U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE CLINTON AND PRESIDENT OBAMA ATTEND ASEAN LEADERS MEETING

The Throne Hall at the Royal Palace grounds in Phnom Penh. Built in 1917, the building was where the king's confidants, generals, and royal officials once carried out their duties. Today it is used for religious and royal ceremonies, and as a meeting place for guests of the king. Photo Credit: CIA World Factbook.

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, ASEAN, EAST ASIA SUMMIT, CAMBODIA

U.S. Institutional Support for ASEAN
Fact Sheet
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
November 19, 2012

On November 19 and 20, Secretary Clinton accompanied President Obama to the U.S.-ASEAN Leaders Meeting and East Asia Summit (EAS) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Their attendance at these events for the second consecutive year reaffirms U.S. commitment to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and to Southeast Asia as a whole. At EAS and the U.S.-ASEAN Leaders Meeting, the United States highlighted our broad engagement with the region across ASEAN’s political-security, economic, and socio-cultural pillars and introduced initiatives to deepen these ties.

EAS provided an opportunity to highlight the United States’ enduring commitment to supporting ASEAN as it becomes a driver of peace, security, prosperity, and democracy in the region. The United States has demonstrated our institutional support for ASEAN in a number of ways.
The U.S. Mission to ASEAN: In June 2010, the United States became the first non-ASEAN country to establish a dedicated Mission to ASEAN in Jakarta. Under the leadership of Ambassador David L. Carden, the United States’ first resident Ambassador to ASEAN, the Mission provides a venue for regular engagement and cooperation with ASEAN as well as the most visible symbol of our commitment to ASEAN’s success.
Support for U.S.-ASEAN Scholarship: Building on more than 60 years of supporting scholar and student exchanges between the United States and countries in the region through the Fulbright Program, recruitment for the pilot U.S.-ASEAN Fulbright initiative started this fall, with the first group of exchange scholars beginning study in early 2013. The United States also supports both U.S. and ASEAN Member States’ scholars working on issues central to the region through symposia held at American University’s ASEAN Studies Center in Washington DC. Our participation in the Brunei-U.S. English Language Enrichment Project for ASEAN reflects a commitment to help unify the diverse members of ASEAN, improve English language capacity, and advance educational and teaching opportunities in the region. This five-year, $25 million initiative is supported by the governments of Brunei and the United States with the East-West Center in Hawaii as an implementing coordinator, and the first cohort of 59 government officials and teacher-trainers traveled to Universiti Brunei Darussalam and East-West Center this fall.
Institutional Support in Disaster Management: Since mid-2011, the United States has supported a full-time, resident Advisor to the ASEAN Secretariat’s ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Unit and to broader Disaster Management efforts through the Secretariat and ASEAN Centre for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (AHA Centre). The Advisor works closely with ASEAN officials and our fellow ASEAN Dialogue Partners to oversee activities such as:
The installation of a multi-hazard Disaster Monitoring and Response System in the AHA Centre. Along with Japan, the United States is providing the hardware and software AHA Centre operators need to improve response times and use relief resources more efficiently.
Building the search and rescue capacity of ASEAN Member States and creating guidelines for mobilization of assets for disaster relief across the region.
Supporting efforts to share best practices in Peacekeeping Operations.
Promoting Public-Private Dialogue Economic Partnerships: The United States has partnered with ASEAN in private-sector outreach in several areas:
Secretary Clinton opened the first-ever U.S.-ASEAN Business Forum in July in Siem Reap, which brought government and private actors from across the spectrum together to find ways to further economic engagement and integration.
The U.S. Trade and Development Agency’s first connectivity event, which brought representatives together from ASEAN governments, seven U.S. Government agencies, and several private businesses. Participants shared expertise in disaster reduction and disaster recovery, and attendees showcased technology which enables more effective disaster preparation and emergency response.
We have supported the ASEAN Single Window Steering Committee, which incorporates the views of businesses active in the region into the planning for the ASEAN Single Window project, a state-of-the-art regional electronic customs clearance information sharing system, which will help to enable the integration of the broader ASEAN economic community.
Economic Partnerships:
At the U.S.-ASEAN Leaders Meeting, the United States and ASEAN announced agreement to develop an Expanded Economic Engagement (E3) initiative. The U.S.-ASEAN E3 will provide capacity building and technical assistance to ASEAN members as they move toward high-standard trade obligations. The E3 will also prioritize the negotiation of a U.S.-ASEAN Trade Facilitation Agreement, a U.S.-ASEAN Bilateral (Regional) Investment Treaty, and a U.S.-ASEAN Agreement on Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
We support triennial conferences to encourage private sector engagement with ASEAN’s food security agenda. The U.S.-funded Maximizing Agricultural Revenue through Knowledge, Enterprise Development, and Trade (MARKET) Program is helping to carry these critical private-public partnerships. We will support the Second Annual Dialogue between ASEAN Agriculture Ministers and food industry business leaders in September. ASEAN Science & Technology Cooperation:
Recognizing the key role that science, technology, and health expertise play in promoting sustained economic development, at the U.S.-ASEAN Leaders Meeting the United States and ASEAN agreed to launch the U.S.-ASEAN Innovation in Science through Partners in Regional Engagement (INSPIRE) initiative. Through INSPIRE, the United States will enhance our scientific engagement and exchange across these fields with ASEAN, complementing the existing, excellent bilateral cooperation between the United States and ASEAN member states.
The United States funded an expert to work closely with the ASEAN Secretariat to improve IT operations and prepare a medium-term IT strategy that was presented to the Committee of Permanent Representatives. In early September, the ASEAN Secretariat and United States will jointly launch a new ASEAN Web Portal with a redesign of the front end of the website, the creation of central repository for past, current and future ASEAN documents, and a user-friendly interface with a searchable function. U.S.-ASEAN Eminent Persons Group (EPG): President Obama announced the names of the three representatives, Ambassador Charlene Barshefsky (a former U.S. Trade Representative), Muhtar Kent (Chairman and CEO of the Coca-Cola Company), and Ambassador J. Stapleton Roy (former U.S. Ambassador to Singapore, China, and Indonesia,) in November 2011 at the U.S.-ASEAN Leaders Meeting. This year, the group met with their ASEAN counterparts in Manila and Rangoon. In these meetings and through extensive additional consultations, the group formulated a report containing recommendations on enhanced U.S.-ASEAN engagement for consideration by President Obama, Secretary Clinton, and ASEAN Leaders. The EPG report offers expert insights on topics including engagement and integration among ASEAN Member States across all three Pillars of the ASEAN Community: political/security, economic, and socio-cultural. This important Presidential initiative demonstrates our deepening engagement with multilateral institutions in the Asia-Pacific, and specifically with ASEAN, as we celebrate the 35th anniversary of the establishment of the U.S.-ASEAN Dialogue this year.
ASEAN Secretariat Committee of Permanent Representatives Visit: This September, the United States sponsored a trip to Washington, DC and San Francisco, CA for the ASEAN Committee of Permanent Representatives (CPR), led by U.S. Mission to ASEAN Ambassador David L. Carden. The CPR oversees ASEAN Member States’ interactions with the ASEAN Secretariat and Dialogue Partners such as the United States, and includes one Representative from each of the 10 ASEAN Member States. During their visit, the CPR exchanged best practices across a variety of disciplines with officials drawn from U.S. Government, the private sector, think tanks, and universities, with the goal of improving ASEAN’s capacity to promote sustainable development, improve regional rule of law, and create an environment conducive to economic growth across Southeast Asia.
Dialogue Partner/Donor Coordination: The United States places a high priority on outreach and collaboration with our development partners in the region and in helping ASEAN strengthen its role in partner coordination. For example, the USAID-AusAID-ASEAN collaboration with the MTV End Exploitation and Trafficking (EXIT) campaign is highlighting ASEAN’s commitment to end trafficking in persons in cooperation with its Dialogue Partners. We are also coordinating support to the AHA Centre. The United States, Japan, Australia, the EU, and New Zealand are working directly with the AHA Centre and the ASEAN Secretariat to balance the types of assistance from each partner to cover AHA Centre's priority needs for systems, staffing and training. The United States and Canada also co-chair the working group on human rights cooperation with ASEAN.
Defense Liaison Officer: In 2011 the United States Pacific Command (PACOM) deployed a Liaison Officer to the U.S. Mission to ASEAN with the objectives of encouraging information-sharing between DOD and other U.S. agencies on multi-national security programs in Southeast Asia, and encouraging deepening and sustained engagement by DOD in ASEAN defense-related fora such as the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting Plus (ADMM+) mechanism. Over the past year the Mission's PACOM liaison has assisted with arrangements for the first informal dialogue between the ASEAN Defense Ministers and U.S. Secretary of Defense; coordinated U.S. co-chairmanship with Indonesia of the ADMM+ Expert Working Group on Counterterrorism; and organized a PACOM-sponsored regional workshop on environmental security.

