Monday, June 16, 2014

U.S. CONGRATULATES THE PEOPLE OF ICELAND ON THEIR NATIONAL DAY

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 

On the Occasion of Iceland's National Day

Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
June 16, 2014


On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I congratulate the people of Iceland on the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Iceland.

I am proud that the United States was the first country to recognize Icelandic independence in 1944. As NATO allies, we are working to promote peace, security, and prosperity around the world. Our shared commitment to our common defense remains the cornerstone of our relationship.

Together, we confront the effects of climate change and the dynamics of a changing Arctic. And we enjoy strong people-to-people ties. The innovation, creativity, and talents of Icelandic musicians, artists, entrepreneurs, and students, continue to enrich both our cultures.
As you celebrate this special day, I extend to all Icelanders my best wishes for the coming year.

GENERAL APPOINTED TO PROBE SGT. BERGDAHL'S CAPTURE

FROM:   U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 
Army Appoints General to Lead Probe Into Bergdahl’s Capture
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 16, 2014 – The Army has appointed a general officer with Afghanistan combat experience to lead its investigation into the facts and circumstances surrounding the disappearance and capture of Sgt. Bowe R. Bergdahl from Combat Outpost Mest-Lalak in Afghanistan’s Paktika province on or about June 30, 2009.

In a statement released today, Army officials said Maj. Gen. Kenneth R. Dahl will lead the investigation.

The primary function of this investigation, as in any other investigation, officials said, is to ascertain facts and report them to the appointing authority, officials said in the statement.

“These types of investigations are not uncommon and serve to establish the facts on the ground following an incident. The investigating officer will have access to previously gathered documentary evidence, including the 2009 investigation,” officials added.

The statement emphasized that the Army's top priority remains Bergdahl's health and reintegration. “We ask that everyone respect the time and privacy necessary to accomplish the objectives of the last phase of reintegration,” the statement said.
No timeline has been established for the investigation, officials said, noting that he investigating officer will not interview Bergdahl until the reintegration team clears such interaction.

CONTRACTS FOR JUNE 16, 2014

 FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT DEFENSE 

CONTRACTS

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

C.E. Niehoff & Co., Evanston, Illinois, has been awarded a maximum $43,495,987 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for generators and engine accessories for high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles. This contract was a competitive acquisition with two offers received. This is a five-year base contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Illinois with a Feb. 10, 2020, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2015 through fiscal 2019 Army working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Warren, Michigan (SPRDL1-14-D-0028).

M&M Manufacturing, LLC*, Lajas, Puerto Rico, has been awarded a maximum $21,207,508 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for Navy working uniform blouses and trousers. This contract was a competitive acquisition with two offers received. This is a one-year base contract with four one-year option periods. Location of performance is Puerto Rico with a June 15, 2015, performance completion date. Using military service is Navy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE1C1-14-D-1048).

Bimbo Bakeries USA, Horsham, Pennsylvania, has been awarded a maximum $8,839,822 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-quantity contract for fresh bread and bakery products. This contract was a competitive acquisition with two offers received. This is a three-year base contract with no option periods. Locations of performance are Pennsylvania and Texas, with an Oct. 14, 2017, performance completion date. Using military services are Army and Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2015 through fiscal 2018 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE300-14-D-W399).

NAVY

L-3 Unidyne Inc., Norfolk, Virginia, is being awarded a $22,231,067 firm-fixed-priced contract for the service life extension program (SLEP) for four landing craft, air-cushioned (LCAC) craft in fiscal 2014, 2015 and 2016. The LCAC SLEP will extend the service life from 20 to 30 years, sustain/enhance craft capability, replace obsolete electronics, repair corrosion damage, reduce life cycle cost by improving reliability and maintainability, increase survivability, and establish a common configuration baseline. The LCAC SLEP scope of effort includes repair and upgrade of the buoyancy box, gas turbine engine replacement, installation of a new skirt, installation of an integrated C4N equipment package, and accomplishment of selected craft alterations and repair work. Work will be performed in Camp Pendleton, California, and is expected to be completed by October 2016. Fiscal 2013 and 2014 ship conversion (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $22,231,067 will be obligated at time of award, and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with one proposal received. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity (N00024-14-C-2406).

L-3 Unidyne Inc., Norfolk, Virginia, is being awarded a $13,821,952 firm-fixed-priced contract for the service life extension program (SLEP) of two landing craft, air-cushioned (LCAC) craft in fiscal 2014, 2015 and 2016. The LCAC SLEP will extend the service life from 20 to 30 years, sustain/enhance craft capability, replace obsolete electronics, repair corrosion damage, reduce life cycle cost by improving reliability and maintainability, increase survivability, and establish a common configuration baseline. The LCAC SLEP scope of effort includes repair and upgrade of the buoyancy box, gas turbine engine replacement, installation of a new skirt, installation of an integrated C4N equipment package, and accomplishment of selected craft alterations and repair work. Work will be performed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by June 2016. Fiscal 2014 ship conversion (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $13,821,952 will be obligated at time of award, and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with one proposal received. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity (N00024-14-C-2422).

Vista Research, Inc., Arlington, Virginia, is being awarded an $8,381,917 firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the upgrade and replacement of fielded Wide Area Surveillance Vista Radars and Processor Systems in support of the U.S. Army’s Persistent Ground Surveillance Systems Program. Work will be performed in Afghanistan (50 percent); Patuxent River, Maryland (20 percent); Yuma, Arizona (10 percent); Point Mugu, California (10 percent); and Elizabeth City, North Carolina (10 percent); work is expected to be completed in December 2014. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $8,381,917 are being obligated at time of award, all of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1). The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, New Jersey, is the contracting activity (N68335-14-C-0176).

ARMY

Gilford Corp.*, Beltsville, Maryland was awarded an $11,117,705 firm-fixed-price contract with options for North Post Access Control Point, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. This project is to construct an access road, control point and supporting facilities. Work will be performed at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 8, 2015. Bids were solicited via the Internet with five received. Fiscal 2010 military construction funds in the amount of $10,148,034 and fiscal 2011 military construction funds in the amount of $969,671 are being obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore, Maryland is the contracting activity (W912DR-14-C-0019).

Northrop Grumman Information Systems, McLean, Virginia was awarded a $7,868,723 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract with options for non-personal information technology support to the U.S. Army Regional Cyber Center - Europe (RCC-E)/U.S. Army 5th Signal Command. Funding and work location will be determined with each order. Bids were solicited via the Internet with 11 received. Army Contracting Command, Fort Huachuca, Arizona, is the contracting activity (W91RUS-14-D-0002).

Infused Solutions*, Sterling, Virginia, was awarded a $7,789,734 modification (P00010) to contract W9124D-12-C-0011 to exercise option year two for administrative support for the U.S. Army Recruiting Command from July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2015. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $2,724,208 and fiscal 2014 other procurement funds in the amount of $1,259,599 were obligated at the time of the award. Work will be performed at various locations. Army Contracting Command is the contracting activity.

*Small business

DIPLOMATIC FACILITIES IN BAGHDAD BEING SECURED BY DOD

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

DOD Provides Security Help for Baghdad Diplomatic Facilities
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 15, 2014 – At the State Department’s request, the U.S. military is providing security assistance for U.S. diplomatic facilities in Baghdad, Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby said today.

In a statement, Kirby said a small number of Defense Department personnel are augmenting State Department security assets in Baghdad to help ensure the safety of U.S. facilities.

“The temporary relocation of some embassy personnel is being facilitated aboard commercial, charter and State Department aircraft, as appropriate,” Kirby added. “The U.S. military has airlift assets at the ready should State Department request them, as per normal interagency support arrangements.”

U.S. CONGRATULATES PRESIDENT SANTOS OF COLUMBIA ON HIS VICTORY

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 
Elections in Colombia
Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
June 15, 2014

We congratulate President Santos on his victory, as well as the Colombian people and electoral officials on a peaceful and orderly election. We look forward to continuing to work with President Santos and his administration to advance our bilateral relationship and to continuing to support the Colombian Government and people as they pursue a negotiated end to the conflict there.

