THE U.S. FUTURE IN IRAQ

Senior Airman Stephen Hanks and Geri, a patrol and explosive detector dog, both with the 447th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron, patrol the perimeter of Sather Air Base on Dec. 11, 2011, in Baghdad, Iraq. (U.S. Air Force photo-Master Sgt. Cecilio Ricardo)

FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Rightsizing U.S. Mission Iraq
Special Briefing
Thomas Nides
Deputy Secretary for Management and Resources
Via Teleconference
Washington, DC
February 8, 2012
　

MS. NULAND: Thank you, Operator, and thanks to all of you for joining us. We are pleased today to have with us Deputy Secretary of State Tom Nides to talk on the record about a review that he is conducting for the Secretary on rightsizing the U.S. mission in Iraq.

Let me, without further ado, turn it over to the Deputy, and then we’ll take about three or four questions. Unfortunately, his time is a little compressed. Go ahead, Mr. Deputy Secretary.

DEPUTY SECRETARY NIDES: Hi. Thank you all very much. I just wanted to touch on a couple of facts as it regards to Iraq and what we’re planning to do and what we planned to do when we started the mission. As you know, we had the largest transition since the Marshall Plan taking place as of January 1st, and I think many folks thought that it was a difficult mission set and we – I think arguably – could suggest we’ve had a very successful mission.

We – the military is now gone. We have a robust diplomatic presence. We have a diplomatic presence both in up north and down south and in Baghdad. We have been fully and completely engaged on the – all of the political aspects, which you all have been covering quite clearly. And Jim Jeffrey, in particular, I want to give enormous credit to of being fully engaged at all levels of the Iraqi political situation. We have stood up a robust police-training program, which is doing a terrific job working with the local police in training and developing a program, which I think will pay enormous dividends, too. We’re working on economic development, because as you know, they’re producing almost a million two barrels a day out of Basrah. And we’re working with the IO community to make sure that that, as well as all the other economic development all over the country – we have economic officers accomplishing that.

We have, the probably the most sophisticated OSC-I site, which we’re working with – or OSC-I sites – which we’re working with the military. As you know, the Iraqis have been purchasing tens of millions of dollars of equipment from us, and they will be continuing to do that. We’re training the Iraqis on that equipment, and that is U.S. equipment which they’re purchasing.

And as I’ve pointed out at the beginning is, we’re fully and completely engaged on the political deployment. And with that – knock on wood – we’re doing this, with the first and foremost, the security of our people. It’s certainly still a complicated situation there, but to the credit of our security and our diplomats and our locally engaged employees – knock on wood – we’re doing a better than fine job at accomplishing the goals that we set out.

That said, when we put this mission set up, it was very clear to us that we were going to make sure that over time – and what I mean by over time meaning over this year – we begin to try to right size the Embassy to look at – like so – there’s never such a thing as a normal embassy, but a more normalized embassy presence. And principally, our goal has been to shift our reliance on contractors to basically hiring local Iraqis. This is what the Iraqis want, and quite frankly, that’s what we want because it’s cheaper, it’s more important to be part of the community. And so first and foremost, our goal has always been to, over this year, is to shift more and more of our purchasing, and quite frankly, just our whole operations more to local – locally hired individuals. So that is our first priority, with the understanding that our main priority is making sure our people are secure.

So number one, we’re going to be looking at how we can do that over the next year. We’ll continue to look at our footprint, which is something we’ll always do. And we’re meeting with folks on a daily basis, along with my colleague Pat Kennedy and his team, to make sure that our footprint is appropriate for the period of time as we proceed. We’ll be looking at the – as we look at the programs that we’re offering, most of the programs that we’re offering will continue to be offered. But we’ll continue to look at how we can hire like we do in many countries around the world, that we hire Iraqis to help us with the programs that we’re executing. So I am – we’re doing exactly what we said we were going to do when we set up this mission set, which is we’re going to constantly continue to look to ways to shift more of the cost structure to

locally, which is going to be, obviously, substantially cheaper for us, but most importantly, to continue evaluating it as this mission set is accomplished and is being accomplished.

So I am – feel quite good about where we are. I will tell you, contrary to some of the news reports, we are not reducing our operations by 50 percent. But I will hope – quite frankly, I am hopeful that over the next few months that we’ll be able to reduce our size by, again, reducing the dependency on contractors, by focusing on the things that we said we were going to focus on. But that is – quite frankly, I think we owe it to our – the taxpayers. We owe it to the men and women who are working there. We owe it to all the men and women who have spent time there. And quite frankly, that’s what a good bilateral relationship will do.

So I am quite pleased as we are proceeding here, and I think we’ll have more opportunity in the next few weeks to continue to brief you about how our planning is going. But I should tell you, it’s going to be a process that we’ll go through over the next few months about how we do this plan and continue to do the planning in Iraq.

So why don’t I pause and take a couple questions.

MS. NULAND: Thanks, Operator. We’re ready to go to questions.

OPERATOR: Thank you. And at this time, if you do have questions, please press * followed by 1 on your touchtone phone. If you would like to remove your question, that is *2. Again, *1 for any questions or comments. One moment for that, please.

I am currently showing no questions. Again, that is *1 on your touchtone phone for any questions or comments.

DEPUTY SECRETARY NIDES: Boy, I must have been really good.

OPERATOR: I do have a question from Karen DeYoung. Ma’am.

QUESTION: Hi, Tom.

DEPUTY SECRETARY NIDES: Hi.

QUESTION: You said it won’t be 50 percent, but have you come up with any sense of what it would be? And do you see Iraqis actually taking over security functions, whether static or movement security or any kind of security?

DEPUTY SECRETARY NIDES: I would – to be honest with you, I don’t know where the 50 percent number came from. But I am – it is what it is. But I think that the – I don’t know what the number is. What I – here’s the direction I gave people, okay? We made a commitment to try to reduce the dependency on contractors. There’s been a lot of press written about how many contractors we had. Much of that is security, but its food service, right? If I can get food purchasing – more food purchasing done in Iraq and not have to bring it in, that will dramatically decrease our dependency on contractors to do food service. And that goes through a lot of the service that we are providing now.

So my view of this is we will also look aggressively on perimeter security and how we manage that. But I should be honest with you, Karen. My – the only thing I worry about – the only thing I worry about is the security of our people. Okay? We have a diplomatic mission. We owe it to make sure that we fulfill the diplomatic mission that we set out to do when we made this transition. But the most important thing to do is to make sure that we are making sure that we have – our people are secure. And so I – as much as I would love to reduce – continue to reduce the numbers of people and the cost, I will not sacrifice the security of our people.

That said, I think as we go through this year, we’re going to see many, many opportunities to allow us to have a – the footprint that we can accomplish the goals around economic development and the OSC-I and the police training, the political engagement, with hopefully some fewer people and then also a lesser dependency on the contractors, which I think we all want to do. And we’ll do that. And it will take – it’s going to take time.

And what we’re not going to do is make kind of knee-jerk decisions. This has to be – there was several years of planning goes into these as the Embassy was stood up, and we will be very thoughtful as we begin moving – transitioning this is into a more – what I refer to as a normal-looking embassy. But that will take time, and so we’re going to be doing this very thoughtfully, and in consultation with the Congress, I mind you. I will have many conversations with the Congress, which we’re doing. And they get it. I mean, they totally understand what we’re trying to do.

MS. NULAND: Operator, next question.

OPERATOR: Thank you. Our next question comes from Steven Myers of The New York Times. Your line is open.

QUESTION: Hi, Tom and Victoria.

DEPUTY SECRETARY NIDES: Hey, buddy.

QUESTION: The – two questions, which are related: Why is this review happening now as opposed to over the last year when you knew this was coming? Even on the question of buying local food, for example, that could have been done years ago, but it wasn’t. And now you’re looking at it, so I wonder why.

DEPUTY SECRETARY NIDES: Well, I mean --

QUESTION: If I can just ask my second, because it’s related: The Iraqis have put up a lot of obstacles, some small but some rather significant, on movements, on visas. They’ve complained about the size of the security footprint. How much of the Iraqi obstructionism is causing you to rethink the number of people that you have there as well?

