Benghazi Attackers Struck Against U.N. Ideals, Obama Says

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By Jim GaramoneAmerican Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Sept. 25, 2012 – The assaulton the U.S. Consulate earlier this month in Benghazi, Libya, was an attack notonly on America, but also on the ideals of the United Nations, President BarackObama said in a speech to the U.N. General Assembly today.
The attack that killed four Americans,including U.S. Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens, was an assault on“the notion that people can resolve their differences peacefully, thatdiplomacy can take the place of war, and that in an interdependent world, allof us have a stake in working towards greater opportunity and security for ourcitizens,” the president said.
Nations must be serious about theassault on those ideals and must go to the root causes that extremists use toincite populations, Obama said. “If we are serious about those ideals,” he toldthe General Assembly, “we must speak honestly about the deeper causes of thiscrisis, because we face a choice between the forces that would drive us apart,and the hopes we hold in common.”
Leaders, the president said, must decidethat violence and intolerance have no place in the United Nations.
America has supported the forces ofchange sweeping North Africa and the Middle East, Obama said. “We were inspiredby the Tunisian protests that toppled a dictator, because we recognized our ownbeliefs in the aspirations of men and women who took to the streets,” he said.“We insisted on change in Egypt, because our support for democracy put us onthe side of the people.”
The United States supported leadershiptransition in Yemen and intervened in Libya alongside a broad coalition“because we had the ability to stop the slaughter of innocents, and because webelieved that the aspirations of the people were more powerful than a tyrant,”he said.
Obama also restated the U.S. positionthat the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar Assad must end.
“We have taken these positions becausewe believe that freedom and self-determination are not unique to one culture,”he said. Freedom is a universal value, the president added.
The events of the past two weeks -- inwhich extremists have used an Internet video that denigrates the ProphetMuhammad to spur anti-American demonstrations -- speak to the need for nationsto address the tensions between the West and an Arab World moving to democracy,Obama said. The United States will not dictate the outcome of democratictransitions, the president said, nor does America expect every nation to agreewith U.S. positions.
“However, I do believe that it is theobligation of all leaders, in all countries, to speak out forcefully againstviolence and extremism,” he said. “It is time to marginalize those who -- evenwhen not resorting to violence -- use hatred of America, or the West, orIsrael, as a central principle of politics. For that only gives cover, andsometimes makes excuses, for those who resort to violence.”
Obama reiterated that the United Stateswill not allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons. “America wants to resolve thisissue through diplomacy, and we believe that there is still time and space todo so,” he said. “But that time is not unlimited.”
A nuclear-armed Iran is not a challengethat can be contained, Obama said. “It would threaten the elimination ofIsrael, the security of [Persian] Gulf nations, and the stability of the globaleconomy,” he added.
Iranian possession of nuclear weaponswould spur an arms race in the region and unravel the Nuclear Non-proliferationTreaty, Obama said.
“That is why a coalition of countries isholding the Iranian government accountable,” he added. “And that is why theUnited States will do what we must to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclearweapon.”

Marines Charged in Desecration Incident Face Trial

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Froma Marine Corps Combat Development Command News Release
QUANTICO, Va. – Charges against twoMarines were referred to trial by courts-martial Sept. 21 for their allegedinvolvement in urinating on deceased Taliban fighters and for posing forunofficial photographs with human casualties in Afghanistan.
Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Richard P. Mills,commanding general of Marine Corps Combat Development command, referred thecharges.
The incident allegedly took place duringa counterinsurgency operation near Sandala in the Musa Qala district ofAfghanistan’s Helmand province on or about July 27, 2011. The charges werereferred to courts-martial by Lieutenant General Richard P. Mills, theCommanding General of Marine Corps Combat Development Command.
Marine Corps Staff Sgts. Joseph W.Chamblin and Edward W. Deptola also were charged for other misconduct thatallegedly took place during the same operation, including being derelict intheir duties by failing to properly supervise junior Marines, failing torequire junior Marines to wear their personal protective equipment, failing tostop and report the misconduct of junior Marines, failing to report thenegligent discharge of a grenade launcher, and failing to stop theindiscriminate firing of weapons.
Deptola also is charged with failing tostop the unnecessary damaging of Afghan compounds and wrongfully andindiscriminately firing a recovered enemy machine gun.
Both Marines are assigned to 3rdBattalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Last month, three Marines receivednonjudicial punishment for misconduct that came to light during severalinvestigations into the desecration incident, shown in a video that becamepublic and circulated widely on the Internet in January. Disciplinary actionsregarding other Marines will be announced at a later date, officials said.
The charges are accusations against theindividual Marines, officials emphasized, and the accused are presumed innocentand are guaranteed the right to due process under the Uniform Code of MilitaryJustice.
“There are other pending cases relatedto this incident. In order to preserve the integrity of the investigations andto ensure fair and impartial legal proceedings in the future, we will notdiscuss evidence or specific findings of the investigations,” the command saidin a written statement. “We will be as forthright as possible while preservingthe rights of the accused and the fairness and integrity of the militaryjustice process.”