TWO BIG FIRMS WILL PAY OVER $400 MILLION COMBINED TO SETTLE SEC CHARGES RELATED TO RMBS

 FROM: U.S. SECURITES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C., Nov. 16, 2012 — In coordination with the federal-state Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Working Group, the Securities and Exchange Commission today charged J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) with misleading investors in offerings of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS). The firms agreed to settlements in which they will pay more than $400 million combined, and the SEC plans to distribute the money to harmed investors.

The SEC alleges that J.P. Morgan misstated information about the delinquency status of mortgage loans that provided collateral for an RMBS offering in which it was the underwriter. J.P. Morgan received fees of more than $2.7 million, and investors sustained losses of at least $37 million on undisclosed delinquent loans. J.P. Morgan also is charged for Bear Stearns' failure to disclose its practice of obtaining and keeping cash settlements from mortgage loan originators on problem loans that Bear Stearns had sold into RMBS trusts. The proceeds from this bulk settlement practice were at least $137.8 million.

J.P. Morgan has agreed to pay $296.9 million to settle the SEC's charges.

According to the SEC's order against Credit Suisse, the firm similarly failed to accurately disclose its practice of retaining cash for itself from the settlement of claims against mortgage loan originators for problems with loans that Credit Suisse had sold into RMBS trusts and no longer owned. Credit Suisse also made misstatements in SEC filings about when it would repurchase mortgage loans from trusts if borrowers missed the first payment due. The firm made $55.7 million in profits and losses avoided from its bulk settlement practice, and its investors lost more than $10 million due to Credit Suisse's practices concerning first payment defaults.

Credit Suisse has agreed to pay $120 million to settle the SEC's charges.

"In many ways, mortgage products such as RMBS were ground zero in the financial crisis," said Robert Khuzami, Director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement. "Misrepresentations in connection with the creation and sale of mortgage securities contributed greatly to the tremendous losses suffered by investors once the U.S. housing market collapsed. Today's actions involving RMBS securities are a continuation of the SEC's strong efforts to pursue wrongdoing committed in connection with the financial crisis."

Mr. Khuzami is a co-chair of the RMBS Working Group, which brings together federal and state agencies to investigate those responsible for misconduct that contributed to the financial crisis through the pooling and sale of RMBS.

RMBS Working Group Co-Chair and U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado John Walsh said, "Today's filings represent significant steps towards the accomplishment of the Working Group's mission - to investigate and confront the abuses in the residential mortgage-backed securities market that significantly contributed to the Financial Crisis. The Working Group model allows the Department of Justice to lend a hand to other enforcement partners around the country who, in turn, have their own unique resources, talents, and legal tools to contribute to the effort. And the Justice Department's efforts in this area have benefited from SEC's work on its own cases."

RMBS Working Group Co-Chair and New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said, "Today's actions are another step forward in the process of bringing accountability for the misconduct that led to the collapse of the housing market. We will continue to work together on behalf of consumers and investors to ensure that it never happens again."

According to the SEC's complaint against J.P. Morgan filed in federal court in Washington D.C., federal regulations under the securities laws require the disclosure of delinquency information related to assets that provide collateral for an asset-backed securities offering. Information about the delinquency status of mortgage loans in an RMBS transaction is important to investors because those loans are the primary source of funds by which investors can earn interest and obtain repayment of their principal.

The SEC alleges that in the prospectus supplement for the $1.8 billion RMBS offering that occurred in December 2006, J.P. Morgan made materially false and misleading statements about the loans that provided collateral for the transaction. The firm represented that only four loans (.04 percent of the total loans collateralizing the transaction) were delinquent by 30 to 59 days, and that those four were the only loans that had had an instance of delinquency of 30 or more days in the 12 months prior to the "cut-off date" for the transaction. However, at the time J.P. Morgan made these representations, the firm actually had information showing that more than 620 loans (above 7 percent of the total loans collateralizing the transaction) were, and had been, 30 to 59 days delinquent, and the four loans represented as being 30 to 59 days delinquent were in fact 60 to 89 days delinquent.

The SEC's complaint also alleges that Bear Stearns' bulk settlements covered loans collateralizing 156 different RMBS transactions issued from 2005 to 2007. Loan originators were usually required by contract to buy back loans that suffered early payment defaults or had other defects. However, Bear Stearns frequently negotiated discounted cash settlements with these loan originators in lieu of a buy-back on loans that were owned by the RMBS trusts. The firm - both before and after the merger with J.P. Morgan - then kept most of the bulk settlement proceeds. The firm failed to disclose the practice to investors who owned the loans. Bear Stearns repurchased only about 13 percent of these defective bulk settlement loans from the trusts, compared to a nearly 100 percent repurchase rate when loan originators agreed to buy back the defective loans. For most loans covered by bulk settlements, the firm collected money from originators without paying anything to the trusts.

