Whooping cough

Jonathan LaPook (CBS News) has a report on how whooping cough is on the rise in the United States, 18,000 people have caught it in this country so far this year and nine children have died. 

I am very sorry for the families of the nine children.  I am also very sorry for some parents of small children.  Why?  My youngest is no longer a "small child" (at least to hear her tell it).  So these stories don't send me into a tailspin.

But when my children were all under the age of ten, a story like this?  I'd read it or see it on TV and think, "How awful?"  I'd be making dinner for the kids.  Then we'd sit down and eat.  And if one coughed (or whatever symptom of whatever disease was in the news), I'd think, "Do they have it?"

I'd tell myself "no" and would put it out of my head in most cases.  Then, after I'd get the kids down for the night and was alone in the kitchen doing the dishes or on my bed trying to fall to sleep, I'd remember it and I'd really start to worry.

I could and often did eat up 2 hours of time in a complete state of worry and I am sure I'm not so 'unique' that I'm alone in that.  So I am sure that there are some parents somewhere who will read the article and then that's it, that's their whole night, a night of concern and worry until finally their fears so exhaust them that they fall alseep.

These days, that doesn't happen.

Unless I come across a sentence like this, "In the current outbreak, there's a surge in cases in kids between the ages of 10 and 14, which is about the age they should be getting a booster shot."  And, for the record, that's from the article.

So now I get to worry about my kids all over again. 

And I was on the phone with my mother earlier tonight and she said, "You write about that because you never stop worrying about your kids.  You think you will.  When they're teenagers, you tell yourself, 'When they're in their thirties, I get some peace and rest.'  But they get to be that age and all it means is you've got new reasons to worry."

So that's my mom and that alone makes her an expert.

"Iraq snapshot" (The Common Ills):

Thursday, July 20, 2012.  Chaos and violence continue, Iraqiya is on the short track to head a security ministry or two, Iraqiya is not on the short track to head a security ministry or two, Cheveron follows ExxonMobil's lead, Nouri blusters in his embarrassed state, the UN Security-General's Special Envoy to Iraq tells the UN Security Council about increased violence in Iraq, Kobler also feels the political stalemate is harming the country, Syrian 'rebels' control the border between Syria and Iraq, Senators Patty Murray and Richard Burr have questions about the VA's Benefits Accreditation Program, we offer another look at the House Oversight Subcommittee's VA hearing yesterday, and more.

 

 

Starting off with Syria as it relates to Iraq.  Neocon Michael Rubin (Commentary) is alarmed that Iraqi President Jalal Talabani offered condolences to Syrian President Bashar Assad's sister  Bushra Assad on the death of Assef Shawkat.  It's outrageous, Rubin feels.  The man killed Wednesday is Bushra Assad's husband.  Is Rubin aware of that?  Is he also aware that Syria is one of three countries that borders northern Iraq?  Syria, Turkey and Iran.  Talabani is a Kurd from the Kurdistan Region -- that's northern Iraq.  Of course, he would know the Assads.  He's traveled to Syria numerous times to meet with President Bashar Assad -- both before the start of the Iraq War and today.  That the two leaders from neighboring countries know one another is not surprising.  That they get along has been known since before 2003.  Not sure why Rubin sees something sinister in the whole thing but it reads like more of his I-hate-Kurdish-people kick that he's been on of late.  Rubin rushes to trash Assad and build up the resistance or 'resistance.'  He would though, he'll never admit that he and his kind created al Qaeda in Iraq and that's a key part of the Syrian resistance or 'resistance.'  We'll follow Mike's lead in noting Larry Johnson (No Quarter) on this issue:

 

 

The war drums are really blasting in Washington and wishful thinking has replaced reason and logic. The Obama Administration, with the full-throated cheerleading of neo-cons like Charles Krauthammer, are celebrating the terrorist attack on the Government of Bashir Assad and hoping that Assad folds his tents. Some breathless analysts on Fox News are even predicting that Assad will be gone in 36 hours. Delusional horses**t.

The Defense Minister who was murdered in this attack was a Christian. The group claiming credit for the attack has direct links to the same folks that fill the ranks of Al Qaeda in Iraq. So who are we backing? Why, the al Qaeda guys, of course.

 

 

The Washington Post's Liz Sly spoke with Renee Montagne (NPR's Morning Edition -- link is audio and transcript) earlier today.  AP reports Iraqi Brigadier General Qassim al-Dulaimi says the resistance or 'resistance' killed 20 Syrian border guards today "and their commander." Adrian Blomfield, Alex Spillius and Ruth Sherlock (Telegraph of London) note, "Syria's rebels claimed to have seized a series of key border checkpoints with Turkey and an entire swathe of the country's frontier with Iraq."  al-Dulaimi tells AP that the 'rebels' have taken control over the crossing into Iraq's Qaim.  John Glaser (Antiwar.com) states, "Syrian rebels have taken control of all the border crossings and military outposts between Iraq and Syria, according to senior Iraqi officials."   In addition, the Committee to Protect Journalists notes:

 

New York, July 18, 2012--Two Iraqi journalists living in Syria and covering the conflict in that country were killed on Saturday although news reports differed on crucial details. The Committee to Protect Journalists continues to investigate the circumstances of the deaths, which come amid reports of increasing violence toward Iraqis living in Syria.

Falah Taha, a freelance journalist who contributed to several Iraqi news outlets, was killed while covering ongoing clashes between government forces and the Free Syrian Army in the capital, Damascus, numerous news reports said. An unidentified group of armed men killed Ali Juburi al-Kaabi, editor-in-chief of the Baghdad-based weekly Al-Zawraa, in Jaramana, a suburb of Damascus, according to news reports. Al-Zawraa is a weekly issued by the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate, news reports said.

News accounts carried few details about the deaths. While most reports said both journalists were shot to death, some accounts citing Iraqi army officials said they had also been stabbed. Most reports describe the deaths as having occurred separately in different locations although some accounts said the journalists both died in Jaramana.

 

 

This morning, we noted:

 

On the topic of oil, Reuters reports that for the third straight month, Iraq's exports have fallen "below 2.4 million barrels per day".  Trade Arabia notes, "Chevron Corp is buying into blocks in Iraq's Kurdistan, according to two oil executives involved in the region, as the second-largest U.S. oil company follows Exxon Mobil Corp into an area where oil rights are a subject of fierce dispute. Chevron is purchasing 80 per cent of the Sarta and Rovi blocks from India's Reliance Industries, according to the two executives, who requested anonymity." If that rumor is true, that would be a big blow to Nouri.  Remember Antony Blinken's meeting with Nouri yesterday?  (Blinken is US Vice President Joe Biden's National Security Adviser.)  Supposedly Blinken made time to press Nouri on ExxonMobil -- Nouri wants the deal cancelled -- but didn't press him on Ali Mussa Daqduq.  If true, that's really embarrassing.  Remember that first a US official insisted they were already pressing Iraq to extradite Daqduq to the US and then Nouri's spokesperson made clear that no such request had been made.  And then a US official said they were 'about to' make the request.

 

A little over three hours later, Nouri al-Maliki was issuing a statement claiming he had the US backing on ExxonMobil.  He's such a damn liar and you really have to wonder about the reporters that print his crap without challenge.  It wasn't two weeks ago, that these same outlets were running with Nouri met with the UN and UN says Camp Ashraf must  -- no, the United Nations didn't say it but did we ever get a retraction from the press?  Of course note.  So Aseel Kami and Braden Reddall (Reuters) take stenography today and want you to know that Nouri has the US backing on ending that deal the KRG and ExxonMobile signed back in October. 

