're not -- we're not doing anything without, of course, their invitation and their request and with their approval.  But it's -- but it's a serious issue we share across that border and that we both are taking very, very seriously.
            And without respect to these allegations that -- again, that I don't know anything about -- I would tell you that I don't see anything changing our commitment to continue to assist the Mexican armed forces to the degree that we can.
            Q:  Do you think there is something that must -- can be done, not only in Mexico but in some other countries to avoid the corruption of the military by these cartels?
            CAPT. KIRBY:  Well, again, your question would imply that there is rampant corruption inside the Mexican military, and I certainly wouldn't make that change here today.  Again, it's a very important relationship that we take very seriously, on a very serious topic and issue, a security issue, for both our nations.  And we want to just continue to look for ways to get that cooperation even better, even closer, to continue to address this problem.
            Bob.
            Q:  NATO's announcement yesterday that they have an agreement with -- I think with Uzbekistan and other countries to the north of Afghanistan to -- for the removal of materiel out of -- out of Afghanistan --
            CAPT. KIRBY:  Right.
            Q:  Should this be seen as an indication that the U.S. has essentially given up persuading the Pakistanis to reopening the supply -- overland supply routes?
            CAPT. KIRBY:  No, I wouldn't take it that way at all.  This is an agreement that -- and I would let the alliance speak to it -- that the alliance made with these three nations.  As you know, we have bilateral agreements with them as well, through the Northern Distribution Network, to move goods in and out of Afghanistan.  We are very appreciative for those arrangements and continue to use them.
            We've also long said that we do believe having the ground gates open at Chaman and the Torkham gates open for the flow of coalition traffic in and out of Afghanistan is -- remains valuable.  And we continue to be in discussions with our Pakistani counterparts about the -- about trying to get those gates open and, in general, trying to improve the relationship with Pakistan writ large.
            But no, I would not take the pursuit of this deal and this agreement as any kind of repudiation of the importance of those gates or the larger relationship with Pakistan.
            Q:  The discussions with the Pakistanis about the two gates -- is it -- has it boiled down to a negotiation over money, or are there other issues?
            CAPT. KIRBY:  Well, I wouldn't get into the details here from -- I don't want to be negotiating this in public.  But I mean, it -- certainly the gates are a topic of discussion here in these discussions.  There's no question about that.  But it is really, writ large, about trying to get the relationship, at a strategic level, on a better and more firm footing than it has been since the November 26th incident.
            Jeff?
            Q:  I'm just curious -- after 2014, will the Air Force have a role in supplying the Afghan army and police?
            CAPT. KIRBY:  The post-2014 U.S. presence and mission has yet to be determined.  We have long said and continue to believe that they'll be some U.S. presence in Afghanistan and a -- and a U.S. military mission of some kind after the ISAF mission ends at the end of 2014.  But the details of that are -- we aren't even at the point where, you know, we're starting to lay all that out.  It will most likely be in some sort of training, advising and assisting capacity that could involve Air Force personnel and Air Force capabilities.  But we just aren't there yet, Jeff; we just haven't gotten to that point.
            Q:  Now that NATO's moving so much stuff out of Afghanistan, are there any plans to activate the CRAF?
            CAPT. KIRBY:  The CRAF?
            Q:  Civil Relief Air Fleet.
            CAPT. KIRBY:  None that I'm aware of, but I learned a new acronym today.  (Laughter.)  I appreciate that.
            Yes, sir.
            Q:  Captain Kirby, a Chinese official recently described what the secretary announced about the U.S. Naval pivot to Asia as untimely.  What is DOD's reaction to that?  Are you concerned that this announcement could create more tensions with China?
