2/18/15: White House Press Briefing

MAN INDICTED FOR CONSPIRACY TO PROVIDE SUPPORT TO ISIL BY JOINING THE ORGANIZATION

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Hamza Naj Ahmed Indicted for Conspiring to Provide Material Support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
Ahmed Stopped in New York While Attempting to Fly Overseas to Join Terror Organization
Defendant Also Charged with Lying to Federal Agents during Terrorism Investigation

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin and U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger for the District of Minnesota announced today the indictment of Hamza Naj Ahmed, 19, for conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).  Ahmed is also charged with attempting to provide material support to ISIL and for making a false statement in a terrorism investigation.  Ahmed was previously charged by criminal complaint for lying to FBI agents.  The defendant was detained on Feb. 5, 2015, after making an initial appearance before Magistrate Judge Steven Rau in U.S. District Court in St. Paul, Minnesota.

“Hamza Ahmed is at least the fourth person from the Twin Cities charged as a result of an ongoing investigation into individuals who have traveled or are attempting to travel to Syria in order to join a foreign terrorist organization,” said U.S. Attorney Luger. “Since 2007, dozens of people from the Twin Cities have traveled or attempted to travel overseas in support of terror. While my office will continue to prosecute those who attempt to provide material support to ISIL or any other terrorist organization, we remain committed to working with dedicated community members to bring this cycle to an end.”

According to the indictment and documents filed in court, Ahmed and three companions, M.F., H.M.M. and Z.A., travelled by bus from Minneapolis to New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK).  The four men were each booked on international flights scheduled to depart JFK on Nov. 8, 2014.  Ahmed and M.F. were booked on the same flight from JFK to Istanbul, Turkey.  M.F., H.M.M. and Z.A. were each prevented from boarding their flights.  Ahmed successfully boarded, but was escorted from the aircraft by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents before it left the boarding gate.

According to the indictment and documents filed in court, Ahmed was subsequently interviewed by FBI agents.  He made multiple false statements during the interview, including telling agents that he was traveling alone, and that he did not know M.F. or H.M.M.  When Ahmed arrived back in Minnesota on Nov. 9, 2014, FBI agents conducted a second voluntary interview, during which Ahmed again lied to agents.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force.

This case is being prosecuted by Attorney Andrew Sigler of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew Winter and John Docherty of the District of Minnesota.

Defendant Information:                                                                                                                  

HAMZA NAJ AHMED, 19

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Charges:

Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to a Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, 1 count

Attempting to Provide Material Support to a Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, 1 count

Making a False Statement in a Terrorism Investigation, 1 count

TWO VIEWS OF CERES

FROM:  NASA 

These two views of Ceres were acquired by NASA's Dawn spacecraft on Feb. 12, 2015, from a distance of about 52,000 miles (83,000 kilometers) as the dwarf planet rotated. The images have been magnified from their original size. The Dawn spacecraft is due to arrive at Ceres on March 6, 2015. Dawn's mission to Vesta and Ceres is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Dawn is a project of the directorate's Discovery Program, managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. UCLA is responsible for overall Dawn mission science. Orbital ATK, Inc., of Dulles, Virginia, designed and built the spacecraft. JPL is managed for NASA by the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. The framing cameras were provided by the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Göttingen, Germany, with significant contributions by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) Institute of Planetary Research, Berlin, and in coordination with the Institute of Computer and Communication Network Engineering, Braunschweig. The visible and infrared mapping spectrometer was provided by the Italian Space Agency and the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics, built by Selex ES, and is managed and operated by the Italian Institute for Space Astrophysics and Planetology, Rome. The gamma ray and neutron detector was built by Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico, and is operated by the Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, Arizona. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA.

COALITION AIRSTRIKES CONTINUE

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Coalition Continues Airstrikes Against ISIL in Syria, Iraq
From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Feb. 18, 2015 – U.S. and coalition military forces have continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Officials reported details of the latest strikes, which took place between 8 a.m. yesterday and 8 a.m. today, local time, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Airstrikes in Syria

Fighter and bomber aircraft conducted two airstrikes in Syria:

-- Near Hasakah, an airstrike struck multiple ISIL oil pump jacks.

-- Near Kobani, an airstrike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed five ISIL fighting positions.

Airstrikes in Iraq

Attack, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 14 airstrikes in Iraq:
-- Near Asad, three airstrikes struck an ISIL tactical unit, and destroyed an ISIL mortar tube and an ISIL staging area.

-- Near Qaim, three airstrikes destroyed an ISIL checkpoint, an ISIL bulldozer and an ISIL vehicle.

-- Near Bayji, an airstrike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL building.

-- Near Kirkuk, three airstrikes destroyed an ISIL armored vehicle, an ISIL heavy machine gun, an ISIL vehicle and two excavators.

-- Near Mosul, two airstrikes struck an ISIL tactical unit, three ISIL fighting positions and destroyed an ISIL excavator and an ISIL vehicle.

-- Near Tal Afar, two airstrikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL buildings and an ISIL heavy machine gun.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

The strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to eliminate the ISIL terrorist group and the threat they pose to Iraq, Syria, the region, and the wider international community. The destruction of ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq further limits the terrorist group's ability to project terror and conduct operations, officials said.

Coalition nations conducting airstrikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations conducting airstrikes in Syria include the United States, Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

SEC SHUTS DOWN ALLEGED PYRAMID AND PONZI SCHEME THAT USED 'TRIPLE ALGORITHM' AND '3-D MATRIX'

FROM:  U.S. SECURITIES  AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION 

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced fraud charges and an emergency asset freeze against two operators of a Colorado-based pyramid and Ponzi scheme that promises investors extraordinary returns of 700 percent through a purported “triple algorithm” and “3-D matrix.”

