Sunday, August 12, 2012

FRANCE: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT PROFILE

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
PROFILE

Geography
Area: 551,670 sq. km. (220,668 sq. mi.); largest west European country, about four-fifths the size of Texas.
Cities: Capital--Paris. Major cities--Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, Strasbourg, Nice, Rennes, Lille, Bordeaux.
Terrain: Varied.
Climate: Temperate.


People
Nationality: Adjective--French.
Population (January 1, 2010 est.): 65.0 million (including overseas territories); 63.3 million (metropolitan).
Annual population growth rate (2011 est.): 0.5%.
Ethnic groups: Celtic and Latin with Teutonic, Slavic, North African, Sub-Saharan African, Indochinese, and Basque minorities.
Religion: Roman Catholic (majority), Muslim, Protestant, Jewish.
Language: French.
Education: Years compulsory--10. Literacy--99%.
Health: Infant mortality rate (Jan. 2011)--3.7/1,000.
Work force (2009): 28.3 million (preliminary): Services--75%; industry and construction--21.7%; agriculture--2.9%.


Government
Type: Republic.
Constitution: September 28, 1958.
Branches: Executive--president (chief of state); prime minister (head of government). Legislative--bicameral Parliament (577-member National Assembly, 319-member Senate). Judicial--Court of Cassation (civil and criminal law), Council of State (administrative court), Constitutional Council (constitutional law).

Subdivisions: 22 administrative regions containing 96 departments (metropolitan France). Thirteen territories outside metropolitan France: four overseas departments which are also regions (French abbreviation is DOM-ROM)--Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, and Reunion; six overseas collectivities ("Collectivites d'Outre-mer" or COM)--French Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna Islands, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthelemy Island, and Mayotte, which became a full overseas department in March 2011; one overseas country of France ("Pays d'Outre-mer" or POM)--New Caledonia; and the French Southern and Antarctic Territories and the atoll of Clipperton.

Political parties: Union for a Popular Movement (UMP--a synthesis of center-right Gaullist/nationalist and free-market parties); Socialist Party; New Center (former UDF centrists now affiliated with the UMP); Democratic Movement (former UDF centrists loyal to MoDem President Francois Bayrou); Communist Party; extreme right National Front; Greens; various minor parties.
Suffrage: Universal at 18.


Economy
GDP (2011 est.): $2.774 trillion.
Avg. annual growth rate (2011 est.): 1.0%, compared with 1.5% in 2010 and -2.7% in 2009.
Per capita GDP at PPP (2011 est.): $42,676.
Agriculture: Products--grains (wheat, barley, corn); wines and spirits; dairy products; sugar beets; oilseeds; meat and poultry; fruits and vegetables.
Industry: Types--aircraft, electronics, transportation, textiles, clothing, food processing, chemicals, machinery, steel.
Services: Types--Services to companies and individuals, financial and real estate activities, tourism and transportation.
Trade: Exports (2011 est.)--$595 billion (f.o.b.): automobiles, aircraft and aircraft components, pharmaceuticals, automobile equipment, iron and steel products, refined petroleum products, cosmetics, organic chemicals, electronic components, wine and champagne. Imports (2011 est.)--$693 billion (f.o.b.): oil and natural gas, automobiles, aircraft and aircraft components, refined petroleum products, automobile equipment, pharmaceuticals, iron and steel products, and computers/computer-related products. Major trading partners--EU, China, and the U.S.
Exchange rate: U.S. $1 = 0.718 euro (€) in 2011.


PEOPLE
Since prehistoric times, France has been a crossroads of trade, travel, and invasion. Three basic European ethnic stocks--Celtic, Latin, and Teutonic (Frankish)--have blended over the centuries to make up its present population. France's birth rate was among the highest in Europe from 1945 until the late 1960s. Since then, its birth rate has fallen but remains higher than that of most other west European countries. Traditionally, France has had a high level of immigration.


The government does not keep statistics on religious affiliation; according to a January 2007 poll, 51% of respondents describe themselves as Catholic, and another 31% describe themselves as having no religious affiliation. There also are Muslim, Protestant, and Jewish minorities. France is home to both the largest Muslim and Jewish populations in Europe. More than 1 million Muslims immigrated to France in the 1960s and early 1970s from North Africa, especially Algeria. In 2004, there were over 6 million Muslims, largely of North African descent, living in France.


Education is free, beginning at age 2, and mandatory between ages 6 and 16. The public education system is highly centralized. Private education is primarily Roman Catholic. Higher education in France began with the founding of the University of Paris in 1150. It now consists of 91 public universities and 175 professional schools, including the post-graduate Grandes Ecoles. Private, college-level institutions focusing on business and management with curriculums structured on the American system of credits and semesters have been growing in recent years.


The French language derives from the vernacular Latin spoken by the Romans in Gaul, although it includes many Celtic and Germanic words. Historically, French has been used as the international language of diplomacy and commerce. Today it remains one of six official languages at the United Nations and has been a unifying factor in Africa, Asia, the Pacific, and the Caribbean.




Photo:  Bastille Day.   Credit:  U.S. Air Force


HISTORY
France was one of the earliest countries to progress from feudalism to the nation-state. Its monarchs surrounded themselves with capable ministers, and French armies were among the most innovative, disciplined, and professional of their day. During the reign of Louis XIV (1643-1715), France was the dominant power in Europe. But overly ambitious projects and military campaigns of Louis and his successors led to chronic financial problems in the 18th century. Deteriorating economic conditions and popular resentment against the complicated system of privileges granted the nobility and clerics were among the principal causes of the French Revolution (1789-94). Although the revolutionaries advocated republican and egalitarian principles of government, France reverted to forms of absolute rule or constitutional monarchy four times--the Empire of Napoleon, the Restoration of Louis XVIII, the reign of Louis-Philippe, and the Second Empire of Napoleon III. After the Franco-Prussian War (1870), the Third Republic was established and lasted until the military defeat of 1940.


World War I (1914-18) brought great losses of troops and material. In the 1920s, France established an elaborate system of border defenses (the Maginot Line) and alliances to offset resurgent German strength. France was defeated early in World War II, however, and was occupied in June 1940. That July, the country was divided into two: one section being ruled directly by the Germans, and a second controlled by the French ("Vichy" France) and which the Germans did not occupy. German and Italian forces occupied all of France, including the "Vichy" zone, following the Allied invasion of North Africa in November 1942. The "Vichy" government largely acquiesced to German plans, namely in the plunder of French resources and the forceful deportations of tens of thousands of French Jews living in France to concentration camps across Europe, and was even more completely under German control following the German military occupation of November 1942. Economically, a full one-half of France's public sector revenue was appropriated by Germany. After 4 years of occupation and strife in France, Allied forces liberated the country in 1944.


France emerged from World War II to face a series of new problems. After a short period of provisional government initially led by Gen. Charles de Gaulle, the Fourth Republic was set up by a new constitution and established as a parliamentary form of government controlled by a series of coalitions. French military involvement in both Indochina and Algeria combined with the mixed nature of the coalitions and a consequent lack of agreement caused successive cabinet crises and changes of government.


Finally, on May 13, 1958, the government structure collapsed as a result of the tremendous opposing pressures generated by 4 years of war with Algeria. A threatened coup led the Parliament to call on General de Gaulle to head the government and prevent civil war. Marking the beginning of the Fifth Republic, he became prime minister in June 1958 and was elected president in December of that year. The Algerian conflict also spurred decades of increased immigration from the Maghreb states, changing the composition of French society.


Seven years later, for the first time in the 20th century, the people of France went to the polls to elect a president by direct ballot. De Gaulle won re-election with a 55% share of the vote, defeating Francois Mitterrand. In April 1969, President de Gaulle's government conducted a national referendum on the creation of 21 regions with limited political powers. The government's proposals were defeated, and de Gaulle subsequently resigned. Succeeding him as president of France have been Gaullist Georges Pompidou (1969-74), Independent Republican Valery Giscard d'Estaing (1974-81), Socialist Francois Mitterrand (1981-95), neo-Gaullist Jacques Chirac (1995-2007), and center-right Nicolas Sarkozy (2007-present).


While France continues to revere its rich history and independence, French leaders have increasingly tied the future of France to the European Union (EU). France was integral in establishing the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951 and was among the EU's six founding states. During his tenure, President Mitterrand stressed the importance of European integration and advocated the ratification of the Maastricht Treaty on European economic and political union, which France's electorate narrowly approved in 1992.


Since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the U.S., France has played a central role in counterterrorism efforts. French forces have participated in Operation Enduring Freedom and in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) for Afghanistan. France did not, however, join the coalition that liberated Iraq in 2003.


