News Analysis: May 11, 2009
Our veterans need more comprehensive care. Our military must better treat our injured troops, and not dismiss real health concerns with a “pattern of misconduct.” We have a “sacred trust” with our troops and their families.
It’s high time to help our military families. “As we approach eight years of war, too many military families are quietly coming apart at the seams,” writes Kristina Kaufmann, an Army wife. “The public hears the most dramatic stories and statistics — soldiers killing their wives, themselves, each other. Less well known are the effects that prolonged war and multiple deployments have had on our daily lives. As the wife of a commander of a battalion that deployed last year, I know that many of us feel embittered, powerless and disconnected from the Army in which we and our husbands serve.”
President Obama’s proposed VA budget would dramatically increase funding, as much as 15 percent, to our vets. Will his plan to shift military spending be derailed in Congress?
Family use of GI Bill benefits begins in August…And what of allowing military spouses keep their original residency when they have to move because of a deployment.
Fire a National Guard member from work for missing time while deployed and expect a Justice Department lawsuit…
The top US general in Iraq hedges his bet on when US troops will withdraw from Mosul. At least Kurds and Iraq’s leaders have finally struck an oil deal, ending one political stalemate. Meanwhile, the “Sons of Iraq” are waiting on promises to be kept. And Pakistan isn’t getting any more stable anytime soon — even as US drones dish it out on local militants.