Partnered Coalition Operations Continue Despite Insider Attacks

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By Nick SimeoneAmerican Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Sept. 25, 2012 – Partneredoperations between coalition and Afghan forces are continuing despite adecision by the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan to scale them backin response to a series of deadly insider attacks, Pentagon Press SecretaryGeorge Little said today.
On Sept. 16, Marine Corps Gen. John R.Allen ordered that all combined International Security Assistance Force andAfghan operations below the battalion level must be approved at the regionalcommand level following attacks by Afghan soldiers and police that have killed51 members of the coalition this year.
At a Pentagon news conference today,Little told reporters he did not know how long such operations would be scaledback, but that some patrols below the battalion level do continue. “This is atemporary measure,” he said, “and let me be clear as well that operations withour Afghan partners continue.”
Last week, Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey,chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, described the pullback as precautionaryand partly in response to the violent anti-American demonstrations that brokeout across the Islamic world after an American-made video surfaced on theInternet defaming the Prophet Muhammad. “The protection of our personnel isparamount, and we will continue to make adjustments as required over time toensure their security,” Little said.
The spokesman said it would be up to thecommand in Afghanistan to determine how long partnered operations arecurtailed, and that Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta strongly supports Allen’sdecision. He called coalition operations “successful” and stressed that theU.S. goal in Afghanistan remains the same.
“We see Afghans more and more in thelead for their own operations and for their own governance. That is the goalhere, that is what we’re training toward,” he said.
“At the end of the day,” he added, “thatis how success is going to be defined: whether Afghans can provide for theirown security and govern themselves.”

Coalition, Afghan Troops Arrest 2 Taliban Leaders

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Froman International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Release
KABUL, Afghanistan, Sept. 26, 2012 – Acombined coalition and Afghan security force arrested two Taliban leaders -- anattack commander and an improvised explosive device expert -- during anoperation in the Ghazni district of Afghanistan’s Ghazni province today,military officials reported.
The attack commander is suspected ofhaving directed IED attacks against coalition and Afghan security forces acrossthe district, officials said, in addition to coordinating the construction ofhomemade bombs and providing training on their use and placement. He also isbelieved to be involved in suicide bomber training. The security force alsodetained three other suspected insurgents in the operation.
Also today, an Afghan and coalitionsecurity force arrested a Taliban leader in Ghazni province’s Wali MuhammadShahid Khugyani district. He is believed to have coordinated with insurgentgroups to conduct direct-fire and IED attacks targeting Afghan and coalitionforces. The security force also detained four other suspected insurgents.
In operations around Afghanistanyesterday:
-- A precision airstrike killed Malang,a Taliban leader, in the Sayyidabad district of Afghanistan’s Wardak provinceafter a combined security force saw him engaged in insurgent activity andensured that no civilians were in the area. Malang was directly involved inplanning attacks using improvised explosive devices against Afghan andcoalition forces, as well coordinating the movement of insurgent fightersthroughout the region. A post-strike assessment determined no civilians wereharmed and no civilian property was damaged during the operation.
-- Provincial Response Company Wardak,mentored by coalition forces, reinforced another response company patrol thatcame under enemy fire in Wardak province’s Maidan Shahr district. The combinedforce defeated the attack, killing seven insurgents. Responding to a requestfor a quick-reaction force, the combined element reached the unit in contactand was itself engaged by small arms and rocket propelled grenade fire frominsurgents before fighting off the attack. Coalition officials said the rapidand effective response from PRC Wardak demonstrates their increased capabilityand their dedication to supporting their fellow Afghans in arms.
-- A combined U.S. Army Special Forcesand Afghan National Army force killed an insurgent after being attacked at alocal bazaar and at a combined outpost in Wardak province’s Bahadur village.After eight to 10 insurgents opened fire with small arms and rocket propelledgrenades, the combined force returned fire, secured the bazaar and village, andkilled the insurgent at his fighting position. No civilians or Afghan forceswere injured or killed during the engagement.
In a Sept. 24 operation, a combinedsecurity force arrested a Haqqani network IED attack leader in Khost province’sKhost district. Officials said he is suspected of coordinating and planning IEDattacks against Afghan and coalition forces throughout the region and wasdirectly involved in acquiring and distributing a large amount of explosivesand weapons, as well as providing training on the use of homemade bombs. Healso is believed to have been trying to infiltrate Afghan security forces. Thesecurity force also seized firearms and heavy weapons ammunition.
In other news, an orphaned Afghan boyescaped from insurgents who were trying to use him as a suicide bomber and fledto the Afghan National Police in Helmand province’s Nawa district Sept. 22.
The boy told Afghan police thatinsurgents had given him money to influence him to wear a suicide vest anddetonate it near coalition or Afghan security personnel. He refused, and now isreceiving care and support from the police.

Navy Casualty

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The Department of Defense announcedtoday the death of a sailor who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Gunners Mate 2nd Class DionRashun Roberts, 23, of North Chicago, Ill., died Sept. 22 as a result of asingle vehicle accident in Jalalabad, Afghanistan.  He was assigned to an East Coast NavalSpecial Warfare Unit.
For more information, media may contactNaval Special Warfare Command public affairs office at 619-522-2816.