The United States and Colombia share a long history of successful partnership, anchored by a commitment to democracy and the rule of law, peace and citizen security, and trade and economic opportunity. My recent visit underlined our long-standing cooperation and commitment to Colombia. The Colombian people will continue to thrive with the next administration.

THE NAVY'S AEROSTAT BALLOON

FROM:  U.S. NAVY 
LAUNCH OF AEROSTAT



140610-N-IQ177-001 STRAITS OF FLORIDA (June 10, 2014) Aerostat is launched and tethered for the first time off of Joint High Speed Vessel USNS Spearhead (JHSV 1) during experimentation conducted by U.S. Fourth Fleet and Navy Warfare Development Command (NWDC), (U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Jessica Crownover/Released).

AEROSTAT TEST BALLOON



The 71M Aerostat Test Balloon is prepared for lift off from the Aerostat Test Bed at McGregor Range, N. M. on June 11, 1996, during exercise Roving Sands '96. The Aerostat's radar system, located under the belly of the balloon, is able to track aircraft and cruise missiles at a range of up to 150 nautical miles. Roving Sands '96 is the world's largest joint, tactical air defense exercise involving service men and women from the U.S., Germany, the Netherlands and Canada. The exercise allows multinational forces to practice tactics, techniques and procedures improving their defense capabilities.    DoD photo by Airman Benjamin Andera, U.S. Air Force.

AMBULANCE OPERATOR RECEIVES PRISON SENTENCE FOR HEALTH CARE FRAUD

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 
Friday, June 13, 2014
Houston Ambulance Operator Sentenced for Her Role in $2.4 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme

The owner and operator of a Houston area ambulance company was sentenced today to serve 97 months in prison for her role in a $2.4 million Medicare fraud scheme.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson of the Southern District of Texas, Special Agent in Charge Carlos J. Barron of the FBI’s Houston Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Mike Fields of the Dallas Regional Office of HHS’s Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) and the Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) made the announcement.

Gwendolyn Climmons-Johnson, 54, was convicted by a federal jury in Houston, Texas, on Oct. 30, 2013, of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and four counts of health care fraud.   In addition to the prison sentence, Climmons-Johnson was also sentenced to serve three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $972,132 in restitution.

According to evidence presented at trial, Climmons-Johnson was the owner and operator of Urgent Response EMS, a Texas-based entity that purportedly provided non-emergency ambulance services to Medicare beneficiaries in the Houston area.  The evidence showed that from January 2010 through December 2011, Climmons-Johnson and others conspired to enrich themselves by submitting false and fraudulent claims to Medicare for ambulance services that were medically unnecessary and/or not provided.  Climmons-Johnson, who controlled the day-to-day operations of Urgent Response, submitted, and caused to be submitted, approximately $2.4 million in fraudulent ambulance service claims to Medicare.

At trial, the evidence showed that patient records had been falsified and the Medicare beneficiaries for whom Climmons-Johnson had billed ambulance services did not need ambulance services and were not in the condition stated in the records.

The case was investigated by the FBI, HHS-OIG and Texas MFCU and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.  The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Christopher Cestaro and Assistant Chief Laura M.K. Cordova of the Fraud Section.

Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged nearly 1,900 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $6 billion.  In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, is taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

A.G. HOLDER SPEAKS AT FOCUS HOPE EVENT

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 
Attorney General Holder Delivers Remarks at the Focus: Hope “Heroes for Hope” Event
~ Friday, June 13, 2014

Thank you, William Foley [Jones], for those kind words – and for your outstanding leadership as CEO of Focus: HOPE.  It’s a pleasure to be back in the great city of Detroit this evening.  It’s a privilege to stand among so many dedicated activists, distinguished leaders, and good friends.  I am particularly honored to share the stage tonight with my friend Senator [Carl] Levin – who has been a lifelong champion for his beloved state and for at-risk Americans across the country.  And I am humbled to join him in accepting the very first ever Heroes for Hope Awards.  Thank you all for this tremendous honor.

As I’ve said in the past, I firmly believe that the measure of any award is found not in the qualifications of the person to whom it’s presented, but in the legacy that it honors. That’s why I could not be prouder to accept an award bearing the name of the extraordinary Eleanor Josaitis – a trailblazer who fought for social justice her entire life; a tireless worker whose enduring contributions are all around us; and a principled leader whose example will continue to guide and inspire us long into the future.

In the wake of the 12th Street Riot of 1967, at a time of distressed neighborhoods and uncertain futures, Eleanor Josaitis and Father William Cunningham came together to found this remarkable organization – taking on the burden and the challenge of building a more just society for their fellow citizens.  In the midst of turmoil and unrest – in the shadow of violence and tragedy – they began the difficult and at times dangerous work of realizing their shared vision: for a metropolitan community where all people may live in freedom, harmony, trust and affection.

More than 45 years later – through her leadership and your commitment – an organization that used to meet in the basement of the Catholic Church of Madonna now stretches over a 40-acre campus along Oakman Boulevard.  The groundbreaking work you perform across this city touches, improves, and in some cases even saves lives. And these innovative efforts have made Focus: HOPE not only known, but celebrated, nationwide.

Through the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, you help sustain mothers, children, and low-income senior citizens who might otherwise struggle to survive.  Through your career training programs, you empower students, at-risk young people, and chronically unemployed or formerly incarcerated individuals to get the skills they need to compete in a tough job market. And through the HOPE Village Initiative, you are helping to bring back parts of Detroit that have been too long forgotten and neglected – fostering supportive and nurturing environments in which people can live, work, and raise their families.

Across the board, these efforts are making a tremendous difference. They’re inspiring others – including me and my colleagues in the Obama Administration – to support similar work throughout the nation.  And – critically – they are only the beginning.

For all the progress you’ve made possible, and the remarkable initiatives you’re leading even as we speak, a great deal remains to be done.  You know as well as anyone that what’s at stake is real – not just here in Detroit, but across America. In far too many communities – many of which are communities of color – young people too easily become trapped in destructive cycles of poverty, incarceration, and crime.  In far too many of these neighborhoods, our children walk a well-worn path from the schoolhouse to the criminal justice system.  And in far too many places – in every state in the Union – men and women and children who work hard and desperately want to succeed are held back by longstanding obstacles and systemic disparities that our nation is oftentimes reluctant to confront.

In many cases, these disparities are subtle.  They do not announce themselves in screaming headlines.  But their effects are both pernicious and pervasive.  They include zero-tolerance school discipline practices that, while well-intentioned and aimed at promoting school safety, affect black males at a rate three times higher than their white peers. They include sentencing policies that, according to a study released by the U.S. Sentencing Commission last year, routinely cause African-American men to receive sentences nearly 20 percent longer than those imposed on white males convicted of similar crimes.  And they include overly restrictive state voting policies and requirements that disproportionately affect young people, the elderly, the poor, and men and women of color – constraining their ability to exercise the right to vote that so many of our forebears have fought, sacrificed, and in some cases given their lives to secure.

We cannot wish these inequities away.  And we must not – and will not – turn a blind eye to their effects.  On the contrary: we must acknowledge and confront each and every one of them.  We must speak openly and candidly about the challenges we face.  And we must take what Eleanor Josaitis liked to call “intelligent and practical action” to bring them to an end.

This is the imperative that has shaped Focus: HOPE’s work, here in Detroit, for over four and a half decades.  And it’s the same ethos, and the same dedication to pragmatic, common-sense solutions, that is guiding the Justice Department’s work to confront the very same conditions at the national level – challenging us to reach farther; impelling us to question the status quo; and driving us to stand up – and to fight, alongside leaders like you and organizations like this one – to ensure that every one of our citizens has an equal opportunity to grow, to learn, and to thrive – as well as a voice and a vote to shape his or her own future.

 As you know, in the wake of last year’s misguided Supreme Court decision invalidating a key part of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Justice Department was denied an essential tool for combating discriminatory voting rules, regulations, and procedures that discourage and disenfranchise.  Yet we remain steadfast in our commitment to ensuring access to the ballot box for all eligible citizens.  The Department is currently challenging voting restrictions in North Carolina and Texas.  And I am personally committed to working with Congressional leaders from both parties, like Senator Levin, to refine, and to strengthen, new voting rights legislation that’s being debated on Capitol Hill.

