Blog post

IAVA Daily Brief 1.05.10
Posted by Terrell Frazier on December 23 2009

Here are some of today's top stories and happenings at IAVA.  Prefer to receive real-time updates about major stories and legislation that IAVA is tracking?  Follow us on Twitter @IAVAPressRoom or subscribe to receive the brief in your inbox each morning at www.iava.org/dailynewsbrief.

MUST READS

1) Ret. General: Americans should prepare for surge in casualties in Afghanistan

Based on a periodic assessment performed in Afghanistan by retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey, an adjunct professor at West Point, he warns that Americans should prepare to accept hundreds of casualties during the spring offensive. He anticipates as many as 500 casualties and 300 military deaths per month at the height of the surge.

2) Bomber at C.I.A. base had ties to Jordan spy agency

The suicide bomber who killed seven C.I.A. officers and one Jordanian intelligence officer last week in southeastern Afghanistan was an asset of the Jordanian Intelligence Agency. He had been brought to Afghanistan to help hunt down top members of al Qaeda.

3) Severely injured soldier seeks to rejoin battlefield

Stars and Stripes details the struggles of one badly wounded veteran wanting to return to active duty. The soldier is looking to become one of the 128 severely injured soldiers to return to active duty since a July 2, 2008, Army directive allowing such returns.

AFGHANISTAN
A roadside bombing killed four U.S. service members — the first American combat deaths of the year in Afghanistan.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai should submit a new Cabinet "within days," a U.N. spokesman said Monday, after parliament rejected 17 of Karzai's original nominees Saturday. In response Karzai has ordered parliament to suspend a winter break to vet and vote on new cabinet nominees.

Marines and Afghan border police recently seized more than six tons of illegal drugs during operations in southern Afghanistan.

IRAQ

A pair of roadside bombs killed three people in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, including two of the city's police chief's guards.

Iraq drama The Hurt Locker has been named the best picture of 2009 by the National Society of Film Critics.

Iraq said on Monday it would launch lawsuits in U.S. and Iraqi courts against Blackwater accused in the 2007 killing of civilians in Baghdad, rejecting a U.S. judge’s decision to throw out the case.

MILITARY AFFAIRS

The military's effort to retroactively compensate troops stop-lossed has hit a few snags, including recent legislation that makes military personnel ineligible for compensation if they collected a re-enlistment or retention bonus while being stop-lossed.

  Share:
 del.icio.us  digg  reddit  facebook  newsvine myspace twitter