What's New
| Congressman Mitchell: Pausing to Consider People Who REALLY Matter |
Chairman Harry Mitchell is a Hero to Veterans Nationwide August 20, 2010 (Arizona Republic) - It's been a month since I spoke to Rep. Harry Mitchell about suicides among military veterans and I'm just getting around to writing something. |
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| What Obama Won't Say Tonight About US Withdrawal from Iraq |
| August 31, 2010 (ConsortiumNews) - President Barack Obama’s aides say his speech this evening marking the end of "combat operations" in Iraq will avoid the vainglorious aspects of President George W. Bush’s infamous "Mission Accomplished" speech in 2003. We’ll see. |
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| Lawsuit Update: Prudential's Half-Billion in Dirty Secret Profits |
Families of Dead Soldiers Sue Insurer Over Its Handling of Survivors’ Benefits August 29, 2010 (New York Times) - Vickie Castro’s only child was killed six years ago just before Christmas, when a suicide bomber blew himself up inside an Army mess tent in Mosul, Iraq, killing more than 20 people. |
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| Op-Ed: Cost of War Must Also Include Caring for Our Veterans |
Overlooked Cost of Iraq / Afghanistan Wars: Our Veterans' Healthcare and Benefits August 15, 2010 (San Francisco Chronicle) - Two years after an Army specialist saw half his platoon torn apart in Iraq, he hanged himself in a California backyard. |
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| VA Secretary Shinseki's Open Message to Gulf War Veterans |
| August 11, 2010, Washington, DC (VA Press Release) - August 2010 marks the 20th anniversary of the beginning of the Gulf War, launched with Operation Desert Shield and followed by Operation Desert Storm. VA honors this milestone with a renewed commitment to improving our responsiveness to the challenges facing Gulf War Veterans. |
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Silvio Berlusconi Wants Exit Plan for Nato Troops in Afghanistan
Written by Associated Press
Friday, 18 September 2009 09:20
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Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi reacts after his forces suffer their deadliest attack in Afghanistan to date September 18, 2009 - Italy's prime minister Silvio Berlusconi called today for a "transition strategy" in Afghanistan, hours after suggesting that Nato forces should "get out soon" following the death of six Italian troops in a bomb blast. Berlusconi said on Thursday that "we are convinced it's best for everybody to get out soon" after Italian forces suffered their deadliest attack in Afghanistan to date. Today, he sought to qualify his remarks, saying international allies must come up with a "transition strategy in order to charge the new government with more responsibility". He said the shift of security duties to the Afghan forces would go hand-in-hand with a decrease in international troops. Italy has about 2,800 soldiers in Afghanistan. Thursday's victims, part of a contingent deployed in Kabul, bring to 20 the number of Italian troops who have died in Afghanistan, according to the defence ministry. Comments from the conservative premier and some of his allies in government appeared to show some political confusion over what effect the attack will have on Italy's staunch commitment to helping the US militarily in Afghanistan. Italy's defence minister, Ignazio La Russa, said early in the day that the "cowardly" attack in the Afghan capital would not affect Italy's commitment. But later on Thursday he indicated the role of Italy's mission would be reviewed. And a key coalition partner in Berlusconi's government said he hoped Italy's troops could leave within three months. "I hope that at Christmas all can return home," Umberto Bossi, the minister for institutional reforms, told reporters in northern Italy. A poll for Corriere della Sera newspaper conducted last week before the bomb attack found that 58% of people wanted the troops out and 40% believed the mission had become "a war operation". Italy's commitment to the US-led war in Iraq wavered after 19 troops were killed there in a single attack in 2003. It then pulled out of the Iraq mission completely in 2006.
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