In a complaint unsealed yesterday afternoon in federal court in Denver, the SEC alleges that Kristine L. Johnson of Aurora, Colo., and Troy A. Barnes of Riverview, Mich., have raised more than $3.8 million since April 2014 from investors they enticed into buying positions in their company Work With Troy Barnes Inc., which is doing business as “The Achieve Community.”  In Internet videos and other web promotions, investors were pitched “you and anyone you know can make as much money as you want” by purchasing positions that cost $50 each, and as they progress through the matrix they would receive a $400 payout on each position within three to six months.  Barnes claimed to have hired a seasoned programmer to perfect the triple algorithm investment formula supposedly generating the extraordinary returns.

The SEC alleges that while Johnson and Barnes explicitly claimed their program was not a pyramid scheme, their company has no legitimate business operations and they are merely paying purported investment returns to earlier investors as they receive funds from new investors.  Meanwhile, Johnson and Barnes have been making cash withdrawals of investor funds for such personal uses as buying a new car and paying credit card bills.

“Johnson and Barnes allegedly claim to be operating a successful investment program when in fact they are taking funds from new investors to pay phony profits to earlier investors,” said Julie Lutz, Director of the SEC’s Denver Regional Office.

The SEC’s complaint alleges that Work With Troy Barnes, Johnson, and Barnes violated Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5.  The SEC’s complaint names Achieve International LLC as a relief defendant for the purpose of recovering ill-gotten gains from the scheme in its accounts.  The Honorable Robert E. Blackburn, U.S. District Judge for the District of Colorado, granted a temporary restraining order that in part freezes the assets of Johnson, Barnes, and their company.  

The SEC’s investigation, which is continuing, is being conducted by Jeffrey Felder, Kerry Matticks, and Jay A. Scoggins in the Denver office.  The SEC’s litigation is being led by Nicholas Heinke of the Denver office.  The SEC appreciates the assistance of the Colorado Division of Securities.

SECRETARY KERRY'S STATEMENT ON SOLAR POWER FACILITY IN RWANDA

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Launch of Solar Power Facility in Rwanda
Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
February 18, 2015

I welcome the completion and launch of an 8.5 MW solar installation in Rwanda by Gigawatt Global. This is the first utility-scale solar project to come online under the U.S.-Africa Clean Energy Finance (ACEF) program, which is now an integral part of Power Africa. The project expands electricity generation capacity by more than 6 percent in a country where more than 80 percent of the people live without access to electricity, and is providing enough grid-connected power to supply 15,000 homes.

With continually decreasing costs, minimal maintenance, and no fuel costs, renewable energy makes more sense now than ever before, especially in remote settings.

Projects like Gigawatt Global's, realized with the support of the U.S. Department of State, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency through ACEF, underscore that the best path to energy access and economic development is also the sustainable path of clean energy.

RUSSIAN NATIONAL EXTRADITED TO U.S. FOR ALLEGED ROLE IN MAJOR INTERNATIONAL HACKING SCHEME

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Russian National Charged in Largest Known Data Breach Prosecution Extradited to United States
Defendant Brought From Netherlands

After Fighting Extradition for Over Two Years

A Russian national appeared in federal court in Newark today after being extradited from the Netherlands to face charges that he conspired in the largest international hacking and data breach scheme ever prosecuted in the United States, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Secretary Jeh Johnson of the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman of the District of New Jersey and Acting Director Joseph P. Clancy of the U.S. Secret Service.

Vladimir Drinkman, 34, of Syktyykar and Moscow, Russia, was charged for his alleged role in a data theft conspiracy that targeted major corporate networks, stole more than 160 million credit card numbers, and caused hundreds of millions of dollars in losses.  Prior to his extradition, he had been detained by the Dutch authorities since his arrest in the Netherlands on June 28, 2012.

Drinkman appeared today before U.S. Magistrate Judge James B. Clark and entered a plea of not guilty to all 11 counts charged in the indictment and was ordered detained without bail.  Trial before U.S. District Judge Jerome B. Simandle was scheduled for April 27, 2015.

“Cyber criminals conceal themselves in one country and steal information located in another country, impacting victims around the world,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell.  “Hackers often take advantage of international borders and differences in legal systems, hoping to evade extradition to face justice.  This case and today's extradition demonstrates that through international cooperation, and through great teamwork between the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security, we are able to bring cyber thieves to justice in the United States, wherever they may commit their crimes.”

“Drinkman’s extradition on the indictment this office brought more than a year and a half ago shows how relentlessly we will pursue those who are charged with these serious crimes,” said U.S. Attorney Fishman.  “The incredibly sophisticated work with our partners at the U.S. Secret Service to uncover this enormous, far-reaching scheme demanded an equal effort by our colleagues at the Department of Justice Criminal Division in Washington and our law enforcement partners overseas to bring the defendant back to face these charges.”

“This case demonstrates our commitment to fulfilling an important part of our integrated mission; that of protecting our Nation’s critical financial infrastructure,” said Acting Director Clancy.  “Our success in this investigation and other similar investigations is a credit to our skilled and relentless cyber investigators.  Our determination, coupled with our network of foreign law enforcement partners, ensures that our investigative reach can expand beyond the borders of the United States.”

According to the second superseding indictment, unsealed on July 25, 2013, and other court filings, Drinkman and four co-defendants each served particular roles in the scheme. Drinkman and Alexandr Kalinin, 28, of St. Petersburg, Russia, each allegedly specialized in penetrating network security and gaining access to the corporate victims’ systems.  Roman Kotov, 33, of Moscow, allegedly specialized in mining the networks Drinkman and Kalinin compromised to steal valuable data.  According to allegations in the indictment, the hackers hid their activities using anonymous web-hosting services provided by Mikhail Rytikov, 27, of Odessa, Ukraine.  Dmitriy Smilianets, 31, of Moscow, then allegedly sold the stolen information and distributed the proceeds of the scheme to the participants.

