A new report reveals gross mismanagement of the U.S.’s most prestigious military cemetery, including mislabeled headstones and misplaced remains.
The Army-compiled report concludes that 211 gravesites at Arlington National Cemetery have “issues of accountability.”
“There could be more,” Army Inspector General R. Steven Whitcomb acknowledged during a press briefing at the Pentagon Thursday.
Two anomalies were discovered in a section reserved for soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. The other 209 were from sections designated for those who fought in previous conflicts.
“There’s simply no excuses,” Army Secretary John McHugh, whose branch oversees the military cemetery, told reporters. “The Army owes better.”
Arlington National Cemetery Superintendent John C. Metzler announced his retirement Wednesday. He will continue to serve in his position until early July, but both he and the Deputy Superintendent will be stripped of their supervisory duties. The two could still face additional penalties.
In light of the report, the Army will establish an advisory commission to oversee National Cemeteries. Former Senators Bob Dole (R-Kans.) and Max Cleland (D-Ga.) have already been tapped for the effort.
As an additional measure, McHugh has created a new position of Executive Director of the Army National Cemeteries Program, a role that will be assumed by Kathryn Condon, the U.S. Army Materiel Command Executive Deputy to the Commanding General.
The report can be read in its entirety at www.army.mil/arlington.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) Wednesday endorsed a Republican alternative to the Kerry-Lieberman energy bill, a piece of legislation he initially helped write.
Graham said during a press briefing that he “thoroughly enjoyed” working with Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), but that the new legislation, introduced earlier in the day by Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.), “lowers emissions, creates jobs and cleans the air … without putting a cap on carbon.”
“It rewards low carbon technology,” Graham explained. “It gives an economic incentive for a company to replace coal fired plants with new technology.”
Added the South Carolina Republican, “the carrot-stick approach is the basis of cap and trade. This is a carrot-stick approach where there are more carrots than there are sticks.”
According to Lugar, the new legislation will reduce green house gas emissions 20 percent and oil dependence by 40 percent within the next twenty years.

The deliberations to reconcile the House and Senate versions of financial regulatory reform will likely be televised, following a push from House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.).
Frank sent a letter to C-Span CEO Brian Lamb Tuesday requesting the cable network’s presence when the Conference Committee, which will be made up of representatives from both chambers, meets.
“I urge you to provide the necessary resources to ensure that the American people are able to watch the public portions and the voting of the Conference Committee,” Frank wrote. “I believe it is vital that after the financial crisis of 2008, the American people are able to view the public proceedings.”
Broadcasting the committee’s meeting carries political benefits for Democrats. Frank has expressed confidence in recent months that Republicans will be less likely to weaken the legislation if on camera.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) voiced support for broadcasting the meeting during a briefing Wednesday.
“My hope is that it will be televised” Hoyer said. “This is a bill that the American public knows is very important.”
Democrats are hoping to have the legislation sent to the President prior to the 4th of July recess.

United Nations Correspondent Tala Dowlatshahi will be covering a UN Security Council vote on a fourth round of sanctions against Iran.
The Washington Bureau will be covering the following today:
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing on issues related to the Interior Department’s May 27th report: Increased Safety Measures for Energy Development on the Outer Continental Shelf, including oversight of recent actions recommended by the department to address the safety of offshore oil development. Featuring testimony by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.
The House Budget Committee will hold a hearing on the “State of the Economy: View from the Federal Reserve.” With testimony by Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will hold a hearing on “Liability and Financial Responsibility for Oil Spills under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 and Related Statutes.” Featuring testimony by Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli; Acting Minerals Management Service Director Bob Abbey.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md. will hold his weekly news briefing.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee Energy and Environment Subcommittee is holding a briefing on “Beneath the Surface of the BP Spill: What’s Happening Now, What’s Needed Next.”
Sen. Dick Lugar, R-Ind. will hold a news conference to introduce an energy and climate change bill.

According to Danielle Pletka, vice president for foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, the Lebanese based terrorist organization Hezbollah could be as powerful, if not more so, than Al-Qaeda.
“[Hezbollah is] the most potent terrorist organization next to Al Qaeda – and perhaps better organized and better armed than Al Qaeda,” told a Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee Tuesday.
Pletka pointed to the 40,000 rockets and missiles that the Lebanese Islamist group claims to have as evidence of their strength.
A State Department official who also appeared before the subcommittee noted that although Hezbollah has not launched an attack against the U.S., they could still be considered a potential threat.
“While we recognize that Hezbollah is not directly targeting the United States today, we are aware that that could change, especially if tensions increase with Iran over that country’s nuclear program,” Daniel Benjamin, the Department’s Coordinator for Counterterrorism said.
Despite these suspicions, however, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman declared that, “[U.S.] policy is for non-engagement with Hezbollah … and I don’t anticipate that policy changing.”

