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Thursday,
December 6, 2012. Chaos and violence continue, UN Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon visits Iraq, AP is so busy misreporting that they miss out on
the visit, the standoff remains, the US and Iraq just signed a new
agreement, an Iraqi official used the signing opportunity to publicly
call out what Iraq has alleged are Israeli spying devices that have been
hidden on the F-16s that Iraq has purchased, in a tale of two press
releases we find the US State Dept can get a title correct while the US
Defense Dept doesn't have a clue, and more.
The
press is supposed to want to report. If they can be accused --
collectively -- of a bias its having a desire for conflict because
conflict makes news. So explain Qassim Abdul-Zahra's AP story this morning which has only been teased out to a longer story by this afternoon
despite it grossly misunderstanding what was stated by Nouri al-Maliki
about the country's most recent crisis which Nouri sparked when he sent
forces into the disputed regions of northern Iraq. Let's deal first with
what actually happened today. All Iraq News notes Nouri
held a news conference with United Nations Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon today and Nouri declared that there were proposals (plural) to
resolve the current standoff between Baghdad and Erbil. Alsumaria reports
Nouri said there were two proposals for ending the military standoff in
disputed areas between Nouri's Tigris Operation Command and the Kurdish
Peshmerga. One proposal is locals are in charge of security while
another proposal is a joint patrol by Nouri's Tigris forces and the
Peshmerga. The key on the second proposal would be whether or not the
Peshmerga remains under Kurdish control.
Also today All Iraq News reports Iraqi President Jalal Talabani gave a speech about how this crisis is threatening the security and the peace. Al Mada adds
that Talabani declared that threatening language -- a reference to
Nouri's speech on Saturday -- has no place in this discussion. And as
Thursday ended in Iraq, Alsumaria reported that Talabani met with Ahmed Chalabi who gave his support to Talabani and his efforts to peacefully resolve the crisis. All Iraq News notes
that Talabani also met with US Ambassador to Iraq Robert S. Beecroft
today and they agreed on the need for a peaceful solution to this
ongoing dispute.
That's all really basic. Yet this morning, AP wanted
to report that Nouri stated an agreement had been reached on how to
resolve the crisis. That's not what's reported by Arabic outlets. They
report Nouri held a press conferences and talked about proposal(s). They
continued to insist an agreement had been reached as the day went
along. No agreement's been reached. Jalal Talabani wouldn't have given
the speech he did today or met with Chalabi to discuss the crisis if it
was resolved.
In a development everyone is trumpeting, representatives from the KRG and the central Iraqi government met in Baghdad today. KUNA notes,
"Iraq's federal government and provincial government of Iraq's
Kurdistan region reached an agreement in principle stipulating return of
all military foces to their previous locations." In principal? And
that's the more upbeat version. Isabel Coles and Alison Williams (Reuters) lead
with, "Iraqi military leaders agreed on Monday with commanders from the
Kurdistan region to defuse tension and discuss pulling their troops
back from an area over which they both claim jurisdiction." That's not
quite the same thing and when you include a quote from Iraq's
"commander in chief of the Iraqi armed forces" (that would be Nouri)
that states the two sides will "discuss a mechanism to return the forces
which were deployed after the crisis to their previous positions." So
they're going to discuss that. And even less has been accomplished
according to Almanar,
"Top federal and Kurdish security officials agreed in Baghdad on Monday
to 'activate' coordinating committees between their forces and work to
calm the situation in northern Iraq, a statement said." Almanar also notes that those attending the meeting including US Lt Gen Robert Caslen.
As we noted the next morning, that story fell apart. AP was
one of the outlets that got that story grossly wrong. You'd think
they'd have learned and you think the fact that the press feeds on
conflict would mean that the same reporters wouldn't repeatedly fall for
the same "Everything solved! Nothing here to see!" This morning, we
pointed out that if an agreement had been reached, KRG President Massoud
Barzani and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani would probably be making
announcements. That didn't strike AP as strange? That the person who initiated the conflict would be the one to announce it was over?
