Blog Post

IAVA Daily News Brief 08.23.12
Posted by Hallie Seegal on August 23 2012

Here are some of today's top stories and happenings that IAVA is tracking. Prefer to receive real-time updates about major stories and legislation that IAVA is tracking? Follow us on Twitter @IAVA and click here to get the News Brief delivered to your inbox every morning.

MUST READS

1) Book Will Describe Raid That Killed bin Laden

A detailed first-person account of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, written by a member of the Navy SEALs who participated in the mission and was present at Bin Laden’s death, will be released next month, the publisher said on Wednesday. The book is written under a pseudonym.

2) Battle-tested, Female War Veterans Run For Congress

One flew an A-10 Warthog over Iraq and Afghanistan. Another was part of the 29th Infantry Brigade's medical operations near Baghdad. A third lost  both legs and partial use of an arm in a rocket-propelled grenade attack in Iraq. All are war veterans aiming to serve in Congress. All reflect an evolving U.S. military. All are female.

3) Afghanistan Blames Spies for Insider Attacks

Even as the Afghan government said on Wednesday that it would take new  measures to counter a wave of deadly insider killings of Western troops  by Afghan security forces, President Hamid Karzai’s office asserted for  the first time that foreign spy agencies were behind most of the attacks, putting it directly at odds with NATO’s assessment of the
crisis.

AFGHANISTAN

• Afghanistan's government said on Wednesday it would re-screen the files of 350,000 police and soldiers to stem the recent wave of NATO personnel shootings by Afghan forces. 
• It was an afternoon of banners, flags and then tears of happiness Wednesday as 300 members of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing returned home after a seven-month deployment to Afghanistan.

IRAQ

• The Islamic State of Iraq, an Al-Qaida’s front group, has claimed responsibility for 43 deadly attacks in the Sunni-dominated western Anbar province this summer. The attacks included roadside bombings, sticky bombs, mortars and rockets, booby trapped houses and shootings against Iraqi security forces, pro-government elements and military bases.

MILITARY AFFAIRS

• As the head of the VA on Wednesday blasted a video produced for a pair of VA conferences last year in Orlando, two House committees pressed for even more answers, saying the video spoof of the opening scene of the movie "Patton" was yet another example of wasteful government spending.

THE NEW GREATEST GENERATION

• Former Private First Class Nick Stefanovic earned a clean slate thanks to a Veterans Treatment Court, a program for veterans that may allow them to earn their way out of jail or reduce fines after a criminal offense. 

INSIDE WASHINGTON

• Les Gelb, the President Emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations and IAVA Board Member, writes in The National Interest that while Obama captured the political center at home on foreign policy because he avoided costly mistakes, he misunderstood the strengths of American power when encased in good strategy. 

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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