I want to be very clear: this Administration – and this Department of Justice – will not stand by as the voices of those disproportionately affected by misguided voting restrictions are shut out of the process of self-governance.  After all, this isn’t just about challenging measures that would deprive certain populations of their most basic rights.  It’s about building a society that works for everyone.

At its core, this is the aim that drove me, at the beginning of last year, to launch a targeted Justice Department review of America’s criminal justice system.  Last August, based on the results of that review, I launched a new “Smart on Crime” initiative that’s allowing us to take concrete steps to strengthen the criminal justice system as a whole; to address unwanted disparities wherever they are found; and to forge the more just society that everyone in this country deserves.

In partnership with your outstanding United States Attorney, Barb McQuade, we started by modifying the Department’s charging policies with regard to mandatory minimum sentences for drug-related crimes – so that individuals charged with certain low-level, nonviolent federal drug offenses will face sentences that are appropriate to their individual conduct, rather than excessive mandatory minimums that too often have destabilizing effects on communities of color.  We’re working with Congress to secure legislative changes like the bipartisan Smarter Sentencing Act, which would provide additional discretion in determining sentences that fit individual cases. We’re calling on the U.S. Sentencing Commission to make recent reductions in sentencing guidelines retroactive for some individuals – so that those without significant criminal histories, who are serving time for nonviolent offenses that did not involve weapons, could be eligible to apply for reduced sentences under new rules approved by the Commission in April.

We’re also strengthening diversion programs like drug courts, veterans courts, and community service initiatives – so we can provide alternatives to incarceration for some people and offer treatment and rehabilitation to those who need it.  We’re working to restore justice, fairness, and proportionality to those currently involved with our justice system through an improved approach to the executive clemency process.  And we’re striving to reinforce reentry programs and initiatives from coast to coast – so we can enable formerly incarcerated individuals to return to their communities better prepared to contribute as full and productive members of society.

Beyond these efforts, my colleagues and I are also taking action – alongside other Cabinet agencies, private stakeholders, and advocacy groups – to answer President Obama’s call to ensure that every child has the opportunity to succeed.  We are committed to working with partners like you in cities across America to make sure our children’s futures are determined by their dedication, goals, and potential – not by the circumstances of their birth.

In February, the President took this commitment to a new level by launching a national call to action – known as “My Brother’s Keeper” – that’s bringing together government and private groups to address persistent opportunity gaps that create impassable obstacles for too many of our youth. This Administration-wide initiative represents the latest step in our work to keep young people on the right track; to knock down the barriers they face; and to give them chances to succeed.

Especially this weekend, as we pause to celebrate Father’s Day, we must all be mindful of the responsibility we share to set good examples for our kids – and to inspire, empower, and do right by them. And we must not forget – as you have not forgotten – the unfortunate reality that, for far too many children, the involvement of a loving and attentive parent is not something they can count on.

In too many places, mentors and strong, positive role models are in short supply.  And that’s one of many reasons why – tonight – I’m calling on all Americans to get involved in My Brother’s Keeper – by signing a pledge at “whitehouse.gov/mybrotherskeeper” to become long-term mentors to young people.

This effort will engage Americans from all walks of life to develop sustained mentoring relationships that can play vital roles in the lives of kids of all backgrounds.  Mentoring changes lives – and not just for our young people.  During my tenure as United States Attorney for the District of Columbia – in the mid-1990s – my staff and I “adopted” an elementary school in a low-income, predominantly African-American part of Washington. We found an extraordinary and rewarding sense of purpose in the relationships we developed.  And I was thrilled to become invested in these students’ futures.

This was at a time when Washington, D.C. was a city in crisis.  Some called it the “murder capital” of the United States.  But the challenges we faced were not new – and they are not unique. Over the years, through efforts – including mentoring – to support and invest in those who will shape our future; through extensive community engagement; through federal-local partnerships like the ones we’re seeing here in Detroit; and through the efforts of citizens on the ground and groups like Focus: HOPE – on the streets of Washington, we were able to turn back the tide of violence. And this enabled our citizens to build a vibrant city that’s equipped to overcome whatever challenges it may face – just as you’re doing in the Motor City as we speak.

Thanks to your leadership, Detroit is once again a city on the rise.  There are significant obstacles ahead – and crises that still must be confronted.  This city’s inevitable renaissance will take time.  But thanks to Focus: HOPE and other groups, I know you’re on the right track.  During my most recent visit to Detroit, last September, I announced millions of dollars in federal support to improve public safety and address acute crime problems.  I’m proud to serve as an ally in the work that’s underway.  I’m honored to represent an Administration that’s committed to your success.  And I’m confident that, together, we can ensure that – when the history of this period is written – it will reflect that a new era of positive change began with the people in this room.

Eleanor Josaitis used to say that the success of this organization was based on three things: passion, persistence, and partnerships.  Today, Focus: HOPE’s passion is helping to improve the lives of thousands of people across this city.  Today, your persistence has transformed what was once a small band of committed activists into a nationally-recognized force for change. And today – in this Department of Justice and in this Attorney General – Focus: HOPE has strong and steadfast partners in Washington and throughout the country – who are inspired by your successes, who are dedicated to the same goals, and who are determined to take “intelligent and practical action” to help make the difference we seek.  We are with you, Detroit.

Ultimately, as your history reminds us, these efforts will be successful only if we take responsibility not just for ourselves, but for our families, our neighbors, our friends, and our fellow citizens.  Among them are the future “heroes for hope” that this city, this state, and this country desperately need.

We reaffirm tonight that we share their passion.  We share your persistence.  And we will never stop fighting for the safety, the rights, and the opportunities to which our young men and women are entitled. We will never stop reaching for the better, brighter, and more inclusive future that we all must shape together.  And we will never stop working to achieve the community of freedom, harmony, trust, and affection that Eleanor Josaitis spoke of, that she fought for – and that each of us must help to create.

Thank you, once again, for this tremendous honor.  Thank you for your friendship.  And thank you for all that you do every day.  I am honored to count you as colleagues in the considerable work before us. And I look forward to all that we can, that we must, and that we will accomplish together in the months and years ahead.

REMARKS BY SECRETARY KERRY AT GLOBAL SUMMIT TO END SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN CONFLICT

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT

Remarks at The Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict

Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
ExCeL Conference Center
London, United Kingdom
June 13, 2014




SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you very much. William, thank you very, very much. Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests all, and particularly my colleagues in government, I know that we all share – I must say I’ve been listening for a little while and able to watch a few of the videos and hear a few of the comments. And before I came in here, William shared with me some of the extraordinary events of the last few days, the remarkable amount of interactivity, the incredible effort that has gone into this. And I know we all share in our respect for William Hague, and all of us are particularly grateful for his leadership on preventing sexual violence in conflict.

In his extensive travels, which he and I have talked about on many occasions, Foreign Secretary Hague has personally taken the time to make certain that he bore witness to what we’re talking about here. He has seen the ravages of this horrific crime, from Darfur to Goma to Srebrenica. He has visited hospitals full of women on gurneys, all victims of sexual assault. He has not just seen these unspeakable horrors, but he refuses to stay silent. That, my friends, is leadership, and that is what conscience demands of all of us. And we are very grateful to you, William, for that effort. Thank you. (Applause.)

I also want to thank Angelina Jolie, the UN special representative. We’ve all watched her play many remarkable roles. But perhaps her most lasting legacy actually comes from a role that she plays in real life, and that is the role of fierce and fearless advocate. On her most recent trip with Foreign Secretary Hague to Bosnia, she went to a battery factory and met with the women of Srebrenica and a group of Bosnian army officers whom Angelina described as all that stands between a “child and violence that will scar her forever.” So I’m proud to say with their work to prevent and combat sexual violence in conflict, Angelina and William together with all of you here are standing with these children. And we are all profoundly grateful to every one of you, to Angelina, to William, to all of you who have taken time to come here and bear witness and tell the world that we all need to be committed to this effort.

I also want to thank Special Representative Bangura. The United States is very proud to support the essential work that she is doing with governments to make their real commitment to prevent and respond to sexual violence. And her efforts, together with all of you here, I am confident, particularly as I listen to the testimonies of my colleagues, various foreign ministers and other ministers – I think William told me there are 80-plus ministers who have been here representing 123 countries who are here – so I think everybody obviously deserves gratitude for the fact that you’ve taken the time to come and do this, but obviously, as we heard from our last speaker, the key is: What do we do when we leave here? What actions are we going to be committed to?

