Wednesday, June 12, 2013

The State Dept's drug and sex scandal

The State Dept's scandal is picking up steam.  No, not Benghazi.  From Herbert Dyer, Jr.'s "Sex and Clinton's State Department: What did she know, and when did she know it?" (All Voices):

 Now comes word from the New York Post and other media outlets that a State Department whistle-blower has blown her whistle on high-ranking staffers involved in a massive cover-up that suppressed findings that some of former Secretary Hillary Clinton’s security detail and the US Ambassador to Belgium solicited prostitutes, including minor children.
A top investigator for State's inspector general has issued a memorandum detailing at least eight instances which were sidelined by senior State Department officials, including one in which Clinton’s chief of staff, Cheryl Mills, was actively involved.
According to the Post, all mention of the cases was removed from an IG report about problems within the Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS). DS is the investigatory arm of the State Department.


On the alleged activities,  Ashley Fantz and Jill Dougherty (CNN) explain:
Regarding the latest allegations, CNN was provided the documents by a lawyer for a whistle-blower who is a former senior inspector general investigator.
They include:
• An active U.S. ambassador "routinely ditched his protective security detail in order to solicit sexual favors from both prostitutes and minor children," the memo says. The ambassador's protective detail and others "were well aware of the behavior," the memo asserts. When a diplomatic security officer tried to investigate, undersecretary of state for management Patrick Kennedy allegedly ordered the investigator "not to open a formal investigation."
On Tuesday, CNN obtained a statement from the ambassador, who vigorously denied the allegations, calling them "baseless."


This is related to Iraq.  As we noted in yesterday's snapshot, this is part of the same culture that thought Brett McGurk would make a good nominee for US Ambassador to Iraq -- the nomination that went down in flames yesterday.  McGurk as US Ambassador to Iraq would have sidelined Iraqi women in the government process or else left them at risk.  A known adulterer when he was previously in Iraq under the Bully Boy Bush administration, McGurk's reputation doesn't matter for a US post or a UK post but in Iraq, where women thought to have affairs can find themselves the dead victims of so-called 'honor' killings, Iraqi women would have had to steer clear of the US Embassy in Baghdad and interactions with McGurk outside of the embassy as well or else risk being killed.


That's the same culture at play.  But, as BBC notes, there's another Iraq issue, "CNN also reports that the inspector general found an attempt to investigate claims that a drug ring near the US embassy in Baghdad was supplying illegal substances to state department security contractors was stopped."


Monday, CBS This Morning featured a report by John Wood where he spoke with whistle-blower Aurelia Fedenisn (link is video and text):

According to Fedenisn, when a high-ranking State Department security officials was shown a draft of their findings that investigations were being interfered with by State Department higher-ups, he said, "This is going to kill us." In the final report however, all references to specific cases had been removed.
"I mean my heart really went out to the agents in that office, because they really want to do the right thing, they want to investigate the cases fully, correctly, accurately ... and they can't," Fedenisn said.
Fedenisn, a DSS agent for 26 years, was a part of the team that prepared the draft report and is now a whistleblower who has taken her concerns to Congress.


Could such a thing happen?  Yes, it can and it's very easy to happen when there's no oversight.  The press didn't want to pick up on the issue of lack of oversight (or provide any of their own).  Let's drop back  to the snapshot for  December 7, 2011 and the House Oversight and Government Reform's National Security Subcommittee hearing.  US House Rep Jason Cahffetz is Chair of that Subcommittee.




 Subcommittee Chair Jason Chaffetz:  Before recognizing Ranking Member [John] 
Tierney, I'd like to note that the Defense Dept, State Dept, USAID and SIGAR will not 
have IGs in January.  In May of this year, I wrote the President asking him to move 
without delay to appoint replacements.  That letter was signed by Senators [Joe] 
Lieberman, [Susan] Collins, [Claire] McCaskill and [Rob] Portman, as well as [House 
Oversight Committee] Chairman [Darrell] Issa and Ranking Member [Elijah] Cummings
 and Ranking Member Tierney.  I'd like to place a copy of htis record into the record.  
Without objection, so ordered.  To my knowledge, the President has yet to nominate 
any of these replacements, nor has he responded to this letter.  I find that totally 
unacceptable.  This is a massive, massive effort.  It's going to take some leadership
 from the White House.  These jobs cannot and will not be done if the president fails 
to make these appointments.  Upon taking office, President Obama promised that his administration would be "the most open and transparent in history." You cannot 
achieve transparency without inspectors general.  Again, I urge President Obama and 
the Senate to nominate and confirm inspectors general to fill these vacancies  and
 without delay.