And
if that doesn't seem plausible how about the fact that there's nothing
on the KRG website about an agreement being reached? There is this article in Arabic
(probably there in Kurdish as well but I can't read Kurdish). It's
about today's meeting of Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani and his
Cabinet and among the topics discussed was the conflict and the Tigris
Operation Command and how the General Command of the Peshmerga states
that they are prepared to defend and protect if violence breaks out.
Barzani noted that he was speaking with all Kurdish leaders including
KRG President Massoud Barzani.
Seems
to me if a deal was reached, KRG President Massoud Barzani would know
and I don't see why he'd keep it from the Prime Minister (who is also
his nephew). Again, it's just not plausible. Last time when AP and
others pulled this nonsense, I didn't name them, I just said outlets.
Well I'm sorry this is the second time you're claiming events happened
when they didn't, the second time that your 'solution' story tells the
world "Look away, nothing to see here." It's a bit hard to excuse it. It
goes against what Iraqi outlets are reporting happened, it goes against
what's plausible and it goes against the nature of journalism.
From
my perch in the West, far outside the halls of power in Baghdad or
Erbil, it's hard for me to know how serious the threat of outright
conflict between the Kurds and Maliki has become. As a political
scientist, however, I know of too many historical cases where such
tensions led to wars that none of the parties intended or really wanted.
In other cases, some of those who chose or desired war expected a quick
victory, only to become mired in terrible, grinding and long lasting
fighting. The region remembers when Egyptian president Gamal Abdel
Nasser in 1967 famously took provocative action after action, from
threats and blockades against Israeli shipping to demanding the
withdrawal of United Nations observer forces from the Sinai. Finally the
Israelis attacked, and somehow took him by surprise and then proceeded
to defeat the combined forces of Egypt, Jordan and Syria in 6 days.
Several years later, Saddam Hussein thought to launch a similar
surprise attack on Iran, after its new religious leaders began inciting
Iraqi shiites to revolt. Expecting quick victory similar to Israel's
lightning war of 1967, he instead condemned Iraq and Iraq to eight years
of war, poverty and over a million war dead. The point is that when you
overturn the cart, or even threaten to turn it over, no one really
knows where its contents will fall.
If serious armed conflict
between Maliki and the Kurds does erupt, intentionally or not, the
media war of interpretation will undoubtedly rage as well. How such
conflict gets framed will likely play a crucial war in determining the
winner, in fact. If Mr. Maliki manages to cast the issue as a war
between Kurds and Arabs (or "an ethnic war," as he recently referred to a
possible conflict), the advantage will go to him. Given how seriously
Arabs outnumber Kurds in Iraq, the medium and long-term consequences of
such a framing of the conflict would prove extremely disadvantageous
to Kurdistan. Mr. Maliki and his "State of Law" Party will tell Iraqis
that Barzani is trying to expand Kurdistan's borders at Arab expense.
Under such circumstances, it would be hard even for Arabs who oppose
Maliki not to rally to his cause of protecting Arabs against Kurdish
maximalism. As long as leaders in Kurdistan insist that Article 140 be
implemented and the disputed territories be given a chance to join
Kurdistan, it will prove extremely difficult to oppose Maliki's framing
of the issue as one of "Arab vs. Kurd."
NIQASH:
Despite all this though, it seems that both sides are sending more
military into the disputed areas every day. People here in Iraqi
Kurdistan are frightened, they think that war is inevitable.
Bashir Adel Gli: I have no fear. There won't be a war.
NIQASH: And what makes you so sure of that?
Bashir
Adel Gli: Because al-Maliki has a lot of opponents in Baghdad – such as
the Islamic Virtue Party [the Fadhila party], the Islamic Supreme
Council, the Sadrists [Editor's note: the latter three are all
Shiite-Muslim dominated] and the Iraqiya party. All of his opponents
simply won't let this happen. And the Kurdish won't allow the Kurdish
military [the peshmerga] to attack the Iraqi army either.