There are a remarkable number of thoughtful and experienced leaders from many walks of life who have come here in common cause. And I want to say to all of you that it is a privilege for me to share a few thoughts with you today and to express the commitment of President Obama and the Obama Administration and the people of the United States to this effort.
Now I realize that my comments at this conference come on the final day, in the final plenary. In other words, I’m speaking at a time when just about everything has been said but not everyone has said it. So recently, a friend of mine asked me – he said, “Why now? Why this conference now?” After all, this person, this friend, had been a student of warfare, had fought in a war, and he reminded me that sexual violence against women is a conflict that is as old as conflict itself. Well, there’s a reason why marauding armies, he said, thousands of years ago coined the phrase, “rape, pillage, and plunder” – the norm of battle, the trilogy of terror that reflected the rights of conquerors.

So why now? Because thousands of years after rape was written into the lexicon of warfare, we know that it is time to write it out and to banish sexual violence to the dark ages and the history books where it belongs. That is profoundly why now is important. (Applause.) It’s time for us, in an age where we see enough of chaos and of failed and failing states, to write a new norm – one that protects women, girls, men, boys, protects them from these unspeakable crimes.
And to all who say that sexual abuse is always going to be a spoil of war, something so ingrained that it can’t be eradicated, make no mistake – we can end sexual warfare conducted against innocent people. We can establish new norms that respect women, girls, men, and boys. And we can hold those who commit these acts and those who condone them – we can hold them all accountable. We can make clear to the world that we will no longer tolerate these horrific tactics. And they are tactics. It’s a tactic of warfare, tactic of intimidation, tactic of conquering. We can say “not now, not ever.”

And how do I know that? Because we’ve done it again and again and again when we’ve chosen to. Yes, the history of warfare is littered with unspeakable horrors and atrocities. But the history of peacetime has always been marked by advances in civility and codes of conduct that addressed the worst acts of warfare, because people were willing to stand up on reflection in a moment of conscience, in a moment of understanding the difference they’ve made and say, “No, no more, never again.”

A century ago, we just came – I was in Normandy remembering the extraordinary events of June 6thjust a few days ago. And all of us were reminded how in the war that preceded that – and World War II was really the inevitable conclusion of the peace that wasn’t a peace, that never put the lessons altogether to bed. But nevertheless, one of those lessons was that a century ago, tens of thousands of young, British, American, French, and Italian soldiers died agonizing deaths from poison gas and mustard gas and the shelling in the trenches of World War I that brought those horrors.

But after the armistice, when the dead were buried and the afflicted came home, people, particularly veterans, were so horrified that except for the most depraved exception that we’ve seen once or twice since, chemical and biological weapons were banned from the battlefield within a decade of that war. That speaks to possibilities.

Two decades later, the devastation and death that was caused by the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were so massive and so mind-numbing that the very scientists who had perfected the devastating power of the atom in order to kill on massive levels led the effort themselves that galvanized the free world to vow never again to use nuclear weapons, and a treaty was soon signed in order to do that, and it remains in force today.

In fact, we are still fighting with universal support of the P5+1, the United Nations, in order to deal with the potential illegality of a couple of nations. Are these norms perfect? No. Can they stop every madman, ever bad actor who dares to defy them? No. But they draw a line, a firm line, a clear line, and they tell everyone who would dare cross it that the civilized world will not tolerate that transgression, and there will be consequences for those who do. They galvanize action to enforce the rules that keep the world from descending into places no person of conscience should bear it to go.

So when people ask whether or not we can actually outlaw sexual violence and warfare, let me tell you the answer is a resounding yes. Yes, we can achieve this goal. (Applause.) And I say that because we have banned the unconscionable before and because of the extraordinary activists gathered in this room really say to all of us we should have confidence in our capacity to do this. If there’s one thing that we’ve learned over the years, it’s pretty simple; you’ve got to start somewhere.

I was a young prosecutor back in the late 1970s, early ‘80s, when a lot of people still didn’t believe that violence against women was a crime. But guess what? We chipped away at that old thinking. I remember launching as the chief prosecutor in this office, one of the ten largest counties in America – I remember launching one of the very first programs for counseling rape victims so that we guaranteed that people were not twice victimized, once by the crime itself and then by the system that didn’t respond. And we put together a priority prosecution unit that took all of these cases and put them on a fast-track for trial so that we could try any case within 90 days of arrest to trial. We not only – we ended an era of anachronisms by actually speaking out loudly and created one of the first victim/witness assistance programs in the nation.
So today, when rape and sexual violence remains a weapon of war and is used on purpose as a tactic of war, the solution is actually the very same. That’s why I’m here today. That’s why I admire so deeply what William and Angelina and others of you who have worked for two years to bring this effort together have accomplished. We have to speak out loudly and clearly against one of the most persistent and neglected injustices imaginable. And we have to fight to hold the criminals accountability and end the age of impunity. Instead of shaming the survivors, we have to punish the perpetrators. And we must support the victims afterwards as they work to try to rebuild their lives.

This conference, the largest gathering of its kind in history, is about forcing the world to stop looking away. It’s about forcing the world to recognize that sexual violence is a vile crime against humanity. It is not just an excusable, inevitable byproduct of war. And there is a real and critical role for governments to play in this fight. Twenty years ago in the United States Senate, working with Cathy Russell, who now serves as U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues and has been here at this conference this past few days, and then working with then-Senator Joe Biden – they wrote and passed the Violence Against Women Act to protect women at home. Before I became Secretary of State, I wrote and my committee in the United States Senate passed the International Violence Against Women Act. And now we need to finish the job and pass that bill once and for all, and set an example for other governments in the world to follow.

And one of the reasons I talk about this issue, this and other issues regarding women so much as Secretary of State – and I know William Hague feels the same way – is that it is important to make clear that you don’t have to be a women to advance the cause of justice and honor women and girls. (Applause.) This is a fight that demands action from every single one of us. And in this fight we have to speak openly about male survivors of rape, with whom we stand today. (Applause.) Acts of sexual violence demean our collective humanity. When hundreds of girls are kidnapped by Boko Haram in Nigeria; or a man in Uganda is raped by a rebel group and forced to flee his home; or Afghan women brave rape, acid burnings, and brutal violence in their quest for a better future – when these appalling acts are committed, it is a stain on the conscience of the world.

It is a call to action for all of us, and throughout this week you’ve heard their stories. You’ve witnessed their courage. You’ve learned their names. We’ve all learned the name of 14-year-old Hirut Assefa, so vividly captured in the film Difret, which Angelina helped produce. And there’s some of you who have already seen this film, seen the film tells of the courage of an Ethiopian girl in the face of abduction and the compassion of one lawyer. But this really is a story of conscience and of conviction that ought to inspire everybody.

This issue should be personal to all of us. It really should be. I know it’s become personal for me. As a veteran of war, as the father of two daughters, I can tell you it is very much so. But you know what? It ought to be personal for every man, woman and child on Earth, because it degrades and defiles the very idea of civilization. And the civilized world needs to come together and take a stand.

So what do we need to do? Well, number one, we need a zero-tolerance policy towards sexual violence against women and men. Two, we need to guarantee, country for country, that we can bring the perpetrators to justice. (Applause.) I know from my experience as a former prosecutor the difference that efforts at deterrence make, proactive efforts. And I know that we have to help countries to strengthen their domestic justice systems so that they have the infrastructure and the training to investigate and prosecute sexual violence effectively. And I might add doing so would build the capacity for those governments to survive and also to fight back against a wave of radical extremism and terror which is consuming some fragile governments today. Number three, we need to restore dignity to survivors. People can’t be raped and then be ostracized and thrown out of their village and have their lives taken, or in some cases be killed by their own family because of some perverted sense of dishonor. We have to make sure that men, women, boys and girls, the elderly and disabled alike are saved from that kind of pejorative assumption in the aftermath of something they had nothing to do with as victims. We need to give them confidence to believe that they can come out of the shadows and once again become full citizens, get back their lives.

