Dempsey: U.S. Must Remain Engaged with Muslim World

By Jim Garamone

American Forces Press Service

ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT  – The recent anti-American demonstrations that have occurred in many Muslim countries “demands for us to be more engaged, not less engaged,” the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said today during an aircraft flight from Sibiu, Romania, to Ankara, Turkey.

Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey said the situation is the most complex he has seen since becoming chairman.

In Libya, a coordinated attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi resulted in the deaths of four Americans including the U.S. ambassador to the country. There have been anti-American demonstrations in Egypt, Yemen, Tunisia, Pakistan and many others.

While the spark that ignited the demonstrations was a crude video that denigrated Islam, there are several factors that have contributed to rage against the United States, the chairman said.

The chairman wants to learn from the situation. “At some level, I think what we are seeing are societies that have been suppressed,” he said. “They have not had anything like freedom of speech or even the ability to congregate.”

Security forces in these countries are for the first time under civilian rule, and are less likely to intervene unless directed by political leaders, the chairman said.

And, he said, there are often power struggles within the countries.

“Some of those groups are truly anti-American and radical and violent,” Dempsey said. “Certainly you have these groups that are anti-American, who are extreme, who are competing for power in the country.”

These extremist groups often did not accumulate the number of votes they’d thought they would get in free elections, Dempsey said. Such groups that experienced failure at the ballot box, he added, could “now try to gain some traction around the idea of being anti-American in order to gain influence for themselves. These groups are trying to manipulate the population.”

Now is not the time for the United States to withdraw from these countries, the chairman said.

“It demands for us to be more engaged, not less engaged,” he said, “so that we can counter that message of extremism that is being propagated by these violent, extreme organizations.”

North Carolina Resident Daniel Patrick Boyd Sentenced for Terrorism Violations

NEW BERN, NC—United States Attorney Thomas G. Walker announced that in federal court today, United States District Judge Louise W. Flanagan sentenced Daniel Patrick Boyd, 42, a U.S. citizen and resident of North Carolina to 216 months’ imprisonment, followed by five years’ supervised release, and a $3,000 fine. “We must be ever vigilant in the pursuit of those who seek to destroy our way of life. This prosecution is evidence of our commitment to do so,” stated U.S. Attorney Thomas G. Walker.

Boyd pleaded guilty on February 9, 2011, to conspiring to provide material support to terrorists, Title 18, United States Code, Section 2339A; and conspiring to murder, kidnap, maim, and injure persons abroad, Title 18, United States Code, Section 956(a). ”Daniel Boyd recruited his own sons and others into conspiracies to murder persons abroad and provide material support to terrorism. Today, he is being held accountable for his actions. I thank all those responsible for this successful outcome,” said Lisa Monaco, Assistant Attorney General for National Security.

“People who are plotting to harm Americans are no longer a world away from us. Daniel Boyd led a group of extremists who chose to target innocent citizens in the U.S. and abroad. The Raleigh-Durham Joint Terrorism Task Force thwarted his plot and will keep pursuing those who threaten our society,” said Chris Briese, Special Agent In Charge of FBI Charlotte.

“The Defense Criminal Investigative Service was proud to partner with the Raleigh FBI JTTF to help bring Daniel Boyd and the Triangle terror group to justice,” commented DCIS Special Agent in Charge John F. Khin, Southeast Field Office. “Due to our ongoing commitment to protecting America’s warfighters both overseas and at home in America, these violent extremists can no longer harm military service members and their families. Today’s sentencing of these criminals is the result of many years of dedication, persistence, and collaboration by all the partners of the FBI JTTF.”

Boyd was first charged along with seven other defendants in a federal indictment returned on July 22, 2009. He was arrested on July 29, 2009, and the indictment was unsealed. On September 24, 2009, a federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment that added additional charges against Boyd and two of the other defendants.

According to the superseding indictment, during the period from 1989 through 1992, Boyd traveled to Pakistan and Afghanistan where he received military-style training in terrorist training camps for the purpose of engaging in violent jihad. Following this training, according to the indictment, he fought in Afghanistan.

Also stated in the indictment is that from roughly November 2006 through at least July 2009, Boyd conspired with the other defendants to provide material support and resources to terrorists, including currency, training, transportation, and personnel. The defendants also conspired to murder, kidnap, maim, and injure persons abroad during this period. The object of the conspiracy, according to the indictment, was to advance violent jihad, including supporting and participating in terrorist activities abroad and committing acts of murder, kidnapping, or maiming persons abroad.