NIQASH: So what do you think will happen in Iraqi politics in 2013?
Bashir Adel Gli: I
can't really predict that. But I do think it will be the end of
al-Maliki. I think if al-Maliki tries to run for the third term, he will
find that those opposed to him will multiply.
On a related note, Ayad al-Tamimi (Al Mada) reports
that the National Alliance (Shi'ite political body headed by Ibrahim
al-Jafaari) declared that they believe Nouri is attempting to isolate
them politically. Dar Addustour notes
the talks going on between KRG President Massoud Barzani, Moqtada
al-Sadr (cleric and leader of the Sadr movement) and Iraqiya head Ayad
Allawi over the current crisis and the belief that Nouri has escalated
this.
A few weeks ago, Nouri attempted to end the food-rations card system and his spokesperson announced, November 6th,
that it was over. It wasn't over because it's too popular. The Iraqi
people wouldn't stand for it nor would the politicians (except for those
in Nouri's State of Law). So Nouri had to back down. Moqtada al-Sadr
was one of the leaders on that issue.
But
he and Moqtada tangled weeks before that as well. It happened when Nouri
said there was no oil surplus money that could become dividends for the
Iraqi people and Moqtada al-Sadr expressed doubt and disapproval. All Iraq News explained in October
that Moqtada and his poltical bloc have not let the matter die or just
resorted to words, they're actively working with the Minister of Finance
Rafie al-Issawi and the Minister of Planning Ali Shukri to find oil
money that can go to the Iraqi people with plans to set aside 25% of
future revenues for that. Moqtada and his bloc continued working on the
issue and had the people's support. In November, All Iraq News reported
that a delegation from the Sadr bloc met with Minister of Finance Rafie
al-Issawi to discuss this issue and find out what the progess was on it
and to announce that they will continue to stay focused on this and
ensure that the country and its children benefit from the oil.
While Moqtada al-Sadr's bloc was fighting for the people and doing so in the open, Nouri was doing something else. Alsumaria reports
that MP Bahaa al-Araji of the Sadr bloc held a press conference today
outside Parliament to reveal that Nouri al-Maliki filed a lawsuit to
dismiss the budget item on sharing the oil suprlus with the citizens
from the year's budget. The court -- no surprise, it's not a real court
-- ruled in Nouri's favor. Only now, after the ruling, do they find out
what Nouri was doing behind everyone's back.
Today Mohammad Sabah (Al Mada) reports
that the Sadr bloc stated the surplus amount was $20 billion and that
the lawsuit Nouri brought will prevent the Iraqi pepole from receiving
25% of the surplus. All Iraq News notes
that Sadr-bloc MP Iqbal al-Ghurabi declared today that denying the
Iraqi people their portion of the surplus was part of a war Nouri is
waging on the Iraqi people.
How
nice for the White House -- which kept Nouri on as prime minister even
after the Iraqi people voted otherwise -- that just as Iraq gets a high
profile visitor who commands international attention, UN
Secretaty-General Ban Ki-moon, the English language outlet that most
Americans will see Iraq news from is saying the conflict is over.
The Voice of Russia noted
the Secretary-General went to Baghdad today from Kuwait. They were one
of many news outlets around the world noting the visit. Why was the
Secretary-General in Kuwait? To talk about Iraq and Chapter VII.
Thursday his Special Envoy to Iraq Martin Kobler delivered a report on Iraq to the Security Council (see Thursday and Friday's snapshot).
Martin
Kobler: In addition to the hydrocarbons legislation, we are continuing
to provide technical advice and assistance on the establishment of the
Federation Council, the reform of the judicial system, and the adoption
of laws on minority communities and political parties. At the regional
level, Iraq continues its re-emergence onto the international stage.