Drinkman and his co-defendants are charged with attacks on NASDAQ, 7-Eleven, Carrefour, JCP, Hannaford, Heartland, Wet Seal, Commidea, Dexia, JetBlue, Dow Jones, Euronet, Visa Jordan, Global Payment, Diners Singapore and Ingenicard.  It is not alleged that the NASDAQ hack affected its trading platform.

Drinkman and Kalinin were previously charged in New Jersey as “Hacker 1” and “Hacker 2” in a 2009 indictment charging Albert Gonzalez, 33, of Miami, in connection with five corporate data breaches, including the breach of Heartland Payment Systems Inc., which at the time was the largest ever reported.  Gonzalez is currently serving 20 years in federal prison for those offenses.  Kalinin is also charged in two federal indictments in the Southern District of New York: one charges Kalinin in connection with hacking certain computer servers used by NASDAQ and the second charges him and another Russian hacker, Nikolay Nasenkov, with an international scheme to steal bank account information from U.S.-based financial institutions.  Rytikov was previously charged in the Eastern District of Virginia with an unrelated scheme.

Drinkman and Smilianets were arrested at the request of the United States while traveling in the Netherlands on June 28, 2012.  Smilianets was extradited on Sept. 7, 2012, and remains in federal custody.  Kalinin, Kotov and Rytikov remain at large.  All of the defendants are Russian nationals except for Rytikov, who is a citizen of Ukraine.

The Attacks

According to allegations in the indictment, the five defendants conspired with others to penetrate the computer networks of several of the largest payment processing companies, retailers and financial institutions in the world, stealing the personal identifying information of individuals.  They allegedly took user names and passwords, means of identification, credit and debit card numbers and other corresponding personal identification information of cardholders. The conspirators allegedly acquired at least 160 million card numbers through hacking.

The initial entry was often gained using a “SQL injection attack.”  SQL, or Structured Query Language, is a type of programming language designed to manage data held in particular types of databases.  The hackers allegedly identified vulnerabilities in SQL databases and used those vulnerabilities to infiltrate a computer network.  Once the network was infiltrated, the defendants allegedly placed malicious code, or malware, on the system.  This malware created a “back door,” leaving the system vulnerable and helping the defendants maintain access to the network.  In some cases, the defendants lost access to the system due to companies’ security efforts, but were allegedly able to regain access through persistent attacks.

Instant message chats obtained by law enforcement reveal that the defendants allegedly targeted the victim companies for many months, waiting patiently as their efforts to bypass security were underway, sometimes leaving malware implanted for more than a year.

The defendants allegedly used their access to the networks to install “sniffers,” which were programs designed to identify, collect and steal data from the victims’ computer networks. The defendants then allegedly used an array of computers located around the world to store the stolen data and ultimately sell it to others.

Selling the Data

After acquiring the card numbers and associated data—which they referred to as “dumps”—the conspirators allegedly sold it to resellers around the world.  The buyers then sold the dumps through online forums or directly to individuals and organizations.  Smilianets was allegedly in charge of sales, selling the data only to trusted identity theft wholesalers.  He allegedly charged approximately $10 for each stolen American credit card number and associated data, approximately $50 for each European credit card number and associated data and approximately $15 for each Canadian credit card number and associated data, offering discounted pricing to bulk and repeat customers.  Ultimately, the end users encoded each dump onto the magnetic strip of a blank plastic card and cashed out the value of the dump by either withdrawing money from ATMs or making purchases with the cards.

Covering Their Tracks

The defendants allegedly used a number of methods to conceal the scheme.  Rytikov allegedly allowed his clients to hack with the knowledge he would never keep records of their online activities or share information with law enforcement.

Over the course of the conspiracy, the defendants allegedly communicated through private and encrypted communications channels to avoid detection.  Fearing law enforcement would intercept even those communications, some of the conspirators allegedly attempted to meet in person.

To protect against detection by the victim companies, the defendants allegedly altered the settings on victim company networks to disable security mechanisms from logging their actions.  The defendants also allegedly worked to evade existing protections by security software.

As a result of the scheme, financial institutions, credit card companies and consumers suffered hundreds of millions in losses—including more than $300 million in losses reported by just three of the corporate victims—and immeasurable losses to the identity theft victims in costs associated with stolen identities and false charges.

The charges and allegations contained indictments are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The ongoing investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Secret Service.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Rick Green of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, Chief Gurbir S. Grewal of the District of New Jersey’s Economic Crimes Unit, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew S. Pak of the Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property Section of the District of New Jersey’s Economic Crimes Unit.

The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs assisted with the case, as did public prosecutors with the Dutch Ministry of Security and Justice and the National High Tech Crime Unit of the Dutch National Police.

SECRETARY KERRY'S STATEMENT ON THE LUNAR NEW YEAR

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Lunar New Year
Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
February 18, 2015

On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I am delighted to express my wishes of good health, good fortune, and happiness to those around the world celebrating the Lunar New Year on February 19.

As many throughout the Asia-Pacific and in the United States gather with family, let us also remember the closeness we share as global citizens. We can feel proud of the bonds we have strengthened as Pacific nations, and the prosperity and mutual understanding we have jointly achieved. Let us also look forward to the great possibilities of the New Year. As we continue to advance shared cultural understanding, economic cooperation, regional security, and educational partnerships, we will open doors to mutually beneficial opportunities. Let us build on the momentum of our agreements concerning environmental protection, health improvement, and poverty reduction to better the lives not just of individual countries, but the entire world.

President Obama and I look forward to the year ahead. There will be great challenges, but there will also be great achievements as we work together toward common goals. We wish you a festive Lunar New Year celebration, and success and prosperity in the days to come.

SECRETARY KERRY'S STATEMENT ON DETENTION OF MAZEN DARWISH IN SYRIA

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
The Detention of Mazen Darwish by the Assad Regime
Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
February 18, 2015

It has been three years since the Assad regime unjustly detained leading human rights defender Mazen Darwish, founder of the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression and a proponent of free speech in Syria.

