ProgressNow.org Daily News Digest

Bring Rifles and Books: College on a U.S. Base in Baghdad - washingtonpost.com

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/04/AR2009010401459.html It makes for a strange college campus: Cement blast walls, helicopters roaring overhead, packs of wild dogs howling, the risk of mortar and rocket attacks. Faculty keep Kevlar flak jackets at the ready. Students bring their rifles to class and leave them on the floor with the barrel pointing toward the front of the room. In November, University of Maryland University College became the first U.S. college to begin offering classes on the ground in Iraq, soon joined by a school from Texas. It is a reflection of the greater stability in Iraq, as violence has dropped, and of the number of American troops leaving small urban outposts for large bases where the courses are taught. The classes, for service members only, offer students a sense of normalcy, a place where a professor calls them by their first name, where classmates debate ideas openly, where academic discussions often encompass the lives they lead in Iraq.

More stories in National/Education | Colorado/Education

More stories in National/Military | Colorado/Military

Urban Tool in Recruiting by the Army - An Arcade - NYTimes.com

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/05/us/05army.html?ref=us At the Franklin Mills mall here, past the Gap Outlet and the China Buddha Express, is a $13 million video arcade that the Army hopes will become a model for recruitment in urban areas, where the armed services typically have a hard time attracting recruits. The Army Experience Center is a fitting counterpart to the retail experience: 14,500 square feet of mostly shoot-’em-up video games and three full-scale simulators, including an AH-64 Apache Longbow helicopter, an armed Humvee and a Black Hawk copter with M4 carbine assault rifles. For those who want to take the experience deeper, the center has 22 recruiters. Or for more immediate full-contact mayhem, there are the outlet stores. The facility, which opened in August, is the first of its kind. It replaces five smaller recruitment stations in the Philadelphia area, at about the same annual operating cost, not counting the initial expenses, said Maj. Larry Dillard, the program manager. Philadelphia has been a particularly difficult area for recruitment.

More stories in National/Military | Colorado/Military

Defense secretary asks Pentagon to come up with updated plan for closing Guantanamo prison—chicag

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/sns-ap-closing-guantanamo,0,1519331.story Defense Secretary Robert Gates has asked for an updated proposal for closing the controversial prison holding terrorist suspects in Cuba in case President-elect Barack Obama asks for one soon after taking office. The Bush administration has studied the difficult issue before but couldn't resolve questions such as where to put the Guantanamo Bay detainees and how to resolve their cases. Gates is revisiting the issue because closing the prison is an Obama priority. Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said Thursday that Gates requested the update so the Pentagon will be ready to deal with the issue, if asked, as soon as Obama takes office.

More stories in National/Civil Liberties and Equality | Colorado/Civil Liberties and Equality

More stories in National/Military | Colorado/Military

Troop withdrawal plan diverges with Obama’s - Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-obama-troops19-2008dec19,0,934913.story U.S. military commanders in Iraq have outlined troop reduction plans that remain at odds with President-elect Barack Obama's preferences, but believe they may be able to reconcile the two goals. Senior military leaders briefing Obama this week described a new military plan for troop withdrawals, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said Thursday. But the commanders suggested a more gradual reduction than Obama's proposal for a withdrawal of combat troops within 16 months. The two plans could be squared by moving to reclassify, or "re-mission," U.S. troops still in Iraq after 16 months to change combat forces to training units or residual forces, according to military officials. Already, military officials have reassigned combat infantry soldiers and Marines to training jobs. Combat forces still in Iraq after May 2010 would probably be needed more for training missions in any case, officials have said.

More stories in National/Foreign Policy | Colorado/Foreign Policy

More stories in National/Military | Colorado/Military

Generals Propose a Timetable for Iraq - NYTimes.com

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/18/us/politics/18military.html?ref=washington A new military plan for troop withdrawals from Iraq that was described in broad terms this week to President-elect Barack Obama falls short of the 16-month timetable Mr. Obama outlined during his election campaign, United States military officials said Wednesday. The plan was proposed by the top American commanders responsible for Iraq, Gen. David H. Petraeus and Gen. Ray Odierno, and it represents their first recommendation on troop withdrawals under an Obama presidency. While Mr. Obama has said he will seek advice from his commanders, their resistance to a faster drawdown could present the new president with a tough political choice between overruling his generals or backing away from his goal. The plan, completed last week, envisions withdrawing two more brigades, or some 7,000 to 8,000 troops, from Iraq in the first six months of 2009, the military officials said. But that would leave 12 combat brigades in Iraq by June 2009, and while declining to be more specific, the officials made clear that the withdrawal of all combat forces under the generals’ recommendations would not come until some time after May 2010, Mr. Obama’s target.