 

Now high likely is it that the US government, via Blinken, conveyed anything of meaning regarding ExxonMobil?  Not at all likely.  In the United States, there is no state control of the oil companies.  (Some would argue there is control of the government by the oil companies and certainly the Iraqi press have had stories where the White House has conveyed to Nouri that he needs to work things out with ExxonMobil.)  So it's a non-story but watch how it gets parroted over and over by news outlets that make Hedda Hopper look like Bob Woodward. 

 

On this morning's Chevron rumors, AP reports that they are true and Chevron and the KRG signed a deal today.  Reuters notes Chevron has purchased "80 percent of two blocks in Kurdistan."  Tina Davis (Bloomberg News) clarifies, "Chevron Corp. (CVX) agreed to buy Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL)'s 80 percent stake in two blocks covering about 490 square miles (1,124 square kilometers) in Iraq's Kurdistan region." Mark Lawson (Wall St. Cheat Sheet) adds, "These blocks are north of Erbil and contain a combined area of around 490 square miles. The subsidiaries in question will partner with OMV Rovi GmbH and OMV Sarta GmbH, which hold 20 percent interest in the Rovi and Sarta PSCs, respectively."  Hassan Hafidh (Dow Jones) explains, "Under the agreement with Kurdistan, Chevron must drill two wells by November 2013, company spokesman Gareth Johnstone said."  In addition, Oil & Gas Journal notes, "A group led by Hunt Oil Middle East has tested a combined flow rate of 13,584 b/d of oil from three zones at the deepened Simrit-2 well in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq with nine more zones to be drillstem tested. Afren PLC, which has a 20% interest in the Ain Sifni PSC, said the well has been drilled to 3,800 m and encountered 460 m of net oil pay."

 

 

Meanwhile the latest Sports Illustrated it out and the Jul 23, 2012 issue is the Olympic Preview issue.  When it was slid over to me by a friend at Time-Warner-CNN-Pony Express, it was stressed that the issue had a big "Arab Spring" spread.   Big?  It's ten pages.  Why we'd be interested in it -- no Iraq athletes are included in the article -- is beyond me.  If Tunisia's your thing, pick up the issue. (They also don't pick any Iraqis to place in the top three of any event.  Afghanistan's Rohullah Nikpai is the only one they pick from Aghanistan and they predict he'll take the Silver in 68 kg Taekwondo.  It's a shame they spent 12 pages on predictions when they could have profiled more athletes in that space instead of wasting it on I-think-this-will-happen.)   The Summer Olympics kick off in London in less than 8 days (7 days, 20 hours the counter currently reads).   Iraq has 8 athletes competing.  The three women are: Dana Abdul Razak, event: 100m; Noor Amer Al Ameri, event: Women's 10m Air Pistol; and Rand al-Mashhadani, event: Archery, Women's individual.   The five men are: Mohanad Ahmed Dheyaa al-Azzawi, event: Swimming, Men's 100m Butterfly; Safaa al-Jumaili, event: Weightlifting, men's 85kg; Ali Nadhim Salman Salman; Wrestling, Men's 120kg Greco-Roman;  Adnan Taess Akkar, event: Athletics Men's 800m; and Ahmed Abdulkareem Ahmed, event: Boxing, Men's Welter (69kg).  For more on Iraq and the Olympics, you can click here for the folder BBC News has created for this topic.  Kay Johnson (AP) did a lengthy (and solid) report on Safaa al-Jumail:

 

But al-Jamaili has already overcome greater challenges just to keep competing. He was forced to stop lifting weights for more than a year after his family fled their home province of Diyala, 90 kilometres (55 miles) northeast of Baghdad, as waves of insurgent attacks and retaliatory violence between Sunni and Shiite Muslim militias flooded over the area.

One reason they fled: His older brother was kidnapped and held for three days.

Al-Jamaili, then 17, was with his brother on that day in 2007. He remembers walking together toward their aunt's house, feeling lighthearted because he had just returned from winning a gold medal in a regional youth championship in Jordan. Then, several armed men accosted the brothers. Al-Jamaili managed to run away, but his brother was captured.

The family spent three tense days selling their furniture and borrowing money to pay a ransom before his brother was finally returned. Then, they all fled to the northern city of Kirkuk, where al-Jamaili worked full-time on a construction crew to help the family earn cash. Weightlifting was out of the question.

 

.

  

 

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon states that the turmoil in Syria has negatively effected Iraq, Al Mada reports, and that the political crisis has prevented Baghdad and Erbil from addressing Iraq's internal problems.  The political crisis, Ban Ki-moon stated, has prevented efforts to resolve outstanding issues and, without these issue being resolved, the future of Iraq is threatened.

 

 

"As I sit before the Council today," the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy to Iraq Martin Kobler declared this afternoon,  "Iraq is in the midst of a seven month long stalemate between the political blocs. a situation which continues to hamper progress in areas essential to Iraq's development including a sustainable solution to the disputed internal boundaries, the unfinished Constitutional agenda and the adoption of essential outstanding legislation and the preparation for next year's provincial council elections."

 

Kobler was in New York, speaking to the United Nations Security Council as he briefed them on Iraq.  We'll note some of his testimony in today's snapshot and some in tomorrow's snapshot.

 

 

Special Envoy Martin Kobler:  The question today is whether crucial obstacles can be overcome in order for the Iraqi state to realize its true potential.  In my assessment, the role of UNAMI will be more important than ever in supporting Iraq on its journey towards stability and development.  Mr. President since my last briefing to the Council, I've intensified my engagement with political leaders from all sides in Baghdad and in the Kurdistan Region, met with representatives of many of Iraq's communities and listened to the advice of Iraq's spiritual leaders such as Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Najaf.  I've also sought  -- sough the views of the government of Iran, Kuwait and Turkey on the region.  The Core of UNAMI's mandate is to support and assist  the people of Iraq for it is the people of Iraq who want the political stalemate to end and it is they who want to have a life in  security and prosperity.  It is they who want to have a better future for their children. And it's they who long for the day when benefits from the natural wealth of the country will translate into the reliable delivery of electricity and other public services and economic development. Almost seven years ago, the Iraqi people laid the foundations for democracy in their country by adopting their Constitution.  Today, however, key institutions have yet to be established and fundamental legislation remains outstanding -- including the establishment of the Federation Council, the strengthening of the Judicial System, the legislation on revenue sharing and hydro-carbons, the protec -- the protection of minorities.  Just to say a few.   My colleagues and I have made the promotion of progress in these areas a priority.  In particular, the legal and policy framework for revenue sharing need to be put in place and this would constitute a signficant strengthening of the federal system, improve the environment for investment,  and provide for the agreed distribution of national wealth.  Revenue sharing is vital to help improve Arab-Kurdish co-existence, vital to ensure that Iraq remains a single federal state and, above all, vital for advancing a solution in the disputed internal boundaries.  Making progress in unblocking Iraq's unfinished legislative agenda, however requires an agreement between Iraq's political leaders that will end the political stalement.  Such an agreement must be reached through transparent and inclusive dialogue in respect of the Constitution and in a spirt of compromise.  Mr. President, there is no democracy without elections and there are no credible elections without a strong and truly independent election commission.  As we speak, my political deputy, Mr. Georgi Boston, is engaged in facilitation efforts to bring about the formation of a new, Independent High Election Commission which is representative of the main components of Iraq -- including women and children and minorities.  The urgent selection of the commissioners is essential for ensuring that the provincial council elections due to take place in March 2013 can be conducted on time. I'm concerned that the ongoing political stalemate is hindering the process however.  In recent days, I have discussed with political leaders -- including Prime Minister al-Maliki -- the need for a swfit conclusion of this political process and the need for an adequate representation of women and minorities in the commission. Today, I would like to re-iterate my appeal to all political blocs to expedite the selection of professional commissioners.  UNAMI stands here ready to actively assist.  Mr. President, the number of civilian casualties caused by terrorist attacks is increasing across Iraq.  Since the beginning of this year an average of 12 violent attacks a day have claimed a total of more than 1,300 lives -- many of them innocent children and women who were simply at the wrong place, at the wrong time.