In February 2012, Darwish and his colleagues were working to expose the Assad regime’s atrocities when regime security forces raided their offices and locked them away. Like tens of thousands of Syrian activists and political prisoners who have been detained and arrested for exercising their universal right to free expression, their support for human rights and non-violent calls for change were met by regime brutality.

Well-documented and horrific abuse within the Syrian detention system has shocked the conscience of the international community. We call on the Assad regime to abide by its international obligations in its treatment of Darwish and all those in its custody.

We reiterate our call for the Assad regime to release Darwish and his colleagues, including prominent blogger Hussein Ghrer and journalist Hani al-Zitani, along with all arbitrarily detained journalists and political prisoners.

U.S. CONGRATULATES PEOPLE OF GAMBIA ON THEIR INDEPENDENCE DAY

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
The Gambia National Day
Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
February 18, 2015

On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I congratulate the people of The Gambia as you celebrate 50 years of independence on February 18.

The United States wishes you a festive Golden Jubilee and a prosperous year.

NSF VIDEO: SMART BANDAGES FOR BURN VICTIMS

SAMANTHA POWER'S EXPLANATION OF U.S. VOTE ON UKRAINE

FROM  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Samantha Power
U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations
New York, NY
February 17, 2015
AS DELIVERED

Thank you. We’ve gotten used to living in an upside-down world with respect to Ukraine. Russia speaks of peace, and then fuels conflict. Russia signs agreements, and then does everything within its power to undermine them. Russia champions the sovereignty of nations, and then acts as if a neighbor’s borders do not exist. Yet even for those of us growing accustomed to living in an upside-down world, the idea that Russia – which manufactured and continues to escalate the violence in Ukraine – has tabled a resolution today calling for the conflict’s peaceful solution, is ironic, to say the least. Bitterly ironic, given that this Council has dedicated some thirty meetings to calling on Russia to stop escalating the very same conflict, and given the human consequences that are growing daily.

Even as Russia puts forward this resolution, separatists that Russia has trained, armed and that it fights alongside are laying ruthless and deadly siege to the Ukrainian-held city of Debaltseve, approximately 30 to 40 kilometers beyond lines established by the September Minsk agreements. Throughout the day, we’ve heard conflicting reports as to whether Debaltseve has fallen. According to press reports, the so-called “road of life” leading out of Debaltseve has become a “road of death,” littered with the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers. At just the time this Council is calling for the cease-fire that was supposed to take effect Saturday night at midnight, Russia is backing an all-out assault.

We do not know how many civilians are left in Debaltseve, because Russia and the separatists it supports have refused to guarantee the safety of impartial OSCE monitors who have been trying for days to enter the area – a commitment that, in this upside-down world, Russia and the separatists made on February 12th at Minsk.

But we know from credible press reports that thousands of civilians in Debaltseve and neighboring villages have been sheltering from heavy shelling in dank basements, often without running water, food, electricity, or basic medical supplies. We know that many of the civilians left, who are enduring the terror of this relentless assault, are the elderly and small children – people who could not evacuate on their own.

And even with such limited information, we know with certainty that at the same time that Russia signs onto yet another agreement committing itself to de-escalation and peace, forces that Russia trains, equips, and joins on the battlefield have only escalated this fighting, grabbing more territory and killing the Ukrainian soldiers who stand in their way.

We are caught in a deadly feedback loop. International leaders engage in rigorous, exhaustive negotiations to get Russia to commit to peace – in Geneva, in Normandy, in September in Minsk, in Berlin in February, and then again in Minsk on February 12th when the implementations were signed; and now in New York. Yet Russia’s commitments have no bearing on the actions of its soldiers and the separatists they back on the ground.

Mr. President, the United States has maintained the same position across thirty meetings before this Council with respect to Ukraine. Let me reiterate that position. We are for peace in Ukraine. We are for Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and unity. We are for ending the violence in eastern Ukraine that has taken more than 5,600 lives since last April, and displaced already approximately one million people. We are for all of the signatories to the agreements signed in Minsk in September 2014 – particularly Russia and the separatists they back – fulfilling the commitments that they have made. And we are for the “Package of Measures for the Implementation of the Minsk Agreements” of September 5 and September 19th, the package of measures endorsed last week by the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France. To be clear, the February 12th implementation package is a roadmap to fulfilling commitments made by these same signatories in the September Minsk Agreements.

President Hollande, President Poroschenko, Chancellor Merkel, and President Putin each made this clear when they endorsed the implementation package on February 12th and issued their joint declaration that they “remain committed to the implementation of the Minsk Agreements.” The “Minsk Agreements” in the title – plural – refer to those signed on September 5 and September 19 by the same signatories, while the “measures for implementation” in the title make clear that the February 12th package was designed to begin carrying out the September agreements, and not to supplant them, as Russia has now begun to argue.

The United States rejects any interpretation of this resolution that would abrogate the parties’ earlier commitments. All parties must implement all of the commitments made in the September Minsk agreements. The implementation steps agreed upon in the February 12th package include a comprehensive cease-fire; the withdrawal of heavy weapons from the September line of contact; the release of all hostages; and the eventual restoration of Ukraine’s territorial sovereignty and control of its international border.

Too often, debates in this Council occur in a vacuum, removed from the real world. In the real world, a man named Aleksei Kravchenko, a 73-year-old in the Ukrainian held-town of Svitlodarsk, near Debaltseve, recently told a reporter that he had spent nights huddled together with his grandchildren in a bomb shelter on his property as shelling continued through the night. Aleksei told the reporter that his grandchildren said to him in the shelter, “Grandpa, I don’t want to die young.” He said, “I held my grandchildren, and they were shaking, and I looked in their eyes, and they were afraid.” With the February 12th agreement, Aleksei said, “Now we are hoping.” The fighting, unfortunately, has in fact increased dramatically near Aleksei’s home.

But we call on Russia to translate hope into real action; to translate hope into real results, and to do so urgently.

