Friday, August 8, 2014

READOUT: PRESIDENT OBAMA'S CALL WITH KING ABDULLAH II OF JORDAN

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE 

Readout of the President’s Call with His Majesty King Abdullah II of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

President Obama spoke with His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan today.  They discussed the urgency of providing humanitarian assistance to the people of Iraq, the risks to the region from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and other extremist groups, and the importance of supporting an inclusive Iraqi political process.  The two leaders discussed the need for an immediate cessation of hostilities and a durable cease-fire in Gaza, as well as increased support to civilians in Gaza who have suffered tremendously during the conflict.  The President and King Abdullah II reaffirmed the strong friendship and strategic partnership between the United States and Jordan. 

SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARKS WITH AFGHAN OFFICIALS AFTER THEIR MEETING

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 
Remarks With Afghan Officials After Their Meeting
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
UNAMA Special Representative Jan Kubis; Afghan Presidential Candidate Abdullah Abdullah; Afghan Presidential Candidate Ashraf Ghani
United Nations Assistance Mission
Kabul, Afghanistan
August 8, 2014

MR. ABDULLAH: Ladies and gentlemen, I am very pleased to inform our people at this very critical moment of our history that today myself, our teams, and Dr. Ashraf Ghani and his team – we are taking another step forward in the interests of start strengthening national unity in the country, strengthening the rule of law in the country, and also bringing a hope for the future – a better future for the people of Afghanistan.

Today’s joint statement is the result of efforts by both teams – Dr. Arshaf Ghani at the top of his own team and our own team work together. And we are also delighted to have the support of the international community here, and I would like to thank Secretary Kerry for his effort in supporting our joint efforts for the better future for Afghanistan, as well as Ambassador Kubis who has facilitated part of these efforts earlier.

As a result of today’s joint statement, which gives better hopes for the people of Afghanistan, we are committed to the audit process which is underway, and we will be cooperative in pursuing and pushing it in order to complete it, hopefully, at such a time that it will help Afghanistan also to attain its own international (inaudible), which are important for us. Legitimacy of the process will be restored as a result of this comprehensive internationally supervised audit.

In regards to the political agreement, once again, I reiterate that today was another step forward for the affirmation of both sides’ interests and commitment to the previous agreement – political framework agreement, and also further developing it and also moving forward in the implementation of it. So from now on, I hope that the atmosphere of campaigning is behind us, hopefully completely to a large extent, and then a new phase in the political life of the people of Afghanistan will start, and we are committed to working together on the basis of our common vision for the future of the country in order to utilize the opportunities which are ahead of us and to be able to deal with the challenges which we are faced with.

And we thank once again the commitment of the international partners, not only in support of our effort, which today’s event is another example, but also their reaffirmation, reaffirmation of their commitment, that a legitimate outcome of the elections will help them, enable them, to fulfill their commitments to all the people of Afghanistan, in support of the people of Afghanistan, in strengthening the rule of law, in helping the economy of the country, and helping security in Afghanistan and also the strengthening of our institutions.

So I would like to thank Secretary Kerry, Ambassador Kubis, but more than anything else, Dr. Ashraf Ghani, for his spirit of cooperation throughout the talks, and his colleagues. And hopefully from now on the people of Afghanistan will be witness to a new phase in the political life of the country.

Thank you.

MR. GHANI: Ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to share with you as my dear colleague Dr. Abdullah has shared with you that he and I have reached agreement and signed a communique on defining our future cooperation. This communique reflects our sense of national obligation and our duty to put the interests of Afghanistan – every child, every woman, every man – above everything else.

The country cannot take uncertainty; uncertainty is a threat. Our action today and in following weeks should create an environment of certainty and trust. We trust each other. We will work with each other to fulfill this national duty and obligation to every Afghan.

The basis of our cooperation is defined by our mutual commitment to the constitution of Afghanistan. The constitution reflects our supreme values, because our constitution is a reflection of our Islamic values and national values and our sense of aspirations for being a society that we deserve. We therefore are committed to make sure that every article of the constitution acquires embodiment in practice in our relationships, our sense of reforms that every Afghan will proudly claim that she or he is a citizen of this country, and therefore enjoys equal rights and obligations.

Because of our commitments, previous commitments that, again, we thank Secretary Kerry for having facilitated, we’ve moved now to direct intra-Afghan discussions and obligations. We thank Secretary Kerry and, of course, Ambassador Kubis and all the international community for having performed a facilitating role. But we the leaders of the two teams, the candidates that the people of – the people – the two candidates that the people of Afghanistan voted for overwhelmingly bear the sole responsibility for peace, stability and democratic values in this country. And I hope that our commitment today honors back the commitment of our people who participated, braved all elements to ensure that democratic values were not just theoretical statements but actions of millions of individuals.

To honor those individuals, we have committed ourselves to one of the most comprehensive audits imaginable in history. And we affirm today again both our support for this process of audit and our commitment to abide by its results. But to underline our sense of unity of purpose, we are affirming that we will form a government of national unity to implement what we promised during the campaign.

What unites us is far greater than what divided us during the campaign, because each one of us and both of us are committed to the well-being of every Afghan child, every woman, every man – particularly the poor, the disabled, the displaced, those who cannot live in dignity and are in search of food on an everyday basis.

Political agreement, political consensus is key to coming out of a vicious circle to a virtuous circle. We live in a dangerous world and in a dangerous neighborhood, the Islamic world – countries that did not practice consensus and tolerance of each other or in full, in bringing unbelievable hardship to their people. We just need to recall Syria and Iraq today. Because of this we are determined that our beloved Afghanistan will be the first country that will start a virtuous circle of unity, reform commitment, and full tolerance.

We hope that by end of August the results of the audit will be completed and the next president of Afghanistan will be inaugurated, that Afghanistan takes its rightful place again in the community of nations and we bring an end to the sense of uncertainty. Our teams have started work in earnest to prepare work on transition, how to address the daily lives of our people, their daily concerns for food, for milk, for security, for well-being, but more than anything else, for a sense of certainty. So there will no longer be election crisis, the crisis of uncertainty. The crisis of uncertainty must end, and we hope that together we can achieve what the people of Afghanistan expect us to achieve.

I am honored again by the nature of the dialogues that I’ve had with my brother and colleague, Dr. Abdullah, and we will continue. Every dialogue does not mean that immediately we agree on everything, but it’s remarkable how much we agree on. So we have an enormous foundation to go forward, and today I was delighted that Dr. Abdullah and I, like in the past when he was foreign minister and I was finance minister, could complete each other’s sentences in front of Secretary Kerry. That I take as a very good omen.

And I’d like to thank Secretary Kerry for his selfless help, for facilitating the agreement, but for particularly understanding that a nation and its leaders need to find their own way to stability, independence.

We thank you, Mr. Secretary, for your stewardship of the global well-being and for being such a friend of our country. And we hope to be working with you – both of us – and we look very much forward to continuing working, Ambassador Kubis, with you and with the international community.

MR. ABDULLAH: Here I realize that Mr. Rohshad, which is a famous longtime journalist in Afghanistan which has covered Afghanistan for many, many years and Afghans are familiar with his voice, he lost several members of his family in a terrorist attack last week, just a few days ago. He’s here. I express my deepest condolences to him, to his family, and to the people of Afghanistan. And I pray that the (inaudible) of sadness and tragedy is out of Afghanistan and Afghanistan is not witness to such tragic incidents. I wish you strength in the wake of this – after this tragic event.

MR. GHANI: I’d like to also take this opportunity to express my deepest condolences to Secretary Kerry for the cowardly murder of General Greene and for the attack on our military academy. Our military academy is the pride of our cooperation with the international community, particularly with the United States, U.K., and other members of ISAF.

General Greene was an engineer, never participated in combat. He was here to help us build one of the finest schools of engineering within our military academy. This sad event again reminds us why we must redouble our efforts to create peace, security, prosperity, and stability, which all of us need. And we thank again the United States for its cooperation in this area, and again, please Mr. Secretary, we express our deepest sympathies to the members of your armed forces, to the President of the United States, and to the families of General Greene.

