Blog post

IAVA Daily Brief 5.24.10
Posted by Blake Henderson on May 24 2010

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) At West Point, Obama offers new security strategy   In a speech at West Point, President Obama offered a glimpse of a new national security doctrine that emphasizes global institutions and America's role in promoting democratic values. He pledged to shape a new "international order" based on diplomacy and engagement.   2) Death toll from car bomb rises to 30   Fifty miles north of Baghdad, a car containing explosives was set off in a busy market in front of a coffee shop where crowds were enjoying the evening.   3) NATO's southern base attacked in Afghanistan   The Taliban claimed responsibility for a nighttime assault on NATO's biggest base in southern Afghanistan. It was the third major attack on NATO forces in Afghanistan in six days.   AFGHANISTAN

• The U.S. is now trying to lure Taliban foot soldiers back to society by appealing to the men to sign up as Afghan police recruits.
• The Afghan opium harvest finished this month with production sharply down from last year.  Now, growers and smugglers who had long been unchallenged face tough choices created by the poor crop and new government and military pressure.
• In a unanimous decision, a federal appeals court has ruled that detainees currently being held at Bagram air base in Afghanistan don't have the same rights as prisoners in Guantanamo.

IRAQ

• A mobile Iraqi war zone  - Exportable Combat Training Capability, or XCTC - has taken shape in Wyoming, the latest incarnation of an Army National Guard training exercise meant to quickly shape citizen soldiers into battle-ready warriors.
• Since a car bomb blinded Capt. Scott Smiley in Iraq, he has skied Vail, climbed Mount Rainier, earned his MBA, raised two young boys with his wife, won an Espy award and pulled himself up from faith-shaking depths. He now commands the Warrior Transition Unit at West Point for ailing or wounded soldiers.

MILITARY AFFAIRS

• The Pentagon will pay for families of deceased U.S. servicemembers to travel to memorial services for their loved ones.
• Nearly a week later, Connecticut Senatorial candidate Richard Blumenthal is still apologizing for his Vietnam comments.
• What has been called the "signature wound" of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan- the mild brain damage troops suffer from a roadside bomb - might be so unique in its destruction that it could be a newly discovered disease according to researchers.
• Leniency for veterans is a legal argument that is increasingly carrying the day in courts across the country, but it is also sparking debate over whether such special treatment is fair.
• Radical Yemeni cleric Anwar al-Awlaqi has urged all Muslims serving in the U.S. army to follow the example of Major Nidal Hassan who stands accused of killing 13 of his comrades. On Monday, it was reported that two American tourists had been kidnapped in Yemen.
• U.S. Cyber Command, a subordinate unit of U.S. Strategic Command, was launched Friday at Fort Meade, Md. The command is expected to be fully operational by October.

INSIDE WASHINGTON

• The Senate Appropriations Committee denied a $400 million emergency request from the Defense Department group that disarms improvised mines, a move that effectively turns off the funding for neutralizing what is still the largest source of casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan.
• According to VA Secretary Shinseki, budget cuts to a crucial housing program for homeless veterans could destroy the VA's five-year plan to end veteran homelessness.
• House leadership has unveiled a plan to provide a temporary increase in retired pay for about 30,000 people whose military careers were cut short by severe service-connected disabilities.

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.