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Monday,
July 23, 2012. Chaos and violence continue as Iraq sees the largest
death toll of the year thus far, Victoria Nuland spins at the White
House (and fails to bring up a threat to the US -- way to serve the
public, Vicki), Moqtada al-Sadr rejects Nouri's Reform Commission,
reports emerge of a British military training camp in Iraq, we look at
MST and more.
As noted this morning,
US President Barack Obama decided to grandstand on the Iraq War. His
re-election campaign released a ridiculous video featuring Tom Appelbaum
(and his wife) talking about the St. Louis veterans parade earlier this
year. Appelbaum and Craig Schneider were the organizers of that event
-- one which was billed as non-political and non-partisan, one that was
fundraised on with the promise that this was about the veterans and not
some political stunt. Today Appelbaum turned it into just that whoring
for Barack's campaign and the use of footage of that parade in Barack's
commercial is offensive. To be clear, they had to fundraise because the
Barack Obama administration refused to stage a parade or fund a
parade. That's why private citizens had to donate in St. Louis and
across the country where such events have been held. Barack was too
busy to attend the St. Louis welcome home or any other across the
country. But Tom Appelbaum wants to play cheap whore for Barack and
take an event that Barack did not attend or contribute to and pretend
like Barack Obama was part of it. That lousy whore ad shouldn't pass a
fact check but watch the enablers of Barack, as usual, look the other
way. In the media, Kevin Lipstak (CNN) was the first to note the ad. He was not the last.
Charlie Spiering (Washington Examiner) notes
the use of parade footage in the ad and points out that "President
Obama's own Defense Department advised against Iraq victory parades,
warning that they were inappropriate as troops were still in
Afghanistan." Spiering quotes NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg from last
January stating, "The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General
Dempsey, and Army Secretary McHugh and Army Chief of Staff General
Odierno made it clear -- we talked about it -- they do not think a
parade is appropriate now."
At the conservative National Review, Mario Loyola argues,
"It was President Bush who ended the war in Iraq -- by winning it. For
Obama to claim that he ended the war in Iraq by bringing the troops
home is as ridiculous as if he claimed credit for ending World War II by
bringing troops home from Germany and Japan." While we disagree that
Bully Boy Bush won the Iraq War -- the war continues as news out of Iraq
makes clear today -- it can be argued that Bush did end the Iraq War.
Barack Obama campaigned on all troops out in 16 months and then, to Tom
Hayden's joy, 10 months. As soon as he was sworn in, he stated, it was
the first thing he would do. Instead, the thing that got most US troops
out of Iraq last December was the Status of Forces Agreement that the
Bush administration negotiated.
So people
voted for a liar named Barack who spent the primaries tearing apart
Hillary Clinton and other opponents, waxing on about his 'fabeled
judgment' and pretending to be against the Iraq War (he was only against
it before it started) while insisting that "change" was needed, that
the US needed a new path. And then he's sworn in and he offers America
the same withdrawal Bush had negotiated. Where in all of that did
Barack do a damn thing?
Julie Pace and Thomas Beaumont (AP) report
Barack told the VFW today of Iraq, "When you're commander in chief, you
owe the troops a plan." Well then we should all be glad George W.
Bush came up with one before he left office since Barack was unable to.
(And, no, "we should all be glad George W. Bush came up with one" does
not flow easily from my mouth.) The only thing more outrageous than his
ridiculous claims is how far so many in the press are willing to go
along with him. Thankfully not all.
A 2005 study by the Media Research Center found that (under a Republican president) the networks were eager to report bad news relating to Iraq:
Network
coverage has been overwhelmingly pessimistic. More than half of all
stories (848, or 61%) focused on negative topics or presented a
pessimistic analysis of the situation, four times as many as featured
U.S. or Iraqi achievements or offered an optimistic assessment (just 211
stories, or 15%).
Bombings slammed Iraq today. No doubt, Barack took credit for that as well. Alsumaria notes
the dead includes police officers and Sahwa members ("Awakenings" and
"Sons/Daughters of Iraq") and that Baghdad, Nineveh Province, Diwaniyah
Province, Kirkuk, Wasit Province, Diyala Province and Salahuddin
Province were all targeted with bombs. Rami Ruhayem (BBC News -- link is video and text) reports,
"Well the attacks took place all over the country in different cities.