Ultimately, Boyd cooperated with the government, as noted by federal prosecutors during the sentencing hearing today. After pleading guilty to two counts of the superseding indictment in 2011, Boyd testified at trial against several of his co-conspirators who were convicted in October 2011.

The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Bowler of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina and Trial Attorney Jason Kellhofer of the Counterterrorism Section in the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Security Division.

News releases are available on the U.S. Attorney’s web page at www.usdoj.gov/usao/nce within 48 hours of release.

Reopened Supply Routes Mean Cost Savings, Spokesman Says

By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, July 5, 2012 – Pakistan’s decision to reopen ground supply routes on its border with Afghanistan will allow the Defense Department to save tens of millions of dollars transporting material in and out of Afghanistan, a senior Pentagon spokesman said here today.

Navy Capt. John Kirby said officials estimate that use of the reopened routes will save $70 million to $100 million per month.

Kirby noted that Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta had told Congress that since Pakistan had closed the routes in November, resupplying forces in Afghanistan had been costing the United States about $100 million more per month than before the closure.

“Secretary Panetta fully supports the approach that was taken, and the discussions that were had,” Kirby said. “He welcomes the decision by Pakistan to open the gates.”

Pakistan closed the supply routes after a Nov. 26, 2011, incident in which American troops came under fire from Pakistan. U.S. forces returned fire and killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. Pakistan responded by closing the main overland supply routes for U.S. and NATO forces into Afghanistan.

U.S. logistics specialists quickly shifted to other means, such as the Northern Distribution Network, to supply the forces. However, DOD officials have noted the routes through Pakistan are considered the most direct and most cost-effective.

“The Defense Department, immediately after the incident in November, expressed our regrets and condolences over it [and] acknowledged the mistakes we’ve made, and we’re sorry for those mistakes,” Kirby told reporters today.

He added that although the Pakistani ground supply routes are cheaper, coalition forces will continue to use the Northern Distribution Network as well.

“The Northern Distribution Network is still a viable, vital method through which logistics flow in and out of Afghanistan,” Kirby said. “One of the things that we’re looking at, more [now] than we were in November when the [Pakistani ground supply routes] closed, was retrograde -- the need to get material out of Afghanistan. So the Northern Distribution Network will still remain vital as we move forward.”

Kirby said traffic has started to flow through the Pakistan ground gates, and that the same agreement in place before the closure still applies.

“The same arrangement we had using the ground gates before they closed are in existence now,” he said. “There’s been no change to those agreements.” No lethal material is permitted to flow through the ground lines of communication, he added, unless it is designed and designated solely for the Afghan national security forces.

Kirby said the United States and Pakistan continue to work to “get this relationship on better footing.”

“My sense is this was just a series of a lot of discussions and negotiations, and [a] concerted effort by both sides to move past this and to get the relationship into a better place [as we] start to look at the common challenges in the region,” he said.

Kirby re-emphasized the practical benefits and cost-effectiveness of moving logistics through Pakistan’s ground supply routes.

“We’ve always said moving things through the ground gates is cheaper and more expedient,” he said. “Because we have that open to us now, it will save money.”

Panetta Welcomes Opening of Pakistan Supply Lines

By Cheryl Pellerin

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, July 3, 2012 – Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta today welcomed Pakistan’s decision to open ground lines of communication on the border with Afghanistan that have been closed since November.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced the decision after a telephone call this morning with Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar.

“As I have made clear,” Panetta said, “we remain committed to improving our partnership with Pakistan and to working closely together as our two nations confront common security challenges in the region."

On the call with Khar, Clinton said, “I once again reiterated our deepest regrets for the tragic incident in Salala last November. I offered our sincere condolences to the families of the Pakistani soldiers who lost their lives.”

Clinton and Khar acknowledged the mistakes that resulted in the loss of Pakistani military lives, she added.

“We are sorry for the losses suffered by the Pakistani military,” she added. “We are committed to working closely with Pakistan and Afghanistan to prevent this from ever happening again.”

In reopening the ground lines of communication, Pakistan will not charge transit fees in the larger interest of peace and security in Afghanistan and the region, Clinton said.

“This is a tangible demonstration of Pakistan’s support for a secure, peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan and our shared objectives in the region,” she said, adding that the move will help the United States and the International Security Assistance Force conduct the planned drawdown at a much lower cost.

“This is critically important to the men and women who are fighting terrorism and extremism in Afghanistan,” Clinton said.