J.P. Morgan settled the SEC's charges by consenting to pay $50.5 million in disgorgement and prejudgment interest and a $24 million penalty for the delinquency misstatements, which the SEC will seek to distribute to harmed investors in the transaction through a Fair Fund. J.P. Morgan agreed to pay $162,065,536 in disgorgement and prejudgment interest and a $60.35 million penalty for the bulk settlement practice misconduct, and the SEC will seek to distribute these funds to harmed investors through a separate Fair Fund. J.P. Morgan consented, without admitting or denying the allegations, to the entry of a final judgment permanently enjoining them from violating Section 17(a)(2) and (3) of the Securities Act of 1933. The settlement is subject to court approval.

According to the SEC's order instituting a settled administrative proceeding against Credit Suisse, the firm and its affiliated entities misled investors in 75 different RMBS transactions through the bulk settlement practice. From 2005 to 2010, Credit Suisse frequently negotiated bulk settlements with loan originators in lieu of a buy-back of loans that were owned by the RMBS trusts. Credit Suisse kept the bulk settlement proceeds for itself and failed to disclose the practice to investors who owned the loans. In nine of the 75 RMBS trusts, Credit Suisse failed to comply with offering document provisions that required it to repurchase certain early defaulting loans. Credit Suisse also applied different quality review procedures for loans that it sought to put back to originators, instituted a practice of not repurchasing such loans from trusts unless the originators had agreed to repurchase them, and failed to disclose the bulk settlement practice when answering investor questions about early payment defaults.

The SEC's order also found that Credit Suisse made misleading statements about a key investor protection known as the First Payment Default (FPD) provision in two RMBS offerings. The FPD provision required the mortgage loan originator to repurchase or substitute loans that missed payments shortly before or after they were securitized. Credit Suisse misled investors by falsely claiming that "all First Payment Default Risk" was removed from its RMBS, and at the same time limiting the number of FPD loans that were put back to the originator.

Credit Suisse settled the SEC's charges by consenting to pay $68,747,769 in disgorgement and prejudgment interest and a $33 million penalty, which the SEC will seek to distribute through a Fair Fund to harmed investors in the 75 RMBS transactions affected by the bulk settlement practice. Credit Suisse agreed to pay $12,256,651 in disgorgement and prejudgment interest and a $6 million penalty, which the SEC will seek to distribute through a separate Fair Fund to harmed investors in the two transactions affected by the FPD misstatements. Credit Suisse agreed to an order, without admitting or denying the allegations, requiring them to cease and desist from violations of Section 17(a)(2) and (3) of the Securities Act and Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

These investigations were conducted by members of the SEC Enforcement Division's Structured and New Products Unit in both the Denver and Washington, D.C. offices, including Zachary Carlyle, Mark Cave, Sarra Cho, Allison Herren Lee, Laura Metcalfe, Colin Rand, Thomas Silverstein, John Smith, Andrew Sporkin, Amy Sumner, and Jeffrey Weiss. The trial unit members assigned to this matter were Dugan Bliss, Kyle DeYoung, Jan Folena, and Christian Schultz. The Enforcement Division was assisted by Eugene Canjels and Vance Anthony in the Division of Risk, Strategy and Financial Innovation. The SEC thanks the other agencies who are members of the RMBS Working Group for their assistance and cooperation regarding these enforcement actions.

"These actions demonstrate that we intend to hold accountable those who misled investors through poor disclosures in the sale of RMBS and other financial products commonly marketed and sold during the financial crisis. Our efforts in that regard continue," said Kenneth Lench, Chief of the SEC Enforcement Division's Structured and New Products Unit.

FEMA APPROVED OVER $500 MILLION FOR HURRICANE SANDY RECOVERY

A House Blown Away By Hurricane Sandy

FROM: U.S. FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY

More Than $500 Million Approved for Hurricane Sandy Recovery

NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Since Hurricane Sandy struck New York, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has approved more than $500 million to help individuals and families recover from the disaster.

FEMA is reaching out to all the 13 declared counties with attention to the hardest hit areas of New York state. To date, more than $500 million has been approved. Assistance to the hardest hit areas includes:
Bronx $998,825
Kings $102,621,916
Nassau $178,016,765
New York $4,437,375
Queens $134,415,479
Richmond $55,414,997
Suffolk $30,424,541
FEMA provides the following snapshot of the disaster recovery effort as of Nov. 18:
More than 212,000 New Yorkers have contacted FEMA for information or registered for assistance with FEMA and more than $500 million has been approved. More than 109,000 have applied through the online application site at www.disasterassistance.gov, or on their smart phone at m.fema.gov.
30 Disaster Recovery Centers (DRC) are open in the affected areas. These include mobile sites as well as fixed sites, and to date more than 34,000 survivors have been assisted at DRCs in New York.
969 Community Relations (CR) specialists are strategically positioned throughout affected communities, going door to door explaining the types of disaster assistance available and how to register. More teams continue to arrive daily.
Nearly 1,300 inspectors in the field have completed nearly 87,000 home inspections.
19 Points of Distribution (PODs) are open and providing supplies to the affected residents.
9 Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMATs), and 1 National Veterinary Response Team (NVRT) from the Department of Health and Human Services are deployed in New York.
13 New York counties are designated for both individual and public assistance, including: Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester.
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has staff members at 18 Business Recovery Centers in the New York area to provide one-on-one help to business owners seeking disaster assistance and has approved more than $3.5 million in disaster loans.

SNAILS AND HUMAN DISEASE

Countries worldwide where people are at risk for the snail-borne disease schistosomiasis.

Credit-CDC

FROM: NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Snails in the Waters, Disease in the Villages
November 19, 2012

Watch where you jump in for a swim or where your bath water comes from, especially if you live in Africa, Asia or South America. Snails that live in tropical freshwater in these locations are intermediaries between disease-causing parasitic worms and humans.

People in developing countries who don't have access to clean water and good sanitation facilities are often exposed to the infected snails. Then they're left open to the parasitic worms.

The worms' infectious larvae emerge from the snails, cruise in shallow water, easily penetrate human skin and mature in internal organs.

The result is schistosomiasis, the second most socioeconomically devastating disease after malaria. As of 2009, 74 developing nations had identified significant rates of schistosomiasis in human populations.

There has been much debate about how best to prevent the disease, says Charles King, a physician and researcher at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. "Beyond that," he asks, "how long should treatment last once someone has schistosomiasis?"

"Current guidelines focus on suppressing the disease's effects by limiting the infection during childhood," says King. "But that may not be enough to cure it or to prevent re-infection, leaving children still at risk for stunted growth and anemia."

King and colleagues recently published results of a study of long-term treatment of schistosomiasis in the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

The team's work is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF)-National Institutes of Health (NIH) Evolution and Ecology of Infectious Diseases (EEID) program.

At NSF, the EEID program is supported by the Directorate for Biological Sciences and Directorate for Geosciences. At NIH, it's supported through the Fogarty International Center.

