WASHINGTON — President Obama declared an end on Tuesday to the seven-year American combat mission in Iraq, saying that the United States has met its responsibility to that country and that it is now time to turn to pressing problems at home.

In a prime-time address from the Oval Office, Mr. Obama balanced praise for the troops who fought and died in Iraq with his conviction that getting into the conflict had been a mistake in the first place. But he also used the moment to emphasize that he sees his primary job as addressing the weak economy and other domestic issues — and to make clear that he intends to begin disengaging from the war in Afghanistan next summer.

“We have sent our young men and women to make enormous sacrifices in Iraq, and spent vast resources abroad at a time of tight budgets at home,” Mr. Obama said. “Through this remarkable chapter in the history of the United States and Iraq, we have met our responsibility. Now, it’s time to turn the page.”

Seeking to temper partisan feelings over the war on a day when Republicans pointed out that Mr. Obama had opposed the troop surge generally credited with helping to bring Iraq a measure of stability, the president offered some praise for his predecessor, George W. Bush. Mr. Obama acknowledged their disagreement over Iraq but said that no one could doubt Mr. Bush’s “support for our troops, or his love of country and commitment to our security.”

Mr. Obama spoke for about 18 minutes, saying that violence would continue in Iraq and that the United States would continue to play a key role in nurturing a stable democracy there. He celebrated America’s fighting forces as “the steel in our ship of state,” and pledged not to waver in the fight against Al Qaeda.

But he suggested that he sees his role in addressing domestic issues as dominant, saying that it would be difficult to get the economy rolling again but that doing so was “our central mission as a people, and my central responsibility as president.”

With his party facing the prospect of losing control of Congress in this fall’s elections and his own poll numbers depressed in large part because of the lackluster economy and still-high unemployment, he said the nation’s perseverance in Iraq must be matched by determination to address problems at home.

Over the last decade, “we have spent over a trillion dollars at war, often financed by borrowing from overseas,” he said. “And so at this moment, as we wind down the war in Iraq, we must tackle those challenges at home with as much energy and grit and sense of common purpose as our men and women in uniform who have served abroad.”

Mr. Obama acknowledged a war fatigue among Americans who have called into question his focus on the Afghanistan war, now approaching its 10th year. He said that American forces in Afghanistan “will be in place for a limited time” to give Afghans the chance to build their government and armed forces.

“But, as was the case in Iraq, we cannot do for Afghans what they must ultimately do for themselves,” the president said. He reiterated that next July he would begin transferring responsibility for security to Afghans, at a pace to be determined by conditions.

“But make no mistake: this transition will begin, because open-ended war serves neither our interests nor the Afghan people’s,” he said.

This was no iconic end-of-war moment with photos of soldiers kissing nurses in Times Square or victory parades down America’s Main Streets.

Instead, in the days leading to the Tuesday night deadline for the withdrawal of American combat troops, it has appeared as if administration officials and the American military were the only ones marking the end of this country’s combat foray into Iraq. Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., and Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are all in Baghdad for the official ceremony on Wednesday.

The very sight of Mr. Obama addressing Americans from the Oval Office — from the same desk where Mr. Bush announced the beginning of the conflict — shows the distance traveled since the Iraq war began. On the night of March 20, 2003, when the Army’s Third Infantry Division first rolled over the border from Kuwait into Iraq, Mr. Obama was a state senator in Illinois.

Mr. Bush was at the height of his popularity, and the perception at home and in many places abroad was that America could achieve its national security goals primarily through military power. One of the biggest fears among the American troops in the convoy pouring into Iraq that night — every one of them suited in gas masks and wearing biohazard suits — was that the man they came to topple might unleash a chemical weapons attack.

Seven years and five months later, the biggest fears of American soldiers revolve around the primitive, basic, homemade bombs and old explosives in Afghanistan that were left over from the Soviet invasion. In Iraq, what was perceived as a threat from a powerful dictator, Saddam Hussein, has dissolved into the worry that as United States troops pull out they are leaving behind an unstable and weak government that could be influenced by Iran.

On Tuesday, a senior intelligence official said that Iran continues to supply militant groups in Iraq with weapons, training and equipment.