Earlier this year, Iraq demonstrated renewed commitment to meeting its
remaining obligations under Chapter VII of the Charter and to improving
its bilateral relations with Kuwait. Progress will, however, depend upon
the restoration of confidence between both sides. Over the past few
months, I stepped up my engagement with Iraq and Kuwait to see how the
United Nations could best facilitate the resolution of outstanding
issuse in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the Security
Council. And, in this context, I recently held high-level meetings in
Iraq and Kuwait in which I was encouraged by the strong commitment
that both Prime Minister al-Maliki and the Amir of Kuwait expressed by
normalizing relations between their two countries. I very much hope that
they will now be able to move quickly. They can count on the UN in this
regard. I am happy to report to the Council today that I spoke to
Foreign Minister [Hoshyard] Zaebari this morning. He informed me that,
first, his government had nominated the names for the technical team of
the border maintenance project today and, second, the government would
start immediately to update the list of farmers entitled to
compensation. A meeting with the farmers will take place as soon as
possible. I welcome those steps and call on the Government of Iraq to
initiate work on the border mainenance project without further delay. I
also appeal to the government of Iraq to continue to demonstrate the
goodwill necessary to fulfil Iraq's other outstanding obligations, in
particular with regard to missing persons and property. The commitment
of Iraq to fulfil those obliations will be conducive to the
normalization of relations between the two countries. And I equally call
on the government of Kuwait to continue to act in a spirit of
flexibility and reciprocity, as reflected earlier this year by the
important reciprocal visits of the Amir in Baghdad and the Prime
Minister in Kuwait. On a different note, I remain fully committed to
continue to work with both governments to resolve bilateral issues, at
their request. I am hopeful that the agreement between Kuwait and Iraq
for the cancelation of pending lawsuits against Iraqi Airways and on
navigational rights in the Khor Abdullah waterway will facilitate
improved relations between the two neighbors.
That was part of the reason for his visit. AFP also notes, " The
visit also comes at a time of high tensions between Iraq's federal
government and the autonomous Kurdistan region, during which military
reinforcements have been sent to disputed areas in the country's north."
Nouri's remarks -- the ones the Iraqi outlets got correct but AP got
'creative' on, those remarks -- were made at the joint press conference
that Nouri held with Ban Ki-moon. Here's what the UN Secretary-General said at that press conference:
Assalamo Alaykom, Good afternoon,
I
am pleased to be back in Baghdad for the fourth time, and second time
this year. My last visit was in March when Iraq hosted the Summit
meeting of the League of Arab States. That Summit showed Iraq's steady
progress toward regaining its rightful place in the region, the Arab
world and the broader international community. I congratulate such
leadership and achievement.
Today, I had
productive meetings with President Talabani, Prime Minister Al-Maliki
and and I am going to have a separate meeting with Foreign Minister
Zebari, and also I will be meeting the Speaker of the Council of
Representatives. I will also have the honour of addressing the Heads of
Political blocs and elected members of the Council of Representatives.
We
have discussed a wide range of issues, particularly relations between
Iraq and Kuwait. We also addressed relations between the Government of
Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government. And we reviewed the
situation in Syria – which we are all deeply concerned about.
Iraq-Kuwait
relations have improved much since March. I believe that a historic
opportunity is at hand to fully normalize relations between the two
States.
It is time for both countries to
put the past behind and usher in a new era of cooperation. I strongly
support the efforts of Prime Minister al-Maliki to fulfil without
further delay Iraq's outstanding Chapter VII obligations – especially
the maintenance of the boundary and the compensation of the farmers.
I
have come here from Kuwait. I had good meetings with both Prime
Minister al-Maliki and the Emir of Kuwait. I appealed to their
statesmanship and asked that they redouble their efforts. This will
greatly benefit the people of both countries in the long-term.
In
my meetings with the Iraqi leadership, we also discussed the political
situation here. The ongoing impasse between political blocs is a
disservice to the people of Iraq, who look to their leaders to deliver a
better future.
I also expressed hope that
divergences over disputed territories in Northern Iraq can be resolved.
There is no alternative to peaceful coexistence within a united federal
Iraq. The United Nations Assistance Mission (UNAMI) stands ready to help
reach this goal.
