Blog post

IAVA Daily Brief 05.27.09
Posted by Michelle McCarthy on May 27

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

MUST READS

(1) Army chief says US ready to be in Iraq 10 years

Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey said Tuesday the Pentagon is prepared to leave fighting forces in Iraq for as long as a decade despite an agreement between the United States and Iraq that would bring all American troops home by 2012. Regarding Afghanistan, Casey said the U.S. has to be careful about what assets get deployed there because "anything you put in there would be in there for a decade." "Global trends are pushing in the wrong direction," he said. "They fundamentally will change how the Army works."

(2) Tammy Duckworth shares her vision for veterans

In one of her first interviews since being confirmed, Major Tammy Duckworth, assistant secretary of Veterans Affairs, said she has two main goals in her new position: (1) to make sure veterans understand what benefits are out there and (2) to bring together more public and private partnerships that will help more veterans. "I understand what it's like for our wounded veterans who try to get care because I'm going through that same process and if I go through a V/A hospital and I'm not getting the best care, then I know that somebody else is suffering as much as I am, we need to fix that problem," Duckworth said. Click here to watch the video of her interview.

(3) Report Says Army Wasted Bonus Cash

According to a new Government Accountability Office report issued on how the military allocates resources for recruiting and retention, U.S. Army Army officials reportedly spent too much on bonuses and failed to adequately address its accelerated promotion of officers. According to the GAO, the U.S. Army was short over 1,200 captains, about 3,110 majors and nearly 530 lieutenant colonels through the end of fiscal year 2008 in part because cash incentives were directed to non-priority positions. The GAO report comes as all branches of the military are decreasing bonus awards amid a "recession boost" for recruiting and retention.

AFGHANISTAN

At least 30 people were killed in fighting, air strikes and roadside bomb attacks Afghanistan on Wednesday. NATO says its troops, along with Afghan forces, killed 15 Taliban militants who attacked their base in southeastern Paktia province.

Across the border, a huge suicide car bomb killed at least 23 and injured more than 300 on Wednesday in Lahore. The explosion occurred near the offices of Lahore’s police chief and of the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI, the premier Pakistani spy agency.

IRAQ

U.S. officials confirmed Tuesday one of the victims in a roadside bombing that killed three Americans traveling in Falluja on Monday is a State Department official working at the United States Embassy in Baghdad. The official, Terrence Barnich, was deputy director of the Iraq Transition Assistance Office in Baghdad. The attack also killed an American soldier and a civilian working for the Defense Department

According to a feature in USA Today, some Iraqis who fled Iraq through a special visa program for those who worked with the U.S. government are now returning to Iraq as soldiers in the U.S. military. According to the Pentagon, at least eight Iraqis who fled to the United States through the program have returned to Iraq as members of the U.S. armed forces, but officials caution there are most likely more because the U.S. military doesn't require nationality on personnel records. When not on patrol, the new soldiers reportedly spend much of their time on the phone, reaching out to Iraqi leaders on behalf of the U.S. military or calling friends to get a better sense of the mood on the streets in Baghdad, Mosul and elsewhere.

MILITARY AFFAIRS

In an exclusive interview with Radio Free Europe, General David Petraeus, head of U.S. central command, said he thinks that "on balance" the expected closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility and abandonment of so-called enhanced interrogation techniques will "help" U.S. efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. According to Petraeus, closing Guantanamo "in a responsible manner...sends an important message to the world, as does the commitment of the United States to observe the Geneva Convention when it comes to the treatment of detainees."

Petraeus' comments follow a Department of Defense announcement Tuesday that five percent of terrorist detainees released from the Guantanamo Bay detention center have participated in terror since their release. In addition, 9 percent are believed to have joined or rejoined the fight against the United States and its allies. As of April 7, the latest data available, 74 of approximately 540 detainees that have been released have since taken up the fight, or are at least suspected of doing so. The Pentagon says it has fingerprints, DNA, photos or reliable intelligence to link 27 detainees to the war since their release.

INSIDE WASHINGTON

In a letter dated May 22nd, several Congressional lawmakers have requested a review by the Government Accountability Office of a recent Department of Defense study concerning exposure to burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan. “We have been informed that the joint study may have significant methodological problems and that this study cannot rule out the possibility of adverse health effects,” the letter states, referring to the testing the military conducted at Balad. “In particular, we are concerned that many service members were deployed for more than one year to Iraq or may be more susceptible for genetic or other health reasons.” Signees to the letter include: Sens. Russ Feingold, D-Wis.; Evan Bayh, D-Ind.; Robert Byrd, D-W.Va.; Ron Wyden, D-Ore.; and Reps. Tim Bishop, D-N.Y.; Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore.; Steve Cohen, D-Tenn.; Bob Filner, D-Calif.; Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, D-S.D.; Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y.; Carol Shea-Porter, D-N.H.; Allyson Schwartz, D-Pa.; and David Wu, D-Ore.

President Obama announced Tuesday that he will combine White House staffs dealing with international and homeland security. The Homeland Security Council, created after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, will be kept as a venue for discussing issues relating to domestic security, including terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, natural disasters and pandemic influenza but will be integrated into the National Security Council.

CONGRESSIONAL SCHEDULE

The Senate and House are not in session today.

WHAT THE BLOGS ARE SAYING

Blog: VetFriend

Title: Memorial Day Weekend with IAVA

Date: Tuesday, May 26th

Representative: IAVA Supporter Gretchen Freeman