By Helene Cooper and Sheryl Gay Stolberg

NYTimes.com

WASHINGTON — Closing a divisive chapter of American history, President Barack Obama marked the end of the nation’s combat mission in Iraq on Tuesday without declaring victory, winding down the U.S. role in a war he considered a terrible mistake.

Obama’s defiant pledge to end the war helped catapult him into office. Now as commander in chief, he is intent on assuring the nation and the stretched military that all the work and bloodshed in Iraq was not in vain, declaring that because of it “America is more secure.”

Though the U.S. commitment in Iraq is winding down, as many up to 50,000 troops will stay as long as the end of next year to help train the country’s forces and operate counterterrorism missions. And Obama is sending more troops to Afghanistan, the home base of the Sept. 11, 2001, al-Qaida terrorists, where Americans have been fighting for nearly nine years.

“It is going to be a tough slog,” Obama said of Afghanistan in remarks earlier Tuesday to soldiers at Fort Bliss, Texas. “But what I know is that after 9/11, this country was unified in saying we are not going to let something like that happen again.” Defense Secretary Robert Gates said success in Afghanistan was possible but “is not inevitable.”

Tuesday night, the president was to deliver a 15-20 minute speech in prime time from the Oval Office. His point was to mark Aug. 31, 2010, as the final day the U.S. led the war in Iraq after more than seven years.

“It’s not going to be a victory lap,” Obama said earlier in the day at Fort Bliss, a post that has lost 51 soldiers in the Iraq war and seen many more severely wounded. “It’s not going to be self-congratulatory. There’s still a lot of work that we’ve got to do to make sure that Iraq is an effective partner with us.”

In fact, Iraq is in political turmoil, its leaders unable to form a new government long after March elections that left no clear winner. In Baghdad on Tuesday, Vice President Joe Biden pressed Iraqi leaders anew to break the impasse. The uncertainty has left an opening for insurgents to pound Iraqi security forces, hardly the conditions the U.S. envisioned for this transition deadline, which Obama announced 18 months ago.

Since the war began, more than 4,400 U.S. troops have been killed and almost 32,000 have been wounded. The war is one of the longest in the nation’s history, even as the one in Afghanistan continues.

Obama’s big day was defined by what it was — a turning point, a promise kept — and by what it was not.

It is not the end of the war. More U.S. troops are likely to die.

All U.S. troops are not expected to leave Iraq until the end of 2011, a final agreement that was secured before Obama took office.

“I am not saying all is, or necessarily will be, well in Iraq,” Defense Secretary Gates said Tuesday. He warned that political paralysis and sectarian violence cloud the country’s future, but he emphasized that overall violence is at its lowest level since the war began.

Obama has accelerated the end of the U.S. role in Iraq by pulling home nearly 100,000 troops.

The American public has largely moved on. The prevailing worry now is joblessness at home.

Almost forgotten are the intense passions and protests that defined the Iraq debate through much of the past decade. Or that lawmakers of both parties authorized President George W. Bush to go to war.

What emerged was not just a war but a Bush doctrine of pre-emptive force against perceived threats, one that reshaped how the world viewed the United States. In Iraq, the intelligence that made the case for war was faulty; no weapons of mass destruction were ever found.

Saddam Hussein was toppled, and Iraqis now live in greater freedom, but those were not the rationales for war. The aim was, as Bush put it in his own Oval Office address in 2003, “to defend the world from grave danger.”

Obama called the war the wrong one, a misguided conflict that inflamed anti-American sentiment. The war he owns is in Afghanistan, and he is escalating it in hopes of securing the peace and getting troops home.

The national focus has turned to that war and to the staggering economy in the U.S. In particular, weeks ahead of a vital congressional election in the U.S., Obama wants Americans to see a linkage between getting out of Iraq and investing more money at home.

A major thrust of Obama’s speech was to honor the service of U.S. troops and civilian workers in Iraq. Another was to assure Iraqis that the United States is not abandoning them.

And yet another mission is to remind the country, in Obama’s view, about where the true threats to national security lie, including in Afghanistan.