Today’s Council session is an effort to throw the Council’s weight behind an agreement already jeopardized by statements by the separatists dismissing the full cease-fire, by their continued attacks on Debaltseve, and by the separatists’ refusal – together with Russia’s – to allow access to the OSCE’s Special Monitoring Mission. We are looking to Russia, which manufactured and fueled this conflict, to leave the upside-down world it has created and to honor the resolution it tabled today supporting efforts to end it. Thank you.

FORMER MEMBER OF KKK AFFILIATE SENT TO PRISON FOR ROLE IN CROSS BURNING

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Friday, February 13, 2015
Former Klansman Sentenced for Cross Burning

Timothy Flanagan, 33, was sentenced to nine months and ordered to pay a $5000 fine in federal court in Nashville, Tennessee, for his role in the April 30, 2012, cross burning in front of an interracial family’s home in Minor Hill, Tennessee, the Department of Justice announced.  Flanagan previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring with others to threaten, intimidate and interfere with an African-American man’s enjoyment of his housing rights, and one count of interfering with those housing rights.

Flanagan—a former member of the Church of the National Knights, a Ku Klux Klan affiliate—admitted during the plea hearing that on the night of April 30, 2012, he and two other individuals devised a plan to burn a cross in the yard of an African American man in Minor Hill, Tennessee.  Flanagan’s co-conspirator, Timothy Stafford, constructed a wooden cross in a workshop behind his house.  Using Flanagan’s credit card, Stafford and co-conspirator Ivan “Rusty” London then purchased diesel-fuel with which to soak the cross.  Flanagan and the other co-conspirators then drove the cross to the victim’s residence and, upon arriving at the residence, Flanagan and London exited the truck.  The cross was placed in the driveway leading up to the house and was ignited.  The co-conspirators burned the cross with the purpose of intimidating the African-American male who resided at that residence.

Timothy Stafford, 41, of Minor Hill, Tennessee, and Ivan “Rusty” London IV, 21, of Lexington, Kentucky, previously pleaded guilty for their roles in the conspiracy, and will be sentenced on March 3, and March 26, respectively.

“Hate-motivated crimes will not be tolerated in our country,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta of the Civil Rights Division.  “The Justice Department will vigorously prosecute individuals that violate the rights of others because of race.”

“There can be no tolerance for such acts of intimidation when innocent persons are targeted simply because of their race,” said U.S. Attorney David Rivera of the Middle District of Tennessee.  “The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners will work tirelessly to protect the civil rights of all persons and bring to justice, anyone who would attempt to impede the constitutionally protected right to liberty of any person.”

This case was investigated by the Columbia, Tennessee, Division of the FBI and is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Jared Fishman of the Civil Rights Division and by Assistant U.S. Attorney Hal McDonough of the Middle District of Tennessee.

NSF SAYS SCIENTISTS BELIEVE PREHISTORIC MONSTER HURRICANES STRUCK NORTHEAST U.S.

FROM:  NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Monster hurricanes struck U.S. Northeast during prehistoric periods of ocean warming
Scientists find clues in sediment deposits on Cape Cod

Intense hurricanes possibly more powerful than any storms New England has experienced in recorded history frequently pounded the region during the first millennium, from the peak of the Roman Empire to the height of the Middle Ages, according to results of a new study.

The finding could have implications for understanding the intensity and frequency of hurricanes the U.S. Northeast may experience in the future.

Looking back to see into the future

A record of sediment deposits from Cape Cod, Mass., shows evidence that 23 severe hurricanes hit New England between the years 250 and 1150, the equivalent of a severe storm about once every 40 years on average.

Many of these hurricanes were likely more intense than any that have hit the area in recorded history.

"The ability to produce and synthesize thousands of years of data on hurricane paths and frequencies is revolutionizing our understanding of what controls where and how often these dangerous storms make landfall," said Candace Major, program director in the National Science Foundation's Division of Ocean Sciences, which funded the research.

The prehistoric hurricanes were likely category 3 storms (such as Hurricane Katrina) or category 4 storms (Hurricane Hugo) that would be catastrophic if they hit the region today, according to Jeff Donnelly, a scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, and lead author of a paper on the results published online today in Earth's Future, a journal of the American Geophysical Union.

Hurricane record extended by centuries

The study is the first to find evidence of historically unprecedented hurricane activity along the northern East Coast of the United States.

It also extends the hurricane record for the region by hundreds of years, back to the first century.

"These records suggest that the pre-historical interval was unlike what we've seen in the last few hundred years," said Donnelly.

The most powerful storm to hit Cape Cod in recent times was Hurricane Bob in 1991, a category 2 storm that was one of the costliest in New England history.

Storms of that intensity have only reached the region three times since the 1600s, according to Donnelly.

Warmer sea surface temperatures

The intense prehistoric hurricanes were fueled in part by warmer sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean than have been the norm off the U.S. East Coast over the last few hundred years.

However, as ocean temperatures have slowly inched upward in recent decades, tropical North Atlantic sea surface temperatures have surpassed the warmth of prehistoric levels--and are expected to warm more over the next century as the climate heats up, Donnelly said.

"We hope this study broadens our sense of what is possible and what we should expect in a warmer climate," Donnelly said. "We may need to begin planning for a category 3 hurricane landfall every decade or so rather than every 100 or 200 years.

"The risk may be much greater than we anticipated."

Buried in sediment: hurricane remains

Donnelly and colleagues examined sediment deposits from Salt Pond near Falmouth on Cape Cod. The pond is separated from the ocean by a 1.3- to 1.8-meter (4.3 to 5.9-foot) high sand barrier.

Over hundreds of years, strong hurricanes have deposited sediment over the barrier and into the pond where it has remained undisturbed.

The researchers extracted nine-meter (30-foot) deep sediment cores, which they then analyzed in a laboratory.

Similar to reading a tree ring to tell the age of a tree and the climate conditions that existed in a given year, scientists can read a sediment core to determine when intense hurricanes occurred.

