Blog post

IAVA Daily Brief 6.28.10
Posted by Blake Henderson on June 28 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.

THE DAILY NEWS BRIEF

1) INTERACTIVE: One Battalion's Wrenching Deployment to Afghanistan

For the next year, the First Battalion, 87th Infantry of the 10th Mountain Division from Fort Drum, N.Y., will be living, working and fighting in the fertile northern plains of Afghanistan, part of the additional 30,000 troops who will make up the backbone of President Obama's plan for ending the nine-year war. Click here to explore the interactive feature.

2) The last post: McChrystal's bleak outlook

Newly replaced Gen. Stanley McChrystal issued a devastatingly critical assessment of the war against a "resilient and growing insurgency" just days before being forced out.  In the report, he warned NATO and ISAF leaders to not expect any progress in the next six months. During his presentation, he raised serious concerns over levels of security, violence, and corruption within the Afghan administration.

3) Petraeus praises vets, Purple Heart recipients

Gen. David Petraeus paid tribute to more than 400 veterans - including 100 recipients of the Purple Heart - days after he was asked to add command of the U.S. war in Afghanistan.  Petraeus was the keynote speaker at the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor Tribute.

AFGHANISTAN

• A NATO spokesman said that military operations to secure vast areas of Afghanistan would not be delayed by the transition of leadership to Gen. Petraeus.
• Afghan President Hamid Karzai has met Sirajuddin Haqqani, leader of a major anti-government faction, in face-to-face talks.

IRAQ

• More than 10 Iraqi asylum seekers deported from the UK more than a week ago are still in detention in Baghdad. The men were part of a group of more than 40 Iraqis forcibly removed after their claims for political asylum were turned down.
• The looting of Iraq's ancient ruins is thriving again. This time it is not a result of the chaos that followed the American invasion in 2003, but rather the indifference of Iraq's new government.  Thousands of archaeological sites have been left unprotected, allowing for illegal excavations.

MILITARY AFFAIRS

• Iraq veteran, IAVA member and 'All My Children' star J.R. Martinez is profiled today in the Los Angeles Times.
• The DOD issued a memo calling for the Pentagon to develop systems that would track soldiers who experience concussions on the battlefield and match them to specific events in combat in an effort to better treat them.
• CIA Director Leon Panetta said that it has been years since the U.S. has had good intelligence on the whereabouts of Osama bin laden, although he is thought to be in Pakistan.

INSIDE WASHINGTON

• Sen. Daniel Akaka is pushing the Army to explain its decision not to punish three officers in one of the deadliest firefights since the Afghanistan war began.
• Gen. Petraeus' confirmation hearing will begin Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. He will be present before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

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.

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