More stories in National/Foreign Policy | Colorado/Foreign Policy

More stories in National/Military | Colorado/Military

Military to be on high alert for inauguration - Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-obama-inauguration18-2008dec18,0,702570.story About 11,500 troops, including chemical attack experts, will join the security detail as Obama takes the oath of office.

More stories in National/Health Care and Public Safety | Colorado/Health Care and Public Safety

More stories in National/Military | Colorado/Military

Veterans Lose Bid to Speed VA On Disability Pay - washingtonpost.com

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/18/AR2008121800150.html A federal judge yesterday rejected a bid by veterans groups to force the Veterans Affairs Department to speed up handling of its disability claims, saying it was not the court's role to impose quicker deadlines. Vietnam Veterans of America and Veterans of Modern Warfare, which represent roughly 60,000 military veterans, had filed the lawsuit asking the VA process initial disability claims within 90 days and resolve appeals within 180 days. If the VA failed to do so, the two groups were seeking interim payments of roughly $350 a month. At a court hearing, U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton said he was sympathetic to the plight of disabled veterans, many of whom he acknowledged might face unemployment and homelessness in a tightening economy. But Walton said that setting a blanket rule of 90 days for processing claims was for Congress and the VA secretary to decide.

More stories in National/Military | Colorado/Military

Gov’t report: Navy has billions in surplus - USATODAY.com

http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/2008-12-16-navy-surplus_N.htm The Navy keeps an average of $7.5 billion worth of spare parts and other goods it doesn't need every year because of poor planning and management, congressional investigators say in a report to be released today. The Government Accountability Office report says the Navy hasn't heeded repeated warnings since 2001 about longstanding problems with the military's inventory management. The report from the GAO, Congress' non-partisan investigative agency, says the Navy's failure to keep track of changing requirements and a lack of communication among the proper officials led to surpluses of spare parts ranging from submarine sonar sets to engine fan blades for fighter jets. The GAO found "incredible waste," says Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., one of the lawmakers who commissioned the report.

More stories in National/Effective and Ethical Government | Colorado/Effective and Ethical Government

More stories in National/Military | Colorado/Military

Troops killed in action to be honored - The Boston Globe

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2008/12/17/troops_killed_in_action_to_be_honored/ Starting next year, the Army will provide full military honors for all soldiers killed in action when they are laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery. The change in policy means funerals for enlisted soldiers now will also include the horse-drawn caisson and other honors previously given only to certain soldiers such as officers and Medal of Honor recipients. Army spokesman Paul Boyce said yesterday that the full honors also adds an escort platoon, a colors team and a band, whereas standard honors uses a firing party, bugler, and chaplain. The policy change applies only to Arlington because it is unique in having a caisson.

More stories in National/Military | Colorado/Military

National Briefing - Washington - Consolidation Plan on Nuclear Weapons Material - NYTimes.com

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/17/washington/17brfs-CONSOLIDATIO_BRF.html?ref=us The Energy Department gave final approval to a program to consolidate where work is done on the most dangerous materials used in nuclear weapons, improving safety and security. The plan, in the works for more than a year, reflects the significant decline in the number of warheads being maintained and an expectation of more reductions. The program includes limiting plutonium, highly enriched uranium and the production of tritium gas to five sites, compared with seven currently. The government would also close 600 buildings and structures at the sites and reduce the number of workers involved in weapons programs by 20 to 30 percent.

More stories in National/Military | Colorado/Military

Britain to Double Compensation for Wounded Soldiers - washingtonpost.com

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/15/AR2008121500792.html The British government is doubling the maximum cash payment it gives to severely wounded soldiers after criticism that amputees and other veterans of the Iraq and Afghan wars were not suitably compensated. The Defense Ministry announced Monday that the current limit of 285,000 British pounds, or $428,000 at current exchange rates, would be raised to 570,000 pounds, or $855,000. The increase will apply retroactively, with the government dividing $15 million among 2,700 wounded soldiers who recently received lump-sum payments.

More stories in National/Foreign Policy | Colorado/Foreign Policy

More stories in National/Military | Colorado/Military

U.S. Troops Will Remain in Iraqi Cities After June Deadline, Top Commander Says - washingtonpost.com

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/13/AR2008121300569.html American combat troops will remain inside Iraqi cities to train and mentor Iraqi forces after next summer, despite a security agreement that calls for their withdrawal from urban areas by June 30, the top U.S. military commander said Saturday. The acknowledgment by Gen. Ray Odierno underscored the concern among Iraqi and U.S. officials that Iraq's military and police are not prepared to provide security on their own by the deadlines set under the pact. Under the status-of-forces agreement approved earlier this month, American troops are required to pull out of Iraq by the end of 2011. Iraqi forces are scheduled to take over security in cities and towns beginning June 30. Odierno said some U.S. troops would remain at joint security stations in training and support roles. "We believe we should still be inside those after the summer," he told reporters at a U.S. base in Balad, north of Baghdad. His remarks came before he welcomed Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who arrived for a brief, unannounced visit.