Schistosomiasis is usually treated with a single dose of the oral drug praziquantel.

World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines set forth in 2006 recommend that when a village reports that more than 50 percent of its children have parasite eggs in their urine or stool--a clear sign of schistosomiasis--everyone in the village should receive treatment.

When 10 to 50 percent of children are affected, say the guidelines, only school-age children should be treated--every two years. With less than 10 percent, mass treatment is not suggested.

But because of the long-term health effects of schistosomiasis, says King, "we now think it's better to provide regular yearly treatment."

He and scientists Xiaoxia Wang, David Gurarie and Peter Mungai of Case Western Reserve University; Eric Muchiri of the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation in Nairobi, Kenya; and Uriel Kitron of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, used data collected in 10 villages in southeastern Kenya to run advanced models of village-level schistosomiasis transmission.

They scored the number of years each of the 10 villages would be projected to remain below a 10 percent infection level during a simulated 10-to-20-year treatment program.

All strategies that included an initial four annual treatments reduced community prevalence of the disease to less than 10 percent. Programs with gaps in treatment, however, didn't reach this objective in half the villages.

At typical levels of treatment, the researchers found, current WHO recommendations likely could not achieve full suppression of schistosomiasis.

"With more aggressive annual intervention that lasts at least four years," says King, "some communities might be able to continue without further treatment for 8 to 10 years.

"But in higher-risk villages, repeated annual treatment may be necessary for an indefinite period--until the eco-social factors that foster the disease [such as poor wastewater treatment] are removed."

In high-risk places, ongoing surveillance for the disease and annual drug treatment, the scientists say, need to become the mainstays of control.

In short, these villages require what they call "re-worming after de-worming."

But what happens if townspeople move to a more arid location, one with less freshwater and fewer snails?

In drier landscapes, schistosomiasis is a rare event that happens only during floods. Response to treatment therefore may be much better. Unless or until another flood occurs.

Although drier locales carry less risk for the disease, they're by no means free and clear. Even in arid locations, people would likely need to be treated more than once to get rid of the parasites.

"This research demonstrates the value of understanding where disease-causing organisms are in the environment," says Sam Scheiner, NSF program officer for EEID.

"Such knowledge can reduce human diseases much more effectively and at a lower cost than simply focusing on treatment."

The best goal, says King, is complete eradication of schistosomiasis.

To achieve that, scientists need to determine what makes a "wormy village," how often therapy is needed to prevent disease in such locations--and what can be done to change the environment such that a high-risk village becomes a low-risk one.

　

HIGH-RESOLUTION GLOBAL ATMOSPHERIC MODELING GIVES LOOK AT GLOBAL AERSOLS

FROM: NASA
Portrait of Global Aerosols
High-resolution global atmospheric modeling run on the Discover supercomputer at the NASA Center for Climate Simulation at Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., provides a unique tool to study the role of weather in Earth's climate system. The Goddard Earth Observing System Model, Version 5 (GEOS-5) is capable of simulating worldwide weather at resolutions of 10 to 3.5 kilometers (km).

This portrait of global aerosols was produced by a GEOS-5 simulation at a 10-kilometer resolution. Dust (red) is lifted from the surface, sea salt (blue) swirls inside cyclones, smoke (green) rises from fires, and sulfate particles (white) stream from volcanoes and fossil fuel emissions.

Image credit-William Putman, NASA-Goddard

COMBATING TRAINING MISCONDUCT IN U.S. AIR FORCE

Air Force Chief of Safety Maj. Gen. Margaret H. Woodward briefs reporters on the findings and recommendations of the investigation of misconduct of the Air Force's basic military training on Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland at the Pentagon, Nov. 14, 2012. DOD photo by Glenn Fawcett

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Air Force Leadership Council to Combat Training Misconduct

By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Nov. 14, 2012 - Air Force officials discussed the results of a commander-directed investigation into basic military training instructor misconduct and the service's commitment to correcting those issues at a press conference.

Air Force Gen. Edward A. Rice Jr., commander of the Air Education and Training Command, and Air Force Maj. Gen. Margaret H. Woodward, chief of Air Force Safety, outlined the underlying causes of basic training leader misconduct.

In his review of Woodward's report on the investigation, Rice said he found weaknesses in institutional safeguards, leadership, and the instructor culture of self-accountability, with the conditions leading to abuse of power in basic military training "ever-present."

"To that end, I am directing the establishment of the Military Training Oversight Council, which will be chaired by a three-star general," he said. "The purpose of this council is to ensure we have the appropriate level of leadership oversight over issues associated with trainee safety and the maintenance of good order and discipline."

According to Rice, the report includes nearly two-dozen findings and more than 40 recommendations based on 215 in-depth interviews, surveys of 18,000 service members, and meetings with basic trainees and training instructor spouses.

The report's findings and recommendations "accurately reflect the deficiencies in our basic military training program and provide effective proposals to remedy those deficiencies," he said.

Rice noted he intends to implement 45 of the 46 recommendations, with the final recommendation -- adjusting the length of basic training -- still under review, as part of a previous evaluation.

"Because we know the basic military training environment is highly susceptible to the abuse of power, we have established a set of institutional safeguards to prevent misconduct by instructors," Rice said.

Rice also noted he intends to hold commanders accountable, having "found areas where commanders did not meet my expectations with respect to creating the type of command climate that's necessary for good order and discipline to be in a healthy state."

The Air Force has relieved two commanders since the misconduct cases surfaced -- one at the squadron level and one at the group level, Rice said.

"I have also [taken] disciplinary action with six additional commanders," he said.

Rice and Woodward both emphasized there are honorable men and women in the enlisted basic training complex who continue to serve with distinction.

Rice, quoting Woodward in her report, said, "This report necessarily focuses on the few who violated a sacred trust and broke faith with fellow airmen everywhere."

Woodward said the investigation also determined that instructors found guilty of misconduct "knew that they were violating a regulation or policy, and that was very clear to them," she said.

Moving forward, Rice said, AETC will continue to "fix what went wrong in our basic military training program."

"We are committed to doing everything we can to make our basic military training program the world's finest example of military professionalism," he said.