The paper's authors found evidence of 32 prehistoric hurricanes, along with the remains of three documented storms that occurred in 1991, 1675 and 1635.

The sediments showed that there were two periods of intense hurricane activity on Cape Cod -- from 150 to 1150, and 1400 to 1675.

The earlier period of powerful hurricane activity matched previous studies that found evidence of hurricanes during the same period in more southerly areas of the western North Atlantic Ocean basin--from the Caribbean to the Gulf Coast.

Powerful storms also battered more southerly U.S. coasts

The new study suggests that these powerful southern storms also battered the coast farther north through New England from 250 to 1150.

These early storms were more frequent, and in some cases were likely more intense, than the most severe hurricanes Cape Cod has seen in historical times, including Hurricane Bob in 1991 and a 1635 hurricane that generated a 20-foot storm surge, according to Donnelly.

The hurricane activity continued in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico until 1400, although there was a lull during this time in New England.

A shift in hurricane activity in the North Atlantic occurred around 1400, when activity picked up from the Bahamas to New England, until about 1675.

Co-authors of the paper are: Andrea Hawkes of the University of North Carolina Wilmington; Philip Lane (deceased); Dana MacDonald, University of Massachusetts, Amherst; Bryan Shuman, University of Wyoming; Michael Toomey, The University of Texas at Austin; Peter van Hengstum, Texas A&M University at Galveston; and Jonathan Woodruff, University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

-NSF-
Media Contacts
Cheryl Dybas, NSF

VP BIDEN SWEARS IN ASHTON CARTER AS U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT

Right:  Vice President Joe Biden swears in Ash Carter as the 25th defense secretary as Carter's wife, Stephanie, looks on during a private ceremony at the White House, Feb. 17, 2015. DoD screen shot.  
Carter Takes Oath of Office in White House Ceremony
By Cheryl Pellerin
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Feb. 17, 2015 – With his wife, Stephanie, holding the Bible upon which he swore to support and defend the U.S. Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic, Ash Carter took the oath of office as the 25th secretary of defense in a ceremony at the White House today.

Vice President Joe Biden administered the oath in the Roosevelt Room, characterizing Carter as a genuine scholar of strategic military affairs and nuclear weapons policy and as a profoundly capable manager “with universal respect and affection from the people you work with, reflected in a near-unanimous vote in the U.S. Senate.”

“For me,” Carter said after taking the oath, “this is the highest honor, to be the 25th secretary of defense. I'm grateful to [President Barack Obama] and the vice president for your trust and confidence, and to the U.S. Senate as well for their trust and confidence.”

Attending the ceremony were Carter’s son, Will, Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, Joint Chiefs Vice Chairman Navy Adm. James A. Winnefeld Jr., members of Carter’s transition team, and several men and women in uniform.

A Driving Intellectual Force

In his introduction, Biden called Carter a “physicist and a genuine expert on the acquisition and technical capabilities that are going to help guarantee the U.S. military is second to none in the world.”

Carter has a driving intellectual force behind all he does and all the administration has been doing, the vice president added, including strengthening the nation's cyber capabilities, improving the way the Pentagon does business, and implementing the Asia-Pacific rebalance, including deepening defense cooperation with India.

“Most important of all, you've been a fighter,” Biden told Carter, “like the men and women in uniform here today, for the women and men who serve in uniform.”

The defense secretary, like his predecessor, Biden added, “understands that while this country has many obligations, it only has one truly sacred obligation, and that's to equip and protect those we send to war, care for their families while they're there, and care for them and their families when they come home.”

Tough Missions Ahead

Many tough missions lie ahead, the vice president said, from fighting against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, strengthening NATO, and rebalancing to the Asia-Pacific region, to maintaining the nation’s technological edge and continuous efforts to make the most out of every dollar invested in defense.
“Dr. Carter,” Biden said, “as you take leadership of the greatest military in the history of mankind, … you do so with the confidence of everyone in your building, confidence of the United States Senate, confidence of President Obama and me, and so many other people who admire your work.”

Carter thanked his wife and children, his transition team and the team he joins at the Pentagon, including Work, Dempsey, Winnefeld and others.

The defense secretary characterized the defense of the nation as “the highest calling,” and he made three commitments to the men and women of the Defense Department, to the president and vice president, and to his fellow citizens.
Three Commitments

“The first is to help our president make the best possible decisions about our security and the [world’s] security, and then to ensure that our department executes those decisions with its long accustomed competence and effectiveness,” he said.

While dealing with challenges to national security, Carter said, he wants to help the nation’s leadership grab hold of opportunities that lie before the country, and to help make the world safer and a better place for the next generation.
“My second commitment is to the men and women of the Department of Defense, whom I will lead, to reflect in everything I do and to honor the commitment and dedication that brought them into service,” Carter said, “and to protect their dignity, their safety, their well-being, [and] to make decisions about sending them into harm’s way with the greatest reflection and care.”

A Force for the Future

Carter’s third commitment was to the future, he said, “to building a force for our future that involves not only securing the resources we need but making … the best use of the taxpayers’ dollar, making sure we embrace change so that years from now, … we continue to be a place where America's finest want to serve, and a place that is a beacon to the rest of the world.”

As Obama enters the fourth quarter of his presidency, the defense secretary added, “these commitments, … I think, will help me help him and help the vice president to ensure that those years are productive, and that they leave our country's future in the best possible place -- in the best possible hands.”

STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIALS TRAVEL TO BAGHDAD, ERBIL TO DISCUSS HUMAN RIGHTS WITH IRAQI OFFICIALS

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Readout of Assistant Secretary Tom Malinowski and Ambassador David Saperstein's Travel to Baghdad and Erbil, Iraq
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
February 17, 2015

Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Tom Malinowski and Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom David Saperstein met with Iraqi government leaders, representatives of non-governmental organizations, and civil society activists, including representatives of Iraq’s religious and ethnic minority communities, students, journalists, and residents of a camp for internally displaced persons in Iraq February 8-11. Their visit highlighted the importance of promoting human rights in the fight against ISIL.