SECRETARY KERRY: As-salaam alaykum. Good afternoon. Before I say some words about the statements that you’ve just heard from Afghanistan’s future leaders – and I mean leaders plural – one of these men is going to be president, but both of these men are going to be critical to the future of Afghanistan no matter what. And to my right and left, you see their supporters here in great strength, all of them supporting the very eloquent, very precise, and very important statements that were made here today. And I will say more about that in a minute.

But first, I want to say a brief word about the situation in Iraq. President Obama acted expeditiously and appropriately to authorize targeted military action and to provide significant humanitarian assistance to the people of Iraq at this very difficult time when it is vitally needed. The stakes for Iraq’s future could also not be more clear, and today’s crisis underscores them significantly. ISIL’s campaign of terror against the innocent, including the Yezedi and Christian minorities, and its grotesque targeted acts of violence show all the warning signs of genocide. For anyone who needed a wakeup call, this is it. ISIL is not fighting on behalf of Sunnis. ISIL is not fighting for a stronger Iraq. ISIL is fighting to divide and destroy Iraq, and it’s fighting to create a state of its own brutal oppression, a place where chaos and brutality – ruthless brutality – governs.

Now with a gut-wrenching humanitarian crisis unfolding before our eyes and the roles of the starving and the sick growing daily and the potential of further executions – cold blooded executions – taking place because people are a minority huddled for safety on a mountaintop – because of that the United States, with President Obama’s decision, has made its decision that it must save these lives, and the world needs to join us in a condemnation of ISIL’s actions. President Obama has been unequivocal that he will do what is necessary and what is in our national interest to confront ISIL and its threat to the security of the region and to our own security in the long run.

It has been equally clear, as I have said in each of my visits to Iraq, in all my conversations with Iraqi and with regional leaders, that the only durable way to stop ISIL is for Iraq’s leaders themselves to unite and form a government that represents all of the people as rapidly as possible within their constitutional framework. They have moved very effectively so far to elect a speaker, to elect a president, and now the next step is to provide a prime minister, and we urge them to do so quickly.

I want to emphasize that in the President’s decision the safety and security of the men and women serving overseas for the United States is also a fundamental consideration, and I will remain very closely engaged with our Ambassador Stephen Beecroft, with our Assistant Secretary of State Brett McGurk, and our team on the ground as we work to ensure that our personnel who are in Erbil and Baghdad and across Iraq are secure.

Now that brings me quickly back to here and Afghanistan and to this important moment. We all know the risks to our personnel and particularly the risks to Afghans every single day. Mr. Rohshad, our heart goes out to you and to your family. You are one of many who have suffered over the course of these 13 years. And I believe that the words today of these two leaders, Dr. Ghani and Dr. Abdullah – more importantly the actions of these two leaders today – to unite for Afghanistan, to bring themselves together in the interest of their country, to define an Afghan roadmap for the way ahead is a very important transitional moment for Afghanistan.

Now, obviously – and I appreciate enormously their words with respect to the shooting of U.S. Army Major General Harold Greene three days ago. I want to say to General Greene’s family that universally in my visit here the first words out of the mouth of every Afghan has been to say how sorry they are, how much they regret what happened to this general who was here helping the people of this country, and they express to America and particularly to his family their deepest condolences.

General Greene, for all those who met him – I did not have the privilege of meeting him, but I’ve heard about him, and I’ve heard about him from General Dunford when I was here in the last two days – was a soldier’s soldier, even though he wasn’t in combat. He knew his people, he knew what he stood for, and for three decades, he loyally served his country in the United States Army. He was a humble man, a quiet man, and he earned the respect of military leaders for his singular ability to display wisdom. He was a thinker and an innovator who earned a doctorate from the University of Southern California and who used new technologies in order to try to help the young recruits that he was trying to teach at this school. Above all, he was a family man and a loyal mentor of his community. One of his Army colleagues summed it up this way just by saying, “He was a good guy. Harry was loved.” So we wish his loved ones the strength and the compassion that they need in order to be able to mourn the loss of a special man and themselves find the comfort of the days ahead.

Now I came here today at the direction of the president that I work for, President Obama, to continue the work of General Greene and so many other brave men and women, Afghans and Americans and many others from many other countries, more than 50, who have come together under ISAF in order to work for the future of Afghanistan. These are all people who have dedicated their lives to building a stable, united, sovereign Afghanistan.

During my last visit here, we stood right here in this room after several days of very intensive negotiations, and both candidates took a very important step towards that goal of a sovereign, unified, stable Afghanistan. They shook hands – they raised them high right here in front of all the people of Afghanistan and the world – to express their enthusiasm for the agreement, which began to set forth the road ahead.

But during recent weeks, as is often the case, a number of questions arose, both about the technical aspects of the audit process as well as the political questions about the political road ahead. So today, I’m very pleased to join them in a different kind of moment. I’m here to support them and to commend them on their leadership, on their initiative to be able to come together and work through some of these difficult issues. And it’s been our privilege to be able to facilitate, but this is really an Afghan solution to an Afghan problem. And that’s very important for the road ahead.

We now have in place the largest audit that the United Nations has ever conducted in any country in history, the deepest audit that they have ever conducted. And that’s why we have a big man here to do the job. (Laughter.) Ambassador Kubis is really dedicated to this, and we have in place the ability with both parties now agreeing to the rules of the road. Both parties have agreed to stay at it and both parties have agreed to live by the outcome. And they have understood that the United Nations will pour even additional energy into the effort to make this happen as competently and as rapidly as is humanly possible.

But in addition to the candidates coming together to define the audit road ahead with clarity, they have also come together to define the political road ahead. And as you’ve heard them, they’ve just described to you the ways in which they are going to work together from this moment forward in order to change the dialogue, change the rhetoric, begin to map out the future, work towards the transition, begin to figure out how to fix the economy, how to move the country forward – all of those issues which people have been working for 13 years, but because of the nature of an election and a transition have been stalled for a period of time. So both candidates have defined a road to a unity government, and they will begin now to meet together and to map out that transition ahead.

I don’t think anybody here would doubt that this is a major step for the road ahead for Afghanistan. It is coming almost singularly because both of these candidates are transforming themselves now into the statesmen that will be required to be the president of the country. And they are both focused on Afghanistan, not on themselves. Their supporters, who are passionate in support of their candidate, as they should be, are shifting their focus to the future and to Afghanistan.

The United States and the United Nations and the international community are deeply engaged in the post-election process solely to help the Afghan election institutions restore credibility to the voting process. We want every vote that was legitimately cast to be honored appropriately, and both candidates have agreed that that is their goal.

I want to commend the dedication of ISAF, the UN, particularly the efforts of Jan Kubis and Jeff Fischer and the others, all the people who’ve come from other countries in order to help this. ISAF has delivered every single ballot box from everywhere in the country to here in Kabul, and they are currently under lock and key and under security and will remain so to preserve the integrity of the election outcome. The UN has brought in specialists from around the world, and dozens more are on the way even as we speak today.

And I urge now to all countries invested in the effort, who have been part of this journey over the last years, and to others who may not have signed up to ISAF but can care about the future of Afghanistan – we need more election experts to come here as rapidly as possible to help to finish this on time. Their job is to ensure that the audit meets the laws of Afghanistan, the highest international standards, and most importantly the expectations of the people of Afghanistan. And the Afghan Independent Election Commission, the UN, and dozens of international observers are going to work together, hand in hand, in order to try to provide the outcome that the people of Afghanistan expect.

So let me be clear – this audit is not about winning and losing. It’s about achieving the credible result that the people of Afghanistan demand and deserve. The audit is only one part of the challenge. Equally important, if not more important, will be the actions of these two candidates in the days ahead. Dr. Abdullah and Dr. Ghani and their campaigns have made a profound decision today about that future. They’ve agreed to continue to translate the political agreement that they’ve reached – that they have reached, that they have worked on, that they have defined, the Afghan approach. They have committed to continue, no matter who becomes president, in order to find a government that can help Afghanistan move forward.

I want to make clear that this agreement respects the Afghan constitution, which the United States of America strongly supports. It does not establish a parliamentary system, it doesn’t change the role of the president as head of government, but it does create a new position of the chief executive, who will help to manage and work together to bring people onto the same path and to create efficiency and modernity in the governance. The agreement is a critical opportunity for both candidates to do what they’ve just said, which is move beyond the campaign and into the process of governing.