They seem to have targeted primarily security forces -- army as well
as police -- checkpoints, convoys and even some police officers were
targeted inside their homes. There have also been a number of incidents
targeting civilians and marketplaces -- especially in Sadr City in
Baghdad." In a sidebar on the right-hand side, the BBC notes the most
violent attacks of 2012 and today replaces June 13th when 84 were killed
and "nearly 300" wounded. Ala A. Nabhan and Sam Dagher (Wall St. Journal) add,
"Several parked car bombs were detonated in markets packed with Ramadan
shoppers in predominantly Shiite areas such as Baghdad's congested Sadr
City district, the town of Taji northwest of the capital and the city
of Diwaniya to the south, killing and wounding dozens, according to a
Ministry of Interior official." Mark Leon Goldberg (UN Dispatch) notes over 100 dead.
In addition, Sunday , Xinhua reported
on an audio recording released by the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI --
linked to al Qaeda in Iraq) which states, "We are setting of a new stage
of our struggle, with the launch of a plan named 'breaking the walls.'
The tape says the effort will release "Muslim prisoners" from jail and
kill "judges and investigators and their guards." The recording warns
the United States that "you will see them (Qaida militants) at the heart
of your country with God's willing, since our war against you has just
started." Maamoun Youssef (AP) notes
the recording and that it is supposed to be Abuk Bakr al-Baghdadi
speaking (he "became head of the Islamic State of Iraq in 2010").
More and more these attacks are greeted with international silence. The Voice of Russia notes, " The Russian Foreign Ministry has expressed its condolences to victim's relatives and support for Iraqi government's measures to 'stabilize the situation and boost security' in the country." In Iraq, UNAMI's Gyorgy Busztin declared today,
"I strongly condemn the heinous attacks and the senseless violence and
bloodshed across the country. The scale and brutality of the attacks
are appalling -- especially now, when Iraqis are not only celebrating
the holy month of Ramadan with its messages of peace and reconciliation,
but are also welcoming thousands of returnees who have fled the
ongoing violence in Syria." Because the Russian government and
UNAMI issued statements and because she was asked about the topic in today's State Dept press briefing, Victoria Nuland offered a brief condemnation of the attacks and then basically spun (and spun badly):
QUESTION: It's kind of Syria-related.
MS. NULAND: Syria-related? (Laughter.) Okay.
QUESTION: Because of the pressure on its borders --
MS. NULAND: Yeah.
QUESTION:
-- on Iraq's borders from Syria, we saw some incidents last week when
apparently the opposition took some border posts. How concerned are you
about the situation in Iraq right now and whether or not the security
forces are up to the task? They're – they've got all these attacks
within the country and now the border with Syria, which is so porous
anyway.
MS.
NULAND: Well, first on Iraq and Syria, you'll also note that Iraq made a
call for its own citizens who had taken refuge in Syria during the
troubles, the worst of times in Iraq, to now begin to come home. So I
think that speaks to Iraq's sense that it can manage the return of its
own citizens, that it can provide for them better in Iraq than the
situation that they confront in Syria now. We work very closely with the
Iraqis on Syrian issues, as you know. In part of outreach to the
transition, we've been working not only with the groups that are strong
in the western parts of Syria but also with some of these tribes in the
east, as has the Iraqi Government, to get to know them better, to
support the opposition as best it can. With regard to the security
inside Iraq itself and some of the violence that we've seen as Ramadan
has started, we strongly condemn these attacks which took place today,
took place over the weekend, in Iraq. The targeting of innocents is
always cowardly. It's particularly reprehensible during this holy month
of Ramadan. I would like to see it's unusual. Unfortunately, it is not
unusual, that we have seen terrorists exploit the holy month, exploit
the peaceful efforts by Iraqis to worship, to commit acts of terror. But
we continue to believe that Iraqi security forces are up to the task,
that net-net the security situation over the last couple of years has
improved in Iraq, as has the capability of Iraqi forces. Please.
QUESTION: Victoria --
MS. NULAND: Still on Iraq?
QUESTION:
Yeah. Still on Iraq, this wave of attacks was the most violent day
since the withdrawal of U.S. forces. Is the United States doing anything
specifically to help the Iraqi Government in its response to this
morning's violence?