 

 

 

 

Uh-oh, what's a news outlet to do?  The UN's going with increased violence and the White House is insisting that's not the case?  What will the stenographers do?  Less than two weeks before the end of the month when they'll have to note violence.  What will the stenographers do?

 

The political crisis has already seen two stalemates.  The first one lasted over eight months and followed the March 7, 2010 elections.  Nouri's political slate State of Law came in second to Iraqiya (headed by Ayad Allawi) but Nouri didn't want to follow the Constitution and demanded a second term as prime minister.  The White House backed Nouri and not the Iraqi people, their votes, democracy or the Constitution.  So the US government brokered a contract between the political blocs, the Erbil Agreement, which gave Nouri a second term if he agreed to various concessions (implementing the Constitution's Article 140, creating an independent security commission, etc.).  Nouri used the Erbil Agreement (November 2010) to get his second term and then refused to follow the Erbil Agreement.  Once this became obvious, the second political stalemate had started.  By summer 2011, the Kurds, Iraqiya and Moqtada al-Sadr were calling for a return to the Erbil Agreement.  This is the current and ongoing political stalemate.

This morning Al Mada reported that Iraqiya is hopeful that one of their own might be nominated to head one of the security ministries and the names Jawad al-Bolani, Mustafa al-Hiti and Salah al-Jubouri are among those being tossed out (by Iraqiya).  An unnamed State of Law official seems skeptical about that happening.  al-Jubouri currently serves on the notorious Justice and Accountability Commission. al-Hiti is a member of Parliament and has unofficially served as an Iraqiya parliamentary spokesperson since 2010.  He is a member of Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq's National Dialogue Front.  In 2009, Jawad al-Bolani wrote a column for the Washington Post which you can read here.  Jawad al-Bolani served as Minister of the Interior in Nouri's first Cabinet.  It was during that time that the Ministry of the Interior became synomous with terrorism and power struggles.  You can refer to the Los Angeles Times archives for many reports on that and you should probably start with this July 2007 report by Ned Parker:

This is Iraq's Ministry of Interior -- the balkanized command center for the nation's police and mirror of the deadly factions that have caused the government here to grind nearly to a halt.
The very language that Americans use to describe government -- ministries, departments, agencies -- belies the reality here of militias that kill under cover of police uniform and remain above the law. Until recently, one or two Interior Ministry police officers were assassinated each week while arriving or leaving the building, probably by fellow officers, senior police officials say.
That killing has been reduced, but Western diplomats still describe the Interior Ministry building as a "federation of oligarchs." Those who work in the building, like the colonel, liken departments to hostile countries. Survival depends on keeping abreast of shifting factional alliances and turf.
On the second floor is Gen. Mahdi Gharrawi, a former national police commander. Last year, U.S. and Iraqi troops found 1,400 prisoners, mostly Sunnis, at a base he controlled in east Baghdad. Many showed signs of torture. The interior minister blocked an arrest warrant against the general this year, senior Iraqi officials confirmed.
The third- and fifth-floor administrative departments are the domain of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's Islamic Dawa Party, a Shiite group.
The sixth, home to border enforcement and the major crimes unit, belongs to the Badr Organization militia. Its leader, Deputy Minister Ahmed Khafaji, is lauded by some Western officials as an efficient administrator and suspected by others of running secret prisons.
The seventh floor is intelligence, where the Badr Organization and armed Kurdish groups struggle for control.
The ninth floor is shared by the department's inspector general and general counsel, religious Shiites. Their offices have been at the center of efforts to purge the department's remaining Sunni employees. The counsel's predecessor, a Sunni, was killed a year ago.


For any who are confused, per the Constitution, yes, Nouri was supposed to have named heads to the security ministries back in November 2010.  His failure to do so was supposed to mean that he did not advance from prime minister-designate to prime minister and that, instead, a new person was named prime minister-designate and given 30 days to come up with a Cabinet.  The US-backed Erbil Agreement 'trumped' the Iraqi Constitution.

 

And this afternoon, All Iraq News reports, Iraqiya spokesperson Maysoon al-Damalouji stated that there were no nominations from Iraqiya for the post of Minister of Defense and that they were not asked to provide any names for that post.

All Iraq News reports Iraqiya's Salem Dali notes that the move to question Nouri before Parliament continues and that this is necessary because public funds are being wasted and due to large numbers of Constitutional violations.  He doesn't need to list reasons, the Constitution gives the Parliament the right to question Nouri.  It's good that there are reasons but Nouri's continued refusal to appear before Parliament is just another example of how he refuses to follow the Constitution.  Nasiriyah reports that Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq is calling for calm and dialgoue.  Anybody remember how Nouri's Reform Commission was supposed to meet and finalize things this week?  Yeah, what happened to that?  Has his diversion already been dropped?  There's not been any coverage of it all week. However, All Iraq News reports that Allawi is supposed to meet with Moqtada al-Sadr shortly.


One thing the Parliament is putting time into is funding their own personal purchase of firearms.  Al Mada reports the plan to spend five billion dinars is going through and that the Parliament has even turned down the Ministry of Interior's offer to provide them with firearms. To be clear, these guns will only be for the Parliament and they're not passing any laws to provide Iraqi citizens with guns.  Despite the fact that the bulk of them live outside of Iraq and that they frequently can't show up for sessions or actually earn their big salaries, they feel that they need guns and that the Iraqi people should foot the bill.

While the Baghdad-based government is happy to arm the Parliament -- which, for the record, has no security area to patrol -- they appear to balk at funding security forces.  Specifically, Al Mada reports that the Minister of the Peshmerga in the KRG is stating that it appears Baghdad will not fund the arming of the Peshmerga (Kurdish security forces) and that the KRG will have to foot that bill.  It's seen as part of the ongoing distance between Baghdad and Erbil.  

In other spending news, the Minister of Justice, Hassan al-Shammari, announced yesterday that Iraq's 27,000 detainees are costing his ministry $20 million per month (it says "dollars," not "dinars" so I won't bother to do a conversion).  Despite this large figure, Iraqi prisoners are not receiving health care, the minister notes.  Where's the money going?  The only big item listed is electricity.  Due to international standards, Iraq provides (or attempts to provide) electricity to prisons 24 hours, 7 days a week. Kitabat quotes Minister Hassan al-Shammari declaring that the expenses are food and maintaining/meeting international standards.   Meanwhile Alsumaria reports that the Ministry of Interior released a statement stating that Nouri must launch an investigation into the death of prisoner Saddam Mukhlif while in a Baghdad prison.  The cry for an investigation comes as Alsumaria also reports the Ministry of Justice is insisting they've stopped a plan by 16 death row prisoners to escape.

On the topic of electricity,  Nasiriyah reports that in an effort to try to reach 12 hours of electricity a month for the holy month of Ramadan, Iraqi is increasing energy imports from Iran.

 

 

Dropping back to the House Oversight's Subcommittee on National Security, Homeland Defense and Foreign Operations Wednesday hearing about VA's continued inability to resolve claims in a timely fashion.  Yesterday, we mainly noted that while the US is gripped by an economic crisis and facing record debt, the VA has given out   $2.8 million to 245 employees.   Today we'll cover two other topics.  US House Rep Jason Chaffetz is the Subcomittee Chair and appearing before the Subcommittee were VA's Undersecretary for Benefits Allison Hickey, the VFW's Gerald Manar and Disabled American Veterans' Joseph Violante.