DEPUTY SECRETARY NIDES: Okay. Well, let me answer the first question. The first one’s a good question. I mean – and I should say let’s just step back and remind us where we were, okay? A year ago, we had almost 40-50,000 American troops there, okay? The military was the – was predominately the way we got around. It was certainly a major part of our presence, if not the greater preponderance of our presence, and all of our – much of our diplomatic presence was dependent upon everything from how we were fed and our medical care and all those activities, right?

So as we made the largest transition – again, I hate to use this line, but I’ll use it anyways again – since the Marshall Plan, our decision was – which was rightly so – is that we’re going to have to stand this mission set up. Because remember, we set a hard deadline to have those troops gone. So we knew that – starting January 1st – that we were going to have to have a mission set up to basically allow us to do exactly what our mission was, which is the diplomacy, the political engagement, the police training. And so our goal was – at that point was to make sure we had a mission that’s set up.

We always said – if you go and talk to Senator Leahy or you talk to Kay Granger, I was very clear that this was going to be – we’re going to do this in stages. You and I had this conversation. We were going to basically have a glide path, which was we would do – like on police training, our original police training program had us this year – our original plan was to do a billion dollar police training, and we started the plan – the training with a half a billion dollar program, because we want to see how these programs work. And as I said to everyone on the Hill, we are going to stand this mission set up because it’s critically important as we get those – we get the military out that we have a very strong diplomatic presence and we don’t have any gaps between the military and our diplomatic presence.

But that said, I – we have been totally upfront and straight about this, that over time we want to have a more normalized embassy, and that will mean making a decision over time about contractors, the numbers of contractors, the size of some of our mission sets, without losing sight of our core mission, which is, number one, political engagement, economic development, kind of the – and then this – and then the OSC-I piece of this, which is very, very important as they purchase U.S. equipment.

So I – again, I’m – one thing about what we have said and certainly what I’ve said and I think our team has said is we were very clear with everyone what we were planning to do and how we will execute this over. And this is not going to happen overnight. I mean, we’re not going to have – tomorrow, we’re not going to be able to sit here and say okay, X numbers of – hundreds of thousands of people have departed. We’re going to be doing this over a period of time as we think about how this mission set should look like, and quite frankly, as we procure more goods and as we operate more.

Now, on your second question, I – we’ve had an unbelievable cooperation from the Iraqis, okay? Listen, is it always perfect? No. I’m sure it’s not always perfect. It’s not always perfect. And I’m sure they don’t think we’re always perfect. But the reality is, is they’ve given us the visas that we’ve needed. It hasn’t been always smooth, but we’ve been given the visas. We’ve set up an operation in Iraq which allows our diplomats to be safe, allows us to do political engagement, it allows us to have an OSC-I site that are training people on military equipment which they’re purchasing from us.

So I’d have to say, as cynical as all of us are – and I think most of us are pretty cynical – pretty darn good, I mean, if you ask us come January 30 – January or February 6th where we are today. So I think you all would be questioning us if you weren’t asking us a question, "Well, what are you guys going to do over the long term? What is your long-term view of how big your footprint should be? How much should you be relying up on local contractors?" So we’re asking the tough questions. We’re going to continue asking the tough questions. And we’re going to, over time, allow ourselves to have this Embassy look like – more like a normal embassy, but it will take time without compromising our core missions.

MS. NULAND: And for those of you who aren’t wonked up on Iraq, Office of Security Cooperation is what OSC-I is.

We have time for one last question, Operator. Thank you.

OPERATOR: Thank you. And I have a question from Matthew Lee from the Associated Press. Your line is open.

QUESTION: Yeah. Hi.

DEPUTY SECRETARY NIDES: Hi.

QUESTION: Thanks. You say that you’ve been very clear about this with everybody, but apparently not, because that’s why this 50 percent number is floating around – I presume – that’s floating around in Baghdad. And whether or not it’s true or not, I’m wondering if it isn’t, in fact, the case if you are simply getting rid of the expensive contractors and replacing them with local contractors. While I see a reduction in cost, I don’t see a net reduction in contractors.

DEPUTY SECRETARY NIDES: Oh, well that – yeah. Listen, we’re not there to make – I mean, listen. We will go – we’ll go contractor by contractor, we’ll try to figure out over time what goods we can purchase locally in which we will not rely upon goods that are coming in over the border.

But I think the more – which – and I certainly appreciate the question – I think you also should recognize the fact we were spending last year almost $50 billion through DOD, and we’re now spending approximately $5.5 billion or – I mean, correct my numbers, but in that ballpark, right? For the taxpayers, okay, they’ve had a very positive gain. Okay? That said, I think most of us would agree that the – if you look at what’s happened in Iraq over the last month and a half, our political engagement there has been at the top end of the scale. The engagement of Jim Jeffrey and Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden and Barack – President Obama and all the players have been very strong and has been really done by the strength of our diplomatic presence there.

But listen, I think the reality is, as I said at the onset, my hope is that as we go through this next year, I’ll be having conversations which you’ll say, listen, we had X thousands of contractors. We have Y now because we are procuring more of our goods in Iraq, or we have concluded that we – the footprint that we currently have, we can have a smaller footprint. We don’t need as big a footprint. So consequently, we don’t need as many, quote, "static guards." I mean, that’s what every good operation does. We should be – you – people should be pushing us all the time to continue to evaluate over the next couple years, which we will be doing.

Our goal has been, quite frankly, upfront, which is we will continue to look at this – the mission set to make sure that we do not compromise on our core responsibilities, which is, number one, the security of our people. So regardless of what the size is, we are going to make sure that the people there – our diplomats and our – and the people that we have hired there are secure, number one, and two, that the ability for us to be involved in the political engagement of Iraq is at the highest possible level because there’s – clearly, as you all know, there’s – this is as important a diplomatic mission that we have anywhere in the world. The stakes are high, and we plan to be engaged. So --

QUESTION: I understand that, but what I’m getting at is that barring – or unless – until there is development, until the circumstances allow for a dramatic reduction in, say, security guards, the security footprint, if you are just getting rid of the expensive contractors and hiring local people at less cost, isn’t it possible that there won’t be that significant a reduction in the number of personnel at all, at least until we get to the point where there doesn’t have to be that many – where there doesn’t --

DEPUTY SECRETARY NIDES: I mean, Matt, my – the way I’d answer the question is: I mean, having spent a lot of time in the business world as well, so I guess I’m somewhat uniquely qualified since I’ve had – I’ve done this a few times – there’s a variety of ways to do this, right? One is, obviously, the numbers of people that are working on different programs. And again, I go back to this notion that we want to make sure we have enough people to do the programs that we believe are critically important. The second way to make sure that you are smart about it is the numbers of locations you have, right? The amount of space you have, because obviously, the number of, quote, "security guards" you’re talking about is a total derivative of how many square feet we have, right? I mean, how many locations you have, because you have to obviously protect the perimeters of those.

So as we proceed over the next year, and as we look at our mission set and look at what we’re trying to achieve on the diplomatic side, my hope is, is that we’ll conclude over – in the period of time that we can consolidate some of the locations and space, and that will allow us to rely more upon local Iraqi contractors. But the most important thing is what we’re going to do is we’re going to be studying it, we’re working on it, we’re going to work very closely with our staff at our – in Baghdad and around the country, and we’re going to work with the Iraqis. They – we are a team working closely with them as we look at this diplomatic mission now and into the future.

So guys, I’ve got to run. But thank you all. And if I can be of any other help, I’m sure you’ll let us know.

MS. NULAND: Thank you all very much for joining us.

NEW MILESTONE FOR AFGHAN AIR FORCE

Credit:  U.S. Navy.

FROM: U.S. AIR FORCE
First Afghan Air Force C-208 CASEVAC a success
by Capt. Anastasia Burgess
438th Air Expeditionary Advisory Wing Public Affairs

2/18/2013 - KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (AFNS) -- In another historic step for the Afghan Air Force, an AAF Cessna 208 configured for battlefield casualty evacuation successfully transported a seriously injured soldier and three minor casualties from Kandahar, Afghanistan to Kabul International Airport Feb. 11.