MS.
NULAND: Well, as you know, we continue to provide appropriate security
support to the Iraqis based on their requests in terms of equipping and
training and that kind of thing, and we will continue to do that. But in
general, the position of the Iraqi Government is that they want to be
responsible for their own security, that they are up to the task of
dealing with these kinds of things. The issue here is the horrific
tactics of al-Qaida in Iraq, who, during this month of Ramadan, are
making desperate efforts to call on Sunnis to turn against their
government, to assassinate judges and investigators, and to, in general,
turn against all of these democratic institutions. They're going to
fail. The Iraqis know they're going to fail. But regrettably, this is a
bloody pattern that we've seen in years past, that Ramadan has been
exploited for the agendas of terrorists and those who don't have the
best interest of Iraq at heart.
QUESTION:
Can I just follow it up really quickly, just to be absolutely clear? So
does the violence change the U.S. posture towards Iraq? Does this
morning's violence shift what we are doing at all?
MS.
NULAND: Again, we are concerned, and we stand ready to give the Iraqis
any support that they might request. At the moment, their preference is
to do what they can to manage their security themselves. They fought
long and hard to get to this stage where they are taking responsibility
for their own security. But as necessary, we provide support.
QUESTION: If they requested, say, a contingency of U.S. troops to go back in --
MS.
NULAND: Now you're, Guy, into all kinds of hypotheticals that I'm not
going to get into. But again, it has been their desire – all the way
through we've been guided by what they have wanted. We made clear a year
ago that we were open to a number of options. They picked the option
that we are in, which is that they maintain security with advice and
support as necessary. But if that posture changes, obviously we will
consult with them on it.
QUESTION:
Has there been any communication today between the U.S. and the Iraqi
Government as they try to manage these series of events in Iraq?
MS. NULAND: Our Embassy is in constant contact there.
So
much in there that's wrong. The bulk of Iraqis returning from Syria
have largely gone to the KRG and that's not a large number of returnees
to begin with. Victoria Nuland hopes you're stupid enough to believe
that all the Iraqis who went to Syria beginning in 2006 have stayed
there -- despite the fact that they're not allowed to legally work in
Syria. She's hoping you're real stupid and don't know that the United
Nations has been assisting them in relocation. She also prays the press
never raise relocation of refugees since the current administration has
falied repeatedly to meet the slots set aside for Iraqi refugees. She
avoided the issue of Syrian refugees. That's because of this:
The
UN system in Iraq is putting in place contingency plans for possible
humanitarian emergency. In this connection, I recently visited a
refugee camp in the Kurdistan Region for those displaced by the conflict
in Syria. So far, with 7,000 refugees, their number are manageable.
Yeah,
that doesn't really help her argument so she avoids and probably says a
prayer of thanks the press didn't bring it up. On another day we could
examine all the lies she offered and take her to task for failing to
address the threat made to the United States but we have other things to
cover.
In other news, Kitabat notes thousands are crossing from Syria into the KRG in search of asylum -- these include Kurds and Syrians. Who else is in Iraq? Kitabat notes a report in the UK Sunday Express which stated British forces were training Syrian fighters -- training over 300 of them from a base inside Iraq. What is Kitabat talking about? This article by Marco Giannangeli:
A
British Army source revealed last night that former SAS soldiers are
training Syrian rebels in Iraq in military tactics, weapons handling and
communications systems.
More than 300 have passed through a base just inside the Iraq border, while a command course is run in Saudi Arabia.
Groups
of 50 rebels at a time are being trained by two private security firms
employing former Special Forces personnel. "Our role is purely
instructional teaching tactics, techniques and procedures," said a
former SAS member.
"Some of these guys are shopkeepers and schoolteachers who have lost everything.
"If we can teach them how to take cover, to shoot and avoid being spotted by snipers it will hopefully help."