 

"SNL"s are Simplified Notification Letters which the VBA sends out to veterans to let them know that their claim has been denied or approved -- if the latter, a disabilty rating will also be in the letter.  Hopefully, the letter will make sense.  Veterans advocates don't feel that has been the case -- as evidenced by the written statements Manar and Violante handed in to the Subcommittee.  Chair Chaffetz raised the issue.

 

 

Chair Jason Chaffetz:  If you get a 100% disability, you're probably going to agree with it.  If you get a five or ten-percent, your probably going to have some questions.  We're trying to find the proper balance between handing somebody so many documents and simplifying the process.  But these two gentlemen here certainly don't seem to be, based on those statements, fans of this.  How do we find that proper balance?

 

Allison Hickey:  Chairman Chaffetz, thank you for that question.  I will address it by saying that I, today, provide access to our VSOs to every one of those files for them to do whatever research they want to do.  They will have even greater access to knowing exactly the data and the information we know when they are joining us this month on VBMS as we go into the new Veterans Benefit Management System.  In addition, I have whole heartedly encouraged -- as we go through change,  there's adjustments and adaptations, there's a learning process -- I have wholly encouraged them at the local unit level when they have a service officer, the final one that just doesn't have enough for them to go directly to that supervisor and say, 'Need a little help here, there's not enough here.'

 

Chair Jason Chaffetz:  But don't you think --

 

Allison Hickey:  We will handle that on the spot. We will train to that as we learn more and more about that.

 

Chair Jason Chaffetz:  Don't you think that that's contributing to the backlog because --

 

Allison Hickey:  I do not.

 

Chair Jason Chaffetz:  -- back in line again and say --

 

Allison Hickey:  It has not.  In fact, it's handled on the spot. 

 

Chair Jason Chaffetz:  You really think --

 

Allison Hickey:  And it's reduced our backlog by 30,000.

 

Chair Jason Chaffetz: You really think that the veterans are convinced that it's just "handled on the spot"? I mean, our office, we get these all the time.  This is not --

 

Allison Hickey:  Chairman Chaffetz --

 

Chair Jason Chaffetz: For you to say that they're just handled on the spot?  Mr. Manar, how would you -- Is that true, are they handled "on the spot"?

 

Gerald Manar:  Depending on the regional office and the individuals that our service officers deal with, they are sometimes handled on the spot.  In other instances -- and it's rare -- our service officers are told, 'If you don't like it, you can appeal it.'  And then there's a wide range of interactions in between. Our concern isn't -- We're concerned about the SNL letters because it's not just our service officers trying to figure out why VA made a decision.  We train our people to do that, to go behind and look at the data and basically re-evaluate it and see if they would have arrived at the same conclusion.  But-but perhaps 50% of veterans are not represented.  So they have to accept whatever VA gives them on blind faith or decide whether they're going to appeal on their own.  The point here -- and I'd like to say this -- General Hickey has worked with us signficantly to try to improve these letters.  She put out some directives last February  to the field that -- if those directives were followed -- the letters, barely adequate in our view, but at least they'd be adequate.  The problem is that when we've come along in April and May and looked at letters and decisions that were made in many different offices, we're finding a significant number -- 50 to 60% -- that are not getting the job done.

 

Chair Jason Chaffetz:  That's a pretty high number.  Mr. Violante, I know it's past my time, but I want to give you an opportunity to respond though.  Then we'll go to the gentleman from Illinois.

 

Joseph Violante:  Like Mr. Manar, we have similar experiences with regard to whether or not we can get something corrected "on the spot" depending on the regional office and the employees. With regards to the SNLs, we're not opposed to the concept.  We have seen some good ones come out and we have brought the bad ones to General Hickey's attention.  But if they can work on that, there is a balance that needs to be done so that veterans can understand in a simplified way what the VA's decision is.

 

 

Now we're going to focus on another exchange but we're just zooming in on the Military Sexual Trauma (MST) aspect.  It's an issue that doesn't get enough attention and when it is noted in a hearing, we make a point to include it in our coverage.

 

 

US House Rep Jackie Speier:  And then my third question is on MST.  As you know, military sexual assault is absolutely out of control in the military, 19,000 cases a year.  As I understand it, your reviews have found differences in denial rates between sexual assault PTSD and other PTSD cases.  I'd like to know what you have found and what you are doing about it?  And for those that have been previously denied, what can be done for them in terms of refiling and being reconsidered?  Thank you.

 

Allison Hickey: Thank you, Congresswoman Speier.  [. . .]  I am so glad you brought up Military Sexual Trauma. It is the very first issue I grabbed the reigns on and ran with when I got on station here aside from, obviously, the backlog.  And I will tell you, I'm the one that asked for us to go show -- show me what our grant denial rate is between MSTPTSD and what it is between PTSD for the other three -- combat, fear, terrorism?  I asked for us to do that.  I got it back and I said, "This is unacceptable."  We had a 20% difference in our grant denial rate.  I said, "We're going to change this process."  We did.  And by the way, the process is now in a segmented lane which is one of our new transformation initiatives.  We have trained from the VBA person who handles it coming in the door through the exam doctor in the health administration who does the health exam.  And we now have everybody trained.  I just got the data last Friday that shows I have closed that gap as a result of that effort.  We have increased our grants a full 35% in our MST as of last Friday because of the directions we did, the actions we took to make those right and to do those right [. . .]*

 

US House Rep Jackie Speier:  Mr. Chairman, could I ask a follow up question?  I know my time has expired.

 

Chair Jason Chaffetz:  Feel free.

 

 

US House Rep Jackie Speier:  Thank you.  What are we doing about those that had their claims denied?  Are we going back now and saying refile?

 

Allison Hickey:  I am glad you asked that question as well, Congressman -- Congresswoman Speier.  We are sending letters to everyone we've ever denied and saying, 'This is what we do. We've got a new process.  If you feel like you were denied in error, please send it to us and we will re-accomplish it.'

 

 

  

*After "and to do those right" Allison Hickey may say "for women."  She hadn't take a breath and her last words were not clear. 

 

 

From the House to the Senate, there's important news today from the Senate Veterans Committee and its leadership.  Senator Patty Murray is the Committee Chair, Senator Richard Burr is the Ranking Member.  Chair Murray's office issued the following:

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, July 19, 2012

CONTACT: Murray Press Office

(202) 224-2834

 

 

 

VETERANS: Murray, Burr Call on GAO to Review VA's Benefits Accreditation Program

 

Recent findings raise serious questions about effectiveness of accreditation process in ensuring proper conduct by individuals assisting veterans with benefit claims

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, joined with the Committee's Ranking Member, Senator Richard Burr (R-NC), in sending a letter to the Comptroller General Gene Dodaro requesting assistance from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in examining the Department of Veterans Affairs' accreditation program. The request stems from issues identified during GAO's recently completed investigation into VA's pension program, which revealed that individuals and companies are using VA accreditation as a way to take advantage of elderly veterans and their families.

 

"The Government Accountability Office's recent investigation of VA's pension program, conducted at our request, raised some significant concerns regarding VA's accreditation program," the Senators wrote in the letter to GAO. "GAO's final report, Veterans' Pension Benefits, highlighted the fact that some VA accredited individuals may be taking advantage of VA benefits claimants, such as by charging illegal or exorbitant fees, engaging in deceptive marketing practices, or selling unsuitable financial products or services."