The Afghan-tasked, planned and led mission validated the recently-signed CASEVAC Concept of Operations between AAF Commander Maj. Gen. Abdul Wahab Wardak, and NATO Air Training Command-Afghanistan Commander Brig. Gen. Steve Shepro. AAF and NATC-A staffs, with inputs from field units and advisors, were behind both the CONOPS and the AAF C-208 configuration to improve air support to Afghan National Security Forces in the field.

"We achieved an important milestone in our AAF/NATC-A strategic flightplan," stated Wahab, referring to the combined strategy signed last October designed to assure AAF impact on battlefield success in 2013 and independent operations by 2017.

"This was yet another win for the AAF," agreed Shepro, "which continues to advance and impact campaign successes."

"CASEVAC is the heartbeat of battlefield medical airlift support and this is the first time ever that the Afghan Air Force has been able to transport a litter patient on a C-208," Col. Michael Paston, 438th Air Expeditionary Advisory Wing surgeon general, stated when asked of the importance of this event. "This is adding a capability that will increase the morale, not only in the Afghan air force, but in the entire Afghan National Security Forces. It provides Afghans with a sense of security to know that if hurt on the battlefield, they will be taken care of quickly."

The mission was executed by a mixed NATC-A and AAF aircrew, including a trained Afghan flight medic who helped design the CONOPS. The AAF medic provided basic medical care to the patients during the two-hour C-208 sortie, including assessing the patients, providing oxygen, readjusting the patients and ensuring they were strapped in properly.

"The Afghans that I work with take every opportunity to train that they can," said Canadian Forces Maj. Cathy Mountford, 438th AEW flight surgeon advisor. "The Afghan medics have been training weekly in order to accomplish this mission and are some of the most motivated medics I have ever had the privilege to work with."

"This is an evolving operation with areas for improvement, but overall the transportation and mission was a huge success," Paston summed up. "It was inspiring to see our Afghan counterparts that we work with and advise every day rush out to the plane and conduct the medical treatments on patients they were trained to do. This truly was a historic and impressive day for the Afghan air force."

U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE PANNETTA NOTIFIES CONGRESS OF CIVILIAN FURLOUGHS

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Panetta Notifies Congress DOD Preparing for Furloughs
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Feb. 20, 2013 - Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta has notified Congress that the Defense Department is prepared to implement furloughs for civilian personnel in response to the threat of sequestration.

In a memo to all employees, Panetta vowed to continue working with Congress to avoid sequestration, which would add $470 billion to the $487 billion in defense spending cuts the department already is making over the next 10 years. If Congress cannot agree on an alternative deficit reduction plan, the cuts go into effect March 1.

Panetta and every other defense leader have called the cuts dangerous. They would come on top of cuts imposed by operating under a continuing resolution. For fiscal year 2013, the effect will be further magnified, because the cuts must be done in the final six months of the fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.

"In the event of sequestration, we will do everything we can to be able to continue to perform our core mission of providing for the security of the United States," Panetta wrote in the memo, "but there is no mistaking that the rigid nature of the cuts forced upon this department, and their scale, will result in a serious erosion of readiness across the force."

Panetta and DOD leaders long have expressed deep concern about the direct impact sequestration will have on military personnel, civilian employees and families. Flexibility in sequestration is limited, the secretary said in his memo, noting that while military personnel are exempt from direct impact, services on bases will deteriorate, and families may feel the pinch in other ways.

Civilian employees will be furloughed if sequestration is triggered. Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter said last week that civilian employees could lose 20 percent of their normal income through September.

"I can assure you that, if we have to implement furloughs, all affected employees will be provided at least 30 days' notice prior to executing a furlough, and your benefits will be protected to the maximum extent possible," Panetta wrote.

DOD will work to ensure furloughs are executed in a consistent and appropriate manner, the secretary said, and Pentagon officials also will continue work with employee unions.

"Our most important asset at the department is our world-class personnel," Panetta wrote. "You are fighting every day to keep our country strong and secure, and rest assured that the leaders of this department will continue to fight with you and for you."

QUANTUM CRYPTOGRAPHY AND ELECTRIC GRID CYBERSECURITY

Photo caption: The miniature transmitter communicates with a trusted authority to generate random cryptographic keys to encode and decode information. Photo Credit: Los Alamos National Laboratory.

FROM: LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY
Quantum Cryptography Put to Work for Electric Grid Security
LOS ALAMOS, N.M., Feb. 14, 2013—Recently a Los Alamos National Laboratory quantum cryptography (QC) team successfully completed the first-ever demonstration of securing control data for electric grids using quantum cryptography.

The demonstration was performed in the electric grid test bed that is part of the Trustworthy Cyber Infrastructure for the Power Grid (TCIPG) project at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) that was set up under the Department of Energy’s Cyber Security for Energy Delivery Systems program in the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability.

Novel methods for controlling the electric grid are needed to accommodate new energy sources such as renewables whose availability can fluctuate on short time scales. This requires transmission of data to and from control centers; but for grid-control use, data must be both trustworthy and delivered without delays. The simultaneous requirements of strong authentication and low latency are difficult to meet with standard cryptographic techniques. New technologies that further strengthen existing cybersecurity protections are needed.

Quantum cryptography provides a means of detecting and defeating an adversary who might try to intercept or attack the communications. Single photons are used to produce secure random numbers between users, and these random numbers are then used to authenticate and encrypt the grid control data and commands. Because the random numbers are produced securely, they act as cryptographic key material for data authentication and encryption algorithms.

At the heart of the quantum-secured communications system is a unique, miniaturized QC transmitter invention, known as a QKarD, that is five orders of magnitude smaller than any competing QC device. Jane Nordholt, the Los Alamos principal investigator, put it this way: "This project shows that quantum cryptography is compatible with electric-grid control communications, providing strong security assurances rooted in the laws of physics, without introducing excessive delays in data delivery."

A late-2012 demonstration at UIUC showed that quantum cryptography provides the necessary strong security assurances with latencies (typically 250 microseconds, including 120 microseconds to traverse the 25 kilometers of optical fiber connecting the two nodes) that are at least two orders of magnitude smaller than requirements. Further, the team’s quantum-secured communications system demonstrated that this capability could be deployed with only a single optical fiber to carry the quantum, single-photon communications signals; data packets; and commands. "Moreover, our system is scalable to multiple monitors and several control centers," said Richard Hughes, the co-principal investigator from Los Alamos.

The TCIPG cyber-physical test bed provides a realistic environment to explore cutting-edge research and prove emerging smart grid technology in a fully customizable environment. In this demonstration, high-fidelity power simulation was leveraged using the real-time digital simulator to enable hardware in the loop power simulation to drive real phasor measurement units (PMUs), devices, deployed on today's electric grid that monitor its operation.

"The simulator provides a mechanism for proving technology in real-world scenarios," said Tim Yardley, assistant director of test bed services. "We're not just using perfect or simulated data, so the results demonstrate true feasibility."

The power simulation was running a well-known power-bus model that was perturbed by introducing faults, which drove the analog inputs on the connected hardware PMU. The PMU then communicated via the standard protocol to the quantum cryptography equipment, which handled the key generation, communication and encryption/decryption of the connection traversing 25 kilometers of fiber. A phasor data concentrator then collected and visualized the data.

"This demonstration represents not only a realistic power model, but also leveraged hardware, software and standard communication protocols that are already widely deployed in the energy sector," said William H. Sanders, the Donald Biggar Willett Professor of Engineering at UIUC and principal investigator for TCIPG. "The success of the demonstration emphasizes the power of the TCIPG cyber-physical test bed and the strength of the quantum cryptography technology developed by Los Alamos."

The Los Alamos team submitted 23 U. S. and foreign patent applications for the inventions that make quantum-secured communications possible. The Los Alamos Technology Transfer Division has already received two licensing inquiries from companies in the electric grid control sector, and the office plans an industry workshop for early 2013 when the team’s patents will be made available for licensing.

The Los Alamos team is seeking funding to develop a next-generation QKarD using integrated electro-photonics methods, which would be even smaller, more highly integrated, and open the door to a manufacturing process that would result in much lower unit costs.