We discussed the
situation in Syria and its impact on Iraq. I am particularly concerned
about the humanitarian situation. I thank the Government of Iraq for its
generosity and hospitality towards Syrian refugees. I urge the
Government to continue to keep the borders open to enable Syrian
refugees and Iraqi returnees to seek safety in Iraq.
UNAMI,
led by my Special Representative, Martin Kobler, will remain steadfast
in supporting the people and Government of Iraq in securing peace,
stability and prosperity. I can assure you that the United Nations will
stand by the people and Government of Iraq in promoting further
stability and peace and sustainable development under the leadership of
Prime Minister Al-Maliki. It has been a great pleasure for me to work
with you and I will continue to work with the Iraqi Government and
people.
For AP
to be right, Ban Ki-moon would have to be congratulating both sides on
resolving the dispute. He would not have stated, "I also expressed hope
that divergences over disputed territories in Northern Iraq can be
resolved." Ban Ki-moon was at the press conference and didn't even
notice what Nouri was saying? It's not plausible. AP got the story wrong. We called it out this morning, I was on the phone with a friend at AP early this afternoon, they should have killed the story then. Instead they've passed on myth and lies.
Why? You need to ask them.
Ask them also why they ignored Rose Gottemoeller's press conference in Baghdad. She's with the US State Dept. Alsumaria reports
that she held a joint-press conference with the acting Minister of
Defense and she noted that the US is watching what is developing and is
calling for a peaceful solution which avoids military escalation.
And
while AP was lying, it was missing not just the reality of that crisis,
it was ignoring important things that were actually said. The UN News Centre notes:
While
Mr. Ban also used his address before the political blocs to praise Iraq
for making "important progress" in strengthening its state
institutions, he said women in the country were "still marginalized."
The
UN chief noted that quotas made it possible for women to make up one
quarter of Iraq's Council of Representatives, the country's main elected
body, before pointing out there was minimal female representation in
other key posts.
"Iraqi women are bright
and talented," he said. "They should be empowered to engage in building
the future of this great country."
There
was much more of importance that the Secretary-General spoke of and
we'll note some more of it tomorrow, hopefully, however a UN friend made
a point to call me and say the Secretary-General spoke of women (I
called out Kobler's report to the Security Council last week for
ignoring women -- see the snapshots from last week). So we will include
the above, I will not that he spoke about women and I will say that what
the Secretary-General said on that topic was needed and helpful. And
what would have been even more helpful? If, instead of making stuff up, AP could have reported on those remarks.
US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta made news today with regards to Iraq. The Defense Dept issued the following:
Under
the auspices of the Strategic Framework Agreement, the Governments of
the United States of America and the Republic of Iraq reaffirmed their
commitment to an enduring strategic partnership during the second
meeting of the Defense and Security Joint Coordination Committee on
December 5-6, 2012 in Baghdad.
The
meetings held at the Iraqi Ministry of Defense were co-chaired by Iraqi
Defense Minister Saadoun Al-Dlimi, the U.S. Under Secretary of Defense
for Policy James Miller, and the Acting Under Secretary of State for
Arms Control and International Security Rose Gottemoeller.
Defense
and Security Cooperation is one of the cooperation areas that were
agreed upon in the Strategic Framework Agreement signed in 2008 between
the United States Government and the Government of the Republic of Iraq
in order to strengthen cooperation in areas of mutual interest for the
two countries.
The
United States and Iraq discussed efforts to continue strengthening
their security cooperation, enhance Iraq's defense capabilities,
modernize Iraq's military forces, and facilitate both countries'
contributions to regional security. The two delegations explored
U.S.-Iraq training opportunities and Iraq's participation in regional
exercises.
The
United States and Iraq also discussed the strong and growing foreign
military sales program, a symbol of the long-term security partnership
envisioned by both countries. The United States stated its support for
Iraq's efforts to meet its defense and security needs.
Both
delegations reviewed regional security issues. They exchanged views on
the conflict in Syria and its effects on regional stability, with both
sides urging an end to the violence and support for a political
transition that would represent the will of the Syrian people. The two
sides agreed to continue consulting closely on regional security
matters.