Assistant Secretary Malinowski said that the United States will continue to stand with Iraqis in their fight against ISIL. He also underscored the importance of inclusive governance, respect for human rights, and protection of civil society, including Iraq’s diverse religious communities, to fully defeat ISIL’s divisive ideology and prevent its creed of hatred from emerging in another form after ISIL is defeated on the battlefield.

In meetings with Iraqi government officials, including the Ministers of Human Rights and Women’s Affairs, the Deputy Minister of Interior, and Kurdistan Ministers of the Interior, Foreign Affairs, and Peshmerga, Assistant Secretary Malinowski and Ambassador Saperstein expressed their concerns about allegations of human rights abuses by militias in Iraq. Assistant Secretary Malinowski stressed the importance of accountability for these alleged abuses and security for civilian populations, to avoid reinforcing the sectarian divisions that facilitated ISIL’s rise in the first place. Assistant Secretary Malinowski and Ambassador Saperstein also raised concerns regarding the need to protect all civilians from harm and urged the Iraqi and Kurdish authorities to do everything possible to rescue women captives whom ISIL holds and abuses.

Members of Iraq’s minority communities, including Chaldean Patriarch Louis Sako and Yezidi, Sabean-Mandaean, Shabak, and Kakai leaders, described the need for inter-faith dialogue and reform of school curricula to promote understanding and conflict resolution, promote religious freedom, and to reduce sectarianism. Those displaced from the Ninewa plains area expressed fear to return to their historic homelands, and stressed the need for security, employment and education opportunities, and conflict resolution. Malinowski pressed them to avoid taking revenge against former neighbors suspected of collusion with ISIL, and Ambassador Saperstein pledged U.S. commitment to helping them return to their homelands and to meeting the needs of the displaced.

Assistant Secretary Malinowski also delivered remarks before the Middle East Research Institute in Erbil, Iraq where he thanked the people of Kurdistan for their generosity in opening their homes to the vast influx of the internally displaced, who now represent almost a third of the Kurdistan region’s population. He said that the United States stands with all people of Iraq to degrade and defeat ISIL, but highlighted that the stabilization of Iraq afterwards must be Iraqi-led and that protection of human rights and freedom of expression is a strategic component of that reconstruction as well as the defeat of ISIL.

AG HOLDER ANNOUNCES RECORD DECREASE IN MANDATORY MINIMUMS FOR NONVIOLENT DRUG OFFENDERS

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Tuesday, February 17, 2015

In Milestone for Sentencing Reform, Attorney General Holder Announces Record Reduction in Mandatory Minimums Against Nonviolent Drug Offenders
New Data Revealed by Justice Department Shows Rate at Which Feds Pursued Mandatory Minimum Penalties in Drug Trafficking Cases Has Hit Record Low

In One of His Final Speeches Before Stepping Down, Holder Lauds Progress In Sentencing Reform Initiative He Launched in ‘13

In a major advance for the sentencing reform project that has been one of his signature initiatives, Attorney General Eric Holder on Tuesday announced that federal drug prosecutors have shifted away from seeking mandatory minimums at record rates, while reserving stricter sentences for more serious offenders.

Speaking at the National Press Club, Attorney General Holder revealed that in the first full year since he imposed reforms to the Justice Department’s charging policies in nonviolent drug trafficking cases, federal prosecutors not only prosecuted fewer such cases overall, but also pursued mandatory minimum sentences at a dramatically lower rate than the year prior.  In fact, according to the U.S. Sentencing Commission, in FY2014, federal drug prosecutors pursued mandatory minimums at the lowest rate on record.

“For years prior to this administration, federal prosecutors were not only encouraged – but required – to always seek the most severe prison sentence possible for all drug cases, no matter the relative risk they posed to public safety.  I have made a break from that philosophy,” said Attorney General Holder.  “While old habits are hard to break, these numbers show that a dramatic shift is underway in the mindset of prosecutors handling nonviolent drug offenses.  I believe we have taken steps to institutionalize this fairer, more practical approach such that it will endure for years to come.”

The figures announced Tuesday were compiled by the U.S. Sentencing Commission at the request of the Justice Department to measure the impact of several reforms implemented in 2013 through Attorney General Holder’s “Smart on Crime” initiative.  Those reforms—aimed at restoring fairness to the criminal justice system and at confronting the problem of America’s overcrowded prison system—instructed federal prosecutors to exercise greater discretion in selecting drug cases to bring to federal court.  The data suggests prosecutors heeded that call, as the overall number of federal drug trafficking cases dropped by six percent in FY2014.

While the sheer number of drug cases went down, the data also showed that federal prosecutors have prioritized more serious cases.  Holder pointed to a rise in the average guideline minimum sentence, from 96 months in FY2013 to 98 months this past year.  That suggests the severity of offenses prosecuted in FY2014 was slightly higher.

Most important of all, Holder said, was the trend observed with respect to mandatory minimums.  After several years in a row that saw federal prosecutors pursue such mandatory sentences in roughly two-thirds of drug cases, last year’s rate dropped to one-in-two.  The Attorney General said this showed that the department was succeeding in reserving these strict sentences for the worst types of offenders rather than imposing indiscriminately.

“This figure, perhaps more than any other, shows the significant impact that our policy reforms are having,” said Attorney General Holder.  “These are extremely encouraging results.”

Holder also presented statistics rebutting past criticisms of the “Smart on Crime” initiative.  For instance, though some warned that the reduced application of mandatory minimums would remove the incentive for defendants to act as government witnesses, the Sentencing Commission’s data showed that defendants provided cooperation at the same rate as in years past.

