Blog post

Daily News Summary
Posted by IAVA Staff on May 12 2008

Iraq Turkey is continuing to bomb PKK targets in Northern Iraq as the rebels continue to harass the Turkish military forces along the border.  Meanwhile, sporadic fighting continues in Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood, despite a cease-fire truce.   Also in Iraq, it seems as though Iraq's surge into the city of Basra has quieted the area to the delight of its residents, though Iraqi leaders caution the peace is fragile. Afghanistan Two armored Humvees have gone missing from a US base outside of Kabul, though US officials believe they are in the possession of US personnel and simply unaccounted for.  A soldier killed by an RPG in Afghanistan on Friday became the 4^th soldier from the 101^st Airborne Division to die in Afghanistan in a week. Washington Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is apologizing for the fact that the US military has cremated some of the remains of American service members killed in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere at a Delaware facility that also cremates pets, a practice that ended yesterday after Army leaders demanded it be stopped. Veterans, Troops and Other Military News The VA is predicting that the cost per year of caring for veterans will increase by over 10% (accounting for inflation)  in 25 years due to the serious mental and physical injuries the soldiers are facing in Iraq and Afghanistan.