NEWS FROM AFGHANISTAN FOR FEBRUARY 20, 2013

U.S. Army 1st Lt. Ryan Schulte, left, and U.S. Navy Lt. j.g. Matthew Stroup, right, arrive at the Directorate of Information and Culture building to teach photojournalism to students in Farah City, Afghanistan, Feb. 10, 2013. Schulte, a platoon leader, and Stroup, a public affairs officer, are assigned to the Provincial Reconstruction Team Farah. The session is part of a 15-day media training course offered to both male and female journalists. U.S. Navy photo by Chief Petty Officer Josh Ives

FROM U.S DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Afghan, Coalition Forces Kill Insurgents in Logar ProvinceFrom an International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Release

KABUL, Afghanistan, Feb. 20, 2013 – A combined Afghan and coalition security force killed three insurgents and detained one other during an operation in search of a Taliban leader in the Charkh district of Afghanistan’s Logar province today, military officials reported.

As the security force approached the Taliban leader’s suspected location, insurgents maneuvered toward the Afghan and coalition troops. After positively identifying the lethal threat, the security force engaged the insurgents, killing three.

The Taliban leader is believed to be responsible for distributing weapons to insurgent forces and for planning and executing attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.

The security force also seized a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, RPG rounds, assault rifles and a machine gun in the operation.

In other Afghanistan operations today:

-- A combined force in the city of Kandahar in Kandahar province arrested a Haqqani network facilitator who managed supply routes from the city to other provinces. He also is believed to have been instrumental in the acquisition and distribution of lethal aid to Haqqani fighters for attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.

-- In Khost province’s Terayzai district, a combined force arrested three insurgents during a search for a Haqqani network leader believed to responsible for improvised explosive device attacks. The security force also seized an assault rifle and two bolt-action rifles.

In operations yesterday:

-- A precision strike in Helmand province’s Nahr-e Saraj district killed a Taliban leader and another insurgent. The Taliban leader directed attacks against Afghan and coalition forces and coordinated the production and planting of IEDs.

-- In Ghazni province’s Andar district, a precision strike killed five insurgents after a combined security force observed them engaging in nefarious activity.

RECENT U.S. NAVY PHOTOS

FROM: U.S. NAVY
MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopters assigned to the Eightballers of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 8 move pallets of food and supplies to the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) during a vertical replenishment with the Military Sealift Command fast combat support ship USNS Bridge (T-AOE 10). John C. Stennis is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility conducting maritime security operations, theater security cooperation efforts and support missions for Operation Enduring Freedom. U.S. Navy photo.

An aviation boatswain's mate directs the landing of a CH-53E Super Stallion from Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 266 (Rein) on the flight deck of the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3). Kearsarge is participating in Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX) off the East Coast of the United States in preparation for an upcoming deployment this spring U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Tommy Lamkin (Released) 130216-N-UM734-681

U.S. REPRESENTATIVE'S RENARKS AT APCAC U.S.-ASIA BUSINESS SUMMIT

After The Tsunami.  Credit:  U.S. Navy.

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
The APCAC U.S.-Asia Business Summit
Remarks
Thomas Nides
Deputy Secretary for Management and Resources
Tokyo, Japan
March 1, 2012

Good morning everyone – what a pleasure to be among so many friends and distinguished colleagues today.

Now, some of you might have heard me say before that I wear two hats. I’m here as a diplomat and as a recovering businessman. I am also fast becoming an expert Japan traveler. This is my third trip to Tokyo in the last year, and I am thrilled to be back. I'd like to thank the ACCJ President Michael Alfant, the ACCJ Board of Governors, and the entire APCAC Board for inviting me to speak to you.

We are meeting just days before the one-year anniversary of the terrible earthquake and tsunami that forever changed the lives of millions of people. Japan’s recovery over the last year is an inspiration to the world. What could have been a crippling disaster instead became a remarkable testament to the spirit and resilience of the Japanese people.

The world pulled together to support Japan in those days and months after March 11. Many of you contributed -- American corporations donated nearly $300 million for relief and recovery efforts. American and Japanese rescue and relief forces worked side-by-side, starting within hours of the tsunami.

Of course, Japan has done the same for us. In the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Japanese people were among the first to respond. In the terrible days following 9/11, Japanese volunteers worked at Ground Zero day-in and day-out. When it matters most, our countries step up for each other. That’s what friends do for each other.

Now, last week, Secretary Clinton hosted the first-ever Global Business Conference at the State Department in Washington. We brought together senior U.S. officials with more than 160 business leaders from over 120 countries. My friend and yours Charles Lake was one of the participants, and I’m glad that he’s here today as well.

The Global Business Conference had one goal: to figure out how the United States can make it easier for companies to do business internationally and create American jobs. Today we want to continue that discussion with you. I am joined by a panel of my colleagues -- our chief diplomats from all across the Asia-Pacific. They made the trip because they know how important economics is to our relationship with Asia, and how important the economic relationship between Asia and the United States is to the world.

So as we begin this discussion, I’d like to make four key points. First, how the United States is sharpening our focus on economics as a foreign policy tool. Second, how business and economics are particularly important to our foreign policy in the Asia-Pacific region. Third, how the United States is doing a great deal to deepen our economic cooperation with the region. And finally, how we can and must do more, and how we need businesses to be part of that effort.

So let’s take these points one by one. First, our focus on business and economics as a tool for diplomacy – a policy we call economic statecraft. America's global leadership and our economic strength are fundamentally a package deal. We must do more to build up both.

We live in an era when the size of a country’s economy is every bit as important to exercising global leadership as the size of its military. Our corporations often reach more people in foreign countries than our embassies. Meanwhile, the American people are hungry for jobs that depend on finding new customers and opening new markets beyond our borders.

So we have made economic statecraft a priority for every one of our missions around the globe. And I’ll tell you, we will use every tool we have – including diplomacy – to promote global prosperity and create American jobs.

Which leads me to my second point: economic statecraft is particularly important in here Asia. That is one reason why, as you can see, we have such a strong showing on this panel.

Many Asian countries have long recognized the links between economics and foreign policy. In many ways, the business of Asia is business. Asian economies and populations are growing rapidly. I don’t need to tell you that much of future global economic growth will be centered in the Asia-Pacific. So it is imperative that we do this right. The decisions Asia’s emerging economies make together with the United States will help govern a rules-based system that will guide us through the 21st century. If we get the rules right, all of our countries will prosper together.

Economics is at the heart of America’s strategy in Asia. We are committed to exercising our role as a resident Pacific power—not just militarily and diplomatically but economically.

No one knows this better than the Asia-Pacific Council of American Chambers of Commerce. You have helped tend American business in Asia for more than 40 years. And your work has paid off. American Chambers of Commerce in Asia today oversee more than $400 billion dollars in trade volume and more than $200 billion in foreign direct investment. And yet, we can and we should be trading more.

The futures of the United States and Asia are linked. We are proud of the role the United States has played in helping fuel Asia's growing prosperity. In 2011, the United States exported nearly $900 billion in goods to APEC countries. That’s more exports than we sent to any other group of regional economies.

But there is no guarantee that the future will continue to be marked by success and growth. Our relationships need constant tending.

So, the third area I want to discuss is how we are enhancing our economic cooperation with the region. We have made some key gains, and we are committed to doing even more to get this right. Last year the President signed the landmark Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement. This deal will eliminate tariffs on 95 percent of American exports to the Republic of Korea. It will add more than $10 billion to the U.S. economy and grow Korea’s economy by 6 percent.

We want to bring these sorts of benefits to the broader region as well. So, we are working with our partners to build a high quality Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement. Done right, the TPP could set the stage for decades of higher living standards and deeper friendships across the region. That’s the world we want. And that’s the world I think you want too.

As we build this future, we should be clear. We are not just fighting for American businesses – although that is certainly a priority. America’s economic renewal depends on the strength of the global economy. And the global economy depends on the strength of the American economy. And both—let me add—depend on a strong, vibrant Japanese economy and a full recovery. So, we are striving to build a global, rules-based system in which all businesses stand a chance to succeed. Secretary Clinton laid out our vision at the APEC meetings in Washington almost a year ago. Economic competition should be open, free, transparent, and fair.

What do we mean by open? We mean a system where any person, in any part of the world, can access markets. If you have a good idea for a new product or service, nothing should prevent you from sharing it with the world.