Just 38 percent of people support the war in Afghanistan, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll, and only 19 percent think things will get better in the next year. On Iraq, unsurprisingly, Obama finds more support in pulling troops home: 68 percent approve of his ending the formal combat mission.

The cost has been financial, too. Congress has allotted more than $1 trillion for both wars.

The Iraq war linked Obama and Bush before the Democrat won the White House, and has ever since. Obama never ran against Bush, but his 2008 campaign against Republican Sen. John McCain often felt that way.

Fittingly, Obama called Bush about Iraq on Tuesday, more than seven years after the former president declared that major combat operations were over. The White House said the call was private and would not say more.

By BEN FELLER (AP)

Goals

• To install a digital entertainment library at Ft. Stewart, GA
• To provide FREE DVDs to over 450 wounded soldiers & family members
• To provide FREE video games to wounded soldiers at Ft. Stewart
• To show wounded soldiers they have the support of a grateful nation

Overview

More than 9,000 soldiers are recuperating in military hospitals from life-altering injuries. Facing long hospital stays they battle pain, uncertainty, boredom & loneliness. To recover they need more than medical care alone; they need activities to combat isolation & depression & concrete signs of appreciation from a grateful nation. The Cause digital entertainment library (C-DEL) meets these needs by providing soldiers with FREE DVDs & video games.

Cause seeks funding for a library at Ft. Stewart, GA, a post experiencing multiple deployments. C-DEL, often the only source of free entertainment on post, has recorded more than 180,000 lending transactions at 7 locations since the first branch opened at Walter Reed in 2005.

Research shows that recreation & entertainment are vital to the healing process. Studies have also shown that playing video games can reduce the hyper-arousal & that playing Tetris may reduce PTSD flashbacks.

Vote for this idea on the Pepsi Refresh Project

On Wednesday a group of 20 senators announced the formation of the Senate Military Family Caucus, the first legislative coalition in that chamber to focus on the impact of war on spouses and children of troops.The move comes almost a year after House members launched their own military family caucus. In a statement organizers said the Senate caucus members will work closely with their house colleagues to “improve programs and services for military families, and to focus on the unique and growing challenges they face.” That includes a closer focus on military childcare, family health care, education benefits, spouse employment programs, and mental health services for troops’ families. 

The new caucus will be chaired by Sens. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Richard Burr, R-N.C. In a statement Boxer noted that “when a service member puts on a uniform, the entire family sacrifices for our country.” Burr called military families “the backbone of our military” and called the new caucus an avenue to push for legislation that will benefit these families.”

The two co-chairs just last month pushed Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki to stop insurance companies from profiting off death benefits owed to families troops killed in action.
Pentagon officials have emphasized family support programs in recent years, noting that the care and comfort of spouses and children back home are among troops’ top distractions when they deploy for combat tours.

By LEO SHANE III
Published: August 19, 2010

Veterans’ advocates win extension through November 10, 2010 for Sabo v. United States. NVLSP calls on friends and families of OEF/OIF vets to encourage class members to “opt-in”.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON— Veterans discharged from military service due to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) between December 17, 2002 and October 14, 2008 and shortchanged on their military benefits have three additional months to join a class action lawsuit, thanks to a critical deadline extension.

Last Thursday, Judge George W. Miller of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims signed an order giving eligible veterans – almost all of whom served in Iraq or Afghanistan — until November 10, 2010 to join (or “opt-in to”) Sabo v. United States, a class action lawsuit brought in December 2008 by the National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP) and pro-bono counsel Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP.

As a result of an agreement reached with the military services, veterans who join the lawsuit are guaranteed a disability rating upgrade and expedited records review, which can potentially lead to additional financial benefits and improved healthcare for veterans and their families.

Approximately, 42 percent, or 1,835 veterans, signed and sent in “Opt-in Forms” before the original July 24, 2010 deadline, making them class members in the lawsuit. At least 2,623 other veterans are eligible to join the lawsuit and become class members.

Class notices were mailed to 4,400 Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom veterans in January 2010. However, many notices were returned as undeliverable by the post office.

Using government sources and public records research, NVLSP staff attorneys called more than 600 eligible veterans as the July 24 deadline approached.  They found that many veterans did not understand the legal notice they received in the mail, or never received it.

