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Wednesdy,
October 3, 2012. Chaos and violence continue, Nouri's got his eyes on
more weapons, the US gets ready for a debate with some of the
presidential candidates, the House and Senate Veterans Affairs
Committees hold a joint-hearing, and more.
USA Today's Susan Page (link is text and video) has a column today on the presidential debates which kick off tonight for some candidates. (Some? As Isaiah notes his comic this morning, Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein and Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson will not be on stage, the duopoly does not want them invited.) In
her piece, Pages notes a number of topics she feels should be covered
including, "President Obama can rightly claim to be an early opponent to
the war in Iraq. But once troops were there, he was an opponent of the
surge that ultimately proved successful. What has he learned from those
two decisions that will make him a more effective commander in chief in
the future?" Before anyone points out that tonight's debate is domestic
topics, Susan Page knows that, her column is about the three debates
President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney will take part in.
There
are many good questions Barack could be asked about Iraq including why
he backed Nouri al-Maliki for a second term as prime minister after
Nouri's State of Law came in second? The country's Constitution was
very clear on the process and how do you help a fledging democracy take
root when you overturn the results of an election? As John Barry's "' The Engame' Is A Well Researched, Highly Critical Look at U.S. Policy in Iraq" ( The Daily Beast) notes:
As Michael Gordon and Bernard Trainor charge in their ambitious new history of the Iraq war, The Endgame,
Obama's administration sacrificed political influence by failing in
2010 to insist that the results of Iraq's first proper election be
honored: "When the Obama administration acquiesced in the questionable
judicial opinion that prevented Ayad Allawi's bloc, after it had won the
most seats in 2010, from the first attempt at forming a new government,
it undermined the prospects, however slim, for a compromise that might
have led to a genuinely inclusive and cross-sectarian government."
Another
question Barack should be asked is why he keeps talking about bringing
the troops home from Iraq when (a) 15,000 troops were moved to Kuwait,
(b) a small number of US troops were left in Iraq, (c) Barack just sent a
small number of Special-Ops back into Iraq and (d) he's negotiating to
send more US troops back into Iraq?
Last week, Tim Arango (New York Times) reported,
"Iraq and the United States are negotiating an agreement that could
result in the return of small units of American soldiers to Iraq on
training missions. At the request of the Iraqi government, according to
General Caslen, a unit of Army Special Operations soldiers was recently
deployed to Iraq to advise on counterterrorism and help with
intelligence." As John Glaser (Antiwar.com) observes,
"Most Americans have been led to believe that all US forces besides
those guarding the massive American Embassy in Iraq have been withdrawn
since the end of last year. But small units have remained in Baghdad
to support elite Iraqi forces that report directly to the increasingly
authoritarian Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki." RTT News reports
today, "U.S. military training for Iraqi security forces will continue
uninterrupted despite failure of the Congress to approve money for it in
a temporary spending bill now funding government operations, the
Pentagon has said." northsunm32 (All Voices) points out,
"Pentagon officials had warned legislators that the failure to extend
the authorization for the program could force the withdrawal of 220 of
296 personnel it currently had in Iraq working with the Iraqis.
Obviously, this did not sway Congress. However, just as obviously,
there is no plan to withdraw those personnel."
We'll
come back to the topic of the US presidential elections at the end of
the snapshot. Right now, we'll stay with the US but move to veterans
issues. Last week, James Dao (New York Times) reported,
"Numbers tell the story. Last year, veterans filed more than 1.3
million claims, double the number in 2001. Despite having added nearly
4,000 new workers since 2008, the agnecy did not keep pace, completing
less than 80 percent of its inventory. This year, the agency has
already completed more than 1 million claims for the third consecutive
year. Yet it is still taking about eight months to process the average
claim, two months longer than a decade ago. As of Monday, 890 pensions
and compensation claims were pending." That was last week. Today?