            CAPT. KIRBY:  The secretary has made it clear on his trip that the defense strategy, which includes a rebalancing and more focus on the Asia-Pacific region, is not targeted at any one country in that region but rather the region as a whole -- and our firm belief that we have significant security interests in the Asia-Pacific, significant security commitments to allies and partners in the region.
            It's not aimed at rebuffing or trying to limit the growth and development of any one country.  In fact, he's also made it clear that the peaceful, prosperous rise of China is a good thing, not just for that region, but for the world.
            And as for the timeliness, I think we would all agree that the -- that the defense strategy as written and as endorsed by not only this department, but by the president, is absolutely timely.  This is the right time to be looking at the Asia-Pacific region for -- to renew our commitments there and to rebalance our resources and our attention there.
            Sir.
            Q: Could I just ask for -- on Syria, has there been any contact between the U.S. military and anyone involved with the Syrian Free Army?
            CAPT. KIRBY:  No.  No.  We work -- as I said last week, remain -- we still remain deeply concerned by the violence and by what the Assad regime continues to do to its own people.  They still have an opportunity here to do the right thing, step down, stop killing their own people.  We certainly -- that's the expectation.
            Sir.
            Q:  There are some reports in regards with the exercises of some military troops that are part of NATO before they go to Afghanistan near the border of Mexico.  Is there anything you can tell us about that?
            CAPT. KIRBY:  No, I'm afraid not.  I don't have anything for you on that today.
            Q:  Has there been any agreement with Canada, maybe, to provide some sort of terrain similar to Afghanistan for the training of their troops?
            CAPT. KIRBY:  Is there an agreement with Canada about sending troops to Afghanistan?
            Q:  (Off mic) -- no, no, no, providing some training -- a place to train with similar conditions to Afghanistan, for example?  (Off mic) -- Arizona perhaps?
            CAPT. KIRBY:  Oh, I'm not aware of anything like that.  I'm happy to take the question and look at that; but I have never -- I have not heard anything about that at all.
            Q:  (Off mic)?
            CAPT. KIRBY:  Yeah.
            Q:  Can you comment at all about the CBS report that suggests that unmanned drones are collecting information on Americans that could be shared with law enforcement?
            CAPT. KIRBY:  Not heard that; have seen that report.  I mean --
            Q:  Well, it's the Defense Department -- (inaudible) --
            CAPT. KIRBY:  -- the Defense Department does not spy on the American people.  But I've not seen that report.
            Q:  So it's not allowed to do this?
            CAPT. KIRBY:  That's right.  Yeah, the Defense Department does not spy on the American people here at home, and I mean, I just -- I've not seen the report, but I certainly wouldn't comment beyond that.
            Q:  Thank you.
            CAPT. KIRBY:  Yeah.
            OK?
            Q:  Thank you.
            CAPT. KIRBY:  Thanks, everybody.
            Q:  (Off mic) --
            CAPT. KIRBY:  Yep -- sorry, we had one more?
            Q:  I'll just take another bite at this apple.  (Laughter.)  Does the department wish to see India deepen its involvement in the Afghanistan war or maintain what its involvement already is?
            CAPT. KIRBY:  We have been -- we encourage all countries in the region -- and I think it came out of the Chicago summit -- encouraged countries around the world to continue to do more to invest in Afghanistan's future, and there was broad consensus at the Chicago summit by every nation attending to do just that.  But to characterize this -- the secretary's visit to India as some sort of poke in the chest to get them to do more would be -- would be to do his visit a disservice.  That's not why he's in India.  He's in India to thank them for their efforts at regional leadership and to look for ways to deepen our defense cooperation with India and our relationship with India.  That is something he would like to do more of.
            But we're very appreciative of India's efforts in the region and in Afghanistan in particular.  Did that help?
            Q:  Thank you.  Thank you.
            CAPT. KIRBY:  You're welcome.
            Thanks, everybody.

STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL'S REMARKS TO U.S.-INDIA WORLD AFFAIRS INSTITUTE

Photo Credit: Wikimedia.
FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Remarks to the U.S.-India World Affairs Institute
Remarks Robert O. Blake, Jr.
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Washington, DC
June 4, 2012
Thank you Vinod [Jain] for bringing together this great group tonight and my thanks, as well, to the India-U.S. World Affairs Institute, the Asia Society, and the East West Center for hosting us and giving me the opportunity to preview the U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue which will take place here in Washington next week. The SD, as our governments call it, is an annual, high-level series of bilateral meetings chaired by Secretary Clinton and the Indian External Affairs Minister Krishna.

Before I get to some of the details, I would like to say a few words about the essential role of Indian Americans in what we’ve accomplished in partnership with India, and where we see ourselves in the future. As I look out at so many familiar faces, people who share our vision of Americans and Indians working together, learning together, promoting peace and security together, and prospering together, I am reminded that all of you play an invaluable role in helping take this relationship to the next level.

There is perhaps no country in the world with whom we have traveled faster and farther than India over the last ten years. While the extensive consultations we have on a government-to-government level are an essential part of our ever-expanding bilateral relationship, its heart, its core, is all of you – the incredible citizens of both countries.

We share with India a vibrant two-way exchange of entrepreneurs, executives, students, professors, and scientists that has come to serve as a model for others around the world. Our business ties have prospered. Our education and research partnerships have set the standard for innovation. And the common thread -- from the classrooms of Chennai and Charlottesville to the boardrooms in Mumbai and Minneapolis -- is the passionate and committed Indian American community. All of you are helping shape and guide one of the defining bilateral relationships of the 21st century.

Indian Americans have also helped write the story of this nation. President Obama reminded us just a few weeks ago at a gala celebrating our Asian Pacific American heritage of “the trailblazer” Dalip Singh Saund. As a young man in 1920 he came to the U.S.to study agriculture, stayed to become a farmer, and took on the cause of citizenship for all people of South Asian descent.

And once Mr. Saund earned his own citizenship, he stepped up to serve the country he loved -- and became the first Asian American elected to the Congress. Even the youngest Indian Americans are making their mark. Nine of the past 13 national spelling bee champions have been Indian American children whose abilities are surely the envy of all of us who must rely on our computers and smartphones to catch our spelling errors.

From Congress to the National Spelling Bee, the Indian American community is one of the most energetic and successful diaspora groups in the United States. You have one of the highest per capita incomes of any diaspora group, and Indian Americans are increasingly active in American politics as the success of Governors Bobby Jindal, Nikki Haley and so many others shows.

Indian Americans who work tirelessly to improve ties between the United States and India and the lives of their fellow citizens in both countries are a powerful symbol of the best of America: our commitment to community service, our idealism, and our optimism.

To support that unwavering commitment to philanthropy and service, one of my objectives as Assistant Secretary has been to facilitate American generosity towards India. India is home to about 1.5 million NGOs, but much of their work is not fully known here in the United States. In addition, it is not easy to identify the NGOs credible enough to receive a donor’s money.

We are helping to change this. We will soon launch, in partnership with the Indian non-profit – GuideStar India, an online searchable database of Indian NGOs. It will include organizations that have been vetted to ensure they are accountable and transparent so the maximum can go to the intended beneficiaries.

This site will also list all the intermediary institutions that can facilitate tax-deductible donations. We have signed on prominent participants including leaders in the India philanthropy space like GiveIndia, Global Giving, and Give2Asia. By matching a list of certified Indian NGOs with potential American donors, we hope to create an efficient philanthropy marketplace that will grow the overall sector, making it a win-win proposition for all. In today’s budget-constrained environment, such public-private strategies strengthen not only our international economic development efforts, but also the crucial people-to-people ties that bind our two great countries and form a network of partnership that undergirds everything we do.

Secretary Clinton calls it smart power. It’s impossible for any government, no matter how well-meaning, to meet all of the challenges we face, from natural disasters, to economic stagnation, to poverty or civil unrest. While we have a very strong force in our organized government efforts, fostering people-to-people exchanges is the core of smart power. It is also smart to prepare our rising leadership and workforce to know and understand India.

Our new Passport to India initiative is one way that the South and Central Asia Affairs Bureau is promoting smart power. The goal of Passport to India is to significantly increase the number of Americans who visit India for a study and learning experience abroad. The most recent data showed that while nearly 104,000 Indians study here in the United States, fewer than 4,000 Americans study in India. That number is far too low. Indian students in American communities and American students in Indian communities create the friendships and linkages we are working to build. Secretary Clinton and I see expanding opportunities for American students in India as a major investment in three key areas.

It’s an investment in U.S.- India relations, it’s an investment in the American and global economies, and it is an investment in our young people so they have the skills and experience they need to succeed in their professional lives. For our rising generation to be globally competitive, they must know and understand India. The Passport to India initiative is a public-private partnership. To date, we have pledges from both U.S. and Indian private entities to support 225 internship opportunities for American students over the next 3 years in India-based organizations, and we are working hard to generate more. Interns will work side by side with their Indian peers to work on software development in IT companies, on innovation and management practices in manufacturing firms, and on the needs of the marginalized and underserved with local NGOs.

It all comes down to one thing: By building the next generation of leaders who are well versed in each other’s culture, language and business, we will be better prepared to work together and resolve common challenges for the benefit of not only our two countries, but for the international community as well. All of you have already done so much to support the collaborations between Americans and Indians from which ideas come to life. You know the United States and you know India and you know the limitless potential that exists when we get together. Last month in New Delhi, Secretary Clinton re-emphasized that the United States and India are “two great democracies with common values and increasingly convergent interests.”