What do we mean by free? We mean that every company can move their goods, money, and ideas around the globe without facing unnecessary roadblocks.

By transparent, we mean that regulations are developed in the open, with everyone’s input, and everyone knows what the rules are.

And, by fair, we mean that those rules apply equally to everyone. Fairness makes sure that people are willing to compete in the first place.

These four simple words cover an incredibly complex economic agenda. And in some of these areas, we face great challenges. For example, we must do a better job of protecting intellectual property. We can disagree about how to best enforce intellectual property laws, but we cannot afford to ignore them. Our 21st century economies rely on innovation and invention to drive economic growth and job creation. We must do all we can to protect that.

So, to my last point: we can and must do much more in the coming years to advance this economic statecraft agenda, and we need the business community to be our full partner. We need to sit down together, in forums like this one and the State Department Global Business Conference, or at gatherings like APEC. Building sustainable global growth and creating jobs at home is a joint venture. The private sector innovates and allocates capital, and the government opens doors to new markets and ensures that the system is fair. Given the economic hardship Americans and our international friends are suffering today, we must bring the partnership between business and government to the next level.

We are relying on you to think big, to generate new ideas, to open doors with jobs and capital. And the government will be right beside you – knocking down barriers, connecting partners, protecting everyone’s interests. Together, we can build a system of healthy economic competition that will be sustainable and profitable for many years to come.

I hope that we come away from these next two days with a newfound sense of purpose and possibility. Starting now, we should all be asking: What can the government and the State Department do to improve opportunities for business in the Asia-Pacific region? How can we do better? How can businesses support our national interests in tying the United States and Asia closer together?

If we are successful in finding more ways to work together to build an open, free, transparent, and fair economic system, the future of U.S.-Asia cooperation is unlimited. The impact on our global economic output will be enormous. And the benefit to people’s lives and opportunities will see no limits.

Thank you.

IRREGULAR OPTIONS TRADING IN FRONT OF H.J. HEINZ CO. ACQUSITION LEADS TO ASSET FREEZE

FROM: U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C., Feb. 15, 2013 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today obtained an emergency court order to freeze assets in a Zurich, Switzerland-based trading account that was used to reap more than $1.7 million from trading in advance of yesterday’s public announcement about the acquisition of H.J. Heinz Company.

The SEC’s immediate action ensures that potentially illegal profits cannot be siphoned out of this account while the agency’s investigation of the suspicious trading continues.

In a complaint filed in federal court in Manhattan, the SEC alleges that prior to any public awareness that Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital had agreed to acquire H.J. Heinz Company in a deal valued at $28 billion, unknown traders took risky bets that Heinz’s stock price would increase. The traders purchased call options the very day before the public announcement. After the announcement, Heinz’s stock rose nearly 20 percent and trading volume increased more than 1,700 percent from the prior day, placing these traders in a position to profit substantially.

"Irregular and highly suspicious options trading immediately in front of a merger or acquisition announcement is a serious red flag that traders may be improperly acting on confidential nonpublic information," said Daniel M. Hawke, Chief of the Division of Enforcement’s Market Abuse Unit.

Sanjay Wadhwa, Senior Associate Director of the SEC’s New York Regional Office, added, "Despite the obvious logistical challenges of investigating trades involving offshore accounts, we moved swiftly to locate and freeze the assets of these suspicious traders, who now have to make an appearance in court to explain their trading if they want their assets unfrozen."

The SEC alleges that the unknown traders were in possession of material nonpublic information about the impending acquisition when they purchased out-of-the-money Heinz call options the day before the announcement. The timing and size of the trades were highly suspicious because the account through which the traders purchased the options had no history of trading Heinz securities in the last six months. Overall trading activity in Heinz call options several days before the announcement had been minimal.

The emergency court order obtained by the SEC freezes the traders’ assets and prohibits them from destroying any evidence. The SEC’s complaint charges the unknown traders with violating Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5. In addition to the emergency relief, the SEC is seeking a final judgment ordering the traders to disgorge their ill-gotten gains with interest, pay financial penalties, and be permanently barred from future violations.

The SEC’s expedited investigation is being conducted by Market Abuse Unit members Megan Bergstrom, David S. Brown, and Diana Tani in the Los Angeles Regional Office with substantial assistance from Charles Riely, Market Abuse Unit member in the New York Regional Office who will handle the SEC’s litigation. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the Options Regulatory Surveillance Authority (ORSA).

U.S. MILITARY AND CYBER THREATS

Graphic Credit:  U.S. Air Force.

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Military Works to Counter Cyber Threats
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Feb. 19, 2013 - The United States military is working diligently to beef up cyber defenses against all threats, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said here today.

In a meeting with Pentagon reporters, Little said the United States believes in an all-of-government approach to cybersecurity, which includes diplomatic, economic and military measures.

The U.S. government "will continue to draw upon the capabilities of all our agencies and departments to strengthen our cyber defenses," he added.

Recent attention has focused on China since a private firm accused a Chinese army unit in Shanghai of launching cyberattacks against U.S. firms. Little declined to comment on the allegation, saying the Pentagon does not comment on intelligence matters. But he noted that Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta raised concerns about cyber issues during his visit to the nation last year.

"We have repeatedly raised our concerns at the highest levels about cyber theft with Chinese officials, including the military, and we will continue to do so," Little said.

The United States is a target of cyberattacks from around the world, the press secretary noted.

"I'm not commenting on any particular state actor," he said. "We see cyber threats emanate from a number of places. We have discussed the cyber threat with many countries around the world."

The U.S. publication "Chinese Military Power" said the U.S. government "appeared to be the target of intrusions, some of which appear to have originated within the People's Republic of China. These intrusions were focused on exfiltrating information."

U.S. PROVIDES ADDITIONAL $19 MILLION IN HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE FOR SYRIAN PEOPLE

Photo:  Roman Ruins In Syria.  Credit:  CIA World Factbook.

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
U.S. Announces Additional Funding in Response to Syria Crisis
Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
February 19, 2013
　

Today in Geneva, Switzerland, at the Syria Humanitarian Forum, U.S. Agency for International Development Assistant Administrator for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance, Nancy Lindborg announced that the United States is providing an additional $19 million in humanitarian assistance in response to urgent needs emanating from the brutal conflict in Syria. On January 29, President Obama announced an additional $155 million to help those suffering inside Syria and refugees in the neighboring countries. Today’s announcement brings the United States total contribution of humanitarian support in response to this crisis to nearly $385 million.

U.S. funding has helped train nearly 875 medical personnel, treat over 410,000 patients, and perform over 29,000 surgeries in Syria. This new funding will provide additional medical supplies and emergency medical care for those in need in Syria.

This additional funding will also allow the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to continue providing life-saving assistance, in particular rehabilitation and upkeep of water and sanitation systems, provision of medical care, and the distribution of food and non-food items in all of Syria’s 14 governorates, including in opposition-controlled and contested areas. ICRC’s reputation as a neutral and independent actor continues to help gain access and outreach to those affected by conflict; this role is essential in any conflict.

This funding will also provide food vouchers for more than 50,000 additional Syrian refugees in Jordan. The vouchers can be redeemed for approved items at designated local markets. Given that many of these refugees are living in host communities and not in camp settings, voucher assistance provides beneficiaries with the dignity and freedom of selecting what is best for their families while also stimulating the local economy.

The United States remains committed to supporting humanitarian assistance for all those in need inside Syria and to working with a wide range of international partners and Syrian humanitarian organizations whose dedicated staff are taking great risks to ensure aid is directly reaching those in need. The U.S. Government is coordinating closely with the Syrian Opposition Coalition in helping identify and reach those in need of humanitarian assistance where access is constrained.

Over 870,000 Syrians have fled to neighboring countries since the beginning of the conflict. Just since January 1, over one-quarter of a million Syrians have fled the country, with the majority seeking refuge in Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq, and Egypt. Nearly $170 million of our assistance is provided to help those seeking refuge in these countries.

