Thursday, January 19, 2012. Chaos and violence continue, Ayad Allawi talks
to Jane Arraf about the political crisis, another pre-national conference
meeting gets scheduled, US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta accomplishes a
first (to his great credit), the network TV media ignore the first and send a
message, US citizens work on starting a citizens burn pit registry, and
more.
Yesterday at the Pentagon, something major happened ( here for video, here for transcript), a sitting Secretary of
Defense called a press conference to talk about sexual assault in the military.
That was Leon Panetta who noted, "Let me close bys peaking directly to the
victims of sexual assault in this department. I deeply regret that such crimes
occur in the US military. And I will do all I can to prevent these sexual
assaults from occurring in the Department of Defense. I'm committed to providing
you the support and resources you need and to taking whatever steps are
necessary to keep what happened to you from happening to others. The United
States military has a zero-tolerance policy for sexual assault. And we will hold
the perpetrators appropriately accountable. I expect everybody in this
department to live up to the high standards that we have set and to treat each
other with dignity and respect. In a military force, where the promise is to
help each other in battle and to leave nobody behind, that promise must begin by
honoring the dignity of every person on or off the battlefield."
Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates preceded Panetta in the office. The rate
of sexual assault has been on the rise since the 90s. Yet Rumsfeld and Gates
never addressed it publicly. If questioned by Congress in a hearing, they would
offer some empty words. The same at a press conference. But they did not call
press conferences to address the issue. Prior to Panetta, the pattern has been
ignore it and know damn well that the press will assist you in ignoring it.
Robert Gates spent several months in 2011 on a farewell tour with the press
allegedly examining his performance but they never noted the military suicide
rate and they never noted sexual assault.
So what the hell were they grading him on? (The answer was, they graded
him on if they really, really loved him or just loved him. I was present for
the "off the record" farewell photo ops between Gates and the press.)
Secretary Leon Panetta: When I was sworn into the office of
Secretary of Defense, I said that I had no higher responsibility than to protect
those who are protecting America. Our men and women in uniform put their lives
on the line every day to try to keep America safe. We have a moral duty to keep
them safe from those who would attack their dignity and their honor. That's why
I've been so concerned by the problem of sexual assault in the military. Sexual
assault has no place in this department. It is an affront to the basic American
values we defend and it is a stain on the good honor of the great majority of
our troops and their -- and our -- families. As leaders of this department,
we're committed to doing everything we can to ensure the safety, dignity and
well-being of our people. These men and these women who are willing to fight
and to die, if necessary, to protect and serve our country, they're entitled to
much better protection. Their families and their dependents also sacrifice and
serve and so, for that reason, we have to spare no effort in order to protect
them against this heinous crime. The number of sexual assaults in the military
is unacceptable. Last year, 3,191 reports of sexual assault came in. But I
have to tell you that because we assume that this is a very underreported crime,
the estimate is that the number actually is closer to 19,000. One sexual
assault is too many. Since taking this office, I've made it a top priority to
do everything we can to reduce and prevent sexual assault, to make victims of
sexual assault feel secure enough to report this crime without fear of
retribution or harm to their career and to hold the perpretrators appropriately
accountable.
There's more but we'll stop there. There was no Tailhook exposed this
week. There was no rush to defuse a just breaking scandal. Panetta did what
the last two serving as Secretary of Defense should have done, he showed that
the Department took it seriously by making it a focus, not an aside.
Had Gates or Rumsfeld done the same at any point in their lengthy time in
office (Panetta became Defense Secretary last July), they might not be the
plantiffs in a law suit right now. As Burke PLLC notes:
On Feb. 15, 2011, we filed a lawsuit in Virginia federal court on
behalf of 16
active duty military and veteran victims of sexual trauma,
including persons
who allege they were raped by their military colleagues. The case
is Cioca
et al v. Rumsfield and Gates, C.A. 11 cv 151 in the U.S.
