Blog post

IAVA Daily Brief 8.23.10
Posted by Isabel Black on August 23 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 or subscribe at www.IAVA.org/DailyNewsBrief.

MUST READS

1) Thousands strain Fort Hood's mental health system
 
The nation's largest Army post, Fort Hood, measures the toll of war in the more than 10,000 mental health evaluations, referrals or therapy sessions help every month.  About every fourth soldier at Fort Hood, where 48,000 troops and their families are based, has been in counseling during the past year, and that doesn't include those soldiers who are reluctant to seek care because they are ashamed to ask for help or the hundreds who find therapy outside the Army medical system.
 
2) Soldiers' survival rates on rise, but so are challenges presented by brain injuries
 
Thanks to advances in combat gear and battlefield medicine, more troops survive injuries that would have killed them in previous wars.  This is good news, but also presents some long-term challenges for survivors, like PTSD and TBI.
 
3) Editorial: Iraq war isn't over until all come home
 
Many Americans were thrilled to hear last week that US combat troops in Iraq were finally heading home for good.  Yet, 50,000 troops remain and as the troops come home, the challenges they face, like dealing with a brain injury or integrating back into society, can be just as difficult as the war.
 
4) Opinion: How Fox betrayed Petraeus
 
In his op-ed in The New York Times, Frank Rich discusses the effects of the debate over the proposed Islamic center by Ground Zero on the war in Afghanistan.  While the opponents of the center claim to be concerned about national security, Rich contends that they are actually hurting the United States' efforts in Afghanistan by offending Muslims at a time when Americans are trying to win the hearts and minds of Muslim people.
 
AFGHANISTAN

• An in-depth interview with General David Petraeus addresses the future of the United States' role in Afghanistan and the challenges the US faces there.
• President Hamid Karzai defended his decision to disband private security firms, saying they were undermining Afghanistan's police and army and contributing to corruption.

IRAQ

• An American was killed by a rocket strike in Iraq, in the first US fatality since the last combat troops left Iraq, leaving 50,000 additional troops to help with peacekeeping and stability.
• The top military commander in Iraq, General Ray Odierno, expressed confidence Sunday in Iraqi security forces and said 50,000 American troops would remain in Iraq in a mentoring role with the capability of resuming battle operations if necessary.

MILITARY AFFAIRS

• Veterans groups and members of Congress are questioning whether management of Arlington National Cemetery should be transferred from the Army to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

INSIDE WASHINGTON

• Senator John Kerry told the president of Afghanistan on Tuesday that his efforts to battle corruption were crucial if he wants to retain the support of US taxpayers at a time when more American troops are dying in the war.

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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