We also need to do more to prevent and respond to all forms of gender-based violence in humanitarian emergencies. The United States is very proud to be leading the call to action on protecting women and girls in emergencies which the United Kingdom launched last year. And I want to urge all governments, UN agencies, and NGOs to sign onto the call to action communique. We need to hold ourselves accountable for assuring that gender-based violence is literally addressed in every single humanitarian response. And we need to support the local organizations that are on the ground assisting survivors to recover and to heal. (Applause.) Because – and the reason we must do so is that we need to really acknowledge a basic truth: Gender-based violence, anywhere, is a threat to peace, security, and dignity everywhere. That’s why we will not, we should not, we cannot tolerate peace agreements that actually provide amnesty for rape. (Applause.)

Out of this conference we can and I think we will make it clear that we will not tolerate rape as a tactic of war and intimidation. And we are committed to making sure that women have a seat at the table in resolving conflicts – (applause) – promoting development, building a sustainable peace. We all have learned – believe me, I see it all over the world – where women are participants, where women are respected, where women are part of that dialogue, inevitably there is greater stability, greater progress, faster. (Applause.) And one thing we have learned, no team – it’s time of the World Cup, I’ll use an analogy – no team can possibly win leaving half of the team on the bench. We have to proceed with all. (Applause.)

And we need to make sure that their perspectives inform the work of security and justice and of peacekeeping operations. Without the help and guidance of all members of society – men, women, youth – we will not be able to achieve the lasting peace and security that all people deserve and yearn for.

Now obviously, this summit is not just about shared commitments. It’s about translating those commitments into action. Each of the videos that I just saw were individual pledges of each country determined to make its own difference. It’s a call to action. This is a plea to people everywhere to stand up and make a difference, and the United States also is committed to taking our own action now. We’re launching an accountability initiative to help survivors secure justice – to build the capacity of partner governments to prosecute the sexual violence crimes in countries that are ravaged by war and violence and insecurity.

We’re expanding an initiative that I announced last year called Safe from the Start. Our investments are helping aid workers at leading humanitarian organizations prevent and respond to gender-based violence at the onset of a disaster or a conflict. And I am especially pleased to share that we have just released a new funding opportunity for NGOs. We look forward to building on our initial $10 million commitment for Safe from the Start at the UN General Assembly this September.

We know that survivors often need urgent assistance in order to recover and heal, whether during times of crisis or times of peace. It’s the same challenge, and it’s labor intensive and we need to support it. We need to make sure that they have that support in whatever moment of time it is and wherever they are in the world. That’s why we are doubling our original commitment to the Gender-Based Violence Emergency Response and Protection Initiative. Our goal is to address the immediate needs of individual survivors while working with governments and private donors to improve advocacy and to implement the laws that will stop gender-based violence in the first place.

And more than just dollars or programs, we also want to lift up those people, those individuals who have the courage to lead and to inspire. The United States Government stands with human rights defenders on the front lines – (applause) – courageous and compassionate leaders like Dr. Denis Mukwege who is here today. And Dr. Mukwege and the health workers around the world is often – they’re the first to respond to survivors of sexual violence. We’re proud to support the critical role of NGO partners like Physicians for Human Rights as they work to defeat the scourge of sexual violence in the DRC and in Kenya and other places around the world. (Applause.)

We are proud of those who are prepared sometimes at great risk to themselves to stand up against violence and the repression. One of the things that has struck me so intensely as Secretary of State in the course of this year and the bit that I have been Secretary is in my travels, I keep meeting these people and I keep hearing these extraordinary stories of people who take on governments, often and usually anonymously without any support system around them, sometimes completely anonymously and often disappearing – disappearing to a dank jail, to torture, to never return to their families. There are heroes all around the world who are fighting, and we need to stand up and stand by them.

Human rights defenders like abducted Syrian activist Razan Zeitouneh, they are especially on our minds. (Applause.) Razan has risked her life inside Syria to care for political prisoners and call attention to human rights violations, including against women. We stand in awe of her leadership and heroism. And again today, I call for her release and the release of thousands of human rights defenders around the world. (Applause.) Their voices must not be silenced – their voices must be empowered. And William, that’s what you and this conference are doing here today, standing up for these courageous men and women who are continuing to try to change our societies.

That’s why we support a standalone goal of gender equality and women’s empowerment in the post-2015 development agenda, and we will fight for that. (Applause.) Long plane flight, get you any time. (Laughter.)

That’s why I am also issuing a policy guidance cable directly from me to every single embassy and every single bureau in the United States Department of State or in the foreign efforts, every diplomat and every officer at every level, in order to further integrate gender equality and advance the status of women and girls in all aspects of our diplomatic work, including – (applause) – preventing and responding to sexual violence in peacetime and conflict. I’m proud to tell you that five of my six regional bureau chiefs, assistants, are women, and four of my six under secretaries of the Department of State are women, and 50 percent of my deputy secretaries of State – that’s one of two – are women. (Applause.)

So these are steps that the United States, I can guarantee you, will continue to prioritize. But we also have a common responsibility, and that is to make sure that the perpetrators of sexual violence in conflict do not find refuge in any country. That is why I issued detailed guidance to implement President Obama’s decision to suspend visas to human rights abusers. Our principle is clear: To make sure that those responsible for crimes against humanity and war crimes, including those involving sexual violence, are not able to enter the United States. Not now, not ever. (Applause.)

And that responsibility goes straight to the top, even to the military commanders who knew or should have known about sexual violence and failed to act. I challenge all countries everywhere to participate in a global campaign of accountability and containment. That’s the way we come out of here: with a plan of action that can work and change the world. We need to send a strong message that no matter who commits these crimes, no matter where they take place, the perpetrators will find no safe harbor anywhere. (Applause.)

My friends, I do have faith that we can really win this fight. Sometimes I know it seems daunting, but hope is always stronger than fear. And nothing should give us more hope than the example of those who have survived sexual violence and found courage in their own recovery. We just lost one of these courageous women, the extraordinary poet Maya Angelou. (Applause.)
As a young girl, Maya was raped by her mother’s boyfriend. She withdrew into herself. She refused to speak for six years. One day, a woman in a small town in Arkansas where she lived took her hand and led her to a segregated library with only 300 books. But to Maya it felt like thousands of books, and that library became her refuge, became her place of healing. And when Maya chose to speak again – it was her choice; she chose – she incorporated all that she had learned from her reading and her recovery into the art for which she became so famous and so loved.

The words of her poem “Still I Rise” celebrate this journey:
Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide
Welling and swelling I hear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise

Today, together with all the people here – men and women, boys and girls – who refuse to remain victims, we rise. We rise with them as they leave behind nights of terror and fear. We rise with them into the daybreak as they speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves. As Maya exhorted us, we came here to send a message: We rise, we rise, we rise. We will go out of here and do the work to end this scourge of sexual violence. Let’s get the job done. Thank you very much, and God bless. (Applause.)

Sunday, June 15, 2014

ISIL CLAIMS IT MASSACRED 1700 IRAQI AIR FORCE RECRUITS

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 
ISIL Claims Massacre in Tikrit
Press Statement
Jen Psaki
Department Spokesperson
Washington, DC
June 15, 2014

The claim by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) that it has massacred 1700 Iraqi Shia air force recruits in Tikrit is horrifying and a true depiction of the bloodlust that these terrorists represent. While we cannot confirm these reports, one of the primary goals of ISIL is to set fear into the hearts of all Iraqis and drive sectarian division among its people. We condemn these tactics in the strongest possible terms and stand in solidarity with the Iraqi people against these horrendous and senseless acts of violence. Terrorists who can commit such heinous acts are a shared enemy of the United States, Iraq, and the international community. This underscores the need for Iraqi leaders from across the political spectrum to take steps that will unify the country in the face of this threat. The United States will do its part to help Iraq move beyond this crisis and we urge all Iraqis to unite against this violence and continue to reject the path of hatred that ISIL represents.

KIDNAPPING OF THREE ISRAELI TEENAGERS CONDEMNED BY U.S.

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 

U.S. Condemns Kidnapping of Three Israeli Teenagers

Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
June 15, 2014


The United States strongly condemns the kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers and calls for their immediate release. Our thoughts and prayers are with their families. We hope for their quick and safe return home.  We continue to offer our full support for Israel in its search for the missing teens, and we have encouraged full cooperation between the Israeli and Palestinian security services.  We understand that cooperation is ongoing.

