European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 13, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Pages stars and stripes Friday april 132007 in the states extended combat Tours in Afghanistan Iraq cited As evidence of failure by Anne Flaherty the associated press Washington democrats Are seizing on the pentagons decision to extend troops combat Tours in Iraq and Afghanistan As Evi Dence president Bush War policy is failing the announcement just underscores the fact that the Burden of the War in Iraq has fallen upon our troops and their families said House speaker Nancy Pelosi Calif the Bush administration has failed to create a plan to fully equip and train our troops bring them Home safely and soon and provide our veterans with the Quality care they deserve democrats criticism of the troop Extension comes at the same time they Are trying to build political momentum behind their proposal in Congress to set an end Date on the War meanwhile the top democrats in the sen ate and House of representatives said wednesday they have agreed to meet with Pelosi Bush next week to discuss the Iraq War but will insist that it be a two Way discussion Senate majority Leader Harry Reid and Pelosi had walked at Bush earlier suggestion that they should meet at the White House for the democrats to be briefed on legislation he would accept regarding Iraq plans but with out negotiation the two sides had been at loggerheads Over when where and under what conditions they would meet Senate democrats had offered to meet Friday at the Congress which Bush had been expected to reject and Bush White House suggestion flopped we will listen to his position but in return we will insist that he listen to concerns of the american people that his policies in Iraq have failed and we need to change course Reid and Pelosi said in a statement announcing the meeting plans Bush has promised to veto the democrats proposal to withdraw troops despite it being attached to billion in military funding needed to finance combat operations through september republicans have promised to Back the president leaving democrats Short of the two thirds majority needed to override the veto Bush told reporters april 3 that the funding delay would mean troops May have to stay in Iraq longer than planned that is unacceptable to me and i believe it is unacceptable to the american people he said study army May be shortchanging injured gis by Hope yen the associated press Washington the Way the us government rates disabilities of members of the armed services is inconsistent and the army might be shortchanging injured soldiers the chairman of a special commission said thurs Day testifying before a Senate panel retired it Gen James Terry Scott chairman of the vet Erans disability benefits com Mission detailed problems in the defense department and Veter ans affairs ratings systems critics contend the ratings Are easily manipulated to limit disability payments and create undue con fusion in a claims system already strained to the limit it is apparent that service members Are not Well served Scott said in testimony prepared for delivery to an unusual joint hearing of the Senate armed ser vices and vet Erans affairs committees called to examine gaps in the sys tem in prelim Inary review of Pentagon and a data the commission found the army was much More Likely than the other Active forces to assign a Dis ability rating of less than 30 per cent the typical cutoff to deter in Dod has Strong incentive to assign ratings less than 30 percent so that Only separation pay is required f f James Terry Scott veterans disability benefits commission mine whether a person can get lifetime retirement payments and health care a ratings tended to be higher due to a separate system the department used that gave action to whether injured Veter ans were afflicted with multiple Dis abilities not just a pre dominant one while the differing standards account for some inconsistencies it is also apparent that Dod has Strong incentive to As sign ratings less than 30 percent so that Only separation pay is required Scott said in testimony his commission was formed in 2004 to study ways to improve the benefits system and is scheduled to Issue a report later this year Scott also faulted the failure of the Pentagon and a to work More effectively to create a shared electronic system for health records he said his com Mission had repeatedly gotten vague misleading or outright in accurate explanations from the departments the Senate hearing is the latest to examine troop care after Dis closures in february of shoddy conditions and outpatient treat ment at Walter Reed army medi Cal Center in Washington Leahy Bush aides telling lies Washington president Bush aides Are lying about White House emails sent on a Republican account that might have been lost Senate judiciary committee chairman Patrick Leahy suggested thursday vowing to subpoena those documents if the administration fails to turn them Over they say they have not been preserved i dont believe that Democrat shouted from the Senate floor Well subpoena them if necessary White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said there is no Effort to purposely keep the emails secret police probe patient dumping los Angeles a 70yearold Man who had just been discharged from a Hospital was sent by taxi to skid Row and police and prosecutors were investigating whether it was the latest Case of hospitals dumping patients on the Street on wednesday a patrol officer said he saw a Man in Hospital garb struggling to get out of a taxi that had dropped him off in front of the los Angeles Mission a homeless shelter in skid Row the Man identified As Moses Davis had paperwork indicating he had been discharged from Downey regional medical Center hos Pital officials said Davis had insisted on Leav ing released rabbits killed in wild Ephrata Wash most of a group of 20 endangered rabbits that were reintroduced to the wild with great fanfare last month have been killed by predators state officials said Only four of the rabbits released on March 13 remained at the Sagebrush Flat wildlife area in this Northwestern state As of tuesday said David Hays pygmy Rabbit coordinator for the state department of fish and wildlife Hays said two males were removed earlier this month and will be returned at the end of april the other 14 rabbits Are believed to have fallen victim to predators mainly Coy otes but also Hawks and owls Hays said acis seized disk was encrypted Santa Ana Calif a Navy investigator testified wednesday that a computer disk seized from the brother of a chinese born Engineer accused of stealing us defense technology secrets contained encrypted files Nicholas Mikus an investigative computer specialist for the naval criminal investigative service said the files could Only be unlocked with a specific key a Chain of 113 letters that was stored on a floppy disk Mikus was the latest witness called by the government in its Case against Chi Mak an Engineer accused of passing sensitive military in formation to the chinese government for More than 20 years Mak has pleaded not guilty Padilia defense objects to terms for suspected Al Aida operative Jose Padilia have objected to a proposal to have a disguised Cia officer testify for the government using a false name saying it would violate padillas rights and unfairly limit questioning during trial us District judge Marcia Cooke said at a hearing wednesday that she would Issue a written order on the disguise request the trial for Padilla and two co defendants on terrorism support charges is scheduled to begin monday with jury selection from the associate press Mike professor Cheryl Wall a Rutgers University faculty member holds a sign during a rally on the Dou Glass College Campus in new Brunswick no to protest com ments Don Imus made about the women basketball team Don Imus holds fundraiser after show is dropped by David Bauder the associated press new York Don Imus raised nearly million in the first five hours of his annual radio Charity fundraiser thursday but it was Only by voice Man by pulled the plug on his talk shows television simulcast amid the up Roar Over his racial slur this May be our last radio Thon so we need to raise about million Imus said at the Start of the event which has raised More than million since 1990 Imus acknowledged again that his remarks a week ago about the Rutgers women basketball team had been really stupid several major advertisers dropped the show and pressure from politicians and the Public has mounted since the radio Host referred to the Rutgers Basket Ball players As Nappy headed hos shortly after they lost the Mcaa women National championship game Man by dropped its simulcast of the Imus in the morning radio program and aired news in Stead on thursday though Imus still broadcasts the show from an Man by studio Imus ultimate Fate depends on the lbs corp which owns both the radio station a Anam that is the host5s broadcast Home and the syndicator Westwood one which distributes Imus in the morning to stations across the country lbs radio which has suspended Imus for two weeks without pay beginning next week said it would continue to speak with All concerned parties and Monitor the situation closely the 18th annual radio Hon began thursday and runs through Friday it was one of the reasons the Start of his suspension from lbs was delayed Imus said thursday he had apologized enough and plans to meet with members of the rut Gers team at some Point in not sure when in going to talk to the team that s Allim interested in doing