James
Koutz: We've seen many pilot programs and promises from VA. It's time
to roll up our sleeves and really fix what's wrong with this system. As
the Social Security Administration and other benefit programs can handle
their claims in a timely manner, veterans cannot understand why the VA
cannot. In the American Legion, we've made training our Service Officers
a top priority. It's part of the job -- not something that gets in the
way of the job. We bring our Service Officers together for training
twice a year. They make recommendations based on a complex system they
must navigate on a daily basis. They're the ones who can see the flaws
in the VA's work-credit system that rewards quantity over quality. There
simply has to be a better way to get this done. For instance, VA could
start counting claims done right as a positive and claims done wrong as a
negative so everyone could have a more accurate picture of what's
reallly getting done in these regional offices. Veterans waiting past
the realistic target date might be compensated with interest on their
claims creating an incentive for VA also to get these claims decided on
time. There are ways to work with the mechanics of this system and to
make it serve the veteran and not the bureaucrats. We're willing to roll
up our sleeves and work with you to find those ways. The
American Legion has people in the trenches who not only understand the
problems but contribute to the solutions. Veterans are tired of hearing
how the government is working on ending a backlog that continues to
grow. Veterans and the American Legion want results and are willing to
do whatever it takes to obtain them. Remember, we're all partners in
this. Everyone knows the claims process is confusing for veterans and
the American Legion
is there with free services to help navigate the system and make things
easier for both the veteran and the VA personnel who have decided their
claims. Nobody gets charged a penny for this service -- not the
veteran, not the government.
[. . .]
Chair
Jeff Miller: I want to hone in, just for a bit, on the claims backlog
because obviously that is a huge issue that's out there, that everybody
in this room is concerned about. Congress is concerned about it. The
Dept of Veterans Affairs is concerned about it. But it doesn't seem to
be getting any better. [VA] Secretary [Eric] Shinseki has already said
several times, you quoted it in your opening statement, that by 2015,
they would, within 125 days, the idea was that everybody would have
their claims ajudicated at 100%. Well it isn't happening. And
unfortunately, we had a hearing just a couple of weeks ago where we kind
of took a status check with VA: Where are you? Their focus was more on
what they were turning out which is exactly what you talked about. And
that's important. A million claims being adjudicated. But the backlog is
growing. And if you're not keeping up with that backlog, it's certainly
not going to assist and fix the problem. So, again, I would like to
hear from you if you would, your perspective on what are the things that
can be done? What can Congress do legislatively, if you will, to assist
the problem? We all talk about the electronic medical record. But that
is years away from being able to truly have that seamless transition.
We're moving in that direction. But we've got folks, you know, today
that are waiting one, two years waiting to have their claims ajudicated
and we've put dollars forward, we've put bodies forward. It does not
seem to fix the issue. So I'd like to hear what you think.
James
Koutz: Well, Mr. Chairman, I think one of the things that we could do
is do more hiring of ajudicators, do more hiring of the processers. As
you probably know, a lot of these claims that are coming back, they're
not completed. They need to be fully developed claims. I believe like
any other business, if you're in the backlog, then the only way to get
the backlog taken care of is to hire more people. And I understand the
VA -- being a former, or still a commissioner of the Indiana Department
of Veterans Affairs -- that it takes time to train an ajudicator or
claims processer. That'll take time. But maybe we can -- and I don't
know how much overtime they're working, if they're working overtime --
But I think they've got to do these claims more accurately because, when
they come back, the first thing that we see is mistakes and that claim
goes right back to the regional office and we're starting all over
again from step one. So I think that's the biggest thing, maybe get the
accuracy where the Secretary said he would like to have it, 98%
accuracy. If we get to that number, then I think you'll see the
backlogs claim be reduced.
Chair
Jeff Miller: Do you know the percentage of the claims that your Service
Officers put together or ajudicated complete? I mean, they may not
necessarily get the rating that they're asking for, but the percentage
of packages that are completed?
James Koutz: I don't. But Peter Gaytan, our executive director of our Washington office, probably can answer that for you.
Peter
Gaytan: Thank you, Commander. Mr. Chairman, the American Legion takes
very seriously, the quality of our work and our training of our Service
Officres. Twice a year, we put our Service Officers rigorous training
to make sure that they have the qualifications, knowledge and skills to
not only produce quality, fully developed claims that we submit to the
VA but also to help reduce the backlog because it's got to be a team
effort to do that. We're going to have qualified, well trained officers
to do this work. Now your specific question on the number that the
American Legion ajudicates or
Chair Jeff Miller: Or percentage.