They got 'renewed' as 'acting' officials.   In August 2009, Ernesto Londono's "Embassy Costs to Rise in Baghdad" (Washington Post) was published:

The cost of running the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad is projected to rise in the coming years as the world's largest diplomatic mission weans itself from the support it receives from the U.S. military, the State Department's acting inspector general said in a report this week.
Harold W. Geisel also said an embassy office that oversees infrastructure projects worth hundreds of millions of dollars is chronically understaffed and may be unable to complete its work by May, when its charter ends.
In a separate report, Geisel noted that the State Department has no plans to open consulates in Iraq, despite the looming closures of provincial embassy offices as the U.S. military withdraws.


Who is Harold Geisel?  He was Deputy Inspector General for the State Department then and he is Deputy Inspector General for the State Department now.  Who's the IG?

Apparently Hillary Clinton was.  By refusing to appoint a head for the Office of Inspector General for the State Dept, I think you can ensure that most scandals will get buried.

Congress has called for oversight, the SIGRI has called for oversight, the White House has refused to provide it.  Since the IGs were created, no US president ever made it through a term leaving the head of the office empty.  But that's what Barack did in term one and what he's still doing today.


In yesterday's snapshot, we noted this press release:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                        CONTACT: Murray Press Office (202) 224-2834
Tuesday, June 11, 2013                                                     Ayotte Press Office (202) 224-3324

JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF CHAIRMAN ENDORSES MURRAY-AYOTTE SPECIAL VICTIMS’ COUNSEL LEGISLATION

Bipartisan legislation would expand Air Force program and provide trained military lawyers to victims of sexual assault in all service branches

General Dempsey and Secretary Hagel to testify in front of Senators Murray, Ayotte, and Senate Budget Committee on Wednesday
  
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) announced today that Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey has endorsed a key provision in bipartisan legislation they authored – the Combating Military Sexual Assault Act – that would provide victims of sexual assault in the military with a Special Victims’ Counsel (SVC), a trained military lawyer to assist the victim throughout the process.  Building on the success of an Air Force SVC pilot program, the Murray-Ayotte legislation would expand the program to victims in all services to help them through the legal process.

Last week, at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing focused on efforts to stop sexual assaults in the military, Senator Ayotte requested an official response from General Dempsey on his position regarding the Murray-Ayotte legislation to expand the SVC program.

In his response, he wrote, “The Air Force Special Victims’ Counsel (SVC) pilot program, while very new, has shown positive results and provides a robust support program for victims of sexual assault.  Hundreds of victims have availed themselves of SVC services in the Air Force in just the past several months since it was implemented.  Many of those victims who initially filed restricted reports of sexual assault decided to change their report to unrestricted, allowing full investigation of the offenses committed by their assailant.  As the early reports have been so promising, I expressed in my May 20, 2013, letters to Senators Levin and Inhofe that the proposed SVC legislation had merit. I support providing victims of sexual assault this important resource.”

During last week’s hearing, Air Force Chief of Staff General Mark Welsh also praised the success of the SVC pilot program.  In response to a question from Senator Ayotte, General Welsh testified that responses from victims regarding the Air Force’s Special Victims’ Counsel pilot program have been “overwhelmingly positive.”  He testified that he intends to recommend the continuation of the program.

In May, at a Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee hearing, General Welsh highlighted the success of the Air Force SVC program, saying, “The special victims counsels have helped...typically it's 30 percent, as I mentioned, of our victims who won't -- continue through prosecution, even after making an unrestricted report. So far, the 265 assigned special victims counsels, two have done that. That's a great trend. We must now continue it. One of the other problems we have is that we have never had people who make restricted reports initially change from a restricted to unrestricted at a very high rate so that we can investigate and potentially prosecute those cases. About 17 percent of our reportees in the past have changed from a restricted mode to an unrestricted. Of the victims who have special victims counsel assigned, that number is tracking at 55 percent right now. And it's rising slowly as confidence grows. We have to continue that trend.”