The
capstone event was the exchange of a Memorandum of Understanding signed
by Defense Minister Saadoun Al-Dlimi and Secretary of Defense Leon
Panetta. This agreement represents the enduring strategic partnership
between the United States and Iraq, and provides mechanisms for
increased defense cooperation in areas including defense planning,
counterterrorism cooperation, and combined exercises.
Finally,
the United States and the Republic of Iraq committed to convene a third
recurring Defense and Security Cooperation Joint Coordination Committee
meeting in Washington, D.C., during 2013 to continue discussions on the
enduring security and military cooperation between the two countries.
Saadoun
al-Dulaimi is not Minister of Defense. I don't know why the US
government can't be accurate, I expect more from the Pentagon. Iraq has
no Minister of Defense. This position was supposed to have been filled
back in 2010. However, Nouri never nominated anyone for that post.
al-Dlimi is a deputy defense minister and he is called "acting Defense
Minister" by Nouri. But he is not the Minister of Defense -- that's a
position that Parliament confirms you for and he's never gone before
Parliament for confirmation. It's sad when the Pentagon is either
willing to lie or just that ignorant. But they get the name wrong as
well: It's Saadoun al-Dulaimi -- not "Saadoun al-Dlimi" as the press
release reads. Back in July, Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) observed,
"Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has struggled to forge a
lasting power-sharing agreement and has yet to fill key Cabinet
positions, including the ministers of defense, interior and national
security, while his backers have also shown signs of wobbling support."
There's
no excuse for the DoD either lying or getting this wrong. If you think
this is something minor, ask yourself why State could get it right when
Defense couldn't? That's right, the State Dept has a press release on
the meet-up as well:
Under
the auspices of the Strategic Framework Agreement, the Governments of
the United States of America and the Republic of Iraq reaffirmed their
commitment to an enduring strategic partnership during the second
meeting of the Defense and Security Joint Coordination Committee on
December 5-6, 2012 in Baghdad.
The meetings
held at the Iraqi Ministry of Defense were co-chaired by Iraqi Acting
Minister of Defense Saadoun Al-Dlimi, the U.S. Under Secretary of
Defense for Policy James Miller, and the Acting Under Secretary of State
for Arms Control and International Security Rose Gottemoeller.
Defense
and Security Coordination is one of the areas that were agreed upon in
the Strategic Framework Agreement signed in 2008 between the United
States Government and the Government of the Republic of Iraq in order to
strengthen cooperation in areas of mutual interest for the two
countries.
The United States and Iraq
discussed efforts to continue strengthening their security cooperation,
enhance Iraq's defense capabilities, modernize Iraq's military forces,
and facilitate both countries' contributions to regional security. The
two delegations explored U.S.-Iraq training opportunities and Iraq's
participation in regional exercises.
The
United States and Iraq also discussed the strong and growing foreign
military sales program, a symbol of the long-term security partnership
envisioned by both countries. The United States reaffirmed its support
for Iraq's efforts to meet its defense and security needs.
Both
delegations reviewed regional security issues. They exchanged views on
the conflict in Syria and its effects on regional stability, with both
sides urging an end to the violence and support for a political
transition that would represent the will of the Syrian people. The two
sides agreed to continue consulting closely on regional security
matters.
The capstone event was the
exchange of a Memorandum of Understanding signed by Defense Minister
Saadoun Al-Dlimi and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta. This agreement
represents the enduring strategic partnership between the United States
and Iraq, and provides mechanisms for increased defense cooperation in
areas including defense planning, counterterrorism cooperation, and
combined exercises.
Finally, the United
States and the Republic of Iraq committed to convene a third recurring
Defense and Security Joint Coordination Committee meeting in Washington,
D.C. during 2013 to continue discussions on the enduring security and
military cooperation between the two countries.
"Acting Minister of Defense." State got it right. Why couldn't the Defense Dept?