“More than a third of the eligible veterans are severely disabled, with VA disability ratings for PTSD of 70 to 100 percent,” said Bart Stichman, co-executive director of the NVLSP. “It’s not easy for them to understand the legal notice and what are the advantages of joining the lawsuit, even though they stand to potentially gain significant lifetime financial and healthcare benefits for themselves and their families.”

Stichman says NVLSP plans to continue calling eligible veterans over the next three months, but is also asking families and friends of eligible veterans to get involved and talk with the veterans.

“Anyone who knows an Iraq or Afghanistan veteran discharged between December 17, 2002 and October 14, 2008 because of PTSD should ask if he or she has received a legal notice and opted into this lawsuit,” said Stichman. “These veterans and their families were treated unjustly and denied the benefits to which they were entitled. This is about getting them the lifetime military benefits that they have earned and deserve. More information is available at www.ptsdlawsuit.com.”

Eligible veterans who join the lawsuit are entitled to review of their PTSD disability rating by the military on a priority basis, a guaranteed correction of military records to show a higher military disability rating for PTSD for the six-month period following the date of release from military service, as well as a determination of whether the new rating should be permanently increased, decreased, or remain the same after the six-month period.

The correction of military records will not change the disability ratings that the veteran may have from the VA and no eligible veteran who opts into the lawsuit will risk losing any other military or VA benefits that he or she is already receiving. Nearly all class members who have already gone through the prioritized review with the military have received higher disability ratings and better benefits.

As a result of an increase in their military rating for PTSD, class members may receive back pay of disability benefits, reimbursement for healthcare expenses the military should have covered, as well as a higher amount of future benefits to which they and their families are entitled—potentially millions of dollars in benefits over time.

One hundred volunteer lawyers stand ready to offer free counseling to all class members. The lawyers for the veterans from NVLSP and Morgan, Lewis and Bockius LLP are donating their services for free. The lawyers involved say their payment is knowing an injustice is being righted for those who have served our country.

The disability ratings which are the subject of the lawsuit are critically important to ensuring veterans receive the benefits which they have earned and deserve. For years, the law has required the military to assign a disability rating of at least 50 percent to all veterans discharged for PTSD.  A permanent disability rating of 30 percent or more entitles a veteran to monthly disability benefits for the rest of the veteran’s life, to free lifetime health care for the veteran and his or her spouse, and to free health care for their minor children.

All of the veterans who qualify as class members for this lawsuit were illegally discharged from the military with military disability ratings for PTSD of less than 50 percent.  After they were discharged, many of them obtained a higher disability rating for PTSD from the VA, but the lawsuit is aimed at getting these veterans a higher military disability rating and with enhanced military disability benefits that accompany a higher military disability rating.

WHO CAN BE A CLASS MEMBER IN THIS CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT?
All individuals who:
(a) served on active duty in the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, or Air Force,
(b) were found by a Physical Evaluation Board to be unfit for continued service due, at least in part, to the individual’s PTSD,
(c) were assigned a disability rating for PTSD of less than 50 percent, and, as a result,
(d) were released, separated, retired, or discharged from active duty after December 17, 2002, and prior to October 14, 2008 (regardless of whether such release, separation, retirement, or discharge resulted in the individual’s placement on the Temporary Disability Retirement List).

VETERANS WITH QUESTIONS ABOUT THE LAWSUIT

Veterans who have not received the legal notice, but who believe they may qualify as a class member, should go to www.ptsdlawsuit.com or call877-345-8387for more information.

PRESS/MEDIA INTERVIEW REQUESTS
Lawsuit information is available at www.ptsdlawsuit.com. Press information, more information about Lawyers Serving Warriors^TM and the legal complaint for the lawsuit are available at www.LawyersServingWarriors.org. Press and media interview requests ONLY should be directed to Ami Neiberger-Miller, cellular 703.887.4877, ami@steppingstonellc.com.