It’s a pivotal moment for Afghanistan. The stakes are high. It will depend on them and the United Nations to help move this forward appropriately. And I think there are high expectations from the world. It is our hope, obviously, that when this job is done NATO partners would very much look forward to welcoming President Karzai’s successor with his unity government partner in Wales at the NATO summit in September so that we can all come together, embrace their vision, and begin to put in place the government that Afghanistan wants and deserves. Thank you.

MODERATOR: Ladies and gents, we now have time for roughly two questions. Please wait for the microphone. Is the microphone ready? No microphone? Okay, you may have to speak up in that case.

The first question, please. Rativ Nudi from TOLOnews. Rativ, yes. Please stand up. Speak up, please.

QUESTION: (Off-mike.)

MODERATOR: Maybe not.

QUESTION: I would like to ask a question about the framework agreement. After (inaudible) Afghanistan (inaudible), there have been some arguments among – before the election campaigns, among both the candidates on the matter of the new government. As you say, (inaudible) change the (inaudible), and also it doesn’t change the responsibility of the president. But exactly, what would be the responsibilities of the (inaudible)?

SECRETARY KERRY: Well, let me let the next president speak to that. (Laughter.)

MR. GHANI: (Off-mike.)

SECRETARY KERRY: I didn’t mean to create a news (inaudible), but go ahead.

MR. GHANI: Thank you for your question. We’re committed to giving this post specific functions and the work ahead of us is precisely definition, of course. But what I want to emphasize is not what is going to be in the decree. What I want to emphasize is our commitment to cooperation, to unity in all spheres of government, life, and responsibilities. A decree is a piece of paper if it is not embodied in a bed of impasses. So we will begin with the problem to which we will commit ourselves and then agree on the best division of labor that will enable (inaudible).

MR. ABDULLAH: Thank you. And in the same spirit that was mutually accepted that we work together towards the formation of national unity government in every eventuality, because there will not be two people with the same number of votes as a result of the audit. One will have more votes; one will have a little bit more – less votes. And then in order to help create, establish a sort of win-win situation not only for our two camps, but more importantly for the people of Afghanistan we have agreed on this mutual program. And there are some details attached to it. We are committed to work together to develop it further and our teams will start working on this, on the details of it, of a few days, leaving the outcome of the elections aside or what has happened in the past, but rather looking towards the future for the interest of the national unity of the government in the effectiveness and competence of future government of Afghanistan, with every eventuality which might come up as a result of the audit process.

QUESTION: Sir, can I --

MODERATOR: No. Sorry, folks, but we’re doing this in order. Sorry. We have --

QUESTION: I have two questions.

MODERATOR: -- very, very short time. Ladies and gents, we are very short for time. We have time for one more question, I’m sorry to say, just one more question. Please don’t stand up, but do speak up. Michael Gordon, New York Times.

QUESTION: I’ll speak up, can’t stand up. First, to Secretary Kerry: Secretary Kerry, last month you brokered an important agreement here which – for the audit of ballots and power-sharing arrangements. And no sooner did you leave than problems arose here in Kabul on carrying forward this agreement. Beyond the enunciation of these broad principles about the value of the unity government, were there any concrete accomplishments during your day and a half of talks here, any concrete agreement on specific items of how the unity government will be structured? And if so, what were they?

And a second question for Secretary Kerry: You just mentioned the situation in Iraq and how President Obama authorized targeted airstrikes to stop an ISIL advance on Erbil or Baghdad, but it would appear from the statements that are made by senior officials that the Obama Administration’s strategy is to contain the ISIL threat, not necessarily roll it back. If the Iraqis were to form a multi-sectarian government, would the Obama Administration be prepared to use air power to help the Iraqis retake Fallujah, Mosul, and these territories that are under ISIS control? And will the Obama Administration now send arms to the Kurds, as they’ve been asking for?

And next, I want to state a question to the candidates, Dr. Abdullah and Dr. Ghani. (Laughter.) Can you cite any --

MR. ABDULLAH: (Off-mike.) (Laughter.)

QUESTION: No, one question for you. Can you each state without equivocation that you are confident you can achieve the inauguration of a new president before the NATO summit? What concrete accomplishments can you state were achieved here over the last day and a half?

SECRETARY KERRY: Well, let me begin, Michael, by first – I want to answer the question on the – and I’m only going to answer part of it, because I believe it’s up to the two candidates to articulate the accomplishments, not me. But I will say to you that within the agreement that they have put together, there are very specific set of agreements that they’ve laid down, and they should describe it. So yes, there are specific accomplishments.

Secondly, your judgment about very quickly it sort of began to fray after we were here is not actually accurate. I think both candidates will tell you that for several days – five or six days, a week – there was a sense of energy and enthusiasm and euphoria, and people felt like they had come together. But then there was a lack of clarity about some of the steps to be taken within the audit process itself, and there were a couple of questions about terminology regarding the political framework agreement. Those have now been worked through, both of them. And that’s what brings everybody back here with a greater clarity about the steps that we’ve taken. That is why both candidates are here today to say they are not asking for further criteria or changes, they have agreed to what has been laid down by Jan Kubis and the UN, and they’ve agreed on the process, they will stay with the process, and they will abide by the process. That’s an accomplishment.

With respect to Iraq, President Obama has made it clear initially that his immediate response is to the crisis of a minority group that has been chased up into a mountain, that has been threatened with extinction, told that they will be executed, and who are seeking refuge in a mountain where they are dying because of their exposure in the elements. So he is immediately responding to that need to provide humanitarian assistance and also, because of the advance of ISIL, to make it clear that American personnel who are at risk are going to be protected by the United States of America and that those strikes were authorized in the event that they begin to move in any direction, either towards those people on the mountain or towards personnel that may be in danger.

With respect to the formation of government in the future, the President has taken no option off the table. And there are current discussions taking place, and they will continue to take place with respect to those options.

MR. ABDULLAH: On the date, 31st of August, we are committed to work with a cooperative experts to achieve that goal and to make sure that we are there by the end of August, the audit process is completed, without sacrificing the credibility and legitimacy of the audit process, because that’s the goal. But the goal – the time is also very important because of our international commitments, and also more important because of the Afghan people’s expectation. They want to see an outcome. And from now on, I hope that the people of Afghanistan will be more hopeful, will have much better sense of certainty now that we have gone beyond talking about an agreement, a framework, but rather starting – started stepping in the road – on the road towards formation of national unity government whatever the outcome of the audit process was. And there is a joint statement attached to that, is that framework – political framework agreement, which is very clear, and it’s – the joint statement has elaborated the vision, common vision of both candidates, both teams towards the future of Afghanistan and also the (inaudible). Thank you.

QUESTION: (Off-mike.)

MR. GHANI: Questions are over, I think.

PARTICIPANT: (Off-mike.)

QUESTION: (Off-mike.)

MR. GHANI: First, we’ve brought clarity to the audit process in that it is going to end as soon as feasible. We are categorically committed to accepting the results of the audit and the date for the inauguration of the next president of Afghanistan. I hope that this date can become very firm within a week to ten days, pending on – but we do not want to commit ourselves to a fixed date today because that date will then drive the process and people will (inaudible). So our flexibility on this very issue is the cornerstone of our consensus, and this should be grasped as a very important process. We have committed that the audit process now is going to pick up speed. Yesterday we accomplished 720 boxes, which was a benchmark, and we hope that they can speed this up and credibly reach a higher level that, again, needs to be determined by our technical people.

On the political side, a concrete achievement is that now we’re seeking a comprehensive agreement in our own languages, in our own categories of reference, with full embodiment of the constitution as the cornerstone of everything we do, because questions ahead of us. We’ve put those ambiguities behind us. The constitutional framework is the cornerstone. The authorities of the president as defined in the constitution are going to be exercised. We are seeking a government of national unity on the basis of a common platform that is going to deliver the necessary reforms. I think these are very significant achievements, and most significantly of all, we are putting the past behind us, we’re looking to the future.