In October and November 2005, 3 weeks of violent unrest in France's largely immigrant suburbs focused the country's attention on its minority communities. In the spring of 2006, students protested widely over restrictive employment legislation. In May 2007, Nicolas Sarkozy was elected as France's sixth president under the Fifth Republic, signaling French approval of widespread economic and social reforms, as well as closer cooperation with the United States. By midway through his 5-year term, Sarkozy faced mounting pressure to revive the economy, lower unemployment, and reduce the government’s sizable budget deficit. The most notable reform in 2010 was raising the minimum retirement age from 60 to 62 and from 65 to 67 for full benefits. A poll in November 2011 showed a 40% approval rating for Sarkozy, a 12-month high and up from 29% in April.


On the international front, President Sarkozy has reintegrated France into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), confirmed France’s commitments to Afghanistan, and worked closely with the United States on the Iran nuclear issue. Although a 2005 French referendum was responsible for the defeat of a treaty to establish a constitution for Europe, France later backed the Lisbon Treaty--a main priority of Sarkozy during France's EU presidency in the latter half of 2008. The Lisbon Treaty took effect in December 2009. France continues to play a leading role in the EU, particularly in the development of a Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP). In July 2008, France was instrumental in launching the Union for the Mediterranean (UM), a continuation of the EU Barcelona Process. France and Egypt held the first rotating co-presidency, which serves as a forum for political and economic cooperation between the EU and its Mediterranean neighbors. The second biennial conference scheduled for 2010 was indefinitely postponed due to heightened tensions in the Middle East. France has held the rotating presidencies of the G-8 and G-20 and was instrumental in spring 2011 in assembling the international coalition that engaged in military operations in Libya.


GOVERNMENT
The constitution of the Fifth Republic was approved by public referendum on September 28, 1958. It greatly strengthened the powers of the executive in relation to those of Parliament. Under this constitution, presidents were elected directly for a 7-year term. Beginning in 2002, the presidential term of office was reduced to 5 years, and a constitutional reform passed on July 21, 2008 limits presidents to two consecutive terms in office. The next presidential and legislative elections are scheduled for 2012.


The main components of France's executive branch are the president, the prime minister and government, and the permanent bureaucracies of the many ministries. The president names the prime minister, presides over the cabinet, commands the armed forces, and concludes treaties. The president can submit questions to a national referendum and can dissolve the National Assembly. In certain emergency situations, with the approval of Parliament, the president may assume dictatorial powers and rule by decree. Led by a prime minister, who is the head of government, the cabinet is composed of a varying number of ministers, ministers-delegate, and secretaries of state. Traditionally, presidents under the Fifth Republic tended to leave day-to-day policy-making to the prime minister and government, and the 5-year term of office was expected to make presidents more accountable for the results of domestic policies. Nicolas Sarkozy has been a hands-on manager and policymaker.


Parliament meets for one 9-month session each year. Under special circumstances the president can call an additional session. Under the constitution, the legislative branch has few checks on executive power; nevertheless, the National Assembly can still cause a government to fall if an absolute majority of the total Assembly membership votes to censure. The Parliament is bicameral, with a National Assembly and a Senate. The National Assembly is the principal legislative body. Its deputies are directly elected to 5-year terms, and all seats are voted on in each election. Senators are chosen by an electoral college and, under new rules passed in 2003 to shorten the term, serve for 6 years, with one-half of the Senate being renewed every 3 years. (As a transitional measure in 2004, 62 Senators were elected to 9-year terms, while 61 were elected to 6-year terms; subsequently, all terms will be 6 years.) The Senate's legislative powers are limited; the National Assembly has the last word in the event of a disagreement between the two houses. The government has a strong influence in shaping the agenda of Parliament, although the constitutional reform passed in July 2008 granted new authority to the Parliament to set its own agenda. The government also can declare a bill to be a question of confidence, thereby linking its continued existence to the passage of the legislative text; unless a motion of censure is introduced and voted, the text is considered adopted without a vote. The constitutional reform passed in July 2008 limited the process to the vote of the national budget, the financing of the social security, and to one bill per session of the Parliament. As of September 2009, impact assessment is mandatory for all draft laws going to the Council of State and the Parliament.


A distinctive feature of the French judicial system is that the Constitutional Council protects basic rights when they might be potentially violated by new laws, and the Council of State protects basic rights when they might be violated by actions of the state. The Constitutional Council examines legislation and decides whether it conforms to the constitution. Unlike the U.S. Supreme Court, it considers only legislation that is referred to it by Parliament, the prime minister, or the president. Moreover, it considers legislation before it is promulgated. The Council of State has a separate function from the Constitutional Council and provides recourse to individual citizens who have claims against the administration. The Ordinary Courts--including specialized bodies such as the police court, the criminal court, the correctional tribunal, the commercial court, and the industrial court--settle disputes that arise between citizens, as well as disputes that arise between citizens and corporations. The Court of Appeals reviews cases judged by the Ordinary Courts.


Traditionally, decision-making in France has been highly centralized, with each of France's departments headed by a prefect appointed by the central government. In 1982, the national government passed legislation to decentralize authority by giving a wide range of administrative and fiscal powers to local elected officials. In March 1986, regional councils were directly elected for the first time, and the process of decentralization continues, albeit at a slow pace.

Principal Government Officials
President--Nicolas Sarkozy
Prime Minister--Francois Fillon
Foreign Minister--Alain Juppe
Ambassador to the United States--Francois Delattre
Ambassador to the United Nations--Gerard Araud

France maintains its embassy in the U.S. at 4101 Reservoir Rd. NW, Washington, DC 20007 (tel. 202-944-6000).


POLITICAL CONDITIONS
Nicolas Sarkozy assumed office on May 16, 2007 as France's sixth president under the Fifth Republic. In the April 22, 2007 first round of presidential elections, Sarkozy, the leader of the center-right Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) party, placed first; Socialist candidate Segolene Royal placed second; centrist Francois Bayrou placed third; and extremist Jean-Marie Le Pen placed fourth out of a field of 12 candidates. Sarkozy prevailed in the May 6, 2007 second round, defeating Royal by a 53.06% to 46.94% margin. Royal's loss marked the third straight defeat for the Socialist candidate in presidential elections.


In electing Nicolas Sarkozy, French voters endorsed the wide-ranging program of reforms--including market-oriented social and economic reforms--that were the focal point of his campaign, implicitly giving him the green light to try and implement these reforms quickly, and allowing a way forward for overcoming France's 2005 rejection of the EU constitutional treaty. By embracing a figure long tagged as "pro-American," French voters also expressed their desire to renew trust in the U.S.-France relationship. During the campaign Sarkozy often ended his stump speeches--evoking Martin Luther King--by calling for a "French dream" of social equality, social mobility, and equal opportunity, and his first speech as President-elect assured his "American friends" that they could rely on France's friendship. After his inauguration, President Sarkozy focused his first months in office on improving the performance of France's economy through liberalization of labor markets, higher education, and taxes.


Legislative elections held on June 10 and 17, 2007 gave the UMP a large parliamentary majority. The UMP reinforced its ascendance over the Socialists by winning the June 7, 2009 European Parliament election with 27.88% of the vote, an increase of more than 11 percentage points over 2004. The Socialists finished a distant second, in a virtual tie with Europe Ecology, the French Green party. In the March 2010 regional elections, however, the Socialist Party won a majority of seats in 21 of the 22 regions of mainland France, marking a definitive resurgence for the main opposition party.


On October 27, 2010 France’s National Assembly voted 336 to 233 in favor of President Sarkozy’s controversial pension reform bill. Before it came to a vote, there were widespread strikes and protests in September and October over the bill's proposals. The provision drawing the most ire increases the minimum retirement age from 60 to 62 for a partial pension and from 65 to 67 for a full pension.


In the fourth government reshuffle in a year, President Sarkozy announced a significant shift in three ministries on February 27, 2011. Alain Juppe, Defense Minister since November 2010, took over the Foreign Ministry from Michele Alliot-Marie; Conservative Senator Gerard Longuet took over the Defense Ministry from Juppe; and Claude Gueant was named Minister of the Interior, replacing Brice Hortefeux.


On March 20 and 27, 2011 France held "cantonal" (local) elections to elect members of departmental councils. Amid record low turnout of 44%, President Sarkozy’s center-right UMP fared poorly in the first round of elections. With 99% of the votes counted, the Socialist Party placed first with 25% of the first-round vote nationwide, the UMP was second with 17%, and the National Front (FN) was third with 15%, according to Ministry of Interior figures. Taken together, center-left parties won about 48% of the first-round vote while the center-right (without the FN) garnered about 32%. The center-left also won in the second round, forming a Socialist-Greens-Front de Gauche coalition and winning 61 of 101 departmental councils.