ABOUT NVLSP
The National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP) is an independent, nonprofit veteran service organization that has served active duty military personnel and veterans since 1980. NVLSP strives to ensure that our nation honors its commitment to its 25 million veterans and active duty personnel by providing them the federal benefits they have earned through their service to our country.  NVSLP offers training for attorneys and other advocates, connects veterans and active duty personnel with pro bono legal help, publishes the nation’s definitive guide on veterans’ benefits, and represents and litigates for veterans and their families before the VA, military discharge review agencies, and federal courts. For more information go to www.nvlsp.org.

ABOUT MORGAN, LEWIS & BOCKIUS LLP

Morgan Lewis provides comprehensive transactional, litigation, labor and employment, and intellectual property legal services to clients of all sizes—from global Fortune 100 companies to just-conceived startups—across all major industries.  Its international team of attorneys, patent agents, employee benefits advisors, regulatory scientists, and other specialists—nearly 3,000 professionals total—serves clients from 23 offices in the United States, Europe, and Asia.  For more information about Morgan Lewis or its practices, please visit: www.morganlewis.com.

“He broke a bone, and will be a paraplegic and wheelchair bound,” said Sandra Thornton.

John, a former Army lieutenant, is being treated at Boston’s VA Hospital, which is a lengthy drive from Augusta, Maine, the Thornton’s are from.

“I would have come down perhaps once a week to visit for a couple hours and then travel back home and we would have communicated by phone,” said Sandra Thornton.

But with the official dedication of the Fisher House, a 20-suite complex on the VA grounds, Sandra now has this home away from home for free.

The Fisher House provides housing for the families of veterans and wounded military personnel at no cost for as long as their loved one is a patient.

“I get up, I can cook him an omelet, take him an omelet for breakfast or cook dinner here and take him dinner. It just made a big difference,” said Sandra Thornton.

“These men and women have made these sacrifices. They’ve given limbs, they’ve given their sight. They’ve come back in some cases catastrophically wounded and having their families here helps them get through that,” said Ken Fisher, the chairman of the Fisher House Foundation.

Members of the military come from all over the country for the Boston VA’s renowned spinal cord injury unit and not only will they be assured the best doctors by their bedside, but their families as well.

“It’s helped him cope a little bit better. He’s had the family support here and somebody that cares,” said Sandra Thornton.

A very small part of the house was paid for by a federal grant, but much of the $5.6 million price tag came from fundraising by people in Boston.

WHDH TV NBC Boston
07.25.10

Join the Virtual March on Washington this September.

Uniting Our Voices, Conquering Pain Together

Lend your voice, tell your story and join the movement.

The Virtual March is an online dynamic gathering place for those affected by pain to share their stories and TAKE ACTION. Whether you are a person living with pain, a caregiver, a health care professional, or an advocate for someone who is not getting the pain care they deserve, your voice needs to be heard! During the march, which will last all of September, you will be able to:

• Send a letter to your legislator telling your story; ask that they demonstrate their commitment to their constituents by showing their support for important pain policy improvements
• Add your voice to the 10,000 Voices campaign by submitting your story
• Watch videos on specific pain conditions
• Spread the word to encourage others to join the Virtual March and build our numbers

Join us as we celebrate the opportunity Pain Awareness Month provides to spread the word and have our voices heard. Participate in the Virtual March by signing up and encourage others to do the same.

SIGN UP TODAY!

Sincerely,

American Pain Foundation

Other ways to get involved in our efforts:

• Keep up with us on Facebook.
• Follow APF on Twitter at www.twitter.com/americanpain for the latest pain news and information and at www.twitter.com/painadvocacy for information on advocacy, policy and public awareness activities.
• Check out our online Pain Awareness Month Advocacy Toolkit.
• Visit the Exit Wounds site to learn more about our Military and Veterans living with pain.

Join PainAid, our online support community.

More than 1,100 private and public schools have signed agreements with the Veterans Affairs Department to reduce tuition for student veterans in the coming school year as part of the Post-9/11 GI Bill’s “Yellow Ribbon” program, VA announced Wednesday.

Under this program, VA matches dollar-for-dollar any reduction in fees charged to GI Bill students if tuition and fees exceed the reimbursement rate in the state where the school is located. Because schools can have more than one Yellow Ribbon agreement, VA officials said a total of 3,200 agreements are in effect for the 2010-11 school year.

