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IAVA Daily Brief 04.27.09
Posted by Michelle McCarthy on April 27

Here are some of today's top stories and happenings at IAVA.

MUST READS

(1) Exceptions to Iraq Deadline Are Proposed

Military officials said Monday the United States and Iraq will begin negotiating possible exceptions to the June 30 deadline for withdrawing American combat troops from Iraqi cities, focusing on the troubled northern city of Mosul and some parts of Baghdad. “Mosul is the one area where you may see U.S. combat forces operating in the city” after June 30, the United States military’s top spokesman in Iraq, Maj. Gen. David Perkins, said in an interview with the New York Times. Camp Victory and Forward Operating Base Falcon are also now expected to remain open past the June 30 deadline because Iraqi officials have agreed to consider both outside the city limits.

(2) Security problems uncovered at bases in Iraq

The Commission on Wartime Contracting has alerted military officials in Iraq and at Central Command that there are serious deficiences in training and equipment for hundreds of Ugandan guards hired to protect U.S. military bases in Iraq, including Foward Operating Bases Delta and Hammer. At the latter two bases the commission found a lack of vehicles used to properly protect the posts, a shortage of weapons and night vision gear, and poorly trained guards. Defense contractor Triple Canopy of Herndon, Va., holds the $35 million security contract at Base Delta. Sabre International Security, based in Baghdad, has a $42 million contract to provide security and equipment to guards at Base Hammer.

(5) DHS Secretary apologizes to veterans group

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano met with the American Legion on Friday to apologize for a right-wing extremism report written by her agency that implied Iraq and Afghanistan combat veterans were more prone to domestic terrorism. During the meeting, Napolitano reportedly blamed one of her agency's analysts for prematurely sending out the intelligence assessment to law enforcement. In a statement, Napolitano said: "I pledge that the department has fixed the internal process that allowed this document to be released before it was ready."

(4) Biden says he worries about son in Iraq

In an interview with CBS' 60 Minutes, Vice President Joe Biden said Sunday that he worries about his son Beau, who is serving as a Captain with the National Guard in Iraq, but tries to not look at the ongoing war solely as a father. “I’ve ridden home with too many dead young men and women in caskets and it’s just impossible to not associate with that,” said Biden. “I mean, you think as a parent, God forbid, how would I, how would I respond? ... The way I deal with it is I don’t think about it that way.” Watch the full interview here.

AFGHANISTAN

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Monday the Justice Ministry was amending a controversial law which contains harsh provisions on women that critics desribed as legalizing marital rape. In a press conference with UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Karzai said: "I assure you that the laws of Afghanistan will be in complete harmony with the constitution of Afghanistan, and the human rights that we have adhered to in our constitution and in the principles of the international treaties." The law would have applied Afghanistan's Shi'ite Muslims, who make up about 15 percent of the population.

Across the border, radical clerics who have been mediating peace talks between the Pakistani government and Taliban militants broke off negotiations Monday to protest Pakistani military operations in an adjoining district to the Swat Valley. The declaration came hours after Pakistan's military said it killed 46 militants on Sunday and Monday in Lower Dir, an area of northwest Pakistan that borders Afghanistan.

IRAQ

In a surprise visit to Iraq on Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton promised the Iraqi people that the Obama administration will not abandon them as it begins to pull out U.S. troops. Responding to the mass suicide bombings that claimed over 150 lives on Thursday and Friday, Clinton told reporters she saw "no sign" the violence would reignite the sectarian warfare and that the bombings were "a signal that the rejectionists fear Iraq is going in the right direction."

During Clinton's weekend visit, however, seven Shiite pilgrims were wounded Saturday by militants while traveling to a shrine in Balad. On Sunday, Iraq’s prime minister denounced a deadly U.S. raid in the southern Shiite city of Kut as a “crime” that violated the country's security pact with Washington, D.C. In the pre-dawn raid, at least one woman was killed and six suspects were arrested for alleged links to Shiite militia factions. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki demanded American commanders hand over the U.S. soldiers responsible to face possible trial in Iraqi courts.