The communique is signed by us, by both of us, and it will be issued to you, because this is a community. The full agreement, as we described, is going to require immense amounts of work from our teams and from ourselves. We as the leaders have committed to intensive dialogue to be – to create a shared understanding of challenges and opportunities. And let me underline: Afghanistan is not just challenges. It is enormous (inaudible). And one of the most significant is that the next president of Afghanistan will have the full legitimacy that has come from an audited process that does not have any parallel anywhere. And a sense of commitment and maturity of the Afghan political elite that understands that solving the problems of our country cannot happen on the basis of the winner-take-all approach. Our mutual – the mutual acknowledgment of our dependence for the good of the country is an enormous accomplishment, and that’s the foundation on the basis of which we hope to build and continue. Thank you.

MODERATOR: Ladies --

QUESTION: (Inaudible) question.

QUESTION: (Inaudible) question.

MODERATOR: Ladies and gents, we are pushed for time. I’m sorry, but we are pushed for time, so --

QUESTION: (Off-mike.)

MODERATOR: The two candidates must leave, and Secretary Kerry as well. Sorry.

QUESTION: Do you think in Gaza it’s genocide? Would you use the two words genocide --

MODERATOR: We are pushed for time. Thank you very much for your attention and your patience, folks. Thank you very much, everyone.

DOD VIDEOS REGARDING TODAY'S AIRSTRIKES AGAINST ISIL IN IRAQ

DOD VIDEO:  U.S. AIRSTRIKES HIT ISIL TARGETS



DOD VIDEO: GEN. KIRBY:  ISIL AIRSTRIKES NEEDED TO PROTECT U.S. PERSONNEL IN IRAQ


STATE DEPARTMENT PRESS STATEMENT ON ANNIVERSARY OF ATTACKS ON EMBASSIES IN KENYA AND TANZANIA

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 

Anniversary of Attacks in Kenya and Tanzania

Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
August 7, 2014


Today marks the 16th anniversary of the cowardly terrorist attacks on the U.S. Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, that killed over 200 and wounded thousands more. We commemorate those who were lost that day, honor the lives they lived, and extend our condolences to the loved ones they left behind.

Today’s anniversary is a somber reminder of the continued terrorist threat that we face on the African continent and around the world, and an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to partner with our allies to confront it. At the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit that concluded yesterday, the United States and leaders from across Africa confirmed our shared commitment to the continent’s security and recommitted our resolve to address threats—in East Africa and more broadly—so that we and our partners can enjoy peace and security.

MARINES TRAIN AT HIGH ANGLE SNIPER RANGE IN HAWAII

FROM:  U.S. MARINE CORPS
Aug 07, 2014


Camp Pendleton, Calif. - Marines with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s Reconnaissance Detachment, execute a high angle sniper range during their WESTPAC deployment on Marine Corps Base Hawaii, July 31, 2014. The 11th MEU and Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group are deploying as a sea-based, expeditionary crisis response force capable of conducting amphibious missions across the full range of military operations. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Evan R. White/Released) 

President Obama Makes a Statement on Iraq

7/7/14: White House Press Briefing

SECRETARY KERRY'S STATEMENT ON AUTHORIZATION OF TARGETED MILITARY ACTION AGAINST ISIL

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 
Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
August 7, 2014




President Obama has acted expeditiously and appropriately in authorizing targeted military action and providing significant humanitarian assistance to the people of Iraq at this very difficult moment when it is vitally needed.

The stakes for Iraq’s future could not be clearer, and today’s crisis underscores the stakes profoundly. ISIL’s campaign of terror against the innocent, including Yezedi and Christian minorities, and its grotesque and targeted acts of violence bear all the warning signs and hallmarks of genocide. For anyone who needed a wake-up call, this is it. ISIL is not fighting on behalf of Sunnis. ISIL is not fighting for a stronger Iraq. ISIL is fighting to divide and destroy Iraq – and ISIL is offering nothing to anyone except chaos, nihilism, and ruthless thuggery. With a gut-wrenching humanitarian crisis unfolding, and the rolls of the starving and sick growing daily, there’s not a minute to waste. The United States is acting and leading, and the world cannot sit by and watch innocents die. We will continue to coordinate with our allies in the region and the international community to assist Iraqis to confront ISIL’s brutal ideology which poses a severe threat to Iraq, the region, and the United States.

President Obama has been unequivocal that he will do what is necessary and what is in our national interest to confront ISIL and its threat to the security of the region and to our own long-term security. He has been equally clear, as I have on my visit to Iraq and in all my conversations with Iraqi and regional leaders, that the only durable way to stop ISIL is for Iraq’s real leaders to unite and form an inclusive government as rapidly as possible within their own constitutional framework, including the selection of a prime minister. Iraq’s leaders must confront the growing humanitarian and security crisis with the urgency that it demands. They must do so knowing that ISIL finds an inadvertent, unwitting ally in any delay in the political process inside Iraq. Only ISIL wins if Iraqi political leaders avoid making tough choices rapidly to tip the balance in favor of inclusive and effective governance.

The safety and security of our men and women serving overseas is fundamental. Every day we wrestle with difficult choices to keep our people safe. I will remain closely engaged with Ambassador Beecroft, Deputy Assistant Secretary McGurk, and our team on the ground as we work to ensure that our personnel in Erbil, Baghdad, and across Iraq are secure.

NASA VIDEO: GLENN AND PARTNERS STUDYING LAKE ERIE ALGAL BLOOM

CFTC ANNOUNCES $13 MILLION FINE TO BE PAID IN CRUDE OIL FUTURES MARKET MANIPULATION CASE

FROM:  U.S. COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION 
Federal Court Orders $13 Million Fine in CFTC Crude Oil Manipulation Action against Parnon Energy Inc., Arcadia Petroleum Ltd., and Arcadia Energy (Suisse) SA, and Crude Oil Traders James Dyer and Nicholas Wildgoose
Order Imposes Significant Physical Market Trading Limitations against Companies

Washington, DC – The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced that it obtained a $13 million civil monetary penalty pursuant to a federal court consent Order against Defendants Parnon Energy Inc. (Parnon) of California, Arcadia Petroleum Ltd. (Arcadia Petroleum) of the United Kingdom, and Arcadia Energy (Suisse) SA (Arcadia Suisse) of Switzerland, and crude oil traders James T. Dyer of Australia and Nicholas J. Wildgoose of the United Kingdom.

The CFTC’s Complaint charged Defendants with manipulation and attempted manipulation of New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) Light Sweet Crude Oil futures contract spreads from January 2008 to April 2008 (see CFTC Press Release and Complaint 6041-11, May 24, 2011).

The consent Order, entered on August 4, 2014, by Judge William H. Pauley III of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, requires the Defendants to pay a $13 million civil monetary penalty, provides limitations on Parnon’s physical market trading for three years, and requires the companies to maintain records and audio recordings for three years. The Order further requires the companies to engage an independent consultant to evaluate compliance, internal control and risk management policies, procedures, and practices, and to implement any resulting recommendations.

“Through resolution of this litigation, the CFTC is holding accountable market participants who sought to profit by undermining the integrity of the U.S. crude oil markets,” commented CFTC Director of Enforcement Aitan Goelman. “The CFTC will continue to work to ensure the integrity of the markets we are responsible for protecting from manipulation, whether direct or indirect.”

The CFTC’s Complaint alleged that the Defendants, taking advantage of a tight physical market, executed a manipulative trading strategy designed to affect NYMEX crude oil futures contract spreads by knowingly amassing a dominant and controlling position in physical WTI crude oil, which is the primary grade of oil deliverable at Cushing, Oklahoma under the NYMEX futures contract; holding the physical position until after futures expiry with the intent to affect NYMEX crude oil spreads; and selling-off the physical position in a concentrated fashion during a time period known as the “cash window” at a loss. The Complaint further alleged that the Defendants sought to generate profits through their manipulative conduct by buying WTI futures spreads prior to widening the spreads through their manipulation and selling WTI futures spreads prior to dumping their physical WTI crude oil position. The Complaint also charged the Defendants with attempted manipulation of the May/June 2008 spread in April 2008. Defendants Dyer and Wildgoose allegedly directed the manipulative trading.