That is about the same number of schools and total agreements that were in place for the 2009-10 year.

VA has posted a list of participating institutions.

Steady participation in the program is a pleasant surprise for VA officials, who had been concerned that some schools might drop out of the program because of tightening economic conditions.

Yellow Ribbon benefits, often available on a first-come, first-served basis to enrolled students, are an important addition to Post-9/11 GI Bill for those paying more in tuition and fees than the reimbursement cap set for each state. The cap is based on the highest tuition and fees charges for an in-state student taking undergraduate courses at a four-year public college or university. Public school students paying out-of-state tuition rates or taking graduate classes can have higher costs, as can students at private schools.

Yellow Ribbon benefits have eligibility limits. One key restriction is that only people who are eligible for full GI Bill benefits, earned from either completing three years of active service or being separated as a result of a service-connected disability, may apply. That eligibility extends to both veterans and active-duty service members, or to family members using transferred benefits from someone who had a full entitlement.

Rules for applying for Yellow Ribbon benefits vary from school to school. Students interested in applying for the extra assistance should contact their college or university.

In a statement, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki said he is “pleased that so many institutions are joining us to support the educational goals of the men and women who served this nation so honorably.”

The Yellow Ribbon list was released one day before the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee meets to consider changes in the year-old Post-9/11 GI Bill program. The only significant change under consideration for the Yellow Ribbon program would be to remove a restriction that prevents National Guard and reserve members who have less than three years of active service from being eligible because they have not earned 100 percent of the tuition benefit. This change, if approved, is not expected to take effect until the Spring 2012 term.

By Rick Maze – Staff writer Posted : Wednesday Aug 4, 2010 12:06:42 EDT

3rd Annual Report

WASHINGTON, Aug. 2, 2010
For anyone who has served in the U.S. military, whether in uniform or as a family member, the concept of sharing lessons learned is a familiar one. A new Defense Department blog that launches today seeks to bring those lessons to an accessible online platform.

Titled “In Their Own Words: Lessons Learned in Today’s Military,” the blog aims to provide a platform for servicemembers, veterans and families to share their thoughts and experiences on a variety of topics. Each month, the blog will feature a different topic ranging from lessons from multiple deployments to lessons from the military family.As a first topic, “In Their Own Words” features female servicemembers engaged in work that is unique to them. With the increasing prevalence of “female engagement teams” in Afghanistan and the perspective of female servicemembers engaged in similar work in Iraq, the landscape is filled with lessons learned and experiences to share.

The blog postings in August will not be limited to Iraq and Afghanistan, however. L. Tammy Duckworth, assistant secretary of veterans affairs for public and intergovernmental affairs and a major in the Illinois Army National Guard, will share the lessons she has learned while working to increase the resources available for the growing population of female veterans. A retired Navy captain who forged what was a unique path at the time in the intelligence field as a female officer also will contribute a posting.

The series kicks off with a posting from Marine Corps Lt. Col. Diana Staneszewski, who serves as an “AfPak Hand” in Afghanistan. The AfPak Hand program works to build better, long-term relationships with the Afghan and Pakistani people. Staneszewski works at building these relationships face to face in the language of the people.

“As a Western woman who speaks Pashto,” she writes, “I have blown more Afghan minds than you can imagine. I have been outside the wire three times a week for the last four weeks. Everywhere I go, I am constantly invited to have tea with the men, and the boys and girls flock to me. Here is an example. I walk out on patrol with the men. I see a group of men in a little store. They ignore the entire patrol. I walk up say, ‘Hello, how are you? My name is “Moskaa” — my Pashto name, which means “smile,” is written on my helmet and is on my outer tactical vest on a patch — and then everyone’s jaws drop.”

Staneszewski shares her first-person experiences with the people of Afghanistan in the blog.

“The first question I get is where did I learn my Pashto?” she writes. “The second question is where am I from? I always joke and say I am Kandahari, and then say I am joking [and that] I am American. The Afghans get the joke and smile. Then I keep speaking, asking and answering questions, and soon they tell me, ‘Yes, you are Kandahari. You are not American.’ Now, I accomplish all this with my minimal Pashto familiarization, a smile, and a little personality.”