FederalDaily.com > Key Senate Republican Calls for Drawdown of U.S. Forces in Iraq

FederalDaily - July 10, 2007

Key Senate Republican Calls for Drawdown of U.S. Forces in Iraq

Breaking with President Bush, Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., called for a new war strategy in Iraq, stating he will now support legislation designed to initiate a staged withdrawal of American troops from the Iraqi conflict. Domenici, who serves on the Senate Defense Appropriations subcommittee, announced his decision July 5 to support the legislation, the Iraq Study Group Recommendation Implementation Act (S.1545). Domenici joined Sens. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., and George Voinovich, R-Ohio, among Senate Republicans in calling for the force withdrawal, which would lead to changed priorities and assignments for thousands of servicemembers and other federal employees throughout the government. Domenici’s move comes amidst increasing violence in Iraq, including a wave of attacks that killed at least 220 people over the weekend. The carnage continues despite a major U.S.-backed offensive that has focused largely on Baghdad and provinces surrounding the capital. S.1545 would create conditions that could allow for a drawdown of combat forces by March 2008, Domenici said. “I do not support an immediate withdrawal from Iraq or a reduction in funding for our troops,” Domenici said. “But I do support a new strategy that will move our troops out of combat operations and on the path to coming home.” To see more, go to: http://domenici.senate.gov/news/record.cfm?id=278341

CBP Apprehensions Reduced Along Border

Border Patrol (BP) apprehensions of illegal immigrants along the U.S.-Mexico Border have decreased by 24 percent over the past nine months, compared to a similar reporting period over the previous year, the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported July 7. From the period Oct. 1 2006 through June 30 this year, BP agents made 682,468 apprehensions along the nation’s Southwest border compared to 894,496 apprehensions during the same period from Oct. 1, 2005 through June 30, 2006. CBP officials said the decreased number of apprehensions provides some proof of the effectiveness of the bureau’s new Secure Border Initiative. Significant in the decrease is the drop-off in the number of other-than-Mexican-nationals apprehensions, which saw a 48 percent decline, CBP said. That single decrease is important because other-than-Mexican apprehensions take up a greater amount of a BP agent’s time. Under the Secure Border Initiative, CBP continues to enhance border security through a comprehensive approach of implementing innovative programs as well as hiring an additional 6,000 BP agents by the end of 2008.
To see more, go to: www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/news_releases/07072007.xml

GAO: Security Breaches Continue, But Few Linked to ID Theft

Although data breaches in the public and private sectors have become increasingly frequent, it is difficult to link those security breakdowns to individual cases of identity theft, said a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. Prompted by a deluge of security breaches, the GAO looked at whether the breakdowns could be linked to ID theft and examined the 24 largest—in terms of number of records compromised—from January 2000 through June 2005. It also looked into five breaches that involved federal agencies. Overall auditors found that the extent to which data breaches resulted in identity theft is not well known. In examining five breaches that occurred from 2003 through 2005 reportedly involving five federal agencies—Department of Justice, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Internal Revenue Service, National Park Service, and the Navy—GAO found the circumstances behind the breaches varied widely. Four of the five breaches were not believed to have resulted in identity theft, officials of the federal entities involved told GAO.
To see more go to: www.gao.gov/new.items/d07737.pdf