The Socialist Party (PS) and its allies won a slight majority in the French Senate in September 2011. The election marked the first time the left has achieved a majority in France’s upper chamber of Parliament in the history of the Fifth Republic. In terms of governance, the French Senate has the power to slow new legislation, but ultimately the National Assembly can pass a bill without the Senate’s approval. On the other hand, the Senate has the power to reject changes to the constitution. Political observers note, for instance, that President Sarkozy’s so-called Golden Rule amendment--which would require a balanced budget--has little chance of passage given the new left majority in the Senate.


The next presidential election will occur in two rounds of voting on April 22 and May 6, 2012. Legislative elections will follow a few weeks later. President Sarkozy announced his candidacy in February 2012. Sarkozy’s chief rival will be Francois Hollande of the Socialist Party (PS). Other candidates include Marine Le Pen of the far-right National Front and Francois Bayrou of the centrist MoDem party. Most polls in 2011 showed Hollande ahead of Sarkozy by a wide margin, although many political observers expected the gap to narrow as election day approached.


ECONOMY
With a GDP of $2.7 trillion, France is the world’s fifth-largest economy. It has substantial agricultural resources, a large industrial base, and a highly skilled work force. A dynamic services sector accounts for an increasingly large share of economic activity and is responsible for nearly all job creation in recent years. Government economic policy aims to promote investment and domestic growth in a stable fiscal and monetary environment. Creating jobs and reducing the high unemployment rate has been a top priority.


Real GDP increased by 1.5% in 2010 after falling 2.7% in 2009 due to the economic crisis. The government expects GDP growth of 1.0% for 2011 and 1.0% for 2012. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) downgraded its forecast for French GDP growth to 0.3% in 2012. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is likely to revise its forecast for French GDP growth of 1.4% in 2012. The unemployment rate in metropolitan France increased to 9.3% in the third quarter of 2011, up from 9.2% in the fourth quarter of 2010.


France joined 10 other European Union countries in adopting the euro as its currency in January 1999. Since then, monetary policy has been set by the European Central Bank in Frankfurt. On January 1, 2002, France, along with the other countries of the euro zone, dropped its national currency in favor of euro bills and coins.


France has been very successful in developing dynamic telecommunications, aerospace, and weapons sectors. According to a Google-commissioned McKinsey study, 25% of French growth is attributable to Internet-related products and services. Despite significant reform and privatization over the past 15 years, the government continues to control a large share of economic activity. Government spending, at 56.2% of GDP in 2010, is among the highest in the G-7. The government continues to own shares in corporations in a range of sectors, including banking, energy production and distribution, automobiles, transportation, and telecommunications.


The French government has said that reducing budget deficits would help ensure sustainable growth, with structural reforms helping offset the recessionary effect of budget cuts. Structural reforms include pension reform, investment in infrastructure and education, and improved financial sector regulation, including global reforms that France planned to pursue through its presidency of the G-20. The government aims to continue budget cuts through the attrition of civil servants. Budget spending is set to increase 0.5% per year (excluding inflation) between 2012 and 2015, compared to 0.8% per year between 2011 and 2014. The government's target for the budget deficit is 5.5% of GDP for 2011 and 4.6% of GDP for 2012.


In 2008, in a move to make France more competitive, the National Assembly passed four bills introduced by the French Government to modernize the economy and reform the labor market. In October 2007, under President Sarkozy's impetus, overtime work beyond the 35-hour work week was exempted from income and payroll taxes, a move aimed at improving worker productivity. President Sarkozy is also credited with eliminating the annual flat business tax and increasing the tax credit for investments in small and medium enterprises that increase a firm's equity capital. In July 2009, the French Parliament approved a controversial bill allowing more businesses to stay open on Sundays.


Membership in France's labor unions accounts for approximately 5% of the private sector work force and is concentrated in the manufacturing, transportation, and heavy industry sectors. Most unions are affiliated with one of the competing national federations, the largest and most powerful of which are the communist-dominated General Labor Confederation (CGT), the Workers’ Force (FO), and the French Democratic Confederation of Labor (CFDT).


With virtually no domestic oil production, France has relied heavily on the development of nuclear power, which now accounts for about 80% of the country's electricity production. Since the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster in Japan, the Government of France has been reviewing France’s dependence on nuclear energy, and whether or not new safety standards should be developed. French anti-nuclear environmental groups stepped up efforts to spark public opposition to nuclear power in France, and Socialist presidential candidate Francois Hollande has suggested reducing France’s dependence on nuclear power by 50% by 2025. Henri Proglio, chief executive of the government-controlled utility provider Electricite de France, estimated in a November 2011 interview that a switch to fossil fuel-derived energy would require an investment of $544 billion and endanger up to 400,000 jobs.


Trade
France is the second-largest trading nation in Western Europe (after Germany). France ran a $70 billion trade deficit in goods (Customs basis, f.o.b.) in the first 11 months of 2011. Total trade in goods for the first 11 months of 2011 amounted to $1.183 trillion, over 42% of GDP, 59% of which was with the other EU-27 countries. In 2010, U.S.-France trade in goods and services totaled $97 billion. U.S. industrial chemicals, aircraft and engines, electronic components, telecommunications, computer software, computers and peripherals, analytical and scientific instrumentation, medical instruments and supplies, and broadcasting equipment are particularly attractive to French importers. Principal French exports to the United States are aircraft and engines, beverages, electrical equipment, chemicals, cosmetics, and luxury products. France is the eighth-largest trading partner of the United States.


Agriculture
France is the European Union's leading agricultural exporter, accounting for about 17% of all agricultural land within the EU-27. The share of agriculture value-added in GDP has shown a steady decline since the early 1980s, representing less than 1.7% of France's GDP in 2010. Agricultural production not including subsidies fell 8.5% from the preceding year to €60.6 billion ($80 billion) in 2009. Northern France is characterized by large grain farms. Dairy, pork, poultry, and apple production is concentrated in the western region. Beef production is located in central France, while the production of corn, fruits, vegetables, and wine ranges from central to southern France. France is expanding its forestry and fishery industries. France remains extremely cautious about the cultivation of genetically modified (GM) plants at the domestic and EU levels. France is a proponent of the European preference principle and is attentive to protecting its interests in further agricultural trade liberalization at the EU and World Trade Organization (WTO) levels.


France is the world's second-largest agricultural producer after the United States. The destination of 66% of its 2011 exports was other EU member states, according to French Customs. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. exports of agricultural, fish, and forest products to France totaled $763.15 million in 2010. During the first 10 months of 2011 they totaled $615.5 million, up 5% compared to the same period in 2010. The top 10 products exported by the U.S. to France include tree nuts ($78.6 million), soybeans ($55.8 million), planting seeds ($31.4 million), vegetable oils ($25 million), wine and beer ($24.8 million), forest products ($24.6 million), hides and skins ($20.7 million), grapefruit ($19.6 million), surimi ($19 million), and salmon ($15.3 million.) The United States, the sixth-largest exporter to France in recent data, faces stiff competition from domestic production, other EU member states, and third countries. U.S. imports of agricultural, fish, and forest products from France totaled $1.99 billion in 2010. During the first 10 months of 2011 they were at $2 billion, up 24% compared to the same period in 2010. Half of it consisted of wine and beer.


FOREIGN RELATIONS
France plays an influential global role as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, NATO, the G-8, the G-20, the EU, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the WTO, la Francophonie, and other multilateral institutions. Among NATO members, France is second only to the United States in terms of troops deployed abroad. In 2011, President Sarkozy led the call for military intervention in Libya, and France took a leading role in the international community's efforts. France took over leadership of the G-20 on November 1, 2010 and of the G-8 on January 1, 2011. France’s priorities during its G-20 presidency included structural reforms, such as pension reform, investments in infrastructure and education, and improved financial sector regulations, including global reforms. President Sarkozy has been a strong proponent of UN Security Council expansion, including the need for one or more permanent seats for Africa.


A charter member of the United Nations, France is a member of most of its specialized and related agencies. France is also America's oldest ally; French military intervention was instrumental in helping Britain's American colonies establish independence. Because many battles in which the United States was involved during World War I and World War II took place in France, more American soldiers have been killed on French soil than on that of any other foreign country.


France is a leader in Western Europe because of its size, location, and large economy, membership in European organizations, strong military posture, and energetic diplomacy. France generally has worked to strengthen the global economic and political influence of the EU and its role in common European defense. It views Franco-German cooperation and the development of a Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP) with other EU members as the foundation of efforts to enhance European security.


France supports Quartet (U.S.-EU-Russia-UN) efforts to implement the Middle East roadmap, which envisions establishment of a Palestinian state, living side-by-side in peace and security with Israel. Recognizing the need for a comprehensive peace agreement, France supports the involvement of all Arab parties and Israel in a multilateral peace process. France also supports an easing of the Gaza blockade, stating that it will serve the interest of all parties concerned in the conflict. Since coming to office in 2007, President Sarkozy has worked hard to elevate France’s status as a mediator between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. France has raised the status of the Palestinian Authority’s representatives in Paris from "delegation" to a "diplomatic mission" led by an Ambassador.