Peter
Gaytan: I would like to defer to our National Veterans Affairs and
Rehabilitation Commission VA Director Verna Jones who handles that area.
Verna
Jones: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We actually received a report from the
VA just last week. And I can tell you the number of claims. The
American Legion handles 244,000 claims annually. That's our number
this year: 244,000. Now I'm not sure of the exact percentage but the
number is 244,000 claimsfor the American Legion nationally.
Chair
Jeff Miller: Okay. If you would, just for the record, if you could let
us know, just trying to get a handle, you know, on how many claims are
being done by the veteran themselves obviously using the veterans
Service Officer. The assumption, from my standpoint, would be that it
would be better to go through a Service Officer in order to file your
claim. But I'm interested in knowing for no other reason then I think
folks up here on the dais would like to hear it.
Today
the US House Veterans Affairs Committee and Senate Veterans Affairs
Committee held a joint-hearing which was a presentation by the American
Legion. The American Legion's
National Commander James Koutz handled the presentation and he was
accomanied by Verna Jones, Michael Helm, Peter Gaytan and Kenneth
Governor. The Chair of the House Committee is Jeff Miller who was
present. As he noted, "the Congressional schedule changed a few weeks
ago so a lot of members are not in Washington today." Ranking Member
Bob Filner is not seeking re-election to the Congress but is instead running for Mayor of San Diego. The scheduling change meant that he was not present. US House Rep Mike Michaud was Acting Ranking Member.
Acting
Ranking Member Mike Michaud: I was troubled by the July report from
CBS News that found suicide rates for our soldiers is up 80%. Our
veterans are returning from war with invisible wounds that need
treatment but are discouraged from seeking treatment for various
reasons. As a nation, we can do better. We must get this right.
He was referring to David Martin's report for CBS Evening News (link is text and video) report
on the suicide rate in July: "July was the worst month ever for Army
suicides. Thirty-eight active duty and reserve soldiers took their own
lives. Among active duty troops, 2012 could turn out to be the worst
year ever. Behind the numbers are heartbroken widows who say their
husbands sought help but couldn't get it." And as disturbing is the
number of veterans suicides.
Over the weekend and through Monday, the Austin American-Stateman
began publishing the results of their investigative series on veterans
deaths. This was a six-month investigation focusing on the the deaths
of Texas veterans and, in their overview article, they noted:
■ More than one in three died from a drug overdose, a fatal combination of drugs, or suicide. Their median age at death was 28.
■ Nearly one in five died in a motor vehicle crash.
■
Among those with a primary diagnosis of post traumatic stress disorder,
the numbers are even more disturbing: 80 percent died of overdose,
suicide or a single vehicle crash. Only two of the 46 Texas veterans of
the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts with a PTSD diagnosis died of natural
causes, according to the analysis.
■
The 345 Texas veterans identified by the VA as having died since coming
home is equal to nearly two-thirds of the state's casualties in Iraq
and Afghanistan. But that only includes veterans who have sought VA
benefits, meaning the total number of deaths is likely much larger.That is from the overview article. The paper also offered " Suicide among veterans receiving less attention than active-duty deaths"
which tells the story of Iraq War veteran Ray Rivas who took his own
life on a day when his wife, Colleen Rivas, described him being in "good
spirits" and notes:
An American-Statesman
investigation into the deaths of 266 Texans who served during the Iraq
or Afghanistan wars show that 45 committed suicide, making it the
fourth-leading cause of death behind illness, accidents and
drug-related deaths. That percentage is more than four times higher than
the general population: Suicide accounted for 3.6 percent of all Texas
deaths over the same period, compared with 16.9 percent of the
veterans the newspaper studied.Rivas o.d.ed "on sleeping
pills in a parking lot." Iraq War veteran Eric Sessions died on his
motorcycle and is part of the report entitled " After returning home, many veterans get into motor vehicle accidents"
which finds, "Next to illness and disease, motor vehicle accidents
such as Sessions' were the leading cause of death among the 266 Texas
veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan whose histories were tracked by the
American-Statesman. The motorcycle and car wrecks were responsible for
50 deaths, or 18.8 percent of the total ― more than suicides or
prescription drug overdoses." The paper also offers " Which veterans are at highest risk for suicide?"
