It was a day like any other day – except that it was the seventh anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. But with so much else going on – a torpid economy, a climactic debate over health care reform, a mounting conflict in Afghanistan – it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that Americans are still fighting and dying in Iraq.
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Anniversary of Iraq War Hardly Noticed
A four-star general will testify at a pretrial hearing in the biggest criminal case against U.S. troops to arise from the Iraq war. Gen. James Mattis is scheduled to address a military judge on a defense motion to dismiss charges against Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich on grounds of undue command influence.
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Marine General to Testify at Haditha Hearing
WASHINGTON — The Veterans Affairs Department took steps Thursday to make it easier for veterans of the Iraq or Afghanistan wars to get disability benefits. To qualify for the new streamlined status, they must have malaria, West Nile Virus or one of seven other diseases. The VA has proposed a regulation change that lets veterans qualify for benefits by showing only that they served in the recent conflicts, or in the Gulf War, and have a diagnosis of any of nine diseases. Called “presumptive status,” it’s easier to prove an illness stems from war service. Such status had been given to veterans from earlier eras with certain diseases, but this is the first time veterans from the recent conflicts qualified. “We recognize the frustrations that many Gulf War and Afghanistan veterans and their families experience on a daily basis as they look for answers to health questions and seek benefits from VA,” Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki said in a statement. Shinseki made the decision after a recommendation by the agency’s Gulf War Veterans Illnesses Task Force. The seven other diseases are brucellosis, campylobacter jejuni, coxiella burnetii, mycobacterium tuberculosis, nontyphoid salmonella, shigella and visceral leishmaniasis.
The rest is here: VA change eases process for Iraq, Afghan vets
Iraqi police arrested five suspected terrorists, including a suspected al-Qaida in Iraq leader in northern Iraq.
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Iraqi Police Arrest 5 Suspected Terrorists
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Alpine skier Heath Calhoun will carry the flag for the U.S. Paralympic Team at the opening ceremonies of the Paralympic Games. The U.S. Olympic Committee announced the selection of the Iraq war veteran from Bristol, Tenn., on Thursday. The opening ceremonies will be held Friday in Vancouver. Calhoun lost both legs above the knee while serving as a squad leader for the 101st Airborne Division. He went through nine months of rehabilitation at Walter Reed Army Medical Center before becoming involved in Paralympic sports. He trained for skiing in Aspen, Colo. Calhoun will join 1,300 athletes from 44 countries who will compete in alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, biathlon, curling and sledge hockey.
Originally posted here: Iraq war vet to carry U.S. flag at Paralympics
Video: Iraqi Security Forces are actively securing their country for voting. US forces are by their sides as advisors.
An Army bomb disposal expert who served in the Iraq war is suing the makers of “The Hurt Locker,” claiming the Oscar-nominated film’s lead character is based on him and that they cheated him out of “financial participation in the film.
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Army Bomb Expert Sues ‘Hurt Locker’ Makers
Iraqi security forces working with U.S. advisors arrested three terrorism suspects, and a tip led to discovery of an enemy weapons stockpile during operations in Iraq.
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Iraqis Arrest 3, Seize Illegal Weapons
Ahmad Chalabi — a one-time Pentagon favorite whose faulty intelligence about weapons of mass destruction helped pave the way for the Iraq war — was a secular politician groomed by his U.S. backers to replace Saddam Hussein. After falling out with the Americans, the MIT graduate has reinvented himself — again. He is now a top candidate in an alliance led by an Iranian-backed Shiite religious party.
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Ex-US Favorite Rises Again in Iraq Vote
Video: In Mannheim, Germany, US Army Soldiers go through their combat lifesaving courses, which have been updated based on recent lessons learned in Iraq and Afghanistan.