Since 2006, France has actively and repeatedly publicly stressed the danger of a nuclear-armed Iran and worked with the U.S. and other members of the P5+1 group (China, Russia, the U.K., the U.S., and Germany) to demand that Iran end its enrichment-related and preprocessing activities. In June 2010 France actively supported and voted for UNSC Resolution (UNSCR) 1929 regarding sanctions on Iran, as a means to persuade Iran to live up to its international obligations. In May 2009, France opened its first permanent military base in the Gulf region, in the United Arab Emirates.


France continues to play an important role in Africa, especially in its former colonies, through aid programs, commercial activities, military agreements, and cultural impact. The Sarkozy government announced a change in its sub-Saharan African policy shortly after it came to power, intending to modernize and rationalize relations in a future-oriented manner. The French military presence in Africa has been diminishing, with an increased emphasis on cooperating with Africa's sub-regional organizations such as Southern African Development Community (SADC), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). France closed its former military base in Cote d’Ivoire and downsized its base in Senegal, while maintaining its bases in Gabon and Djibouti and its long-term deployment in Chad. Despite these reductions in its military presence, France is likely to continue to play an important role in promoting stability in the region. French support to the Government of Chad was crucial in 2008 in fending off a rebel attack, and in 2007, France played a leading role in the EU's formation of a peacekeeping mission in Chad and the Central African Republic designed to complement international efforts in Sudan and Darfur. France played an important role in ensuring a transition to democracy in Guinea in 2010. It was a leading member of the international community's efforts to support the United Nations and to give effect to 2010 elections in Cote d'Ivoire, which culminated in the entry into office of democratically elected President Alassane Ouattara in April 2011; Ouattara was formally inaugurated in May.


Beginning in Tunisia in December 2010, massive protests demanding democratic reform gave rise to a wave of movements in other countries known as the "Arab Spring" in 2011, trends that Foreign Minister Juppe called "irreversible," saying the situation offered "an excellent opportunity that we should not be afraid of." Uprisings in Libya against Colonel Mu'ammar Qadhafi resulted in a state-sponsored campaign of brutal and deadly repression against Libya’s own citizens. President Sarkozy strongly condemned these actions and called for Qadhafi to step aside. On February 23, Sarkozy suspended all economic and financial relations with Libya. March 17, 2011 marked the beginning of the UN-sanctioned no-fly zone in Libya. France played a leading role in the international coalition operations against Qadhafi’s ground forces and the enforcement of the no-fly zone.


France has extensive political and commercial relations with Asian countries, including those of Southeast Asia, China, and Japan, as well as an increasing presence in regional forums. It has strong links to Vietnam, a former French colony, and there is a large Vietnamese community in Paris. The country was an architect of the 1991 Paris Accords, which ended the conflict in Cambodia. France is seeking to broaden its commercial presence in China and will pose a competitive challenge to U.S. business, particularly in aerospace, high-tech, and luxury markets. France has strong trade relations and good overall ties with Japan. Japan often looks to France for support in areas such as North Korean denuclearization, relations with China, and a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. Maintaining close contact with the French also allows Japan a better understanding of Africa, where France has a much larger presence.


The Government of France responded quickly to the 2011 Japanese earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster diplomatically, financially, and with humanitarian aid. France led the call for a meeting of G-7 central bankers and finance ministers to discuss how to provide financial and monetary support to Japan, mainly through buying Japanese bonds. President Sarkozy and Prime Minister Francois Fillon established a working group for Japan with senior ministers, nuclear agencies, and nuclear industry representatives to determine how best to respond to the crisis and assist with recovery. Additionally, Government of France-controlled utility provider Electricite de France sent advanced, post-Chernobyl-designed robots to Japan to help monitor radiation, remove wreckage, and perform other tasks related to post-disaster relief.


SECURITY ISSUES
French military doctrine is based on the concepts of national independence, nuclear deterrence, and military sufficiency. France released a white paper on defense in June 2008 that assessed foreign and domestic defense and security issues. The white paper was intended to provide a comprehensive security strategy for the next 25 years, reflecting a changed 21st century security environment, and to outline restructuring proposals to make the French military more flexible, technologically advanced, and better able to coordinate with allies such as the U.S. and multilateral organizations such as the EU, NATO, and the UN. Consistent with the white paper, France has undertaken a major restructuring to develop a professional military that will be smaller, more rapidly deployable, and better tailored for operations outside of mainland France. Key elements of the restructuring include reducing personnel, bases, and headquarters and rationalizing equipment and the armament industry. French military planners will update the white paper for 2012 to include strategies to protect French capabilities in space and a possible increase in French deployments in Asia and Africa. French active-duty military number about 350,000 (including Gendarmes). France completed the move to all-professional armed forces when conscription ended on December 31, 2002.


France is a founding member of NATO and has worked actively with Allies to adapt NATO, internally and externally, to the post-Cold War environment. In 1966, de Gaulle withdrew France from NATO's military bodies, although France remained a full participant in the alliance's political councils. In December 1995, France partially reversed this decision by increasing its participation in NATO's military wing, including the Military Committee. In April 2009, Sarkozy completed the process by announcing that France would once again rejoin the NATO integrated military command in Brussels. A transition of 900 French officers and over 1,200 personnel to NATO command in Brussels began soon thereafter, with plans to finish by 2015. The French reintegration was welcomed by President Barack Obama, who said that the "principle that European security was American security and vice versa" would be upheld by France’s decision.


At the November 2010 NATO summit in Lisbon, allies agreed to develop a more streamlined command structure, increase cyber security, develop missile defense in collaboration with Russia, and remain a nuclear alliance as long as there are nuclear weapons in the world. France strongly advocated the last point. France's nuclear deterrent is a core part of its own strategic posture. The country is a supporter of missile defense, seeing it as a complement to an independent nuclear deterrent.


France places a high priority on arms control and non-proliferation. After conducting a final series of six nuclear tests, the French signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty in 1996 and in March 2009 agreed on compensation for victims of French nuclear tests. The country has implemented a moratorium on the production, export, and use of anti-personnel landmines and supports negotiations leading toward a universal ban. It is an active participant in the major supplier regimes designed to restrict transfer of technologies that could lead to proliferation of weapons of mass destruction: the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the Australia Group (for chemical and biological weapons), the Non-Proliferation Treaty, the Wassenaar Arrangement, and the Missile Technology Control Regime. France participates actively in the Proliferation Security Initiative, and is engaged with the U.S., both bilaterally and at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), to curb nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) proliferation. It has joined with the U.S., Germany, and the other three permanent members of the UN Security Council to offer a package of incentives and disincentives to Iran to halt its uranium enrichment activities. France was a significant participant in seeking adoption of UNSCR 1929 calling for Iran to immediately cooperate with the IAEA on all outstanding issues related to a possible military use of its nuclear program by granting unrestricted access to all sites, persons, equipment, and documents requested by the IAEA. France continues to play an important role in the P5+1 process to encourage Iran to address the concerns of the international community regarding Tehran’s nuclear program. It has also signed and ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention and participates in an international effort to locate and dispose of lingering chemical weapons stockpiles in post-Qadhafi Libya.


France has actively and heavily participated in a variety of peacekeeping/coalition efforts in the Middle East, Africa, and the Balkans, often taking the lead in these operations. It had about 3,800 troops participating in operations in Afghanistan as of late 2011. The French commitment includes ground troops and air assets. French forces also participate in UN peacekeeping operations in Lebanon, West Africa, and elsewhere. The country remains a firm supporter of the OSCE and other efforts at cooperation.


France is actively engaged with the UN Security Council Counterterrorism Committee, the G-8’s Counterterrorism Action Group, the UNSCR 1267 Sanctions Committee (for the Taliban and al-Qa'ida), and the European Council’s Antiterrorism Strategy action plan. It is an original member of the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism and has continued to participate actively. France has remained a member of, and contributor to, the Container Security Initiative. As a Visa Waiver Program country, it continues to upgrade passports to the biometric standard and has held multiple talks with the Department of Homeland Security on data-sharing via the Terrorist Screening Center. The French Government has undertaken several counterterrorism operations with other countries, including the U.K., Belgium, Germany, Italy, and Spain. French citizens taken hostage in recent years by Al Qa'ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) include a groom and his best man who were taken at gunpoint from a bar in Niamey, Niger on January 9, 2011 and executed during a chase and gunfight with French Special Forces and the Nigerien military. As of October 2011, AQIM continued to hold hostage four French citizens captured in September 2010 in Arlit, Niger. The demands of AQIM in return for the hostages included 90 million euros (about $130 million), the release of several AQIM members from custody, and the removal of French troops from Afghanistan. French citizens also have encountered trouble off the coast of Somalia, including the April 2009 pirate attack on a French yacht, resulting in the death of one French citizen during a successful rescue attempt by the French navy. Al-Qa'ida's Osama bin Laden issued a fatwah in October 2010 specifically targeting France over its forces in Afghanistan and its law against burqas; bin Laden died in May 2011.