We are still seeking details on the parties responsible for this despicable terrorist act, although many indications point to Hamas’ involvement.  As we gather this information, we reiterate our position that Hamas is a terrorist organization known for its attacks on innocent civilians and which has used kidnapping in the past.

NAVY SECRETARY MABUS DISCUSSES MARITIME SECURITY IN ROMANIA

FROM:  U.S. NAVY 

Right:  140611-N-PM781-009 CONSTANTA, Romania (June 11, 2014) Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Ray Mabus meets with Marines assigned to 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines, serving as the Black Sea Rotational Force. Mabus is in the region to meet with Sailors and Marines, and civilian and military officials, as part of a multi-nation visit to the U.S. European and Africa Command areas of responsibility. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Arif Patani/Released)

SEC NAV Discusses Maritime Security, Partnerships in Romania
Story Number: NNS140613-02Release Date: 6/13/2014 8:51:00 AM 
From Secretary of the Navy Public Affairs

BUCHAREST, Romania (NNS) -- Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus visited Romania June 10-11 to reinforce the relationship between the United States Navy and Marine Corps and their NATO ally.

In meetings with senior government and military officials including Romania's Chief of the National Security Department, Dr. Iulian Fota, Minister of National Defense, Mircea Dusa, and Chief of the General Staff, Lt. Gen. Stefan Danila, Mabus addressed, among other issues, maritime security in the Black Sea region, Romanian support to the Black Sea Rotational Force and the strength of the partnership between the U.S. and Romania.

"I want to stress how much we value this relationship and how much effort we will continue to put into maintaining it at this level," said Mabus. "It is crucial to continue to find ways to train together, conduct exercises together and operate together. Interoperability is extremely important in today's security environment."

Mabus and Romanian officials also discussed the importance of the United States' European relationships and the importance of military cooperation amongst partners.

"Our attention and commitment to Europe has not diminished," said Mabus. "There should be no doubt about the strength of this relationship."

While in Romania, Mabus also stopped in Constanta to speak with Marines assigned to the Black Sea Rotational Force to thank them for their efforts in maintaining security in the region.

Mabus' stop in Romania is part of a multi-nation visit to the U.S. European and Africa Command areas of responsibility focused on reinforcing existing partnerships and visiting Sailors and Marines providing forward presence.


SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARKS REGARDING AFGHAN ELECTIONS

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 
Conclusion of Afghan Elections
Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
June 14, 2014

Millions of Afghan men and women once again went to the polls today to choose their next president, laying the groundwork for the first democratic transition in Afghanistan's history. These brave Afghans from all walks of life again defied the threat of violence and went to the ballot box and voted because they want to set the course for a more inclusive, prosperous, and stable future. I’ve been to Afghanistan twice since becoming Secretary of State and many times before that. Every time I do, I’m impressed by how much Afghans have sacrificed for their future.

Now, in the coming weeks, the work of the Afghan electoral bodies will be particularly important. It is essential that the process of tallying votes, adjudicating complaints, and finalizing the results be transparent and accountable and that the candidates and other stakeholders work with the electoral commissions and respect their conclusions.

The United States will stand with the Afghan people now and in the future, and looks forward to signing the bilateral security agreement in the period ahead.

REMARKS BY SECRETARY KERRY, EU HIGH REPRESENTATIVE LADY ASHTON BEFORE MEETING

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 

Remarks With EU High Representative Lady Catherine Ashton Before Their Meeting

Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
London, United Kingdom
June 13, 2014


SECRETARY KERRY: I’m really happy to be meeting with Lady Cathy Ashton because we have been working together on almost every issue of concern right now – Ukraine, Syria, Middle East – and most importantly, Cathy is marshaling the P5+1 and the Iran talks that we are deeply involved in right now. We’re a critical six, seven weeks in those Iran talks, so it’s very important that we sit down, take stock, prepare notes as our teams are working, and think about how we’re going to move in these next weeks. And I’m very, very happy to be here with her.

HIGH REPRESENTATIVE ASHTON: And I’ll just reciprocate. We meet at an extraordinary time in world events. We think about what’s happening in Iraq right now. I know that you have been here, as indeed I have, to talk about the issues of sexual violence in conflict in the conference which has been so important, and I pay tribute to William Hague and Angelina Jolie for the work they’ve done on that. But as later, when we meet, I think one of our main focal points is to talk about the ongoing negotiations for Iran. I will leave for Vienna on Sunday, and continue with the work ahead. Thank you.

SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you all.

QUESTION: Are you now talking to the Iranians about what – during the P5+1 talks or on the sidelines about what might be done in Iraq, about what kind of help they might be able to bring in Iraq?

SECRETARY KERRY: The talks are focused carefully and with discipline on the nuclear topic, and whatever dialogue may or may not be taking place would take place on the sideline or outside of the mainstream of the nuclear talks. We don’t want that linked and mixed.

QUESTION: Why not?

STAFF: We’ve got to go. Thank you.

PARTICIPANT: Thank you. Thanks.

HIGH REPRESENTATIVE ASHTON: By mandate from the Security Council for the talks only.
QUESTION: Okay.

SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you.

DOJ CHARGES ROMANIAN NATIONAL WITH HACKING EMAIL ACCOUNTS

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 
Thursday, June 12, 2014
Romanian National “Guccifer” Charged with Hacking into Personal Email Accounts

Marcel Lehel Lazar, 42, of Arad, Romania, also known as the hacker “Guccifer,” was indicted by a federal grand jury today on charges of wire fraud, unauthorized access to a protected computer, aggravated identity theft, cyberstalking and obstruction of justice.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente for the Eastern District of Virginia, Special Agent in Charge Edward Lowery of the United States Secret Service Criminal Investigative Division, Assistant Director in Charge Valerie Parlave of the FBI’s Washington Field Office and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Bill A. Miller of the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Diplomatic Security made the announcement .

According to the indictment, from December 2012 to January 2014, Lazar hacked into the email and social media accounts of high-profile victims, including a family member of two former U.S. presidents, a former U.S. Cabinet member, a former member of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff and a former presidential advisor.   After gaining unauthorized access to their email and social media accounts, Lazar publicly released his victims’ private email correspondence, medical and financial information, and personal photographs.   The indictment also alleges that in July and August 2013, Lazar impersonated a victim after compromising the victim’s account.

An indictment is merely an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

This case was investigated by United States Secret Service, the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Diplomatic Security, with assistance from the Romanian National Police .  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Peter V. Roman of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Dickey of the Eastern District of Virginia. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs provided assistance.

PRESS CONFERENCE: SUMMIT ON ENDING SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN CONFLICT

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT

Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
ExCeL Conference Center
London, United Kingdom
June 13, 2014


FOREIGN SECRETARY HAGUE: Well, thank you very much. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for coming to this, the concluding press conference of the Summit on Ending Sexual Violence in Conflict. As you know, I’ve been co-chairing this this week with the Special Envoy of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Angelina Jolie, and I’m also very, very grateful to the U.S. Secretary of State Secretary Kerry for taking such time and trouble to be here today, for making a formidable speech, an inspiring speech, to our summit.

I will recap in a moment very briefly on the conclusions of the summit, but Secretary Kerry and I have obviously also been discussing the extremely serious situation in Iraq. We have noted, of course, that fighting continues but that attacks have thankfully slowed in recent hours. And in the UK we think our focus should now be on three objectives: first of all, to stabilize the situation. This is primarily the responsibility of the Iraqi security forces working in cooperation with their civil authorities, including the Kurdistan Regional Government.

Second, for Iraq’s leadership to come together in a united response to this brutal aggression against their country. That requires their leaders to find ways immediately to put aside their differences, however strongly felt, and act together against the terrorism which threatens them all.

Third, the half a million or more displaced people in the north who have been forced to flee Mosul and the surrounding areas need urgent support so that the humanitarian situation does not deteriorate further.

In the UK, we are not planning a British military intervention, as you know, but we are looking urgently at other ways to help. For example, help with counterterrorist expertise. Work is underway on that now, and we will continue to liaise closely with our United States allies in particular on that. A British team of emergency aid experts from DFID arrived in Iraq early this morning and are looking urgently at what the UK might do to help on that front.