The Murray-Ayotte Combating Military Sexual Assault Act (S.871) takes additional steps aimed at reducing sexual assaults within the military and helping the victims of these crimes.  The legislation would address a number of gaps in current law and policy and would build upon the positive steps the Pentagon has taken in recent years to address this problem. The Murray-Ayotte bill currently has 37 bipartisan cosponsors.

General Dempsey and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel will testify in front of the Senate Budget Committee hearing Wednesday where Senator Murray will ask them to address, among other issues, the tragic epidemic of sexual assault within the ranks.

The Combating Military Sexual Assault (MSA) Act of 2013 legislation would:

·         Provide victims of sexual assault with Special Victims’ Counsel (SVC) – a military lawyer who will assist sexual assault victims throughout the process. 
·         Enhance the responsibilities and authority of DoD’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) Office so that it can better oversee efforts to combat MSA across the Armed Forces and regularly track and report on a range of MSA statistics, including assault rate, number of cases brought to trial, and compliance with appropriate laws and regulations within each of the individual services.
·         Refer cases to the general court martial level when sexual assault charges are filed or to the next superior competent authority when there is a conflict of interest in the immediate chain of command.
·         Bar sexual contact between instructors and trainees during and within 30 days of completion of basic training or its equivalent.
·         Ensure that Sexual Assault Response Coordinators (SARC) are available to members of the National Guard and Reserve at all times and regardless of whether they are operating under Title 10 or Title 32 authority.

###
---
Meghan Roh
Press Secretary | New Media Director
Office of U.S. Senator Patty Murray
Mobile: (202) 365-1235
Office: (202) 224-2834
@PattyMurray | @SenateBudget | @MegRoh




Good for Senators Murray and Ayotte and good for all the ones working on this issue (including Senator Claire McCaskill, Senator Richard Blumenthal and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand).  But how can the government stop rape and assault in the ranks when the diplomatic corps is allegedly engaged in pedophilia?  And when that is discovered, it is allegedly 'addressed' by covering it up?


The following community sites -- plus The Diane Rehm Show, NPR's music, Susan's On the Edge, Ms. magazine's blog, Antiwar.com, Dissident Voice and The Pacifica Evening News -- updated last night and this morning:





Senator Patty Murray is the Chair of the Senate Budget Committee and she sits on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.  Her office notes the following exchange that took place yesterday in the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense.


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                            CONTACT: Murray Press Office
Tuesday, June 11th, 2013                                        (202) 224-2834

Murray Presses Secretary Hagel, General Dempsey on WA State Military Installations, Mental Health Issues

Murray discusses importance of Washington’s major military installations for DoD’s long-term strategic focus on Asia-Pacific Region

Murray continues push for completion of military-wide mental health review

Hagel: “[JBLM, Fairchild AFB, Western state installations] will remain greatly important to that strategic shift”

WATCH video of the exchange.

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray attended a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Defense. At the hearing, Murray questioned Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on the ways they are working with military installations in Western states as part of the military-wide shift in focus to the Asia-Pacific region. 

Murray also asked Secretary Hagel when he expects to deliver the military-wide mental health review she asked former-Secretary Panetta to begin last year.

She stressed the urgent need to identify gaps in care and improvements that need to be made in how the Department diagnoses the invisible wounds of war.

Full text of the exchange below:

MURRAY: Thank you very much Mr. Chairman and thank you all for coming before the committee and your service as well. Secretary Hagel, I want to start with you. Last year I asked Secretary Panetta to begin a DOD-wide review of how the department diagnoses mental health conditions and he agreed to do that. The Army recently completed their review and there are some really valuable lessons we got from that, and it really underscored the need to complete the entire DOD-wide review an identify gaps in care and improvements that need to be made.
Given the number of suicides we've already seen this year, and our continued winding down from Afghanistan, I think it's really important that this review stay on track. I wanted to ask you when you expect that review to be completed.


HAGEL: I am well aware of the review and absolutely committed as Secretary Panetta was to the review and addressing it as he said very clearly when you looking at the latest numbers we have 350 suicides last year. And all of the other extenuating dynamics that play out. It is as Secretary Panetta noted one of the great internal problems that we have. As to your question when will it be due out, I don't know. We'll get back to you.