CFTC Division of Enforcement staff members primarily responsible for this case are Christine Ryall, Elizabeth Davis, Jonathan Robell, John Einstman, Melanie Devoe, Amanda Harding, Sophia Siddiqui, Luke Marsh, Saadeh Al-Jurf, George Malas, Tashieka Taylor, Maura Stavrakis, Joan Manley, and Paul Hayeck.

EXPORT-IMPORT BANK APPROVES RECORD FINANCING OF EXPORTS TO SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

FROM:  U.S. EXPORT-IMPORT BANK 
Ex-Im Bank Approves Record $1.7 Billion in Financing of U.S. Exports to Sub-Saharan Africa
$3 Billion in Financing Support Pledged for U.S. Exports Over the Next 2 Years

Washington, D.C. – The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) announced today that it has authorized a record $1.7 billion in financing to support U.S. exports to sub-Saharan Africa over the past 10 months. This record-setting surge has not only empowered U.S. small businesses to sell their products in global markets, but has also supported more than 10,000 American jobs which contribute to strengthening the U.S. economy.

The announcement was made as Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg participated in the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit convened by President Barack Obama this week in Washington D.C. The summit has drawn about 50 heads of state, ministers, and business leaders from across the African continent.

“Ex-Im Bank is firmly committed to equipping U.S. exporters to realize the vast economic opportunities emerging throughout sub-Saharan Africa, which is home to seven out of 10 of the world’s fastest-growing markets,” said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg. “Each transaction the Bank supports creates jobs for local U.S. businesses and strengthens our relationship with a region that has a strong prospect for long-term economic growth.”

Ex-Im also announced that it will pledge $3 billion in financing to support U.S exports to sub-Saharan Africa over the next two fiscal years. The Bank also recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Angola to strengthen collaboration on the financing of American-made exports to Angola.

Recent Ex-Im Bank success stories in sub-Saharan Africa:

Ex-Im approved a loan guarantee for $17 million to support long-term financing by the West African Development Bank (BOAD) for the Azito Power project in Cote D’Ivoire. Two-thirds of the population of Sub-Saharan Africa lacks electricity; by strengthening their power capacity, however, their economies will be well-positioned for growth. Financing for steam turbines used in the Azito Power project will support 40 manufacturing and engineering jobs in Schenectady, New York, and Bangor, Maine.
Three Louisana small businesses benefit from Ex-Im’s $43 million financing of a liftboat destined for Nigeria. The “Bellator” liftboat is a self-propelled vessel, 150-foot long by 118-foot wide, that lifts and suspends equipment and personnel up to the level of an offshore drilling platform. About 300 employees of C.S. Liftboats, Inc., of Abbeville, Louisiana, together with Gulf Island Fabrications of Houma, Louisiana, will construct the high-tech vessel. The Nigerian buyer also contracted for prefabricated liftboat-mounted modules for housing workers; these are built by Fiberglass Unlimited Inc. of Raceland, Louisiana. This is Nigeria’s first purchase of a new, American-made liftboat system.

Pennsylvania employees of GE Transportation will benefit from the Bank-supported export of GE’s locomotives with Pennsylvania-made engines and components to Transnet in South Africa. 
In its recent transaction, Ex-Im Bank authorized a $563.5 million loan guarantee to support financing for the sale of 293 locomotives being manufactured by GE Transportation, which will support an estimated 2,500 U.S. jobs.


REMARKS BY SECRETARY KERRY AND TUNISIAN FOREIGN MINISTER HAMDI

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 

Remarks With Tunisian Foreign Minister Mongi Hamdi Before Their Meeting

Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Treaty Room
Washington, DC
August 4, 2014


SECRETARY KERRY: Good afternoon. Very happy to welcome my friend, the foreign minister of Tunisia, Foreign Minister Hamdi. He and I have had long discussions already, and we agreed earlier in my visit to Tunisia and in our previous conversations to launch a U.S.-Tunisia security dialogue in advance of our interests with respect to a secure and stable and prosperous Tunisia and stability in the region.

The foreign minister has just talked to me about the dangers of what is happening in Libya, and he is particularly concerned about extremism that is creating a failed state there and the challenges that it presents in terms of security on their border. So we have a lot to talk about here.

Tunisia really remains a beacon of hope, and we are very grateful to Tunisia, particularly in the last days, as we decided for safety and security reasons only to temporarily move personnel from Tripoli in Libya to Tunisia, and the Tunisian Government was extremely helpful to us in that and we’re very grateful to them. But perhaps more importantly in the long run, Tunisia is the beacon of hope because it is going through a transition to democracy, and it is holding the line. It has been successful against tough challenges, but it needs help.

There is the threat always of foreign fighters coming back from Syria to create trouble internally in the country, and the United States is deeply committed to supporting Tunisia as it works through to build its own foundations for success in the future, and we intend to work with them.
So Mr. Foreign Minister, I’m happy to welcome you here. Thank you.

FOREIGN MINISTER HAMDI: Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary of State. We are grateful to this opportunity to meet with you here to talk a little bit about the situation in Tunisia and in neighboring Libya. We are determined to deepen our relationship with the United States. Our relation with the U.S. has always been extremely good, and we want it to be, at this particular juncture of our history, a strategic one – a strategic one. We all believe in peace. We all believe in no extremism. Extremism and terror has no place in Tunisia, and we are determined to fight it. And we are reaching out to our friends and partners to assist us in times of need, and these are the times of need for Tunisia – to assist us particularly to secure our borders against – to safeguard our borders against those people who do not wish Tunisia to be a stable country, for those people who want to see instability in Tunisia and the rest of the country.

As you said, Mr. Secretary of State, Tunisia is the only – or one of the beacons of hope in that region, and if Tunisia fails, I think the whole region will not be secure. And it is in the interest of everyone that Tunisia succeeds its transition. We are at the last phase of our democratic transition, and we want to succeed. We are determined to succeed, and it’s in the interest for everyone to see Tunisia succeed, to see Tunisia a success story for the region, because if Tunisia does not succeed, the aspirations of hundreds of millions of people will go down the drain for democracy and freedom. Thank you.

SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you, Mongi. Thank you.

FOREIGN MINISTER HAMDI: Thanks.

SECRETARY KERRY: Thanks, my friend. Thank you very much. Thank you. Let’s go meet with our gang. All right. Thank you.

WOMAN PLEADS GUILTY FOR ROLE IN ETHIOPIAN ADOPTION FRAUD SCHEME

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Manager of Adoption Agency Pleads Guilty to Ethiopian Adoption Fraud Scheme

A former foreign program director of International Adoption Guides Inc. (IAG), an adoption agency, pleaded guilty today to conspiring with others to defraud the United States by paying bribes to foreign officials and submitting fraudulent documents to the State Department for adoptions from Ethiopia.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney William N. Nettles for the District of South Carolina made the announcement.   The guilty plea was entered by U.S. District Court Judge Sol Blatt Jr. of the District of South Carolina.

Alisa Bivens, 42, admitted as part of her plea that she and her co-conspirators submitted fraudulent documents to the State Department to facilitate adoptions of Ethiopian children by U.S. parents from 2006 until 2009.  In support of U.S. visa applications for the Ethiopian children, Bivens and others submitted false documentation, including contracts of adoption signed by orphanages that could not properly give the children up for adoption because, for example, the child in question was never cared for or never resided at the orphanage.

In entering her guilty plea, Bivens also admitted that she and others paid bribes to two Ethiopian officials so that those officials would help with the fraudulent adoptions.   The first of these two foreign officials, an audiologist and teacher at a government school, accepted money and other valuables in exchange for providing non-public medical information and social history information for potential adoptees to the conspirators.   The second foreign official, the head of a regional ministry for women’s and children’s affairs, received money and all-expenses-paid travel in exchange for approving IAG’s applications for intercountry adoptions and for ignoring IAG’s failure to maintain a properly licensed adoption facility.   Sentencing for Bivens will be scheduled at a later date.

This ongoing investigation is being conducted by the Bureau of Diplomatic Security.   The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney John W. Borchert of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamie Lea Schoen for the District of South Carolina.