U.S.-FRENCH RELATIONS
Relations between the United States and France are active and friendly. Mutual visits by high-level officials are conducted frequently. Bilateral contact at the cabinet level has traditionally been active. France and the United States share common values and have parallel policies on most political, economic, and security issues. Differences are discussed frankly and have not generally been allowed to impair the pattern of close cooperation that characterizes relations between the two countries.


France is one of NATO's top five troop contributors. The French support NATO modernization efforts and are leading contributors to the NATO Response Force (NRF). France is keen to build European defense capabilities, including through the development of EU battle-group sized force packages and joint European military production initiatives. President Sarkozy supports development of a European defense that complements and reinforces NATO, which remains at the core of transatlantic security. The President has underscored the French commitment to complete NATO's mission in Afghanistan, where about 3,800 French troops served as of November 2011. Sarkozy announced in July 2011 that 1,000 troops would return to France by the end of 2012 and that France remained committed to successfully transitioning security responsibility to Afghan forces in Surobi and Kapisa by 2014 and to remaining engaged in Afghanistan post-2014.


France is a close partner with the U.S. in counterterrorism efforts. It cooperates with the U.S. to monitor and disrupt terrorist groups and has processed numerous U.S. requests for information under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty. French intelligence and security officials continue to actively investigate and prosecute cases of extremism. The French judiciary in December 2007 tried and convicted five French former Guantanamo detainees on terrorism charges. France is a strong partner in multiple non-proliferation fora and is a key participant in the Proliferation Security Initiative. As one of the P5+1 powers and as a leader of the EU, France is working to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.


The U.S. and France continue to cooperate closely on many issues, most notably in combating terrorism, efforts to stem the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), and on regional problems, including in Africa, Lebanon, and Kosovo. On Iraq, the French agreed to generous debt relief for Iraq in Paris Club negotiations and accepted the establishment of a NATO training mission there. President Sarkozy traveled to Baghdad in February 2009, turning the page in France’s relations with Iraq. Since President Sarkozy’s election in 2007, France has provided military trainers for the Iraqi army.


In the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, France fully supports U.S. engagement in the peace process. President Sarkozy has repeatedly emphasized his admiration of Israel and support for its security balanced with calls for Israel's full respect of commitments under the Middle East roadmap with respect to settlements and restrictions on Palestinian movement within the occupied territories. President Sarkozy was active in developing a cease-fire during the Gaza fighting at the end of 2008. He continues to stress the importance of increased effort to secure a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.


The U.S. and France have worked closely to support a sovereign and independent Lebanon, free from Syrian domination. The U.S. and France co-sponsored in September 2004 UNSCR 1559, which called for full withdrawal of Syrian forces, a free and fair electoral process, and disbanding and disarmament of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias. In the wake of the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri in February 2005, the U.S. and France reiterated calls for a full, immediate withdrawal of all Syrian troops and security services from Lebanon. France also co-sponsored UNSCR 1701 and was one of the leading countries in Europe working to end hostilities between Israel and Hizballah in 2006 by committing 2,000 troops to UNIFIL-plus. Strong French backing led to adoption of UNSCR 1757 establishing a Special Tribunal for Lebanon to prosecute the perpetrators of the Hariri assassination and other killings of critics of Syria's interference in Lebanon. French efforts in Lebanon are focused on maintaining stability and promoting national reconciliation consistent with relevant UNSCRs. President Sarkozy's decision to pursue a rapprochement with Syria following the Doha accord to end fighting in Lebanon in 2008 was also reportedly contingent upon good-faith Syrian efforts to normalize relations with Lebanon; the two exchanged ambassadors in 2009. Beginning in early 2011, France has condemned the killings of pro-democracy protesters in Syria and urged the Syrian Government to introduce political reforms.


Trade and investment between the U.S. and France are strong. On average, over $1 billion in commercial transactions including sales of U.S. and French foreign affiliates take place every day, with the U.S. being France's eighth-ranked supplier and its eighth-largest customer. France ranks as the United States' eighth-largest trading partner for total goods (imports and exports). There are approximately 2,300 French subsidiaries in the U.S. that provide more than 598,000 jobs and that generate an estimated $306 billion in turnover. The U.S. is the top destination for French investments worldwide. Concurrently, the U.S. is the largest foreign investor in France, employing over 650,000 French citizens with aggregate investment estimated at $86 billion in 2009.


NEW DIRECTOR OF DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE AGENCY INTRODUCED

Photo:  Army Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn. 
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
New DIA Director Expects Intensified Demands for IntelligenceBy Cheryl Pellerin
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 10, 2012 - The new director of the Defense Intelligence Agency is approaching his dream job with eyes wide open, valuing people over technology and expecting a future that holds more intense demands for intelligence.

Army Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn became DIA director July 24, as well as commander of the collocated joint functional component command for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance that is part of U.S. Strategic Command.

"If there's a dream job for me, this is it," Flynn said during an interview with American Forces Press Service.

His vision for the agency, the director added, "is to operationalize the capabilities that DIA brings to bear, for the defense community and specifically in support of our combatant commanders -- [the] commanders and organizations that are spread throughout the globe in support of our nation's defense."

DIA personnel are deployed in 139 countries around the world, with more than 500 serving combat forces in Afghanistan.

"People don't always know that some of the men and women who are out there are even from DIA," Flynn said. "They show up and they live and breathe with the units they're [supporting], doing an intelligence analysis mission and helping commanders understand what's happening in their environment."

The general began his own career as a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C. He has served in command and staff positions, with multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, including as director of intelligence for U.S. Central Command and director of intelligence for the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.

DIA, Flynn said, "has an enormous responsibility for defense in general and certainly for providing intelligence support to our war-fighting forces. It did quite a bit for me personally and certainly for the units that I was a part of over the last ... couple of decades."

In an open letter to the men and women of DIA, the director said DIA's analysis must be timely, responsive and relevant to the needs of customers that include the military services, and increasingly international, domestic and private-sector partners.

"We must strengthen our human intelligence collection against strategic defense targets growing more difficult to penetrate, while fully incorporating counterintelligence. We must continue to integrate science and technology to enhance our operations," he wrote.

Flynn is a graduate of, among other institutions, the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and School of Advanced Military Studies, whose graduates are informally known as Jedi Knights, a reference to lightsaber-wielding members of the Jedi order featured in "Star Wars" films.

He's also earned an honorary doctorate from the Institute of World Politics and three master's degrees, including a Master of Business Administration degree in telecommunications. But people are his real focus.

"The best technology to invest in is the technology between the ears," he said. "Regardless of what we have in terms of technology, we have to invest in the people ... so we're leading technology and technology is not pulling us along."

Such an investment, Flynn added, has everything to do with innovation -- allowing people to take risks in thinking and in trying new ways to present information, to bring ideas forward, and to allow people freedom of action to try new things.

An innovator himself, Flynn is known in the intelligence community as one of three authors in January 2010 of a report published by the Center for a New American Security that was critical of intelligence in Afghanistan.

"Fixing Intel: A Blueprint for Making Intelligence Relevant in Afghanistan" by Flynn, who at the time was the senior intelligence officer in Afghanistan, Marine Corps Capt. Matt Pottinger, and DIA senior executive Paul D. Batchelor, was based on discussions with hundreds of people inside and outside the intel community.

The report recommended sweeping changes for the intel community, including moving from a focus on the enemy to a focus on the people and culture of Afghanistan, or any country where U.S. forces are deployed.

In the lead-up to writing the report, Flynn said, "what I began to realize is that we're not seeing the ... trees [for] the forest. We're missing something here."

What was missing for the intel community, he said, was a focus on the total environment rather than the threat alone.

"There was not a sound understanding of what the environment was like, so I think that in our cultural awareness, our language capabilities, our insight and training ... prior to forces entering in this case Afghanistan, we were missing something in a big way," Flynn said.

"The fact that we have brought laser focus to that issue has made us smarter, more aware, more tuned in" to a process that is also relevant to the pivotal events occurring now in North Africa, Syria, Yemen and in several African countries.

The intelligence community has also matured in other ways, Flynn said, and has come to see in itself a much greater role operationally.

The operational community sees this integration of intelligence and operations in a way that's much different now from 10 years ago, Flynn said. As DIA goes forward, it will look hard at its integration with the operational community and with the combatant commanders, the general added.