RECENT U.S. NAVY PHOTOS

FROM: U.S. NAVY, MARK 48 ADCAP TORPEDO
Sailors from the submarine tender USS Frank Cable (AS 40) remove a Mark 48 ADCAP (Advanced Capability) torpedo from the Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Oklahoma City (SSN 723). Frank Cable conducts maintenance and support of submarine and surface vessels deployed in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility. The U.S. Navy is constantly deployed to preserve peace, protect commerce, and deter aggression through forward presence. Join the conversation on social media using #warfighting. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Ricardo Danan (Released) 121115-N-BE353-009

Twenty-six ships from the U.S. Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, including ships from the George Washington Carrier Strike Group, transit together at the conclusion of exercise Keen Sword 2013. Keen Sword 2013 is a biannual exercise held to enable the United States and Japan to train in coordination procedures and heighten interoperability needed to effectively defend or respond to a crisis in Japan and the Asia-Pacific region. The U.S. Navy is constantly deployed to preserve peace, protect commerce, and deter aggression through forward presence. Join the conversation on social media using #warfighting. U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Jennifer A. Villalovos (Released) 121116-N-WW409-533

ANTIETAM BATTLEFIELD AND NEW SOUTHERN COMMAND

Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, left, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force Gen. William Fraser III, center, and Marine Gen. John Kelly salute during the national anthem at the Southern Command Change of Command in Miami, Nov 19, 2012. Kelly is the incoming commander and Fraser is the outgoing. DOD photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, CHANGE IN SOUTHERN COMMANDER

Dempsey Praises Old, New Southern Command Commanders
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19, 2012 - In presiding at the change of command ceremony at U.S. Southern Command in Miami, today, Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey said he thought of the words he saw on a monument at the Antietam battlefield, ""Not for themselves, but for their country."

Antietam was the bloodiest day of the American Civil War. On September 17, 1862, more than 23,000 Americans became casualties.

"What you see here today is that spirit played out yet again," the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. "Where two great military leaders have given their lives ... as families for this country. 'Not for themselves, but for their country.'"

Dempsey presided at the change of command that saw Marine Gen. John Kelly assume command from Air Force Gen. Douglas Fraser. He praised both men and their families for their willingness to serve.

Southern Command is a true partnership among American agencies and with international partners, Dempsey said, thanking the international partners who attended the ceremony. He also thanked the interagency partners who are integral parts of the command.

Building trust was a large part of the chairman's speech at the ceremony. He said one reason Fraser traveled so much during his command was "because he knows the importance of building trust," Dempsey said. "He understands that trust is how we turn relationships into partnerships, and how we turn partnerships into friendships."

Fraser has built an impressive interagency team at Southern Command, Dempsey said.

"It reflects the reality of our complex world," he said. "Tragedies like the earthquake in Haiti, or challenges like illicit trafficking, all require us to collaborate in new ways and with new partners."

Fraser has shown what can happen when organizations break down barriers between them and build on the strengths of each organization, the chairman said.

Demspey said Kelly is the right man to succeed Fraser at Southern Command. Kelly, who was promoted to full general just before the ceremony, served as the senior military advisor to Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and former Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates.

"He's direct and tough," Dempsey said. "He's a thinker and a learner, and one of the most experienced leaders we have in the military today."

Kelly is well placed to get the friends and neighbors of the region working together to solve common problems. The general will have a full plate with transnational crime, terrorism, natural disasters, and many other challenges awaiting him, Dempsey said.

"Achieving together as friends and neighbors is what SouthCom is all about," he said.

NEWS FROM AFGHANISTAN FOR NOVERMBER 19, 2012

U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Travis M. Barnes provides close-air support over Afghanistan's Helmand province, Nov. 8, 2012. Barnes is assigned to Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 469, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Keonaona C. Paulo

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Combined Force Arrests Taliban Operative
Compiled from International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Releases

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19, 2012 - An Afghan and coalition security force arrested a Taliban suicide attack operative in Afghanistan's Kandahar province today, military officials reported.

The arrested insurgent is suspected of planning and executing suicide attacks against Afghan and coalition forces throughout Kandahar province, officials said.

The security force also detained a number of suspected insurgents as a result of the operation.

In other Afghanistan operations today:

-- A combined force arrested a Taliban facilitator and detained two suspects in Helmand province. The arrested insurgent is believed to have organized the acquisition and transportation of mass shipments of homemade explosives and improvised explosive device-making materials to insurgents throughout Kandahar and Helmand provinces.

-- In Logar province, a combined force arrested a Taliban leader. The arrested leader is alleged to have performed high-profile attack planning, conducted indirect-fire attacks against Forward Operating Base Shank and carried out IED attacks on Afghan security patrols throughout southern Logar province.

In operations yesterday:

-- A combined force arrested two Taliban weapons and explosives facilitators, detained one other suspected insurgent and seized IED-making materials in Kandahar province. The first detained Taliban facilitator is an IED expert who is believed responsible for the acquisition, construction and emplacement of IEDs for attacks against Afghan and coalition forces throughout the province. The second detainee is a weapons trafficker alleged to have coordinated transport of weapons and IED components to Taliban insurgents in Helmand and Kandahar provinces.

-- A combined force arrested five insurgents and seized 20 pounds of illegal narcotics during a search for a Taliban lethal aid facilitator in Helmand province.

In Nov. 17 operations:

-- A combined force arrested a Taliban leader and detained one other suspect in Kandahar province. The arrested leader is believed to have coordinated the movement and storage of machine guns, weapons, and ammunition to support the Taliban insurgency.

In Nov. 16 operations:

-- Afghan commandos and coalition forces discovered a weapons and drug cache which included AK-47 rifles, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and nearly 88 pounds of heroin in Helmand province.

-- Afghan National Army Special Forces and coalition forces discovered 15 emplaced IEDs and two caches in Kandahar province. The caches consisted of IED-making materials, one AK-47 magazine, some nine-volt batteries, and 500 Pakistani Rupees. The IEDs and both caches were destroyed.

-- Afghan Provincial Response Company Ghazni and coalition forces detained one suspected insurgent and seized a cache of weapons, homemade explosives and IED-making materials in Ghazni province. All discovered items were destroyed on site.

U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT DAILY PRESS BRIEFING NOVEMBER 19, 2012

Daily Press Briefing - November 19, 2012

U.S. CONCERNED OVER DELAYS IN IMPLEMENTING AGREEMENTS BETWEEN SUDAN AND SOUTH SUDAN





Maps:  Sudan Left, South Sudan Right.  Credit:  CIA World Factbook
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Delayed Implementation of Agreements by Sudan and South Sudan

Press Statement
Victoria Nuland
Department Spokesperson,
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
November 19, 2012The United States is increasingly concerned about the delays in implementation of the historic agreements signed in Addis Ababa by Sudan and South Sudan on September 27. The Sudanese and South Sudanese people deserve swift and complete implementation of these agreements, as called for in the October 24 African Union Peace and Security Council communique.

The creation of the safe demilitarized border zone between the two countries is vital to ensure that both countries honor their commitments to cease support to proxies and, most importantly, prevent inter-state conflict. We are concerned that no progress was made at the November 6-7 Joint Political and Security Mechanism meeting between the two parties, and we call on Sudan and South Sudan to immediately reconvene and recommit themselves to the September 27 agreements. Allowing this unresolved issue to impede implementation of the other agreements threatens the stability of both countries.

We are also disappointed by delays in the resumption of oil production. This denies much needed revenue to both economies, and we urge both parties to resume production while they work to resolve other bilateral issues and, along with the African Union, urgently stand-up the Petroleum Monitoring Committee.

