Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Veterans Affairs Secretary Erik Shinseki spoke out Monday on the importance of treatment and prevention of post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD] among U.S. servicemen and women.

“Beyond waging the wars we are in, treatment of our wounded, their continuing care and eventual re-integration into every day life is my highest priority. I consider this a solemn pact between those who have risked and suffered and the nation that owes them its eternal gratitude,” said Gates during a mental health summit in Washington, D.C (0:19)

 

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By Julianne LaJeunesse, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service

The Department of Defense Undersecretary for policy Michele Flournoy met with Congressmen for the second time in the past few months Wednesday, addressing some of the changes Iraq will face if U.S. troops are able to successfully follow President Obama’s recently reiterated commitment to withdraw combat troops from Iraq by 2012.

Flournoy said that the January presidential election in Iraq looks promising, but conceded that if the plans don’t go forward, future troop withdrawals aren’t concrete.

“The drawdown plan that we have is conditions-based and it creates multiple decision points for reevaluating and if necessary, changing our plans, based on developments on the ground,” Flournoy said during a hearing with the House Armed Services Committee.

She added that Iraq’s Council of Representatives still has, in the DOD’s opinion, another week or two to agree on an elections law before the January elections will be considered jeopardized. However, if the planned elections do run smoothly in Iraq, the DOD has plans to sell “scrap” military equipment to the Iraqi Security Forces.

Blue Dog Coalition member U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor (D-Miss.) expressed concerns about the plan, saying after Hurricane Katrina, his state had a “desperate need for generators” and warned that “something like Katrina is going to happen again, whether it’s man-made, or the hand of God.”

Taylor challenged the panel of witnesses, asking “to what extent are you taking those things that the military says they don’t need anymore and putting them on line… and to what extent are you making those things available to cities, states, and counties?”

Flournoy and Alan Estevez, Acting Deputy Defense Undersecretary for Logistics and Material Readiness, said the goods sold to the ISF would be screened for U.S. need, to which Estevez responded: “the Department, in coordination with the General Services Administration, which is responsible for the transfer of excess property to state and local entities, has established a process that would allow state and local entities the opportunity to screen excess property in Iraq, prior to it being transferred to the Iraqi government.”

Estevez added that the property is likely unusable by the states because of their foreign volt specifications but Taylor requested access to the list anyway.

By Ravi Bhatia-Talk Radio News Service

The first phase of the Eastern Europe new missile defense strategy proposed by the Obama administration could be executed by 2011, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Michele Fluornoy said during her testimony before the House Armed Services Committee Thursday.

According to Fluornoy, the former plan proposed by the Bush administration would not have been implemented until at least 2017.

The congressional members of HASC and Dept. of Defense officials also discussed the technical aspects and international repercussions of President Obama’s new plan for missile defense.

“The intelligence community now assesses that the threat from Iran’s short and medium-range ballistic missiles is developing more rapidly than previously projected, while the threat of potential Iranian Intercontinental Ballistic Missile capabilities has been slower to develop,” Fluornoy said in a released statement. “[This means that] the primary threat posed by Iranian missiles will be to U.S allies, our 80,000 deployed forces in the Middle East and Europe, and our civilian personnel.”

The new plan eliminates the Bush administration’s missile defense system, which would have deployed a radar system in the Czech Republic or 10, 20-ton Ground Based Interceptors in Poland in order to deter as many as ten long-range missiles. The new approach relies on a distributed network of sensors and one-ton SM-3 interceptors, which are 20 times lighter then the GBIs employed by the former plan but are not restricted to land-based launches.

HASC Chairman Ike Skelton (D-Miss), and other members of HASC, noted that the Obama administration’s plan was not entirely due to the administration’s efforts, and that the plan stemmed from bipartisan Congressional action in 2006.

“In 2006, the National Defense Authorization Act established a policy of the United States to accord priority to developing, testing, and fielding near-term effective missile defense systems,” he said. “In our bill two years ago, we made it the policy of the United States to develop, test, and deploy effective missile defenses for our forward-based forces, our allies, and our homeland against the threat posed by Iran’s existing and potential ballistic missiles.”

Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Ca.), Ranking Member of the HASC, discussed some of the issues that some Republicans have with the defense plan, particularly in light of Iran publicly testing their long-range missile capabilities last week.

“I’m skeptical,” he said. “There seems to be this certainty within the administration that the Iranians can’t develop an IRBM or an ICBM by 2015, and that these aren’t real threats to be worried about. Does this certainty consider foreign assistance? Does this certainty account for uncertainty? Intelligence is a risky business. Friday’s revelation that Iran is building a covert uranium facility is a case in point.”

Under Secretary of Department of Defense Michele Flournoy says the new short-range missile defense plan is not about abandoning European allies. She says the plan is not, and has never been about pleasing Russia. (0:30)

 

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Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) says new U.S. missile defense plans in the Czech Republic and Poland could weaken ties between the countries and the United States. He also says new policies indicate more willingness to warm up to Russia. (1:38)

 

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By: Courtney Costello- Talk Radio News Service

The House has proposed new legislation that would close improperly facilitated burn pits used by U.S. military personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan. The legislation would also mandate health screenings for veterans who were exposed to toxins released from the pits, which are large ditches used to dispose of garbage and waste.