Currently,
you can't view the Memorandum of Understanding mentioned in the DOD
announcement. The link in the press release above returns an error
message. Since Panetta's been working on a number of issues and since
Brett McGurk has been saying the easiest way to send some US troops back
into Iraq (not all left) was with a Memo of Understanding, it's a shame
we're not able to read the document at present. Alsumaria reports
that Saadoun al-Dulaimi and US Deputy Defense Secretary Jim Miller held
a joint-press conference in Baghdad with al-Dulaimi stressing that the
delivery schedule on the F-16s was too slow and had too much red tape
but the US had agreed to change that. He also used the opportunity to
publicy repeat the charges that Iraq found the first delivery of F-16s
contained Israeli spy equipment inside the cockpits of the planes --
these were devices to spy on whomever was in the plane -- these were not
devices the pilot would use to spy. From the November 1st snapshot:
Yesterday's snapshot:
noted that the current US Ambassador to Iraq Robert S. Beecroft had
blown his credibility (claiming there were no US troops remaining in
Iraq to the Iraqi press and, as All Iraq News pointed out,
also claiming that there was no desire for US troops to be sent back
into Iraq) and that this wasn't a good time for that to happen:
F-16s
the US has supplied so far. The Iraqi Air Force leadership has sent a
letter objecting to the device to Lockheed Martin, manufacturers of the
F-16s. Fars News Agency adds,
"Iraq's air force has found out Israeli company RADA has planted
information recording systems in its F-16 fighters recently purchased
from the American Lockheed Martin Company."
Dar Addustour reports
today that the Iraqi Air Force first sought comment from the US
government and when they received no answer from the US government,
about what they see as spying devices, they asked Lockheed Martin. I
have no idea of whether they're spying devices or not. But at some
point, someone in leadership in Iraq is going to realize that if there
is one set of spying devices, there may be two or more. Someone will
shortly grasp that the set discovered may have been intended to be
discovered in order to conceal more important devices. That's sleight of
hand -- look here, not over there. Again, this wasn't a time where the
US face to Iraq should have thrown away credibility by lying that all US
troops were out of Iraq and that the US government wasn't attempting
to work on a new agreement with Iraq governing US troops.
If Miller had a public comment on that during the news conference, Alsumaria doesn't note it.
Leon
Panetta had public comments aplenty when the Secretary of Defense
joined VA Secretary Eric Shinseki to discuss the new transition
assistance program. Former US House Rep Bob Filner (the newly elected
Mayor of San Diego) has long used his time on the House Veterans Affairs
Committee (where he alternated being Ranking Member with being
Committee Chair) to point out that the service member gets training on
going into the military but, when it's time for a discharge, they're
frequently rushed on out. Panetta and Shinseki held a press conference
to note that they were working on the Transition Assistance Program.
Secretary Leon Panetta: The
Vow to Hire Heroes Act mandated that all service members participate in
the TAP program in order to prepare them for life after the military.
We've got a large number of -- of individuals in the military, you know,
as we transition over these next few years in terms of our force
structure, we're going to have a lot of people going into this system.
Senator
Patty Murray, Chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee,
championed The Vow to Hire Heroes Act. Panetta also noted, "We
also know that we're dealing with the problem of suicide in the
military and among our veterans. It's a terrible, terrible challenge
that we are dealing with. And we have got to do everything we can,
between DOD and VA, to ensure that our systems are equipped to give our
people the help they need in order to deal with these unique
circumstances that we're confronting." And Senator Murray is
calling for more mental health resources as well as for DoD and VA to
come up with a joint-suicide prevention plan.
As
Secretary Erik Shinseki noted, they were also there to discuss the new
documentation methods for veterans, the IEHR [Integrated Electronic
Health Record]. This was the focus of a Congressional hearing earlier
this week.
US
House Rep Mike Michaud: On July 18th, the Subcommittee held a hearing
on military sexual trauma in which we explored how veterans who suffered
from MST related PTSD have only one in three chances of having their
claims approved. You talked about the challenges of these veterans in
your testimony today. Can you elaborate further on your testimony on how
and why VA regulations should be relaxed to improve these outcomes?