"Intelligence at the edge is better than intelligence at the center. ... We have to be in the field, [and] we're already taking a hard look at how ... we place ourselves in a much more operational footprint globally to be more responsive, to be more agile, to be more flexible in the kinds of needs that our nation [will have] here in the coming decade," he said.

U.S. Department of Defense Armed with Science Update

U.S. Department of Defense Armed with Science Update

ARIZONA MAN GETS NINE YEARS IN PRISON FOR TAX CRIMES

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Friday, August 10, 2012
Arizona Tax Defier Sentenced to Nine Years in Prison for Fraud and Tax Conspiracy

Richard Kellogg Armstrong, 77, of Prescott, Ariz., was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Robert E. Blackburn to 108 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Judge Blackburn ordered the sentence to run consecutively to the 660 day prison term and $1,021,500 of fines cumulatively imposed upon Armstrong as punitive sanctions for 10 acts of contempt of court. He also ordered Armstrong to pay restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the amount of $1,678,834 and to forfeit two residences and a personal aircraft. The sentence was announced by the Justice Department’s Tax Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado and the IRS Criminal Investigation Denver Field Office. Codefendant Curtis L. Morris, age 43, of Elizabeth, Colo., is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 6, 2012.

Armstrong was found guilty on April 30, 2012, after a three week jury trial, of one count of mail fraud, eight counts of filing false claims against the United States, three counts of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from mail fraud, and one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States. According to the testimony at trial, Armstrong, Morris and others conspired to file false tax returns claiming large tax refunds based upon fictitious federal income tax withholdings taken from bogus IRS Forms 1099-OID for themselves and others. Armstrong personally received over $1.6 million in fraudulent tax refunds and, according to the testimony at trial, quickly moved most of this money into accounts in the names of shell entities and offshore bank accounts.

"The sentence in this case demonstrates that those who defy the tax laws by preparing or filing false and frivolous tax returns will be prosecuted and punished for their conduct," said Kathryn Keneally, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Tax Division. "The Tax Division remains committed to prosecuting conduct that attempts to defy our nation’s tax laws."

"The intent of this refund fraud scheme was to swindle the government and the taxpaying public" said Richard Weber, Chief, IRS-Criminal Investigation. "Today's sentencing of Mr. Armstrong again emphasizes that the Internal Revenue Service and Department of Justice will continue their aggressive pursuit of those who would attempt to defraud America's tax system."

Assistant Attorney General Keneally commended the efforts of IRS-Criminal Investigation special agents, who investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Harmon and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin F. Sweeney, who prosecuted the case. Kevin Sweeney is a trial attorney from the Tax Division, currently on detail to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

U.S.-CAMEROON RELATIONS

Cameroon Map Credit:  U.S. State Department
FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
The United States established diplomatic relations with Cameroon in 1960, following its independence from a French-administered trusteeship. Cameroon has had two presidents since independence. U.S. relations with Cameroon are positive, although from time to time they have been affected by concerns over human rights abuses and the pace of political and economic liberalization. The two countries are partners in addressing issues of democracy, good governance, and economic development. The United States hopes to continue to work with Cameroon to consolidate democratic gains and economic growth, particularly as Cameroon embarks upon municipal and legislative elections planned for 2013. The United States supports Cameroon's efforts to strengthen electoral institutions, enhance transparency, and allow for contestation of results.

U.S. Assistance to Cameroon
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) runs a number of programs in Cameroon, mainly through its regional office in Ghana, and primarily in the health sector. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) also has activities in Cameroon, mainly in HIV/AIDS prevention. Peace Corps volunteers work in five program sectors: agroforestry, community health, education and information technology, small business development, and youth development (focused primarily on girls and young women). The Public Affairs section of the U.S. Embassy in Cameroon organizes and funds diverse cultural, educational, and informational exchanges. It maintains a library and helps foster the development of Cameroon's independent press by providing information in a number of areas, including U.S. human rights and democratization policies. The Embassy administers both the Ambassador’s Special Self-Help and Democracy and Human Rights Fund programs and the Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation. Through several State Department and USAID regional funds, the Embassy also provides funds for biodiversity protection, refugees, HIV/AIDS, democratization, and girl's scholarships.

Bilateral Economic Relations
Cameroon is eligible for preferential trade benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act. Cameroon's exports to the United States include mineral fuel and oil, cocoa, rubber, wood, and coffee while imports from the United States include machinery, articles for donation, aircraft, vehicles, and plastics. The United States is a leading investor in Cameroon, largely through the Chad-Cameroon petroleum pipeline project and energy provider AES Sonel. The United States and Cameroon have a bilateral investment treaty.

Cameroon's Membership in International Organizations
Cameroon supports the principle of noninterference in the affairs of third countries and increased assistance to underdeveloped countries. Cameroon and the United States belong to a number of the same international organizations, including the United Nations, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and World Trade Organization.

PROJECT DIAMANTE: REFORMING MEXICO'S CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

Photo:  Mexican BMW Police Car.  From:  Wikimedia.
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Project Diamante: Assisting Our International Partners
August 10th, 2012 Posted by Tracy Russo
 
 
Today marks the completion of Phase I training of Project Diamante in Mexico City. Project Diamante is a comprehensive, capacity-building effort developed by professionals of the Department of Justice to reform and modernize Mexico’s criminal justice system.

Since 2009, the Department of Justice has provided major technical assistance to Mexico through the Criminal Division’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development and Training (OPDAT) and the International Criminal Investigative Training Program (ICITAP) as Mexico strives to strengthen local efforts in the investigation of complex crimes.

As part of these programs, our experts, including from the Criminal Division’s Office of Enforcement Operations and Office of International Affairs, have instructed their Mexican counterparts in a variety of critical areas, including criminal procedure code reform, forensic training, drafting of witness protection legislation, investigative techniques, extradition and mutual legal assistance, organizational development, human trafficking, and intellectual property rights violations.

In addition, since February 2012, experienced instructors have been training hundreds of Mexican prosecutors, investigators, and forensic experts for Project Diamante. This collaboration represents a truly historic effort bringing together American and Mexican officials to assist the Latin American nation as it continues its planned transition from an inquisitorial criminal justice system to one that is more open and adversarial.

Project Diamante’s curriculum aims to lay a solid foundation for building – and maintaining – more robust legal institutions by increasing transparency and improving key skills among members of Mexico’s law enforcement community. As Phase I ends, we look forward to the next phases of this ambitious program, which are designed to institutionalize the training and thereby ensure that future generations of Mexican law enforcement receive this vital foundation. In Phases II and III, Mexico will move toward institutionalizing Project Diamante training in its academies so that its next generation of prosecutors, investigators and forensic experts receives the same training and has the same essential foundation for their important work.

On marking the completion of the first class of the Project Diamante initiative, Attorney General Eric Holder said:

"I believe that we can all be encouraged by today’s celebration and the broad-based engagement between our countries. With the personal commitment from the highest levels of my government, we can both confront increasingly complex and cross border issues head on with a renewed sense of cooperation, solidarity and partnership."

Project Diamante is just one of the Justice Department’s many global efforts designed to foster and develop the rule of law among our critical partners around the world. Over the past 25 years, ICITAP and OPDAT have drawn on the department’s resources and our employees’ expertise to strengthen foreign criminal justice sector institutions and enhance the administration of justice abroad.

ICITAP and OPDAT programs support the department’s wider law enforcement objectives and priorities by preparing foreign counterparts to cooperate more fully and effectively with the United States in combating terrorism, human trafficking, organized crime, corruption, financial crimes, and other transnational crimes. They achieve these goals by encouraging legislative and justice sector reform in countries with inadequate laws; improving the skills of foreign prosecutors, investigators, forensic experts and judges; and promoting the rule of law and highlighting the importance of human rights.

FORMER SOYO GROUP EXEC. ORDERED TO PAY $15.6 MILLION PENALTY

FROM: U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Former Chief Financial Officer of Soyo Group Ordered to Pay $15,600,000 Penalty for Securities Fraud

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today that Nancy Shao Wen Chu, the former Chief Financial Officer for the now defunct Soyo Group, Inc., was ordered to pay $15,600,000 in penalties for committing securities fraud. Another defendant, Eric Jon Strasser, was ordered to pay a penalty of $260,000. The SEC alleged that between January 2007 and November 2008, Soyo, through the actions of Chu and another defendant, booked over $47 million in fraudulent sales revenues arising from at least 120 fictitious transactions. The scheme had the effect of nearly doubling Soyo’s net revenues for 2007 over the previous year. Soyo’s share price thus increased from a low of $.28/share in the first quarter of 2007, to a high of $1.80/share in the fourth quarter of 2007. The SEC alleged that Chu actively participated in the fraudulent sales transactions and took deliberate steps to hide the scheme from Soyo’s auditor.