There is entering Iraq and there is also leaving Iraq. Dar Addustour reports
rumors that high level government officials and politicians are
smuggling rare birds and animals out of Iraq -- already there has been
at least one arrest with the official said to have had 102 birds and
animals. On the topic of officials and politicians, the political stalemate continues in Iraq. Dar Addustour notes
politicians are saying Nouri's Reform Commission will not replace the
call for a no-confidence vote in Parliament to oust Nouri. Today Moqtada al-Sadr's website reports
-- quoting Secretary-General of Moqtada's bloc, Zia al-Asadi -- that
Moqtada's bloc will not be part of the Reform Commission. The
commission itself is deemed a contradiction in terms. Nouri caused the
stalemate by refusing to honor the US-brokered Erbil Agreement. Moqtada
al-Sadr has repeatedly noted that Nouri could end the stalemate by
returning to the Erbil Agreement. The failure to do so may be why
al-Sadr sees the Reform Commission as something less than genuine. Saturday, Iraqiya head Ayad Allawi also rejected the Reform Commission.
Last Wednesday and Thursday
we covered the Wednesday morning House Oversight Subcommittee on
National Security, Homeland Defense and Foreign Operations into how the
VA was managing (or not) claims. Thursday and Friday
we covered the Thursday Iraq briefing to the United Security Council by
Martin Kobler, the Special Envoy to the United Nations
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. There was a Wednesday afternoon hearing
that was put on hold here so we could finish up the Subcommittee and
grab the UN briefing. We'll drop back to that hearing now (and
tomorrow we'll note US House Rep Chellie Pingree from the hearing).
"As
a nation, we call on our armed service members to sacrifice bravely on
our behalf," declared House Veterans Subcommittee on Disability
Assistance and Memorial Affairs Chair Jon Runyan as he brought the
hearing to order. "They courageously put their lives at risk and face
deadly enemies on the battlefield. When we think of these enemies, we
think of those who oppose our freedom and our American way of life. We
certainly do not think of soldiers needing to defend themselves from
their fellow service members. However, many of our service members are
required to do just that. Women are the fast growing population among
veterans, making up 8% of the Armed Forces; however, the Department of
Defense estimates that 1 in 4 women who join the armed services will be
raped or assaulted. But only -- but that only about 10% of such
instances are ever reported. Even more alarming, is that of those few
who did report the incidents of Military Sexual Trauma. Over 75%
stated that they would not have made the same decision about reporting
the instances again due to the consequences it had on their military
career. Despite the fact that these instances often go unreported, VA
currently estimates that over half of a million veterans have
experienced Military Sexual Trauma. This includes 17% of veterans from
recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan."
So
MST is clearly a problem while serving but after service? Veterans
with MST are repeatedly struggling with the system in order to have the
VA recognize their MST.
Ruth
Moore: In 1987, I was a bright, vivacious eighteen-year-old, serving in
the United States Navy. After my training school, my first assignment
was to an overseas duty station in Europe. Two-and-a-half months after I
arrived, I was raped by my supervisor outside of the local club. Not
once, but twice. I sought help from the chaplain but did not receive
any. I tried to move beyond this nightmare but had contracted a STD.
At this point, my life spiraled downward and I attempted suicide.
Shortly thereafter, I was medivaced to Bethesda Naval Hospital and
ultimately discharged from the Navy. No prosecution was ever made
against the perpetrator. In hindsight, it was easier for the military
to get rid of me, than admit to a rape. My problems began at the point
of separation as the psychiatrist diagnosed me with a Borderline
Personality Disorder. I did not have a personality disorder, this was
the standard diagnosis that was given to all victims of MST at that
time, to separate them from active duty and protect the military from
any and all liability. This travesty continued when I was counseled by
outprocessing to waive all claims to the VA, as I "would get helathcare"
through my former spouse who was on active duty. From 1987 to 1993, I
struggled with interpersonal relationships, could not trust male
supervisors and could not maintain employment. I filed my first VA claim
in Jacksonville which was denied despite having serveral markers for
PTSD and gynecological problems. My life continued to spiral downward
and I was not able to maintain my marriage. In 1997, I fled from my
house and lived out of my van for two weeks before I was able to start
rebuilding my life with my present spouse. Things were very difficult
and I developed additional markers of PTSD including night terrors,
panic attacks, severe migraine headaches and insomnia. In 2003, I
refiled for disability and was denied again; howeaver, I enlisted the
aid of the Disabled American Veterans. With their help, I was awarded
30% compensation for depression. I was denied PTSD and was told that I
did not submit enough evidence to prove that I was raped despite having
submitted a letter from my former spouse who remembered the rape and
when I was treated for Chalmydia. Given the eyewitness testimony, the
VA still denied this as credible proof. There was no record of my
medical treatement for STD from that duty station as my medical records
had been partially expunged. Additionaly, I wasa coded by the Togus VA
as having Traumatic Brain Injury or Brain Syndrome. In 2009, I entered
into my first comprehensive treatment at the VA hospital in White River
Junction, Vermont. I met a MST Coordinator who truly listened to me.
