Blog post

IAVA Daily Brief 11.09.09
Posted by Terrell Frazier on November 9

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.

MUST READS

1) Update on Tragedy at Fort Hood

Eric Shinseki, the secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, said in Tampa on Friday that the VA is developing a wide-ranging effort to provide veterans with education, job training, housing and mental health services, and plans to devote to mental health services over three-quarters of the $3.2 billion it expects to receive next year to fight homelessness among veterans. Several news outlets have turned their focus to the impact of the tragedy at Fort Hood on the troops’ sense of security. As Patrick Campbell, Chief Legislative Counsel for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, told the Dallas Morning News, “When you come home, you not only take off your helmet and put away your gun, but you take off that psychological Kevlar.” Meanwhile, the full list of victims has been released, while the Army chief of staff Gen. George Casey urged Americans not to get caught up in speculation about the Muslim faith of the alleged Fort Hood gunman. Gen. George Casey says he's instructed his commanders to be on the lookout for that reaction to the killings at the Texas post. He says focusing on the Islamic roots of the suspected shooter could "heighten the backlash" against all Muslims in the military. Click here for IAVA’s statement on the tragic shootings.

2) Iraqi Parliament Passes Long-Delayed Law

Iraq's parliament Sunday night passed a long-delayed law necessary to hold nationwide elections, in a process that has been intensely watched over fears the holdup could delay the January contests and possibly delay the planned U.S. troop withdrawal. The law's passage had been repeatedly delayed by sharp disagreements over how voting would take place in the northern oil-rich city of Kirkuk, claimed by both Arabs and Kurds and a major flashpoint in the country. The lawmakers approved the bill after a tense daylong session during which U.S. Ambassador Christopher Hill could be seen shuttling between various political factions, in a sign of how closely the United States was involved in the political debate.

3) U.S. Gen. Casey: more troops needed for Afghanistan

General George Casey, Army chief of staff, on Sunday became the latest U.S. military official to advocate sending more troops to Afghanistan as President Barack Obama nears a decision on a new strategy. General Stanley McChrystal, the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, has recommended a 40,000-troop increase, but Casey would not comment on how many additional troops were needed. "I believe that we need to put additional forces into Afghanistan to give General McChrystal the ability to both dampen the successes of the Taliban while we train the Afghan civilian forces," Casey said on Sunday Obama is wrapping up deliberations on war strategy and is considering Pentagon options that include sending about 30,000 more troops, officials said on Saturday.

4) Women Face Roadblock to VA Health Care

PBS’ “To the Contrary” highlighted the IAVA issue report “Women Warriors: Supporting She ‘Who Has Borne the Battle,’” taking a look at the challenges for women within the VA healthcare system. IAVA spokesperson Carolyn Schapper explains that VA hospitals tend to have serious weaknesses in supporting women’s health needs, including mental health. Click here to read IAVA’s full report.

AFGHANISTAN

As Americans, including President Obama’s top advisers, tensely debate whether to send more American troops to Afghanistan, Afghans themselves are having a similar discussion and voicing serious doubts. In bazaars and university corridors across the country, eight years of war have left people exhausted and impatient. They are increasingly skeptical that the Taliban can be defeated. Nearly everyone agrees that the Afghan government must negotiate with the insurgents. If more American forces do arrive, many here say, they should come to train Afghans to take over the fight, so the foreigners can leave.

The embattled Afghan president pledged Sunday that there would be no place for corrupt officials in his new administration — a demand made by Washington and its international partners as they ponder sending more troops to confront the Taliban and shore up his government. Also Sunday, NATO reported three more coalition soldiers — one American and two Britons — died in combat with the Taliban in western and southern areas. The latest losses pushed Britain's combat death toll in the eight-year Afghan war to 201.

The Taliban denied on Sunday they were holding the bodies of two U.S. soldiers who had gone missing last week in northwestern Afghanistan after earlier claiming they had recovered the two dead servicemen. The disappearance of the two paratroopers from U.S. 82nd Airborne Division during a resupply mission on Wednesday, triggered a search by NATO and Afghan forces of Badghis province, near the border with Turkmenistan. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told Reuters by telephone the Islamist militant group had not retrieved the bodies of soldiers whom they say drowned in Badghis.