District Court of Eastern District of Virginia. Our investigation in this case
continues.
Additionally, [Susan] Burke has been invited to speak on
institutional failings
that have led to extensive rape and sexual assault in the military
at the 2011 National Conference on Civil Actions for Criminal Acts hosted by The
National Crime Victims Bar Association and The National Center for
Victims
of Crime. The conference will be held from June 20 to June 22, 2011
at the
Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Her presentation
will discuss potential solutions for these issues.
As disclosed before, I know Susan Burke and I know Leon Panetta. Knowing
Leon is why I took a pass on this yesterday. I figured we'd string together
various reports and I wouldn't have to say anything personally. But that
required news actually being covered. And, of course, that so rarely happens.
At the increasingly embarrassing CBS Evening News with Scott
Pelley, they gave thanks for the wrecked ocean liner over the weekend.
There was no news there but they had footage and opened the broadcast with it.
Three days of coverage out of this, it's been a gift for Scott Pelley and for
CBS Evening News . . . if not for viewers. The story was no different
at ABC or NBC or PBS. (And ABC and Chris Cuomo will turn the wreck into a
'special' Friday night. Pick the bones, pick them dry. But don't pretend
you've supplied news.)
Women and men in the military are at risk of sexual assault; however,
victims are more often women. And, as we've seen over and over, when a story's
focus can be seen as female, over and over, it gets ignored. (When Katie Couric
anchored the CBS Evening News, sexual assault, breast cancer and other issues
that might be seen as effecting primarily women did get covered.) The networks
had plenty of time for the snow in Seattle -- a story that really only effected
Seattle. They just didn't have time for major news in terms of sexual assault
in the military which also included policy changes.
Secretary Leon Panetta: Over the holidays, we announced two new
policies that provide greater support for the victims of sexual assault. The
first policy gives victims who report a sexual assault an option to quickly
transfer from their unit or installation to protect them from possible
harassment and remove them from proximity to the alleged perpetrator. Second,
we will also require the retention of written reports of sexual assault to law
enforcement to be retained for a period of 50 years. The reason for that is to
have these records available so that it will make it easier for veterans to file
a claim with the Department of Veterans Affairs at a later date. These two
policies are the first of a broader package of proposals that
we will be presenting in the coming months, many of which will require
legislative action by the Congress. Today, I want to announce some additional
steps that we are taking. First, I've directed the establishment of a DoD
sexual assault advocate certification program which will require our sexual
assault response coordinators and victim advocates to obtain a credential
aligned with national standards. This will help ensure that the victims of
sexual assault receive the best care from properly trained and credentialed
professionals who provide crucial assistance from the moment an assault is
committed. Second, I have directed the department to expand our support to
assault victims to include military spouses and adult military dependents, who
will now be able -- this was not the case before -- they will now be able to
file confidential reports and receive the services of a victim advocate and a
sexual assault response coordinator. In addition, we're going to ensure that
DoD civilians stationed abroad and DoD US citizen contractors in combat areas
receive emergency care and the help of a response coordinator and a victim
advocate. Third, because sexual assault cases are some of the toughest cases to
investigate and to prosecute, I've increased funding for investigators and for
judge advocates to receive specialized training. We're also putting in place
one integrated data system. The data systems, frankly, were spread among the
various services. We're going to put them together into one data system in
order to track sexual assault reports and monitor case management so that we'll
have a comprehensive data base for information available later this year. And,
finally, in addition to our focus on taking care of victims and holding
perpetrators appropriately accountable, we've been focusing on what more can we
do to try to prevent sexual assault. Our leaders in uniform, officers and
enlisted are on the front lines of this effort -- they have to be. We must all
be leaders here. For this reason, I'm directing an assessment -- due in 120
days -- on how we train our commanding officers and senior enlisted leaders on
sexual assault prevention and response and what we can do to strengthen that
training. It's important that everyone in uniform be alert to this problem and
have the leadership training to help prevent these crimes from
occuring.