Thursday, August 7, 2014

7/7/14: White House Press Briefing

U.S. CONGRATULATES THE PEOPLE OF COTE d'LVORE ON THEIR NATIONAL DAY

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT

Cote d'Ivoire's National Day

Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
August 7, 2014




On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I congratulate the people of Cote d’Ivoire as you celebrate your national independence on August 7.

Our two nations have been partners since independence peacefully arrived in Cote d’Ivoire over half a century ago. As your new flag flew over Abidjan, one of the first congratulations to arrive was a letter from U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower. Robert Kennedy was in Cote d’Ivoire that next August to celebrate one year of peace and independence with your proud nation.

Our bonds of friendship have only grown stronger in the years since as we promote democracy and prosperity for the entire West Africa region.

Following a long tradition of mutual warmth and regard, I extend the United States’ best wishes to the people of Cote d’Ivoire on your day of celebration.

U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT CONTRACTS FOR AUGUST 7, 2014

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 
CONTRACTS
MISSILE DEFENSE AGENCY
Lockheed Martin Corporation Missiles and Fire Control, Dallas, Texas, was awarded a $124,600,000 fixed-price contract for the manufacturing and delivery of U. S. government Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) ground components. This contract provides for the delivery of U.S. government THAAD launchers, peculiar support equipment, THAAD fire control and communication spares, and launcher spares. Work will be performed at Dallas, Texas; Lufkin, Texas; Huntsville, Alabama; Sunnyvale, California; and Camden, Arkansas, with an expected completion date of Aug. 7, 2017. Fiscal 2014 procurement funds in the amount of $124,600,000 are being obligated at time of award. This contract was a sole-source acquisition and one offer was received. The Missile Defense Agency, Huntsville, Alabama, is the contracting activity (HQ0147-14-C-0011).
NAVY
Concurrent Technologies Corp., Johnstown, Pennsylvania (N00189-14-D-Z035); Consolidated Safety Service Inc., Fairfax, Virginia (N00189-14-D-Z036); and URS Group Inc., Washington, District of Columbia (N00189-14-D-Z037), are each being awarded a cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to provide industrial hygiene support services for the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED). The maximum contract value for all three contracts combined is $78,554,443. These services will focus on industrial hygiene testing and monitoring services for the Navy and Marine Corps commands/activities in direct support of BUMED’s comprehensive Industrial Hygiene Program. The services include conducting periodic surveys, workplace monitoring and ventilation surveys, exposure monitoring surveys, conducting exposure claim investigations and occupational illness investigations conduct workplace assessments, and reviewing hazardous materials. These three contractors will compete for task orders under the terms and conditions of the awarded contracts. Work will be performed at shore-based Navy and Marine Corps locations throughout the United States (85 percent) and various contractor facilities (15 percent); work is expected to be completed by Sept 14, 2017. Fiscal 2014 Navy Defense Health Program operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $250,000 will be obligated at the time of award, and funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This requirement was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with nine offers received in response to this solicitation. The NAVSUP Fleet Logistics Center Norfolk, Contracting Department, Philadelphia Office, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity.
General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems Inc., Fairfax, Virginia, was awarded a $34,185,625 cost-plus-incentive-fee modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-09-C-6250) to migrate the AN/BYG-1 Tactical Control System from a Technology Insertion (TI-12) baseline to a TI-14, integrate Advanced Processing Build (APB-13 and APB-15) and deliver this capability to multiple submarine platforms. This contract combines purchases for the U.S. Navy (91.22 percent) and Royal Australian Navy (8.78 percent). Work will be performed in Fairfax, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by July 2015. Fiscal 2013 and 2014 research, development, test and evaluation; fiscal 2014 other procurement (Navy); fiscal 2009, 2011 and 2012 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy); and Royal Australian Navy funding (non-Foreign Military Sales) contract funds in the amount of $7,582,405 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia is the contracting activity. (Note: This contract was awarded Aug. 5, 2014.)
ARMY
Swinerton Builders, Arvada, Colorado was awarded a $57,611,751 firm-fixed-price contract with options for construction of the 4th Infantry Division, Combat Aviation Brigade, General Support Aviation Battalion maintenance hangar. Work will be performed at Fort Carson, Colorado, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 10, 2016. Bids were solicited via the Internet with 14 received. Fiscal 2014 military construction funds in the amount of $57,611,751 are being obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha, Nebraska, is the contracting activity (W9123F-14-C-0031).
Swinerton Builders, Arvada, Colorado was awarded a $53,699,643 firm-fixed-price contract with options to design-bid-build a distributed common ground support operations facility. Work will be performed at Beale Air Force Base, California, with an estimated completion date of Oct. 26, 2016. Bids were solicited via the Internet with six received. Fiscal 2014 military construction funds in the amount of $53,699,643 are being obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento, California, is the contracting activity (W91238-14-C-0046).
Clover Leaf Solutions, Inc.,* Albuquerque, New Mexico (W9126G-14-D-0052); Gulf South Research Corp.,* Baton Rouge, Louisiana (W9126G-14-D-0053); JESCO Environmental & Geotechnical Services, Inc.,* Jennings, Louisiana (W9126G-14-D-0054); and Quaternary Resource Investigations, L.L.C.,* Baton Rouge, Louisiana (W9126G-14-D-0055), were awarded a $30,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity multiple award task order contract for environmental consulting services for projects within the Southwest Division or projects assigned to the Southwest Division. Funding and work location will be determined with each order with an estimated completion date of Aug. 6, 2019. Bids were solicited via the Internet with 26 received. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth, Texas, is the contracting activity.
L-3 Communications Corporation, SFS, Madison, Mississippi, was awarded a $15,832,848 modification (P00124) to contract W58RGZ-10-C-0107 to add eight C-12s to the life cycle contractor support maintenance contract for the Army's fleet of C-12/RC-12/UC-35 aircraft. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $15,832,848 were obligated at the time of the award. Estimated completion date is Jan. 31, 2015. Work will be performed in Madison, Mississippi. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity.
Odyssey International Inc.,* Lancaster, Pennsylvania, was awarded a $15,000,000 modification (P00003) to contract W911N2-12-D-0040 for construction, renovation, maintenance and repair at Letterkenny Army Depot, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Funding will be determined with each order. Estimated completion date is Aug. 26, 2015. Army Contracting Command - Letterkenny Army Depot, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania is the contracting activity.
Vali Cooper International, LLC, Covington, Louisiana, was awarded a $7,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery contract for architectural and engineering services for construction management in the Mobile District and South Atlantic Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 6, 2019. Funding and exact work location will be determined with each order. Bids were solicited via the Internet with 98 received. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W91278-14-D-0074).
AIR FORCE
Innovative Scientific Solutions, Inc., Dayton, Ohio, has been awarded a $45,005,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for fundamental and applied combustion and component research. Contractor will establish and conduct basic, applied, and advanced combustion experiments using both independent and collaborative approaches to push the state-of-the-art in combustion sciences. The goal is to design, fabricate, assemble, instrument and develop apparatus to perform research experiments in the areas of basic flame chemistry, emissions formation, heat transfer-fluid mechanics-combustion interaction, and related fields, as well as develop and test new combustion technologies and components that are of interest to the Air Force. Collaboration with multiple entities from government, industry, and academia is expected. Work will be performed at the experimental laboratories and test facilities located within the Air Force Research Laboratories Aerospace Systems Directorate research complex at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, and is expected to be completed by Aug. 6, 2022. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and two offers were received. Fiscal 2013 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $40,000 for task order 0001 are being obligated at time of award. Air Force Research Laboratories Wright Research Site Aerospace Systems Contracting Branch for Turbine Engines, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8650-14-D-2414 and task order 0001).
Honeywell Technology Solutions Inc., Colorado Springs, Colorado, has been awarded an $11,929,705 cost-plus-award-fee delivery order modification (DO 021501). This non-competitive delivery order modification is being issued under previously awarded contract F04701-02-D-0006 for the Unified S-Band Development Phase II at Transportable Remote Tracking Station Block Change. Work will be performed at Colorado Springs, Colorado, and is expected to be completed Sept. 30, 2016. Fiscal 2014 and 2015 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $6,450,678 are being obligated at time of award. Space and Missile Systems Center/Range Network Systems Directorate, Los Angeles Air Force Base, El Segundo, California, is the contracting activity.
*Small business