MURRAY: OK. I would like an answer. We have to really make sure we stay on track to make sure we get the diagnosis correct and respond right.
On the same line, the Army recently released some statistics saying there have been 109 potential suicides so far this year. That's just in the Army. That is really high compared to last year and continues a disturbing trend you just referred to. We are losing more service members today to suicide than we do to combat. We have passed a number of initiatives and pieces of legislation to combat this problem and to provide some additional access to mental health resources.
I wanted to ask you, Secretary, what progress has the department made in meeting the legislative requirement to create a joint, comprehensive suicide prevention program?



HAGEL: Let me ask Bob Hale, or General Dempsey because I've, kind of, got in the middle of it so the progress report I don't know. I assume we made progress. I've asked about it. I've gotten briefings on it. I know it's ongoing. I know we're doing it. I know Chief Odierno is focussed on it.
General Dempsey, anything else?


DEMPSEY: Yeah, thanks, Senator.
I don't have the dates and I can't give you a progress report from memory. We get the periodic, in-progress reviews. I'd like to take that one for the question, though, to give you the proper answer.


MURRAY: If you could get both of those back to me. And, in your testimony, you actually say that DOD is protecting funding for mental health. Can you just quickly say how those funds are going to be used? And are there programs that are going to be expanded under that?


HAGEL: I'm gonna ask the comptroller to take you down through that.


HALE: We were referring to the fact that we will not sacrifice any of the quality of health care because of sequestration. We will find ways to meet all of our key health care needs. And there may be some reductions, say, in RDT&E programs based on sequestration. But the health care for individuals won't be compromised.


MURRAY: And the mental health care side?


HALE: Yes, the same.


HAGEL: All the current programs that we have will be funded.


HALE: And in particular, Wounded Warriors will be our highest priority. I mean, we will do nothing to affect their...


MURRAY: OK, I appreciate that. I just don't want to lose track of the mental health side of this.


MURRAY: And my last question is more strategic. Over the last 10 years, military installations across our country have grown dramatically to sustain the fight, two wars. I've personally seen in my home state, Joint Base Lewis-McChord grow by 64 percent since 2006 to meet the demand.
Now, as the military shifts its focus to Asia-Pacific region, the DOD is going to -- increasingly rely on the installations in our western states. And I wanted to ask you today to discuss how DOD is taking advantage of the investments that we've now made over the last 12 years and the strategic value of our installations in the western states like Joint Base Lewis-McChord and the Fairchild Air Force Base in Washington state to facilitate your long-term strategic decisions.


HAGEL: I'll make a general comment in response to your question -- General Dempsey or the comptroller would like to add anything. Obviously, as you have stated, those assets that we have, especially in the western part of the United States, become -- they've always been important, but become more central to that -- that shift of priorities based on threats and interests in our -- in our -- in our ability to defend those interests in the Pacific -- Asia-Pacific.
So, I don't think there's any question that that's going to continue. And that means infrastructure. That means all that goes with it. Now, that doesn't mean that they're not -- there will not be any adjustments or considerations of consolidations. Until we get down into some of these things as to the implementation of the defense strategic guidance, and, in particular, the Asia-Pacific rebalancing. But my general assessment of it is, that they -- they will remain critically important to that strategic shift.


MURRAY: General Dempsey?


DEMPSEY: The only thing I'd add, Senator, is that I align myself with the secretary's general impression that our rebalancing the Pacific will certainly advantage that part of our infrastructure that tends to exist on the west coast.
But it's worth mentioning that the Army, for example, has not announced how it will go from its current strength, which is roughly 500 -- just over 550,000 down to 490,000 based on the -- last budget cut, the $487 billion. There's going to have to be some number of brigades cut. And the Army has not announced, nor shared, with the secretary yet which of those -- where -- those reductions will come from.
On top of that, then we've got to account for sequestration. And it will affect every -- I predict it will affect every installation in the continental United States and most of those overseas.


MURRAY: Thank you, very much, Mr. Chairman. Thank you to all of you.

###

Kathryn Robertson
Deputy Press Secretary 
Office of U.S. Senator Patty Murray
154 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington D.C. 20510
202-224-2834


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