Pentagon Notes

From today’s press gaggle with Colonel David Lapan

Missing Sailor

There is no update on the whereabouts or status of a sailor who went missing in Afghanistan last Friday while driving an SUV through a particularly dangerous portion of the country.

The sailor is still classified as Dustwun (Duty Status-Whereabouts Unknown), and will remain so until there is firm evidence indicating otherwise. According to Lapan, the recent claim from the Taliban that he is in their possession is not viable enough to change this.

Boy Scout Jamboree

Defense Secretary Robert Gates attended the centennial Boy Scout Jamboree in Fort Ap Hill, Virginia Wednesday.

In his prepared remarks, Gates discusses hiking with his son’s Boy Scout troop when he was the CIA Director, and comments that the presence of several black vans and armed security officers may have hindered the experience.

Gates became an Eagle Scout at 15. There is no word from the Pentagon on whether a picture of him in uniform will be made available to reporters.

Suicide Prevention Report

On Thursday, General Peter Chiarelli, Vice Chief of Staff of the Army, will hold a press briefing on the Army’s Health Promotion/Risk Reduction/ Suicide Prevention Report.

Issa Incredulous Over Transparency Loophole In Financial Reform Law

The top Republican on the powerful House Oversight and Government Reform Committee would like the Obama administration to explain a possible loophole in the recently passed financial reform law that would allow the Securities and Exchange Commission to ignore requests made under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

Citing a report by the Fox Business Network, which alleges that the SEC informed the network that a section in the new law grants the commission the power to ignore FOIA requests, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) blasted the White House on Wednesday for promising transparency, but simultaneously granting carve-outs for the government.

“More and more the American people are seeing that transparency and accountability to the Obama Administration is a rhetorical illusion,” Issa said. “For all their talk about transparency and accountability, the one thing that the President’s financial reform bill has done is allow the very regulatory body that failed to catch Allen Stanford’s fraud and Bernie Madoff’s ponzi scheme to operate in secrecy, without ever having to be held accountable by the American people.”

Presidential Statement On Devastating Pakistan Plane Crash

The White House just released the following statement from President Barack Obama regarding a plane crash in Pakistan early this morning that killed all 152 people aboard, including two Americans:

“I extend my deepest condolences to the families and friends of all who died in today’s tragic crash of Air Blue flight ED202 near Islamabad. Among those who were lost were two American citizens. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of those touched by this horrible accident.  The American people stand with the people of Pakistan in this moment of tragedy.”

Sessions Praises House For Passing SPEECH Act

A day after the House passed legislation aimed at promoting free speech, the bill’s co-author, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) issued a statement, praising Congress for doing so:

“Free speech is a bedrock principle of our Republic, essential to our continued liberty. The passage of the SPEECH Act further cements that legacy and strengthens free speech protections for all Americans. It will ensure that American writers cannot be penalized by foreign libel judgments that do not comply with American law, removing a dangerous chilling effect on the exercise of First Amendment rights. It will also give Americans who have been subject to foreign libel judgments the opportunity to petition an American court and have their name cleared. This is an important bipartisan achievement and a reminder that Congress’ job is not to control and diminish free speech—including political advocacy—but to allow for the robust competition of ideas.”

The bill, entitled the “Securing the Protection of our Enduring and Established Constitutional Heritage (SPEECH) Act” is now headed to President Obama for his signature.

-Alexa Gitler

Army Intel Analyst Seen As Main Suspect In WikiLeaks

CNN is reporting that the Pentagon is focusing on jailed 22-year-old Army Pfc. Bradley Manning as the main suspect in a major scandal in which thousands of secret U.S. military documents related to the war in Afghanistan wound up on the whistleblower website WikiLeaks.

In June, Manning was charged with eight violations of the U.S. Criminal Code for “allegedly illegally transferring classified data,” including a video taken in 2007 that showed U.S troops reigning gunfire from an Apache helicopter upon civilians in Iraq. That video was posted on WikiLeaks earlier this summer.

It is believed that while serving, Manning may have accessed a worldwide military classified internet and e-mail system to download tens of thousands of documents in order to post them to WikiLeaks.

The Army is considering whether he should face the military equivalent of a trial over the charges. Currently, Manning, a resident of Potomac, Md., is being held by the U.S. military in Kuwait while his unit begins to rotate back to the United States…

- Alexa Gitler