The Military Personnel War Zone Toxic Exposure Prevention Act would require the Secretary of Defense to establish a medical surveillance system that would pinpoint troops that have been exposed to hazardous chemicals burned in the pits. The act would also prohibit the military from discarding waste that omits dangerous levels of toxins.

“We believe it is premature to dismiss concern raised about burn pits after only a few years. Our country’s difficult experiences with agent orange and Gulf War illness taught us we must be vigilant in monitoring and treating our veterans long after they have returned from the battlefield,” said Rep. Tim Bishop (D-N.Y.).

 Despite the fact that the military has purchased incinerators, the burn pits have become an indefinite solution to get rid of waste.
 
“[The burn pits are producing] 250 tons of waste everyday. Some of our troops are working directly inside of these pits with no protection,” said Kerry Baker, the Assistant National Legislative Director of the Disabled American Veterans.

Medical concerns that have been raised include chronic bronchitis, asthma, sleep apnea, allergy-like symptoms, lung problems and lymphoma.

“Where all of the trash from the base and from the base hospital was burned just over the wall…we lived under a cloud of smoke from that continuous fire, and everyone was affected on some level,” said Tom Tarantino, an Iraq War veteran and a policy associate for the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

According to Rep. Bishop, the Department of Defense currently maintains that there are no long term health issues related to troops being exposed to burn pits.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates describes the three objectives of the Defense budget: to take care of the forces, to rebalance the Department’s programs and to start a reform on how and what the Department buys. (0:44)

 

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By Celia Canon- Talk Radio News Service

The U.S is not doing enough to counter the terrorist threat that Iran and North Korea raise, according to Republican Congressman Trent Franks (Ariz.).

“The jihadist mindset would like to see a nuclear blast in the U.S.,” Franks said today at the Capitol Hill Club. “They have irrational goals.”

The Department of Defense recently released its Fiscal Year 2010 budget, which amounts to “a proposed defense budget of $663.8 billion,” according to the DoD. Franks fears that the numbers reflect a lack of attention not being paid to countries considered threatening to U.S. national security.

In April, North-Korea launched a ballistic missile-bearing satellite. It is widely believed that the launch was an attempt by the country to test its weapons capabilities.

Franks said,“If North-Korea is willing to sell missile technology, then they might be selling war heads.”

Although Iran has been less aggressive in its rhetoric in the past months, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has had strong words in the past, in particular towards Israel. He is thought to have said that “Israel must be wiped off the map.”

Iran is another country that needs to be watched, Franks said. “The last thing we want is Iran coming up with a nuclear technology that they can surrogate for terrorist groups,” he said. “It is very likely that they (Iranians) will put it in the hands of nuclear terrorists.”

By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service

Correspondent Michael Ruhl’s investigative report into the recent pandemic of piracy off of the Horn of Africa. The report focuses on why the piracy is taking place and what can be done to stop it. It includes perspectives from Somali Ambassador-at-large Abdi Awallah Jama, George Mason University Political Science Professor Hazel McFerson, Maersk-Alabama Captain Richard Phillips, and CENTCOM Commander General David Petraeus. (07:30)

 

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By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service

The most effective way to deal with piracy off of the Somali coast is for the sailors to defend themselves, according to a Defense Department representative testifying to the Senate Armed Services Committee today.

Michele Flournoy, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, said that of the recent pirate attacks in Somalia the most effective means of fending off the pirates came from actions taken by the crews themselves.

“The single most effective short-term response to piracy will be working with merchant shipping lines to ensure that vessels in the region take appropriate security measures themselves,” Flournoy said. She continued that it is not possible for the U.S. military to prevent or intervene in every pirate attack, but if crews take appropriate measures, “the vast majority of pirate attacks can be thwarted without any need for military intervention.”

There were 122 attempted pirate attacks in 2008, of which only 42 resulted in crewmembers becoming captured. Of the unsuccessful attacks, 78 percent of them were stopped by the crews actions, with the others being stopped by military intervention, according to Flournoy.

Flournoy divided crew countermeasures into two categories: passive and active defense measures. Passive measures are those which don’t necessarily require direct confrontation with the pirates, and can include physical obstructions to boarding points, avoiding high-risk waters, creating fortified “safe rooms” in the ship, posting lookouts at all times, and maintaining contact with maritime security forces. Active defense measures can include using fire hoses and small arms to repel pirates and a military presence on the boat. Both of these defensive measures are important for crews to talk to defend themselves, Flournoy said.

She believes that the complexity of this situation necessitates a multifaceted approach, which is why the aforementioned measures should be combined with greater military patrols and economic development. Additionally, the Defense Department would like to see more states willing to prosecute the pirates. Presently, Kenya is one of the only nations to actually place Somali pirates on trial.

According to Flournoy, since August 2008 36 pirate vessels have been destroyed or confiscated, small arms have been seized, and 146 pirates have been turned over to law enforcement officers.