REMARKS: SECRETARY KERRY WITH AFRICAN UNION COMMISSION CHAIRPERSON DR. DLAMINI-ZUMA

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 

Remarks With African Union Commission Chairperson Dr. Dlamini-Zuma Before Their Meeting

Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Treaty Room
Washington, DC
August 5, 2014


SECRETARY KERRY: Let me just say to everybody that it’s a huge pleasure for me to welcome Dr. Dlamini-Zuma, who is the chairperson of the African Union. And it’s fair to say that the United States has a very special relationship with the African Union that we respect and appreciate enormously – in fact, so much so that we are the only – we are one of only two countries that have sent a U.S. mission to the African Union outside of Africa, African countries themselves. So we’re proud of that. We’re proud of the work we’re doing to develop democracy, to work on economic development, on human rights, on security. And this has just been an essential value added to our ability to be able to find cooperative channels to deal with crises, to bring people together, to convene, and to help chart a path forward.
So Dr. Dlamini-Zuma, I’m really pleased to see you. Thank you. And I was very appreciative of your comments a moment ago about the energy and the sense you feel from this conference that you see Africa being treated as an entity and here as Africa, which I gather makes a difference to you.

CHAIRPERSON DLAMINI-ZUMA: Yes, I think it does, because I think to some extent Africa is sometimes seen from the – what catches the news. But I think this week, we are discussing more about the substance of Africa: what it can offer through the cooperation with the government, but more importantly, what it can offer to U.S. investors coming to Africa and what it can offer to business people who really want to get – do business in Africa; to financial markets who want the best return. I think the best return is in Africa.

SECRETARY KERRY: Well, it’s proving itself now.

CHAIRPERSON DLAMINI-ZUMA: Yes.

SECRETARY KERRY: Anyway – well, thank you for being with us. We appreciate it. Thank you all very much.

REMARKS: SECRETARY KERRY AND GHANAIAN PRESIDENT MAHAMA

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT

Remarks With Ghanaian President John Mahama and Millennium Challenge Corporation CEO Dana Hyde at the Signing of the Ghana Power Compact

Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Treaty Room
Washington, DC
August 5, 2014


MS. HYDE: Good afternoon. Mr. President and Secretary Kerry, Mr. Minister, and friends of Ghana: I am delighted to welcome you here for the signing of Ghana’s $498 million compact with the U.S. Government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation. This agreement represents a major milestone in the U.S.-Ghanaian partnership, and I want to thank both teams, from Ghana and from MCC, who worked tirelessly to develop this investment aimed at overcoming one of Ghana’s key constraints to growth.

The compact we sign today takes a system-wide approach to transforming Ghana’s power sector. It invests in projects focused on distribution to make Ghana’s energy sector financially viable and capable of attracting private investment, and it funds initiatives supporting greater energy efficiency and cleaner renewable energy. These investments will provide Ghanaian homes, schools, and hospitals with access to the reliable electricity they need to thrive. And by encouraging entrepreneurship and supporting the productivity of Ghanaian businesses, these investments will help generate growth.

At $498 million, the compact we sign today represents the largest U.S. Government transaction to date under the Obama Administration’s Power Africa initiative. In addition, we estimate this $498 million will catalyze at least $4 billion in private investment and activities from U.S. and other businesses in Ghana’s energy sector over the coming years. We also think this compact can serve as a powerful anchor and a platform for overall U.S. assistance and engagement aimed at driving growth in Ghana and throughout West Africa.

In Ghana, the Millennium Challenge Corporation has chosen a partner who is fully committed to good governance. I applaud the Mahama Administration for its courage and steady conviction to take on bold reforms that will lead to growth and opportunity for millions.

As part of this compact, Ghana has made and will continue to make critical policy and regulatory reforms in the power sector. These reforms will sustain our efforts and will give global, American, and Ghanaian businesses greater confidence to invest. As a reformer, Ghana is truly a shining example and a model of an effective partner for MCC and for the U.S. Government.

So today is a win-win for the people of Ghana and the people of the United States. I want to congratulate all who made this partnership possible and who will work very hard now to realize its promise. With that, I’d like to introduce the Secretary of State, Secretary Kerry. (Applause.)

SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you very much. Well, Dana, thank you. Welcome, everybody. We are really delighted to see everybody here and delighted to see this continuing cascade of announcements of deals that have been made, people coming together, business opportunities that are being taken advantage of. And I am really personally enormously energized by what’s been going on the last 36 hours and what will continue tonight at the White House and tomorrow here at the State Department.
I’m particularly grateful to Dana for her leadership at the MCC. She knows the power of transformational development, which is what this is all about, and she’s worked with PEPFAR, she’s worked on the 9/11 Commission, and she knows that development is not just about prosperity; it’s about building opportunity and stability, security. And she now leads the MCC programs that are combatting poverty all around the world, and we’re very proud of those efforts and I’m proud to have the pleasure of being the chair of the board. And when we meet, it’s always an exciting discussion about development.

I’m particularly delighted to welcome my former colleague, Senator Johnny Isakson, here. Johnny, thank you very much for being here with us. We appreciate it. (Applause.) Representatives Karen Bass and Chris Smith, these are three leaders who without any exaggeration have been incredibly important to our ability to be able to do what we’re doing. They’ve been critical to the subcommittees of Africa in both houses of the Congress, and I’m telling you not just as a former member but now as Secretary, without their focused attention and the commitment of the Congress on this, we’re just not able to do the kinds of things that we’re trying to do. And they do not get distracted by the day-to-day headlines and the kind of tug of war that sometimes depresses everybody.

It’s a great pleasure for me to be back with President Mahama. This is the Mahama-Obama axis here, folks. (Laughter.) And I’m also happy to be here with the Foreign Minister Hanna Tetteh and Minister of Finance Seth Terkper is here. I last – I saw – I was with the president yesterday because he very kindly took part as a panelist in the civil society town hall, so to speak, meeting. But I saw him before that in New York at the UN General Assembly, where we discussed security in the Sahel and also Ghana’s plans for energy independence. And since then, our partnership has literally only grown except for 90 minutes during the World Cup, folks – (laughter) – when it wasn’t so friendly. (Laughter.) Anyway.

But we are taking our partnership to a next level here signing a second Millennium Challenge Corporation Compact with Ghana. Nearly 60 years ago, Ghana became the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to peacefully earn its independence when Kwame Nkrumah declared Ghana free forever. And the United States has been at Ghana’s side ever since, I’m proud to say. When the Organization of African Unity first met in Ghana, the American Embassy lent the conference paper and the typewriters. And when your first president arrived in Washington, D.C., President John F. Kennedy was at the tarmac to greet him as he came down the steps. Imagine that today.

We live in a different time, a different press of business, but five years ago President Obama went to Accra and he did so to declare that the 21st century will not be shaped just by Washington; it’ll be shaped in Accra as well. And that’s what brings us here today, that reality. Ghana’s second compact is another link in the long chain of friendship between our countries. And the first compact helped to pave highways and supported farmers in the export market. This second compact will transform the energy sector and help to provide reliable power with 10 percent coming from renewable resources.

I say it all the time, but a responsible energy policy is not a brake on the economy. It is, in fact, the engine of an economy. And people I think are now waking up to that fact. It’s an enormous $6 trillion market, folks, and the market that made America so wealthy in the 1990s where every income level saw their incomes go up was a $1 trillion market. I think everybody understands the differential and the value of our going after it.

Many years ago, Ghana sparked an independence movement that swept all across the continent like wildfire. And today, this compact is proof positive that Ghana is once again leading with its commitment to good governance and to economic prosperity. So it’s my great pleasure to welcome here to the podium a man who now needs no introduction, the President of the Republic of Ghana John Mahama. (Applause.)