The President's Trip to Asia | The White House

The President's Trip to Asia | The White House

Be Tobacco Free

Be Tobacco Free

AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN HAVE HIGHER BREAST CANCER DEATH RATES

FROM: U.S. CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL

Disparities in breast cancer continue among U.S. women

Report shows importance of improved access to preventive care and high-quality treatment

Black women have higher death rates from breast cancer than any other racial or ethnic group. They are 40 percent more likely to die from breast cancer than white women, according to a Vital Signs report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Despite the decline in breast cancer death rates in the past 20 years, black women had higher death rates even though they had fewer new cases of breast cancer, the report says.


The report’s findings highlight the importance of educating women about the preventive benefits and coverage provided by the Affordable Care Act, including coverage of mammograms without co-pays in many health plans and, beginning in 2014, the law will expand access to health insurance coverage for 30 million previously uninsured Americans.

"Although we are making progress reducing deaths from breast cancer, we have much work to do to reduce preventable deaths, particularly among African-American women," said CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. "Only when every woman receives adequate screening, timely follow-up, and high-quality treatment, will the full benefit of breast cancer screening be achieved."

The researchers reviewed data on new cases of invasive breast cancer reported during 2005 through 2009 from CDC’s National Program of Cancer Registries and the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program. Breast cancer deaths were based on death certificates submitted to National Vital Statistics System.

Major findings:
About 40,000 women die of breast cancer each year in the United States.
Black women have 9 more deaths per 100 breast cancers diagnosed compared to white women.
Black women have higher numbers of advanced stage breast cancer (45 percent) compared with white women (35 percent).
The report says better treatment and finding breast cancer early are likely responsible for half of the recent drop in breast cancer deaths. However, black women do not get the same quality treatment for breast cancer as white women, it says.


Breast cancer is the most common cancer, and is the second leading cause of cancer death among U.S. women. A mammogram—an X-ray of the breasts—often can find breast cancer early, before it is big enough to feel as a lump, or cause other symptoms, and when it is easier to treat. Because of the Affordable Care Act, many private health plans and Medicare now cover mammograms and certain other preventive services with no copays or other out-of-pocket costs. Approximately, 5.1 million black women are estimated to receive guaranteed women's preventive health services without cost-sharing under the Affordable Care Act.

CDC’s National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program provides low-income, uninsured, and underinsured women access to timely breast and cervical cancer screening and diagnostic services in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, five U.S. territories, and 11 American Indian/Alaska Native tribes or tribal organizations.
For information about CDC’s efforts in breast cancer prevention, please visit http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/breast.

U.S. ARMY CYBER COMMANDER DISCUSSES TRANSFORMATION

Lt. Gen. Rhett A. Hernandez, commanding general for the Army Cyber Command, discusses the Army’s transformation to a joint-information environment during a Cyber and LandWarNet panel at the Association of the United States Army annual meeting.
 

FROM: U.S. DELPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
ARMED WITH SCIENCE
by jtozer
ARCYBER Working To Build Joint-Info Environment

The opportunities and challenges cyberspace presents have changed not only the way the world operates, but also the
Army, service officials said Tuesday.

Army leaders addressed the growing arena of cyberspace and the threats it presents during the "Cyber Domain and LandWarNet: Powering the Army" panel at the Association of the United States Army annual meeting.

"(Cyber) threats are real, growing, sophisticated and evolving," said Lt. Gen. Rhett A. Hernandez, commanding general for the Army Cyber Command. He led the panel, which discussed the Army’s transformation to a joint-information environment.

Collectively, the cyber threats facing the Army create a "dynamic and dangerous" environment, Hernandez said. The force has had to change the way it thinks about cyberspace to continue to guarantee versatility, agility and depth to "prevent, shape and win," he explained.

To prevent conflict, the Army needs to deter and influence potential enemies through a modernized force ready to conduct a full range of cyberspace operations, Hernandez continued. If prevention fails, the Army needs to be ready to rapidly apply its combined arms capabilities to win.

"In cyberspace, the significant advantage will go to the side that can protect and secure critical information as well as gain and exploit advantages," he said.

Chief Information Officer and G-6 Lt. Gen. Susan S. Lawrence agreed, stating that the current cyber operational environment is disjointed and difficult to mobilize or integrate, and the Army cannot afford to continue to operate in that environment.

The joint information environment the Army is working toward will be key in maintaining dominance in the cyber arena, Lawrence said.

It will provide the ability to deploy with little to no notice into any theater; allow installations to be used as docking stations, which will enable soldiers to take their technology and train anywhere; it will allow a modernized force from the "strategic core" to the "tactical edge" and provide a single, secure network with centralized management and decentralized execution, she said.

said.
"We have got to able to, in any type of combat or spectrum of operations, have technology overmatch against any enemy, and getting to this environment will allow us to do that," Lawrence said.
The G-6 is aligning LandWarNet with the joint information environment, working toward a single, secure-based, versatile environment that is ready to deploy at any time. , Lawrence said the four lines of operation the G-6 is working through are:
– building technological capacity
– improving cyber security
– providing enterprise services to the tactical edge
– enforcing network standards

"Our energy is shifting to an active defense while moving us to a joint information environment, which will strengthen our ability to operate and defend our networks," Hernandez said.

The cyberspace environment requires quite a bit of support from throughout the Army. Lt. Gen. Mary A. Legere, deputy chief of staff for the G-2, was on hand to discuss Army’s intelligence role.

"(Intelligence) provides the kinds of capabilities necessary to support the mission," Legere said, "and the kinds of capabilities that General Hernandez needs to defend the networks and, as required, to conduct full-spectrum operations on behalf of other Army commanders are quite unique. They aren’t something we have parked in motor pools."

The community’s job is to develop an intelligence corps that has the right capabilities, and develop cyber forces that are appropriate to the mission in the cyber domain, she said.
"It is a conscious development of some of the brightest and most skilled soldiers and civilians we’ve ever attempted to create," Legere said.
"The reality is this is a very dynamic, challenging environment that we’re in and it’s going to require a kind of agility we’ve never seen before, machine-to-machine agility — soldiers and leaders that are capable of making quick decisions and policies that are responsive," Legere said.

Another key organization in supporting Cyber Command is the Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command.

Cyberspace and space are separate domains, Lt. Gen. Richard P. Formica, SMDC, explained, but they are linked. Space enables the delivery of cyber signals, while cyberspace supports space operations through enabling payloads of systems. They both rely on the intelligence community and the joint information environment.

"They are both information-centric and information-enabled and they share network systems, and in some cases physical infrastructures. As I said, both Space and Cyber are global warfighting domains with distinctive space and cyber military activities that occur in those domains," Formica said.

"I don’t envision a cyber war, or a space war, but rather the delivery and application of both space and cyber effects in support of joint and unified land operations," he said.