We’ll also continue to work urgently within the UN Security Council to help concert the wider international response. The UN special representative for Iraq was clear to the Council about the urgency, both of the humanitarian crisis and the need for Iraq’s politicians to address the immediate challenge. Clearly, ISIL represents a regional challenge. We’re thinking through very carefully the implications of that, and this attack shows the importance of a strong stand against extremists and that’s why we are giving our backing to moderate groups in Syria who are taking them on.

On the Global Summit, which has just ended, this has been an unprecedented event and a turning point in our campaign over the last two years. We’ve seen delegations from more than 123 countries. We’ve seen new support for survivors, new determination to tackle impunity, and a new international protocol, new support for affected countries, new commitments on women’s participation and conflict prevention and peace building, and we have raised awareness dramatically across the world of this issue and these crimes with what we’ve done in our 84-hour summit here and around the world this week.

We will be pursuing this effort with relentless dedication. The chair’s summary sets out what we believe we have achieved this week. And I’m very grateful, as I say, for the very strong support of Secretary Kerry and the United States and for everything that my cohost, Angelina Jolie, has done to make this possible.

And I’ll turn to her to make her remarks before we give the floor to Secretary Kerry. Thank you.
MS. JOLIE: Thank you so much. It’s an honor for me to be here with Secretary Hague and Secretary Kerry. It sends an extremely powerful message to the world that the foreign ministers of the United Kingdom and the United States are taking such a strong stand on this issue.
Among the 123 countries represented here over the last four days, one of the most heartening aspects of this summit has been to see so many male leaders from across the world prepared to confront the taboos surrounding sexual violence in conflict. Indeed, I believe that one of the outcomes of this summit is that this subject is now firmly on the top table of international diplomacy, and we will work to ensure that it stays there.

Warzone rape is not simply a women’s issue, it is not a humanitarian issue, it goes to the heart of international peace and security. Even more heartening is the fact that this summit has brought together leaders, survivors, and experts from around the world in an unprecedented way. I see this as a new and hopeful model for how we can begin to tackle vast global issues and strengthen the rule of law and justice internationally. I will work with William Hague and those who have joined us here for as long as it takes to prevail in the struggle against sexual violence in conflict.

All represented here, individuals, agencies, and nations have promised action, not just words. The test of whether this summit is a success will be whether or not we can truly make a difference in the lives of survivors of warzone rape around the world and take the steps that visibly shatter the culture of impunity. And I look forward to everyone who has taken part in this summit holding us to our promises, encouraging us to go further, and working with us in many different ways. And in my mind, the work we have begun here is very, very much linked to the violence against women in many other contexts, whether it is the kidnap of the schoolgirls in Nigeria or the recent appalling rape cases in India and Pakistan. My goal is that by treating sexual violence in conflict as a central issue and bearing down on impunity there, that we will be able to accelerate change in all these other areas, and that will be very much a part of my focus – I’m sure our focus – in the months and years to come. Thank you.

FOREIGN SECRETARY HAGUE: Thank you very much indeed.

John – Secretary Kerry.

SECRETARY KERRY: Well, thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Foreign Secretary. It’s a privilege for me to be back in London and to join William Hague, Angelina Jolie, and so many others in the first-ever global summit on sexual violence. And I’ll say a few words about that in a moment, but like William Hague, I clearly want to say a few words about Iraq and the subject that we just talked about in our bilateral meeting, much on our minds.

President Obama met with his senior foreign policy team yesterday afternoon. We had a comprehensive meeting regarding the events in Iraq. We discussed a range of options, including military action to provide support for the Iraqi Government and to respond to their request at this difficult time. Iraq is facing a brutal enemy that also poses a threat to America’s interests and to the interests of our allies in Europe and in the region. Given the gravity of the situation, I would anticipate timely decisions from the President regarding the challenge. We’ve already taken some immediate steps, including providing enhanced aerial surveillance support to assist the Iraqis in this fight. We’ve also ramped up shipments of military aid to Iraq since the beginning of the year, and we have continued to ramp up efforts over the course of the last months leading up to the events of the last week. We’ve also expanded our training programs, both inside Iraq and in Jordan.

We are laser-focused on dealing with the crisis at hand, but just as important as any short-term action is our continuing effort to build the Iraqi Government’s ability to be able to sustain this fight itself. And we plan to intensify that effort in the coming hours, days, and weeks. Security is a priority, obviously, but make no mistake: This needs to be a real wake-up call for all of Iraq’s political leaders. Now is the time for Iraq’s leaders to come together and to show unity. Political division fueled by ethnic or sectarian differences simply cannot be allowed to steal from the Iraqi people what so many have given so much for over the course of these last years. This is a fight for a better future for all Iraqis. It’s a fight for a pluralistic, tolerant society. It’s a fight for a civil approach to governance. And it is a fight ultimately which winning will require all of Iraq’s leaders of all different stripes and persuasions to come together in order to put the national interest above their own and above any sectarian interest.

Our commitment to a better future for people is really what brings us to London this week, to direct international attention and focus on the critical issue of ending sexual violence in conflict. There are few leaders more committed, as I said earlier, to this cause than Foreign Secretary William Hague. And we are very, very grateful, both of us and all government individuals involved in this, for the participation of the UN Special Representative Angelina Jolie. We also appreciate Special Representative Bangura’s efforts, and I recall a conversation we had back in February. And I am pleased to join Secretary Hague and Angelina in trying to elevate this conversation today.

Too many of the places that I have visited as Secretary of State bear the scars of a time when rape has been used as a tactic of oppression and intimidation. Sexual violence in conflict is one of the most persistent and most neglected injustices imaginable, and ending this cycle of violence is not just a personal priority, it is a priority of President Obama, the Government of the United States, and our allies, as you can see. That’s why we’ve taken a number of steps that I enumerated earlier. I’m not going to go through them all again. But we’ve taken steps to try to empower people to create accountability and to try to make it clear that all governments have to join together in denying a safe haven to those who perpetrate these crimes. We are expanding initiatives that I described earlier, particularly the Safe from the Start initiative as well as the Accountability initiative, and also gender-based violence and emergency response and protection initiatives. Our goal is to make sure that survivors get the urgent assistance that they need in order to be able to recover and heal.

So we have a big agenda, and that’s appropriate. We need to make clear with a single loud voice, and I think that is coming out of London today, that we are – that we refuse to believe that this is too big to defeat, that it is somehow too deeply ingrained in human nature or society not to care about it. We are convinced that we can make a difference and that there is no place in the civilized world for sexual violence as a tool of war in conflict. So I thank Secretary Hague for his leadership and would be delighted to answer other questions along with him.

FOREIGN SECRETARY HAGUE: Okay. Thank you. Time for a few questions. Carl, my press secretary, will identify them. I think Adam Boulton is first.

QUESTION: Yeah, a question from Sky News: Which regional powers do you think are benefiting from what’s happening in northern Iraq with ISIS? What role do you see for Iran now? And in relation to the subject of this conference, do you have specific concerns about the use of sexual violence by ISIS?

SECRETARY KERRY: What was the first – I missed the first part of the question.

FOREIGN SECRETARY HAGUE: The first part was which regional powers benefit.

QUESTION: Which regional powers do you think are benefiting from what’s happening?

SECRETARY KERRY: No regional power benefits from what is happening in Iraq today – no regional power. Iran is deeply concerned about this, Turkey is concerned, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, countries in the region. No country benefits by what is happening. ISIL is a terrorist organization. It is so extreme that even al-Qaida saw fit at one point to try to disassociate itself to some degree from it.

The bottom line is that ISIL is a threat not just to Iraq and to the entire region, but it is a threat to Europe, the United States, and other countries in the world, and obviously, with the number of foreign fighters that have been assembled in Syria, this remains a very significant issue. That is why President Obama has urgently convened a security team and that is why he is moving rapidly to a point of deciding what the next steps need to be. I might add that what this represents is not a free-standing terrorist entity, but a consequence of what is happening in Syria. We have been warning for months now that the increased number of jihadists attracted to Syria because of Assad’s behavior and because of the sectarian differences is creating a danger to the region in the spillover violence and the spillover humanitarian crisis.
So everybody in the region, every country that understands the importance of stability in the Middle East needs to be concerned about what is happening with ISIL in Iraq today, and that is why I am confident that the United States will move rapidly and effectively in order to join with our allies in dealing with this challenge.