The United States recognizes and applauds the generosity of the governments and people of Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey, who continue to keep their borders open to those fleeing the violence, and we urge them to continue doing so for all those in need—including Palestinian and Iraqi refugees. We also express appreciation to all countries, including Iraq as well as countries in North Africa and Europe that are hosting and providing assistance to these vulnerable populations.

NEW ADVANCE IN "SLOW LIGHT" MAY BRING INCREASED SPEEDS IN OPTICAL COMPUTING, TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Los Alamos National Laboratory.  Credit: Wikimedia Commons/DOE  

FROM: LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY
"Slow Light’ Advance Could Speed Optical Computing, Telecommunications
Metamaterials provide active control of slow-light devices
LOS ALAMOS, N.M., Feb. 12, 2013—Wireless communications and optical computing could soon get a significant boost in speed, thanks to "slow light" and specialized metamaterials through which it travels.

Researchers have made the first demonstration of rapidly switching on and off "slow light" in specially designed mate¬rials at room temperature. This work opens the possibility to design novel, chip-scale, ultrafast devices for applications in terahertz wireless communications and all-optical computing.

Significance of the research

In slow light, a propagating light pulse is substantially slowed down, compared with the velocity of light in a vacuum. This is accomplished by the light’s interaction with the medium through which it is shining. Slow light has potential applications in telecommunications because it could lead to a more orderly traffic flow in networks.

Like cars slowing down or speeding up to negotiate an intersection, packets of information are better managed if their transmission speed is changeable. Another potential application is the storage of information carried by light pulses, leading to a potential all-optical computing system. Current semiconductor materials used in computing devices are reaching some of their limits, and an all-optical system would potentially enable improvements in size reduction and calculation speeds.

The effects of strong light-matter coupling used in slowing down light might create entangled photon pairs that lead to quantum computing capabilities beyond those of modern computers, the researchers say.

Giving classical optical structures a quantum twist

Electromagnetically induced transparency is a quantum interference effect that produces a sharp resonance with extremely low loss and dispersion. However, implementing electromagnetically induced transparency in chip-scale applications is difficult due to the demands of stable gas lasers and low-temperature environments. The key to success is the use of metamaterials, engineered artificial materials containing structures that are smaller than the wavelength of the waves they affect.

Researchers integrated photoconductive silicon into the metamaterial unit cell. This material enables a switching of the transparency resonance window through the excitation of ultrafast, femto-second optical pulses. This phenomenon causes an optically tunable group delay of the terahertz light. The "slow light" behavior can be controlled at an ultrafast time scale by integrating appropriate semiconductor materials with conventional metamaterial designs.

In this research, the medium is an active metamaterial that supports a sharp resonance, which leads to a rapid change in the refractive index of the medium over a small range of frequencies. This phenomenon causes a dramatic reduction in the velocity of terahertz light propagation. The resonance can be switched on and off on a time scale of a few pico-seconds. When the resonance transparency is on, the system produces slow light. When the resonance is off, the slow light behavior disappears. This on and off process happens on an ultrafast (pico-second) time scale when a femto-second laser pulse excites the metamaterial. Nature Communications published the research. Link to paper:


http://www.nature.com/ncomms/journal/v3/n10/full/ncomms2153.html

The research team

Researchers include Ranjan Singh of High Power Electrodynamics, Abdul K. Azad and Hou-Tong Chen of the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, Antoinette Taylor of Materials Physics and Applications, collaborators from Tianjin University, Oklahoma State University, and Imperial College, London. The U.S. Department of Energy supported the LANL research, which was performed, in part, at the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, a DOE Office of Science user facility. The work supports the Laboratory’s global- and energy-security mission areas.

Additional information

Slow light is just that, light that has been slowed from the traditionally understood standard, 299,792,458 meters per second. While faster-than-light speeds are considered impossible, it is entirely reasonable to guide light through a material that slows or delays the motion of the photons as they move through the medium. The photons are absorbed and then re-emitted, slowing the transmission from one area to another, and in some experiments the light has been stopped altogether. The measurement of how much light is slowed in a material is known as its refractive index. In a vacuum, there is no delay. Through a diamond, with a refractive index of 2.4, the light lingers for a small time.

Metamaterials are assemblies of multiple individual elements fashioned from conventional microscopic materials arranged in periodic patterns. The precise shape, geometry, size, orientation and arrangement of the structures can affect waves of light in an unconventional manner, creating material properties that are unachievable with conventional materials.

Image caption: Schematic of active optical control of terahertz waves in electromagnetically induced transparency metamaterials.

About the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies

The Center for Nanoscale Materials is one of the five DOE Nanoscale Science Research Centers, premier national user facilities for interdisciplinary research at the nanoscale supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science. Together the NSRCs comprise a suite of complementary facilities that provide researchers with state-of-the-art capabilities to fabricate, process, characterize and model nanoscale materials, and constitute the largest infrastructure investment of the National Nanotechnology Initiative. The NSRCs are located at DOE's Argonne, Brookhaven, Lawrence Berkeley, Oak Ridge, Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratories.

NEWS FROM AFGHANISTAN FOR FEBRUARY 19, 2013

U.S. Army Capt. Andrew Jenkins uses the optic lens on his weapon to scan the valley below for signs of insurgents while on a security patrol in Khowst province, Afghanistan, Jan. 31. 2013. Jenkins is the commander of the 101st Airborne Division’s Troop B, 1st Squadron, 33rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Zach Holden

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Precision Strike Kills Insurgents in Kunar Province

Compiled from International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Releases

WASHINGTON, Feb. 19, 2013 - A precision strike in the Ghaziabad district of Afghanistan's Kunar province yesterday killed two insurgents, military officials reported.

Afghan and coalition forces saw the two men engaging in insurgent activity and called in the strike, officials said.

In other Afghanistan operations yesterday:

-- A combined Afghan and coalition security force in Kandahar province's Panjwai district arrested a Taliban leader who was believed to be responsible for coordinating improvised explosive device operations against local police. He also was responsible for IED attacks against Afghan and coalition forces and Afghan civilians.

-- In Kandahar province's Arghistan district, a combined force arrested a Taliban leader who allegedly is responsible for an IED attack network in the province's Spin Boldak, Arghistan and Maruf districts. He also is believed to have distributed ammunition and heavy weapons to insurgents.

-- Also in Kandahar's Arghistan district, a combined force detained three insurgents during a search for a Taliban leader believed to be responsible for acquiring and distributing weapons and conducting attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.

-- A combined force ordered a precision strike that killed an insurgent in Ghazni province's Andar district.

-- A combined force in Kunduz province's Aliabad district arrested six insurgents associated with a Taliban IED expert who allegedly oversees attacks on Afghan and coalition forces.

-- In Paktia province's Gardez district, a combined force arrested a Haqqani network facilitator who allegedly has been involved with vehicle-borne IED attacks in Khost and Paktia provinces. He also is accused of conducting the movement of insurgent fighters between Gardez and Jalalabad districts for attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. The security force also detained two suspected insurgents and seized a rifle and ammunition.

-- A combined force in Nangarhar province's Khugyani district arrested a Taliban leader who allegedly provided operational guidance to other local Taliban leaders and oversaw 10 insurgents who used heavy weapons and explosives to attack Afghan and coalition forces. The security force also detained another suspect and seized ammunition.

-- In Logar province's Charkh district, a combined force arrested two insurgents while searching for a senior Taliban leader suspected of directing attacks against Afghan and coalition forces and supplying weapons and IEDs to insurgents. The security force also seized a rifle and ammunition as a result.

In Feb. 17 operations:

-- A combined force killed senior Taliban leader Khan Mohammad and another insurgent after seeing them engaged in insurgent activity in Helmand province's Musa Qalah district. Khan Mohammad, also known as Shams, coordinated direct attacks against Afghan and coalition forces and participated in Taliban kidnapping operations. He facilitated the supply of weapons to insurgents.

-- In Baghlan province's Baghlan-e Jadid district, a combined force arrested a Taliban leader who allegedly oversaw the gathering and coordinating of munitions, fighters and logistics for higher-level Taliban leaders. He is suspected of facilitating the movement of fighters and heavy weapons for a planned attack against Afghan and coalition forces. The security force also detained two other suspected insurgents.

-- A combined force in Helmand province's Nad-e Ali district detained four insurgents while searching for a Taliban leader suspected of overseeing insurgents responsible for attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.