It is those common values and convergent interests that guide our strategic ties, and serve as our compass as we develop bilateral ties uniquely suited to the challenges of the century ahead. The U.S-India Strategic Dialogue helps us to build that consensus. Over the last three years, our two exceptional nations have expanded our areas of cooperation to reflect 21st century needs, partnering across areas as diverse as education, clean energy and defense. It’s not an exaggeration to say that even the sky is not the limit – we discuss cooperation in space, too!

Our regional and homeland security cooperation has never been stronger. On Afghanistan, the United States and India share a commitment to that country’s stable and prosperous future and have each signed Strategic Partnership Agreements with the Afghan government. The SD will give us a chance to together build on the momentum from the NATO Summit in Chicago, while preparing for the Tokyo Conference on Afghanistan in July. Our nations share a distinct vision for economic integration in the South and Central Asian region. This will be a theme that plays prominently in discussions between Secretary Clinton and Minister Krishna that are likely to include India’s Look East policy, integration opportunities between India, Bangladesh, and increasingly Burma; and developments in Afghanistan. Our partnership has paved the way for real-time information sharing of terrorist threats and sharing of best practices that keep our nations and our neighbors safe. We continue to support an unprecedented number of exchanges between city and high-level federal officials alike, which focus on port, border, and transportation security, illicit finance, and cyber crime issues.

On Friday, May 25, we held the 13th annual Counterterrorism Joint Working Group meeting in Washington. Ambassador Dan Benjamin, the State Department’s Counterterrorism Coordinator, and his Indian counterpart, Special Secretary Asoke Mukerji, along with representatives from across the interagency, met to discuss issues related to counterterrorism and homeland security. This dialogue has been the cornerstone of our counterterrorism relationship with the Indians since 2000. This year, the sides discussed efforts to counter violent extremism and terrorism finance, as well as to see the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai attacks brought to justice.

Our two national security councils will also host a second round of U.S.-India Cyber Consultations early next week to further advance our bilateral coordination on key cyber policy issues and to enhance information sharing between our governments in support of counterterrorism and cybercrime mitigation. Following these consultations, the U.S. and India will re-convene their longstanding Information and Communication Technology Working Group, which has a history of bringing government and private sector participants together to resolve challenges and identify opportunities for greater growth and collaboration in the ICT space.

On the margins of the Strategic Dialogue, we will have a day-long Higher Education Dialogue which is a follow on to last fall’s Higher Education Summit and will focus on two key areas identified there: advanced research and innovation and workforce development, specifically, community colleges.

With respect to higher education collaboration, I am delighted that we will announce during the Dialogue the first eight partnership projects to be funded jointly by the United States and India through the Obama-Singh 21st Century Knowledge Initiative. These three-year, approximately quarter-million dollar grants will be used for joint projects between American and Indian universities in the areas of food security, energy, climate change and public health, among others.

Representatives from across our science and technology communities will participate in a Joint Committees Meeting to review progress in advancing S&T cooperation, including retention and advancement of women in science and engineering, and STEM education. This is an area with unlimited potential.

Secretary Clinton and Indian Minister of External Affairs Krishna – the two co-chairs of the Strategic Dialogue – will highlight a series of grants for entrepreneurial projects that seek to improve health and empower citizens through innovation. These aren’t government handouts with strings attached; they are meant to spur legitimate economic growth and encourage the invention and scaling of disruptive technologies.

We are also hosting the Child Survival Call to Action, about which I’ll let Assistant Administrator Biswal say more. On the health and innovation side, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will brief on her trip to India earlier in the year, and ways that our two countries can address the most public health challenges of the 21st century. We have a great opportunity to work with India globally, to address chronic disease and strengthen health systems, a testament to both our countries’ global reach, which is only multiplied when we do so in tandem.

But, governments can only provide part of the solution. Our two countries – indeed, the world – need all of you to leverage their unique on-the-ground insights and expertise to help facilitate the collaboration that leads to the big ideas that yield real results. I applaud everyone here tonight for your efforts in helping to bring our two great nations – two great democracies – ever closer together. Because of you, the bond between the United States and India is stronger every day.

You do business with India, you conduct research in India, you teach Indian students. You know what the impact of a policy decision in Washington or New Delhi really is and how it matters to the work you do and the people with whom you collaborate. Thank you for having me here this evening and thank you for all you do to make the partnership between the United States and India successful, globally relevant, and enduring.