A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Denying safe haven to terrorists has been a key national security concern since 2002. Safe havens allow terrorists to train recruits and plan operations against the United States and its interests across the globe. As a result, Congress has required agencies to provide detailed information regarding U.S. efforts to address terrorist safe havens. In this review, GAO assesses the extent to which (1) the Department of State (State) has identified and assessed terrorist safe havens in its Country Reports on Terrorism and (2) the U.S. government has identified efforts to deny terrorists safe haven consistent with reporting requirements. To address these objectives, GAO interviewed U.S. officials and analyzed national security strategies; State reporting; and country-level plans for the Philippines, Somalia, and Yemen."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The United Nations (U.N.) General Assembly defines conflict diamonds as rough diamonds used by rebel movements to finance their military activities, including attempts to undermine or overthrow legitimate governments. The United States and much of the international community are trying to sever the link between conflict and diamonds while ensuring that no harm is done to the legitimate diamond industry, which is economically important in many countries. The principal international effort to address these objectives, known as the Kimberley Process, aims to develop and implement an international diamond certification scheme that will deter conflict diamonds from entering the legitimate market. The nature of diamonds and the operations of the international diamond industry create opportunities for illicit trade, including trade in conflict diamonds. Diamonds are mined in remote areas around the world and are virtually untraceable back to their original source once mixed and polished. The United States cannot detect diamonds that might come from conflict sources because the current diamond import control system does not require certification of the country of extraction. At present, there is no international system to certify the source of extraction. The …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2005, the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership (TSCTP) was established to eliminate terrorist safe havens in northwest Africa by strengthening countries' counterterrorism capabilities and inhibiting the spread of extremist ideology. Funds obligated for TSCTP in fiscal years 2005 through 2007 and committed for fiscal year 2008 by the Department of State (State), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Department of Defense (DOD) have amounted to about $353 million for activities in nine partner countries. In this report, GAO examines (1) the distribution of funds for TSCTP and the types of activities supported and (2) the program's implementation, including the extent to which it is guided by a comprehensive, integrated strategy. GAO has reported previously on the need for a strategy that includes priorities and milestones that can help agencies collaborate in combating terrorism. GAO analyzed TSCTP-related documents and conducted work in Mali, Morocco, and Mauritania."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 2003, violent conflict in Darfur, Sudan broke out between rebel groups, government troops, and government-supported Arab militias, known as the Janjaweed. The conflict has displaced about 2 million Darfurians and has so affected over 1.9 million others that they require assistance. Since October 2003, the U.S. government has provided humanitarian assistance in Darfur and supported African Union Mission in Sudan's (AMIS) efforts to fulfill a peace support mandate. This report reviews (1) U.S. humanitarian assistance provided to Darfur and the challenges that have been encountered and (2) African Union efforts to fulfill its mandate and challenges that have affected these efforts."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "According to VA data during fiscal years 2000 to 2010, most enhanced monthly benefit recipients were veterans, over age 65, and receiving the A&A enhancement as part of their pension benefit. The recipient population is changing, however. In particular, the percentage of enhanced monthly benefit recipients age 65 or younger increased from 18 percent to 24 percent over the decade. Also, the percentage of recipients paid benefits under the disability compensation program increased from 15 percent to 26 percent. The cost of enhanced monthly benefits has increased from $124 million in fiscal year 2000 to $409 million in fiscal year 2010; however, VA does not know what portion of these costs was paid specifically for A&A and Housebound benefits. VA maintains data on enhanced monthly benefit recipients’ total payments but does not separately identify the amount awarded as an A&A or Housebound benefit. VA officials stated that under its current system, separately tracking the costs of these benefits would be complicated and difficult."