 

The full text of the letters follows:

 

The Honorable Gene L. Dodaro

Comptroller General

U.S. Government Accountability Office

441 G Street NW

Washington, DC 20548-0001

 

Dear Mr. Dodaro:

The Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) Office of the General Counsel provides accreditation to attorneys, claims agents, and representatives of veterans service organizations so they can assist VA benefits claimants with the preparation, presentation, and prosecution of VA claims. To become accredited, an individual must demonstrate a level of proficiency in VA's policies and procedures to be able to provide assistance with VA claims.  Also, restrictions exist regarding fees that can be charged by accredited individuals for services associated with VA benefit claims.

 The Government Accountability Office's (GAO) recent investigation of VA's pension program, conducted at our request, raised some significant concerns regarding VA's accreditation program.  GAO's final report, Veterans' Pension Benefits, highlighted the fact that some VA accredited individuals may be taking advantage of VA benefits claimants, such as by charging illegal or exorbitant fees, engaging in deceptive marketing practices, or selling unsuitable financial products or services.

In light of these concerns, we request the assistance of the GAO in examining the following questions:  (1) What are VA's policies and procedures for accrediting and providing oversight, including data collection and analysis, of those individuals?  (2) Are there potential vulnerabilities in VA's existing policies and procedures which may allow abuses of the accreditation system?  (3) What is the process for suspending or revoking accreditation if abuses are found to have occurred?

We appreciate your attention to this request. 

###

Kathryn Robertson
Specialty Media Coordinator

Office of U.S. Senator Patty Murray

448 Russell Senate Office Building

Washington D.C. 20510

202-224-2834

 

 

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New spiral galaxy discovered

"Space.com" reports that the Hubble Space Telescope has made a major find: "the universe's most ancient spiral galaxy yet, a cosmic structure that dates back roughly 10.7 billion years" -- can you imagine that?  If that doesn't blow your mind, the light took that long to show up so what we see is the galaxy "as it looked just 3 billion years after the Big Bang that created the universe."

If you'd like video, click here for a report from the "CBS Evening News."

Thomas H. Maugh II ("Los Angeles Times") adds:


The reason this one does exist may be the companion dwarf galaxy that appears to be merging with it. Computer simulations by co-author Charlotte Christensen of the University of Arizona suggest that such a merger could produce the spiral pattern observed. The calculations also suggest, however, that the merger would be rapid and that the spiral would disappear after a relatively brief 100 million years.

It's like something out of "Contact" -- and we're all Jodie Foster.

"Iraq snapshot" (The Common Ills):

Wednesday, July 18, 2012.  Chaos and violence continue, Joe Biden's National Security Adviser tries to make nice in Iraq, the political crisis continues, Josh Rogin continues his journalistic malpractice and misses the big story (as usual), while the US is in the midst of The Great Recession and unemployment remains at record highs the VA is handing out $10,000 and higher bonuses to senior executives, the VA's Allison Hickey continues struggling with how to answer a question (hint: respond to what was asked), and more.

"It's unacceptable the federal government is doing nothing but continuing to promise what they promised before," declare House Oversight Committee Chair Darrell Issa this morning.  He was attending the House Oversight's Subcommittee on National Security, Homeland Defense and Foreign Operations.  US House Rep Jason Chaffetz is the Subcomittee Chair. Appearing before the Subcommittee were VA's Undersecretary for Benefits Allison Hickey, the VFW's Gerald Manar and Disabled American Veterans' Joseph Violante. 

Darrell Issa:  42 years ago this November, I raised my right hand and became a soldier.   I have no claim today before the Veterans Administration.  But for those 42 years, soldiers, sailors and Marines have served  and need our support.  It's unacceptable the federal government is doing nothing but continuing to promise what they promised before. 183 days the average processing time for a claim.  It's unacceptable.  More unacceptable is that the fact that the error rate is 16%and perhaps higher in some regions.  Veterans who appeal the system face multiple years 883 days, three years in order to be adjudicated.  The system was broken during the Vietnam war when I enlisted.  The system has never been fixed so today we're going to concentrate in this Committee on hearing what you're going to do.  But understand, we've heard it before.  Today, you will be judged by what you say and what you do.  You will no longer be allowed to come back again with promises of reform a year away. Today, I understand, you will be talking about getting better over the next year -- perhaps talking about ways in which you have improved recently.  In 1970, the system was paper and the system failed veterans miserably.  Today the system is computerized but not harmonized.  Today the Veterans Administration continues to claim that they will get better be but they have not. 

Jason Chaffetz:  Madam Under Secretary,  Mr. Manar,  I think accurately points out in his testimony that in order to solve the problem, you need to know exactly what the problem is.  And I see a major discrepancy in some of the numbers and I want to help clarfiy that.  In youre testimony in talking about the integrated disability evaluation system, you say, "We went from 240 day average in the legacy system to 56 days" and it goes on.  And there's a definition of the backlog.  The House Armed Services Committee staff and the House Veterans Affairs Committee staff on July 13 of this year which was not too long ago gave a briefing to these two Committees.  It says in here that the current monthly average completion time is 408 days.  You say it's 56 days -- 54 days -- yeah, 56 days -- and they say it's 408 days.   Can you help clarify that for me please?

Allison Hickey:  Thank you, Chairman Chaffetz for your question. First of all, allow me to clarify by stating a few basic definitions so also, as I say things, you can understand what words I'm using and their context  We have, in the inventory and pending an overall number of 854000.  That's not backlog.  Those are claims that even as we've been sitting here for the last ten to fifteen minutes, more claims have come into us from veteran service members  and

Chair Jason Chaffetz:  Okay, let me stop you -- let me stop you right there. Let me stop you right there.  On July 16th, which is not very long ago, the Monday morning workload report says there are 919,461 claims.  You say that number is -- what did you say that number is?  860,000 something?

Allison Hickey:  The numbers I'm using are 854,000 --

Chair Jason Chaffetz:  Okay, so we're off by about 50 or 60 thousand.  And we're talking about something that is just  couple of days old.  Why the discrepancy on those number?

Allison Hickey:  Chairman Chaffetz, our backlog -- I mean our inventory is a dynamic inventory.

Chair Jason Chaffetz:  I know but that's less than ten days so --

Allison Hickey:  Chairman, I'm happy to answer the questions if I'm allowed an opportunity.

Chair Jason Chaffetz:  Sure I want to know.  You're saying that that number is 800 and something thousand and I'm just saying that the VA's report says it's 919,461.  That's of July 16th --

Allison Hickey:  Chairman, I'm happy to answer the question if I'm allowed an opportunity.

Chair Jason Chaffetz:  Ma'am, just answer the question.  Yes.

Allison Hickey:  Thank you very much.

Chair Jason Chaffetz:  --  That's why I asked the question.

Allison Hickey:  Thank you very much, Chairman.  The numbers that I'm using are from the endpoint of a month.  Probably the end of May.  So you probably are using the end of this week's report.  I chose not use a floating number that continues to change over time and over dates and over weeks.  So I used an end of month number to be able to to talk to you, to be able to have a solid number to hvae a discussion around.

Chair Jason Chaffetz:  If you --

Allison Hickey:  Regardless of what it is -- Regardless of what it is, I will tell you that our inventory and our pending is not our backlog.  And typically, the statistics show 61% of that backlog are supplemental claims that people -- veterans who are already receiving compensation from us are coming back with a second, third or a fourth claim in that process.  So of the number I will use 854,000, I could use your number as well.  And I could use the weekly reports number in backlog it would be exactly the same thing which is about 65 to 66% of our claims are in -- they are more than 125 days old.

Chair Jason Chaffetz:  Okay --

Allison Hickey:  That is the --

Chair Jason Chaffetz:  Okay, that's great.  More than 125 days old.  You say in your testimony -- I mean, to hear your testimony, these things are getting so much better.  We went from a 240 day average in the legacy system to 56 days?