Richard
Dumancas: Uh, yes, sir. What we've experienced is at the RO [Regional
Office] level is raters are still confused on the regulations, the
policy that's set in place and we don't know if it's a lack of training
or guidance. They're just so confused on the actual policy so they're
basically just denying it and letting the Board of Veteran Appeals
handle it. So it comes up here to DC, we get remanded because -- It's
frustrating. It's very frustrating. So that's -- I hope that answers a
little bit for you.
That's
from Wednesday afternoon's House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on
Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs. US House Rep Jon Runyan is
the Chair of the Subcommittee, US House Rep Jerry McNerney is Ranking
Member. The Subcomittee heard from two panels. The first panel was The American Legion's Richad Dumancas, the National Organization of Veterans Advocates' Michael Viterna and Disabled American Veterans'
Jeffrey Hall. The second panel was the VA's James Neighbors, the
National Archives and Record Administration's Scott Levins and VBA's
Alan Bozeman.
Both
the Chair and the Ranking Members spoke of reports about lost ,
mishandled and inaccurate records. At the start, Chair Runyan explained,
"I called today's oversight hearing to discuss an important yet often
overlooked apsect of the veterans' benefits process -- access to various
service department records. Such records are often necessary and vital
for a veteran to prove their claim. As Chairman of DAMA, I am troubled
by information regarding the handling of records that has come to my
attention. [. . .] Often, a single record or notation can be the
difference in whether a veterans' disability claim is granted or denied.
This is why we must work together to ensure that no records are lost,
overlooked or otherwise unable to be associated with an individual
disability claim." We'll note this key exchange that may explain one
reason things get lost in the system.
Chair
Jon Runyan: What is the rationale for handling service members' records
differently -- the personnel record differently from the health and
dental? Common sense would say if you kept it all one, it wouldn't be
fragmented.
James
Neighbors: I understand sir. I do know the rationale that I understand
is that different organizations within the military services are
developing the records. Beyond that point, I believe also how they've
grown up through time -- as far as where the records were developed, as
far as paper based, now moving into an electronic base is another piece
that has possibly kept them apart. How we're obviously going into the
future will be aligning and moving those things together. I do
understand, uhm, your rationale and your understanding of why that makes
common sense. It does. Pulling things together and ensuring that does
make great sense. I do
know that when we
outprocess these patients -- excuse me, these service members -- when
the outprocessing center person, they look and ensure that all of those
records are put into one binder. So in other words medical, dental and
personnel records -- the popular DD214 as it's known -- all go into one
binder as it's shipped off to them and the various copies going to the
various locations. As we're moving forward in the electronic age, we're
going to be moving into a kind of similar arrangement with the two that
we just talked of the IHR and the paper. Does that answer your question,
sir?
Chair Jon Runyan: Yeah, I think getting there is the key to it.
James Neighbors: Yes, sir. I understand.
Chair
Jon Runyan: And also what challenges have the DoD really encountered in
implementing the integrated health record -- electronic health record?
James
Neighbors: I can tell you, sir, that I have viewed what we call the
initial operating capability timeline and that timeline is being met
right now. I know that the initial design review has just been met. In
fact, just earlier -- the 27th through 29th of November. It is -- It is a
large undertaking, there is no doubt. I mean, it is billions of
dollars. I would say from my perspective and from the DoD's perspective,
it is an endeavor like we've probably not done on the business side
before other than what we have done within the DoD itself. We have
actually brought DoD together, I think. And while we are working very
closely with VA and partners in getting there -- I don't want to say it
is necessarily challenging but it is pulling cultures together that are
obviously between our two organizations.
That's
a small sample of the hearing. I've edited out a ton. We may revisit
the hearing in tomorrow's snapshot if there's time and room. We will
finish up Martin Kobler's UN Security Council presentation. We've
covered everything but the last few paragraphs of his report -- those
paragraphs focused on Camp Ashraf.
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