The Military Suicide Research Consortium's Peter Gutierrez agrees that
"relationship problems, legal problems, mental illness, depression" are
the same in the civilian world and among service members and veterans
but feels the civilian population is less likely to suffer from
Post-Traumatic Stress and Traumatic Brain Injury. Afghanistan War
veteran KC Dobson's took her own life last year, "Her Army photos show a
beaming, freckle-faced young woman in fatigues, her dark hair pulled
back in a bun. But her smile masked what family members said was
emotional and physical pain that dogged her throughout her deployment
to Iraq and after her 2010 discharge." Other reports by the paper are " Researches look into possible causes of current 'epidemic' of suicide and PTSD" and " Scores of recent Texas war veterans have died of overdoses, suicides and vehicle crashes, investigation finds" -- all articles share the byline "by American-Statesman Investigative Team."
For
today's hearing, Senator Mark Begich was Acting Senate Committe Chair
for the hearing and Senator John Boozman was Acting Ranking Member. One
of the issues various groups -- and the American Legion is no different
here -- is paying attention to is possible sequestration. What? What
NPR has been calling the "fiscal cliff." Marilyn Geewax (NPR's The Two Way) observed
this week, "Unless Congress passes legislation in a lame-duck session,
taxes will be higher by a half-trillion dollars next year, costing the
average household nearly $3,500 a year, according to a just-released report by the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center."
The VA is not supposed to be effected in terms of services to
veterans. The White House has stated there may be some administrative
shuffling or losses but it won't effect care -- if sequestration takes
place. If it does, let's hope the veterans have been told the truth.
James
Koutz: The American Legion understands our nation is in a budget
crisis, the likes of which has not been seen in over a generation.
First and foremost, our nation's veterans are deeply concerned about the
national security in the face of drastic defense spending cuts. Equally
important to the American Legion is protection of veterans and veterans
programs administered in other federal agencies. Thank to the timeless
work of this Committee -- and especially you, Chairman Miller --
Congress and the White House have reassured us that VA will be exempt
from sequestration. Unfortunately, many programs that are important to
veterans are funded by agencies outside the VA: Arlington National
Cemetery, the American Battle Monuments Commission, the Joint Prisoners
of War - Missing in Action Accounting Command and the Dept of Labor's
Veterans Program, HUD and others. Veterans are seriously concerned
these important government functions will be compromised or cut in
order to make ends meet. [. . .] The American Legion has been promised
that the budget would not be balanced on the backs of veterans. If cuts
ot the Department of Defense erode TRICARE, diminish quality of life for
our troops, or put more pressure on our National Guard and reserve
components, it is clear that an unfair portion of responsibility is
falling upon the shoulders of America's current and future veterans.
Based on what others cover ( Ava plans to cover the hearing at Trina's site tonight, Wally at Rebecca's site and Kat at her own), tomorrow's snapshot may include other aspects of the hearing.
Iraq's
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has shunned U.S. interests. He also
pursues polarizing policies, which fuel sectarian and ethnic conflict
between Iraqis. Baghdad scorns Iraq's constitution, preferring
confrontation to power-sharing. It systematically encroaches on Kurdish
territory, inflaming tensions along "disputed internal boundaries." The
Iraqi government uses its security apparatus to trample the rights of
Iraq's Sunnis and target political opponents. It acts as a proxy for
Iran, facilitating the transfer of weapons from Tehran to Syria.
In
contrast, Iraqi Kurds are unabashedly pro-American. Not a single
American has died in Iraqi Kurdistan since Saddam's overthrow in 2003.
Iraqi Kurdistan has functioning democratic institutions, a vibrant civil
society, and an independent media. While corruption is still a problem,
Iraqi Kurdistan is less corrupt than most neighbors. The U.S. shares
values with Iraqi Kurds, who are America's best and only friends in
Iraq.
