Month: March 2018

What is happening in Yemen? Long story short–utter chaos.

To start off, Yemen is a small country in West Asia, at the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. Yemen is in a critical geographic position as it borders the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea where large amounts of oil are transported through. Yemen is the poorest country in the Middle East and has been dealing with large amounts of internal unrest.

Let’s go to the beginning of this current issue. In 2011, an Arab Spring in Yemen led to authoritarian president Ali Abdullah Saleh to hand over his power to his deputy Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi. This was by no means an easy transition. The new president had a lot of issues to deal with, ranging from unemployment to government corruption to the rise of Al-Qaeda attacks and presence in Yemen. Then in 2014, the Houthi movement, which is a small Shia Muslim minority movement, took over the capital of Yemen, Sanaa. They were able to accomplish this by working with Yemenis who were upset with the current government and the loyalists of Mr. Saleh’s government. After this success, they began to attempt to take over the country. The belief at the time, and still currently, is that this group was supported by the Shia Islamic state of Iran. 

There is a great divide between Shiite and Sunni Muslim people and countries. The two greatest adversaries in the Middle East are Iran (Shia) and Saudi Arabia (Sunni). Yemen, being on the border of Saudia Arabia, became an increasing threat to the safety of the Saudi people. Saudi Arabia, out of fear of increasing violence and increasing Shia influence, formed a coalition of other Arab States to fight these rebels. The conflict is now between the Houthi and Saleh forces versus the pro-government Hadi forces and Southern Separatists. Saudia Arabia and its coalition launch air raids and other attacks against the Houthi and Saleh forces.

This map depicts the current power split throughout the country. If you look at the map you will notice the gray sections. These areas are controlled by Al-Qaeda’s militants in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and by affiliates of the Islamic State (IS). This has caused increased concern in the US and Saudi Arabia. In December, former President Saleh attempted to make a deal with the Saudi led coalition. Before this could happen, he was killed by rebels. In the chaos, IS has doubled its size in country and is becoming an increasing part of international terrorism. This has led to increased US operations within Yemen. The US has launched numerous airstrikes in Yemen and American soldiers are on the ground taking action against Al-Qaeda and IS. The controversy comes as civilian casualties have been attributed to these strikes. Recent government policy has increased the ability of combatant commanders to take offensive action that they deem correct for the situation. There is currently a bill attempting to be passed to remove all US forces from Yemen. Only time will tell at this point what the outcome of this bill will be.

Being of a younger generation, and not having military connections it would be understandable not to know about the VA, that is the Department of Veterans Affairs. The department somehow manages to never be talked about despite being the second largest government agency and training 70% doctors and the majority of nurses in the US. The VA’s roles include providing health care services — a very broad scope of services — and benefit programs as well as access to national cemeteries. 

While the the VA is supposed to provide support and to veterans and their families, it has been plagued with controversy, inefficiency, and general lack of support over the years. Those of us who are in the military community release an annoyed sigh whenever the VA is mentioned. President Trump promised to improve healthcare for veterans in his presidential campaign. In June of last year, a law was passed to raise the accountability of employees in the VA and speed up disciplinary actions. While this may be a good step in the right direction, it is not the be-all end-all. There is a myriad of other reforms and advancements that need to occur in the VA for the agency to really be able to support veterans.

While those in military service get a lot of lip service for their sacrifice, little is put into action to support them. The documentary VA: The Human Cost of War details the history of the VA and depicts many of the struggles and controversies of the department. The film is intended to raise awareness for the struggle of veterans and lack of support for them. One of the greatest struggles of veterans plays directly into the Opioid Epidemic. Many veterans suffer from PTSD or disabilities after returning home. Others get out of service and cannot find work. This leads to many veterans ending up homeless and turning to alcohol or drugs for comfort. The lack of assistance from the government is glaringly obvious and leading to many servicemen and woman suffering. Hopefully we will see lawmakers begin to make changes and really support those who sacrifice so much for our country.

Below are some of the controversies that have rattled the VA:

Avoiding Diagnoses

In 2008, a senior psychologist in the VA argued that the agency should avoid from diagnosing combat veterans with PTSD. If you wish to know more about PTSD I have a previous post about it, but in short it is a mental disorder that is caused from excessive stress and trauma, of which combat areas often contain large quantities. The psychologist suggested this reduction in diagnoses to reduce the amount of disability payments the VA would have to dole out. Ignoring the severity of the issue, he instead suggested that staff diagnose an adjustment disorder, which did not provide veterans with any sort of payment. This psychologist was shunned by leadership and they refuted his emails as not reflecting VA policy. The VA then released documentation showing a 50% jump in diagnoses of PTSD among current or previous service members. This number is believed to be lower than the actual number of people who are suffering because PTSD has a large stigma in the military, you are encouraged to keep quiet about it.

VA Not Reporting Cancer Cases

The VA suddenly decided to no longer release information and data relating to cancer cases among veterans. While the VA supported its decision by stating that they were supporting patient privacy, many in the veteran community are skeptical. This has had the effect of skewing military records as well as cancer trends throughout the US.

Problems in Hospitals

In January 2008, the Chicago Tribune reported that poor medical care at the Marion VA Medical Center left nine patients dead and 34 others seriously injured during a two-year period. According to an investigation by the VA’s Inspector General, ten of the 34 injured patients later died. Links to the treatment from the medical center were not established as cause of death. A report released in 2006 detailed numerous other issues found in care centers across the nation, ranging from failures to keep accountability of pharmacy drugs to poor sanitation to lack of real mental health care.

 

Sources:

http://www.allgov.com/departments/department-of-veteran-affairs?detailsDepartmentID=567

http://www.latimes.com/politics/washington/la-na-essential-washington-updates-trump-signs-va-reform-bill-to-make-it-1498235052-htmlstory.html

https://www.militarytimes.com/veterans/salute-veterans/2017/11/06/new-pbs-documentary-explores-the-history-problems-of-the-va-system/