She began a systemic review of all my records and determined that they
had been expunged by noting the glaring incosistencies between my lab
work, treatment notes and service record. My psychiatrist and counselor
determined that I did not have Borderlin Personality Disorder and the
later diagnosis of Traumatic Brain Syndrome was inaccurate. My MST
coordinator and I refiled for an increase in disability and my
clinicians wrote supportive records for the VBA to make an accurate
determination. They readjudicated my claim to 70% but denied my status
as individually unemployable, citing that I did not complete the
necessary paperwork. At this point, I was very frustrated and suicidal
with the stresses of the VBA system and claims process. In my final
effort, I called the Honorable Bernie Sanders and his staff agreed to
investigate why the VA was taking so long and denying part of my claim.
I took Mr. Sanders copies of all the paperwork I had filed, including
the VBA time and date stamped "missing information" to prove that they
had originally received it. Within two weeks, my claim was finally
adjudicated to 70% with IU and it was a total and permanent decision.
My rating should have been 100% by the VBA criteria, but I was so
grateful for a favorable determination that I have not pursued it
further. Ladies and Gentleman, this process took me 23 years to resolve,
and I am one of the fortunate ones. It should not be this way. If I
had been treated promptly and received benefits in a timely manner, back
at the time of my discharge, my life would have been much different. I
do not believe that I would have been totally and permanently disabled
in my 40's. I would not have had to endure homelessness and increased
symptomology to the point where I was suicidal, I would not have
miscarried 9 children, and I firmly believe that I would have been able
to develop better coping and social skills. Instead, my quality of
life has been degraded to the point where I am considering the
possibility of getting a service animal to relieve the stress that my
husband endures, as my unpaid caretaker.
Another example from the hearing.
Margaret
Middleton: I recently interviewed a female veteran who was raped by
two sergeants in her barracks thirty years ago. They ordered everybody
else out and they kept her behind. Decades later, similar to what the
doctor just said [Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen] just said, I was the first
person that she had ever told. She didn't tell anyone at the time
because it would have meant the end of her career. And if you think her
career wasn't important to her, she served in Iraq, she achieved the
rank of Master Sergeant and she was retired honorably after 28 years
serving in the military. This incredibly strong soldier held back tears
when she told me this story and it was only one of the several episodes
of MST that she described to me. This veteran's claim faces an almost
impossible evidentiary burden because of this particular provision [38
CFR 3.3.04 (f) (5)]. She did not tell anyone what happened, so there
are no medical records, no letters home, no actions taken against her
assailants. In order to succeed in the army, this veteran felt forced
to stay silent and now she will be punished for her silence because the
VA will refuse to credit her story on her testimony alone.
Chair
Jon Runyan: I think this Committee recognizes that many veterans are
having difficulty receiving benefits related to MST and despite the
[VA's] relaxed evidentiary standard, many veterans still have difficulty
providing the evidence required for the award of the service connection
disability. In each of your opinions, can you kind of touch -- and in
your personal opinion -- why that is happening?
Anu
Bhagwati: Well I think the first thing I would say is I wouldn't refer
to them as relaxed evidentiary standards. I would refer to them as
actually harder evidentiary standards. There's -- there's a two-tier
system right now. One for PTSD generally and one for MST-PTSD. And
those veterans -- again, 87% of these assaults are never reported for
very good reason -- for fear of retialiation in the military and a
variety of other factors related to rape and assault and the trauma that
results. And so we have to think more strategically about -- about what
counts as a fair evidentiary standard. But the regulation itself gives
you that suggestion. And it's clear in all other cases of PTSD that
the veterans testimony, the lay testimony, is sufficient as long as that
veteran has a diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from a
qualified medical provider as well as proof of time and service. And
there's language in that legislation for every other veteran suffering
from PTSD with the exception of rape, assault and harassment. And it's
completely unfair.