Meanwhile, new reports surfaced over the weekend that American and British officials from a secretive unit called the Force Strategic Engagement Cell recently flew to Jordan to try to persuade Lt. Gen. Raad Majid al-Hamdani - one of Saddam Hussein’s top generals and the commander of the final defense of Baghdad in 2003 — to return home to resume efforts to make peace with the new Iraq. Al-Hamdani has so far rebuffed the request citing obstacles posed by anti-Baath elements in Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's ruling party.

Back in the United States, a federal grand jury on Friday indicted a ring of Americans who posed as contractors, used tanker trucks, and forged documents to steal at least $40 million worth of jet and diesel fuel from an Army depot in Baghdad. According to the indictment, in 2007 and 2008 the ring sold at least 10 million gallons of stolen fuel in the local black market notorious for its connections with Iraqi insurgents.

MILITARY AFFAIRS

As reported several weeks ago, two U.S. soldiers of Sikh faith who are scheduled for active-duty in July are fighting Army policy that requires them to shave their beards, cut their hair and remove their turbans. In a statement over the weekend, the Army said it cannot make exceptions for the new soldiers Capt. Kamaljit Singh Kalsi, a doctor, and 2nd Lt. Tejdeep Singh Rattan, a dentist, who were recruited for the Army’s Health Professions Scholarship Program. According to Army spokesman Lt. Col. Nathan Banks, “There are times when the Army cannot accommodate for religious reasons, such as when those religious observations would interfere with the wear of proper military headgear or protective clothing or equipment.”

On the medical front, the Associated Press recounts today some of the success stories of Operation Mend, a one-of-a-kind partnership between the UCLA Medical Center and Brooke Army Medical Center, which provides reconstructive surgery to members of the military who have been severely disfigured in Iraq and Afghanistan. According to the report, 24 men and women have been treated through the program so far. Read some of their amazing recovery stories here.

INSIDE WASHINGTON

The Department of Homeland Security declared a national public health emergency late Sunday, with swine flu now confirmed in at least 20 cases in five states. As one of the four agencies that make up the National Disaster Medical System, the VA could play an integral role in any emergency plan going forward. Late Sunday, DHS released 12.5 million of the nation's stockpile of 50 million courses of Tamiflu, a drug that has shown itself effective at least initially agains the flu virus. The Pentagon has set aside 7 million courses for military personnel.

CONGRESSIONAL SCHEDULE

THE SENATE

FUTURE COMMITTEE HEARINGS of INTEREST

April 29, 2009 - SVAC will hold a hearing on pending benefits legislation. The legislation to be considered will cover a number of subject areas: C&P, VR&E, insurance, USERRA, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, automotive and adaptive equipment grants, outreach (both from the Department as well as all three administrations), cemetery construction, and burial allowances and related benefits. 9:30 a.m.; 562 Dirksen (Ballenger)
April 29, 2009 - The Senate Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing on Wounded Warrior issues. Roger Dimsdale, Executive Director, VA/DoD Collaboration, Office of Policy and Planning, will testify for VA. 2:30 p.m.; Location: TBD (Prudhomme)
May 7, 2009 - Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies, hearing on the VA Fiscal Year 2010 Budget. Secretary Shinseki will be invited to testify. 2:30 p.m.; Location: TBD (Lukas)May 21, 2009 SVAC will mark-up pending legislation. 9:30 a.m.; 418 Russell (Ballenger)

THE HOUSE of REPRESENTATIVES

FUTURE COMMITTEE HEARINGS of INTEREST

April 30, 2009 - House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Health hearing: Charting the VA’s Progress on Meeting the Mental Health Needs of Our Veterans: Discussion of Funding, Mental Health Strategies Plan, and the Uniform Mental Health Services Handbook 10:00 a.m.; 334 Cannon
May 13, 2009 - House Appropriations, Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies, will hold a hearing on the VA Fiscal Year 2010 Budget. Secretary Shinseki will be invited to testify. 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., Location TBD (Lukas) [date changed from April 28, 2009]

IAVA IN THE NEWS

Media Outlet: Boston Globe

Title: Afghan vets give senators first-hand accounts

Date: Thursday, April 23rd

Representative: IAVA Board Member Westley Moore

WHAT THE BLOGS ARE SAYING

Blog: Those Who Came Before

Title: Pat's Run Honors Tillman Anniversary

Date: Thursday, April 23rd

Representative: IAVA

Blog: Veteran Dissent

Title: IAVA Member Veterans Testify Before Senate Foreign Relations Committee