-- In Logar province's Charkh district, a combined force killed two insurgents during a search for a Taliban leader believed to transport weapons and explosives and oversee IED operations in the district. The security force also seized assault rifles with ammunition and several grenades in the operation.

-- A combined force in Nangarhar province's Sherzad district killed an insurgent during a search for a Taliban leader who oversees 20 insurgents responsible for attacks against Afghan and collation forces. The security force also seized assault rifles with associated gear and several grenades in the operation.

-- In Kandahar province's Panjwai district, a combined force killed a Taliban leader who coordinated and executed attacks against Afghan local police checkpoints and personnel. He was a weapons expert, and recently involved in taking three local police officers hostage, officials said.

-- A combined force in Helmand province's Nad-e Ali district arrested a Taliban leader believed to oversee insurgents responsible for attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. He oversaw procurement and delivery of weapons and IEDs to insurgents and is suspected of personally executing high-profile IED attacks, officials said. The security force also detained three other suspected insurgents.

In Feb. 16 operations:

-- A combined force in Khost province's Khost district arrested a high-profile attack facilitator believed to be associated with both Taliban and Haqqani insurgent networks. He is accused of assisting in the transfer and delivery of heavy weapons, equipment and ammunition and of coordinating a vehicle-borne IED attack targeting Afghan and coalition forces. The security force also detained two other suspected insurgents and seized firearms and ammunition.

-- In Logar province's Pul-e Alam district, a combined force arrested a Haqqani network facilitator believed to be responsible for planning and preparing attacks targeting Afghan and coalition forces and facilitating the acquisition of IEDs and other weapons. He also allegedly produced and transported homemade explosives and executed IED attacks. The security force also detained two other suspected insurgents.

SCENERIO: COMPUTER CRASH AT NORTHCOM

Assured access to secure networks is vital to the homeland defense mission of U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, and to Northcom's key role in providing military support to civil authorities as requested. Here, Army Master Sgt. Dale Lee and James Skidmore from U.S. Army North, Northcom's Army component, rely on networks at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., to plan military support to Hurricane Irene relief efforts, Aug. 27, 2011. U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Samuel Goodman

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, NORTHCOM, MILITARY COMPUTER CRASH

Secure Network Access Vital to Northcom's Mission
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo., Feb. 13, 2013 - Who doesn't hate when their computer crashes, gets infected with a virus or, worst of all, flashes them the dreaded "blue screen of death"?

Navy Rear Adm. Thomas "Hank" Bond Jr. worries about that problem more than most. That's because, as director of command-and-control systems at U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, he's responsible for the networks vital to the dual commands' homeland defense mission.

Operating in a "no-fail" environment where a mistake can cost American lives, Bond and his staff in the commands' "J-6" directorate run the architectures and networks that deliver critical sensor data -- some that would need to be acted on immediately to prevent an attack on the United States.

"We provide the connective tissue across the command to get the job done," Bond told American Forces Press Service at the Northcom/NORAD headquarters here.

Information is critical across the organization, he said, but particularly at the NORAD and Northcom Current Operations Center that maintains an around-the-clock watch, seven days a week, 365 days a year. "That data needs to get to people who can make decisions about it," and ultimately to Army Gen. Charles H. Jacoby Jr., the NORAD and Northcom commander, who would make the call for action, Bond explained.

"This is a mission that requires that you be able to talk, to get the message out and to assign the forces to do what you need them to do," he said. "You can't say 'I'm sorry' because you are rebooting the system."

To ensure that never happens, Bond and his team are exploring more efficient and whenever possible, less costly ways to assure secure network access across the commands.

Rather than coming up with expensive new "gee-whiz" technologies, they are tapping some of the best concepts emerging in the commercial marketplace. "We're looking for new and better solutions that are also lower cost, still providing all the services, but still reliable and redundant," Bond said. "That is our big trend."

For example, the team is exploring better ways to present data to decision-makers. One idea is to make the two-dimensional display screens that dominate the command center 3-D to better reflect the real world. Another is to identify improved ways to portray activities in the air, space, land, maritime and cyber domains to help operators "connect the dots" and develop better situational awareness.

"It all boils down to that age-old problem of knowing what is going on in your operating area and knowing what is going on in the enemy's operating area and being able to use that to your advantage," Bond said. Information technology alone can't deliver that, he said, but it can go a long way in empowering well-trained operators with finely tuned processes.

"We are thinking about how to visualize data differently, and present it in a way that can be more useful for our commander and for the operators to understand," Bond said. "I want to be able to provide them the framework that might save them 30 seconds thinking about one particular part of the problem, which will give them more time to think about that harder thing over there."

In another major, but less apparent effort, the J-6 directorate is studying ways to take advantage of Internet protocol. Migrating to "everything over IP," a popular trend in the commercial world, would enable the commands to share and store a full range of data over one infrastructure in lieu of myriad independent systems, Bond explained.

It would eliminate the cost of running multiple services, he said. But by eliminating redundancy, it also creates some inherent risk.

"That's something we can't accept with our no-fail communications missions," Bond said. "So we continue to watch this, to see if there is a way to embrace it in our effort to identify new solutions."

One solution already in the works involves improvements to the NORAD Enterprise Network used to share secret-level information between the United States and Canada. The network runs parallel to the U.S. Secure Internet Protocol Router Network, or SIPRNET, and its Canadian equivalent.

Particularly during tough budget times, maintaining these separate networks is simply too costly, Bond said. "So we are looking for a new way to employ an old system, and working through all the policy issues to figure out how we can more economically operate with our partners north of the border in a way that can be sustained into the future," he said.

Looking to the future, Bond said, he expects increasing challenge in protecting against cyber attacks that threaten the command's networks and, by extension, its ability to accomplish its mission.

Toward that end, his directorate is involved heavily in the new NORAD/Northcom Joint Cyber Center that stood up in May. Operating under the command's operations directorates, the new center has a threefold mission: extend situational awareness across the cyber domain; improve defense of the commands' networks; and stay postured to provide cyber consequence response and recovery support to civil authorities, when requested.

As the Joint Cyber Center matures and begins to form a network with other combatant commands' JCCs, Bond said he sees tremendous potential in the power of information technology in promoting situational awareness across the board.

"It is coming," he said. "We are growing in our ability to do this."

MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO LACY ACT VIOLATIONS IN COLORADO

North American Elk.  Credit:  Wikiomedia Commons.

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Colorado Big Game Outfitter Sentenced to Prison for Six Lacey Act Felonies

Big game hunting outfitter Dennis Eugene Rodebaugh, 72, of Meeker, Colo., was sentenced in Denver today to 41 months in prison to be followed by three years supervised release for six felony counts of violating the Lacey Act, announced the Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Colorado Parks and Wildlife. District Judge Christine M. Arguello also sentenced Rodebaugh, to pay a $7,500 fine to the Lacey Act reward fund and $37,390 in restitution to the state of Colorado for the value of illegally taken elk and deer.

Rodebaugh was found guilty by a jury in September 2012 of aiding and abetting six violations of the Lacey Act by providing outfitting and guiding services from salt-baited tree-stands between 2005 and 2007. Beginning in 1988, Mr. Rodebaugh began offering multi-day elk and deer hunts to out-of-state clients on the White River National Forest through his outfitting business, called "D&S Guide and Outfitter," for between $1,200 and $1,600.

Rodebaugh's assistant guide, Brian Kunz, was also sentenced today. He previously pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of violating the Lacey Act while working for Rodebaugh. Based on his acceptance of responsibility and the government’s motion for downward departure based on his cooperation, the court sentenced Mr. Kunz to time served (one day) and one year of probation plus a $2,000 fine

Each spring and summer, Mr. Rodebaugh placed hundreds of pounds of salt as bait near the tree-stands from which his clients would hunt deer and elk with archery equipment. The placement and use of salt to aid in the taking of big game is unlawful in Colorado. The interstate sale of big game outfitting and guiding services for the unlawful taking of big game with the aid of bait constitutes a violation of the Lacey Act.

This case was investigated by Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The case was prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney J. Ronald Sutcliffe and Trial Attorney Mark Romley, of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division.