Chair Jon Runyan: Okay. Ms.
Joy
Ilem: I think probably we would like to see the data. For years, we've
asked for data. Specific to MST-related cases versus non-personal
assaults. The first information we'd really seen was the FOI-ed
information and certainly we believe VA does have the capability to
extract that information and perhaps has, just briefly looking at their
testimony, appeared to evaluate some of the raters' decisions. And I
think we would definitely want to look at where was their compliance
with the rules and regulations and the policies that have been set so
far. That's where probably, I think, the biggest, you know, problem may
lie because there are often times signficant number of other
opportunities to support those claims but it appears perhaps they're not
being consistent throughout the country because we continue to hear
these complaints repeatedly of people saying 'I've submitted a number of
things -- everything they've asked me and my claim is still denied.'
Chair Jon Runyan: Ms. Perkio, in [laughing] one second, can you surmise? No. Please do respond.
Lori
Perkio: Thank you. I've been a service officer for 16 years and I've
been working VA claims and that include Military Sexual Trauma claims.
In my experience as a service officer is that the evidence was not given
the weight that it should have. When a service member -- I worked with
one man. He had been -- He had been raped. And the next morning, he
was walking around, feeling very dejected and trying to figure out what
he was going to do with the rest of his life, he chose to commit suicide
by throwing himself under a truck. Not only did he have to live with
the results of the medical injuries from that, the treatment that he
received did not get used in support of his claim because he didn't
report that he had actually been sexually assaulted. The medical records
and nobody in the VA would take into account the reasons why he may
have tried to commit suicide when it's plain there was definitely a
change in his attitude, his personality and in his will to live. Those
are the types of things that we would like to see the VA take more into
account in supporting claims for Military Sexual Trauma. In their own
adjudication manual, it states behavioral changes will be considered.
These are things -- while the regulation is already there -- the
adjudication manual is there -- more information needs to be provided to
the raters on how to look at that information and apply it.
Chair Jon Runyan: Thank you. And with that, I'll recognize the Ranking Member, Mr. McNerney.
Ranking
Member Jerry McNerney: Thank you. Ms. Bhagwati, I believe that one of
the problems you mentioned that claimants have is that records have been
purged after a certain number of years. Do you know if that's a policy
or is that just local custom or what regulates when records are purged
and how can we change that so that there's more evidence that would be
persistent?
Anu
Bhagwati: Well there are some records that are still purged and some
records that are no longer purged thanks to the last National Defense
Authorization Act and perhaps Congresswoman [Chellie] Pingree can add to
that. Sexual assault -- I believe it's unrestricted reports are kept
for 50 years -- or maybe restricted reports. What's still destroyed
however is EO or sexual harassment investigations so if you were
sexually harassed and reported it. This happened to me, I could tell
you my first-hand experience. Those EO reports are destroyed in
two-to-five years and it's done branch to branch by service and the
Marines, so the Department of the Navy is not tracking those, we're not
keeping those records forever.
Ranking Member Jerry McNerney: So there's no policy with regards to keeping those?
Anu Bhagwati: Not for sexual harassment investigations.
Ranking
Member Jerry McNerney: Well you concluded in your testimony that when
we look at the VA's policies on paper, it's no surprise that veterans
who suffer from MST related PTSD have only a one-in-three chance of
having their claims approved. Could you please elaborate on that
conclusion and how the VA regulations could be changed to change the
outcomes of that?
Anu
Bhagwati: Sure. It's an absolutely murderous process. We heard the
example of one veteran who killed himself because of this process but I
went through it myself, it took four years and VA -- frankly VBA is
inept at the regional office level. I mean, you can -- you can give
them all the evidence you have. I had plenty of eye witness statements
-- anything they asked for, all the secondary evidence that's in the
regulation but it was flat out ignored. What happenes when those claims
get rejected is a lot of veterans fall into this downward spiral of
worsening trauma -- suicidal ideation, maybe attempted suicide, maybe
completed suicide. And so, I mean, we're looking at really a life and
death situation here with this claims process.
We'll continue coverage of the hearing in tomorrow's snapshot.
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