By Jacqueline M. Hames

INFORMATION TECH AND THE FUTURE OF U.S. DOD'S TRANSCOM

Personnel assigned to the 618th Tanker Airlift Control Center coordinate with aircrews, maintenance personnel and aerial porters around the world from the unit's operations floor at Scott Air Force Base, Ill. The center makes global reach a reality by transforming requirements into effective missions through the planning, tasking and execution of a fleet of more than 1,200 mobility aircraft in support of combat delivery and strategic airlift, air refueling and aeromedical evacuation operations around the world. DOD photo by Robert Fehringer

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

IT Plays Central Role in Transcom's New Strategy
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill., Nov. 13, 2012 - Shaping itself for the future as it implements its new five-year strategy, U.S. Transportation Command is maximizing what one of its senior officers calls the ultimate enabler: information technology.

Information technology is the driver that keeps the wheels of Transcom's global transportation and distribution enterprise turning, Air Force Brig. Gen. Gregory J. Touhill, the command's director of command, control, communications and cyber systems, told American Forces Press Service.

"There is not one single organization in this command or its components that does not rely on information technology," said Touhill, Transcom's self-described "head geek."

"We share a lot of information in order to choreograph the many movements that Transcom makes ... on behalf of the nation," Touhill said. "And it is all reliant on getting the right information to the right people at the right time, in a trusted manner.

"In fact," Touhill added, "some would argue that information technology provides the fuel for this command."

Among those proponents is Air Force Gen. William M. Fraser III, Transcom's commander. He puts such a high emphasis on IT's value to the mission that he made IT management excellence one of the four pillars in his new strategy.

"As we look at our strategy of how we are going to get better to meet the demands of the future, it is all built upon a foundation of having solid information so that decision makers have the right information to make informed and valued decisions in a spirit of collaboration and partnership," Touhill said.

That requires rethinking the whole way Transcom approaches information technology. One of the first steps is evaluating the 77 major IT systems Transcom's headquarters and its components currently operate across 16 discrete networks, to the tune of about $500 million a year.

"We are working as a team with our components and within the headquarters here, looking at opportunities to consolidate where it makes sense, retire some old and inefficient systems and perhaps birth some new capabilities using some of the latest techniques and technologies," Touhill said.

Some of the systems being evaluated, like a logistics system from 1972 used to maintain Transcom's inventories, still perform beautifully, he said. But many could work just as well -- even better and more securely -- if they were migrated onto platforms that also cost less to operate and maintain.

They key to the whole initiative, Touhill said, is standardization: standardized views, information exchanges, architectures and delivery.

Transcom relies on multiple portals to exchange vast quantities of information with customers and the components and commercial partners that provide the aircraft, ships, ground vehicles and other assets that support the mission.

Adopting a standard language -- most likely, the universally recognized Extensible Markup Language, or XML -- would reduce maintenance costs while streamlining the process. Touhill said it also would better position Transcom to leverage industry-wide best practices.

Similarly, Touhill wants to introduce more Web technologies to replace the service-oriented architectures used to link these multiple communications systems. This could dramatically reduce costs, he said, eliminating the need to maintain interfaces that cost about $100,000 apiece to maintain each year.

Air Mobility Command, Transcom's air component, already has started adopting this practice, one that's been proven across the business world, Touhill noted.

Meanwhile, Transcom is exploring ways to standardize the way it delivers information, eliminating the need for separate infrastructure and support stovepipes for individual IT systems.

"Technology has evolved to the point now where we can host multiple systems and multiple capabilities on a reduced number of platforms," Touhill said. "Furthermore, we believe that we will get greater operational effectiveness by putting our development, test and production environments in synchronization with each other, and virtualizing across the entire enterprise."

In simple terms, that means using the same systems throughout its processes. It also involves running multiple operating systems at the same time using a single central processing unit -- a cornerstone of the Defense Department's Joint Information Environment initiative, which is designed to enhance information-sharing.

"We are not going to go out and buy a separate computer for every single system," Touhill said. "Rather, technology allows us to host multiple applications and systems, all on the same box."

One of the challenges in implementing Transcom's five-year strategy is that many of the best solutions haven't yet been invented. So any plan for moving forward has to be flexible enough to incorporate new technologies as they are introduced.

"We are not going to go chase the latest fad just because it is out there," Touhill said. "We certainly will be monitoring all the new and latest technologies, but we are only going to invest in those that can demonstrate great value to the mission."

"And ultimately, that is what IT is all about: providing value -- to the mission, to the taxpayer and to our customers," he said. "There is great power in the capabilities that information technology provides."

U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE CLINTON'S REMARKS AT TECHPORT AUSTRAILIA

Koala And Joey.  Credit:  CIA World Factbook. 

FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT      
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Adelaide, South Australia
November 15, 2012
 Thank you. First, let me say what a great pleasure it is to visit Adelaide and South Australia for the first time. I'm proud to be the first Secretary of State ever to do so. And the others did not know what they were missing. Adelaide is, from our perspective, one of the great, critical industrial centers in the world, the heart of Australia's defense manufacturing, and a place where American and Australian companies work in close partnership every day.

This city, this place showcases two of the strongest elements of the U.S.-Australia relationship: our security alliance, and our economic ties. I want to thank Rod Equid and AWD Alliance for hosting us. I want to thank Senator Wang, Penny, thank you for being here, back home for you. And I want to thank the Premier. Premier Weatherill has been a very great visionary when it comes to understanding the partnership, the public-private partnership that is essential for advanced manufacturing to be successful, not only here in Australia, but around the world.

Techport, this world-class maritime industrial hub is where you can see the future of the Royal Australian Navy being built, including the next generation of Air Warfare Destroyers. Now, this work is obviously critical to Australia's continued defense, your ability to provide security for yourselves and throughout the region, and to maintain and advance your role as a global force for peace and stability.

Now, these are goals that the United States shares with Australia, and we are deeply committed to your continued security. We are proud to work with Australia across a range of regional and global security challenges, including standing shoulder to shoulder in Afghanistan and fighting piracy together in the Horn of Africa. So I am greatly impressed by the work being done here to keep Australia strong at home and abroad and very proud of the role that American companies are playing in this effort.

In 2011 alone, U.S. military sales to Australia came to nearly $4 billion making Australia one of our top defense trading partners. And that partnership just received a major boost. Your parliament passed the bill to implement the Defense, Trade, and Cooperation Treaty between our two countries, which the Governor-General assented to this week.

Our leaders signed this treaty back in 2007. The United States Senate passed it in 2010, and now that it has passed your parliament, U.S. and Australian forces will be able to cooperate even more closely and swiftly for our mutual defense. They will be building on a strong foundation. American defense manufacturers are helping to modernize Australia's defense forces through programs like the Joint Strike Fighter project, the Growler upgrades to your Super Hornets, Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning and P-8 anti-submarine warfare aircraft, C-17 and C-27 transport aircraft, MH-60 helicopters for your navy, and the AEGIS weapons systems for you new Air Warfare Destroyers built right here.