More stories in National/Foreign Policy | Colorado/Foreign Policy

More stories in National/Military | Colorado/Military

IG’s Report Highlights ‘Material Weaknesses,’ Financial Mismanagement - washingtonpost.com

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/14/AR2008121402343.html Most critiques of the Defense Department's spending focus on macroeconomic issues that are so large, readers can only groan and move on. Last week provided yet another example: The Pentagon's deputy inspector general for auditing released a 140-page independent auditor's report on the department's financial statements for fiscal 2007 and 2008. Adding all components, the Pentagon had more than $1 trillion to spend last year, and $835.4 billion of it was obligated. A 1990 law requires the inspector general to carry out the audit, and management at the Defense Department is responsible for implementing internal controls and producing annual financial statements. Yet the inspector general, in a Nov. 12 memo to the department's chief financial officer, said that "the financial statements may be unreliable." Assistant Inspector General Patricia A. Marsh also noted that prior audits -- and the agency's management itself -- acknowledged that amounts on the statements could not be "adequately" supported because of "long-standing material internal control weaknesses."

More stories in National/Military | Colorado/Military

Diplomatic Memo - A Defense Secretary at Work for 2 Commanders in Chief - NYTimes.com

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/15/world/asia/15gates.html?_r=1 At a brief news conference in Kandahar, Afghanistan, an Afghan reporter asked Robert M. Gates, President Bush’s defense secretary, the first, pertinent question: Just what was President-elect Barack Obama’s policy for his war-weary country? Mr. Gates’s response was swift, as if he had been working for Mr. Obama for months. “The president-elect has been very explicit throughout the campaign and since the election that he believes that waging this fight in Afghanistan is a high priority and he would like to see more resources devoted to this fight, including more troops,” Mr. Gates said at the news conference, held Thursday at a military base in Kandahar, the ideological center of gravity for the Taliban. “So I think that you will see a continuing American commitment to defeating the enemies of the Afghan people during the administration of the president-elect.” Mr. Gates, who will be staying on as Mr. Obama’s defense secretary, is making his own transition from one commander in chief to the next. The metamorphosis was particularly startling last week on his unannounced trip to Afghanistan and Iraq, where he traveled as an emissary and reconnaissance agent for his next boss. What was originally conceived as a goodbye tour for a lame-duck defense secretary instead offered a preview of the president-elect’s strategy for winding down one war, building up another and tackling the issue of Iran. Mr. Gates acknowledged that effectively working for two commanders in chief created certain strains.

More stories in National/Effective and Ethical Government | Colorado/Effective and Ethical Government

More stories in National/Military | Colorado/Military

Gates Predicts ‘Sustained’ Mission in Afghanistan - washingtonpost.com

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/11/AR2008121103382.html The U.S. military will pour thousands of troops into Afghanistan by next summer and can expect to commit a sustained force for several more years, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and his top military commander there said Thursday. Visiting Afghanistan for the second time in four months, Gates got a short but intensive look at the leading military priority facing him and the incoming Obama administration in the coming months. Just before his meeting in Kandahar with Gen. David D. McKiernan, commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, Gates said the Pentagon is moving to get three of the four combat brigades requested by commanders into Afghanistan by late spring or early summer. In his most specific comments to date about how soon he will meet the call for up to 20,000 more troops in Afghanistan, Gates said he will not have to cut troop levels further in Iraq to free up at least two of those three brigades for Afghan duty.

More stories in National/Foreign Policy | Colorado/Foreign Policy

More stories in National/Military | Colorado/Military

10 Green Berets to Receive Silver Star for Afghan Battle - washingtonpost.com

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/11/AR2008121104080.html After jumping out of helicopters at daybreak onto jagged, ice-covered rocks and into water at an altitude of 10,000 feet, the 12-man Special Forces team scrambled up the steep mountainside toward its target -- an insurgent stronghold in northeast Afghanistan. "Our plan," Capt. Kyle M. Walton recalled in an interview, "was to fight downhill." But as the soldiers maneuvered toward a cluster of thick-walled mud buildings constructed layer upon layer about 1,000 feet farther up the mountain, insurgents quickly manned fighting positions, readying a barrage of fire for the exposed Green Berets. A harrowing, nearly seven-hour battle unfolded on that mountainside in Afghanistan's Nuristan province on April 6, as Walton, his team and a few dozen Afghan commandos they had trained took fire from all directions. Outnumbered, the Green Berets fought on even after half of them were wounded -- four critically -- and managed to subdue an estimated 150 to 200 insurgents, according to interviews with several team members and official citations.

