Blog post

IAVA Daily Brief 9.9.10
Posted by Isabel Black on September 9 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) Video: Countdown with Keith Olbermann: Todd Bowers discusses the Koran-burning controversy

 IAVA Deputy Executive Director Todd Bowers was a guest on Countdown with Keith Olbermann to discuss General Petraeus' comments about how the planned Koran-burning in Florida can harm American troops overseas.  Bowers relayed his own experiences with anti-Muslim sentiment and how it affected American troops in Afghanistan.

 2) Purple Hearts Elusive For Traumatic Brain Injuries

The US Army honors soldiers wounded or killed in combat with the Purple Heart, a powerful symbol designed to recognize their sacrifice and service.  Yet Army commanders have routinely denied Purple Hearts to soldiers who have sustained concussions in Iraq, despite regulations that make such wounds eligible for the medal.

3) Karzai seeks to limit role of US corruption investigators

Afghan President Hamid Karzai intends to impose rules restricting international involvement in anti-corruption investigations, a move that U.S. officials fear will hobble efforts to address the endemic graft that threatens support for his administration in Afghanistan and the United States.  The planned changes have alarmed US officials in Kabul and Washington and prompted efforts to persuade Karzai and his advisors to soften the restrictions.

AFGHANISTAN

More than one quarter of the translators working alongside American troops in Afghanistan failed language proficiency exams but were sent onto the battlefield anyway.

General David Petraeus suggested that the Whit House-imposed deadline to begin withdrawing American troops by next summer was unlikely to amount to a significant force reduction.

 

IRAQ

The American military said that the killing of two American soldiers by an Iraqi soldier at a military base north of Baghdad would not undermine the new American mission to advise Iraq's security forces.

The Iraqi Defense Minister said that some form of US military presence will be needed in Iraq at least until 2016 to provide training, support and maintenance for the vast quantity of military equipment and weaponry that Iraq is buying from America.

 

 MILITARY AFFAIRS

The new EA video game, Medal of Honor, has been banned on US military bases worldwide because in the game's multiplayer mode, one can play the role of Taliban insurgents who kill coalition forces.

 

 INSIDE WASHINGTON

Senator Claire McCaskill plans to tour the St. Louis Veterans Affairs Hospital and get an update on progress toward making sure all equipment is properly sterilized.

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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