They missed all the above. But don't worry, that because, for example,
ABC World
News with Diane Sawyer couldn't cover the sexual assault story,
they missed the big news stories. No, they had time, they made time, to show
the very important YouTube video of a bird playing in the snow.
My opinion? A great deal more is needed by the Defense Dept and I would
include the firing of one woman we've regularly advocated for the firing of (if
you refuse to testify to Congress, you should be fired, end of story). I think
the words will be measured months from now in terms of whether, in practice,
much changed.
But I give Leon Panetta applause for addressing the topic. Until a sitting
Secretary of Defense is willing to use time to address the topic, nothing's
going to change. Until a Secretary of Defense makes clear that this issue
matters at the top, it's not going to matter. Leon Panetta sent a strong signal
yesterday, a needed one, and became the first sitting Secretary of Defense to do
so. Much more needs to be done and I hope it is but I give Leon Panetta credit
for doing more than any of his predecessors have. (And I've said here and
face-to-face that I will measure his performance based on this issue and the
issue of suicides in the military. Those are the issues that the press should
have been grading Robert Gates on.)
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Another issue veterans face is exposure to Burn Pits -- veterans, service
members and contractors. Stony Brook University holds the first ever Burn Pit
Scientific Symposium February 13th and, in addition, there is a move towards a
citizen registry:
BurnPits360 is serving as a pathway
of advocacy to assist veterans, their families, and civilian contractors who
have been negatively affected by toxic burn pits. Contractors were assigned the
task of properly disposing of any and all trash on military installations in
Iraq, Afghanistan, and other locations in the Middle East. Unfortunately,
instead of using incinerators, the contractors disposed of the waste through
toxic burn pits and now thousands of veterans have been put at serious
risk.
BurnPits360 is inviting anyone that
has been affected from exposure to toxic burn pits and environmental hazards to
sign up on the registry. We are conducting a voluntary cohort anonymous study
with Dr. Szema at Stony Brook University. The study simply requires
self-reporting your information on the online registry, providing a proof of
military service (DD-214), a signed legal consent form, and additional
questionnaires. This study will help to provide vital information to doctors
and researchers that will help properly diagnose and treat the vast array of
medical complications arising from these exposures. It will provide the
Department Of Defense and the Department Of Veteran Affairs with data that will
allow them to develop a healthcare model for specialized healthcare specific to
toxic exposures and environmental hazards.
The importance of this registry is to serve as a model for all
military personnel, civilian contractors, and their families to self-report
injuries and deaths from toxic exposure from burn pits and other environmental
hazards. It will also assist in proving causation and the correlation between
the exposure and the illness, as well as determine all areas of possible
exposure. It will provide the VA with the data needed to develop legislative
language for the development of a compensation and pension category specific to
toxic exposures.
Most importantly, this study is completely anonymous. None of your
personal information will be shared at any time. (In such cases where
information would ever need to be made public, it would not be done so without
the members written consent, whereas the veteran, contractor, and/or their
family have the option to decline to participate at that time.)
Should you be interested in participating in the study, please
contact Burn Pits 360 via email
[burnpitadvocates@burnpits360.org] or by telephone
[361-816-4015].
Still on veterans issues,
Senator Patty Murray is the Chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs
Committee. Her office notes:
For Immediate Release
January 19, 2012
Contact:
Murray: 202-224-2834
Filner: 202-225-9756
Murray, Filner
Request GAO Review of VA's Sterilization of Reusable Medical Equipment Policies
and Procedures
(Washington, D.C.) -- Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray,
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and Congressman Bob
Filner (D-CA) sent a letter to Government Accountability Office (GAO)
Comptroller Gene Dodaro expressing concern over reports of shortcomings in the
sterilization of reusable medical equipment. In the letter, they urge the GAO to
investigate whether VA's leadership is taking appropriate actions to address
these problems across the system.