Khar said no lethal equipment will transit Pakistan into Afghanistan unless it is meant to equip the Afghan national security force.

During the call, Khar and Clinton discussed the importance of taking coordinated action against terrorists who threaten Pakistan, the United States and the region, she said.

Clinton said she and Khar also discussed supporting Afghanistan’s security, stability and efforts towards reconciliation, and continuing to work together to advance the two nations’ many other shared interests, from increasing trade and investment to strengthening our people-to-people ties.

“Our countries should have a relationship that is enduring, strategic and carefully defined, and that enhances the security and prosperity of both our nations and the region,” the secretary said.

U.S. and Pakistani troops are in a fight against a common enemy, she said, and have enhanced counterterrorism cooperation against terrorists that threaten both countries, with the goal of defeating al-Qaida in the region.

As the call ended, Clinton said, “I reiterated our deep appreciation to the government and the people of Pakistan for their many sacrifices and their critical contribution to the ongoing fight against terrorism and extremism.”

Inside the Denver JTTF, Part 1: Vigilance Against Terrorism

It was September 2009—a few days before the eighth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks—when the Denver Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) received word that a Colorado resident and al Qaeda recruit was about to carry out a major terrorist attack. The jihadist needed to be located with the utmost urgency.

“We got the call on Labor Day,” recalled Special Agent John Scata, who supervises one of Denver’s two international terrorism squads, “and we immediately began working around the clock.”

Using the JTTF’s multi-agency approach to conducting investigations and gathering and sharing intelligence, task force members located Najibullah Zazi and helped track him to New York City, where he intended to become a suicide bomber in the subway system around the time of the 9/11 anniversary. “If we hadn’t found him in Denver as quickly as we did,” Scata said, “he might have gone into the wind and things could have turned out differently.”

Zazi and two of his high school classmates had previously traveled to Pakistan to receive al Qaeda training, including how to make bombs. His self-described plot to “weaken America” by killing innocent subway riders has been characterized as one of the most serious terrorist threats to the U.S. since the 9/11 attacks.

“Zazi is part of the spread of homegrown violent extremism in America,” said James Yacone, special agent in charge of our Denver office. “He was trained internationally but he became radicalized in the U.S. through the Internet. He was planning and facilitating his attack in Colorado, but his target was New York City.”

The plot was foiled thanks to an all-out effort by law enforcement and intelligence agencies around the world. Much of that effort was focused through Denver’s JTTF, which is comprised of more than 20 local, state, and federal agencies. There are actually three separate squads that form the task force—two that deal with international terrorism and one that concentrates on domestic terrorism.

Begun in 1994, Denver has one of the Bureau’s oldest JTTFs (our New York office established the first in 1980). “Our task force is very active,” said Yacone. “The Zazi case was well publicized, but our squads handle many other counterterrorism investigations—international and domestic. Protecting the country from terror attacks is the FBI’s number one priority.”

The JTTF’s team concept works well, Yacone explained. “All the local and state police officers and detectives on the task force have the same clearances that our agents do. They sit side by side, work together, and have the same access to all our resources.” More than 100 FBI-led JTTFs located around the country are organized the same way.

John Nagengast, a detective with Colorado’s Aurora Police Department, is a JTTF task force officer who worked on the Zazi case. “I am basically a local cop who deals with local crime,” he said. “Working the Zazi case opened up my world to the threat of terrorism.”

Nagengast explained that “a lot of entities were involved in the investigation, including the military and the intelligence community—and the Denver JTTF was central to the operation. We were ground zero for the Zazi investigation.” He added, “I got to see very quickly how the Bureau, locals, and state law enforcement came together with agencies around the world to prevent this attack. It was amazing to be a part of it.”

Denver: Crossroads of the Country

Denver’s JTTF is extremely active, said Special Agent in Charge James Yacone, because “we have a very large territory, a significant international footprint, and we are geographically located at the crossroads of the U.S.”

Contained within the Denver office’s area of responsibility are:

- Seven major military bases;

- About 400 defense contractors with security clearances who work on classified government projects;

- A constant stream of international visitors and students who come to the region for business, research, and academic pursuits; and

- More than 1,000 high-tech companies.

“All of those things require us to maintain a constant vigilance against terrorists and other extremists who would do us harm,” Yacone said. “That’s why the JTTF is critical to our operations and to the safety of the country.”

Next: The Colorado fusion center—a key JTTF partner.