Further, the SEC alleged that in order to obtain additional bank financing for Soyo and keep its existing line of credit from defaulting, Chu also misled Soyo’s investors, its primary lending bank, and its auditor regarding a six million dollar debt-for-equity transaction Soyo was negotiating with a vendor. Despite that fact that discussions with the vendor were not finalized and subject to cancelation, Chu signed and caused to be filed a Soyo Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2008, reporting that the transaction was complete, eliminating an outstanding accounts payable of slightly over $6 million, and thereby reducing Soyo’s current liabilities by 14% and its accounts payable by 42%.

Strasser, a consultant who prepared Soyo’s SEC filings, was alleged to have been well aware that Soyo’s second quarter Form 10-Q falsely reported the debt-for-equity transaction as complete and to have withheld this information from Soyo’s auditor. In addition, Strasser prepared Soyo’s Form-10-Q for the next quarter, making the same false disclosures and omitting the same liabilities relating to the debt-for-equity transaction.

Neither Chu nor Strasser answered the Commission’s complaint and both were found to be in default. The Court ordered the maximum third-tier penalty of $130,000 against Chu for each of the 120 fictitious transactions she concocted and against Strasser for each of the two fraudulent SEC filings.

A FLYING PARALEGAL

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Air Force Lt. Col. Rich Radvanyi goes over the incentive flight route with Airman 1st Class Nicholas Fennen, at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, June 22, 2012. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Chad Thompson


Face of Defense: Airman Realizes Dream of Flying
By Air Force Tech. Sgt. Chad Thompson
86th Airlift Wing
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany, Aug. 10, 2012 - An airman with the 86th Airlift Wing Judge Advocate office here has realized his dream of being a pilot, at least for one exciting mission over Germany.

Airman 1st Class Nicholas Fennen, a discharge paralegal, was selected to participate in the Ramstein Daedalians Aviation Incentive Flight program, which gives deserving young airmen the chance to live out a childhood fantasy of flight.

Fennen might spend his days processing administrative discharge paperwork, but he has a history of being close to planes. "My cousin and his dad were both pilots ... and my uncle flew planes during Vietnam," Fennen said.

Flying seems to be in his blood, which might also explain why one of his initial experiences with a plane came when he was young. "My cousin owned his own plane and he would take me flying around the farm all the time," Fennen, a Katy, Texas, native said. "As a child I loved the feeling of flying, the takeoff was the most thrilling experience as a kid." Those early flights gave him a thirst for being in the clouds.

With two brothers already in the military -- one in the Army, the other in the Air Force -- Fennen said the choice was easy when it came to joining the Air Force. It has always been his dream to be a pilot and a leader. "The drive to become a pilot is more than just the flying aspect," he said. "The leaders of our Air Force are mostly pilots. I want to lead."

With about 15 months in service, Fennen has already proven his dedication to the mission, which is why his supervisor, Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Frank Portillo, submitted him for this opportunity.

Fennen has shown a maturity that normally takes time for a young airman to develop, Portillo said. "He started at legal assistance where he worked at scheduling clients and working power of attorney worksheets," Portillo said. "We felt he was ready to move up because he had the work ethic and attention to detail to move on and do more tasks."

Portillo said Fennen has excelled at every aspect of the job. Submitting him for this incentive flight was just a small thank you for all his hard work and dedication.

When Fennen first heard he was getting the chance to fly, he said he was surprised to be getting the opportunity to fulfill a dream, but for a while it seemed like it wouldn't happen. The flight was plagued by bad weather and cancellations until, after about a month of waiting, he got off the ground June 22.

During his one-hour flight, Fennen took the controls of the Cessna 172 and performed basic maneuvers including climbs, descents, turns and even flew most of the final approach to the runway. "Fennen did fantastic," said Air Force Lt. Col. Rich Radvanyi, pilot and president of the Coleman Aero Club. "This incentive program is designed to give these young airmen a taste of what it's like to fly and show them some basics in navigation."

Radvanyi said a lot of work goes into keeping a small plane on the proper heading when there are strong winds involved and, despite the weather, Fennen was able to keep it on course. "It was bumpy and a little rocky," Fennen said. "It was a lot more work than I thought it would be."

For someone who is only 20, Fennen has already done a lot. He has traveled Europe, has hopes of playing soccer for the base intramural team, and with the right motivation he may one day have his name painted on the side of his favorite aircraft, the A-10 Thunderbolt II.

"It was surreal to be flying over Germany," Fennen said. "When I was a kid I would have never dreamed I would be flying a plane over the Rhine River and castles. It still amazes me ... all the things I'm accomplishing."

MAN SENTENCED IN MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR COUNTERFEIT CREDIT CARD CONSPIRACY

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Friday, August 10, 2012
Indiana Online Identity Thief Sentenced to 48 Months in Prison for Counterfeit Credit Card Conspiracy Involving More Than $3 Million in Losses

WASHINGTON – A Munster, Ind., man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., to serve 48 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy that involved operation of an online identity theft business that sold counterfeit credit cards encoded with stolen account information, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Peter Borgia Jr., 22, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema. In addition to his prison term, Borgia was ordered to pay $3,138,678.05 in forfeiture and to serve three years of supervised release. Borgia pleaded guilty on May 18, 2012, to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

In his plea, Borgia admitted he was part of a conspiracy that ran an online business selling counterfeit credit cards encoded with stolen account information. According to court documents, the conspiracy utilized multiple online personas in criminal "carding forums," Internet discussion groups set up to facilitate buying and selling stolen financial account information and other goods and services to promote credit card fraud. In these forums and in other Internet communications, the conspiracy regularly purchased or received stolen credit card account information, which was then used to make counterfeit credit cards for sale to others.

In June 2010, U.S. Secret Service special agents executed a search warrant at Borgia’s co-conspirator’s apartment and found a counterfeit credit card manufacturing operation and nearly 21,000 stolen credit card numbers and related information in computers and email accounts. According to court documents, credit card companies have identified thousands of fraudulent transactions using the card numbers found in the co-conspirator’s possession, totaling more than $3 million.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service Criminal Investigative Division and Chicago Field Office, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service from the Northern District of Illinois and the Northern District of Indiana, and the Oak Brook, Ill., Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Michael J. Stawasz, a Senior Counsel for the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

MARS CURIOSITY ROVER BEGINS OPERATIONS

FROM:  NASA
NASA.gov - Curiosity Rover Update - Surface Operations Begin
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U.S. SENDING MORE HUMANITARIAN AID TO SYRIAN REFUGEES.

Map:  Turkey.  Credit:  U.S. CIA
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
08/11/2012 09:15 AM EDT
Additional Humanitarian Assistance for Those Fleeing the Violence in Syria

Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
August 11, 2012
The United States is pursuing every available avenue, including focused diplomatic efforts, to secure full and unfettered access for humanitarian organizations to reach, and provide humanitarian assistance to the innocent children, women, and men caught in the middle of the ongoing Syrian conflict. Today in Istanbul, Secretary Clinton announced the United States is providing an additional $5.5 million in humanitarian assistance bringing the total U.S. contribution for this crisis to nearly $82 million. This latest tranche of U.S. assistance is targeted toward communities who have sought refuge in Turkey.

The Government of Turkey, in coordination with the Turkish Red Crescent, provides humanitarian assistance including shelter, food, and access to health and education services to Syrians in eleven camps in four provinces along the Turkey-Syria border. This additional U.S. funding will assist in providing lifesaving assistance to the more than 50,000 people who fled to camps in Turkey to escape the violence of the Syrian regime. This additional U.S. funding, through UNHCR and IOM, will assist in protecting the fundamental well-being of the most vulnerable people, through the provision of tents, blankets, kitchen sets, and other critical relief supplies. This funding will support increased access to basic health care, mobile health clinics, and psychosocial support services to help Syrians in camps cope with the trauma of witnessing brutal conflict and leaving family, friends, homes, and livelihoods behind.

In total, for humanitarian activities both inside Syria and in neighboring countries, the United States is providing:

$27.5 million to the World Food Program (WFP);
$23.1 million to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR);
$15.1 million to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs);
$8 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC);
$3 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA);
$2.75 million to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF);
$1 million to the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC);
$500,000 to the International Organization for Migration (IOM);
$500,000 to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs; and
$300,000 to the UN Department of Safety and Security for support of humanitarian operations


We recognize the generosity of the Governments of Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq, who have kept their borders open and are hosting and providing assistance to those fleeing the violence in Syria. We commend the efforts of the United Nations and other international organizations and nongovernmental organizations to ease the trauma that the conflict in Syria has inflicted on those fleeing the violence.

While the first hope of those fleeing violence is to be able to return to their homes and help build a democratic Syria, this may not be an option for some time to come. For that reason, the United States is working with our counterparts to plan for the future needs of those Syrians seeking safety in neighboring countries.