STATE DEPARTMENT FACT SHEET ON U.S. EXPORT OF MILITARY UNMANNED AERIAL SYSTEMS

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
U.S. Export Policy for Military Unmanned Aerial Systems
Fact Sheet
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
February 17, 2015

The United States is the world’s technological leader in the development and deployment of military Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). As other nations begin to employ military UAS more regularly and as the nascent commercial UAS market emerges, the United States has a responsibility to ensure that sales, transfers, and subsequent use of all U.S.-origin UAS are responsible and consistent with U.S. national security and foreign policy interests, including economic security, as well as with U.S. values and international standards.

As a result, the United States has established a new policy designed specifically for U.S.-origin military and commercial UAS. This new policy, governing the international sale, transfer and subsequent use of U.S.-origin military UAS, supplements and builds upon the U.S. Conventional Arms Transfer Policy and is consistent with the requirements of the Arms Export Control Act and the Foreign Assistance Act which govern all U.S. military transfers. The new policy also governs the international sale, transfer and subsequent use of U.S.-origin commercial UAS, supplementing and building upon the Export Administration Regulations which govern all U.S. commercial transfers.

The new export policy is part of a broader United States UAS policy review which includes plans to work with other countries to shape international standards for the sale, transfer, and subsequent use of military UAS.

Enhanced Controls on the Export of U.S.-Origin Military UASs

The United States is committed to stringent standards for the sale, transfer, and subsequent use of U.S.-origin military UAS. The United States’ new UAS export policy establishes the standards by which the United States will assess, on a case-by-case basis under the U.S. Conventional Arms Transfer Policy, potential exports of military UASs, including armed systems. The new export policy puts in place stringent conditions on the sale or transfer of military UAS, including potential requirements for:

Sales and transfers of sensitive systems to be made through the government-to-government Foreign Military Sales program;
Review of potential transfers to be made through the Department of Defense Technology Security and Foreign Disclosure processes;
Each recipient nation to be required to agree to end-use assurances as a condition of sale or transfer;
End-use monitoring and potential additional security conditions to be required; and
All sales and transfers to include agreement to principles for proper use.
The new policy also maintains the United States’ long-standing commitments under the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), which subjects transfers of military and commercial systems that cross the threshold of MTCR Category I (i.e., UAS that are capable of a range of at least 300 kilometers and are capable of carrying a payload of at least 500 kilograms) to a “strong presumption of denial” for export but also permits such exports on “rare occasions” that are well justified in terms of the nonproliferation and export control factors specified in the MTCR Guidelines.

Principles for Proper Use of U.S.-Origin Military UAS

As the most active user of military UAS, and as an increasing number of nations are acquiring and employing UASs to support a range of missions, the United States has an interest in ensuring that these systems are used lawfully and responsibly. Accordingly, under the new UAS export policy, the United States will require recipients of U.S.-origin military UAS to agree to the following principles guiding proper use before the United States will authorize any sales or transfers of military UASs:

Recipients are to use these systems in accordance with international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law, as applicable;
Armed and other advanced UAS are to be used in operations involving the use of force only when there is a lawful basis for use of force under international law, such as national self-defense;
Recipients are not to use military UAS to conduct unlawful surveillance or use unlawful force against their domestic populations; and
As appropriate, recipients shall provide UAS operators technical and doctrinal training on the use of these systems to reduce the risk of unintended injury or damage.
Enhanced Controls on the Export of U.S.-Origin Commercial UAS

The United States is equally committed to stringent standards for the sale, transfer, and subsequent use of U.S.-origin commercial UAS, to include future commercial MTCR Category I systems. All commercial UAS will be reviewed under the requirements and licensing policies described in the Export Administration Regulations.

Implications of the New Policy

The new U.S. UAS export policy provides a disciplined and rigorous framework within which the United States will exercise restraint in sales and transfers and advance its national security and foreign policy interests, which includes enhancing the operational capabilities and capacity of trusted partner nations, increasing U.S. interoperability with these partners for coalition operations, ensuring responsible use of these systems, and easing the stress on U.S. force structure for these capabilities. It also ensures appropriate participation for U.S. industry in the emerging commercial UAS market, which will contribute to the health of the U.S. industrial base, and thus to U.S. national security which includes economic security.

The United States is committed to working with other countries to adopt similar standards for the sale, transfer, and subsequent use for military UAS.

WHITE HOUSE STATEMENT ON TEXAS IMMIGRATION CASE

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE
February 17, 2015
Statement by the Press Secretary on State of Texas v. United States of America

The Supreme Court and Congress have made clear that the federal government can set priorities in enforcing our immigration laws—which is exactly what the President did when he announced commonsense policies to help fix our broken immigration system. Those policies are consistent with the laws passed by Congress and decisions of the Supreme Court, as well as five decades of precedent by presidents of both parties who have used their authority to set priorities in enforcing our immigration laws.

The Department of Justice, legal scholars, immigration experts, and the district court in Washington, D.C. have determined that the President’s actions are well within his legal authority. Top law enforcement officials, along with state and local leaders across the country, have emphasized that these policies will also benefit the economy and help keep communities safe. The district court’s decision wrongly prevents these lawful, commonsense policies from taking effect and the Department of Justice has indicated that it will appeal that decision.

U.S. CONGRATULATES PEOPLE OF KOSOVO ON THEIR NATIONAL DAY

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
On the Occasion of Kosovo's National Day
Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
February 17, 2015

On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I congratulate the government and people of Kosovo on the anniversary of your country’s independence. The journey of Kosovo in recent years is remarkable and a stunning contrast to the tragedy that I witnessed as a Senator in the last years of the twentieth century.

Last year’s parliamentary elections, the first held on all of Kosovo’s territory, marked an important moment in building a thriving, multiethnic democracy.

I commend the progress your country has made in the EU-facilitated Dialogue with Serbia on normalization. This is a step forward on your path toward the European Union.

The United States remains dedicated to supporting your country’s full integration into the Euro-Atlantic community.

Kosovo has demonstrated a strong commitment to assisting the broad international coalition working to counter violent extremism and terrorism. On this important occasion, I congratulate you on your Independence Day.