The United States should deepen security cooperation with the
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). While Baghdad rejected a status of
forces agreement with the United States, the KRG welcomes it. The
Pentagon's sale of Abrams-A1 tanks and F-16 fighter jets to Baghdad
should be cancelled. Such weapons will most likely be used against
Iraqis, rather than to protect Iraq from Iran and other rogue regimes
with which Baghdad has cozy relations.
I understand the point he's making but, to be clear, Jeremiah Small died in the KRG March 1, 2012. The 33-year-old American was there teaching history and English lit.
In Iraq today the violence continued. All Iraq News reports that Iraqi police shot dead 3 people ('suspects') outside Baghdad, near Ghazaliya, 1 'suspect' was shot dead outside of Mosul, and an armed clash in Baghdad left 1 person dead. AFP adds
a Baghdad roadside bombing claimed the life of 1 Iraqi soldier with two
more injured, a Suwayrah roadside bombing claimed 1 life and left three
people injured, a Kirkuk car bombing left seven people injured and 1
"high-ranking official in the transport ministry was assassinated by
unknown gunmen". In non-violence deaths, Al Rafidayn notes
2 people in Sulaymaniyah died of cholera. Yes, it is time for the
annual cholera outbreak in Iraq. It happens every year. The US press
used to cover it, used to pretend to care. The World Health Organization explains,
"Cholera is an acute intestinal infection caused by ingestion of food
or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. It has a
short incubation period, from les than one day to five days, and
produces an enterotoxin that causes a copious, painless, watery
diarrhoea that can quickly lead to severe dehydration and death if
treatment is not promptly given. Vomiting also occurs in most
patients." In the science section of Monday's New York Times, there was an article on cholera. The best way to end cholera is potable water.
While Iraq's not seen vast sums used to rebuild basic infrastructure, Rudaw notes one segment Nouri's been happy to throw money at:
Iraqi
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is expected to visit Russia to sign a $5
billion deal to procure weapons for the Iraqi military.
A
member of Iraqi parliament's committee of defense and security told
Rudaw that Maliki is planning to ask the Russians to deliver 20 to 40
helicopters and a number of missiles to penetrate into mountainous
areas.
Maliki's
first visit to Russia as Iraq's prime minister has sparked different
reactions across the country. Many Iraqis, especially Kurds, have voiced
concern about Maliki's plans and are alarmed by what they describe as
his "unilateral" and "autocratic" style.
Shwan Taha, a Kurdish member of Iraqi Parliament, said, "The arming policy is random and affected by corruption."
Taha said that, despite billions of dollars spent on arming the Iraqi military, "Iraq's weapon needs have not been met yet."
The
weapons purchases are alarming some Iraqis. The possibility that Iraq
might make significant purchases from Russia is also not going over well
with the US government. But file it under one of Nouri's many problems
currently.
Dar Addustour reports
that last week's assault on the prison in Tikirt has resulted in
searches of other Iraq prisons and the confiscation of smuggled cell
phones. All Iraq News notes
that 1 of the Tikrit prison escapees was arrested today. The news
outlet notes that there are conflicting reports but as many as 250
prisoners may still be at large after last week's attack. Al Mada adds
that Nouri's council of ministers decided that the protection of the
prisons -- which is done by federal police -- should fall under the
Ministry of Justice. The federal police fall under the jurisdiction of
the Ministry of the Interior. Why the shift? Who knows but what
it looks like is Nouri's trying to hand off to someone to be the fall
guy. The Ministry of Justice has a Minister heading it (Hassan
al-Shimari). Nouri is the one heading the Ministry of Interior (and
Ministry of Defense and Ministry of National Security) because he never
nominated anyone to head those ministires. He was supposed to. The
Constitution required not only that he present nominees to Parliament
but that they be confirmed. But when you're the pet of the White House,
laws don't really matter. Further indicating that distraction is the goal, All Iraq News reports
that State of Law MP Abdul Salam al-Maliki is claiming that they have
evidence that politicians were involved in the Tikrit prison break. If
they had evidence, they would have already presented it. This is more
spin from Nouri's State of Law. As Iraqis are supposed to ponder which
politicians could be involved, the hope is they'll be too distracted to
notice what a complete and utter failure Nouri's government has been. More problems for State of Law and Nouri, Wael Grace and Mohammad Sabah (Al Mada) report
that there are splits in the National Alliance over the infrastructure
bill. Moqtada al-Sadr's bloc has already made their opposition
public. Grace and Sabah report that Irbrahim al-Jaafari, leader of the
National Alliance, is also opposed to it currently and that there is
talk of forming a new bloc.