"On numerous occasions, VA has
reported to Congress about the various investigations it has conducted and the
problems these investigations have identified, which they claim have led to the
development of new processes and procedures to reduce the risk of these problems
reoccurring," Senator Murray and Congressman Filner said in the letter.
"However, we continue to hear about the same types of quality of care incidents
at VA medical facilities and we are concerned that this is an indication that VA
is not effectively learning from these incidents and subsequently translating
those lessons into system-wide improvements."
The full text of the letter
follows:
January 19, 2012
The Honorable Gene L.
Dodaro
Comptroller General of the United States
Government
Accountability Office
441 G Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20548
Dear
Mr. Dodaro:
We know of repeated quality of care problems throughout the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system. Some of these problems,
such as shortcomings in the sterilization of reusable medical equipment, reoccur
with unacceptable frequency. This raises concerns as to whether VA's leadership
is taking appropriate actions, including the appropriate disciplinary actions,
to effectively address the problems across the system. On numerous occasions, VA
has reported to Congress about the various investigations it has conducted and
the problems these investigations have identified, which they claim have led to
the development of new processes and procedures to reduce the risk of these
problems from reoccurring. However, we continue to hear about the same types of
quality of care incidents at VA medical facilities and we are concerned that
this is an indication that VA is not effectively learning from these incidents
and subsequently translating those lessons into system-wide improvements.
Therefore, we request that the Government Accountability Office (GAO)
conduct a review of VA's processes and procedures for responding to quality of
care incidents that occur within its health care system. Specifically, we
request that GAO review the following:
1. What processes and procedures
does VA use to respond to quality of care incidents that occur at its medical
facilities, including quality assurance reviews and disciplinary actions? To
what extent do these processes and procedures compliment and inform each other?
What, if any, gaps or inconsistencies exist?
2. How does VA determine
which processes and procedures to use to respond to quality of care incidents?
What factors contribute to why certain processes and procedures are chosen by VA
over others?
3. What challenges, if any, do VA staff face when using
these processes and procedures?
4. To what extent are the processes and
procedures carried out consistently across VA's health care system?
5.
What data, if any, does VA systematically collect with regard to its employees'
involvement in quality of care incidents, including clinicians and others? How,
if at all, are these data trended and analyzed? To what extent are these data
used to determine what actions to take in response to these incidents?
6. To what extent does VA use the data to identify opportunities for
system-wide quality improvement?
As a follow-on to the above work, we
also request that GAO perform an in-depth assessment of the extent to which VA
medical facilities follow the processes and procedures used to respond to
quality of care incidents.
Thank you for your work to improve the care
and services our veterans receive. We look forward to reviewing your
findings.
Sincerely,
PATTY MURRAY
Chairman Ranking
Democratic Member
Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs
BOB
FILNER
Ranking Democratic Member
House Committee on Veterans
Affairs
###
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Today at 13:50 local time (12.50 Turkish local time) a rocket
attack (RPG) was launched against our Embassy in Baghdad. One of the rockets hit
the concrete blocks placed in front of our Embassy's protective outer walls
without causing any death or injury. It has been learned that the other rocket
exploded in the car from where it was fired.
We strongly condemn this
heinous attack perpetrated against our Embassy. Furthermore, we expect the Iraqi
authorities to capture the perpetrators of the attack as soon as possible, bring
them promptly to justice and take all the necessary security measures in order
to decidedly prevent the recurrence of such attacks.
Necessary demarches
have been made in this regard with the Iraqi authorities and it has been
reminded with emphasis that ensuring the security of diplomatic missions is the
host country's obligation. The Iraqi authorities confirmed that they would take
the necessary steps regarding the security of our Embassy in compliance with
their responsibilities stemming from international law and adopt every measure
to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.
Turkey will closely follow up
on the measures to be taken by the host country to ensure the security of our
diplomatic missions in Iraq.