More stories in National/Military | Colorado/Military

Pentagon May Have Wrongly Mixed Propaganda With PR, Inspector General Says - washingtonpost.com

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/11/AR2008121103319.html The Pentagon's inspector general said yesterday that the Defense Department's public affairs office may have "inappropriately" merged public affairs and propaganda operations in 2007 and 2008 when it contracted out $1 million in work for a strategic communications plan for use by the military in collaboration with the State Department. "Without clearly defined strategic communications responsibilities, DoD may appear to merge inappropriately the public affairs and information operations functions," the inspector general said in a report released yesterday. Strategic communications programs, which have become a major part of the Pentagon's information operations carried out in the "war of ideas" in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Middle East, should be under the oversight of the undersecretary of defense for policy, the report added. The Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs "should only perform strategic communications responsibilities related to its public affairs mission," the report said. It called attention to a May 2005 Defense Department publication titled "Public Affairs," which stated that public affairs and information operations "differ with respect to the audience, scope and intent and must remain separate."

More stories in National/Military | Colorado/Military

Aerospace, defense firms on guard for budget cuts - The Boston Globe

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2008/12/11/aerospace_defense_firms_on_guard_for_budget_cuts/ America's aerospace and defense industry is gearing up for a major lobbying campaign to persuade President-elect Barack Obama not to make major cuts in prized Pentagon weapons programs, while also making an appeal for the nation's aviation infrastructure to be included in Obama's economic recovery plan. The Aerospace Industries Association, which represents the nation's major defense and aerospace companies, said yesterday that it plans to head off cutbacks in the defense budget that could harm its financial interests, as recommended recently by a series of Pentagon advisory boards and signaled last week by Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates. "There is some speculation out there, in fact, that the defense budget will be the source of cutbacks in future years to pay for other needs," Marion C. Blakey, AIA's president and CEO, told company executives and members of the media yesterday. "Defense [research and development] is expected to decrease. Some other budgets are probably poised to go down."

More stories in National/Effective and Ethical Government | Colorado/Effective and Ethical Government

More stories in National/Military | Colorado/Military

Nonprofit Formed to Help Veterans Wasted Large Sum, Senate Report Says - washingtonpost.com

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/10/AR2008121003984.html A nonprofit veterans group has "squandered" hundreds of thousands of dollars of the $17 million in federal funds it has received since 2001 and essentially abandoned its mission of helping veterans start small businesses, according to the results of a Senate investigation to be released today. The National Veterans Business Development Corp., also known as the Veterans Corp. (TVC), grossly mismanaged taxpayer dollars -- including lavish spending on costly dinners and luxury hotels, first-class travel, and compensation for its top two executives that amounted to nearly a quarter of the charity's federal funds, according to a report obtained by The Washington Post. Created in 1999 to set up a national network of veterans centers and help veterans start small businesses, TVC has spent only 15 percent of its funding on the centers since it was formed, including only 9 percent last year, the investigation found. As a result, centers in Massachusetts, Michigan and Missouri are in danger of closing, it said.

More stories in National/Military | Colorado/Military

Iraqis applaud charges against Blackwater guards - Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-blackwater10-2008dec10,0,7167720.story Starting Jan. 1, private security details such as Blackwater will be subject to Iraqi jurisdiction if accused of crimes committed while off American bases, a change demanded by Iraq's government after the Blackwater incident and others involving different companies that resulted in civilian deaths on a smaller scale. The current Blackwater defendants won't face trial in Iraq, but they could face decades in prison in the United States if convicted, something that pleases Iraqis such as Ali Abdul Ali. "This is good," said Ali, an unemployed military veteran. "It means no one is above the law, even if he's an element of foreign forces. It also means the victims will get justice." Ali, who comes often to an abandoned bus stop near Nisoor Square to sit in the sunshine and think about life, has a friend whose mother was among 20 Iraqis shot and wounded in the incident. Like other Iraqis in the circle that day, the friend said the shooting was unjustified, he said. "These people were armed and they were shooting innocent people," Ali said.