PREDICTING WILDFIRE BEHAVIOR AND BARK BEETLES

Photo:  Wildfire.  From:  U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service
FROM:  LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY
High-Tech Tool Predicts Fire Behavior in Bark Beetle-Ravaged Forests
Rocky Mountain Research Station and LANL build better computer models

LOS ALAMOS, NEW MEXICO AND FORT COLLINS, CO, August 9, 2012—Fire fighters facing fast-moving wildfires need better tools to predict erratic fire behavior, especially in forests with dead trees caused by massive outbreaks of bark beetles whose predations create an abundance of dead fuel and changes in the tree canopy structure.

Tools typically available to incident commanders and fire crews are not designed for these potentially highly variable conditions and may not provide accurate fire behavior predictions, scientists have determined. When the High Park Fire in Colorado burned through rugged terrain and populated areas last month, the forest was already ravaged by bark beetles and the fire took advantage.

A high-tech computer model called HIGRAD/FIRETEC, the cornerstone of a collaborative effort between US Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station and Los Alamos National Laboratory, provides insights that are essential for front-line fire fighters. The science team is looking into levels of bark beetle-induced conditions that lead to drastic changes in fire behavior and how variable or erratic the behavior is likely to be. The research team, led by Carolyn Sieg at RMRS and Rodman Linn at LANL, includes colleagues from Colorado State University, RMRS’ Fire Laboratory in Missoula, and USFS Forest Health Management. The work is also supported by National Fire Plan funding from US Forest Service Research and Development Washington Office.

HIGRAD/FIRETEC is a physics-based, 3-D computer code designed to simulate the constantly changing, interactive relationship between fire and its environment. It does so by representing the interactions among fire, fuels, atmosphere and topography on a landscape scale. HIGRAD is a computational fluid-dynamics model that represents airflow and its adjustments to terrain, different types of fuel (vegetation) and the fire itself. FIRETEC combines physics models that represent combustion, heat transfer, aerodynamic drag and turbulence.

To model fire behavior, researchers used data collected in forests and woodlands that have been attacked by a variety of bark beetles. A current focus is on better understanding which changes in fire behavior are due to increased dead fuel versus changes in canopy structure that allow high wind speeds to push the fire more easily.

By discovering the ways that highly variable rates and patterns of tree death affect fire behavior it will be possible to better predict the likelihood of dangerous changes in the wildfire’s activity. This ongoing research is important, as most fire models are not well suited to explain fire behavior associated with fluctuating winds in highly variable fuels.

HIGRAD/FIRETEC simulates the dynamic processes that occur within a fire and the way those processes feed off and alter each other. The simulation thus provides much more realistic fire behavior predictions. The model realistically incorporates low fuel-moisture contents of dead needles on the trees. This is particularly important when fires burn through vegetation in which there are patches of dead trees. In this situation dead trees serve as catalysts for tree-top "crown" fires that subsequently consume live trees. Determining the conditions where such behavior exists has not been possible using approaches that assumed the forest conditions had average moisture conditions and were homogenous.

Using advanced computational resources at LANL, the research team believes it can better understand processes that lead to improved operational models of fires. Ultimately, the goal is to gain greater insights from modeling that will lead to greater safety for fire fighters and better protection of people in the path of wildfires.

RECENT U.S. NAVY PHOTOS



FROM: U.S. NAVY
120809-N-NZ569-060
ARABIAN SEA (Aug. 9, 2012) An MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter from the Sea Knights of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 22 transports pallets to the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) during a replenishment at sea with the Military Sealift Command dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS Robert E. Perry (T-AKE) 5. Dwight D. Eisenhower 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 Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Tony Bloom/Released)





120809-N-WX059-007
JONT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii (Aug. 9, 2012) Sailors assigned to Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 1 prepare to conduct dive operations to recover an anchor off the coast of Hawaii. MDSU-1, based out of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, is able to rapidly deploy at a moments notice anywhere in the world to conduct a wide variety of dive operations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Sean Furey/Released)

Saturday, August 11, 2012

PATIENT SUCESSFULLY EVACUATED FROM ANTARTICA

FROM: U.S. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
An Australian Airbus A319 jet is shown at the annual Sea Ice Runway, near McMurdo Station in this file photo from 2007. During the August 2012 medical evacuation, an Australian Airbus landed at Pegasus Field near McMurdo, one of a few airstrips in Antarctica able to accommodate wheeled aircraft.  Credit: Photograph by: Ralph Maestas National Science Foundation
Patient Successfully Evacuated From Antarctica
August 9, 2012
A medical evacuation flight bringing a patient from the National Science Foundation's McMurdo Station in Antarctica arrived safely in Christchurch, New Zealand at approximately 3 a.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, Aug. 9.

Upon arrival, the patient was transported to a local hospital for treatment.

Due to medical confidentiality, NSF has no additional comment on the patient's status.

NSF decided earlier this week to fly the patient out of Antarctica to receive treatment that is not available at McMurdo. The medical facility at the station is equivalent to an urgent-care center in the United States and is not equipped for the type of procedure that was being contemplated.

Kelly Falkner, the acting director of NSF's Office of Polar Programs, expressed the gratitude of the U.S. Antarctic Program, which NSF manages, to government agencies in Australia and New Zealand that provided the vital assets to make the evacuation possible.

She noted that "this is an excellent example of the benefits of longstanding cooperation with our Antarctic partners, Australia and New Zealand in particular."

The Australian Antarctic Division, which manages Australia's Antarctic research program, provided an A319 Airbus to transport the patient as well as the aircrew and medical support staff aboard the plane. The Royal New Zealand Air Force contributed search-and-rescue coverage, which is integral to any medical evacuation flight at this time of year.

Winter is coming to a close in Antarctica, but daylight is minimal and restricted to midday twilight, and temperatures are extremely low.

An additional passenger was also permitted to leave McMurdo Station aboard the medical evacuation flight because of compelling personal circumstances.

NSF manages the U.S. Antarctic Program, through which it coordinates all U.S. research and the necessary logistical support on the continent and aboard ships in the Southern Ocean.

 

Obama signs law giving health care to Lejeune tainted water victims | McClatchy

Obama signs law giving health care to Lejeune tainted water victims | McClatchy

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA SPEAKS ABOUT DROUGHT IN WEEKLY ADDRESS

FROM: THE WHITE HOUSE
Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
The White House
August 11, 2012

Hi, everybody. Today, I want to talk about something that most of you know already – it’s hot outside. It’s really hot. And if this feels worse than normal, that’s because it is. We just found out that the month of July was the warmest month on record – warmer than any other month since we began keeping track more than a century ago.

But the heat is just half the story. We’re also suffering through one of the worst droughts in over 50 years. More than a fifth of this country is experiencing what we call "extreme" or "exceptional" drought – with states like Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Arkansas getting hit harder than most.

That’s bad news for a lot of people, but it’s especially tough on our farmers. Right now, half of the corn crop in America is in poor or very poor condition. Cattle farmers are struggling to feed their animals. Many folks are seeing their livelihoods dry up in front of their eyes. And if we don’t get relief soon, Americans everywhere will start feeling the pinch, with higher prices on grocery store shelves all across the country.

We can’t let that happen. That’s why, at my direction, the Department of Agriculture, led by Secretary Vilsack, has been working with other agencies across the federal government to make sure we’re doing everything we can to help farmers and ranchers fight back and recover from this disaster. Already, we’ve given farmers across 32 states access to low-interest emergency loans.

We’ve opened up more federal land for grazing. And we’re working with crop insurance companies to give farmers a short grace period on their premiums, since some families will be struggling to make ends meet at the end of the year.

This past week, we went even further – announcing an additional $30 million to help get more water to livestock and restore land affected by the drought. We’re making it easier for even more farmers, ranchers and businesses to get emergency loans. And the Department of Transportation is helping more truck drivers deliver supplies to states that need them the most.

This is an all-hands-on-deck response, and we’ll be doing even more in the coming weeks to help families and communities that are suffering right now.

But my Administration can’t do it alone. Congress needs to do its part, too. They need to pass a farm bill that not only helps farmers and ranchers respond to these kinds of disasters, but also makes necessary reforms and gives them some certainty year-round. That’s the single best way we can help rural communities right now, and also in the long-term.

So call your Members of Congress, write them an email, and tell them that now is the time to come together and get this done. Too many Americans are suffering right now to let politics get in the way. Let’s help farmers, ranchers and business owners recover. Let’s make sure that families who already stretch their budgets to the limit don’t have to pay more for groceries this fall.

In the meantime, I’ll keep doing everything I can to help respond to this disaster. Because at times like these, it doesn’t matter if you live in Des Moines or Detroit – we’re Americans first. And if we look out for each other, we’ll come out of this stronger than before.

Have a great weekend, everybody. And stay cool.

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