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Stakeholder-developed initiatives may facilitate companies' compliance with the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) final conflict minerals rule, but other factors may affect the rule's impact on reducing benefits to armed groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and neighboring countries. Agency and industry officials as well as representatives from international organizations and nongovernmental organizations (NGO) stated that adoption of the rule as well as stakeholder-developed initiatives--which include the development of guidance documents, audit protocols, and in-region sourcing of conflict minerals--can support companies' efforts to conduct due diligence and to identify and responsibly source conflict minerals. For example, officials GAO interviewed explained that the Conflict-Free Smelter Program enables suppliers to source conflict minerals from smelters (companies that refine the ore of the conflict minerals into metals) that have been certified by an independent third-party auditor as obtaining their minerals from sources that did not benefit armed groups. However, officials GAO interviewed cited constraining factors such as lack of security, lack of infrastructure, and lack of capacity in the DRC that could affect the ability to expand on efforts to achieve conflict-free sourcing of minerals from …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "On November 21 and 22, 2002, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will consider the admission of new members to the alliance. To facilitate congressional deliberations on NATO enlargement, the United States Senate mandated in 1998 that GAO review and assess a report that Congress directed the President to provide on countries seeking membership in NATO. The President submitted a classified report to Congress on August 26, 2002. To fulfill its mandate, GAO determined if the report met the Senate's requirements and if the cost estimates were sound."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "An Arabic version of this product is available at http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-190. The U.S. government considers the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia a vital partner in combating terrorism. The strong diplomatic relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia, founded more than 70 years ago, was strained by the Al Qaeda attacks of September 11, 2001, that were carried out in large part by Saudi nationals and killed thousands of U.S. citizens. GAO was asked to report on (1) the U.S. government strategy to collaborate with and assist the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to counter terrorism and terrorism financing, and (2) U.S. government agencies' assessment of and the Saudi government's views on progress toward the goals of this strategy. GAO analyzed relevant U.S. and Saudi strategy, planning, and evaluation documents related to efforts since 2005, and discussed these efforts with subject matter experts and U.S. and Saudi officials in Washington, D.C., and Riyadh and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. GAO submitted a copy of this report to intelligence agencies, the National Security Council, and the Departments of Defense, Energy, Homeland Security, Justice, State, and Treasury for their review and comment."

A chapter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, organizations and donors have provided Russia with tens of billions of dollars in economic assistance to helping it transition to a market economy within a democratic state. This transition presents opportunities and challenges to the Russians and to those providing economic assistance. This report focuses on the assistance given to Russia by the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank's International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the 1992 Freedom Support Act, and the European Union's Technical Assistance to the Commonwealth of Independent States program. GAO found that the success of the assistance programs has been mixed. Although there have been several individual successes, such as small business development, GAO's interviews with the financial institutions revealed that overall program goals are not being met. GAO identified three obstacles toward attaining program objectives: (1) difficult conditions in Russia, (2) limitations in how programs were designed and implemented, and (3) the interdependent nature of Russia's transition needs. The financial institutions and donors, along with the Russian government, are reevaluating the design of their programs. …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Natural catastrophes and terrorist attacks can place enormous financial demands on the insurance industry, result in sharply higher premiums and substantially reduced coverage. As a result, interest has been raised in mechanisms to increase the capacity of the insurance industry to manage these types of events. In this report, GAO (1) provides an overview of the insurance industry's current capacity to cover natural catastrophic risk and discusses the impacts of the 2004 hurricanes; (2) analyzes the potential of catastrophe bonds--a type of security issued by insurers and reinsurers (companies that offer insurance to insurance companies) and sold to institutional investors--and tax-deductible reserves to enhance private-sector capacity; and (3) describes the approaches that six European countries have taken to address natural and terrorist catastrophe risk, including whether these countries permit insurers to use tax-deductible reserves for such events. We provided a draft of this report to the Department of the Treasury and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Treasury provided technical comments that were incorporated as appropriate."

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO published a second edition of Volume IV of its Principles of Federal Appropriations Law, Second Edition, which includes a discussion of the statutes and regulations governing appropriations matters as well as references to significant issues rendered by the Comptroller General and the courts."