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers' Miami
Herald) reports, "No one has claimed responsibility for the Wednesday
attack, in which assailants fired three rockets at the embassy. But the timing
of the assault, just days after an acrimonious exchange between al-Maliki and
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, raised suspicions that al-Maliki
sympathizers were responsible."
On Morning Edition (NPR -- link is audio and
transcript), Sean Carberry reported on the visit back to Iraq
that Aseel Albanna made after 20 years of living in the US. It starts with the
high of her exclaiming, "I can't believe I'm here, I just have sheer joy inside
me." It descends rather quickly as she expresses dismay at what has happened to
Baghdad, how her neighborhood "used to be a beautiful neighborhood [. . .] this
is really shocking. This neighborhood used to be like all brand new houses,
beautiful yards, beautiful streets, beautiful greenery and now I don't know how
to describe it. It's just a mess."
Just a mess also describes the
political climate in Baghdad where the political crisis continues. Deutsche Welle notes, "After the 2010 elections, the
ethnic and religious groups signed a power-sharing agreement in Erbil. But
Maliki appeared to have other plans from the outset. Formally, a joint
government does exist. [. . .] Maliki did not name a defense minister, for
example. The post was actually earmarked for a Sunni. At the same time, he
filled central positions with his own party supporters or just took them over
himself." Economist Kadhim Habeb is quoted stating, "Maliki's goal is to push
through his sole reign. He is a little despot." Sam Dagher (Wall St. Journal) reports that
Iraqiya met in Baghdad yesterday to explore Nouri al-Maliki's ouster while
Kurdish officials did the same in Erbil. Suadad al-Salhy (Reuters) notes the political crisis
continues to thrive and al-Salhy runs through some possibilities:
The political blocs are working out details of a
conference to help sort out the political turmoil but it may not happen this
month. The conference, some politicians say, could ease tensions and allow Sunni
lawmakers to save face and go back to their jobs, ending the
boycott.
In Sunni-majority Salahuddin
province a bid to win more autonomy from Baghdad is gaining steam, although a
quick resolution is unlikely. Petitions have been distributed, a
constitutionally necessary step toward a referendum on greater
self-rule.
Maliki's Shi'ite allies are
trying to take advantage of the turmoil to win government jobs, power within
ministries and provincial councils and the release of prisoners.
Kurdistan may use the presence of Hashemi and support
for Maliki as bargaining chips to win concessions in its ongoing disputes with
Baghdad over oil and land rights and the region's share of the national
budget.
Ayad Allawi: Once we see positive steps taken by the government to
reduce the tension to embark on dialogue and to revert back to the agreement
power sharing then, of course, we'll reciprocate. Indeed our history is very
clear, we won the elections but because of the veto against us from foreign
powers, after nine months we decided for the sake of the Iraqi people to
compromise and to accept that Prime Minister from the other bloc, the losing
bloc, the second bloc -- not losing but the second bloc, to take the premiership
position. And this is all done for the sake of the Iraqi people and for the --
for the sake of Iraq. Then -- but based on partnership -- and when we agreed on
partnership then when we saw nothing was implemented, the Iraqiya constituents
have been targeted, arrests -- widespread arrests, torture, intimidation. And
then this moved into targeting the leaders of Iraqiya, accusing them in the
media of doing wrong things. And this is unheard of in judiciary channels, that
people are exposed on TV and media and so on. And we saw no movements along the
lines of implementing the power sharing and then these intimidations started.
And now we agreed to attend this national conference to find a way out of the
mess that Iraq is in. For all this we have done for the sake of Iraq and for
the sake of Iraq all these compromises to make sure that this government will
function, that the country will recover and that the country will be able to
face its own destiny without Americans, without foreign powers inside Iraq. But
unfortunately this is where we're at now.