By Linn Grubbstrom – Talk Radio News Service
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Tuesday that the oil spill in the Gulf Coast highlights the importance of weaning the U.S. off of fossil fuels and moving toward renewable energy.
“The spill itself tells us in a very clear way that the over dependence on fossil fuels is an issue which we must grapple with as a a world and as a nation,” Salazar said during an event at the Capitol Hill Club to honor Ocean Week.
Salazar pointed to wind energy as one possible alternative.
“You have states somewhere along the Atlantic that believe that 30 to 45% of their energy can actually come from wind energy,” said Salazar. “So we believe that that will become a reality.”
According to Salazar, 20% of electricity in the U.S. should come from wind energy by 2030 to help the U.S. move away from oil.

By Miles Wolf Tamboli – Talk Radio News
Natalie Roshto and Courtney Kemp, wives of workers killed in the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion on April 20th, told a Congressional panel Monday that the U.S. should continue to allow off-shore drilling, despite the impact of the massive oil spill in the Gulf Coast.
“While we realize we are suffering from economic impacts resulting from the leaking oil, it would be even more devastating if you allow drilling in the Gulf to cease,” Kemp of Jonesville, Louisiana said. “The trickle-down effect would be devastating not only to the coastal states, but eventually the entire country.”
“Many men depend on offshore drilling. That is our way of life,” added Roshto of Liberty, Mississippi.
The widows’ remarks came during a field hearing of a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee in Chalmette, Louisiana.
The opinions of both were echoed by Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), who sits on the subcommittee.
“The ban on drilling threatens to pose an economic disaster on [Louisiana],” said Scalise. “You don’t hold an entire industry accountable for the failures of one [company].”

By Miles Wolf Tamboli – Talk Radio News
A House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee held a field hearing Monday on the “Local Impact of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill” in Chalmette, Louisiana. During the hearing, environmental experts offered up to date information on how the spill will affect human health in the region.
The use of dispersants and the fumes created by burning oil off the surface of the water have created “crude oil aerosols,” which “have resulted in health impacts including headaches, nausea, respiratory impacts, irritation to eyes, nose, throat and lungs and asthma attacks,” according to Wilma Subra, a leading environmental scientist and president of the Subra Company.
“BP … failed to provide adequate protective gear to the fishermen [and] workers exposed to the crude oil and the workers experienced health impacts,” Subra said. “The workers were afraid to speak up due to the potential to lose their jobs. Those fishermen who attempted to wear respirators while working were threatened to be fired by BP.”
In addition to the health effects, Subra said that attempts to mitigate the massive oil spill have also negatively impacted the local ecology.
“The actions have had detrimental impacts to the water column, sediment, biota and wetland areas by dispersing the crude oil into the water column, sediments and wetland areas,” Subra explained. “The dispersing of the crude oil also has resulted in a much larger area of impact in the Gulf of Mexico than has been covered by the surface crude oil spill.”

By Sarah Mamula- Talk Radio News Service
Shibley Telhami, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, commented on the recent events of the Gaza-bound flotilla, claiming that not enough is known about what he calls, “a disaster,” and urges an investigation into Israel’s actions.
“For all intents and purposes, all we know is that there were civilians and that they were in international waters,” Telhami said. “I think we should have an investigation to find out what exactly happened, who was behind it, and what transpired on board.”
Despite the lack of concrete information surrounding the Israeli commando raid, Telhami firmly believes aggressive action was the wrong approach.
“Regardless of the circumstances, confronting a civilian boat in a manner that could lead to the death of civilians is wrong. I think that clearly what transpired here is very hard to explain on the part of the Israelis.”
The expert went on to speak about the importance of the United States’ diplomatic role in this “immediate crisis,” but also emphasized that an alternative to the Gaza blockade must be found.
“Everyone in the international community has been calling for more goods to go into Gaza. Even the U.S. says the blockade is not sustainable the way it is now,” Telhami said.

By Justine Rellosa-Talk Radio News Service
Former Attorney General John Ashcroft took exception Wednesday with the current administration’s desire to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.
“I would’ve argued against closing GITMO,” said Ashcroft during remarks before the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. “I think GITMO is a very, very good place to detain people … detaining people who fight against you is an act of mercy.”
Added Ashcroft, “The idea that somehow there’s something evil about Guantanamo I think is a bankrupt idea and it only succeeds in the arena of slander.” 
Shortly after assuming office, President Barack Obama outlined his desire to close the controversial facility within a year. Although the administration failed to meet the deadline, Obama has said that it could be shut down before the end of the year.