Allison Hickey:  Chairman Chaffetz, I'd be happy to answer the question in the disparity for the briefing which you just handed out.  I have different processes that have different standards.  The process you described is our end of b -- our integrated disability evaluation system that we work with DoD for our most wounded and ill -- injured service members.

Chair Jason Chaffetz:  In your testimony --

Allison Hickey:  The numbers that you are --

Chair Jason Chaffetz:  I'm sorry --

Allison Hickey:  -- describing are the VA -- the 56 days are the VA numbers in that complete process --

Chair Jason Chaffetz:  I'm -- I'm --

Allison Hickey:  -- where VA has the responsibility for --

Chair Jason Chaffetz:  Hold on.  Hold on.  Let's tackle them one at a time.  This is your testimony, "We are closely collaborating with DoD through the Integrated Disability Evaluation System."  You say that's 56 days.  This report, this briefing that went to another Committee just last week says it's 408 days.  That's not exactly close.  Which --

Allison Hickey:  Chairman Chaffetz --

Chair Jason Chaffetz:  -- one is it?  Is it --

Allison Hickey:  The VA days for those 10,000 we have done in FY12, the VA days, the days that I have responsibility for doing them are 56 for those 10,000.

Chair Jason Chaffetz:  Are you saying this is accurate or inaccurate?

Allison Hickey:  I'm saying I do not know what's on that slide.  If you were to give me that slide and give me some time to digest that slide I'd be happy to do that, Chairman.  You have access to that information right at this moment, I do not.

Chair Jason Chaffetz:  We will make -- we will make --

Allison Hickey:  I will be happy to take that for the record and respond to you.

Chair Jason Chaffetz:  How -- In it's simplified format here, how bad do you think this problem is?  I'm trying to quantify it and I'm concerned because we're not off by a couple of 100 people here,  we're talking about hundreds of thousands of people.  And in your testimony, you would lead the American people to believe that it's getting much better.  But if you look at it over the course of time, it's getting worse.  It's --

Allison Hickey:  Chairman, I have clearly stated --

Chair Jason Chaffetz:  It's getting worse.

Allison Hickey:  -- in my testimony that two -- that -- that, uh, 65% of people in more than 125 days, from a VA perspective, is unacceptable.  I've clearly stated that.

Chair Jason Chaffetz:  And you say that this is a decade's old problem --

Allison Hickey:  It is a decade's old problem and for the first time we have an integrated plan that goes after the way we're organized and trained to do the work, the processes that we've done that we have streamlined, the technology that we're bringing in that under this administration and this Secretary [of VA Eric Shinseki], VBA has never had an emphasis on it's IT infrastructure to get from a paper bound process to a paperless system that we have right now.  We are implementing it right now.

Chair Jason Chaffetz:  Okay, my time is far expired.  The numbers and the discrepancies here are absolutely stunning. 

 I let that run through so that Hickey -- who was very defensive and very loud in the hearing -- had her say such as it was.  But there's a ton of nonsense in there.  First off, if you're using a figure, you need to know what month the figure is from.  She chose not to use the most recent numbers, that was her decision.  Having made that decision, she needs to know what period of time the number she's using are from.  But she stated, "The numbers that I'm using are from the endpoint of a month. Probably the end of May."  Probably? 

Probably's not good enough.   Chair Chaffetz was using 919,461.  He explained his numbers.  More to the point, this morning at the Washington Post's blog Federal Eye, Steve Vogel was addressing numbers noting that the 919,461 was the number "as of Tuesday."  Vogel notes that the claims stood at 903,000 in April.*  Did the numbers fluctuate in May and June?  We don't know because Hickey seems to believe she can use any numbers she wants.  Up to date numbers were available, she chose not to use them.  If she didn't want to use July because the month is still ongoing, then she should have fallen back to June.  And this wouldn't require new reports, these figures are kept weekly.  [In Vogel's report he says "backlog stood at 903,000" -- he most likely meant claims.  In the hearing, Hickey was repeatedly talking about the difference between the two.  If you use the link in Vogel's report for that number, you're taken to an earlier report he did where he refers to that number as "pending claims."  I understand what he means and would call it "backlog" myself.  It is backlog, any claim that's not been determined today is now backlog.  But since she made such a huge deal out of the terminology, I'm noting this.] 

She needs to be better prepared.  US House Rep Bob Filner has clearly put a scare and to her and good for that.  But she needs to know that the VA will be held responsible.  And she speaks about that but time and again things keep happening in hearings that if she didn't know about it, she should have.  And if she did know about it, she's playing dumb with the Committee.  At a recent hearing, Filner wisely noted that Hickey was hired to a do a job and did not need her hand held but she did need to do her job.  It would be nice if everyone could remember that.

Chair Jason Chaffetz:  Madam Undersecretary, the VA had reported that it awarded $2.8 million to 245 senior executives.  How do we justify that?  I mean, that's a very small group of people.  We've got hundreds of thousands -- close to a million -- veterans waiting in line and 245 people got $2.8 million in bonuses?  How do we justify that?

Allison Hickey: Chairman Chaffetz, thanks for the question.  First of all, I will tell you in VBA, since 2009, we have actually decreased by a full third the number of our SESs that are getting outstanding ratings. So we have done what this administration's asked us to do which is to really scrutinize the ratings that we are giving to our senior executives and bring them down. I'll tell you from a VBA perspective, I have 98 metrics, performance metrics, that I rate every one of our senior executives against.  They are performance based.

Chair Jason Chaffetz:  How --

Allison Hickey:  They are production and quality based.

Chair Jason Chaffetz:  How many --

Allison Hickey:  And in those environments where I do have outstanding leaders, I need to keep those outstanding leaders. They're making a difference for our veterans, their family members and survivors.

Chair Jason Chaffetz:  How many of them -- How many of the people that worked for you go those bonuses?

Allison Hickey:  Congressman, I'll have to bring you the explicit information.  I wasn't prepared to come and talk about bonus structure. 

If all 245 got approximately the same amount of bonus, they got a bit over $10,000 each.  How does anyone working for the federal government deserve that?

They did a great job?  Good.  They were supposed to.  I don't understand when the American people are being told that drastic cuts are needed how 245 employees of the VBA are getting not just their nice salaries but bonuses of $10,000 each for . . . doing their job?  Long before Senator Patty Murray and others were called for the Super Congress panel to address the deficit, the White House should have notified all cabinets that all bonuses were suspended.  I'm not joking on this.  A month ago there was a hearing that I knew nothing on -- record retention, record digitizing, etc. -- and I had to speak to a number of people who were kind enough to speak with me (that friends were kind enough to hook me up with) to get repeat walk throughs on this (because that's how I am, I have to over-saturate to feel comfortable talking about a topic) and I was speaking to government employees on all levels.  I heard about pay freezes and hiring freezes.  This is not uncommon across the country right now due to The Great Recession which continues.  And for state and municipal employees, this comes as layoffs have already demanded that they do their jobs and the jobs of two or three other people that were let go.  In some instances, they've also had pay cuts.  And yet at the federal level, senior executives, whose job it is to run the VA, are getting $10,000 bonuses?

That's disgusting.  The White House, if they understood a damn thing about the current economy, should have let senior execs know -- especially for VA -- that there were no more bonuses until the economy turned around.  Especially VA?  The backlog's not gone.  And the service isn't there.

Let's demonstrate the quality of service via statements in the hearing by two members of the Subcommittee.