BIODIVERSITY AND DISEASE

Credit:  CIA World Factbook.

FROM: NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Biodiversity Protects Against Disease, Scientists Find
The richer the assortment of amphibian species in a pond, the more protection that community of frogs, toads and salamanders has against a parasitic infection that can cause severe deformities, including the growth of extra legs.

The findings, published in a paper in this week's issue of the journal Nature, support the idea that greater biodiversity in large-scale ecosystems, such as forests or grasslands, may also provide greater protection against diseases, including those that affect humans.

A larger number of mammal species in an area may curb cases of Lyme disease, while a larger number of bird species may slow the spread of West Nile virus.

"How biodiversity affects the risk of infectious diseases, including those of humans and wildlife, has become an increasingly important question," said Pieter Johnson, an ecologist and evolutionary biologist at the University of Colorado Boulder, and the lead author of the paper.

"But as it turns out, solidly testing these links with realistic experiments has proven very challenging in most systems."

Researchers have struggled to design comprehensive studies that could illuminate the possible connection between disease transmission and the number of species living in complex ecosystems.

Part of the problem is the enormous number of organisms that may need to be sampled, and the vast areas over which those organisms may roam.

This study overcame that problem by studying smaller, easier-to-sample ecosystems, the scientists say.

"The research reaches the surprising conclusion that the entire set of species in a community affects susceptibility to disease," said Doug Levey, program director in the National Science Foundation (NSF)'s Division of Environmental Biology, which funded the research. "Biodiversity matters."

Johnson and colleagues visited hundreds of ponds in California, recording the types of amphibians living there as well as the number of snails infected by the pathogen Ribeiroia ondatrae.

Snails are an intermediate host used by the parasite during part of its life cycle.

"One of the great challenges in studying the diversity-disease link has been collecting data from enough replicate systems to differentiate the influence of diversity from background 'noise,'" Johnson said.

"By collecting data from hundreds of ponds and thousands of amphibian hosts, we were able to provide a rigorous test of this hypothesis, which has relevance to a wide range of disease systems."

The researchers buttressed field observations with laboratory tests designed to measure how prone to infection each amphibian species is, and by creating pond replicas using large plastic tubs stocked with tadpoles that were exposed to a known number of parasites.

All the experiments told the same story.

Greater biodiversity reduced the number of amphibian infections and the number of deformed frogs.

The scientists spent three years sampling 345 wetlands and recording malformations--which include missing, misshapen or extra sets of hind legs--caused by parasitic infections in 24,215 amphibians.

The results showed that ponds with half a dozen amphibian species had a 78 percent reduction in parasite transmission compared to ponds with just one amphibian species.

The reason for the decline in parasitic infections as biodiversity increases is likely related to the fact that ponds add amphibian species in a predictable pattern, with the first species to appear being the most prone to infection and the later species to appear being the least prone.

The researchers found that in a pond with just one type of amphibian, that amphibian was almost always the Pacific chorus frog, a creature that's able to rapidly reproduce and quickly colonize wetland habitats, but which is also especially vulnerable to infection and parasite-induced deformities.

On the other hand, the California tiger salamander was typically one of the last species to be added to a pond community--and also one of the most resistant to parasitic infection.

Therefore, in a pond with greater biodiversity, parasites have a higher chance of encountering an amphibian that is resistant to infection, lowering the overall success rate of transmission between infected snails and amphibians.

This same pattern--of less diverse communities being made up of species that are more susceptible to disease infection--may well play out in more complex ecosystems, Johnson said.

That's because species that disperse quickly across ecosystems appear to trade off the ability to quickly reproduce with the ability to develop disease resistance.

The recent study also reinforces the connection between deformed frogs and parasitic infection.

In the mid-1990s reports of frogs with extra, missing or misshapen legs skyrocketed, attracting widespread attention in the media and motivating scientists to try to figure out the cause.

Johnson was among the researchers who found evidence of a link between infection with Ribeiroia and frog deformities, though the apparent rise in reports of deformations, and its underlying cause, remained controversial.

While the new study has implications beyond parasitic infections in amphibians, it does not mean that an increase in biodiversity always results in a decrease in disease, Johnson said.

Other factors also affect rates of disease transmission.

For example, a large number of mosquitoes hatching in a particular year increases the risk of contracting West Nile virus, even if there has been an increase in the biodiversity of the bird population.

Birds act as "reservoir hosts" for West Nile virus, harboring the pathogen indefinitely with no ill effects, then passing on the pathogen.

"Our results indicate that higher diversity reduces the success of pathogens in moving between hosts," Johnson said.

"But if infection pressure is high, there will still be a significant risk of disease. Biodiversity will simply dampen transmission success."

Co-authors of the paper are Dan Preston and Katie Richgels of the University of Colorado Boulder, and Jason Hoverman of Purdue University.

In addition to NSF, the research was funded by the National Geographic Society and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.

-NSF-

CYBERSECURITY AND U.S. CYBER COMMAND

CYBER COMMANDER GEN. ALEXANDER

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Cybercom Commander Calls Cybersecurity Order First Step
By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Feb. 13, 2013 - The cybersecurity policy President Barack Obama announced during his annual State of the Union address is a step toward protecting the nation's critical infrastructure, the commander of U.S. Cyber Command said here today.

Army Gen. Keith B. Alexander, also director of the National Security Agency, joined senior U.S. officials from the White House and the Commerce and Homeland Security departments to discuss strengthening the cybersecurity of the country's critical infrastructure.

"We need a way of sharing information between government and industry -- both for information sharing and hardening our networks," he said. "I think what we're doing in the executive order tackles, perhaps, the most difficult issue facing our country: How do we harden these networks when, across all of industry and government, those networks are in various states of array? We've got to have a way of reaching out with industry and with government to solve that kind of problem."

The general said the new cybersecurity policy is important to strengthening the country's defenses against cyberattacks. "The systems and assets that our nation depends on for our economy, for our government, even for our national defense, are overwhelmingly owned and operated by industry," he explained. "We have pushed hard for information sharing."

Private-sector companies have the information they need to defend their own networks in a timely manner, he said. "However, information sharing alone will not solve this problem," he added. "Our infrastructure is fragile." The executive order Obama signed to put the new cybersecurity policy into effect sets up a process for government and industry to start to address the problem, the general said.

But although the president's new executive order helps to bring about some solutions, Alexander said, it isn't comprehensive.

"This executive order is only a down payment on what we need to address the threat," he said. "This executive order can only move us so far, and it's not a substitute for legislation. We need legislation, and we need it quickly, to defend our nation. Agreeing on the right legislation actions for much-needed cybersecurity standards is challenging."

The executive order is a step forward, though, because it creates a voluntary process for industry and government to establish that framework, Alexander said.

"In particular, with so much of the critical infrastructure owned and operated by the private sector, the government is often unaware of the malicious activity targeting our critical infrastructure," he said. "These blind spots prevent us from being positioned to help the critical infrastructure defend itself, and it prevents us from knowing when we need to defend the nation."

The general noted government can share threat information with the private sector under this executive order and existing laws, but a "real-time" defensive posture for the military's critical networks will require legislation removing barriers to private-to-public sharing of attacks and intrusions into private-sector networks.

"Legislation is also necessary to create incentives for better voluntary cooperation in cyber standards, developments and implementation," he said, "and to update and modernize government authorities to address these new cyber threats."

Alexander warned that potential cyber threats to the United States are very real, pointing to recent examples.

"You only have to look at the distributed denial-of-service attacks that we've seen on Wall Street, the destructive attacks we've seen against Saudi Aramco and RasGas, to see what's coming at our nation," Alexander said. Now is the time for action, he said, and the new executive order takes a step in implementing that action.

In his role as director of the NSA, Alexander said, he is fully committed to the development of the cybersecurity framework.


"We do play a vital role in all of this, and in protecting DOD networks and supporting our combatant commands and defending the nation from cyber-attacks," he said. "But we can't do it all. No one agency here can do it all. It takes a team in the government."

And the government cannot do it by itself, either, he added. "We have to have government and industry working together as a team," he said.

Il Canale di Panama visto dal satellite

Il Canale di Panama visto dal satellite