More stories in National/Foreign Policy | Colorado/Foreign Policy

More stories in National/Military | Colorado/Military

Gates expected to use new clout to scale back Pentagon weapons plans - Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-weapons10-2008dec10,0,5493668.story Sniper blimps and light planes could gain favor over pricier projects, such as high-tech jets and the Future Combat Systems program.

More stories in National/Military | Colorado/Military

Plea by Blackwater Guard Helps Indict Others - NYTimes.com

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/washington/09blackwater.html?_r=1 In pleading guilty to manslaughter, the sixth security guard, Jeremy P. Ridgeway of California, described how he and the other guards used automatic rifles and grenade launchers to fire on cars, houses, a traffic officer and a girls’ school. In addition to those killed, there were at least 20 people wounded. The six guards were employed by Blackwater Worldwide, the largest security contractor in Iraq; the company, based in North Carolina, has not been charged in the case. Mr. Ridgeway said in court documents that the episode in Nisour Square on Sept. 16, 2007, started when the guards opened fire on a white Kia sedan “that posed no threat to the convoy.” He told investigators that although he could not clearly see the front passenger in the Kia, he noticed that the passenger was moving his arms, according to the documents.

More stories in National/Foreign Policy | Colorado/Foreign Policy

More stories in National/Military | Colorado/Military

U.S. details case against Blackwater guards - Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-blackwater9-2008dec09,0,1241941.story The five Blackwater security guards indicted in the deaths of unarmed civilians in Baghdad last year were operating in the area in defiance of U.S. government orders and opened fire with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenade launchers, killing some people as they tried to surrender or flee, according to a Justice Department investigation made public Monday. The government's case against the five men was laid out in court documents unsealed by a federal judge. A sixth Blackwater guard, Jeremy P. Ridgeway, has provided information to authorities about the Sept. 16, 2007, shootings at crowded Nisoor Square. At least 17 Iraqis were killed and 20 others injured in the incident, which severely damaged relations between the U.S. and Iraq and led to calls for more scrutiny of Blackwater Worldwide and other contractors providing security in the destabilized country. Federal authorities said Ridgeway had cooperated with prosecutors and the FBI -- which conducted one of the most complicated overseas investigations in its history -- as part of his agreement to plead guilty to lesser charges. Assistant Atty. Gen. Patrick Rowan would not comment at a news conference Monday on whether Ridgeway would testify against his former Blackwater colleagues.

More stories in National/Foreign Policy | Colorado/Foreign Policy

More stories in National/Military | Colorado/Military

Blackwater Security Guards Charged in ‘07 Iraq Deaths - washingtonpost.com

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/08/AR2008120800486.html Federal prosecutors yesterday described a blaze of gunfire and grenade explosions unleashed by six Blackwater Worldwide security guards in a busy Baghdad square last year, calling it an "unprovoked and illegal attack" on unarmed Iraqi civilians that killed at least 14 and wounded 20. One man was shot in the chest while he raised his arms in the air, prosecutors said. Another was wounded when a contractor's grenade detonated in a nearby girls school, and "many were shot inside of civilian vehicles while attempting to flee," prosecutors said in bringing federal manslaughter charges against the guards in the Sept. 16, 2007, shooting. "None of the victims of this shooting were armed," said Jeffrey A. Taylor, U.S. attorney for the District, who announced the 35-count indictment issued by a federal grand jury in Washington. "None of them was an insurgent."

More stories in National/Foreign Policy | Colorado/Foreign Policy

More stories in National/Military | Colorado/Military

Nuclear weapons decision awaits Obama - USATODAY.com

http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/2008-12-08-obamanuke_N.htm One of the most important national security decisions facing President-elect Barack Obama will unfold in this remote valley of aging factories, where workers enriched uranium for the first atomic bomb of World War II. The site is a linchpin in a hotly contested Bush administration plan to build the first new U.S. warheads since the end of the Cold War. Following Congress' demand that decisions on new warheads be deferred until an assessment of U.S. nuclear weapons needs is finished next year, the issue is set to come to a head early in Obama's presidency. The outcome will determine whether Oak Ridge focuses on maintaining existing warheads and storing uranium from weapons pulled out of a shrinking arsenal — or whether it becomes a cornerstone in a new production enterprise. The implications go far beyond Oak Ridge and the seven other research and manufacturing compounds nationwide that make up the U.S. nuclear weapons production complex. "This is not just a decision about the future of U.S. nuclear weapons, but about how the United States will address the challenges of … nuclear terrorism, nuclear proliferation and our entire 21st-century nuclear strategy," says Clark Murdock, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

More stories in National/Health Care and Public Safety | Colorado/Health Care and Public Safety

More stories in National/Military | Colorado/Military