USAID issues $ 3 mln grant to Kyrgyzstan.

WASHINGTON, October 26 (Itar-Tass) -- U.S. Agency for International
Development has awarded a $3.25 million contract to Development
Alternatives Inc. /DAI/ based in the town of Bethesda to assist the newly
elected parliament in Kyrgyzstan, the Washington Post said Tuesday.
The article described the grant as "an illustration of the /U.S./
government's growing - and often troubled - reliance on outside
contractors to promote democratic institutions abroad."
"DAI, which has been in business for almost 40 years, has 87 projects
in 60 countries and employs 2,000 "development professionals''," the
Washington Post says. "Its revenue in 2009 was $409 million, with its
largest client being USAID. It also does work for the Departments of
State, Defense and Labor."
"USAID selected DAI to run its Kyrgyzstan 'Parliamentary Strengthening
Program' without competitive bidding because of what the agency described
as the urgent need "to ensure from the outset that the new parliament and
its members understand their representative roles and functions," the
articles said.
Haste of this kind is related to Kyrgyzstan's nationwide referendum in
June, which approved constitutional changes that shifted executive power
from the Office of the President to the 120-member parliament, the
reporters said.
A total of five of twenty-nine parties that competed in Kyrgyzstan's
October 10 election won enough votes to qualify for seats.
The article quoted a USAID press release as saying "the opportunity to
engage this new parliament at its formation is a critical step in
implementing the U.S. policy interest in developing stable and
professional democratic systems in Kyrgyzstan."
The Washington Post noted wittingly that USAID omitted somehow the
mentioning of a U.S. airbase near the Kyrgyzstani capital Bishkek that
houses tankers that refuel coalition aircraft over Afghanistan and also
serves as a transit point for troop forces going in and out of that
country.
In the meantime, it remains unclear whether the Kyrgyz parliamentary
leadership that emerges will accept U.S. help, the Washington Post said.
It quotes Tomas Bridle, who heads DAI's Kyrgyz effort, said by
telephone from Bishkek that his first job will be "trying to understand
what is needed" after first "building relations of trust with people in
the institution."
DAI employees work on similar "governance issues" in another twelve
countries under contracts with a total value of $130 million, according to
the company's spokesman, Steven O'Connor.
The article says, however, that a July 2010 review of recent USAID
Inspector General reports covering Pakistan and Afghanistan show that such
contracts have trouble producing results.
In no small a part, the challenged faced by DAI employees in executing
their duties are tantamount to paying their lives for the results.
The Washington Post recalls that DAI lost 10 security contractors
killed in Afghanistan in 2009. Five died in a July suicide attack in
Kunduz and in December, another five were killed by an explosion in the
Gardez office of the Local Governance and Community Development program.

.Kim Jong Il receives Chinese military delegation.

PYONGYANG, October 26 (Itar-Tass) - Leader of the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea, Kim Jong Il on Monday received a military delegation
from the People's Republic of China led by that country's Central Military
Commission chairman Guo Boxiong.
The delegation arrived in North Korea to mark the 60th anniversary
since the Chinese People's Volunteers joined combat operations during the
Korean war of 1950-1963.
The Korean Central News Agency /KCNA/ said Wednesday Kim Jong Il, who
is the General Secretary of the Korean Workers' Party and chairman of the
National Defense Commission, expressed his greetings for China's President
Hu Jintao and the brotherly Chinese people on the occasion of the
anniversary.
Chief of General Staff of the Korean Armed Forces, Vice Marshal Ri
Yong Ho, the deputy chairman of the Central Defense Committee of the
Korean Workers' Party, Kim Jong Un and other officials attended the talks.
On the same day, a gala meeting dedicated to the dispatching of
Chinese volunteers to the Korean Peninsula frontline was held. Kim Yong
Ho, the People's Defense Minister said in a speech at the meeting that the
arrival of volunteers from China demonstrated proletariat internationalism
and joint struggle against imperialism.
During the Patriotic Liberation War, the armies and peoples of the two
countries fought shoulder to shoulder and won an illustrious victory, thus
protecting their revolutions and making a huge contribution to ensuring
peace in Asia and on a global scale.
The Korean Workers' Party will maintain its line at development of
relations of friendship and cooperation with China.
In case of an aggression, " the DPRK will use the entirety of its
potential, including the nuclear forces, to destroy the enemy's citadels
and to build a united, powerful and affluent nation," Kim Yong Ho said.
He pledged North Korea's readiness to promote relations with all the
nations respecting its sovereignty and to ensure peace and stability in
Northeast Asia.
Kim Jong Il and other top leaders of North Korea attended the meeting.
-0-kle


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