But this is a two-way street, because Australian defense manufacturers in turn are contributing to our U.S. defense projects. I just saw the turrets that are manufactured and then exported to the United States for us to be using in our defense. We're also working with you and getting your help in our littoral combat ships. So this is a mutual partnership where we both look out for each other, and we both benefit.

But I want to emphasize that all the work happening here at Techport Australia and at other manufacturing hubs across both our countries is not only about defense and security as important as that is. It's about jobs. It's about trade and investment. It's about putting people to work, and I see some of the high-skilled workers here in front of me.

Now, this economic relationship is just as vital to both of our nations' continued strength as our defense partnership, because in today's world, power is increasingly measured and exercised in economic terms. So it is critical that Australia and the United States keep seeking every opportunity to increase trade and investment between us, to build economic partnerships, to share innovation and technological advances so we can continue not only to lead in the global economy, but more importantly to provide a rising standard of living to the hardworking people in both our countries.

We're on the right path. Since the U.S.-Australia Free Trade Agreement entered into force seven years ago, bilateral trade and investment between our countries has steadily increased, and we're very proud to be Australia's third largest trade partner and your leading investment partner. Now, sometimes it may not always be reflected in the press, but American investment is the biggest source of investment in Australia.

American firms have $136 billion in direct investment in Australia ranging across many industries, including Chevron's gas projects off the cost of Western Australia, and I heard a lot about that in Perth yesterday, or the IBM data centers across Australia, or Boeing, GE, Citigroup, Exxon Mobile, dozens of other American companies whose names I have seen both here in Adelaide and in Perth and of course in Melbourne and Sydney and Canberra on previous visits.

Australia is also a growing market for growing exports even as we welcome more trade from you. In fact, our exports to Australia jumped more than 40 percent between 2009 and 2011 raising from under 20 billion to more than 27 billion, and in the first nine months of this year, they're up another 20 percent. President Obama set a goal of doubling U.S. exports within five years, and we've seen extraordinary progress in our relationship with Australia.

So it's fair to say that our economies are entwined, and we need to keep upping our game both bilaterally and with partners across the region through agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership or TPP. Australia is a critical partner. This TPP sets the gold standard in trade agreements to open free, transparent, fair trade, the kind of environment that has the rule of law and a level playing field. And when negotiated, this agreement will cover 40 percent of the world's total trade and build in strong protections for workers and the environment.

That's key, because we know from experience, and of course research proves it, that respecting workers' rights leads to positive long-term economic outcomes, better jobs with higher wages and safer working conditions. And including everybody in that, those who have been previously left out of the formal economy will help build a strong middle class, not only here in Australia or in our country, but across Asia. And that will be good for us.

If we do this right, and that's what we're trying to do, then globalization, which is inevitable, can become a race to the top with rising standards of living and more broadly shared prosperity. Now, this is what I call jobs diplomacy, and that's what I've been focused on in part as Secretary of State. And that's one of the reasons that I wanted to come here to Adelaide and come to this impressive facility.

But for me, and I think for most Americans, it's not only about security, and it's not only about our economy. So let me close with a word about our alliance. These last three days have reinforced for me the indispensability of the U.S.-Australia partnership, indispensible to our shared prosperity, yes, and to our shared security for sure, but also indispensible for our shared values. We are cooperating everywhere together, in businesses, in shipbuilding, from the mountains of Afghanistan to the atolls of the Pacific to the thriving cities of Asia.

But I know there are some who present a false choice, that Australia needs to choose between its longstanding ties to the United States and its emerging links with China. Well, that kind of zero-sum thinking only leads to negative-sum results. We support Australia having strong, multifaceted ties with every nation in the Asia Pacific, indeed in the world, including China just as we seek the same. And I have said repeatedly the Pacific is big enough for all of us.

But for both of us, the U.S.-Australia alliance is not a matter of calculation or cost-benefit analysis, though the benefits are clear. It is much deeper than that. It is in our DNA. It is rooted in shared history and shared struggles to overcome adversity and build a better future for ourselves, our families, and future generations. We are not fair-weather friends. We've been there for each other for decades, and we will keep being there to deliver greater security, greater prosperity, greater opportunity, and the chance for all Australians and Americans alike to live up to our God-given potential in this, the Pacific century. God bless you. And God bless Australia and our relationship forever. Thank you. (Applause.)

U.S.-SINGAPORE RELATIONS

Singapore Map Credit:  CIA World Factbook.

FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT

United Sattes-Singapore RelationsFact Sheet
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
November 17, 2012

Singapore is a close strategic partner of the United States across a range of developmental, economic, people-to-people and security issues. We maintain this close relationship in regional multilateral fora such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and the East Asia Summit (EAS) to support regional integration, prosperity, and security. We are building on the strong foundation of our bilateral Free Trade Agreement in negotiating a successful outcome for the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations.

Bilateral trade in 2011 exceeded $50 billion, making Singapore the United States’ 15th largest trading partner and 11th largest export market. Cumulative U.S. investment in Singapore is over $116 billion while Singapore has $22 billion of foreign direct investment in the United States. Approximately 1,500 American companies use Singapore as a regional base for Asian operations, contributing to job creation and economic development in Singapore and the United States.

Our people-to-people relationships are also strong with 25,000 U.S. citizens residing in Singapore and a similar number of Singaporeans in the United States. A broad range of State Department exchange programs are building academic, professional, and cultural ties between our citizens. In addition, formal educational links are growing, as numerous U.S. universities establish satellite campuses in Singapore.

The United States-Singapore Strategic Partnership Dialogue, announced in 2012, introduced new mechanisms to further strengthen our cooperation to support regional development. Our multifaceted cooperation includes the Third Country Training Program (TCTP), a joint technical assistance program for developing countries in the region, including in the Lower Mekong area. The first projects under this program have focused on training officials in the Lower Mekong region in the areas of environment, health, urban planning, and disaster management.

The United States and Singapore enjoy a close security relationship. Bilateral defense cooperation has deepened since the signing of the Strategic Framework Agreement in 2005, and both militaries interact regularly through joint exercises, operations, training and technological collaboration. Starting in 2013, Singapore will host the first of up to four United States’ Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) on a rotational basis. The LCS will strengthen U.S. engagement in the region, through port calls and interaction with regional navies.

Singapore Locator Map Credit:  CIA World Factbook.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM CIA WORLD FACTBOOKSingapore was founded as a British trading colony in 1819. It joined the Malaysian Federation in 1963 but separated two years later and became independent. Singapore subsequently became one of the world's most prosperous countries with strong international trading links (its port is one of the world's busiest in terms of tonnage handled) and with per capita GDP equal to that of the leading nations of Western Europe.

Mieux connaître l’ESA, l'Agence Spatiale pour l’Europe

Mieux connaître l’ESA, l'Agence Spatiale pour l’Europe