Blog post

IAVA Daily Brief 05.18.09
Posted by Michelle McCarthy on May 18

Here are some of today's top stories and happenings at IAVA.

MUST READS

(1) Pakistan is Rapidly Adding Nuclear Arms, U.S. Says

New York Times reports today that members of Congress have been told in confidential briefings over the past several weeks that Pakistan is rapidly adding to its nuclear arsenal even while trying to stave off a Taliban encroachment on Islamabad.  The developments come as Congress considers proposals to spend $3 billion over the next five years to train and equip Pakistan’s military for counterinsurgency warfare as well as provide an additional $7.5 billion in civilian assistance.

(2) VA doc: Other possible equipment errors reported

Amid an ongoing investigation into whether roughly 40 veterans were infected with Hepatitis and HIV via contaminated equipment at VA hospitals in Florida, Tennessee and Georgia, VA patients in more than a dozen other hospitals are reportedly not being warned about less serious mistakes with the same equipment.  On Friday, the VA's chief patient safety offier Dr. Jim Bagian declined to identify the names of the other facilities saying the Murfreesboro, Miami and Augusta facilities are the only ones with "any kind of appreciable risk" of exposing patients to infections.  Bagian said expanding the follow-up blood tests to other locations would cause unnecessary patient "anxiety."  In a Thursday letter to Veterans Affairs Inspector General George Opher,  Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) said an independent body should evaluate the VA's decision not to identify 16 additional locations that "reported incorrect" techniques.  Burr's call for review coincides with reports that another veteran tested positive for hepatitis B after he had several colonoscopies at a VA hospital in Iowa City.

AFGHANISTAN

The U.S. military confirmed Sunday that it is investigating a shooting incident in which four employees working for the military contractor Xe, formerly called Blackwater, have been accused of killing an Afghan man after a traffic accident.  Officials said the military has asked Xe to keep the four men in Afghanistan until the investigation is complete.  Xe said fired the four men for failing to follow regulations; however, a lawyer for the four men said they are being held against their will by the company in Kabul.  U.S. military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Christian Kubik said the four men were employed to train Afghan troops.

Meanwhile, Pakistan's military said Sunday that is has killed more than 1,000 Taliban and al-Qaeda militants along its border with Afghanistan nearly eliminating Taliban control of the North West Frontier province.  Officials said the Taliban remains in control of just 2 percent of the province following a two-week offensive.  However, the United Nations reports that more than one million Pakistanis have been displaced as a result of the fighting.

As more U.S. forces head to the region in coming weeks, military officials are now reporting they expect a 50% increase this year in roadside and suicide bombings to 5,700.  According to Col. Jeffrey Jarkowsky, commander of Joint Task Force Paladin, the counter-IED unit at the U.S. base at Bagram, the bombings are up 25% for the first four months of 2009.

IRAQ

Over the weekend in northern Iraq, U.S. and Iraqi troops targeted a Syrian-based al Qaeda network and a "foreign terrorist faciliator" named Abu Khalaf more than 50 miles northwest of Mosul.  According to military officials, Abu Khalaf "is believed to be responsible for facilitating the main pipeline of suicide bombers, as well as the flow of money, weapons, terrorists and other resources from Syria into Iraq." Three of his associates were arrested, including one person wanted for involvement in car bombings.  Officials reported a U.S. soldier was killed during combat in the region on Saturday, but would not provide further details.

Separately, Iraq's federal court set a provisional date of January 30th for the country's national election, which will be the second since the fall of Saddam Hussein six years ago but the first to be organized and secured by Iraqis.  The last parliamentary polls were held in 2005 with strong U.S. support, and saw a broad Shi'ite coalition take the most seats. 

MILITARY AFFAIRS

A week after Sgt. John M. Russell killed five of U.S. service members at a stress clinic at Camp Liberty in Iraq, U.S. officials are conceding that the military is struggling to eradicate the stigma of seeking mental health care. "Our goal is to eradicate the stigman," Maj. David Cabrera, who runs counseling services at a military hospital in Germany, told the Associated Press.  "We're not there yet."  Meanwhile, other commanders including Lt. Gen. Kenneth W. Hunzeker believe that the military must pursue a holistic approach to combating stress in theatre.  "The only way we're going to keep our soldiers fit to fight, if you will, is to make sure it is a holistic approach, not just the physical but mental readiness."

While the military continues its investgation of the shooting at the Camp Liberty stress clinic, lawyers for Pfc. Steven Dale Green, who was convicted May 7th for the rape and murder of a young Iraqi girl and her familiy, are raising concerns about the help Green received when he visited combat stress counselors months before the murder.  As they try to persuade jurors not to condemn Green to death for the murders, attorney's are now arguing that the combat stress unit's actions with respect to his case are central to the defense.

In other news, online dating services including Match.com and eHarmony are reporting that more and more U.S. servicemembers stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan are turning to the Internet to find romance.  According to eHarmony, the percentage of military members joining the online dating service increased by 56% from 2006 to 2008.  

INSIDE WASHINGTON

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CONGRESSIONAL SCHEDULE
 
THE SENATE
 
The Senate will convene at 2:00 PM.

FUTURE COMMITTEE HEARINGS  of  INTEREST

• May 21, 2009 - Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies, hearing on the VA Fiscal Year 2010 Budget.  Secretary Shinseki will be invited to testify.  2:30 p.m.; Location: TBD (Lukas)
• May 21, 2009 -  SVAC will mark-up pending legislation.  9:30 a.m.; 418 Russell (Ballenger)

THE HOUSE of REPRESENTATIVES
 
The House will convene at 12:30 PM.

COMMITTEE HEARINGS of  INTEREST

• May 19, 2008  House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Hearing:  Gulf War Illness Research:  Fact of Fiction?  10:00 a.m.; 334 Cannon 
• May 20, 2008  House Veterans’ Affairs Roundtable:  The Growing Needs of Women Veterans: Is the VA Ready?  10:00 a.m.; 334 Cannon

IAVA In The NEWS

Outlet: Associated Press

Title: Military Fights Stigma of Mental Care

Date: Saturday, May 16th

Representative: Tom Tarantino