I'm
an old guy now, past sixty but not yet senior enough for Medicare, and
I've been in the movement a long time. Younger people sometimes ask me
what to do. After telling them not to respect their elders all that much
--- we didn't respect them that much 45 years ago either --- the main
thing I tell them is that movement leaders and participants back in the
day had visions and horizons longer than the next election cycle or the
one after that. They were prepared to fight whether they had allies in
city hall, the legislature or the courts or not. Unlike today's NAACP
and NAN, they developed agendas without the guidance of corporate
funders and their recommended professionals.
We've
proved we can elect as many Democrats as we want, all the way up the
food chain without changing much here at the bottom. I know this well. I
gave more than 20 years of my own life to electing better Democrats,
helping Democrats run better campaigns, and registering more Democrat
voters. I met Barack Obama 20 years ago on one of those gigs in Project
VOTE Illinois, where he was state director and I was one of three field
organizers who signed up 130,000 new voters and flogged them out to the
polls that year. We elected Harold Washington, and a lot of state
legislators and a few Congressional reps. The Democratic party will
still let you work for it, but once in office, big money calls the
shots. It's time to leave that house and build a new one.
It's
an uncomfortable truth: the present US political system is largely
people-proof and democracy-proof. The time and treasure we've sunk into
supporting Democrats the last seventy years is gone. It's a horse we
raised and watered and fed that somebody else has ridden off and it
won't be back.
I
still believe my voice and my vote mean something. Kwame Toure used to
say the thing to do is find an organization you're in substantial
agreement with and join it, or if it does not exist, start one and
recruit your neighbors.
So
I've joined the Georgia Green Party, and I'm recruiting those of my
neighbors who still believes that unemployment and mass incarceration
have to be addressed, that illegal wars and deportations must be
stopped, that Wall Street must be reined in, and that gentrification and
privatization have to be stopped. Most voters who call themselves
Democrats, in fact millions of those voting for President Obama believe
exactly these things already, but are substantially disinformed about
what their elected officials actually DO.
I
was at a demonstration in support of Chicago teachers Saturday, and
some participants seemed to assume that the president was on their side,
that maybe they could enlist figures like Rev. Al Sharpton to aid their
struggle to mobilize people against the inroads of school
privatizaters. It fell to me to tell them the bad news --- that Sharpton
took a half million dollar bribe years ago to jump on the charter
school bandwagon, that he toured the country with Newt Gingrich and Arne
Duncan beating the bushes for high stakes testing and charters, and the
administration is actually the enemy on this one.
Eventually
they and many like them, if they want a party that stands up for what
they believe, will have to become Greens. It's my job to make sure that
happens.
So
I'll watch the debates, sure. The crooks who run them won't let Jill
Stein, the Green Party candidate on the same stage with the corporate
candidates. So I'll watch Democracy Now's coverage, in which Jill Stein
and another candidate in real time answer the same questions as they do.
My colleague Glen Ford will be a guest at Occupy The Debates in
Baltimore as well.
One
answer to the lack of real discussions presented us by the rigged
"commission" on presidential debates will be Occupy The Debates, a
project undertaken by Occupy activists in multiple cities, in which a
live meeting will entertain live questions from a live audience. Occupy
the Debate's first scheduled public meeting will be in Denver CO, the
same night as the first so-called "debate" between the two corporate
candidates. Occupy the Debates will be streamed live on the internet
that evening, and will include the participation of Black Agenda Report
co-founder Glen Ford. Several occupy movements around the country are
expected to follow suit and organize their own local events over the
next few weeks. For more information on real debates on real issues,
visit Occupy the Debates either on Facebook or at www.occupythedebates.org -- that's www.occupythedebates.org.
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