FOREIGN SECRETARY HAGUE: And on the question about sexual violence in Iraq, I don’t think we have evidence of that in these incidents – these events in the last few days. But we do, of course, have evidence of it on a huge scale in the Syria conflict. And indeed, we have deployed the UK team of experts to Syria’s borders to help to document these crimes and to support human rights activists in doing so.

Next question, I think, was going to the BBC.

QUESTION: James Robbins from the BBC. Secretary Kerry, you’ve talked about the brutality of ISIL or ISIS leading this uprising, but isn’t it really the case that it’s spread far beyond them now and has become a much more general Sunni uprising within Iraq? Is there a risk that if the President decides on military action in Iraq, he will be propping up a man, Nuri al-Maliki, who’s often seen by his critics as a sectarian leader, not one who necessarily deserves your support.
Can you tell us if it’s – your real overriding concern is the risk of what some have called transnational badlands, the formation of an extremist state straddling both Syria and Iraq?
Foreign Secretary, is it right for Britain to rule out military action in any circumstances? Because surely, what’s been characterized here is just the sort of threat ultimately to British nationals which might require military action. And aren’t you undermining the United States position by ruling it out so categorically?

And Ms. Jolie, if I could ask you what’s – what are your future plans on the themes of this summit? Do you hope, for instance, to make another feature film based around themes raised here?

FOREIGN SECRETARY HAGUE: Right, three questions in one question. John, do you want to have --

SECRETARY KERRY: Why don’t we ask – why don’t we let Angelina begin and we’ll roll back.

FOREIGN SECRETARY HAGUE: Angelina.

MS. JOLIE: The easier question. (Laughter.) There are many different ways I will be attempting to work on this issue. I will be doing it through art and then through my work in the field, and meeting and working very much with survivors, doctors, lawyers, the task forces set out from PSVI, and of course any ways as an artist that I can bring attention to these issues. There is not a particular, specific piece of art, but I am of course very moved, and it means a great deal to me that a film that I made has – with these issues and felt nobody would see or pay any attention to was responded to by the foreign secretary and helped me to raise my voice even louder. Thank you.

FOREIGN SECRETARY HAGUE: On the question to me, I mentioned in my opening statement that we are looking urgently at ways to assist, and I mentioned the example of counterterrorist expertise in Iraq. Secretary Kerry referred in his remarks to building Iraq’s ability to sustain the fight itself. And there will certainly be ways. There are ways and there will be ways in which the United Kingdom can assist with that, so we will work closely with the United States and all of our allies on that. That doesn’t mean, as I also mentioned, that we are planning a military intervention ourselves. But there will be many things we can do to work with our allies in trying to stabilize the situation in Iraq.
John.

SECRETARY KERRY: ISIL is a – clearly a common threat to the entire region, including Iran, but to the entire region. And people need to focus clearly on the fact that the rise in Iraq’s violence is primarily a result of the escalating war in Syria and its empowering effect on ISIL. That is what has happened here. But we need to make it very clear that there are other contributing factors. Prime Minister Maliki and all of Iraqi leaders need to do more to put sectarian differences aside and to come together in unity to begin to be more representative and inclusive. And part of what has created a dynamic in Iraq where it is less prepared with less political will than it might have had has been this persistent divisiveness and gridlock with respect to some of the unresolved political issues in Iraq itself.

So that’s a conversation that we are having now, real time, with the prime minister and with others in Iraq, but there is no entity, no government, no one broadly in the Iraqi population is looking forward to the presence of ISIL. ISIL terrorizes them. And there are many Sunnis who are taking cover, leaving the country, seeking refuge because of their fear of ISIL. ISIL is a fundamental, basic terrorist structure that seeks to do everything outside of any rule of law structure in order to dominate any territory location where it is. It’s frankly the enemy of civility, the enemy of rule of law, the enemy of pluralism, the enemy of decency, and we need to make it crystal clear, as we have, the United States views it as a threat to our interests as well as to the interests of our friends and allies in the region.

FOREIGN SECRETARY HAGUE: Okay. I think there’s just time for one more question, Carl.
QUESTION: Hi, thank you. Today in Iraq Shia clerics have called on Iraqis to fight the Sunni insurgency. Secretary Kerry, is the U.S. planning to strike – to launch airstrikes in Iraq to help the government? And can you discuss why it might do so now after declining to do so in Syria, and also potentially enter into a cooperation with Iran, which is also helping the Iraqi Government?
Secretary Kerry and Secretary Hague, why would additional help to Iraq now make a difference after both the U.S. and the UK spent the better part of the last decade trying to stabilize Iraq? Do you believe this is the start of a new years-long conflict in Iraq?

And Ms. Jolie, could you discuss a little bit how you personally became involved with the issue of sexual violence in conflict zones and how you plan to keep this – I know you discussed some of your projects are ongoing, but how you believe that this will remain a top-tier priority when there are so many other pressing priorities in the world? Thank you.

FOREIGN SECRETARY HAGUE: Right. Another three questions in one question. I think the answer to the, why would we do now what we haven’t done in recent months, is clearly the situation has changed. The situation has deteriorated seriously in Iraq. It’s therefore necessary to emphasize and assist with the things that we’ve set out, including stabilizing the situation. Both Secretary Kerry and I have stressed the importance of Iraq’s leadership coming together in a united response and the responsibility that rests on Iraq’s leaders, but in a situation that has deteriorated they are likely to have legitimate needs for assistance that are greater than before. So I think that is fairly clear.

John, do you want to take the other aspects of the Iraq question?

SECRETARY KERRY: Well, there is a huge distinction between what ISIL represents and ISIL is doing versus the situation in Syria. It begins first and fundamentally that in Iraq there is a government that we have been deeply involved in, that we support, that we have a military relationship with, that we have a – ongoing Memorandum of Understanding regarding the military relationship, which has invited us, asked us for help. And under international law, the United Nations and other law, it is clear that when a legitimate nation makes a request for help, there is a legal basis for involvement in ways that are different.

Number two, the fact is that ISIL is a terrorist entity, as I have described, that has already expressed threats against the United States and the West and about which we have some indication has been plotting and looking for opportunities to take on the West. So there is a vital interest with respect to that.

Thirdly, there is a clarity that what has been lacking in these last weeks and months in Iraq is not a trained capacity of a military to respond, not an ability of the numbers of people, frankly, in the military in Iraq to be able to stand up to the several thousand in ISIL, but a lack of political will. And that political will and leadership is a critical component of what we have been working on now for several years to try to resolve unresolved differences in the governance of Iraq itself. And I think that has had a profound impact, and that’s what I said a moment ago. This has served as a wakeup call with respect to political leadership. And there are indications that they are quickly responding to that. And so this may be a moment where you can actually coalesce and bring the country together, recognizing that there is a threat to them as a whole.
So our sense is that there is an ability here to work with the existing government and the existing trained military forces to be able to have an impact in ways that have never been available or as clear with respect to Syria, not to mention there are other issues, many other issues, with respect to Syria. But Iraq is, as I’ve said, a country we’ve had a very direct relationship with, a very direct investment and engagement with, not to mention the lives of our soldiers who were lost there providing this opportunity to them. And I don’t think anybody in the region or in this Administration believes it is in the interest of the United States to turn our backs on that.

FOREIGN SECRETARY HAGUE: Thank you. Angelina?

MS. JOLIE: I became involved in this particular issue because of the women and men that I’ve met in the field, first through my work with UNHCR. And I have sat with them and they were very emotional not only about what had been done to them physically, but most of all the injustice, the lack of prosecutions for those who had committed the crimes. One of the women that I met that was very, very young I met in Syria, who was an Iraqi refugee at the time fleeing from that war. She then fled the war in Syria to return back to Iraq. I don’t know where she is now or where she will go.

So these issues are all tied together. There is not one that is more important than the other. But we must address them all at once. Thank you.

FOREIGN SECRETARY HAGUE: Okay. Thank you very much indeed, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you.

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