Yesterday, another
arrest took place. Margaret Griffis (Antiwar.com) explains, "Baghdad
Provincial Council Vice President Riyadh al-Adhadh was arrested on terrorism
charges and stands accused of financing a
terrorist group in Abu Ghraib. Adhadh is a Sunni doctor who
founded a free clinic in Adhamiya and is the focus of an English-language documentary on Iraq. The Iraqi Islamic Party condemned
the action and called it an " unprecedented
escalation" in the political arena." The arrest doesn't help the
political climate. The message of late has been that Nouri is targeting Iraqiya
and not Sunnis -- placing the emphasis on Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi's and
Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq's political affiliation and not tying in
the arrests that began in October (over 800 Iraqis were arrested -- largely
Sunni -- charged with plotting a coup -- less widely reported was the
announcement a few weeks ago that they would all be released -- there was no
plot). al-Adhadh is Sunni and part of the Iraqi Accord -- a Sunni political
party which had significant problems and battles with Nouri during Nouri's first
term as prime minister. For more on the Iraqi Accord, you can refer to this Carnegie Endowment
for International Peace page. And, if these arrests continue, it's
going to take more than the current planned PSAs to stop an increased hardening
between the two major sects in Iraq.
As Nouri gears up for the reported
televising of another set of 'confessions' against Vice President Tareq
al-Hashemi, Al
Mada notes that Iraqiya spokesperson Maysoun Damluji has
pointed out that the airing of these 'confessions' runs contrary to the
Constitution an to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which Iraq is a
signature to. She observes that it risks the impartiality and independence of
the court and thrwarts the ability of a defendant to present their case fairly.
I am stating that Nouri (the State) cannot release these 'confessions' to the
media and still claim that they are honoring the Constitution's presumption of
innocence until proven guilty.
Violence continues in Iraq. Reuters notes 1 person shot dead in
Mosul, a Baquba roadside bombing which left two police officers injured, a
Baquba homebombing targeting a Sahwa which injured him, "his wife and one of his
children" (Sahwa are also known as "Awakenings" and "Sons Of Iraq" -- they are
largely Sunni and were put on the US payroll in the last years of the Bush
administration to get them to stop attacking the US military and US military
property -- as then Gen David Petraeus testified to Congress in April 2008;
Nouri al-Maliki was supposed to take over paying Sahwa, he was supposed to find
security jobs for some and, for others, find non-security government jobs, this
was to bring them into the political process, he refused to do so); a Baquba
home bombing targeted the Baquba mayor (no one was injured), four Baquba bombs
targeted a Shi'ite family (no one was injured), three Baquba grocery stores were
bombed, 1 police officer was shot dead in Baghdad last night, 1 person was shot
dead in Jalawla last night and 1 Sahwa was shot dead in Samara last night (three
other people were also shot).
Back in the US, Brent Frazier (Nashville's News
Channel 5, link has text and video) reports on Iraq War veteran Sal
Gonzalez. Excerpt.
Brent Frazier:
26-year-old Sal Gonzalez will tell you he came to the CMA Music Fest back in
2006 and never left. Tonight the Los Angeles native played to a packed Exit/In
and he hopes somebody in the crowd liked what they heard.
Sal Gonzalez: I'm an American. That's -- that's the
only thing I am, that's the only thing I ever will be.
Brent Frazier: Retired US Marine Sal Gonzalez can tell
you his story --
Sal Gonzalez: --
was a bomb, an IED. It was just placed on the side of the road,
buried.
Brent Frazier: How he
joined the military at 18 --
Sal
Gonzalez: I'm not going to deny that I was a Marine and that I went to serve my
country. I'm very proud of that fact.
Brent Frazier: How he dodged death
overseas.
Sal Gonzalez: Going
through combat, losing somebody
Brent Frazier: But he'd rather sing to
you.
For more on Sal Gonzalez, you can watch this video which is another interview with him and
features some of his music. He is on Facebook and he is on MySpace where you can stream some of his
songs. Sal Gonzalez is attempting to get the word out on Not Alone which is a resource for service members and
veterans (and their families) dealing with PTSD and combat stress.
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