US House Rep Peter Welch:  [. . .] one family that contacted our office.  And this woman, the mother of Howard Hoy, the son who had contacted us, they had a claim that just wasn't answered for years and it wasn't until after the mother died -- and this was her trying to get pension benefits from what she was entitled to as the survivor -- it wasn't until after she died that they adjudicated this.  [. . . ] After this woman died, she got a condolence letter. So one part of the system was working but the part that would have been beneficial to her while she was alive was not working.

US House Rep Jackie Speier: [In San Francisco at her "VA Fix-It meeting"] over 250 veterans showed up.  They were angry, they were hostile and they had every right to be.  I'm just going to tell you a few of these stories.   Sgt Ari Sonnenberg had multiple tours in Iraq.  He was facing eviction from his apartment while he waited for over a year for a disability ruling. He was unable to work -- a fact that took Oakland VA months and months to verify.  He needed treatment for PTSD. He was ordered by the VA actually to go to the VA Medical Center in Oakland.  The breaking point came the day before I took his wife and mother to meet with the director at Oakland. Until that meeting was set up, the Oakland Office was unaware that Mr. Sonnenberg was hospitalized at the VA facility for the next several months.  At the "VA Fix-It meeting" that we had, he told the packed room that he almost committed suicide.  Now the good news is that he will be boarding a plane for home tomorrow, he's had his surgeries, he's had treatment for PTSD and he has his disability benefits.  Had we not intervened, Mr. Sonnenberg would probably be dead today.  Another gentleman, a 92-year-old WWII vet who was confined to a wheel chair showed up at the "Fix-It meeting." He waited for over two years to have his claim adjusted, he had a service connection of 60%.  He was there, in his condition, his caregiver said, "It's been two years and now you're telling us that we've got to go back to a doctor to determine what his status is even though we've already done that.  Now the good news there is because we had that "Fix-It meeting," within a week, he was given retroactive payment of $32,000 and is now receiving $2000 a month.  He's 92-years-old.  Michael Cortez argued that his Parkinson's Disease was caused by exposure to Agent Orange.  He, again, waited two years.  As it turned out, because we had that "Fix-It meeting," his claim was recently resolved.  He's got a one-time retroactive payment of $92,000   [. . .] and now he's receiving $3,400 a month.

Does that sound like quality service?  And when the Congress funds VA, are they aware that so much money is going to bonuses?

Tomorrow, we'll note US House Rep Jackie Speier on another aspect of the hearing.

If someone didn't get noted?  There's not time or space to note everyone in most cases.  If I'm ignoring someone that I ignored at the last hearing?  I don't like kiss asses.  I never have.  If you're not there to serve veterans, why are you there?  To kiss ass for one Democrat and I'm not interested in noting him.  I'm not interested in helping him put his embarrassing scandal behind him.  I feel the House Ethics Committee -- under Democrat control first, not under Republican control -- has carried out a non-stop witch hunt on US House Rep Maxine Waters.  I like Maxine and think she works very hard.  I'm not sure how you look the other way for a man whose own family members -- just convicted -- say he was in on it.  I don't understand when that happens, how you don't immediately launch a House Ethics Committee investigation.  I have no interest in helping the ass kiss.

We'll come back to veterans issues at the end to note two things. 

All Iraq News reveals that Antony Blinken, US Vice President Joe Biden's National Security Adviser, is in Iraq and led a delegation that met with Nouri.  AFP adds that he also met with Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi "and was set to hold talks with other top politicians on a trip to Baghdad and later in the Kurdish regional capital Arbil." Why is Blinken there?

Because of the ongoing political crisis and the White House's fear that it's starting to get traction -- people are starting to notice Iraq.  Blinken's not expected to solve anything, just to put a band-aid on it -- a band-aid that will, the White House hopes, last through the November elections.  Today Sally Painter contributes a column to POLITICO about how things are going in Iraq.  Excerpt.

But although Iraq has made significant strides since the dark days of 2006 and 2007, after the U.S. withdrawal, the country has seemed on the verge of spiraling violence and political chaos. Withdrawal cannot mean abandonment -- but unfortunately, it's unclear whether Washington has an effective strategy to remain positively engaged with Iraq's future.

Since December, Iraq has lurched from political stalemate to rumors of Sunni succession to talk of civil war. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, has wasted no time in accelerating his efforts to concentrate power in the executive, ignoring parliamentary prerogatives and, according to Human Rights Watch, overseeing a secret prison for his political opponents. Political accommodation over the most fundamental issues, including how to divide oil revenue between regions and ethnic groups, remains more remote than ever. Meanwhile, renewed terrorist bombings killed hundreds of people in June.

The central government is more deadlocked than ever. Calls for Maliki's resignation have increased, and erstwhile allies like Moqtada al-Sadr have joined the opposition in threatening a vote of no confidence. Maliki has responded by threatening early elections, before their scheduled date in 2014. Key cabinet positions, including defense and interior, remain unfilled.

As noted in yesterday's snapshot, Nouri al-Maliki is not pleased with comments about him made by the former Syrian Ambassador to Iraq who defected last week and has decided to sue the diplomat.  In no-surprise news, Al Mada reports that State of Law began insisting the ambassador needed to be arrested yesterday.  He's also not pleased with Turkey. 

Nayla Razzouk (Bloomberg News) reports that Nouri is threatening "to take action" if Turkish 'flights' continue -- Razzouk notes that Ali al-Dabbagh (Nouri's spokesperson) was short on details of what 'flights' were being referred to (it's assumed, due to the use of the term "war planes" yesterday that the flights refer to the bombing raids Baghdad has allowed over the KRG).  al-Dabbagh stated that that a formal complaint will be filed with the UN Security Council.  Nouri's also not pleased with the Kurds.  And, with all of this, is it really smart to arm him with F-16s, let alone to rush the order?




Al Mada notes the belief that Nouri's latest war of words is motivated by a desire to punish the KRG over their energy policy which is independent of Baghdad.  They also point out that as the war of words escalate, dialogue gets harder and harder.  Dialogue, of course, being what Nouri claims to currently want as he attempts to circumvent efforts to withdraw confidence from him. 



Al Mada notes Iraqiya spokesperson Maysoun al-Damalouji explains that they are going through with their efforts for a vote of no-confidence in Nouri and that they have passed their decision on to Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq (who is also a member of Iraqiya).  In another article, they note Nouri's flurry of activity with the Parliament -- including last Thursday's meeting with Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi.  Alsumaria notes that KRG President Massoud Barzani's spokesperson raised the issue yesterday of Nouri's attempts to militarize Iraq society for his own political ends.  AFP adds, "The F-16 deal has raised alarm bells in the northern Kurdistan region, with Barzani saying earlier this year he was opposed to the sale of the warplanes while Maliki was premier, fearing they would be used against Kurdistan."

Monday's snapshot noted the decision to yet again delay findings by the Iraq Inquiry -- an investigation led by John Chilcot in England.  Rose Gentle's son Gordon Gentle was killed while serving in Iraq with British forces.  For the Guardian, she explains what the latest delay means: 

He was a lovely boy: he looked such a grown-up man in his Royal Fusiliers uniform, but I could still see the little boy in him. He was just 19: Iraq was his first posting, straight out of training. He'd been there less than three weeks when he was killed by a roadside bomb in Basra.

But this year, on the anniversary of his death, I had a bit of hope in my heart. My hope was that, during this summer, I'd at last be able to read the results of the Chilcot inquiry, which I've been waiting for since 2009 when Gordon Brown announced it was going to be set up to look into why we went to war in Iraq, and to "learn the lessons" from the trail of events that led to the deaths of young men like Gordon.