PRESIDENT MAHAMA: Thank you. Senator Kerry, Secretary of State, honorable members of Senate and Congress, ministers and secretaries, ladies and gentlemen: I’m very honored to be present here today on this occasion of the signing of a new Millennium Challenge Compact between the governments of Ghana and the United States of America. Indeed, it seems like just yesterday when our two governments successfully executed and implemented our first compact. The first compact, by all measures, brought a transformational change in the agricultural landscape of Ghana. It also represented a refreshingly new strategy for the transformation of agriculture in Ghana. It also targeted sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction among the majority of rural dwellers who rely on agriculture for their livelihood by focusing on transport infrastructure and rural development. The achievements and success of the first compact include 66,930 farmer received training in commercial agricultural practices, enhancing their productivity and skills. Four irrigation schemes were rehabilitated, providing irrigation to 2,435 hectares of agricultural farmlands. Twenty post-harvest facilities were constructed, providing storage so crops would not get spoiled in the field. Thousands of farmers were provided with agricultural credit worth $23.1 million. Many roads, including the now famous George Bush Highway, were constructed, and 44 school blocks were fully rehabilitated while 206 new school blocks were constructed, totaling 250. All rural banks in Ghana and their agencies were interconnected and computerized and automated, provided with generators, computers, and wide area networks.

It’s extremely gratifying to note that on the heels of the first compact, which came to closure on June 30th, 2012, Ghana was selected to benefit from a second compact that specifically targets the energy sector. No one can deny the fact that energy is the engine of growth that has propelled many of the world’s leading economies into wealth and prosperity. Ghana is currently experiencing challenges with energy availability, sufficiency, and reliability, and so it was only logical that this new compact would focus on the energy sector.

The objectives of this new compact is to reduce poverty through economic growth in Ghana with direct interventions in the energy sector. This will not only enhance our own efforts at improving the sector, but would hopefully accelerate it. It’s not been an easy road because over the past two years our agencies and their USA counterparts have focused attention on addressing this critical constraint to economic growth in Ghana through a series of protocols, exchanges, and meetings. Indeed, initiatives such as the Partnership for Growth, the first compact, and Power Africa have also provided increased access and opportunity to deepen collaboration with 12 specialized agencies of the U.S. Government. And these are the USAID, USTDA, the MCC, US ExIm, OPIC, U.S.-African Development Foundation, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Energy, Commerce, Treasury, Agriculture, and Department of State – so many of them. (Laughter.)

This new compact will bring cutting-edge U.S. technology and solutions to expand access to affordable, sustainable electric power. Thanks to the efforts of the above agencies and their Ghanaian counterparts who have collectively and assiduously worked hard to prepare this compact, we are here to sign the compact today.

Today, therefore, marks another historic moment in the bilateral relationship between the United States of America and Ghana, because we see Ghana rising a little higher to achieve its overarching policy goals for the energy sector. Ghana’s total energy supply has to grow significantly in order to achieve the developmental goals we’ve set ourselves. The main challenge is how to increase the energy supply and also expand the energy infrastructure in the country in a way that is sustainable. The power sub-sector needs to increase installed power generation capacity quickly from the current about 2,800 megawatts today to 5,000 megawatts, while at the same time increasing access to electricity from the current 76 percent to universal access, and all this hopefully by the end of the implementation of the compact.

We have also been considering how to attract investments to build the necessary infrastructure for the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity throughout our country. This investment is key to ensuring the sustainable, efficient development of Ghana’s energy sector. Our energy policy focuses on institutional and human resource capacity building as well as regulatory reforms required to create a competitive electricity market. Creating the right environment for private-public partnerships in the development of new power plants is essential to the growth of the power sector.

The biggest obstacle to achieving this objective is the issue of cost recovering, a challenge that our policy tries to directly address. Government is keen to and has already initiated actions towards reforms to attract more private sector participation in the energy and power sectors. These include a transparent framework for the development and management of natural gas resources, movements toward a least-cost transparent process of competitive bidding for power generation, and the allocation and pricing of legacy hydro power.

We must also achieve an integrated resource and resiliency planning among the generation, transmission, and distribution sectors; transition to a wholesale electricity market; distribution and commercial loss reduction; promotion of energy efficiency and demand-side management; and support for the expansion of renewable energy projects. Other pressing near-term action is to improve the creditworthiness of the Electricity Company of Ghana and the Northern Electricity Distribution Company, NEDCo, the nation’s off-takers and distributors of electric power.

I note with satisfaction the numerous ongoing endeavors between the Government of Ghana and the agencies of the United States Government, and I hope the compact we execute shortly will pave the way for greater engagement in even more areas with other U.S. state agencies.
I wish to take this opportunity to reiterate the full support and commitment of the Government of Ghana to the Partnership for Growth, the Joint Country Action Plan, Power Africa initiatives, and especially this new compact.

And so on behalf of the people of Ghana, I wish to express our immense gratitude to the Government of the United States of America and the people of America for partnering with Ghana through these laudable initiatives. I thank you, and God bless Ghana and God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)

(The compact was signed.)

(Applause.)

SECRETARY KERRY: Well done.

COURT IMPOSES $35 MILLION IN SANCTIONS AGAINST DEFENDANTS FOR ROLES IN PRECIOUS METALS FRAUD SCHEME

FROM:  U.S. COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION 
Federal Court in Florida Imposes over $35 Million in Sanctions against Florida Company AmeriFirst Management LLC and its Principals, John P. D’Onofrio, George E. Sarafianos, and Scott D. Piccininni, for Fraudulent Precious Metals Scheme

Washington, DC – The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) obtained a federal court Supplemental Consent Order requiring Defendants John P. D’Onofrio of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, George E. Sarafianos of Lighthouse Point, Florida, Scott D. Piccininni of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and their Florida company AmeriFirst Management LLC jointly and severally to pay more than $25 million in restitution and a $10 million civil monetary penalty in connection with operating a fraudulent precious metals scheme (see CFTC Press Release and Complaint 6655-13, July 30, 2013).

The Supplemental Order was entered on July 24, 2014, by Judge William P. Dimitrouleas of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Previously, on September 18, 2013, Judge Dimitrouleas entered a Consent Order of permanent injunction against the Defendants, finding them liable for illegal, off-exchange precious metals transactions and fraud, as charged in the CFTC’s Complaint. The Consent Order also imposes permanent trading and registration bans against the Defendants and requires them to pay restitution and a civil monetary penalty, as provided in a Supplemental Order.

According to the Consent Order, Defendants operated an illegal, off-exchange precious metals scheme and made numerous fraudulent misrepresentations, false reports, and statements in connection with the scheme.

Furthermore, the Consent Order, which incorporates the Complaint, finds that AmeriFirst was a purported precious metals clearing and financing firm for precious metals dealers and that AmeriFirst used a network of dealers to solicit retail customers to invest in financed, precious metals transactions.  Defendants created documents related to such transactions, such as trade confirmations and account statements, with misrepresentations designed to mislead customers, including (1) the customer bought, and the dealer sold, precious metals, (2) the dealer held the precious metals on behalf of the customer, and (3) the customer received, and the dealer made, a loan so that the customer could purchase precious metal on finance.  These representations were false, the Consent Order finds, as the dealer did not sell metal to the customer, did not store metal for the customer, and did not provide a loan to the customer.  Likewise, AmeriFirst did not sell metal to the customer; did not store metal for the customer; and did not provide a loan to the customer.

The Defendants’ scheme lasted from at least November 2011 through February 2013, when Defendants voluntarily closed the business in the wake of another Florida federal court’s entry of a preliminary injunction against Hunter Wise, another metals dealer that had been sued by the CFTC (see CFTC Press Release 6522-13, February 27, 2013).  In May 2014, the CFTC subsequently prevailed in a jury trial against Hunter Wise and obtained a judgment for more than $108 million in sanctions (see Press Release 6935-14, May 22, 2014).

The CFTC cautions victims that restitution orders may not result in the recovery of money lost because the wrongdoers may not have sufficient funds or assets. The CFTC will continue to fight vigorously for the protection of customers and to ensure the wrongdoers are held accountable.

CFTC Division of Enforcement staff members responsible for this case are David Chu, Mary Elizabeth Spear, Ava Gould, Scott Williamson, Rosemary Hollinger, and Richard Wagner.

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