IRAQ

As Iraqis who fled their homes to escape sectarian violence are returning, many face high unemployment and poor access to electricity and water, according to a new report by the International Organization of Migration, a nongovernmental group operating in more than 100 countries. In the worst cases, families return to discover that their homes are gone or have been significantly damaged. One-third of returnees interviewed by the group said they felt unsafe some of the time.

A top US army officer said on Sunday he did not have confidence in a hand-held device used by Iraq's security forces to detect explosives and stop suicide bombers passing through checkpoints. Major General Robert Rowe told reporters in Baghdad he was at odds with Iraqi officials on whether the ADE 651, a pistol-shaped gadget sold by a British firm which uses an antenna and is known as the "magic wand," worked.

In what was once one of Iraq's deadliest areas, women who survived sectarian carnage and insurgency now fight a new battle to feed families whose men have been killed, jailed or left jobless. Women clad in all-enveloping abayas eke out a living for their families by tending to the fields.

MILITARY AFFAIRS

The Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki "announced the VA will join with the Library of Congress to host a 'veterans History Countdown' on the VA Web site featuring the oral histories of veterans from every state and U.S. territory." Shinseki said that the VA "has partnered with the Library of Congress to honor our veterans, preserve their histories and ensure that their service, sacrifice and heroism will never be forgotten." Since the start of this month, the VA web site has featured a personal history. On Veterans Day, the site will display a veteran's history from each state and territory.

The Army plans within 18 months to field robots that will do some tasks without direct human control, such as finding explosives and transporting equipment, service officials said. The robots will turn corners, clear dangerous areas, capture images with a “persistent stare” and beam them back, and follow convoys without being tele-operated as they are now, officials said.

With the 20^th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Stars and Stripes explored the impact of that event on the U.S. military. A less asserted effort to recruit and “declines in patriotism” led to declines until, as Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America Legal Associate Tom Tarantino points out, 9/11 led to a renewed sense of patriotism and a return to a “Cold War-era system.”

INSIDE WASHINGTON

The Senate "on Friday resumed work on the $133.9 billion fiscal 2010 Military Construction-VA Appropriations bill, which Senate Democratic leaders hope to pass before Veterans Day. That gives the Senate Monday and Tuesday to finish the measure before recessing for the week. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he hopes the Senate will be able to begin voting on amendments Monday evening." The bill provides $109 billion for the VA, including $53.2 billion in discretionary funding, which is $150 million higher than President Obama's request. For the first time, the bill provides pre-approved appropriations, $48.2 billion for fiscal year 2011, for VA's medical programs. South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson (D), who chairs the Military Construction-VA Appropriations panel, "said on Friday he plans to offer an amendment to add $50 million to VA funding to renovate empty buildings and VA medical campuses to provide housing and homeless veteran."

Defense Appropriations Chairman Rep. John Murtha (D-Penn.) said he had visited the medical processing center at Fort Hood, Texas, that was the scene of the sporadic shooting earlier this week and could see how it would be vulnerable to attack. Murtha is one of a handful of House lawmakers who are looking at the killing spree that left 13 people dead and wounded at least 38 others to see if there were warning signs that could have prevented the attack.

CONGRESSIONAL SCHEDULE

THE SENATE

The Senate will convene at 2:00 p.m.

SENATE FLOOR ACTIVITY of INTEREST

Morning Business until 3:00pm with senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

At 3:00pm, the Senate will resume consideration of H.R.3082: Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations. Senators are encouraged to come to the floor to offer and debate their amendments to the bill.

At 4:30pm, the Senate will proceed to Executive Session to consider the nomination of Andre Davis to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Fourth Circuit.

At 5:30pm: An additional vote in relation to an amendment to Military Construction/ VA appropriations is possible following the 5:30pm vote.

SENATE COMMITTEE HEARINGS of INTEREST

No Issues today

THE HOUSE of REPRESENTATIVES  

The House is not expected to be in session the week of November 9 – 13, 2009

A wide-range of views, positions, and publications are represented in these articles. These views, positions and publications are not endorsed by nor do they necessarily represent the views of IAVA.