This week, though, we've learned there's yet another delay. It's going to be the middle of next year, we're now told, before the report sees the light of day. 2013 – 10 whole years after the war started. And why? I've listened as keenly as Sir John Chilcot to this inquiry – any mother who lost her son would, to find out why he died. What does he still need time for?

Also at the Guardian, readers weigh in with their thoughts on the delay.  We'll note this from one letter:

Two points for consideration now. First, what has happened to the Iraq inquiry? We were told last year that it would take "until at least summer 2012" to complete its report. An important reason for taking so long is the need "to negotiate the declassification of a significant volume of currently classified material with the government". Very well, but it is time to say that enough is enough.

Secondly, we are told that Tony Blair is wondering whether it is time to offer his services to the nation again. Iraq is one reason why I think we can manage without him.
Oliver Miles
Oxford

On War Criminal Tony Blair, Matthew Norman (Independent) observes, "Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, here he is encircling the upper echelons of public life once again - and if his dream of rehabilitation is to be harpooned, we're going to need a bigger boat."

The United States needs something in order to stop the whisper attacks on citizens -- the government's whisper attacks.  For some reason -- journalism isn't the reason -- Foreign Policy has again allowed Josh Rogin to write another article where he allows an unnamed State Dept official to attack people by name and their character.  That's not how journalism's supposed to work so clearly Foreign Policy doesn't believe in journalism.  What has him breaking all the rules?  As always it is his hate for the residents of Camp Ashraf. 

This one may cause waves -- might even splash on Baby Cum Pants Josh.  See, in the article he's trashing like crazy. And it would appear that US House Reps Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Brad Sherman will next be on the trashing list (the two wrote Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asking for the conditions at Camp Liberty to be improved -- Camp Liberty is where the US is trying to relocate Camp Ashraf residents).  What Baby Cum Pants Josh apparently doesn't know -- or one of the many things he apparently doesn't know -- is that despite Ros-Lehtinen being a Republican and Hillary being a Democrat, the two woman have strong respect for one another.  If he had even a clue about the beat he's supposed to cover, he would have realized he could tailor the story as: "Is this what turns things around for Camp Ashraf?  Or will Secretary Clinton blow off a friend?"  But, as usual, Rogin's typing on autopilot.

Yesterday, we noted Senator Patty Murray was pushing for a floor vote on the Camp Lejeune issue.  The US House Veterans Affairs Committee issued the following.

 

WASHINGTON, D.C.--Today, Rep. Jeff Miller, Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, issued the following statement on the Senate passage of H.R. 1627, the Honoring America's Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012:

"This legislation brings together nearly two years' worth of work on behalf of America's veterans. From streamlining and adding increased accountability to the disability claims process, to protecting our veterans from sexual assault, and providing for the future of Arlington National Cemetery, the Honoring America's Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012 is a tribute ensuring our veterans, their families, and survivors are guaranteed the benefits earned through their service to our Nation.

"With Senate passage today of H.R. 1627, our veterans are one step closer to receiving healthcare and improved services from VA. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Chairman Murray and Ranking Member Burr for their leadership in the Senate, as well as Ranking Member Filner's support here in the House, to make this legislation a reality. Finally, I want to thank Senator DeMint for working with us to ensure that resources are focused on veterans and family members in need of VA healthcare.

"I look forward to the House passing this legislation as soon as possible."

To learn more about the Honoring America's Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012, click here.

Senator Patty Murray, as noted above, is the Chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee and we're closing with this from her office (and I'm not in the mood for whines about the font size, I'm told that it can't be reduced without making the snapshot wider which will throw off the site for the next three entries so it is what it is):

In the face of threatened delays, Murray brokers compromise to finally deliver health care to Camp Lejeune Veterans and their families

Omnibus includes comprehensive health care, housing, homelessness, education and benefits legislation for veterans

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Wednesday, July 18, 2012, U.S. Senator Patty Murray, Chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee helped ensure passage of the Honoring America's Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012 by unanimous consent.  This bipartisan, bicameral, and comprehensive legislation combines provisions of the Veterans Programs Improvement Act of 2011(S. 914, Report No. 112-088) and Honoring American Veterans Act of 2011 (H.R. 1627, Report No. 112-084 Part 1), as well as provisions from other Senate and House legislation.  This comprehensive package extends health care to veterans and their families who lived at Camp Lejeune, expands critical health programs, improves housing programs, enhances programs for homeless veterans, and makes needed improvements to the disability claims system. In the face of threatened delays on the bill, Senator Murray brokered a compromise today that allowed the bill to move forward.

"This comprehensive legislation makes improvements to almost every aspect of care and services for veterans, and I am proud of the work my committee put into bringing this omnibus bill together," Senator Murray said following passage of the bill. "This bill will finally provide health care to veterans and family members exposed to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, expand eligibility for housing adaptation grants to more seriously injured veterans, and make help for homeless veterans more widely available."

Specifically, the Honoring America's Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012 would:

·         Provide health care for certain individuals stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.  This bill will extend hospital care and medical services coverage for certain illnesses and conditions to eligible veterans and family members who served on active duty or lived at Camp Lejeune.

·         Expand critical health care programs for veterans.  This bill will authorize VA to waive copayments for telehealth and telemedicine visits of veterans, expand beneficiary travel reimbursement for veterans living in highly rural areas, and improve reimbursement for state veterans homes.  In addition, the bill will enhance VA's teleconsultation and telemedicine capabilities to improve rural veterans' access to quality health care, protect veterans from sexual assault and other safety incidents, and expand TBI services. 

·         Enhance Specially Adapted Housing programs for disabled veterans.  This bill expands the eligibility for VA's specially adapted housing assistance grants to certain veterans with disabilities due to the loss or loss of use of one or more lower extremities that preclude ambulating without the aid of a supporting device. Senator Murray recently heard from a veteran who is severely injured with an above the knee amputation and an injury to his hip.  His combination of injuries made it incredibly difficult for him to live comfortably in his home, yet despite his serious injuries and mobility challenges, he did not meet current eligibility criteria for VA's adaptive housing programs to get the benefits that he so critically needed.  Senator Murray wrote a letter to Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki asking that eligibility criteria be adjusted accordingly, so that veterans in similar situations can get the benefits they deserve. This bill authorizes increased assistance to those disabled veterans who reside temporarily with family members and indexes levels of such assistance on an annual basis.  The bill also provides adaptive housing assistance grants to veterans with a lesser degree of vision impairment than what is required by current law.

·         Improve efforts to eliminate homelessness among veterans.  This bill will reauthorize a number of VA's programs to help homeless veterans and will expand eligibility for VA's emergency shelter services to include homeless veterans who are not seriously mentally ill.  In addition, the bill enhances grant programs for homeless veterans with special needs, by including dependents of veterans and male veterans with dependent children.  The bill also improves the grant and per diem program, which serves upward of 30,000 homeless veterans annually, by requiring VA to report on how to improve the per diem payment process for grantees.  In addition, the bill strengthens efforts by eligible entities to assist in case management services provided to the nearly 40,000 homeless veterans participating in the HUD-VASH program.

·         Strengthen veterans' benefits and improving claims processing.  This bill will improve VA's disability claims appeal processing by waiving initial review of claimants' new evidence by the agency of original jurisdiction unless specifically requested.  It is estimated that this provision could prevent approximately 1,600 remands from the Board of Veterans' Appeals per year allowing the Board more time to address the backlog of appeals.  Other significant improvements include, improving the process of filing jointly for social security and dependency and indemnity compensation and clarifying the month of death payment provisions to ensure surviving spouses receive proper and timely benefit payments. 

 

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Matt McAlvanah

Communications Director

U.S. Senator Patty Murray

202-224-2834 - press office

202--224-0228 - direct

matt_mcalvanah@murray.senate.gov

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